Chapter 134 My Charming Ancestor 8
Ying Zheng's words were like a reassuring pill.
Li Si and Xu Fu bowed and took their leave, returning to their carriages, both drenched in cold sweat.
Your heart is unfathomable, but you have never deceived me.
...
In Zhou Jue's carriage.
At this moment, she was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, her consciousness immersed in the Starry Sky Box, engaging in a profound "business exchange" with the old tree.
The "semi-confessional" strategy is theoretically perfect.
It retains the air of sophistication and mystery associated with "immortals" while also bringing her closer to her ancestors, making it easier to "smuggle in her own ideas" later. It's practically a plan tailor-made for her.
The problem is, how do we implement it?
You can't just meet Ying Zheng and say, "Hey, ancestor, let me give you a spoiler of the future, can you?"
That's not called a half-confession, that's called a death sentence.
Just as she was lost in thought, the convoy slowly came to a stop.
A respectful voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, His Majesty requests your presence."
Zhou Jue sat up with a start, quickly tidied his appearance, took a deep breath, and put the "detached" mask back on.
Lifting the carriage curtain, Ying Zheng's eunuch Zhao Gao was waiting respectfully outside the carriage, bowing deeply.
"Immortal, His Majesty requests your presence at the imperial palace."
Zhou Jue got out of the car. It was already late at night. The huge convoy had already stopped and set up camp. The footsteps of the armored soldiers patrolling were neat and uniform.
Led by Zhao Gao, Zhou Jue boarded the six-horse carriage.
The carriage curtains were drawn, blocking the view from the outside.
Zhou Jue mentally instructed the system to simulate the breath-concealing talisman to isolate sound once more.
After doing all this, she finally looked up at the owner inside the car.
Inside the carriage, candlelight shone brightly, and a large, low table was placed in the center, on which were two cups of steaming hot tea.
Ying Zheng sat quietly at his desk, toying with a smooth potato in his hand.
Hearing the noise, he looked up.
When his gaze met Zhou Jue's, he paused slightly.
Something's not right.
The immortal before me seems... somewhat different from the one I saw atop Mount Tai during the day.
Ying Zheng did not reveal his thoughts; he simply placed the potato in his hand on the table and made a "please" gesture.
"Please sit, sir."
Zhou Jue calmly took his seat.
"I have been presumptuous in disturbing you, Immortal." Ying Zheng said angrily, and then went straight to the point: "I still have a few questions in my mind about 'yam' and 'sweet potato', and I would like to ask you, Immortal, to enlighten me."
"Your Majesty, please speak."
"Are there still any divine objects bestowed by the immortals?" Ying Zheng asked the question that concerned him most.
“The seeds are still available.” Zhou Jue nodded, then changed the subject: “But although this plant can produce a high yield, it is not a panacea and has its own characteristics. If we want it to truly benefit all people, we still need to understand its methods.”
"Oh?" Ying Zheng's interest grew even stronger: "Please teach me, immortal."
This is what he really wants to hear.
"Taro prefers loose, sandy soil and dislikes waterlogging; it should be planted in sections..."
Sweet potatoes prefer warm temperatures and dislike cold, requiring ample sunlight...
"These two crops should not be planted on the same land year after year, otherwise the soil fertility will be depleted, diseases will occur, and reduced yields or even crop failure will result. They need to be rotated with millet, wheat and beans to ensure long-term survival."
Zhou Jue concisely explained the agricultural knowledge summarized by later generations in language that people of this era could understand.
Instead of mentioning exaggerated figures like "100 shi per mu," she proactively pointed out the "shortcomings" and "requirements" of these two crops.
These words, far from disappointing Ying Zheng, actually made him more convinced.
Nothing in this world is perfect.
It has advantages and disadvantages, and people need to study, adapt to, and promote it; only in this way can it conform to the "Tao".
If the immortal said that this thing could grow simply by being thrown into the ground, he would be skeptical.
He listened quietly, and when he heard something important, he would ask a question or two, such as "What is crop rotation?" or "How should diseases be prevented and controlled?"
