Chapter 592 Eight-Hundred-Year-Old Top-Grade Ginseng

Honglu Temple.

Cheng Wanwan sped up the pace of the lesson, cramming all the basic knowledge into one go, while the more than twenty officials below diligently scribbled down the key points.

“Learning a language mainly involves reading a lot.” She took out a stack of papers. “These are some Assab articles I wrote in my spare time. I’ll leave them at the Honglu Temple for you gentlemen to read at your leisure. Here’s also a phrase dictionary I compiled. It’s not complete, but it’s enough for daily correspondence…”

Lord Zhang sensed something amiss and couldn't help but ask, "Are the people from Sui'an leaving?"

Cheng Wanwan nodded. "I arrived in the capital at the end of April. After staying here for so long, it's time to go back. I'm now a member of the Honglu Temple. If there are any letters or documents that need my help translating, I can have them sent to Dahe Village in Huzhou as quickly as possible..."

Everyone felt a pang of reluctance, yet they didn't know what to say.

"Alas, all good things must come to an end. Sui'an has made such a great contribution to the Honglu Temple. I don't know how to thank him..." Lord Zhang sighed. "Knowing that Sui'an would leave sooner or later, I had some specialties from the capital prepared. I'll have them delivered to Sui'an's residence later. Please don't mind."

"Lord Zhang, what are you saying?" Cheng Wanwan said sincerely. "If it weren't for Lord Zhang's introduction, I'm afraid I would never have been able to step into this palace in my life. I've seen the Emperor, the Empress, so many concubines, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, and so many high-ranking officials of the first and second ranks. When I get back to Dahe Village, I can brag about it for the rest of my life, hahaha."

Her words immediately lightened the atmosphere.

After everyone chatted and laughed for a while, she then suggested that she go and bid farewell to the Emperor.

She had already inquired and knew that the Emperor was currently reviewing memorials in the Imperial Study. Since this was her first time requesting an audience, the Emperor should not refuse.

She was led by a eunuch to the entrance of the Imperial Study. As soon as he saw her, a young eunuch at the door immediately came over and asked, "Who is this, Lady Sui'an?"

"I'm planning to return to Dahe Village, and I've come specifically to bid farewell to Your Majesty," Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. "I wonder if Your Majesty has any time now?"

The young eunuch shook his head: "Reporting to Lady Sui'an, His Majesty is currently discussing matters with His Highness the Crown Prince, and he will likely be unavailable for the time being."

Cheng Wanwan vaguely heard the Emperor speaking, and she nodded: "Then I'll go see the Empress first."

After she arrived in the capital, the Empress took good care of her. If it weren't for the huge difference in their social status, she would have wanted to be friends with the Empress, but of course, she only thought about it and gave up.

They arrived at Kunning Palace in no time. After explaining their purpose, Granny Zhou immediately led her inside.

"Your Majesty, I greet you!" Cheng Wanwan gave a polite bow, then took out a box from her sleeve. "After I arrived in the capital, Your Majesty arranged accommodations, assigned palace maids and eunuchs to take care of my daily needs, and bestowed upon me countless gold and silver treasures. I am deeply grateful. I know Your Majesty lacks nothing, but I cannot leave without giving anything in return. After much thought, I can only offer this one thing that Your Majesty would find pleasing."

The Empress laughed: "I'm curious about what you've said. Granny Zhou, bring it up and let me see."

Granny Zhou took the brocade box from Cheng Wanwan's hand, bowed her head and presented it to the Empress. She gently opened it, and a thick ginseng immediately caught everyone's eye.

Ginseng has always been a rare commodity, and it's quite difficult to find one that's over fifty years old. However, most wealthy families would collect a ginseng root that's a hundred years old.

There are all kinds of good things in the palace, including countless hundred-year-old ginseng, as well as two-hundred-year-old and five-hundred-year-old top-quality ginseng. These top-quality ginseng are all in the private storehouses of the queen or the emperor, and are only taken out to save lives in critical moments.

The largest ginseng the Empress had ever seen was a 500-year-old ginseng king that was brought as tribute from Changbai Mountain. It was said to have the power to bring the dead back to life...

If five hundred years is enough to call it the King of Ginseng, then what about this ginseng presented by the people of Sui'an... it must be at least a thousand years old...

"This is a ginseng that I happened to find. I had a doctor assess it, and he said it was about eight hundred years old," Cheng Wanwan said, bowing her head. "This is a top-grade ginseng that has absorbed the essence of the sun, moon, heaven and earth, and it should be presented to Her Majesty the Empress."

She bought this ginseng from the system's shop; it was priced at seven million, which is equivalent to seven thousand taels of silver in the Great Yu Dynasty.

This amount of money is a huge sum no matter who it is given to. However, the queen rewarded her with so many things, and those rewards are worth about three or four thousand taels of silver in total. The queen's care for her and the honors she gave her cannot be converted into money. She did not lose out by giving her ginseng worth seven thousand taels of silver.

“Eight, eight hundred years old ginseng…” Granny Zhou stammered, “This is the real king of ginseng.”

The Empress dared not touch the ginseng, and closed the brocade box. Her gaze toward Cheng Wanwan became more sincere: "You are willing to offer such a fine thing to the royal family, which is enough to prove your loyalty to the royal family. I have nothing good to give you in return, but I can promise that as long as you are in the capital, I will protect you."

Cheng Wanwan immediately said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I am deeply grateful!"

After speaking with the Empress for a while, a young eunuch from the Imperial Study came over. She immediately got up to take her leave and followed the eunuch to the Imperial Study.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, his gaze calmly falling on Cheng Wanwan: "I heard that the people of Sui'an have been teaching Minister Zhang and the others the Assab language at the Honglu Temple these past few days. How is the progress?"

"Your Majesty, although Master Zhang is old, he is very studious and has learned almost everything." Cheng Wanwan lowered her head and replied, "I have come to see Your Majesty specifically to resign. Although I will be far away from the capital in the future, I will always remember my position as the Minister of Rites of the Honglu Temple and will do my utmost to help the court and Your Majesty."

The emperor closed the memorial in his hand and said in a low voice, "So, you are determined to go back?"

It's not that there were no female officials in the Dayu Dynasty, but they all served the harem. Sui'an was the first female official he appointed, and she could attend court meetings to discuss government affairs. It could be said that this was the greatest honor in the world. If it were an ordinary person, wouldn't she have tried every means to stay in the capital? Why did she ask to go back?

"I am from Dahe Village in Ping'an County. All my relatives and friends are on that land, so naturally I have to go back," Cheng Wanwan replied. "Furthermore, I am a true countrywoman, I love working with the land and crops, and I hope to make a greater contribution to agriculture in the Great Yu Kingdom..."

The emperor looked at her. In fact, he secretly wanted to keep her in the capital. With her talent, she could not only shine in the Honglu Temple, but also go to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, where she could make greater contributions... But she herself preferred the land and the free sky. Being confined in the capital would be detrimental to her researching some new things.

He nodded: "I will arrange for someone to escort you back to Dahe Village."

“There’s no need for an escort. Um…” Cheng Wanwan raised her head slightly, “Does His Majesty still stand by what he said about rewarding me?”