Chapter 43
"He's gone mad! He's probably going insane!"
"Then why bother planting this stuff? It's not as easy to grow as sweet potato roots, and the leaves are inedible, so how are we supposed to feed the farmers?"
"What, you can still dig it up? People say that sprouted seeds are poisonous. If you want to have some good karma, let's not eat them."
"If we don't eat these few tattered leaves, will everyone starve to death? Besides, what filling food can they possibly provide!"
The people around him were chattering and arguing, all about Song Junwu's new order. Some agreed with it, while others disagreed, each with their own opinion. But if they said they wouldn't plant it now, they would truly have ruined the plant, and their future business and life would be impossible.
I might as well just endure it and finish planting this time; I'd rather die than plant again.
Qingyun, who had been standing by and listening to the whole thing, carried a hoe. When she saw that they were talking about something else, she walked towards the sand dunes. She didn't care about anything else, because whether or not potatoes were planted, the excellent sweet potato seeds had all been mixed into the hands of various shops and village heads, and the goods in the hands of individual farmers had all been replaced with sweet potatoes provided by Qingyun.
As for the seedlings that hadn't been taken out yet, Qingyun asked Song Junwu to have people haul them from the sandy area where she was cultivating them, as many as they could get. Qingyun's actions, which seemed like a heroic feat to others, had earned her the foreman's respect these past few days.
At first, apart from Mu Helian, the foremen led by Liu Er all looked down on Qingyun behind her back, thinking that a woman would always try to do some messy things to prove herself. Now, seeing this scene, they were speechless.
"I always said women are stupid. If they had that kind of ability, they would have squeezed a lot of money out of them instead of obediently asking Lord Song to pull them out. They're really stupid to the extreme," said Liu Er's henchman, referring to Qingyun.
Liu Er simply tapped his pipe, shook out the tobacco, put it back in, lit it, took a deep breath, and exhaled heavily. "But it's this kind of woman who's gotten ahead of us. Can't you believe how infuriating that is?"
"Who knows what's wrong with her? Why didn't she show off this skill before? If she had this skill, her house would have been ransacked."
Liu Er smiled and tapped his temple, the meaning of which was self-evident.
An object traced a perfect parabola before landing steadily on the ground. It turned out to be a spoiled sweet potato. Qingyun walked barefoot across the hard, muddy ground, a small hoe in her hand, and sweating profusely as she walked toward another farmer's wife in the field.
"What is that?" Qingyun asked breathlessly.
The peasant woman handed the spicy strips in her hand to Qingyun to see.
Qingyun: "..."
They were so scared before, yet they still dared to hold it in their hands.
"We're having meat tonight!"
Did I misunderstand? It was a happy scream!
The land Qingyun was tilling was land that Song Chaoyun had previously cultivated herself. She came to till it, naturally hoping to earn some points. However, her good fortune didn't last long. After planting the sweet potatoes and returning to the sand dune, she learned that recently, branches from the trees had been frequently cut.
It would be fine if only the branches were cut, but some people go even further, felling the entire tree and not even sparing the saplings.
Upon hearing this, Qingyun was furious and complained that Mu Helian hadn't mentioned it to her.
"This is none of your business, so there's no need to tell you."
Upon hearing this, she was momentarily speechless, seemingly not expecting the other person to say such a thing. Her lips moved as she hesitated, unsure of what to say next. "Am I not even allowed to know?" she finally managed to say softly, her voice tinged with grievance and helplessness.
"Qingyun, these are flaws you can't change. When it comes to making a living, you can talk yourself hoarse without getting anywhere. Telling you this will only make you more frustrated."
It seems that Lin Wanjun told Shu and Mu Helian everything they had said that day. However, even if they hadn't said anything, anyone could tell that Qingyun's condition was off those days.
Mu Helian was right, and Qingyun naturally couldn't find a reason to refute her, so he could only continue to ask if they had any solutions.
"No, we're still considering it."
Upon hearing this, Qingyun nodded thoughtfully, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Before Qingyun could even come to him, Song Junwu arrived uninvited and invited him to a tea pavilion. The tea pavilion itself wasn't unusual, but what was unusual were its four pillars, which were made of four living trees, their crowns pruned into the shape of eaves. It was called the Tree Pavilion.
Walking along the path, she looked up and saw that the four pointed corners were neatly trimmed. She wondered if scaffolding was used in ancient times. This sight was quite an eye-opener for Qingyun, a country bumpkin. The pavilion was surrounded by seasonal flowers, and Song Junwu was sitting among them, slowly sipping his fragrant tea.
When people arrived, he simply invited them to sit down and said frankly that he and Qingyun could be informal with formalities.
Despite what the other party said, Qingyun still politely bowed and greeted them.
Qingyun glanced at the items on the table; they were all pastries, so exquisite they were astonishing. There wasn't much fruit, though. He wondered if this was the standard for afternoon tea for this person. In any case, Qingyun's eyes were opened once again.
