"I agree with what Lord Qin said!" Lord Yan stepped forward and said.
Then a group of officials seconded the motion, while another group of officials, led by Lord Liang, objected, and the court was in an uproar.
"Does this mean that local officials should disregard court etiquette and follow suit?"
"Where merit lies, there is food; only by enacting new laws can new paths be opened!"
"......"
"Silence! Silence!" Eunuch Qi shouted again.
The officials below fell silent one after another, but they all looked at each other with great resentment.
The emperor, seated on his high throne, wore a cold and stern expression, his eyes revealing an inscrutable emotion. He spoke, "What does the Crown Prince think should be done? Should he be rewarded or punished?"
After a moment's thought, the Crown Prince stepped forward and said, "Your subject believes that Lady Hui and Lin Fengnian from Linjia Village have created a good method to increase the yield of grain per mu, which is truly a blessing for the people. Grain has always been of utmost importance in all dynasties, and such an important achievement must be rewarded."
Furthermore, I believe that we should reward them handsomely, so that the people of the land know that as long as they work diligently in agriculture and contribute to the court, the court will surely reward them. In this way, there will be more and more talented people like Lady Hui who contribute to our dynasty, and our great Yin Dynasty will become ever stronger!
He paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the fact that several county magistrates did not report the matter and implemented it privately, I believe that they should be appropriately punished as a warning to other local officials, but there is no need for severe punishment."
After the crown prince finished speaking, the emperor remained silent for a long time, and the court was also silent.
A moment later, a majestic voice rang out from the high seat: "As the Crown Prince said, Lady Hui is hereby promoted to the fifth rank of Yiren, and Lin Fengnian of Linjia Village is promoted to the eighth rank of Nongshiren. The magistrates of Ningdu County, Heyang County, Qi'an County... have disregarded etiquette and law by implementing the soaking seed method without reporting or order, and will be fined three months' salary. This is a further warning. Court is adjourned."
Eunuch Qi called out loudly, "Court is adjourned!"
The emperor left, surrounded by a group of palace servants.
The group of ministers were left looking at each other in astonishment.
What kind of punishment is this? Three months' salary and a warning are nothing compared to such a great achievement.
Moreover, the emperor actually promoted that peasant woman to the fifth rank, a drop of two ranks, which made them extremely envious and jealous.
However, they dared not say anything more. The Emperor seemed quite satisfied with Consort Hui, and had even inquired about the Crown Prince's attitude towards him today. Everyone knew that Magistrate Yan of Ningdu County was the Crown Prince's cousin, and the two had a very good relationship. The Crown Prince was clearly intentionally helping him.
But the Emperor granted it!
The Crown Prince was slightly surprised that his father had adopted his suggestion without hesitation.
The eldest and second princes standing behind the crown prince had different expressions. The eldest prince's face was extremely ugly, while the second prince's eyes darkened for a moment. Their father had actually asked the crown prince but not them today; usually, their father would have valued them much more.
Even the slightest change in the court could have a minor effect, and the ministers, each with their own thoughts, left the court.
After the court session, the eldest prince and Lord Liang went together.
"Uncle, why didn't the Flying Cavalry Captain send any news about Lady Hui's outstanding achievements? What exactly did he do?" the First Prince questioned.
Lord Liang's face darkened: "Now is not the time to address this matter. This Lady Hui has rendered such great service and has been personally bestowed the title of Fifth-Rank Lady by the Emperor. She is currently very popular in the Emperor's eyes. I'm afraid we can't touch her. We must quickly order the Flying Cavalry Captain to stop."
The eldest prince looked furious: "How infuriating! This potato was a great opportunity to gain the support of the ministers and win over the hearts of the people. Father would have been very pleased with me, and I just lost it like that!"
————
As the busy farming season drew to a close in late July, the joy of a bountiful harvest came to an end. After the autumn harvest and the off-season, many villagers began to repair their houses.
Now that everyone has money and food, they're no longer stingy. To make their winter homes more comfortable, they've almost all used tiles to repair their roofs. Some families have even built new houses with bricks and tiles after earning and saving enough money. It was around this time that construction began on Brother Lin and his wife's house.
Of course, the village school couldn't be forgotten. After the spring planting, summer busy season, and autumn harvest, the Linjia Village school could finally be built. Each household in the village sent someone to work together, and in three or four days, five brick and tile houses were built next to the ancestral hall. The four rooms in the front were for the school, and the one in the back was for Master Peng's family to live in.
After it was built, some villagers from nearby villages sent their children to Linjia Village School to study. Lin Lizheng once again became proud in front of several village leaders, and his back straightened even more.
However, Song Anxin's family's autumn harvest was not over yet; they were about to start harvesting potatoes.
That day, Lin Fenghe and Feng Yao also returned home from their break at the academy, and they decided to help out together. Song Anxin's family took hoes, shovels, and baskets to the potato field.
They had barely arrived at the potato field when a large contingent of soldiers suddenly appeared at the entrance of the village.
Song Anxin and her group, who were in the potato field, got up to look. Lin Fengnian looked puzzled: "Why are there soldiers here? Weren't the bandits wiped out long ago?"
Lin Fenghe said, "Mother, it seems that the one leading them is Lord Liang, and they are coming this way."
Inside the Dafeng Distillery.
"Young master, young master, something terrible has happened."
A worker from the distillery rushed to Lin Fengshou's side.
Lin Fengshou was discussing matters at the distillery with An Lu when he asked, "What's wrong? Why do you look so flustered?"
The distillery worker said, "When we went out to move the wine jars just now, we saw a large group of soldiers heading towards the land on the west slope of your house. The official leading them looked very hostile."
Lin Fengshou and An Lu's expressions immediately changed.
An Lu said, "Second Young Master, today Madam, the Eldest Young Master, and the Third Young Master... they are all harvesting grain in the fields over there."
Lin Fengshou said with a stern face, "I'll go take a look. Anlu, you stay here and keep watch."
An Lu shook his head and said, "Young Master, no, I'll go with you. I've learned some martial arts from Brother Qingshan, so I can protect you if there's any danger."
The worker said, "Yes, that group of soldiers looked fierce, and each of them had a knife at their waist."
Suddenly a voice rang out.
"What! They've come to pick a fight with my second sister-in-law, Lin! No way, I have to go with you. My second sister-in-law can't get hurt."
The one who said this was Lin the Drunkard.
Not only him, but all the workers from the distillery had gathered around at some point.
Aunt Zhao's husband, Zhao Zhuangniu, said, "Fengshou, I'll go with you too. No matter what, if anything happens to any of their many soldiers, I can do my part."
“Yes, Fengshou, I’ll go with you too. Second Aunt is such a good person, we can’t let anything happen to her.”
"Let's go too! Madam Hui has been so good to us, we can't let anything happen to her!"
“...……”
All the workers at the distillery echoed in agreement.
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