Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 1332 The Empress Dowager's Second Trip to Tong'an County

When Wang Guangjin and Wei Que were in the cotton fields of Ximi Prefecture, they met an old lady.

The old lady exuded an air of authority, clearly from a wealthy and noble family. While Wang Guangjin was still secretly guessing the old lady's identity, he saw Wei Que's knees buckle and he knelt down without hesitation.

He was both surprised and bewildered, not understanding why, but he still knelt down after Wei Que.

Dan heard Wei Que say, "Wei Que, Deputy Commander of the Grand Canal Transport Office, greets Your Majesty the Empress Dowager!"

Wang Guangjin fainted on the spot.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already lying on the couch in the inn. Not far away, he could hear the old lady and Wei Que talking: "The New Year will be here in a few months. I'll just hitch a ride with you and go back to Tong'an County together."

Did you travel back to Tongan County by cargo boat with the Empress Dowager?

Upon imagining that scene, Wang Guangjin's eyes rolled back, and he fainted again.

......

Shen Zheng never imagined that the Empress Dowager would visit Tong'an County a second time.

When they saw that figure on the street adorned with red silk, she and Yu Shizhang were both momentarily stunned, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty..."

"Lord Shen, Earl of Yongning," the Empress Dowager interrupted them with a smile, "My surname is Cang, not 'Chen'."

Yu Shizhang reacted faster than Shen Zheng and immediately changed his words: "Greetings, Madam Cang. I was unaware of your arrival and have failed to greet you properly. I hope you will forgive me."

"I have come uninvited, what crime have you committed?" The Empress Dowager smiled and took Shen Zheng's hand, but her gaze was suddenly drawn to a little girl behind Shen Zheng, and even her smile faded a bit: "Cui family girl, what are you doing here?"

The impression this little girl left on her was not very good.

Twisted, pretentious, and unable to distinguish right from wrong, he's a beautiful bumbling fool.

Cui Jinyin was so frightened that she lost her mind and stood there stiffly, unable to utter a single word.

Seeing this, the Empress Dowager's expression darkened further, and she frowned as she asked Shen Zheng, "Did that old man from the Cui family slip this over?"

"Old...old thing?" Shen Zheng repeated subconsciously.

She knew the Empress Dowager disliked Prime Minister Cui, but such a direct address still startled her.

The Empress Dowager nodded and asked, "What did he use to threaten you? The warrant for your appointment? Or something else?"

Before Shen Zheng could answer, she frowned again: "Fine, whatever method they use, I'll have Wei Que send this girl back to the capital."

Back to Beijing? !

Cui Jinyin felt like her world was collapsing.

Knowing that the truth was not what the Empress Dowager thought, she couldn't utter a single word of explanation under the Empress Dowager's imposing presence.

Just as the Empress Dowager raised her hand, Shen Zheng quickly pulled her to her side and led her to bow, saying, "Madam, you have misunderstood. It was this junior who brought Jinyin back on her own initiative, not because she was threatened."

The Empress Dowager was slightly surprised, her gaze sweeping over them: "You took the initiative?"

Shen Zheng nodded, secretly grasping Cui Jinyin's trembling hand, her tone earnest: "Madam, today is the wedding day of the innkeeper Manniang and the county school teacher Wei Jing. I would like to ask that you do me the honor of joining me in the Wei residence for a cup of wedding wine. As for Jinyin's matter... there are still some hidden details. I will explain them to you in detail once we are inside and in a quiet place. What do you think?"

Seeing Shen Zheng's protective manner, the Empress Dowager seemed to have guessed something.

Her gaze swept over Cui Jinyin's face again, and her tone softened slightly: "Then I'll listen to you. I heard that you are the officiant for this wedding, and I also wanted to come and share in the joy."

Shen Zheng was slightly surprised.

The Empress Dowager... she really came to the wedding?

Coming to her senses, she and Yu Shizhang led the way, one on each side: "This way, Madam."

