Finally, the emperor spoke up and asked, "Are there any errors in the memorials submitted?"

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Dezi took the memorial to the county magistrate.

Li Rong read the memorial again from beginning to end before returning it to Xiao Dezi.

"Your Majesty, I have not made a mistake."

The Emperor sat up straight immediately: "Oh, if I'm not mistaken, this is 6,000 jin, not 600 jin. What you wrote in your memorial is the yield of 20 mu of land per mu."

The ministers below were also whispering among themselves in the street, saying, "They really don't care about their lives and dare to say anything. If it's found to be untrue, they'll be beheaded in no time."

"What else needs to be proven? It's definitely fake. If it weighs 6,000 jin, I'll cut off my head and give it to him to sit on."

The magistrate stepped forward and recounted everything he had seen and heard in Taoliu Village, including the fruit his wife had purchased there.

“Every word I have said is true, and I am willing to stake my life on it.”

The moment these words were spoken, the court fell silent. This was outrageous.

Could it be true? Otherwise, who would risk the lives of their entire family to guarantee it?

"The Emperor and his officials also brought some of these fresh crops with them."

What was presented were fresh potatoes and sweet potatoes, along with several recipes, which the county magistrate had specially written down after learning how to prepare these things from the Su family.

Xiao Dezi presented all the prescriptions the man had brought out.

The man sitting on the dragon throne looked at Fang before giving his orders.

"Xiao Dezi instructed the imperial kitchen to prepare all these things according to the recipe and present them to all my beloved ministers for them to taste."

Soon, with the cooks working tirelessly, these delicious dishes were finally ready.

The people in the Golden Palace couldn't help but drool as they watched the eunuchs bring out the dishes of food.

The aroma of this delicious dish was incredibly enticing as soon as it was served.

Xiao Dezi naturally tasted it first, and after testing it with a silver needle to confirm there was no problem, he placed it before the Emperor.

The eunuchs below also placed the trays they were carrying in front of the ministers standing at the very front.

General Liu, who was at the very front, was the first to pick up a roasted sweet potato and taste it.

General Liu found it a bit too hot to eat, but the taste was truly sweet and delicious.

After taking the first bite, General Liu turned to the eunuch and asked, "Is there sugar in this?"

"Reporting to the general, there is none."

The emperor, seated at the head of the table, also tasted the sweet potato and naturally heard the eunuch say that no sugar had been added.

"It's surprisingly sweet even without added sugar, which is quite good."

The emperor outwardly remained expressionless, but inwardly he was utterly astonished. Not only was the taste delicious, but the most crucial thing was the 6,000 jin mentioned by the magistrate, which was still swirling in his mind.

Next, I tried this ingredient called potato. It was served with salted potato shreds and boiled potatoes that were cut in half and sprinkled with chili powder.

Eating these boiled potatoes sprinkled with chili powder, I couldn't help but think that the red stuff inside looked a bit like bell peppers.

"The bell peppers this year are really good; they taste so much better than the bell peppers from previous years."

Xiao Dezi whispered from the side, "Your Majesty, these are not red peppers, but chili peppers brought by Li Rong, the magistrate of Peach Blossom Town."

"Your Majesty, this is what I brought from that farmer's house. I heard that the seeds were also sold by the Hu people and were grown by that family."

In addition, after obtaining permission, the county magistrate had the eunuchs outside bring in several large bags of cantaloupes.

"Your Majesty, please also bring some of the fruits and melons grown by that farmer. We would be honored if Your Majesty and everyone else would do us the honor of trying them."

The officials in the imperial court weren't fools; they knew this thing had been selling like hotcakes in the capital for a long time, and now even money couldn't buy it.

If I could take one or two of these back with me, my wife would be overjoyed.

Immediately afterwards, the adults looked at the several large bags of fruits on the ground and began to rub their hands together in anticipation.

How could the Emperor not know what these ministers were thinking? But how could he let them have their way?

My own concubine had been saying she wanted to eat this for a long time, but she had been unable to buy it ever since. She had heard that it came from a rather remote area.

I was originally thinking of sending someone to check if there were any left, and if so, to buy them all. But who would have thought? Just when I was feeling sleepy, someone offered me a pillow.

"Lord Sima, please take your men and go see the specific situation. Also, please ask that farmer how they grew these new foods."

As for the other chilies, let them continue to grow as many as they can, and we'll buy them all.

After tasting the chili peppers in the potatoes, the Emperor exclaimed that they were indeed many times tastier than bell peppers in every aspect.

The people of the Agricultural Bureau have never figured out how to cultivate this pepper, so they buy it from the Hu people at a high price every year, but the price keeps getting higher and higher.

Ma Wei, from the Ministry of Agriculture, hurriedly stepped forward to receive the imperial decree, saying, "Your subject will humbly learn this planting technique completely."

Lord Ma is no fool. If he handles such an important matter himself and does it well, promotion and wealth will be just around the corner.

Just thinking about it is exciting; a yield of 6,000 jin per mu is an incredibly impressive number.

"From what I understand, it was the young girl from that farmer's family who made it. In that case, we should reward her."

The emperor stroked his chin and thought it over. The national treasury was not full to begin with, but the other party had made such a great contribution. If he did not show his appreciation, it would really disappoint the people.

I'm not afraid of being deceived, since I'll definitely be going down with the imperial edict as part of the Agricultural Service, so I'm not afraid of being cheated.

Thinking of this, he directly said to Xiao Dezi beside him, "Xiao Dezi, draft the decree."

"The daughter of the Su family in Taoliu Village, with her skillful hands, has cultivated crops that yield 6,000 jin per mu for the dynasty. Therefore, she is hereby granted the title of County Princess and awarded 100 taels of gold."

Although the county princess held no real power, her official rank was comparable to that of the county magistrate, giving her a considerable status.

"During his tenure, the magistrate of Taohua Town organized people to go into the mountains to find water and repair ditches, which solved the water problem for the entire town."

Now, having traveled a great distance to bring this new species to the court, he has been specially appointed Prefect and awarded a hundred bolts of silk and satin. Furthermore, if any similar discoveries beneficial to the country and its people are made in the future, he may directly come to the court for an audience.

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."

...

Meanwhile, Su Muyao was still running a stall with her father in town, completely unaware that she was about to be appointed to a high-ranking official position.

Just after all the goods were sold, as Old Man Su was driving his donkey cart home, he saw the man and woman who had caused trouble at his house earlier, now leading two young girls toward the slave market.

Old Man Su thought that the family had kidnapped two young girls and was going to sell them, so he quickly took his three sons and, with Su Muyao in his arms, went to intercept them.

Only Su Muyao recognized the two little girls at a glance; they must be her older sisters.

As they approached, they heard the man yell at one of the older girls, "You sluts, get out of here! What use are you? You can't even take care of your little brother. I might as well sell you for money."

Daya pulled her younger sister along, making no attempt to plead for herself.

Whether it's selling myself to someone as a laborer or working as a servant, at least I can still have food to eat, which is better than staying in this family.

Er Ya was already quite exhausted; she hadn't eaten for three days.