After the ancestral worship ceremony, Yan Qingqing's family held a banquet and invited relatives and friends to a meal, and that concluded the matter.

After this matter came to an end, Yan Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief, and everything returned to normal.

Autumn has arrived, and it's another busy season.

Yan Qingqing's family now owns more than 4,000 mu of land, which grows potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans and cotton.

Actually, Yan Qingqing didn't want to plant them so haphazardly according to her plan, but the conditions didn't allow it, so she had no choice but to plant a little of everything.

Of course, in Yan Qingqing's eyes, this is something that ordinary people can only dream of.

Li Xiangping specially sent people to build a warehouse to store these things.

However, it was later discovered that these things were not necessary for the Li family to store at all.

Cotton went directly to the embroidery workshop, and beans went directly to the factory workshop.

In autumn, all that's left are potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Li Xiangping came to Yan Qingqing to discuss whether to sell these things directly, because potatoes and sweet potatoes, unlike grains, cannot be stored for several years without spoiling.

This year, the emperor ordered the purchase of potatoes and sweet potatoes to be sent to the border as food for the soldiers. Of course, because these crops are produced in large quantities, the purchase price is not high.

However, for many ordinary people, it is more cost-effective than growing grain, since this crop is highly productive.

Yan Qingqing thought for a moment and said, "I won't sell it. This thing isn't worth much money now."

Let's send a piece to the workshop. These things can be further processed into another kind of delicacy that you'll never get tired of eating.

"You might even be planning a major acquisition later on."

When Li Xiangping heard that Yan Qingqing had another new idea, he smiled and said, "Mother is really amazing. She's not afraid of even being acquired."

Almost every household in our Da Yan region planted this this year. Even if they buy it, it's very cheap.

My second brother is probably going to be busy again. I heard just a few days ago that he's planning to expand his workshop business.

No sooner had he been talking about it than his mother delivered a ready-made business opportunity right to his doorstep.

Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Your second brother has always been a money-grubber. He is particularly interested in anything that involves making money."

But this kid is also very hardworking; he's always out early and back late, working like a spinning top. Even I feel sorry for him when I see him like this.

Li Xiangping agreed with Yan Qingqing's words; not everyone can do business.

It is said that no merchant is honest, and besides the hard work, Li Xiang'an also needs to deal with merchants from all over the country.

When you encounter a difficult person, it really takes a lot of effort.

Li Xiangping then brought up the matter of submitting a memorial to the Emperor last time, saying that there had been no news since.

It's unclear whether the Emperor didn't receive the memorial or simply wasn't interested in what he wrote.

Ever since Yan Qingqing scared Li Xiangping last time, Li Xiangping has become even more diligent in his work.

Seeing him like this, Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "You don't need to be nervous. As long as you do your job seriously, even if the emperor doesn't reward you, he won't punish you."

Li Xiangping felt much more at ease after hearing this, and nodded, saying, "Mother, don't worry! I will definitely do my best to fulfill my duties."

In fact, Yan Qingqing was also wondering to herself. After so much time, the Emperor should have made some moves by now.

Even if they don't get promoted or made a fortune, they should at least give them a few words of praise.

Yan Qingqing thought to herself that if she could, she really wanted to show the emperor how serious and proactive Li Xiangping was in his agricultural work.

Now that the emperor is not showing any enthusiasm, isn't that discouraging the children?

However, she could only think about it in her heart and couldn't do anything about it. The only thing she could do was to comfort Li Xiangping with a few words.

Meanwhile, the emperor, who was being talked about, was also troubled.

Ever since Consort Yu was demoted and imprisoned by imperial decree, the eldest prince and the Yu family have been unable to contain themselves.

They started causing trouble for the emperor frequently, and in a fit of anger, the emperor demoted several people before the Yu family finally calmed down.

Later, I heard that Consort Yu was demoted because she withheld Ling Ziyuan's memorial.

Since the Yu family dared not target Ling Ziyuan, they set their sights on Li Xiangping, who was writing the memorial.

Putting aside Li Xiangping's calligraphy, his methods for increasing grain yields were so brilliant that even the emperor was amazed.

Especially the organic fertilizer formula; if it really works as well as they say, it would be a great achievement for Dayan.

The emperor originally intended to reward Li Xiangping, but the Yu family said that Li Xiangping was the son of Ming Zhaoshuo, and that the emperor had given too many rewards to the Li family over the past year.

We need to investigate them carefully, lest they, who rose from humble beginnings, become arrogant and take advantage of their privileged status.

Of course, there were also many people in the imperial court who spoke in Yan Qingqing's favor.

She said that the rewards she has received are all deserved, and that failing to reward her for her merits would discourage loyal ministers and generals.

Furthermore, precisely because the Li family's foundation was weak, the Emperor's generous rewards for their merits would make them even more grateful to the Emperor.

The emperor naturally preferred the latter of the two statements.

Of course, in order to silence the gossip, the emperor still sent his secret guards to Chengyang County.

The emperor looked at the memorial in his hand and slammed it angrily onto the table.

The palace maids and eunuchs, including Eunuch Xiang, were all startled.

When the emperor got angry, none of them dared to step forward.

Eunuch Xiang knew a little about it, and cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, what's wrong? Getting angry is bad for your health. Please have some tea to calm down."

The emperor spoke up, saying, "Calm down? How can I calm down? That old scoundrel from the Yu family is becoming more and more reckless."

I am still in my prime, yet he is already in a hurry to make me establish a crown prince.

It was also said that the eldest prince was known for his virtue, and as the eldest son, he had been raised under the Empress's care since childhood, making him the only suitable candidate for crown prince.

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Xiang exclaimed, "This Yu family has gone too far! How dare they!"

The emperor snorted and said, "They don't dare. They're just inciting a few muddle-headed fools in the court to act as pawns."

If Chen'er were in the palace, none of this would have happened.

Those people are all useless; they've been looking for someone for so long and still haven't found them.

At this point, the emperor suddenly realized something and muttered to himself, "Do you think they might not have even bothered to look for it properly?"

Yes, that must be it. Those people must have been bribed by the Yu family.

Otherwise, we wouldn't have been searching for so long without any news.

"Forget about asking them to find someone; they might even be plotting against Chen'er behind his back."

At this point, the emperor's gaze sharpened. He simply couldn't find any evidence that they had plotted to harm Xiao Mochen; otherwise, he would have certainly made them pay.

The most urgent task is to find a reliable person to bring Xiao Mochen back.

Thinking of this, the emperor said to Eunuch Xiang, "Summon Pei Zisheng to the palace immediately."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Xiang immediately agreed and personally went to the Pei residence to deliver the imperial decree.

Pei Zisheng is Xiao Mochen's maternal uncle. He was stripped of his military power because he was drunk and made a mistake.

I've been unemployed and staying at home for the past two years.

Pei Zisheng has been filled with remorse ever since that incident, so he has never touched a drop of alcohol again.

Given his alcohol tolerance, he shouldn't have gotten so drunk after just a few drinks that he was completely unconscious.

He later realized he had been framed.

But it was too late; the power of the capital's garrison had already fallen into the hands of the Yu family.

However, Pei Zisheng was not discouraged and continued to work hard even when he was unemployed at home.

Waiting for the day when I can be reinstated.