The surrounding people were secretly alarmed and began to discuss the matter.

"Just who is this old lady? Even Lord Shen and the Earl treat her with such respect!"

"Could they be a member of the royal family?"

"Impossible! Would royalty come to a commoner's wedding? I think... it's probably just some noblewoman of a higher generation!"

Many people nodded in agreement after this was said.

Under the watchful eyes of countless curious gazes, the Empress Dowager stepped onto the steps of the Wei residence.

Granny Chang took the prepared congratulatory gift from the maid Huang Jin and handed it to Mr. Wei with both hands, saying, "Master Wei, my old lady heard that there is a happy occasion in your family today, so she came with Lord Shen to have a drink at the wedding. This is a small gift to wish the two newlyweds a long and happy marriage, and all the best in the future."

Just looking at this scene, Wei's father was so frightened that he didn't know what to do.

He has been in business for many years and has met many respectable people.

But such a graceful and dignified old lady was the only one he had ever seen in his life.

Not to mention... Lord Shen and the Earl of Yongning both treated this old lady with utmost respect. Even if he were simple-minded, he could guess that this old lady was of extraordinary status, either a member of the imperial family or a first-rank imperial consort.

For someone of such status to come and have a drink at his wedding is already an honor; how could he dare to accept any gifts?

Thinking it over, he bowed and waved his hand, "It is already a great blessing for my family that the old lady has graced us with her presence. This gift... I cannot accept it."

“Please accept this gift, Master Wei.” Granny Chang pushed the wooden box forward. “This gift was prepared in a hurry and is not a very generous one. It is just a small token of the old lady’s good wishes for a happy marriage.”

“This…” Wei’s father looked at Shen Zheng with a look of fear and pleading.

Shen Zheng had not expected that the Empress Dowager would prepare a congratulatory gift.

But as Granny Chang said, wedding gifts are meant to bring good fortune and joy. If the Empress Dowager hadn't wanted to send them, this whole thing wouldn't have happened.

Since the Empress Dowager has already prepared the gifts, it would be pointless for the two sides to keep passing the gifts back and forth.

"Please accept it," she gestured to Wei's father. "It's also a token of the old lady's goodwill."

Upon hearing this, Wei's father knew that further refusal would be impolite, so he extended his trembling hand and accepted the wooden box, saying, "Thank you so much for your kindness, Madam! On behalf of my son and daughter-in-law, I thank you for your good wishes!"

The Empress Dowager nodded, her gaze sweeping over the red silk "double happiness" character in the courtyard, and said, "Let's go, Zheng'er, find a quiet place and have a chat with me."

Shen Zheng paused in her steps.

Why do all these older folks love to call her "Zheng'er"...?

......

Two quarters of an hour later, outside the flower hall.

After secretly observing the people in the hall for more than a moment, Ba Lezhan approached Fang Ziyan with a heart full of doubts.

Fang Ziyan was squatting between two potted plants, eating peanuts.

Ba Lezhan squatted down in front of him: "Little Yan, how do you think Uncle Ba treats you?"

Fang Ziyan swallowed the peanut, pondered for a moment, and then said honestly, "It's so-so."

"Huh?" Balezhan thought he had misheard. "W-what did you say?"

Fang Ziyan cracked open another peanut and repeated, "I said, Uncle Ba, you treat me just as well as Lord Shen, not as well as my master and Zhao Qi, and not as well as my father and older brother..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Ba Lezhan couldn't stand it anymore and forced a smile, "Uncle Ba means that we shouldn't compare ourselves with Lord Shen and the others."

Fang Ziyan pondered for a moment longer.

"That's just average."

Balezhan Xizi clutched her heart, "Little Yan, you..."

"Uncle Ba, what exactly do you want to ask?" Fang Ziyan shook the peanut shells off his clothes. "Just tell me what you want to ask."

Ba Lezhan was suddenly taken aback.

A moment later, he was shocked to realize that the person in front of him had undergone a complete transformation compared to two years ago.