At night, the palace servants and the four big shots, who had worked hard all day, finally came out of the fifty acres of paddy fields behind the mountain.

They were all covered in mud, their whole bodies were filthy. Li Qishang, for some reason, had mud all over his head.

Guan Zhiyue looked at the people who had been called back. They were all covered in mud, their faces, hands, and hair were covered in mud, as if they had been rolling around in a paddy field.

"Have you been robbed? You're in such a sorry state?"

"No, no, I'm just really happy. Sister-in-law, you have no idea how wonderful it was to catch fish like that! I've never seen so many fish before!"

“I caught the most fish today,” Li Qishang said, trying to ingratiate himself with Guan Zhiyue.

Guan Zhiyue, holding a spatula in one hand and her other hand on her hip, looked at Li Qishang with disdain and said, "See? You're so capable! Hurry up and go back and wash up, or you'll be coming to the Cold Palace for some rice paddy fish later!"

"You guys go wash up too, come eat later!" Guan Zhiyue looked at Li Qiji and the other two who were standing to the side, also covered in mud.

Li Qiji nodded and left the Cold Palace with Shan Liuxian and Su Xu.

However, the imperial concubines and the major gambling dens in the capital were in an uproar because they had all lost their bets miserably.

It hasn't even been three months yet, and the gates of the Cold Palace have already been opened. Doesn't that mean they've lost all their previous bets?

For a moment, everyone was curious as to why the gates of the Cold Palace had suddenly been opened. Could it be that the Empress was pregnant? Otherwise, why would the Emperor have ordered the gates of the Cold Palace to be opened so quickly?

Chonghua Palace.

At this moment, several young ladies had gathered in Chonghua Palace. They were the same ladies who had made a bet a while ago.

"Oh my god, what kind of sorcery did the Empress cast on the Emperor? I never expected that he would be released from the Cold Palace so quickly."

"Who knows? The servants in the Cold Palace have such tight lips, it's like they're glued shut with glutinous rice."

“Yes, yes, I was originally going to inquire about the situation inside the Cold Palace, but who knew that these servants were so poor that money couldn’t help them,” Zhang Baolin said.

“Indeed, in my opinion, it must be that the Empress cast some kind of spell on them, which is why they are all so confused,” said Consort Changde.

He Jiao, standing to the side, disagreed, looking at everyone with disdain and saying, "I think you're all just cheap vinegar—sour and cheap."

"Hey, Consort Xian, why are you swearing? Aren't we all telling the truth?" Consort Li shouted.

The others also gathered around, chiming in with their own opinions: "That's right, Consort Xian, you can't say that. Don't you claim to be her good friend?"

"Why didn't she think of you when she was monopolizing the Emperor?"

"You two are so close, why haven't you ever gotten close to the Emperor?"

"When she was with the Emperor, why didn't she think of you?"

"You're just trying to make yourself look good. To other people, you're nothing but a fart."

Consort Xian was furious. Pointing at them angrily, she said, "Well, you bunch of old hags, you're trying to ruin my relationship with the Empress! Humph!"

"I'm so angry! Granny He, let's go. Let's go to the Cold Palace now and see the Empress."

"I'd like to see if you gossipy old women get slapped in the face, hmph!" After throwing down these words, He Jiao stormed off with her servants.

After the group came out, Granny He said, "Your Highness, you were too impulsive just now."

"This old servant believes that what the concubines said is also true. During the days when Her Majesty the Empress monopolized the Emperor, she did not think of Your Majesty at all."

"This~"

"Granny, what are you saying? I don't agree with you at all. Although my sister, the Empress, and I both serve the same man, as a woman, who would willingly push their husband out to another woman?"

"Even I wouldn't be so magnanimous. I don't want such words to come out of my palace again."

"Alright, send someone to the Imperial Kitchen to order some food and send it to the Cold Palace. In my name, we'll go back to the palace first to freshen up and get ready, and then we'll go see the Empress." He Jiao gave a series of orders.

Granny He and Granny An exchanged a glance, said nothing, and went to do what He Jiao had just instructed them to do.

