Being enfeoffed as marquis as a woman—this was truly a rare occurrence. Add to that its connection to people’s livelihood, and even more people discussed it.

For a time, the three characters “Marquis Dingfeng” could be heard everywhere throughout the capital.

Anyone who didn’t know about it was either someone who had just arrived from outside the city or someone naturally reclusive who didn’t interact with others.

Because many people had confirmed the authenticity of the improved varieties, many worshipped this marquis. But equally, quite a few people couldn’t get past that threshold in their hearts—she was an anomaly, which made them indignantly resentful.

Women should uphold womanly virtues, support their husbands and educate their children in the inner chambers. What was this now?

Moreover, such great merit going to a woman when they, as men, had none—waves of bitterness surged in their hearts.

Looking for something to criticize, as for a woman’s duty to support her husband and educate her children, there shouldn’t be anything to fault there. Minister Lin had already reached the position of minister, and his children were all accomplished. So they dug further back.

Some people pointed fingers at Marquis Dingfeng’s past experiences.

“This Yun family coveted wealth and glory, selling their daughter to seek honor by sending her over as a concubine.”

“Exactly! This Father Yun was just a minor scholar before, and now he’s a county magistrate of a major county. Both his sons are officials at court.”

“Even his collateral branch brothers are all official families now.”

“Must be Minister Lin who helped them. Who knows how many favors were used up. The world is declining, people’s hearts aren’t what they used to be.”

At this time, they all ignored the academic achievements the Yun family members possessed.

Even Father Yun and Yun Chang both held the rank of Provincial Graduate, qualifying them to serve as officials, not to mention that the brothers Yun Heng and Yun Yan were both properly examination-passed Advanced Scholars.

Even with someone’s help, with ten thousand people crossing a single-log bridge, it still required their own effort.

“The credit this time should mainly belong to Minister Lin. Who knows how she bewitched the Minister—over all these years, the Lin household only has her son. She must be a jealous and formidable woman who also controls the Minister, making him give such great credit to her.”

“Brother, your words make sense!”

As if what they said was truth, and that uncomfortable feeling in their hearts would fade somewhat.

However, most people didn’t believe such rhetoric.

“That would be the crime of deceiving the monarch—who would dare?”

With these words, those people could only stammer and stutter.

“…Then—then it was just dog-shit luck!”

In any case, getting these people to acknowledge Marquis Dingfeng’s capability and competence was impossible.

These sour words were only spoken when those people gathered to gossip, venting a bit. If you actually asked them to openly and boldly express any opinions, they didn’t dare.

Ultimately, they just couldn’t stand seeing others do well and lacked verbal virtue.

Those holding this sour attitude included not only commoners but also some powerful and prestigious nobles.

For instance, Imperial Concubine De greatly regretted it. This was the first time she regretted to this degree—why didn’t she betroth that Lin girl to Fourteenth Prince back then?

Why did she hesitate? And then choose to give up?

Imperial Concubine De understood very well how much importance the Emperor placed on agricultural matters. This time, the Lin family and Marquis Dingfeng were in the limelight, their prominence unmatched in the capital, and even Fourth Prince benefited considerably.

This was such a waste. Imperial Concubine De felt it was a pity.

If Fourteenth Prince could have such an in-law connection, his chances of seizing that throne could increase somewhat.

Conversely, Fourth Prince had offended so many people that his chances of seizing that throne were very small. It would be better to give the opportunity to his younger brother. That way, when Fourteenth Prince ascended, as blood brothers, Fourth Prince wouldn’t have bad days either.

If even Imperial Concubine De lamented over this matter, let alone the other princes participating in the succession struggle.

Fourth Prince’s luck… was truly good! Because of this matter, even his reputation had improved considerably.

In Prince Yong’s household, Hongshi also felt the pressure. This fourth younger brother of his was superior to him in studies, and now his maternal family had risen further. Although he himself was the eldest, could he still become the heir apparent in the future?

