The widow becomes a fairy, and the time-traveling girl counterattacks and becomes the queen

After hearing the imperial decree, Wang Xinyao was stunned and kept muttering in her heart: "Oh my God, this is gold, and it's a thousand taels of gold. If it were placed in modern times, how much money would it be worth?" She never dreamed that in addition to obtaining the status of imperial merchant, the emperor would also give her such a generous reward.

The surrounding villagers were also stunned, and none of them could believe what was happening before their eyes.

At this time, Luo Qing walked over to Wang Xinyao with a smile and said softly, "Miss Wang, this is a great joyous event! You should accept the order as soon as possible."

Wang Xinyao finally woke up from her dream and kowtowed to express her gratitude: "Thank you, Lord, for your grace!" Then, she carefully took the imperial edict.

"Everyone, get up!" Eunuch Xu looked at everyone and said with a smile. Then he turned around and ordered the guards around him, "Bring in the things the emperor has given us."

Following his order, the well-trained and burly guards, in groups of two, lifted the heavy box and walked slowly into the yard with neat and rhythmic steps.

Had the villagers ever witnessed such a spectacular spectacle? They were stunned, their mouths agape, speechless. Then, those who had come to their senses crowded around the courtyard gate, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks to peer inside. Their eyes, wide as bells, were filled with curiosity and amazement. They whispered to each other, discussing in hushed tones.

At this moment, a majestic guard walked up to the crowd and suddenly shouted, "Everyone who is not necessary, leave!"

The roar resonated like thunder, startling the villagers who had been watching the excitement. As they recovered, they took off like frightened rabbits. They ran so fast that they vanished in the blink of an eye. After all, facing the palace guards, they were both astonished and terrified.

After all the items were neatly arranged in a certain order, Eunuch Xu, who had been standing nearby, coughed twice, cleared his throat, then took a step forward and spoke again: "Miss Wang, these are rewards from the emperor. Please be sure to accept them." His tone was respectful and gentle, with a flattering smile on his face.

"Thank you, eunuch, and thank you, Lord Luo. Please come in!" Wang Xinyao could hardly hide her joy, but she still forced herself to suppress her emotions and made an inviting gesture with a respectful look on her face.

Then, she turned around and said to Li Cuihua and the others, "You gentlemen, you've worked hard on this journey. You can take a break first. Sister Cuihua, please prepare some food. Remember to make stir-fried pork with mushrooms, and make more of the other dishes. Dahua, go pour tea for the gentlemen. Erhua, take your sisters and bring out some snacks from home for the gentlemen to taste!"

After Wang Xinyao arranged everyone's tasks in an orderly manner, she led Eunuch Xu and Luo Qing into the hall, personally made tea for them, and took out some chestnuts.

At this moment, Eunuch Xu's eyes sparkled with excitement. It turned out that this Eunuch Xu was the eunuch who had previously served the Emperor. He had witnessed the Empress Dowager and the Emperor eating these chestnuts, and the mere smell of the chestnuts had already made him salivate with greed. Because the well salt law was of great significance and concerned the nation's livelihood, the Emperor had specially dispatched him to handle this matter.

Eunuch Xu and Luo Qing eagerly began to shell and savor the chestnuts. They ate so hastily that they nearly choked. They quickly took a few sips of tea before catching their breath. As soon as they drank the tea, their fatigue from the journey vanished, leaving a sweet, refreshing taste that left a lasting impression.

"What a great tea!" Eunuch Xu and Luo Qing praised in unison, then smiled at each other.

Then, Eunuch Xu licked his lips in satisfaction and said with emotion, "These chestnuts are really fragrant and sweet. Miss Wang, how many do you have at home? I'll buy them all!"

When Luo Qing heard this, he quickly said, "Yes, Miss Wang, do you have any more? I want to buy some too." He thought to himself that he couldn't let Eunuch Xu buy all the chestnuts.

Wang Xinyao quickly smiled and said, "Father-in-law, you are too polite. These chestnuts were picked up by me in the mountains before. They are really not worth much. If you and the adults like to eat them, just take some away." After that, she pretended to go back to the house, but actually entered the space and took out two large bags full of chestnuts. It was estimated that each bag weighed at least 20 kilograms, and then placed them in front of Eunuch Xu and Luo Qing respectively.

Eunuch Xu deliberately declined, saying, "Oh, Miss Wang, this is so embarrassing! Chestnuts are so precious!"

"I never thought that I could harvest so many chestnuts when I came here with my father-in-law. This is really a big profit. Thank you so much, Miss Wang!" Luo Qing's face was filled with uncontrollable joy, and he had no intention of being distant with Wang Xinyao.

