The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 392: Don’t Play Intelligence with Mom (6)_1

Chapter 392: Chapter 392: Don’t Play Intelligence with Mom (6)_1

Knowing the mistake and yet refusing to correct it, Shen Songming was beside himself with frustration. He knew full well that the award should have been given to Sister Peiqin and her brother, it was now crystal clear that Pei Zongli didn’t deserve it. But they weren’t correcting the mistake!

If he hadn’t been concerned about his reputation, Shen Songming would have started cursing in the palace itself.

This battle, however, made the Emperor remember Shen Songming, recognizing that the Shen family had such a sharp-tongued member.

But the outcome couldn’t be changed, which was utterly useless. What Shen Songming wanted was to alter the outcome, to have the award given to Pei Qin! What was this situation now? Telling Peiqin that the Imperial Court made a mistake and the award had gone to Old Pei’s House, and now admitting the error would tarnish the court’s image, so they must persist in the mistake and expect her to endure it!?

Shen Songming recalled the rumors he had heard before, that Peiqin, even before graduation, had joined a laboratory, working under an old professor and reportedly achieving results, only to have the credit taken by that old professor. It wasn’t a significant achievement, but after that incident, that professor ’fell and broke his leg’, who would believe that! They all said it was Peiqin’s doing! The old professor had been bedridden for three months!

Later, when she achieved something and was awarded, people brought this up again, saying that Peiqin relied on her family’s power, made others do the work and took the credit, standing on the shoulders of giants.

At that time, Shen Songming didn’t know what Peiqin had done, so now he was very nervous and worried. He had told her to come to Capital Jingcheng long ago, yet she insisted on staying in that small town. Was she really planning to build a nuclear bomb or cannon!?

The Emperor was in a tough spot too, as he couldn’t slap his own face. It wasn’t a big deal; after all, Sister Peiqin and her brother were still descendants of the Pei family. The mistake had to be persisted with, and they would compensate somehow if such an incident occurred again in the future.

Such significant innovations as promoting high-yield crops like sweet potatoes were hardly common!

Sir Ji from the Ji family, against all objections, suggested giving Sister Peiqin and her brother a substantial additional award to placate public sentiment. Otherwise, what commoner would be willing to serve their country and the Imperial Court in the future? The award intended for the Pei family had been given, and the court wouldn’t miss that hundred taels of gold and some other trinkets. They could still grant Sister Peiqin and her brother a more significant award, making the award given to the Pei family seem like a reward for producing such outstanding offspring, while the real honor remained with Sister Peiqin and her brother.

The Ji family had always maintained neutrality within The Imperial Court, a paragon of integrity. The current Emperor had been able to secure his throne in part due to the solid support from the Ji family following his ascension. The Emperor greatly appreciated Sir Ji’s proposal and immediately issued a decree.

Shen Songming wrote an apology and dispatched it at top speed to Yuanyang County. He wanted to make the trip himself, but with affairs in the capital unfinished and needing his attention, he could only write to Peiqin first. After the new year, he would immediately come to visit.

When Peiqin received Shen Songming’s letter, she was at home chopping stuffing for dumplings—bowls of beef, mutton, fish, and pork fillings all lined up.

Pei Yuan and Pei Qian, along with Pei Wendong and Chang Yonglin, were helping her out, mixing dough, rolling out wrappers, and making dumplings.

The awards controversy had died down somewhat over the past ten days, after reaching its peak. The Fang family had mobilized everyone and visited three times. Even County Magistrate Wu Dongsi had made a trip, but Peiqin remained unreactive. Everyone was waiting to see how the Peis would contend with Old Pei’s House.

After reading the letter, Peiqin went back to her room and immediately sent a reply. She didn’t say much, just that she was at home chopping stuffing for dumplings and listed the various fillings.

The stuffing was finely chopped, mixed with beaten eggs, making it sticky; the wrappers were tough, and the dumplings turned out delicious.

When Shen Songming received her reply, he shuddered inwardly. Could Peiqin be planning something big!? No, she was not the type to suffer in silence; she was certainly going to take some action! He hoped it wouldn’t lead to some horrendous upheaval!

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