freenovelworld Chapter 130 The Lord of Anning County
Chapter 130 The Lord of Anning County
Because the Su family has been on the rise recently, even though there has been no news from the court, everyone with a discerning eye knows that rewards will come sooner or later.
After all, the new method of salt drying is a great thing that benefits both the country and the people.
Many ladies came to see Su Ma, but it was not easy for Su Ma to close the door and refuse guests, so there was always a shortage of people at her card table recently.
Of course, there were also many ladies who took a fancy to Su Weixi. Every day when they came and went home, their children and nephews would come to pick them up.
But Su's mother was very tight-lipped. Whenever she mentioned her children's marriage, she would find an excuse to change the subject.
Even when Su's father was in the military camp, many generals came to him every afternoon to have dinner and chat.
One was to find out about Su Weixi's marriage, and the other was that there were a lot of delicious food in Su's father's tent, which were delivered by Su's mother's housekeeper every now and then.
It was very lively on Su's side, and Su Weixi was also having a lot of fun on his side.
There were a few times when there were problems with the salt fields and Su Weixi was needed to check and help solve them. There were great talents who would recite poems on the road from time to time, or kind-hearted young men who would deal with hooligans and help the old and the young.
In the end, Su Weixi simply decided not to go out if she could avoid it.
After Su's father and mother discussed it, they announced to the public that their eldest daughter would not marry out, but would instead find a live-in son-in-law.
I originally thought that this would calm things down a lot, after all, the ancients looked down on such things as sons-in-law coming to the door. However, this did not dispel the thoughts of those families, a son-in-law coming to the door, right?
If the legitimate son was reluctant to marry into the family, then the illegitimate son would do so. There were even some families with lower official positions who were willing to send their legitimate sons to marry into the family.
This kind of magical operation made Su Weixi and the others laugh and cry. A family with such thoughts, and even sent a man to marry into the family, what a good man he must be.
There were a few times when they encountered the worst kind, and Su Ma would just start scolding them, and only then would these people who were ready to make trouble completely calm down.
Most families who are rejected don't get angry. After all, marriage is a matter of mutual consent, and they won't say much in private.
As for the families who were scolded by Su's mother, they smiled on the surface but secretly talked about how Su Weixi was an old girl who couldn't get married and that she might have some hidden illness. Some also said that the Su family wanted to send their daughter to the palace to seek wealth and fame.
Su Weixi is indeed considered an old maid here, because girls here generally get married and have children at the age of fifteen or sixteen.
Su Weixi: Old girl? I’m only 18 years old, just became an adult, just turned 18! Thank you!
These private words were also told to Su Ma by the lady who was on good terms with her, and Su Ma then repeated the words of her so-called old traveling doctor.
He emphasized that his master once said that it is best for girls to get married and have children after the age of 18, otherwise it will harm their bodies. That is why his daughter has not yet been engaged.
She also emphasized that her daughter should be at least 20 years old before getting married, because she was around 20 years old when she gave birth to Su Weixi.
Su Ma didn't care whether these people believed it or not. Anyway, there was an explanation on the surface.
As for those who deliberately damaged her daughter's reputation behind her back, Su's mother told Su's father which families said these things. Su's father sent people to punish those families, and the rumors were completely stopped.
On this day, in the Su family's flower hall.
The ladies who were on good terms with Su Ma came to play mahjong with her again, and the housekeeper came in with Magistrate Ma.
Logically speaking, this is not reasonable. At least Su Ma should receive Magistrate Ma alone accompanied by the housekeeper. But Magistrate Ma said it was a good thing and there was no need to avoid others.
"Magistrate Ma, why are you here? Is there something wrong with the salt fields again?" Because every time Magistrate Ma came to see Su Weixi recently, it was because of something concerning the salt fields. Su's mother subconsciously thought that something had happened at the salt fields again.
"Madam Su, Ma is not here because of the salt fields."
"What's that for?"
Not only Su Ma was curious, but all the ladies were also very curious.
"Today, my wife just came back from Panyu City. She said that she saw the eunuch who came from the capital to deliver the imperial edict in Panyu City. The prefect Xu of Panyu City is my eldest uncle. He said that he came to deliver the imperial edict for the Su family. However, the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict has a bad acclimatization and needs to stay in Panyu City for two days. I believe he will arrive soon. I hope Madam Su will be ready to receive the imperial edict."
Magistrate Ma looked at the ladies who were staring at him and told them the purpose of his visit in one breath.
Everyone understood immediately that this must be a reward from the court. Magistrate Ma and his eldest brother-in-law wanted to buy something good, so they came to remind them in advance to avoid the Su family being rude.
"Thank you, Magistrate Ma, for the reminder. I'll have your wife come to my house to play mahjong some other day. She loves my thousand-layer cake the most."
