At this moment, Zhong Muyu came out from behind and said, "If that's the case, then it goes against my original intention."
"Your Highness!"
Everyone stood up and bowed.
Zhong Muyu sat down next to Lu Ziyuan and gestured for them to dispense with formalities: "As you can see, all the crops and food here were cultivated by me."
"Huh? This..."
A stir arose in the crowd. They could hardly believe that Zhong Muyu, a woman, could cultivate such skills. However, an even greater question arose at this moment.
"If it's true, Her Highness the Princess is indeed extraordinary. However, we don't know where Her Highness obtained these seeds from."
These crops had never appeared in Yuanqi before, but suddenly so many appeared one day, making it hard not to be suspicious.
Zhong Muyu had anticipated this.
“Lingqing has many foreign merchants, and I also have merchants under my command who go out to trade. People from other countries are very secretive about things that are related to people’s livelihoods. After I found out, I asked them to try to get some and try to grow it first. Only after it is successful will I invite you all to taste it.”
"Hmm? If you put it that way, isn't that no different from stealing? What if people from other countries found out..."
“I’ve been planting them for almost a year now, and they haven’t come looking for me. Besides, this is something that concerns the livelihood of the people of Yuanqi. You’ve all seen it; these plants are large, have a high yield, and as for the taste, I believe you can judge for yourselves. Is there anything more to say?”
After Zhong Muyu said that, the people below whispered among themselves, and many of them agreed.
Lu Ziyuan spoke up at the opportune moment: "If there are any other questions later, you may move to the back hall to talk with me and the Queen. We will answer all your questions without reservation."
The crowd below responded in unison, "Thank you, Your Highness and Your Highness!"
After tasting and appreciating the seeds, Zhong Muyu and Lu Ziyuan discussed the specifics with them and finally decided to plant the seeds next spring.
As long as they take the lead, year after year, these crops will flourish throughout Yuanqi, greatly improving people's quality of life.
...
A few days later, the temperature suddenly dropped, the wind blew off the few remaining withered leaves on the trees, and a heavy snow fell.
"Your Highness, it's snowing! Please come out and see!"
Early spring called her from outside, but Zhong Muyu sat in front of the heater, not wanting to move at all.
It's been so cold in Lingqing these past few days; she really can't stand this bone-chilling cold.
With such heavy snow, it must look beautiful.
Zhong Muyu looked out the window, where the swirling snowflakes obscured her view. Zaochun, Qiao'er, and the others were playing there.
It snows very rarely in Yuanjing, and when it does, it's just a light drizzle. They'll definitely be happy to see heavy snow.
Zhong Muyu put on her gloves and went outside.
Upon seeing her, Qiao'er exclaimed happily, "Your Highness, you've finally come out! Sister Zaochun said she wanted to build a snowman, but I don't know how. Do you know how to build a snowman?"
"Build a snowman? Hmm, this amount of snow could make a big one."
Zhong Muyu rolled a snowball the size of a fist and then pushed it to roll on the ground.
The snowball grew bigger and bigger, and seeing this, others began to do the same.
In the end, they rolled out two snowballs, one big and one small, and placed the smaller one on top of the larger one.
Zhong Muyu used two glass beads for eyes, a carrot for a nose, and some pebbles for a mouth.
Qiao'er cheered, "That really makes me look like a little person!"
In early spring, I broke off two tree branches and stuck them on either side: "How about using these to make hands?"
"Yes, that's it, and we also need hats."
Zhong Muyu took off her felt hat and put it on the snowman's head, while Qiao'er took off her red cloak and draped it over the snowman.
"That would be perfect!"
Early Spring scolded, "How could you take off your cloak? What if you get sick?"
Zhong Muyu smiled and said, "It's alright, just go back and get another one to wear."
Seeing that Zhong Muyu had finished building a snowman, the other maids also put their own creative ideas into practice and prepared to build several animals.
In the heavy snow, Lu Ziyuan, wearing a cloak, also arrived: "What are you playing? You seem so happy."
"Lu Ziyuan! We're building a snowman, look!"
Zhong Muyu reached out to beckon him.
"snowman?"
He noticed the snowman next to him, which was almost as tall as a person: "It's quite nice, did you build it?"
"I built it together with everyone else."
At this moment, Zhong Muyu noticed that he was still holding two red plum blossoms in his hands.
"So the plum blossoms have already bloomed."
"The plum blossoms are in full bloom in the snow, and this is the time when they are at their best, so I picked a few branches to bring back."
"Then hurry back and put it in the bottle. Let's go, it's getting colder outside."
Zhong Muyu rubbed his hands together.
"Yes, your hands are very hot right now."
Lu Ziyuan pulled Zhong Muyu's hand over. Because he had just grabbed the snow, his palms were red from the cold, but also very hot.
This is the easiest way to get frostbite.
Qiao'er placed plum blossoms in a vase, and the fragrance of plum blossoms wafted over, while Lu Ziyuan took out something that looked like an invitation and placed it on the table.
Zhong Muyu looked at it and exclaimed, "It's the Emperor's birthday?"
"It was sent this morning. We'll be setting off the day after tomorrow because it's Father Emperor's 50th birthday, so this year's celebration will be especially grand."
"Then you'll probably stay a few more days, right?"
Zhong Muyu was very uneasy. The last incident had made her very unhappy, and she really didn't want to go to Yuanjing again.
But as a member of the royal family, he had no choice but to go, and he would have to stay for many days.
"That's how it should be, but don't worry, they've already made arrangements last time, so they definitely won't make things difficult for you this time."
Zhong Muyu nodded, hoping so.
...
A few days later, everyone boarded a carriage and set off for Yuanjing.
This time, he brought a large entourage, a grand and impressive procession, and the other princes were no exception.
Upon arriving at the Royal Villa, Lu Ziqing greeted them: "Seventh Brother! Seventh Sister-in-law!"
Lu Ziyuan asked, "Ziqing? What brings you here?"
The two had barely arrived and hadn't even warmed up when Lu Ziqing came in like a gust of wind.
Lu Ziqing smiled brightly: "Of course I came to visit Seventh Sister-in-law! When I came, I saw that several new shops had opened in the city. Seventh Sister-in-law, let's go shopping together."
Before Zhong Muyu could even say "okay," Lu Ziyuan interrupted, "No! Your seventh sister-in-law just arrived. Can't you let her rest? She can't get cold."
Lu Ziqing felt a moment of disappointment, but quickly regained her previous liveliness: "It was my oversight, but Seventh Brother is really good to Seventh Sister-in-law, it's enviable!"
"I'll find you a princess if I'm envious."
"No way! I still quite like my current life! Sigh, since I can't go out today, I don't know when I'll have time."
Zhong Muyu was puzzled: "How could that be? We'll be staying here for many days."
"I'll be staying for many days, but there are other things to do. I heard there's a winter hunt."
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