Chapter 129
Seeing that no one was speaking, Qin Su looked around curiously and said, "My lords, I have finished speaking."
What does this mean? Why did everyone stop talking after she finished speaking?
Huh? Why are these grandfathers looking at her like they're trying to steal a child?
Or did he want to steal her duck after hearing what she said?
Qin Su felt a chill run down her spine and quickly preemptively said, "The task of dealing with the locust plague still depends on you gentlemen. I am young and can only do my best."
She looked reluctantly at the duck soldiers in the arms of the palace servants, and said to Emperor Jingxi with righteous indignation, "Father, your duck soldiers are willing to be the vanguard in the fight against locusts."
If she hands it over to Emperor Jingxi, at least she can bring it back, right? Otherwise, what if these ministers take it away and don't return it? This group of people looks like they're going to steal her duck.
Emperor Jingxi saw through the child's wariness and laughed until his stomach ached, but he couldn't expose her in front of his ministers, so he said seriously, "It's kind of you, Zhaoyang, to have such a thought. So be it."
It was getting late, and Qin Su had completed her mission. Emperor Jingxi, fearing that she would be disturbed from her sleep, ordered Liang Danxin to escort her back to the palace.
After Qin Su left, Emperor Jingxi was not in a hurry to discuss important matters. Instead, he asked his ministers, "What do you think of Zhaoyang, my dear ministers?"
The court officials praised the princess, saying that she was intelligent, quick-witted, gentle, pure, and virtuous, truly worthy of being His Majesty's eldest daughter.
Emperor Jingxi was clearly pleased to hear this, but he complained, "Although Zhaoyang is intelligent and can understand everything quickly, she is also impulsive and sometimes doesn't act like a princess. It gives me a lot of headaches."
The courtiers' lips twitched; they realized that the emperor was pretending to complain but actually wanted to show off his daughter, and their feelings were complicated.
On the one hand, they felt that Princess Zhaoyang was indeed incredibly intelligent, and any family with such a child would be extremely grateful. On the other hand, they felt that His Majesty's hypocritical behavior made them grit their teeth.
But no matter how much you envy them, there's nothing you can do. The emperor is the greatest, and it's useless to covet the emperor's children.
The courtiers had no choice but to pretend they hadn't noticed and continue to praise Emperor Jingxi for his excellent teaching and ability to educate children.
Emperor Jingxi indeed suppressed the feigned displeasure on his face and said with a smile, "Alright, Zhaoyang is just a child, how much have you praised him? It's getting late, let's talk about the locust plague first."
The courtiers: "..."
What should I do? I'm so annoyed, my teeth are itchy again!
***
The candles in the imperial study burned until midnight before the court officials emerged, their faces weary.
A curfew had been imposed in the city, and the guards escorted the ministers back to their residences as ordered by Emperor Jingxi.
Just as Sima Lan was about to get into the sedan chair, someone behind him suddenly called out, "Brother Sima!"
Sima Lan turned his head and saw that it was Jiang Yuanlu, the Vice Minister of Works.
The two were both Jinshi (successful candidates in the same year) and had some acquaintance. Because Sima Lan was a few months older, Jiang Yuanlu always addressed him as his elder brother.
When Sima Lan saw it was him, he greeted him with a smile, "Brother Jiang."
Jiang Yuanlu walked up to the guards and said, "I live close to Brother Sima, so let's go back together. That way, we won't have to trouble you too much."
The guards naturally respected their opinions.
Jiang Yuanlu and Sima Lan then got into the same sedan chair.
The sedan chair left the palace smoothly. Sima Lan heard the sound of guards' horses' hooves outside, but not beside the sedan chair. He asked in a low voice, "Brother Jiang, do you have something to say to me?"
Jiang Yuanlu also lowered his voice and said, "Exactly."
He sighed and said, "What happened to Princess Zhaoyang today has made me very uneasy. I have a lot on my mind and don't know who to talk to. After thinking about it, I can only discuss it with Brother Sima."
Sima Lan's face showed a complex expression: "My foolish brother feels the same way."
Jiang Yuanlu was somewhat moved to see that Sima Lan truly understood him, and asked, "I wonder what Brother Sima's plans are?"
Sima Lan said, "When I get back, I'll hire two more tutors for my good-for-nothing grandson. He's a year older than Princess Zhaoyang, and all he does is play around all day. He has no ambition. After seeing Princess Zhaoyang today, I finally understand why His Majesty dotes on him so much..."
"Wait!" Jiang Yuanlu interrupted him in astonishment, his voice rising involuntarily. "Brother Sima, His Majesty has already had Princess Zhaoyang discuss state affairs with the court officials in the Imperial Study. Is that all you've thought of?"
Sima Lan was even more astonished than him: "Otherwise what?"
The two looked at each other and suddenly realized that they were not on the same page at all, but rather their words were completely misunderstood.
Jiang Yuanlu said awkwardly, "Hehe, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."
Sima Lan: "...Hehe."
***
Two days later, Emperor Jingxi suddenly found Qin Su, who was squatting next to the experimental field with Ye Yan observing the seedlings, and asked, "Do you want to go see your duck army?"
Qin Su's eyes lit up, and without even asking where they were going, she shouted, "Let's go!"
Emperor Jingxi then took his two children to the outskirts of the city.
They stood on the city wall and looked out over the scenery inside and outside the city.
These past two days, the officials in the capital have done nothing but assign ducks to lower levels.
Thanks to Qin Su, almost every household in the capital had ducks, and more than one. This time, in order to deal with the locust plague, the government encouraged everyone to release all their ducks.
Some people were reluctant, fearing they would lose their ducks, so the government issued another order stating that lost ducks would be compensated at three times their market value. This stopped those who were unwilling.
All households in the city followed the instructions and placed ducks in cages on both sides of the street in front of their homes.
As Qin Su looked around from Emperor Jingxi's arms, she felt that the duck cages were like dots, covering and connecting the entire city.
She exclaimed in surprise, "It looks like fluffy stars forming a starry sky on the ground."
Ye Yan was amused by her and quietly touched her hair.
Emperor Jingxi, however, did not notice. He frowned and looked into the distance, saying in a deep voice, "They've arrived."
"What's coming?" Qin Su turned her head and saw dark clouds surging and spreading in from the distant horizon.
No, those aren't clouds, but swarms of locusts covering the mountains and fields.
Qin Su had previously read about locusts in books and witnessed the helplessness of Emperor Jingxi and his ministers in the face of the locust plague, but she was still shocked when she first faced such an overwhelming scene.
It wasn't just one or two insects, but countless locusts. They gathered together and flew over, almost blotting out the sky, so much so that at first glance it was hard to tell they were insects; they might be mistaken for a large cloud.
The slightest movement of them causes them to billow smoke like a collapsing mountain.
Not only Qin Su, but everyone who witnessed this scene felt their scalp tingle and their whole body itch slightly.
As a modern person, Ye Yan had never seen such a severe locust plague before, and he was shocked, gaining a deeper understanding of the agricultural production environment in ancient times.
Emperor Jingxi saw the locusts fly even closer in the blink of an eye, so he raised his hand and waved it downwards.
The officials behind immediately gave the order: "Release the ducks—"
One by one, the messengers shouted, "Release the ducks—"
The residents of the city all untied the duck cages, and hundreds of thousands of ducks rushed out of the city gates in a grand procession.
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