"Red soil? You mean the soil is red?" Fourth Master asked in surprise.
"Yes, Cui Er, bring that bag of soil over!" Cui Da nudged Cui Er on the shoulder.
Cui Er immediately turned around and went out. A moment later, he came in carrying a cloth bag, placed it in front of Fourth Master, and opened it.
"Fourth Brother, look at this soil." Thirteen and Cui Er each opened one of the cloth bags, revealing the dark red soil inside.
Fourth Master reached into the cloth bag, grabbed a handful of soil, and examined it. Sure enough, the soil had a reddish tinge.
Fourth Master suddenly put some of the soil back into the cloth bag, leaving only a tiny bit in his hand. He smelled it and then rubbed that tiny bit of soil with his thumb.
"Fourth Brother, is something wrong?" Thirteen asked, noticing that Fourth Master was frowning and staring at the small amount of soil in his hand.
"Has the soil in this area of Yangzhou all turned into this?" Fourth Master asked coldly.
"Cui Da and Cui Er and I have traveled all over the surrounding villages and towns, and we've seen that it's basically the same everywhere, except that some places aren't as red, but they still contain red. It's obvious that the wheat in the places that aren't as red is growing better. Now we can basically confirm that it's this reddened soil that caused the poor harvest in large areas of Yangzhou this year," Thirteen said.
“Yes, Your Majesty, I think this soil contains something. This soil lacks the fertilizer that crops need, which is why the grains are not growing as well as in previous years,” Cui Da said.
Fourth Master's eyes lit up. "Are you sure it contains something that wasn't originally in the soil?"
Cui Da nodded and said, "I've seen even redder soil in my hometown before. The older generation said that the soil was like that because it contained something. Later, we planted trees on that red soil, and they grew very tall and strong."
Fourth Master threw the soil in his hand into the cloth bag, and Thirteen quickly handed him his handkerchief to wipe his hands.
"I'll go with you to take another look tomorrow," Fourth Master said.
"Alright, Fourth Brother, you must be tired from your journey. Please get some rest. Would you like to take a stroll around Yangzhou tonight?" Thirteen asked.
"We'll talk about it later. Father is currently away fighting a war, so we need to find out the reason for the reduced grain production as soon as possible and find a solution. Otherwise, whether we can ultimately win this battle is still uncertain," the Fourth Prince said.
Thirteen is carefree and always lives for the moment. It's not that he doesn't care about national affairs, but he's not as reserved as Fourth Prince. He's strict with others, but even more so with himself.
"Alright, Fourth Brother, the welcome feast prepared for you at noon is ready. Shall we invite the two ladies?" Thirteen asked again.
"We brothers can have a drink, there's no need for them to come. Cui Da and Cui Er can drink together," Fourth Master said, waving his hand.
Thirteen understood and was no longer worried. He realized that his sister-in-law still held an unshakable position in his fourth brother's heart, and that these two could not compare to Niohuru.
Fourth Master got up and went to the back courtyard with Su Peisheng. Mama Luo had been guarding the entrance to the back courtyard for quite some time behind the front hall. When she finally saw the head steward come out of the study, she immediately went to greet him.
"Manager, both ladies are settled in. But the First Madam said you prefer to live alone, so what about your room?" Mama Luo had learned from her servants that Madam Nian was staying in the north-facing room, and feeling troubled, she had specifically stayed here to report this to the Manager. Actually, she just disliked Madam Nian, this "concubine," for daring to act so arrogantly towards the "First Madam."
"How do the two ladies live?" Fourth Master asked.
"The First Madam chose the room on the east side, and the Second Madam chose the room on the north side. I thought this room was prepared for the head manager," Mama Luo said deliberately. In fact, it was a rented room, and the people could live there however they wanted.
Fourth Master looked at the layout of the back courtyard and then turned around and said, "There are other rooms in front, right? Prepare one for me, I'll stay in the front."
Madam Luo was startled, clearly unable to process what the Fourth Master meant. Logically, after what she had just said, the head steward should be angry with the Second Madam. If he wasn't angry, he should have gone directly to her. Why wasn't he going into the inner courtyard?
Su Peisheng was not as surprised as she was. He quickly followed Fourth Master back outside, and even turned around to wink at the dumbfounded Madam Luo as they walked.
After settling in at the back courtyard, Madam Geng and Madam Nian rested for a while before ordering their meal.
Lady Nian was thinking about the Fourth Master coming over for a meal, so she ordered Cuiling to go to the front yard to invite him.
A moment later, Cuiling returned and said that the Fourth Master and the Thirteenth Master were having a meal and would not come to the inner quarters.
Ms. Nian didn't take it to heart and continued eating her meal as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Madam Geng had already ordered her meal, and she ate with two maids, without even going to see the Fourth Master. Looking at the Thirteenth Master, she knew that the Fourth Master wouldn't be coming to the inner quarters anytime soon.
“Princess. That year, you were really funny. You actually lived in the north room. When the master came, which room would he stay in? Should we let the master stay in the west room opposite us?” Green Lan laughed.
"Eat more and talk less. Why are you, a mere maid, worrying so much about Princess Nian's affairs? Perhaps she thinks that Master will live with her in the north room." Madam Geng said calmly.
"This Nian Gege has quite the nerve. She acts like she's the principal wife as soon as she comes out." Lülan had suffered a lot of mistreatment from Cuiling and the others along the way, and now that she saw Nian make a mistake, she couldn't help but mock her.
"Alright, you silly girl. I never thought you were this gossipy. Instead of talking about her, let's just focus on living our own lives," Geng said, glancing at Lülan.
"I just can't stand how arrogant Nian Gege is towards the Gege. She's just a Han Bannerman, why does she act like she's above us?" Lülan said indignantly.
As the mistress and servant were talking, a clear, feminine voice suddenly came from the doorway: "Excuse me, are you Madam Geng?"
A young maidservant with slender arms stood at the door and asked timidly.
"Yes. That's me. Where did you come from, maid? What brings you here?" Madam Geng asked with a faint smile.
"This servant was sent by someone from the front courtyard to deliver a message to Madam, saying that the head manager wants Madam to come over." The little maid's voice was truly beautiful, as melodious as a nightingale's, carrying the characteristic soft and gentle Wu dialect of this region.
"Alright, go ahead. I'll be there shortly," Geng said, her heart filled with joy.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince sent someone to tell Madam Geng to go to the front yard to serve, which was naturally seen by Zi Ning who was standing at the door. When Madam Nian found out, she was so angry that she almost smashed her cup.
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