"You should already know?"
Hearing this, Qingyun nodded. She knew what the other person was talking about, so she replied, "It's just not clear who cut down those trees. Was it intentional, or did they really intend to use them as firewood?"
Song Junwu didn't care whether it was intentional or genuinely worried about making a living. The firewood for the spring had already been distributed, and cutting down those trees would be tantamount to courting death.
"Has Lord Song investigated everything?"
"That's natural."
As he spoke, Song Junwu glanced at her and said, "You don't need to worry about this anymore. I will handle it myself."
Hearing this, Qingyun was puzzled. What did this person want to do by calling her over? "Lord Song must have told me more than just this one thing, right?" She picked up her teacup and took a sip. The taste was very sweet, but it became a little cloying after a few bites.
Song Junwu looked at her with a smile but didn't say anything. Qingyun raised her eyebrows slightly, as if she wanted to hear some other ideas.
Qingyun: "If this problem of poverty is not corrected, no matter how many trees are planted, it will be of no use. I believe Lord Song has also learned this from the potato sprout incident."
That's true.
Qingyun: "Why don't we start with some ideological work? If we want to eradicate the problem at its root, we have to start from the root. If people understand the importance of trees, they won't cut them down indiscriminately anymore. However, this is also because these trees are in such high demand that we have no choice but to do this."
Qingyun's words were known to all the officials in Muyun City, but putting them into practice would be incredibly difficult. Each official would go their own way, and while they appeared to be a cohesive group, they were actually a disorganized mess.
All the problems boil down to one reason: lack of money.
Song Junwu: "The common people have their own difficulties, and I naturally understand what you mean. Let's do as you say first, and then see how it goes."
The two had agreed on what to do, but Qingyun was still not used to Song Chaoyun's absence. She and Song Junwu had little interaction, and it seemed as if Song Chaoyun had instructed the other party to look after her. As she left the courtyard, she happened to see Song Chaohua taking a walk in the garden, with a woman beside him. The woman's back looked very familiar.
With a loud crash, followed by the sound of shattering ceramics, a bright yellow orange rolled to one side and finally stopped at someone's feet. A jade-like hand emerged from the sleeve, knelt down to pick up the orange, and then handed it to a maid standing nearby.
The woman on the brocade table, who was sobbing, looked up at the person who had come from behind. Her delicate face was covered with tears, and her cherry-like lips moved up and down, but she still couldn't speak.
"What's wrong?" Song Chaoyun asked, sitting down with a cold face.
"Elder sister." Upon seeing this, the woman quickly grasped Song Chaoyun's hand.
Song Chaoli, the third sister of Song Chaoyun, lived in the palace. However, because her birth mother was of low status, she was not shown to the public from birth. People only knew about the two princesses and did not know that there was such a person as Song Chaoli. This princess was extremely beautiful and talented, but she was never favored by the current emperor.
Seeing Song Chaoyun's expression, Song Chaoli immediately wiped away her tears forcefully. "Elder sister, I don't want to get married. I have a husband I love!"
Song Chaoyun dismissed all the maids, picked up her teacup, took a sip, but couldn't help frowning. After a long while, she finally spoke, "Then what do you suggest?" As she spoke, she stared at the other person.
"I want to escape." Song Chaoli knew that these words were extremely treasonous, but she couldn't care less at the moment. "What are we? Cats and dogs that Father King would coax when he was in a good mood, but who would be sent away like lowly commoners when he was in a bad mood?"
Song Chaoli looked at the woman and said, “When there is profit to be made, a daughter is just an object.” As she spoke, her eyes lowered, revealing a look of hatred and sorrow. “Elder sister, don’t you know that today it is me, tomorrow it will be you, it will be her, countless thousands of hers.”
"You want to escape?" Song Chaoyun repeated the question. She pondered carefully, and upon hearing Song Chaoli's words, she looked up at her again. "Being born into royalty inherently involves many things beyond our control. Exchanging a daughter for peace without firing a single shot is nothing."
As he spoke, Song Chaoyun withdrew his hand and straightened his expression, "It has always been this way since ancient times."
Upon hearing this, Song Chaoli's pupils contracted slightly. Then, she withdrew her hand, pondering the other person's words in her mind. After a long while, as if she had made up her mind, she said, "Since those men are so useless and cowardly, I might as well lead the troops into battle."
"It's not like we're calling you out for a marriage alliance."
"That won't do either!"
What Song Chaoyun said was true. The Emperor only wanted Song Chaoli to marry into the family of a civil official in the court. However, Song Chaoli already had someone in mind and did not want to marry someone else easily.
"You said you wanted to escape?" The atmosphere was tense for a while when Song Chaoyun suddenly spoke up to break the deadlock, steer the conversation toward what she had been thinking about. Song Chaoyun stared at Song Chaoli and slowly said, "Since you want to escape, I will make arrangements for you, but there is one thing you have to promise me."
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