Two days later, everything was ready, and Yang Jin and Qin Shiyu prepared to leave Narcissus Village with the messenger and head to the capital.

On the day of their departure, Li Guang rushed over from the military camp, bringing ten soldiers with him to serve as Yang Jin and Qin Shiyu's attendants and protect their safety.

Li Guang took out a letter and handed it to Qin Shiyu.

"Sister Shiyu, go to the capital and meet Lord Yao, and give him this letter."

"Yes, General Li, I will definitely deliver the letter." Qin Shiyu took the letter and put it away carefully.

At this moment, Zhao Xian also took out a letter, handed it to the messenger, and said:

"This is a letter I wrote to Lord Yao in my own handwriting. Please have the messenger deliver it to Lord Yao."

"Please rest assured, Marquis Zhengyang, I will definitely deliver the letter," the messenger said.

The group escorted the group to the village entrance and only returned to the village after they had gone far away.

At the Marquis's residence, Zhao Xian, Li Guang, and Master Qin were enjoying tea. Li Guang looked at the other two and said:

"Brother Zhao, Master Qin, I just gave a letter to Sister Shiyu and asked her to deliver it to Lord Yao. Do you know the contents of the letter?"

Zhao Xian shook his head and said:

"I don't know. You wouldn't be looking for Lord Yao about Shiyu, would you?"

“Brother Zhao is right, it is indeed about Sister Shiyu. I would like to ask Lord Yao for help.”

“I will also write a letter to Lord Yao. We’re not talking about the same thing, are we?” Zhao Xian said.

"Probably not. If I'm not mistaken, Brother Zhao is probably here for Sister Shiyu's marriage, while I'm here to ask Lord Yao for something for Sister Shiyu."

Li Guang's words immediately piqued Zhao Xian's interest. Li Guang was asking Qin Shiyu for something, but what kind of thing was it?

Seeing Zhao Xian's confusion, Li Guang spoke up:

"Brother Zhao, do you remember the day Ouyang Nan passed the imperial examination? Brother Zhao hosted a banquet to celebrate. At the banquet, Master Lin lamented that there are many intelligent women in the Great Northern Dynasty, but they cannot participate in the imperial examinations or enter the court as officials. The talents of many women are thus buried."

I believe that in our Great Northern Dynasty, regardless of gender, anyone with talent can serve the country.

Sister Shiyu's trip to the capital to help the court cultivate talent is a service to the country, and the court should reward her.

In one of the letters I wrote to Lord Yao, there was a memorial to the Emperor. The content of this memorial was very simple: it said that Sister Shiyu was cultivating talents for the country and hoped that the Emperor would grant her a corresponding title.

The Emperor should know my thoughts, but there is no precedent for women to serve as officials in the Great Northern Dynasty. The Emperor will definitely take alternative measures. Even if he does not grant Shiyu an official position, he will give her a title of the corresponding rank, which is equivalent to granting her an official position. Regardless of the rank, this will set the stage for women to serve as officials in the court. Granting her an official position is only a matter of time.

In the future Great Northern Dynasty, as long as a woman is talented, she can enter the court as an official and participate in the national talent selection examination. We should be able to see the day when Zhao Lingling and Ouyang Xiaoyu enter the court as officials.

Li Guang's words shocked Zhao Xian. At the celebration banquet a few months earlier, Lin Fuzi had been unhappy because women were not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations.

At that time, Li Guang went up to comfort Master Lin and told the people attending the banquet that in the future Great Northern Dynasty, women could not only participate in the imperial examinations, but also serve as officials in the court.

Unexpectedly, a few months later, Li Guang began to work on this matter. If the emperor approved, talented women throughout the land would benefit.

If Qin Shiyu could obtain an official position, it would certainly be a great thing. However, this would not be a good thing for Qin Shiyu's marriage, which inevitably causes some concern.

Seeing this, Li Guang said, "Brother Zhao, don't worry. Since the Emperor will bestow honors upon Sister Shiyu, Yang Jin will naturally receive one as well. In this way, the two will be a perfect match, and their marriage will become a beautiful story that will be recorded in history."

Qin Shiyu is an important figure in Zhao Xian's think tank. His business has developed rapidly thanks in no small part to Qin Shiyu. If he could receive a reward from the emperor, he would certainly be more than happy to do so.

If both of them receive an official title or reward during this trip to the capital, it would be a double blessing, increasing the likelihood of them getting together.

More than ten days later, the group finally arrived in the capital, marking Yang Jinxing and Qin Shiyu's first long trip.

When Zhao Xian and Li Xue got married in the capital, Qin Shiyu couldn't come because she couldn't leave. This time, she finally had a great opportunity to broaden her horizons.

The messenger first took Yang Jin and Qin Shiyu to the Yao residence to pay their respects to Lord Yao.

Lord Yao had visited Narcissus Village many times and knew that Qin Shiyu was a core member of Zhao Xian's business and had outstanding abilities. Lord Yao greatly admired her.

"Greetings, Lord Yao." Qin Shiyu bowed to Lord Yao.

Upon seeing that the old man before him was the Grand Minister of Agriculture of the Great Northern Dynasty, a first-rank official, Yang Jin quickly stepped forward and bowed in respect.

"Greetings, Lord Yao. My name is Yang Jin. I have come to the capital on the orders of Marquis Zhengyang to serve you."

Lord Yao nodded. At this moment, the messenger stepped forward, took out a letter, and presented it to Lord Yao with both hands.

"Reporting to Lord Yao, this is a letter written by Marquis Zhengyang himself."

Lord Yao took the letter, opened it immediately, and began to read it carefully.

The letter was short, and Lord Yao read it quickly, then couldn't help but laugh.

At this moment, Qin Shiyu also took out a letter and said:

"Lord Yao, this is a letter from General Li Guang. He asked me to deliver it to you personally."

After Qin Shiyu finished speaking, she presented the letter.

After reading Li Guang's letter, Lord Yao pondered for a moment and then nodded.

"Yang Jinshi said, Marquis Zhengyang has arranged for the two of you to come to the capital to teach the technique of making fertilizer from saltpeter and to promote the fertilizer so that farmers all over the world can benefit. Your contributions will be indelible."

The imperial court has recently established the Agricultural Fertilizer Department, a new department with newly appointed staff. They lack knowledge about fertilizers and production techniques, so you are needed to teach and impart your expertise.

"You've come from afar and must be very tired. Please rest at the Marquis's residence for a couple of days. The Agriculture and Fertilizer Department still has some preparatory work to do, and we'll invite you over then."

"Yes, we will follow Lord Yao's orders." The two replied.

After bidding farewell to Lord Yao, the group was taken to the Marquis's residence, where they would stay for a month.

They had heard that the Marquis's mansion in the capital was very large, and when they entered, they were stunned. It was even larger than they had imagined, considering that land in the capital was extremely valuable.

The two thought that after staying at the Marquis's residence for a day or two, Lord Yao would arrange for them to go to the Agricultural and Fertilizer Department, but they waited at the Marquis's residence for five days without any movement.

I'm getting anxious because I can't ask around about what's going on.

On the morning of the sixth day, Lord Yao arrived at the Marquis's residence with his entourage, and Yang Jin and Qin Shiyu quickly went out to greet them.

Through Lord Yao's introduction, Yang Jin and Qin Shiyu learned that Lord Yao had brought all the officials from the Agricultural and Fertilizer Department. Their personal visit made the two of them feel somewhat unworthy of the honor.