"Of course, of course. I'll take my leave now."
When Magistrate Ma heard what Su Ma said, he knew that he would be able to interact more with the Su family in the future. The Su family also appreciated the favor today. The Su family had guests, so he tactfully said goodbye.
Su Ma gave the housekeeper a wink, and when County Magistrate Ma left, Housekeeper Sun put a few boxes of things in as a thank-you gift.
County Magistrate Ma opened the gift boxes while sitting in the carriage. He saw that two boxes contained two bottles of wine, and the others contained some food, both of which were identical. He immediately understood that one was for himself and the other was for his eldest uncle.
"Wan Niang, congratulations. There will be a happy event at home."
"Yeah, maybe General Su will move up again."
"You guys gave birth to a good daughter."
The ladies present here today all get along well with Su Ma. Sometimes they call her by her nickname affectionately and joke with each other.
"Don't talk nonsense. The imperial edict hasn't arrived yet. Don't spread it around."
"Yes, yes, Mrs. Su."
"You all, come eat at home tonight. My cook has come up with a few new dishes."
A few people laughed and let the matter go, but they all knew in their hearts that the Su family was bound to move to a higher level at this time.
If it was a bad decree, County Magistrate Ma would not have made such a trip.
As for the imperial edict, it is generally not allowed to leak, but it also depends on what the edict says. For good news like this, the eunuchs who deliver the edict will usually leak some information to the officials who are trying to find out.
Su's mother originally planned to send someone to the military camp to deliver a letter to Su's father early the next morning, but Su's father went home that night.
Xiao Yi had already received a letter from the capital and knew that the Empress Dowager's imperial decree would come to the Su family, so he gave Su's father a few days off.
Three days later, the imperial edict delivery team arrived at the Su family in a mighty procession. Everyone in the Su family had already set up the incense table and was ready to receive the imperial edict.
"Where is the Su family's legitimate daughter?" the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict asked after taking a quick look around.
"My daughter is here."
After confirming that Su Weixi was also there, the eunuch opened the imperial edict in his hand and began to recite it.
"The Empress Dowager decrees that the Su family's legitimate daughter, Su Weixi... (a bunch of compliments on Su Weixi) be granted the title of Princess of Anning County. This is decreed."
The Queen Mother's decree made everyone confused, because generally speaking, in this dynasty, if a woman in the family made a contribution, it would be tacitly attributed to her father, brother or husband. But unexpectedly, this time, Su's father and mother had nothing to do with it, but Su Weixi was conferred the title of county lord.
Su Weixi was also confused. The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict saw Su Weixi who was a little dazed and gently reminded her, "County Lady, please accept the imperial edict and thank the emperor."
"Your servant has received the order. May the Empress Dowager live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years." When Su Weixi received the order, everyone expressed their gratitude together.
Then everyone stood up, and Steward Sun quietly stuffed a purse into the eunuch's hand. The eunuch squeezed it and knew what was inside. It was light and must be a banknote, and it felt quite thick.
"Thank you for your hard work, father-in-law. What should I call you?"
"My last name is Huang."
"It's Eunuch Huang. Please come in and have some tea and food with everyone else."
"No, I have to rush back to Fanyu City today to visit the King of Lingnan on behalf of the Queen Mother." As he said this, he winked at the eunuch behind him, and the eunuch brought two boxes.
"These are some jewelry given to the county lady by the Empress Dowager and the Queen. They were specially selected for Miss Su by the two ladies."
The Su family thanked him again and stuffed several purses into Eunuch Huang's pockets.
When the team delivering the imperial edict left, Steward Sun also brought a lot of local specialties to the ship, and Eunuch Huang naturally accepted them with peace of mind.
After the imperial edict team left, everyone in the Su family was in an uproar.
The news that Su Weixi was named Princess of Anning also spread throughout Qiongzhou City.
Xiao Yi in the military camp had known about this for a long time, and he just smiled when he heard it. But in his heart, he was secretly glad that the emperor did not take Su Weixi into the palace.
Others don't know, but Xiao Yi knows that when the emperor was still the crown prince, he wanted to win over Su Dad, who could provide high-yield grain and explosive formula and train special soldiers, and he once thought of making Su Weixi the crown prince's concubine.
However, he was stopped by Xiao Yi and the Duke of Zhenguo at that time. The two knew the character of the Su family very well and were definitely unwilling to enter the palace.
He only told the prince that the Su family came from a hunter family and was used to a free and easy life, so he did not want to enter the palace. Only then did the emperor, who was the prince at the time, give up.
At that time, Xiao Yi and his son just didn't want the Su family to be too involved with the royal family, nor did they want Su Weixi to enter the cannibalistic palace at such a young age.
Many years later, looking at Su Weixi beside him, Xiao Yi was very glad that he and his father had stopped this incident at that time.