Chapter 232: The Reward
The moment the carriage moved, the eyes of the crowd, whose emotions had just been placated, turned red once more.
“Brother Yi, remember to write to us!” the several children shouted as they chased right after it.
Li Yi poked his head out from the carriage, waving his hand to them non-stop until the carriage vanished at the village entrance, embarking on the journey back to the capital.
With Wen Xiuyi and the father and son pair of Li Fu gone, it felt as if something was missing from this home, leaving a persistent sense of emptiness.
Old Man Wen was no longer afraid now, spending all his time examining the jade pendant Li Fu had left behind; one look was enough to tell it was an exquisite item.
Seeing that the time was about right, Old Madam Luo directly snatched the jade pendant back.
“Don’t go breaking it,” Old Madam Luo shot him a glare, then called Wen Yao over and handed the jade pendant to her. “Keep it safe, and absolutely do not lose it.”
This was an item belonging to a Prince; breaking it was a beheading offense.
Although there was a high probability that Li Fu wouldn’t execute anyone in their family, Old Madam Luo still carefully instructed Wen Yao a few words.
Old Man Wen was beside himself with anxiety. “She’s just a girl, what if she loses it later?” What a precious item this was; it wasn’t that Old Man Wen didn’t trust his granddaughter, it was mainly that he wanted to keep it himself too.
Old Madam Luo ignored him, looking at Wen Yao as she said, “Even though Li Fu… no, the Prince and the heir apparent value our family, we cannot use that power to bully others either. Live your life the same way you did before; don’t be too flashy.”
After instructing Wen Yao, Old Madam Luo looked at the other children beside them, her expression darkening. “And you all, did you hear me?”
The few of them nodded in unison, without a single shred of hesitation.
Grandma was too fierce; best not to provoke her.
The identity of the Li father and son remained a lively topic in the village for a period of time. Some said the Wen family had struck absolute gold to actually get involved with a Prince, while others said this was the Wen family’s karmic reward—they considered the villagers in everything they did now, so it was only right that they had such luck.
However, the heat of this matter was slowly diluted before long, because everyone discovered that even though they had gotten involved with a Prince, the members of the Wen family remained exactly the same as they were before, completely devoid of any arrogance just because they had clung to a Prince’s thigh.
Gradually, everyone stopped discussing the matter and forgot about it.
On the fifth day after Wen Xiuyi and the Li father and son left, a troop of exceptionally valiant-looking men riding tall horses escorted a carriage to the Wen family residence.
Xun Feng had not followed them back, spending his days at the Wen family residence in a relaxed and comfortable manner. In the morning, he would send the children to school and return to help out with odd jobs, and when the hour arrived, he would drive the carriage to pick them up, even stealing the jobs of Lu Jiang and Lu He.
As the crowd entered the village in a grand procession, the villagers came out out of curiosity to take a peek. The men had stern expressions and looked like they were not to be trifled with at a single glance.
Yet they still spoke up to inquire: “Excuse me, where is the residence of Miss Wen Yao of Gutong Village?”
The villager who was asked tremblingly raised a finger and pointed in the direction of the Wen family residence.
The men on horseback cupped their fists, and riding their horses while driving the carriage, flashed past them in an instant.
Only then did the crowd recover their wits.
“Where did these people come from again? Oh my, these people look so fierce; the Wen family won’t be in any trouble, will they?”
“This… surely not. Hurry, let’s go take a look.”
“Someone, someone quickly go to the fields to find Great-Uncle Wen. Only Great-Auntie Wen and Yao’er are at home at this hour.”
The crowd quickly dispersed in a hubbub, some looking for people, others running toward the Wen family residence.
Xun Feng was originally lying on a reclining chair in the courtyard basking in the sun when he suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze darkened instantly, and with a flash, he appeared at the entrance of the Wen family residence.
Upon seeing the horses and carriage galloping over, the expression on Xun Feng’s face finally relaxed, and he even waved his hand toward those men.
The men on horseback recognized Guard Xun Feng.
“So it is Guard Xun Feng. Did you not return to the capital with the Prince?” the man at the very front of the horses asked.