Zhou Jue answered them one by one.
Ying Zheng listened intently, as if he could already see countless agricultural officials leading the people across the vast land of Qin, planting patches of green hope according to the methods described by the immortals.
When the autumn harvest season arrives, the granaries are filled with golden millet and heavy taro and sweet potatoes.
He felt as if he had returned to Handan.
That year, he was still a young hostage prince. The State of Zhao suffered a severe drought, and the land was littered with corpses of the starving.
He witnessed a mother feeding her last bit of food to her emaciated child before turning away and silently walking into the icy river.
That desperate figure is etched deep in his memory, causing him constant pain.
He suddenly came to his senses and realized that his hand had been clenched tightly without him noticing, and his knuckles had turned white.
Zhou Jue looked at him, and seeing the fleeting pain in the eyes of this iron-blooded emperor, a thought struck him. It seemed that the "semi-confessional" plan had found a breakthrough.
“Your Majesty,” she said softly, “I have glimpsed a vision of the future in the long river of time.”
Ying Zheng suddenly looked up at her.
Zhou Jue ignored the shock in his eyes and continued talking to herself. Her voice was very soft, as if she were telling a story from a distant dream.
"It was a winter day, with heavy snow falling. In ordinary people's homes, there were no delicacies, but there were steaming hot roasted sweet potatoes. Each child had one, and their hands were burning from the heat, but their little faces were all smiles, and they mumbled 'sweet'."
"They don't know what hunger is, let alone what 'exchanging children to eat' means. They only know that a bite of hot, sweet food in winter is the greatest joy in the world."
These words caused Ying Zheng's hand to tremble slightly.
The children...laughed...and shouted "Sweet!"
The magnificent vision he had devoted his entire life to creating, even at the cost of eternal infamy, was vividly sketched out by her in just a few simple words.
"What the immortals saw... could it come true?"
"Yes, I will." Zhou Jue's answer was firm and resolute.
She looked at him, then changed the subject: "But time waits for no one."
Ying Zheng realized the deeper meaning in her words and pulled himself out of the heart-stirring scene, regaining his imperial sensitivity.
"If the immortal has something to say, please speak freely."
“Your Majesty,” Zhou Jue’s expression turned serious, “the imperial carriage is accompanied by tens of thousands of people, with banners stretching for hundreds of miles. Even traveling day and night, it will take at least a month to return to Xianyang.”
“In the Guanzhong region, planting taro in autumn is still worth a try. If we wait for the carriage to return, it will already be early winter, and everything will be over. This year will have been wasted.”
Ying Zheng's brows furrowed instantly.
Of course he knows about this problem.
This is one of the reasons why he summoned Zhou Jue late at night. He wanted to obtain all the planting methods and then immediately send them back to Xianyang via urgent military order so that they could start preparing.
But this is ultimately just theoretical. Without the guidance of an immortal and without seeing the actual object, who can guarantee that nothing will go wrong?
This is a sacred object that concerns the fate of the nation; it cannot be lost!
Just as he was deep in thought, Zhou Jue made a suggestion.
She leaned forward slightly, looked into Ying Zheng's eyes, and said, word by word:
"I have a method that allows me to reach Xianyang in an instant, without the need for carriages or horses."
"I wonder if Your Majesty has the courage to go ahead with me?"
Inside the carriage, a deathly silence instantly fell.
The candlelight flickered gently, casting shimmering light on the expressions on their faces.
All the expressions on Ying Zheng's face vanished at that moment.
Appreciation, excitement, emotion... all vanished.
Instead, a kind of prudence belonging to emperors was adopted.
They left his army and his guards, entrusting their lives and property entirely to an unknown "immortal" and a "law" they had never heard of.
This is no longer a matter of courage.
This is gambling with your life.
He was risking his life, the life of an emperor, for an opportunity that might save him a month.
He remained silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly, his voice low and flat, devoid of any emotion.
"What kind of magic does the immortal possess?"
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