This was also what Ce Fujin Li worried about, so she couldn’t sit still and went to find the Fujin to discuss how to respond.

If there was really no other way, Li Shi was even willing to have her son recorded under the Fujin’s name. That way, no matter how outstanding Fourth Prince’s son Hongli was, the one inheriting the princely title would still be her son!

The Fourth Fujin was also worried. With this matter, Ce Fujin Lin’s influence would rise again. Seeing Li Shi come to her, the Fourth Fujin finally showed a smile. She wasn’t fighting alone.

She had no sons, but she still had Yahui, and still had Hongshi.

The advantage was still on their side!

Unlike these people’s regrets and vexation, Yun Qingliang and Song Shi rushed toward the capital the entire way while holding enormous excitement and joy.

They weren’t young anymore, but at this time, the hardships of travel and lodging were all cast to the back of their minds. They couldn’t wait to see their daughter, couldn’t wait to hear this good news directly from her mouth with their own ears.

It was really too exciting—they couldn’t help but be excited.

Upon arriving at the Lin household, Yun Qingliang and Song Shi stared at the plaque for quite a while before going inside.

Yun Shuyao was already waiting for them: “Father, Mother, you’ve worked hard on your journey.”

Seeing their travel-worn appearance, she knew they hadn’t rested much along the way.

Yun Qingliang and Song Shi’s return this time was different from before. Now they were the Lin family’s in-laws, Minister Lin was their son-in-law, and the attitude was much more respectful than before. When Old Madam Lin saw them, she was also very polite and congratulated them on raising such a good daughter.

Only after returning to their daughter’s courtyard and sitting down on stools did they feel like they had walked down from the clouds and were back on solid ground.

Song Shi grasped her daughter’s hand, unable to look enough: “Shuyao, I was anxious the whole journey. Now I feel better. I’m relieved. Mother is proud of you!”

Yun Qingliang was also quite moved, never imagining there would be such a day: “My qualifications are mediocre. Now I’ve also benefited from my daughter’s glory. Presumably in the future, my name will appear in unofficial histories.” As for his daughter, needless to say, she would definitely be recorded in history, and unofficial histories would have many versions passed down.

Whether viewed from the perspective of being enfeoffed as a woman or from the merit of increasing grain production, no one would forget her!

Then Yun Qingliang went to the main gate and looked at the plaque again and again, unable to look enough.

Looking with him were other common people or idle folk who had passed by to verify some rumors. Someone even took the initiative to interject: “Magistrate Yun, you’ve raised a good daughter!”

Yun Qingliang didn’t know how this person knew his identity. Hearing this, he wanted to be more reserved, but unfortunately the arc on his face couldn’t be suppressed at all. His whole person was radiant with vigor, naturally glowing red.

His voice unconsciously grew louder: “Hahaha, I didn’t do anything. She became accomplished all on her own. Hahaha!”

He stayed at the gate for a long time, even taking the initiative to chat with people. After talking for quite a while, he went back into the household.

Song Shi and their daughter had already finished a round of conversation. Seeing him come in, she smiled: “Had enough of looking?”

Yun Qingliang coughed lightly: “Someone outside was making conversation. I just chatted with them for a few sentences.”

Listening to them praise his daughter—he truly never tired of hearing it. And by the way, praising himself a bit too, his mood became even better.

Yun Qingliang looked at his daughter and smiled: “After this term ends, I want to retire.”

Having served as an official outside these years, Yun Qingliang believed he hadn’t wasted his time. There were compromises and struggles, but he had genuinely done things for the common people. Now in this final term, after promoting the improved varieties, he could retire with peace of mind and spend some time with family while he still had the chance.

Yun Shuyao also agreed. He had reached the age when he could retire. These years, he and his two younger brothers had been together less and apart more. After retiring, he could still enjoy a few years of playing with his grandchildren.

