Chapter 128

The ministers, hastily summoned to the palace by Emperor Jingxi, bumped into the eunuchs carrying ducks at the door before they even entered the imperial study.

The eunuch, holding a duck, greeted someone: "Grand Scholar Sima!"

The duck shook its round yellow head: "Quack quack!"

Grand Secretary Sima Lan: "..."

He and the duck looked into each other's eyes and remained silent for two seconds.

The ministers of the previous dynasty all knew about Princess Zhaoyang raising ducks, and Sima Lan's own children even followed suit and raised a few, but he had never seen ducks in the Imperial Study.

Sima Lan hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Is Princess Zhaoyang inside the palace?"

Emperor Jingxi often brought Qin Su to the Imperial Study to meet with his ministers, and everyone was used to it. But Princess Zhaoyang was always sensible, so why was she so naughty this time, bringing ducks with her?

The eunuch carrying the ducks, unaware of Sima Lan's thoughts, smiled and said, "Yes, these ducks are from Your Highness's palace."

Sima Lan looked troubled, wondering how to properly offer her advice.

Emperor Jingxi, who was in the imperial study, had already heard his voice and called out, "Has Sima Lan arrived? Come in."

Sima Lan swallowed the words that were about to come out and hurriedly went in to pay his respects. He glanced inside and noticed that several of his colleagues had arrived before him.

Strangely, his colleagues were all buried in the towering books, flipping through something with urgent expressions.

Emperor Jingxi waved his hand: "Stop talking nonsense, come here quickly and check these provincial records from previous years to see the situation of chicken and duck raising and the locust plague in the area."

A clever eunuch pulled out a chair for him and brought over a stack of books that was more than half his height.

Sima Lan sat down blankly. Although he did not know the reason, he naturally had to do what His Majesty had ordered. Soon he was also immersed in a sea of ​​books.

The later court officials were all treated the same; there were no pleasantries or greetings, they arrived and immediately began their work.

Each minister had a palace servant serving tea and water, and attending to their writing materials. It looked like they were taking care of them, but in reality, it gave off an air of "don't even think about resting until you finish your work."

Soon after, as darkness fell, candles were lit in the imperial study, illuminating the room as bright as day, and the sound of pages turning rose and fell.

It wasn't until early in the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) that Emperor Jingxi was the first to put down his pen, and only then did the other court officials stop writing.

Liang Danxin was prepared and immediately called people in to tidy up the room and bring water and towels for everyone to wash their hands.

Qin Su had already fallen asleep in Emperor Jingxi's arms, but was awakened by the noise. She propped herself up, her face smeared with ink, and asked groggily, "Father, are you done cleaning up?"

Emperor Jingxi took the towel from the palace maid and wiped her face: "It's over."

"Oh." Qin Su was a little more awake and asked, "Have the duck soldiers been fed?"

Emperor Jingxi looked at Liang Danxin, who quickly replied, "Your Highness, rest assured, it has already been fed."

Finally, one of the court officials couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward, saying in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I have something to say."

This man was an Imperial Censor named Gu Min. He had a sour face and a sour temper. His idol was probably Wei Zheng. He usually liked to submit remonstrances and impeach people.

As soon as he stepped out, everyone tensed up, wondering who he had his eye on this time.

Qin Su also looked at him curiously.

Unexpectedly, Gu Min came specifically for her.

“Your Majesty, the Imperial Study is a vital place in the palace, where state affairs are discussed and policies are implemented. It is not a place for young children to play. The princess is young and inexperienced in worldly affairs. Bringing ducks here is not a refined thing to do. Your Majesty should strictly educate her, follow the rules and regulations, and guide her accordingly.”

After Gu Min finished speaking, the expressions of the officials in the imperial study varied.

Bringing ducks to the Imperial Study is a matter that can be viewed in a big or small way. On the one hand, it is a disrespect for royal dignity; on the other hand, it is nothing more than childish pranks.

Besides, Qin Su didn't actually bring the ducks into the house; she just let them quack at the door.

Emperor Jingxi always doted on his daughters and probably didn't care about these things.

So although everyone saw it, they all assumed that the matter was not serious, or planned to mention it to Emperor Jingxi privately.

Unexpectedly, Gu Min blurted it out in front of so many people.

Before Emperor Jingxi could speak, Qin Su asked in surprise, "Lord Gu, are you referring to me?"

Gu Min could remain calm when remonstrating with Emperor Jingxi, but he looked away when he met the little girl's shocked gaze.

Alas, Princess Zhaoyang has always been intelligent and lovely. In his opinion, this matter is still the fault of His Majesty for not teaching her properly.

Qin Su understood that Gu Min was saying it was against the rules for her to bring the duck soldiers to the Imperial Study. She felt wronged, but she still said in a serious tone, "Lord Gu, you misunderstand. The duck soldiers and ducks were brought by my father."

The ministers all looked at Emperor Jingxi in surprise.

Emperor Jingxi smiled mysteriously and said, "That's right, I had these ducks invited here by someone; they have another purpose."

He changed the subject and said, "Before that, you should read out what you just summarized aloud."

The ministers looked at each other, wondering what else could be done with the duck. Should they stew it?

That's not good, Princess Zhaoyang is still here.

Puzzled, they reported back one by one, following Emperor Jingxi's instructions.

In those days, how many stupid people could pass the imperial examinations and rise to the rank of third grade or higher?

As the news spread, many people noticed something amiss, their eyes turning toward the throne with expressions of shock, confusion, surprise, or anticipation.

After the last minister finished reading, Sima Lan, unable to contain his excitement, cupped his hands and asked, "Your Majesty, I just heard from my colleagues that the disaster seems to have been less severe in areas where chickens and ducks are raised. Even within the same region, the extent of the damage varies depending on the number of poultry. I wonder why..."

Emperor Jingxi was overjoyed after he had made a basic guess based on the data records from previous years. He stopped keeping him in suspense and directly ordered Liang Danxin to bring in all the people outside who were holding ducks.

He pointed to the group of plump ducks and said to Qin Su, "Zhaoyang, you tell the story."

In an instant, all the important officials of the dynasty focused their attention on Qin Su.

If Qin Su didn't initially understand why Emperor Jingxi was so excited while holding the duck, after listening to the report just now, she already knew perfectly well why.

She jumped down from Emperor Jingxi's arms and walked to the front of the imperial desk. Although she was not even as tall as the desk, her fair and lovely face remained calm.

She briefly mentioned that she and Ye Yan had an experimental field, focusing on how the duck army had done a great job in eliminating the pests when they discovered a few days ago that the rice seedlings in the field had been eaten and locusts were damaging the crops.

Finally, Qin Su said, "Father has invited you all here today to review the records of various provinces from previous years, hoping to find evidence from past realities. Now we can basically confirm that ducks are remarkably effective in controlling locust plagues, so we can implement countermeasures."

After he finished speaking, the Imperial Study fell silent.

Sima Lan looked at the bright and intelligent little princess, then at Emperor Jingxi who was obviously showing off, and then at his own good-for-nothing grandson who was a year older than Qin Su but always had a runny nose and wanted snacks. He sighed inwardly.

I regret that I have no daughter like that!