The Farm Girl’s Charismatic Fortune
Chapter 262 - 258: Special Honor

Chapter 262: Chapter 258: Special Honor

The following decree began with praise for the Ruo Family’s generations of loyalty and integrity. It also acquitted the Ruo Family patriarch of past mistakes, posthumously conferring on him the title of Earl Yinyong, and bestowing upon Granny Lei the title of First-Rank Imperial Command.

Next, it recounted the achievements of Ruo Hai, who single-handedly led a thousand soldiers to burn the enemy’s grain stores and assassinated two of the enemy generals, forcing the enemy to retreat to Nanyu Island. Then, braving hurricanes and towering waves, he proceeded to Nanyu Island, killed thousands of enemies single-handedly, captured the pretender to the throne, successfully eradicated the remnants of the previous dynasty, and recovered Nanyu Island along with a substantial imperial treasury and a million bushels of grain.

After much praise for Ruo Hai’s unparalleled bravery and godlike military strategy, Eunuch Pan raised his voice, "Ruo Hai’s military achievements are grand, a rarity among military geniuses, hereby specially conferred the title of Fourth-Rank Loyal and Righteous General, awarded a General Residence, a hundred mu of fertile land, a hundred ounces of gold, and an assortment of gold, silver, jewels, and silk and satin fabrics, heed this decree."

After Eunuch Pan finished reading the imperial edict, he said with a smile, "Loyal and Righteous Great General, please accept the decree."

A Fourth-Rank General could indeed be called a Great General, as a Fourth-Rank official would just qualify to attend the morning court sessions in the Capital City.

That is to say, if Ruo Hai were to come to the Capital City for his duties, he would have just enough status to stand alongside all the civil and military officials of the Imperial Court!

Most importantly, he was still young, only in his thirties, and he had been promoted from Chiliarch to a Fourth-Rank official within just a few months of returning to the military camp.

Looking across the entire Imperial Court, there was no General who had risen through the ranks as quickly as him, including those who had fought alongside the late Emperor to establish the dynasty.

However, the military achievements that Ruo Hai had established in a few months were no less significant than the lifetime accomplishments of some of the veteran generals; therefore, many officials at the Imperial Court had reservations about The Emperor’s decree, but The Emperor was adamant in his decision.

Eunuch Pan understood why The Emperor had made such a decision—a General capable of resisting the raging sea waves was nowhere to be found. With General Ruo present, the entire ocean would belong to Xuanyuan Country! And General Ruo also had a formidable niece!

Princess Wuyou was always distinguishing herself, and The Emperor had run out of rewards to give her, so he compensated her by rewarding her family instead.

Ruo Hai was utterly stunned: a Fourth-Rank General!

He could never have dreamed of this, and it was not until Ruo Xuan tugged at his clothes that he came back to his senses. With great excitement, he stretched out his hands, took the imperial edict, and raised it above his head, bowing, "Thanks to The Emperor’s grand grace, The Emperor’s grand grace is boundless, this subordinate will certainly serve The Emperor, the Imperial Court, and the people of Xuanyuan Country, defending our family and country, toiling tirelessly until death!"

After Ruo Hai had finished bowing, he stood up.

The others also helped each other to stand up.

They were so shocked, they needed to lean on one another to get up.

A Fourth-Rank Great General! Ruo Hai is too impressive!

The Ruo Family is too impressive!

Granny Lei has also been conferred the title of First-Rank Imperial Command Lady!

In one family, they had a Commandery Princess, an Imperial Command Lady, a Great General, and a nominally established son-in-law, though he was already deceased, and his title was not hereditary, his reputation was excellent! And Granny Lei was now the wife of Earl Yinyong!

The Ruo Family was soaring to the heavens!

The villagers, especially the women, eagerly set their sights on the Ruo brothers, particularly the unmarried and yet-to-be-betrothed sixth brother.

Ruo Shan hadn’t returned home from the medical clinic, leaving only Ruo Chuan present, who felt uneasy under the gaze of the village gossips.

Eunuch Pan laughed, "Great General Loyal and Righteous, your heartfelt loyalty will certainly be reported to The Emperor."

Ruo Hai said with a smile, "Thank you, Eunuch Pan. We’ve prepared a banquet at home. If Eunuch Pan doesn’t mind, please come inside and have a seat."