Seeing that she also agreed, Yun Qingliang became even more determined. Then Yun Shuyao took them to the fields to see the wheat—seeing with their own eyes.

After they had seen the plaque, their anxious hearts had returned to their proper place, but after seeing the wheat, they were completely at ease: “Alright, I can’t be away too long on my end. I’ll head back first. We’ll gather again next time!”

Yun Shuyao gave him some new talismans to replace the old ones: “Father, give me the old talisman and put on the new one. Same as always—keep it close to your body.”

Yun Qingliang nodded, indicating he understood.

They left, and then Tang Wanxin returned with her daughter, Sister Xi. Chen Yu also had to return to the capital to report on his work, but he had to first properly hand over matters to his successor before he could return, so now he was a step behind.

Tang Wanxin had already digested her shocked emotions during the journey. Now back home, the look she gave her mother-in-law was full of admiration. As family, she knew her mother-in-law loved planting flowers and plants, and also liked growing vegetables. In such an elegant place as the Lin household, many corners had been planted with vegetables by her. It was completely sufficient to cover the masters’ consumption. She also knew she often went to the estate and would research those grain crops, but she truly hadn’t imagined she could research her way to such fame!

And could increase yields by so much!

This wasn’t just wheat—that composting method had very strong general applicability, useful for almost all crops. If you calculated it all, how much could ultimately be increased in production?

Wheat couldn’t be planted everywhere, but fertilizer could basically be used everywhere!

So her mother-in-law was enfeoffed as marquis. Although this title wasn’t an iron-cap rank that remained unchanged through generations—when her husband inherited it, it would drop one level—it still gave them a much better starting point than the vast majority of people.

When it passed to Yuan’er, there would still be a title!

This way, even if he couldn’t study, the Lin family wouldn’t decline for quite some time!

This was truly an unexpected outcome.

“Madam, your daughter-in-law congratulates you on your ennoblement!”

Tang Wanxin initially appeared somewhat constrained, but upon discovering that her mother-in-law’s attitude was no different from before, she also breathed a sigh of relief.

Yun Shuyao smiled: “Wanxin, don’t be so formal with me. Our family is still the same. Did Chen Yu say when he’s departing?”

Tang Wanxin also smiled and mentally calculated the days: “Probably ten days to half a month after me.”

Yun Shuyao nodded: “Good. Sister Xi, come, do you know who I am? Do you know who this is? This is your older brother…”

This news would be slower to reach outlying areas, but not by much. For those with connections in the capital, they would only know about this matter one step later.

In Nanying, Lin Daiyu heard this news and was happy for her, also happy for her natal family. This was a good thing. Although the person called Madam was no longer only her birth mother, she was the Lin family’s daughter and naturally hoped the Lin family would get better and better.

She touched her somewhat protruding abdomen. She was already pregnant, just over three months, and had just written a letter to inform her natal family.

Now she picked up her brush again, asking if there were still seeds. Among her properties were quite a few estates. If there were seeds, she would also switch to these improved varieties.

Lin Daiyu believed that the more thoroughly they were promoted and the more common people benefited, the higher the reputation of both Madam and the Lin family could rise together.

This was what won people’s hearts.

Of course, she couldn’t help but first mention the Emperor’s great benevolence.

Upon receiving this letter from Daiyu, the Old Madam immediately smiled. The more she smiled, the louder it became. The Lin family had a noble title, her grandson was returning to the capital to report on his work, and now her little granddaughter was also pregnant and about to become a mother.

Joyous events! All joyous events!

There probably wouldn’t be any more joyous events that could make her so delighted. Thinking of this, the smile on the Old Madam’s face slowly faded as she looked toward the direction of the Jia household.

No, there still were some.

One was that Grandmother Jia hadn’t died yet, and the other was that Prince Yong hadn’t ascended the throne yet.

If she could hear these two pieces of good news before dying, she would die without regrets!