Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family-Chapter 998 - Return home in glory (Part 4)
Chapter 998 -998: Return home in glory! (Part 4)
Chapter 998 -998: Return home in glory! (Part 4)
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After resting for two days and rearranging their belongings, leaving the desolate Gongzhou City to Prince Luo, Di Yelei led his entourage, grandiosely heading towards Macheng County.
The distance from Gongzhou City to Macheng County was not far, and by early morning the next day, they had reached the outskirts of the county town of Macheng.
At the moment, Macheng County was festooned with lanterns and streamers, and the Magistrate of Macheng County had been eagerly awaiting their arrival. As their caravan of carriages approached the city gate, the Magistrate had already been eagerly awaiting them.
From a distance, the Magistrate of Macheng County approached and bowed deeply in respect.
“Zhu Guang, the Magistrate of Macheng County, along with the elders and villagers from home, greets Princess Ruyu, long may you live! Greetings to Marquis Yongping!”
That Macheng County had once again changed its County Magistrate made Liu Sisi feel particularly sentimental.
She lifted the curtain and, with Di Yelei’s personal assistance, led everyone out of the carriage: “Everyone, please rise quickly, dispense with the formalities!”
“Thank you, Princess Ruyu! Thank you, Marquis Yongping!”
Only after everyone had stood back up did Di Yelei begin to speak with emotion, “It has been exactly seven years and eight months since I left home. Today, I, the Marquis, have finally returned to my native land! They say it’s hard to leave your homeland, what’s hard to leave is the affection for your hometown, the people there, and the scenery of every plant, bush, tree, and flower. Despite traveling thousands of miles afar, when you look back suddenly, it’s always best at home!”
The more Di Yelei spoke, the more stirring his words became, moving the welcoming crowd to repeatedly wipe away their tears.
Liu Sisi’s gaze fell upon an old man with white at his temples standing behind the County Magistrate, and she inquired with a smile.
“It turns out to be the Grand Scholar. It has been several years since we last met. You still seem as hale and hearty as ever.”
Back in the day, His Majesty had sent the Grand Scholar from the bustling Capital City to this desolate and barren land. To claim he had no grievances would certainly be false. But as the imperial edict was difficult to disobey, he had to accept the decree and come here, coincidentally meeting Liu Sisi and even making a bet with her to become an academy scholar.
The idea of leaving had originally crossed his mind, but it gradually faded as time went by, and instead, he settled down in Macheng County. When the whole of Gongzhou City was engulfed in turmoil, Macheng County turned out to be one of the few neighboring counties that suffered the least from the ravages of war.
The Grand Scholar was quite moved, and recalling his lofty statements from those days, his face flushed with a hot embarrassment.
“It’s all thanks to your blessings, Princess, that old me remains in good health.”
“That’s good to hear! Back then, you could have returned to the capital in glory, but you decided to stay here. Such magnanimity truly commands my respect…” Liu Sisi praised him for a while, expressing her deep respect for the Hanlin Academy scholar.
“Much appreciated, much appreciated, I am unworthy!”
A look of embarrassment appeared on his face, and any last bit of dissatisfaction vanished from his heart.
On the other hand, Zhu Guang, the Magistrate of Macheng County, was actively inviting the group.
“Princess Ruyu, Marquis, in the county government office, I have prepared a light meal to welcome and cleanse the dust from your journey. I hope everyone will move there.”
Di Yelei turned to glance at Liu Sisi and, in the end, firmly declined.
“I appreciate your kind offer, County Magistrate Zhu. However, it is still early today, and I am eager to return home. I prefer not to linger in the county town. When time permits, I will personally visit County Magistrate Zhu at the government office.”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Guang’s smile faded slightly, and he quickly thought of another idea.
“It is rare for the Marquis to visit, and although my position is humble, I hope to follow by your side and serve you in every possible way. I would like to accompany the Marquis to Upper Village.”
Having not returned home for several years and feeling quite unfamiliar, this time Di Yelei did not refuse.
“Then I will have to trouble you, Magistrate Zhu.”
The group boarded the carriages again and headed straight for Upper Village.
Liu Sisi and others sat inside the carriage, excitedly pointing at the views outside the window, while Di Yelei and Di Hongyuan, the two brothers, followed on horseback.
“`
The official road leading to Upper Village was especially wide, and at the moment, in early spring, the roadsides were abloom with vast expanses of bright yellow rape flowers, swaying and wafting bursts of refreshing fragrance with the breeze.
At the end of the endless fields of rape, there was a sea of pink flowers.
There, vividly blossoming plum and peach flowers decorated the midst of green mountains and blue waters, a beauty that seemed like a heavenly realm on earth.
The carriage slowly approached, passing through the center of this sea of flowers, entering from the west end of the small town, and then speeding out from the east. It didn’t stop in the town but headed directly for the old home.
The closer to home the passengers on the carriage became, the more silent they grew.
Even Chou Chou, who had been the noisiest along the way, quieted down and silently observed the scenery outside the carriage.
“Look over there! That wasteland covered with thatch used to be fertile land, but now it has turned into this,” Guihua was the first to speak from the carriage.
“Indeed! I remember both banks of this small stream were filled with paddy fields. When did they become overrun with brambles? It must have been years since anyone cultivated here, right?”
When these words were spoken, everyone fell even deeper into silence.
For the farmers who rely on the land for their livelihood, the land is their fundamental source of sustenance. The fact that the former fertile land had become overgrown with thorns probably meant that these lands’ owners hadn’t tended to them in many years.
County Magistrate Zhu, who followed closely behind Di Yelei, turned his head upon hearing this: “Princess, you are correct! These lands indeed haven’t been cultivated for many years. Although our Macheng County, compared to other counties where nine out of ten households are deserted, suffered the least damage, we still directly lost nearly half our population. This statistical data was still gathered after the eradication of the rebels and the settling of the civil strife, at the beginning of this year.”
Lost half the population?
What a shocking figure that was!
Crossing the river and ascending the hillside, Di Yelei spotted a familiar figure from a distance.
Overjoyed, he immediately leaped off his horse and hurriedly approached: “Uncle Land Officer…”
The one in the lead was none other than the village Land Officer. He had left the village even before the chaos of war broke out, and his sudden appearance before Di Yelei and the others was more than surprising.
“Old Master Marquis, you have returned…”
Uncle Land Officer was overwhelmed with emotion, about to kneel before Di Yelei, but Di Yelei quickly caught him and helped him steady himself.
“Uncle Land Officer, it’s me! Third Son Di has come back. Don’t you recognize me?”
“Di… Third Son Di has come back? Good, very good! That’s great, excellent!”
Land Officer was so excited he could hardly speak, grasping Di Yelei’s hand without a word for a long time.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t recognize Di Yelei, but that he dared not!
While Di Yelei and Land Officer were speaking, Liu Sisi and others also got off the carriage. Countless known and unknown fellow villagers came forward to greet everyone.
Liu Sisi greeted everyone with ease and openness.
Surrounded by the crowd, it took a full half an hour for the party to walk from the village entrance to the front of the Di family’s yard.
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