Eunuch Pan waved his hand with a smile, "No rush, I still have duties to attend to."

Then he took out another imperial edict and smiled, "Princess Wuyou, accept the decree."

"Your servant-girl heeds the decree!" Ruo Xuan immediately fell to her knees with a thud!

She had waited so long!

They should have initiated the decree earlier; she had even cursed the Divine Lord Xuanyuan hundreds of times in her heart, within his hearing no less.

Quietly, in her heart, Ruo Xuan said to Xuanyuan Que, "Brother Xuanyuan, I’m sorry! I misunderstood you just now!"

At the manor, Xuanyuan Que flipped a page of his book with an expressionless face. He didn’t bother arguing with a flower without a conscience.

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees..." After a string of lavish praises, the crucial part finally arrived!

Ruo Xuan pricked up her small ears.

"Princess Wuyou has rendered immense services, blessing the world and gracing all people. Be granted Shaxi County as her fief, along with one hundred taels of gold, a shop at number sixty-eight on Chalia Street in the capital city, a pair of jade ruyi, a coral decoration, various pieces of gold and silver jewelry, and abundant quantities of fine silks and satins. Let it be so!"

Ruo Xuan didn’t fully understand what it meant to be granted a fief or its implications, but she guessed that from then on, the entire Shaxi County would belong to her, and thus she happily kowtowed with a loud thud, "Thank you, the Emperor! Your Imperial grace is boundless and profound! Long live, long live, forever live!"

She couldn’t wait for Eunuch Pan to say, "Princess Wuyou, heed the decree," so she spontaneously raised her hands high.

Eunuch Pan, amused and reverently, placed the imperial edict in Ruo Xuan’s hands and then helped her up, "Princess Wuyou, please rise."

Must her small knees be aching? The way she knelt down so forcefully just now, he could feel the pain.

They say that Princess Wuyou truly is Xuanyuan Country’s blessing!

The Ruo Family has successively harvested rice with a yield of a thousand catties per mu, improving with each season! The autumn rice yielded more than one thousand five hundred catties per mu.

You should know that a yield of one thousand five hundred catties of rice per mu during the summer and autumn harvests is considered a much greater achievement than producing a third-season crop!

Why? Because the third-season rice is only suitable to be cultivated in parts of Shengping Prefecture, but autumn rice can be grown throughout the entire Xuanyuan Country!

A yield of one thousand five hundred catties of rice per mu for just one season is equivalent to growing for three seasons, and apart from a few northern areas where only one crop of rice or wheat can be grown, most of the country can harvest two seasons: one of rice and one of winter wheat.

Now, a single season’s yield of rice can reach one thousand five hundred catties per mu.

With such a yield, the common people can have rice for every meal, with white flour buns as treats!

With such yields, as long as there aren’t famines lasting three years or more, it will be hard for the people of Xuanyuan Country to go hungry!

After all, Xuanyuan Country is vast and rich in resources, and although it has a large population, almost every family is guaranteed to have two or three acres of land to cultivate. Industrious families with many members might even lease a few acres more; henceforth, there will be no shortage of surplus grain.

Therefore, Princess Wuyou truly resolved a great dilemma for the Emperor and solved a big problem for the people of the world.

No wonder the Emperor was willing to bestow Shaxi County to her as a fief, an honor no other commandery princess has had since the founding of Xuanyuan Country.

After the decree was pronounced, Eunuch Pan was invited to dine and have tea at the Ruo Family. This time he did not decline, thinking the Ruo Family might very well skyrocket to prominence, and it was important for him to nurture a good relationship with them.

In fact, Eunuch Pan seldom made efforts to bond with officials; his position was not suited for getting too close to ministers, but the Ruo Family was different.

His family was so poor with too many mouths to feed and no food left to eat, he was nearly starving to death when he volunteered to enter the palace as a eunuch. If there had been rice yields of a thousand catties per mu back then, perhaps his life would have been different.

Eunuch Pan left to report to the Empress Dowager and the young master only after lunch, and then he had to make a trip to the military camp.

The Ruo Family was soon enveloped in the warm blessings of the villagers after Eunuch Pan’s departure.