At this moment, Qian Shengyan was unaware that she was being meticulously plotted against; she was—giving Yinzhen a massage.

She knelt on the inside of the bed, pressing her hands laboriously on Yinzhen's back, asking as she tried to massage him, "How do you feel, Your Highness?"

"Hmm, not bad." Yinzhen chuckled. "Move a little more to the left."

Qian Shengyan straightened up and pressed down hard, saying, "Master, you don't have to do the land reclamation yourself. In the countryside, people bring an ox for plowing. You shouldn't have to do everything yourself!"

"Alright, I'll do as you say. I'll go buy an ox for plowing tomorrow." Yinzhen laughed again.

That's right, after only two days at the Lion Garden, Yinzhen started farming again.

Qian Shengyan didn't know what the other princes were doing; she only knew that the Lion Garden had even more wasteland and a larger arable area.

Since Yinzhen wanted to have children, she wouldn't stop him, but he couldn't overwork himself!

As she massaged him, she kept talking non-stop until Yinzhen had no temper left. He simply held her hand and wouldn't let her massage anymore, saying helplessly, "Fine, fine, I'll listen to you... Or why don't you come with me? That way you can keep an eye on me."

Qian Shengyan was a little reluctant to go, but Yinzhen's next words made her heart flutter: "Bring Hongli and Foerguochun along too, so that Hongli can get some exercise."

That's...not bad! What Hongli lacks most is activity!

Qian Shengyan immediately agreed.

So the next morning, young Hongli received some bad news—he had to go back to farming.

Fortunately, he was an experienced man. He packed two books and, with his servants, followed Yinzhen and Qian Shengyan to the farmland.

In order to make farming closer and more convenient, the newly reclaimed farmland is located on the north side of Pianyun Shujuan Hall. It is a large area of ​​barren land. Qian Shengyan felt pain in her hands, feet and whole body after just one glance.

But there's no way around it, it's already the end of April, we have to hurry up and plant the seeds.

This time, Yinzhen decided to plant rice.

A few years ago, Emperor Kangxi ordered people to plant experimental rice varieties that yielded two harvests a year. This batch was planted in mid-April and could be harvested at the end of July. Yinzhen calculated that he should be able to harvest one before returning to the capital, so he prepared to plant this.

He also harbored a wish he couldn't openly express: that when the rice ripened, he could once again invite Emperor Kangxi to a banquet in the garden.

It took two adults and a child two days to plant the rice. Of course, it was mainly Yinzhen who did the work, as Hongli was too young and worked slowly. Qian Shengyan was the one who just talked and did nothing.

Unfortunately, Yinzhen had planned too much land, and only half of it was used for planting rice. Seeing Yinzhen frowning and deep in thought, Qian Shengyan was really afraid that he would plant more rice—this stuff still needs to be transplanted in half a month, it's exhausting!

She quickly said, "How about planting some easy-to-manage crops? Potatoes, taro, or... no, squash, things like that, they're easy to grow and grow well." She thought for a moment, "And plant some leafy greens too, so we can grow our own food. We can't just eat rice all the time."

Her suggestion was approved by Yinzhen, but he said, "Taro? That's hard to grow, there aren't even any seeds."

Qian Shengyan was still surprised: "Taro is the easiest to grow, isn't it? And it yields a lot of grain! Look, this piece of land can be filled with just three or four taro plants, and then one plant can yield a lot...Master? Why do you look at me like that..."

Yinzhen's gaze...it looked rather frightening...

Yinzhen concealed his excitement and feigned disbelief: "If the yield were this high, it would have been planted everywhere long ago."

Qian Shengyan was bewildered: "Huh?"

After further inquiry, Qian Shengyan learned that taro was still a royal special supply, and the only way to eat it was to grind it into powder and cook it into porridge with other grains to increase its viscosity.

Qian Shengyan: ...

Aroused by his fighting spirit, Qian Shengyan rolled up his sleeves and immediately agreed to let Yinzhen plant some potatoes to broaden his horizons. That very evening, Yinzhen had a small basket of clean potatoes delivered to him.

...It's probably a misunderstanding on the part of the people below, who didn't dare to bring the dirty things to their masters. But thankfully, once it's cleaned up, it's fine and won't affect the planting.

Then Qian Shengyan just casually put the potatoes down and went about her business.

After a few days, seeing that Qian Shengyan still hadn't made any move, Yinzhen couldn't help but ask, "Where are your potatoes?"

“It’s over there.” Qian Shengyan, sewing on the fabric she had cut, pointed to the corridor without looking up. Yinzhen asked, puzzled, “Aren’t you going to plant anything?”

"No rush, Master, let me show you." Qian Shengyan held up the sky-blue dress in her hand and compared it to Yinzhen. Seeing that the size was about right, she buried her head in sewing again.

Yinzhen: ...

A few days later, Yinzhen had almost forgotten about the matter, but when he returned that day, he saw Qian Shengyan cutting potatoes in the yard.

The potatoes, which had been washed clean, had sprouted. Qian Shengyan selected those with many sprouts, swiftly cut them into pieces, and then rolled the cut surfaces in prepared wood ash to prevent them from rotting.

After handling it this way, Qian Shengyan prepared to have it planted in the ground—what? You're asking why she didn't plant it herself?

Because I'm so tired -0-

Yinzhen followed to see, still somewhat incredulous: "Don't we have to plant the whole thing? Is this okay? It can grow from just one piece?"

"No need, it's fine, it's fine." Qian Shengyan replied perfunctorily, but seeing that Yinzhen still looked unconvinced, she became displeased again, "If you don't believe me, just wait and see!"

They waited and waited, and after half a month, the rice had grown into seedlings and needed to be transplanted into the paddy fields, which is called rice planting. The potato seedlings had also grown into a lush green grove. Hongli curiously reached out and examined them: "Mother, these seedlings are growing so fast, when will they bear fruit?"

Qian Shengyan: ...

It's a pity that transparent plastic doesn't exist in this era, otherwise she could show her child how potato roots grow.

At that moment, we could only explain it with words. Fortunately, Yinzhen was a skilled painter, and when he got back, he helped to draw a diagram of the root system of the taro. He also drew many small round balls on the root system as Qian Shengyan had suggested, to represent the small taro plants that were growing.

Although Yinzhen still didn't quite believe there would be so many small potatoes.

Transplanting rice seedlings was too tiring and strained his back, so Yinzhen and his son only transplanted half an acre of land and then left it to the servants. Qian Shengyan, on the other hand, had a new idea for that piece of land.

Hmm, if we could raise some rabbits and chickens, could we make some natural fertilizer to promote plant growth...?

While the garden in Pianyun Shujuan Palace was thriving, Lady Nian had finally found a "miracle doctor" specializing in gynecology and was preparing to go to Yinzhen to see if she could invite the doctor to the garden.

Meanwhile, the person Wei Mama had secretly contacted would also accompany her to the Lion Garden under the guise of the Divine Medicine Apprentice.