Xun Feng gave a chuckle. “No, the Prince had me stay here to pass messages for him. What are you gentlemen here for?” The ones who arrived were guards from the palace; could it be that the Empress Dowager’s reward had arrived?
The men on horseback flipped down from their mounts, and the leader merely said a single sentence: “An edict from the Empress Dowager. Miss Wen Yao of the Wen family, step forward to receive the edict.”
Xun Feng took a glance inside the house, but not a single person was there; Miss Yao’er was over at the old lady’s side. He then smiled and said, “Then please enter the courtyard and wait a moment, gentlemen. I shall go call for them.”
Running to the entrance of the old residence, he happened to see Old Madam Luo and Wen Yao stepping out.
“Great-Auntie Wen, Miss Yao’er, people from the palace have arrived.”
Old Madam Luo’s emotions were already completely undisturbed, but Wen Yao’er’s eyes lit up. Her reward had arrived—Li Yi had said the Empress Dowager had given her a reward.
This girl’s running speed accelerated by quite a bit. Arriving at the entrance, she indeed saw the carriage and several horses parked at the door.
Wen Yao hurriedly entered the courtyard, and she saw several tall and fierce guards with sabers hanging from their waists, each looking majestic and completely unlike Xun Feng’s shiftless manner.
“What is this, gentlemen?” Wen Yao asked.
Xun Feng also hurriedly spoke up: “Big brothers, Miss Yao’er has arrived.”
The leading guard cast a glance at Wen Yao and directly pulled an edict from his breast pocket. “An edict from the Empress Dowager. Miss Wen Yao of the Wen family, receive the edict.”
Receiving an edict required kneeling; Wen Yao understood the rules and knelt down very nimbly.
Xun Feng and Old Madam Luo also knelt down along with her. Fortunately, the main gate had been shut by Old Madam Luo in passing, so the people outside could not see the situation inside.
They only heard the man read out: “Miss Wen Yao of the Wen family, intelligent, clever, and skillful, possessing exquisite culinary arts, has deeply pleased this Palace. She is specially rewarded with one thousand taels of white silver, a pair of ruyi jade, a set of pearl and gemstone hair ornaments, ten bolts of brocade fabric, and a set of a golden spatula and a golden knife.
Miss Wen, receive the edict.”
Wen Yao’s eyes were practically glowing. So many good things—just hearing them was enough to know how much money they were worth. The key point was that the Empress Dowager had actually sent her a golden spatula and a golden knife. This, simply… was just too fantastic.
“This common daughter, Wen Yao, thanks the Empress Dowager for her grace.” Wen Yao knocked her head heavily, with complete sincerity.
The guard handed the edict into Wen Yao’s hands and gave her a gift list as well, having the men open all the items they had brought in the courtyard for Wen Yao to inspect.
A continuous row of silver ingots, along with the glittering hair ornaments, and that pair of a golden spatula and a golden kitchen knife lying in the brocade box, shone brilliantly under the sunlight. The light was almost bright enough to sting Wen Yao’s eyes so she couldn’t open them.
It took a great deal of effort for Wen Yao to suppress the rising corners of her mouth and appear calm and steady.
“Thank you, big brothers. You have all worked hard along the way; please take a brief rest, and I shall go prepare food for you all immediately.” Wen Yao tried her best to make her voice sound not so… jubilant.
Who would have thought that the several men had no intention of staying for a meal at all. Once the items were delivered and the edict was proclaimed, they had to return.
“We will not trouble Miss. We still have to rush back to report our mission. Farewell.” After speaking, they cupped their fists toward Wen Yao and Old Madam Luo, turned around, and left, without the slightest hesitation.
As an old acquaintance, Xun Feng saw the few men out.
The villagers merely saw those few people who had run over in a flurry leave in a flurry once more.
As soon as they left, Wen Yao no longer masked herself, letting out a wah as she lunged forward, touching here and looking there.
She simply loved it too much.
No wonder Li Yi would tell her to accept it placidly. This was truly, truly, truly, truly too much.
She so loved this Empress Dowager whom she hadn’t even met yet—so sensible!