However, back at the Cold Palace, after receiving the meal from the Imperial Kitchen, Guan Zhiyue instructed that it be delivered directly to the guards on duty at the gate. She was having a grand feast tonight, so there was no room for her to eat anything from the Imperial Kitchen.

About an hour and a half later, the people who went back to wash up returned, all dressed neatly. Even Su Xu, who was wearing a bright red official robe, had taken off his official robe and put on his white clothes.

Her flowing white robes made her look like a fairy descended from heaven, so beautiful that it was impossible to look away.

When Guan Zhiyue came out carrying the pot, she was slightly stunned to see Su Xu standing in the yard. If Su Xu hadn't come forward and taken the pot from her, she didn't know how long she would have had to carry it.

“Prime Minister Su, wearing white makes people feel more approachable!” Guan Zhiyue said.

Just as Su Xu was about to say something, Li Qishang's raspy voice shouted, "It's here, it's here, the bright red boiled fish is here!"

The two quickly cleared a large space on the table so that Li Qishang could put his things down. When He Jiao arrived, she saw the three of them standing in front of the long table in the front yard, talking about something.

"Your Majesty, I'm here! Wow! So much food!"

"Is there any for me?" He Jiao looked at the food on the table and swallowed hard.

Guan Zhiyue looked at He Jiao and said with a smile, "You've come at just the right time. By the way, I've decided to distribute the food from the Imperial Kitchen that you sent over to the guards at the Cold Palace gate. You don't mind, do you?"

He Jiao's eyes were already fixed on the food on the long table. She swallowed hard, waved her hand, and said, "No problem, no problem. There's so much delicious food. It's much better than what's served in the imperial kitchen."

When are we going to start eating?

Guan Zhiyue looked at it and said, "We can start eating once the Emperor comes out."

"The Emperor has arrived too!" He Jiao looked around and saw that Chief Minister Su, Prince Xiaoyao, and the Imperial Advisor Shan Liuxian, who had just come out from behind, were all in the Cold Palace. This...

"Why are you all here? Sister, isn't this inappropriate? If the Emperor finds out, you—"

"Don't worry, it was the Emperor who brought them. If you want to sit down, I'll go to the kitchen and bring out the other dishes, then we can start eating!"

After a series of actions, everyone sat down together. Li Qishang picked up the wine bowl on the table and said, "Come on, let's all have a drink together to celebrate this year's bumper harvest!"

"Great! Great! I'm so happy!" Su Xu said.

"Your Majesty, congratulations! The Empress's rice has been weighed by the palace servants."

"Guess how many kilograms it weighs!" Su Xu looked at the people present with feigned mystery.

Li Qiji looked at Su Xu with a hint of inquiry in his eyes and said cautiously, "More than 20,000 jin?"

Su Xu shook his head and looked at everyone, "Take another guess!"

Li Qishang was an impatient man, and immediately said, "Lord Su, don't keep us guessing, just tell us directly and give us a clear answer!"

"Seventy-five thousand catties!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent, except for the gurgling sound coming from the small stove. It was simply unbelievable.

Guan Zhiyue laughed. It was more than 10,000 more than she had expected. Not bad, it seems that the spiritual spring water really works!

"Little Tuantuan, this spiritual spring water is amazing! It has actually improved the rice harvest. I thought that one mu of land could only produce 1,200 jin of rice, but I didn't expect it to produce 1,500 jin of rice!" Guan Zhiyue said to Little Tuantuan in the space in her mind.

Little Tuantuan laughed and said, "Of course, Master, you believe me now, this thing is really that magical."

The group looked at Guan Zhiyue, who was biting her chopsticks and grinning foolishly. They assumed she was shocked by the output.

"Hey, you're amazing, sister-in-law! You actually managed to grow high-yield grain seeds!" Li Qishang nudged Guan Zhiyue with his elbow.

Guan Zhiyue snapped out of her daze and said, "It's all thanks to everyone's hard work in serving us; we're just lucky to have this!"

Everyone raised their glasses again and chatted happily, sharing the joy of a bountiful harvest!