Chapter 3396 One Year's Livelihood
Nan Yan turned her head and looked at him.
Zhu Feng didn't continue the topic. Instead, he looked down for a while, smiled, touched Xinping's head, and said to his two daughters, "How about going down and giving it a try?"
Xinping was already stunned by the sight. This was a scenery she had never seen before and she found it simply novel.
When he heard Zhu Feng ask this, his eyes lit up immediately. He pulled Zhu Feng's clothes and said, "Father, do I want to be like them?"
Zhu Feng smiled and said, "Can it be done?"
"certainly!"
Yongping, who was standing by, also treated this as a game. He raised his hand and said in a tender voice, "Your son wants one too!"
Nanyan and Concubine Yi also understood that Zhu Feng was bringing his daughters to experience the hardships of farming. Although the court held a ceremony every few years where the emperor personally plowed the fields, it was merely a formality and could only be performed with the princes.
Zhu Feng has two sons. The crown prince Zhu Chengxuan has suffered some hardships since he was a child, and he understands the suffering of the people the best, so naturally he doesn't need to get used to this. The youngest son Chengjun has also grown a lot after this trip to the northwest, and farming by himself doesn't mean much to him. On the contrary, the two princesses are growing up now, especially Princess Xinping. They should also be given some teachings at this time to prevent them from growing up to be arrogant and licentious princesses in the future.
Nan Yan asked Ruoshui and the others to bring ropes to help the two princesses tie up their sleeves and trouser legs. Then Xinping jumped off the edge of the field impatiently to grab the iron plow to plow the land. Although the little Taoist priests had been warned, they dared not let the two princesses do the heavy work. What's more, even the eldest princess Xinping could not lift the heavy iron plow, let alone the younger one.
Zhu Feng smiled and asked someone to bring two baskets containing the seeds that the Taoists had stored long ago.
The Taoist priest in front turned the soil and asked the two little princesses to follow behind and sow seeds on the ground.
Nan Yan warned: "Don't spill too much, be careful, and don't spill it outside."
Xinping looked up at her and asked, "What's wrong with spilling it outside?"
Nan Yan pretended to be serious and said, "Our livelihood depends on this for the whole year. If we don't take good care of it, the seeds won't grow food, and next year the people here won't have anything to eat!"
Zhu Feng turned his head and glanced at her.
Upon hearing this, Xinping immediately became serious.
Little Yongping also followed her, carefully placing a seed in the ground every half step. Afraid that the seeds would be blown away by the wind, he carefully grabbed a handful of soil with his little hands to cover them.
Nan Yan smiled and said to Concubine Yi, "Look at that girl, how serious she is."
Concubine Yi laughed and said, "Your Majesty must have scared her."
Zhu Feng said: "It's right to let them respect the land."
The three adults just stood aside and watched the fun. With their ordinary clothes, they really looked like a rich man with his wives and concubines watching the harvest in his fields. They looked particularly comfortable.
Just as the three of them were chatting and laughing, suddenly, Yongping in the field screamed loudly.
“There are bugs!”
When Concubine Yi heard this, she hurried over.
Yongping hugged her legs, holding back her mouth and about to cry, Concubine Yi hurriedly hugged her and coaxed her: "Good boy Yongping, don't be afraid, mother is here."
Zhu Feng also walked over with Nan Yan. Looking down, he saw an earthworm in the ground that had just been crushed in half by the plow. It was twisting in the dirt, looking rather disgusting. He smiled and reached out to touch his little daughter's chubby face, saying soothingly, "Don't be afraid. It's not something scary. It's just an earthworm."
Xiao Yongping looked at her with red eyes: "What is an earthworm?"
“Earthworms help farmers plow the land.”
Yongping opened his eyes wide: "Insects also plow the land?"
Zhu Feng laughed and said, "It burrows around in the soil, loosening it. Isn't that helping?"
Xin Ping, who was standing by, was also surprised and said, "Is that so? I didn't even know about this."
Zhu Feng laughed and said, "In this world, how can everything be placed right in front of you?"
Xinping and Yongping both looked up at him. Zhu Feng looked at them, then looked at the vast Xingluo Lake in front of him. The rising mist obscured the scenery in the distance. He had no idea what kind of undercurrents were hidden beneath the seemingly calm surface of the lake.
Zhu Feng said, "The success or failure of many things is achieved when the final step is taken, when no one is looking. If you want to choose success over failure, you have to put your heart and effort into the unseen places. Do you understand?"
After all, the two children were still young. Xinping seemed to understand somewhat, but Yongping was completely confused.
After hearing this, Nan Yan was silent for a while.
Then he smiled and said, "They are still young. If the emperor tells them this, will they understand?"
Zhu Feng also looked down at his two daughters and couldn't help but laugh: "Well, I was confused. Okay, you guys continue."
After saying that, he turned around and walked back to the edge of the field.
Concubine Yi was originally reluctant to leave her daughter, fearing that she would be frightened again, but Nan Yan said a few words to her, asking Xinping to be careful with her sister, and Concubine Yi followed her back to Zhu Feng.
Nan Yan had been watching the two children busying around in the fields with a playful attitude before, but after hearing Zhu Feng's words, her expression became a little more serious. She looked at Zhu Feng several times, wanting to say something but stopping herself. Zhu Feng seemed to have sensed her gaze and turned to look at her: "What's wrong?"
"Well--"
Nan Yan was about to say something when she suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind her.
Looking back, he saw a servant running over with a document in his hand. He presented it to Zhu Feng with both hands, "Your Majesty, this is a letter from Jinling."
Both the Imperial Concubine and the Concubine Yi looked at Zhu Feng.
He took the letter and opened it. There seemed to be only a few lines of words on it. It seemed that it was not a memorial, but a brief report on something. Zhu Feng glanced at it. Although there was no expression on his face, Nan Yan clearly saw a smile in his eyes.
Zhu Feng said: "Alright, I understand."
The attendant immediately withdrew.
Concubine Yi had always known the rule that the harem could not interfere in government affairs, so she didn't dare to show even a hint of curiosity at this time. But Nan Yan was used to traveling around with Zhu Feng, and had heard him talk about so many political affairs, so she couldn't help but want to care about what had happened. Moreover, based on her understanding of Zhu Feng, the calmer Zhu Feng was, the bigger the problem would be.
However, since Concubine Yi was by her side, she couldn't ask questions as usual.
Zhu Feng also remained silent.
Although he didn't say anything, after a while, he seemed to be unable to hold back and said, "We're leaving for Jinling tomorrow. You all need to be prepared and don't forget anything."
Concubine Yi immediately said, "Yes."
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