Before he finished speaking, Luo Qing quickly reached out to take the bag full of chestnuts, then turned around and called the guards beside him, and ordered: "Quickly take these chestnuts and put them away!"

Afterward, everyone engaged in a conversation about the saltworks workshop. Luo Qing enthusiastically introduced it to Wang Xinyao, "Miss Wang, our saltworks covers a full 300 mu (approximately 1,000 acres)! Construction has already begun according to the blueprints you meticulously laid out. Everything is progressing very smoothly. Barring any unexpected problems, we expect it to be completed by the end of the year. Once the site is complete, we can immediately begin production!"

The three of them continued to discuss in depth the details of the salt field, and the atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

At this moment, Eunuch Xu, who had been listening silently, suddenly asked, "Miss Wang, why are you the only women in the family?"

Wang Xinyao was stunned for a moment, then immediately said, "My husband took my brother out hunting, and they usually don't come back until dark!"

"Greetings, father-in-law, greetings, sir." At this time, Li Cuihua came in: "Sister Xinyao, the food is ready, you can eat now."

"Okay, Sister Cuihua, bring all the dishes here. Don't forget to entertain the officials outside!" Wang Xinyao ordered immediately.

"Eunuch, Lord Luo, let's go have dinner first." Wang Xinyao said respectfully.

The dishes were served quickly. The three of them came to the table, which was filled with sumptuous dishes. Eunuch Xu nodded with satisfaction, "It seems that the food here is good, Miss Wang."

"Thank you for your compliment, sir. These are all home-cooked dishes. I hope you and the adults don't mind." Wang Xinyao said.

At this time, Luo Qingke had no time to chat with them. He picked up the chopsticks and picked up the fried meat and mushrooms, and then ate it in big mouthfuls.

Eunuch Xu was a little surprised to see him eating like this. Was this still the Lord Luo he knew before? As far as he knew, Lord Luo was an extremely picky eater.

So he picked up a piece of mushroom and put it in his mouth. After taking a bite, he thought to himself, "This tastes delicious and fresh. It's really delicious. Even when he was tasting food for the emperor, he had never tasted anything as delicious as this. It's definitely much better than the food in the palace."

So, he stopped talking and competed with Luo Qing to see who could eat the most. And the officials who were eating outside the courtyard kept saying, "Delicious, delicious, I've never eaten such delicious food!"

After the meal, all the guests were satisfied, their faces filled with happy smiles. At the table, there was constant laughter and the atmosphere was extremely harmonious.

When everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Eunuch Xu looked up at the sky, estimated the time, and said with a smile, "Oh, this meal was truly enjoyable! However, since the imperial edict has been read, we can't disturb them any longer. We must hurry back to the palace to report to the emperor."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xinyao quickly stood up and responded respectfully, "Thank you, Eunuch, for taking the trouble to come and announce the decree. I also want to thank Lord Luo for accompanying me all the way. Eunuch and Lord, please wait a moment!" After saying this, she turned and walked towards the kitchen. A moment later, she returned with two small cloth bags, handing them to Eunuch Xu and Lord Luo respectively. She continued, "These two small bags are filled with fresh mushrooms that I grew myself. They are delicious. I hope you can take them back to the palace to try them."

Seeing this, Eunuch Xu's eyes flashed with surprise, and he hurriedly reached out to take the mushroom bag. He was so happy at this moment. He had originally considered pretending to decline, just to be polite, but then he thought, what if he was too polite and Wang Xinyao really didn't give him any? Wouldn't that be a big loss? So, he simply nodded in thanks without even saying a word of courtesy.

Luo Qing, standing nearby, was equally excited. He clutched the mushroom bag tightly in his hands, as if he had found some rare treasure. He thought to himself, "I'll definitely find opportunities to come here more often. It'll allow me to avoid Ouyang Ping during my work break, and I can still enjoy Wang Xinyao's delicious food. Why not?" At this thought, he couldn't help but smile slyly.

Wang Xinyao watched the group walk away until they disappeared from her sight. Unable to contain her excitement, she rushed to the 1,000 taels of gold like an arrow.

Several little girls were staring at the golden gold with wide eyes, showing an expression of disbelief as if they had seen a rare treasure.

"My dear, my dear, is this really gold?"

Li Cuihua was also genuinely happy for Wang Xinyao. Her life today was a world away from her past. She once worried daily about food and clothing, was poorly clothed, and often endured beatings and scolding from Mrs. Xie. Now, she only needed to care for the children and run the household. Not only did she have delicious white rice to eat, but Wang Xinyao also made her and her children many new clothes. She gazed with gratitude at this younger woman, who had saved her life like an angel.