After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

In this situation, how could they possibly get such a vacancy? Was it a windfall? Or a trap?
For the two of them, this task was like a child carrying a treasure bowl – there was no joy, only anxiety and unease.

I finally made it to the end of my job.

The three hurriedly returned to the Yong'an Marquis's residence to discuss the matter with Liu Laosan.

“The magistrate of Liushuzhao County is Lu Tong, and the assistant magistrate is my uncle. The emperor appointed the two of us to replace him, but they were promoted?” Su Yongzhang was full of doubts.

Xiong Feng added, "How could such a position possibly fall to us?"

Liu Laosan shook his head contentedly, "You guys are supposed to be smart, but sometimes you're as stupid as pigs! You all know that Zhaohua County is a hot commodity, how could the Emperor not know that?"

The Emperor knows exactly what kind of people want to take up their posts there. The reason he sent the two of you is simply because you are young and vigorous, full of energy, and haven't yet learned the dirty tricks of officialdom. You are innocent and clean, and won't cause any major trouble there.

Secondly, you don't have a strong background, so you won't cause any major trouble. Thirdly, you are from Zhaohua County, so you know more about the area than others, making it easier for you to get started.

Alright, it's nothing serious. Just keep doing your job well. As for Shen Yi's promotion…

Liu Laosan glanced at Shen Congrong and smiled, "Yuezhang is the prospective daughter-in-law of Princess Huai'an. As Murong Jue's maternal uncle, the Emperor should always lend a hand. He can't openly promote Murong Jue, but promoting my godson is surely the right thing to do!"

In a few days, I'll have the housekeeper prepare a courtyard for your father!

"Really?" Shen Congrong's eyes lit up.

He hadn't seen his family for two or three years; God knows how much he missed them!
Liu Laosan feigned anger, his face full of impatience, "Would I lie to you? Go away, go do whatever you want, don't get in my way, you're really annoying to look at."

The three quickly retreated.

In the past two years, the three of them had made some good friends in the capital. Since they were leaving, they naturally had to say goodbye to them properly.

As a result, it took another two days of travel before we could finally set off.

In Zhaohua County.

The imperial examinations had just ended, and before Shen Yi and Lu Tong could even breathe a sigh of relief, the court's appointment documents arrived.

Lu Tong was promoted to Prefect of Lizhou, a fifth-rank official. He had previously thought that being promoted to Assistant Prefect would be quite good, but he never expected to be promoted to Prefect!
Overjoyed, he didn't forget to congratulate Shen Yi, saying, "Brother Shen will be a senior official in the Ministry of Works from now on."

The two were promoted to the same rank this time, but Shen Yi went to the Ministry of Works, which was more popular than him.

But Lu Tong was already very satisfied.

After returning home, he told Mrs. Tang about the situation.

Tang clasped her hands together excitedly, "Thank God! Our Lu family has finally made it through this difficult time!"

After saying that, she added with a sigh, "That's why you have to be careful when choosing a spouse. Look at Shen Yi, his official rank was not as high as yours before, but after this promotion, he is now at the same level as you, and he is even a senior official in the Ministry of Works. His future is limitless!"

Lu Tong chuckled and shook his head, "You've got it backwards! I have to thank Shen Yi for my promotion to Prefect of Lizhou this time."

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Tang asked, looking puzzled.

Lu Tong explained to her carefully, "You said it yourself, Shen Yi's official position is not as high as mine. If we are to reward each other based on merit, the two of us can't be too far apart! The Emperor must have intended to send Shen Yi to the Ministry of Works long ago. His Majesty wants to promote Shen Yi, and I am just a side effect."

"If it weren't for Shen Yi, I'd only be promoted to Vice Prefect at most, so don't you think we should properly thank him?"

Mrs. Tang suddenly realized, "In that case, we really should thank them properly."

She wasn't stupid to begin with, and Lu Tong's little explanation made it clear. All her envy and jealousy vanished instantly; she only thought about how to cultivate a good relationship with the Shen family, inevitably leading her to consider her daughter's marriage. Meanwhile, in Shen Family Village…

Yu Bei drove the horse-drawn carriage into the village with a joyful expression, telling everyone he met that Shen Yi had been promoted.

He had just finished speaking to Su Tai when Shen Ying, Shen Zhuang, and their group arrived.

"Xiao Tai, I heard Shen Yi got promoted? What kind of promotion?" Madam Xu asked excitedly.

"Could it be the county magistrate?" Madam He asked expectantly.

The highest-ranking official in their area is the county magistrate. If Shen Yi becomes the county magistrate, no one will dare to bully the people of Shen Family Village anymore.

Su Tai smiled and said, "Not a county magistrate, but a senior official in the Ministry of Works."

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing why.

Su Tai had no choice but to explain carefully, "The imperial court has six ministries, and the Ministry of Works is one of them. The Director of the Ministry of Works is a fifth-rank official, and the County Magistrate is a seventh-rank official."

That makes it clear to everyone.

Shen Ying was so excited she was trembling. "So our village has produced a high-ranking official! Hahaha, I have to tell the children and teachers at the village school right away, so everyone can share in the joy!"

Shen Zhuang was also grinning from ear to ear, "We need to open the ancestral hall to worship our ancestors!"

While she was happy, Xu thought of something else: "Xiao Tai, according to what you're saying, doesn't that mean Shen Yi is going to the capital to become an official and can't stay here with us anymore!"

Su Tai nodded. "That's true."

"And what about you? Are you going too?" Xu's heart tightened, and the smile on her face faded a bit.

Su Tai nodded again, "If Shen Yi goes to the capital, I will definitely go with him. However, I need to discuss it with the Princess again, since A Jue is still in our Zhaohua County."

Besides, if I were to go, I would have to bring all three children, which would be quite inconvenient.

Shen Zhuang understood, "It's indeed inconvenient for Shen Yi to go to the capital alone. If you go and help him, it will make things much easier for him. But with your family's large business, what about the businesses in the village?"

Su Tai smiled and said, "Second Uncle, the village business will continue as usual. You can arrange all of that, so I don't need to worry about it. The biggest problem is the seafood business."

This deal was already conspicuous, and now that we've formed a marriage alliance with Princess Huai'an, continuing this deal wouldn't be appropriate. If I go to the capital, I'll cancel this deal.

"Hiss!" Everyone gasped in surprise.

It took Xu a while to find her voice, "You're quitting? You're really willing to give up such a profitable business?"

Although their family didn't get involved in the caravan trade, Shen Zhuang went there every year to help out, so they knew some of the details. The seafood was incredibly profitable!
Su Tai smiled bitterly, "I have no choice but to part with it! There's something you might not know: seafood isn't an ordinary business. There are many poisonous things in the sea, and they're extremely toxic. If you accidentally eat even one bite, you'll die. All the seafood you see here has been inspected by me beforehand, and any poisonous things have been removed in advance."

I dare not delegate this task to anyone else; if someone dies, the consequences would outweigh the gains!

Everyone was shocked by Su Tai's words and their expressions changed.

Shen Zhuang suddenly realized, "No wonder you always insist on doing everything yourself whenever the seafood arrives, no matter how we try to persuade you. I thought it was because seafood is expensive and you don't trust it."

Su Tai smiled. This excuse could be considered a way to cover up her previous actions and avoid people overthinking things later.

Madam Xu was quite disappointed, and somewhat unwilling. "Didn't you bring back a bunch of people from Qiongzi? They live by the sea, how could they not recognize each other?" (End of Chapter)