The forest had always been guarded by constables, so it remained undamaged in the later period.
Now that the imperial troops had arrived, the constables had all withdrawn.
Gu Mingyan patrolled the agarwood forest for a moment, his handsome face filled with gloom.
"Hmph, that old scoundrel, Prime Minister Du, has done so much evil, his sins are overflowing."
Such a fine forest, and they just cut it down.
It was said that agarwood trees were very delicate species, and the imperial court had even tried to cultivate them artificially, all ending in failure...
This type of tree rarely grew in the northern regions. Now that this forest had been discovered in the area of Camel Mountain, it should be well protected.
But Prime Minister Du was indecisive and greedy for wealth, almost completely felling the entire forest.
"Someone!"
"Here!~"
Gu Mingyan narrowed his eyes and ordered, "Immediately build a fence around this forest, and build a house. Leave two soldiers to guard here!~"
As he finished speaking, Gu Mingyan's eyes were filled with killing intent, "Whoever dares to step into the agarwood forest again, kill without mercy!"
"Yes, sir!"
Now that the imperial troops had taken over this forest, Magistrate Chen and Prefect Qin no longer had to worry about it...
Kong Xingzhuo asked, "Marquis Gu, the young prince is currently in Dashui Village. Do you want to go see him?"
Although their master didn't say it, he actually missed his uncle very much.
When he was in the palace, his maternal grandfather and uncle treated him the best.
After being separated for several years, Gu Mingyan was using the excuse of protecting the agarwood forest to come to Dashui Village, so how could he not see him?
"I will visit him later," Gu Mingyan said indifferently.
Kong Xingzhuo responded and hurried down the mountain.
Accompanying Gu Mingyan this time was a subordinate official.
His surname was Wu, and he was dark-skinned, tall, and strong.
"Where are the people from the Yun family? Come over, I have something to say!~" Official Wu stood at the entrance of the Yun family's house and shouted loudly.
Madam Gu came out and looked at Official Wu's attire. Judging by his appearance, his rank seemed even higher than Prefect Qin's.
She then asked, "May I ask what is the matter?"
Official Wu smiled and said, "Your Yun family has made a contribution. The Emperor has specially bestowed a plaque. Look, it's in the carriage!~"
"Ah?" Madam Gu was a little stunned.
She paused for a moment and quickly instructed Hu Xier, "Hurry and call everyone back from the lakeside!~"
"Yes!"
Hu Xier dashed towards Gougou Lake.
Official Wu puffed out his chest, "This plaque is mainly a reward for your youngest daughter, Yun Xitian, for her merits in driving away the rat plague and designing the waterwheel."
"For benefiting the common people and making great contributions to the Great Liang Dynasty, your family is honored by her!~"
Madam Gu naturally knew her youngest daughter's abilities...
But she didn't expect this matter to alarm the Emperor.
That was the Son of Heaven of the Great Liang Dynasty, whom common people could never see in their lifetime.
Now that the Emperor had personally bestowed a plaque, what an honor and good fortune this was.
"Thank you for making this trip, Official Wu!~" Madam Gu said with a smile.
She returned to the house, took out two silver ingots, and placed them in Official Wu's hand, "Keep this for tea on the road!~"
Official Wu did not find it little and accepted the silver directly.
After waiting for a moment, all the old and young members of the Yun family returned.
Not only that, but the old and young men of the village also rushed to watch the excitement upon hearing the commotion...
This was an imperial envoy, personally bestowing a reward upon the old Yun family. How could they miss such an event?
Old Man Yun was watering the fields. Upon hearing that his family had received a reward, he immediately dropped the bucket and hurried home.
Outside the Yun family's gate, there were heads everywhere, a sea of people, extremely lively.
Official Wu stood on the steps and waved his hand, "Bring the plaque up!~"
"Yes!"
Four subordinates responded and carried the plaque, covered with red cloth, down from the carriage.
"Hey, look quickly, that plaque looks heavy. It's clearly made of fine wood."
"Of course, how could something bestowed by the Emperor be substandard?"
"This plaque, if sold, would be worth a lot of silver, wouldn't it?"
"Hmph, you greedy fellow, can this thing be sold? It's an honor for the old Yun family, meant to be passed down for generations."
"......"
The villagers chattered, craning their necks to look at the plaque.
They wondered what words were carved on it.
Official Wu scanned the crowd and asked, "Who is Yun Xitian?"
"She's here!~" Yun Jinshan shouted.
He ran back carrying his little aunt.
There was no way, little Xitian's legs were too short to run fast, so she had to be carried back by her second nephew!
Official Wu looked closely and saw a young man carrying a very pink and tender little dumpling.
She had such thick eyebrows and big eyes, was full of cuteness, and was incredibly adorable...
Official Wu gasped.
Could there really be such an exquisite doll in this world?
She was truly lovable.
He didn't particularly like children before, but after seeing little Xitian today, he decided to ask his wife to have another daughter when he returned.
Even if she couldn't give birth, he would adopt one.
Madam Xue and Madam Huang also came out to watch the excitement. Prefect Qin met Official Wu and then went back to his office.
"Come here to me!~" Official Wu beckoned to little Xitian.
Only he was on the steps. No one else was allowed to come up when he hadn't called them.
Only little Xitian had this honor...
Yun Jinshan put his little aunt down and smiled, "Auntie, you're amazing!~"
The whole family is proud of you.
Little Xitian took small steps, followed by four dogs, and stepped onto the platform.
"Hello, Uncle!~" she said politely and bowed.
Official Wu's heart was about to melt. He took little Xitian's hand and brought her to the plaque placed on the table.
He smiled and said, "You have made great contributions to the court. This red cloth should be unveiled by you!~"
Little Xitian was also very curious about what words were carved on the plaque.
She stood on tiptoe, grabbed a corner of the red cloth with both hands, and pulled the cloth off.
Four golden characters shone brightly in the sunlight.
A Glorious Family!
"Ah! My eyes!~"
Du Laosan covered his eyes and exaggerated, "These big characters are so shiny, my eyes are almost blinded!"
Huang Xiangyun couldn't help but chuckle and pinched him hard, "Shut up, why don't you get blinded to death!~"
The villagers burst into laughter.
Old Man Yun took Madam Gu's hand, so excited that he almost shed tears...
Da Man and Er Man also puffed out their chests. Their old Yun family was now a 'Glorious Family' personally conferred by the Emperor.
Let's see who would dare to act superior to them in the future.
Liu Cuirong's eyes widened, feeling as if she were dreaming and it wasn't real.
It seemed she was right to marry Er Man back then.
This Yun family was truly blessed and lucky.
Since fleeing to Dashui Village, the Yun family seemed to have had no bad luck.
This was all thanks to little Sweetie.
Official Wu smiled and said, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and hang the plaque!~"
"Okay, okay, hang it up..."