Fu Changfeng sent someone to inform Taozi to stay home and wait for orders, and to go to the palace immediately if summoned.
After listening to Fu Changfeng's account, the Emperor became very interested in Taozi, who had been dedicated to studying rice varieties over the years. Sure enough, he ordered someone to summon Taozi to the palace and have him recount the management of rice varieties and the yield of this season's rice since Fu Changfeng returned to the capital.
Even though Taozi had dealt with many people over the years, he was still nervous standing in the Imperial Study. Fortunately, Fu Changfeng was there, which put him at ease. He talked about how he was sent by Fu Changfeng to find rice seeds and the changes that had taken place. His words were not as eloquent as those of the officials who had served for many years, but they were genuine. After the Emperor listened to him with great interest, a smile appeared on his face.
"Minister Fu, your younger brother is indeed an expert in farming. He knows everything about rice and has his own considerations. Not bad, not bad. I will arrange for someone to investigate. You two go home and wait. Minister Wu, you stay here. You two go back first."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Your humble servant takes his leave."
The Emperor and the Minister of Revenue discussed the matter for a long time, but Fu Changfeng did not see the Minister return by the time his shift ended, so he went back to wait.
The next day, when the Left Vice Minister returned to the Ministry of Revenue, he noticed that something seemed different, but he didn't know what had happened. His subordinates only knew that the Emperor had summoned Fu Changfeng the day before, but they couldn't find out what the matter was.
"Hmph, he's just a businessman. How much trouble can he cause? Does he really think he's something special just because he built some kind of terraced fields? That rice can't be grown in our area anyway, so the benefits are only temporary. Now that Right Vice Minister is getting cocky and doesn't even respect me, the Left Vice Minister."
"My lord, why don't we think of a way to prevent them from ever turning the tables? Then, apart from the Minister, you will be the only one in charge of the Ministry of Revenue."
"If you all put your minds to achieving political achievements, I'm afraid I would have been promoted long ago. After all these years, I've only just managed to rise from Right Vice Minister to Left Vice Minister. You should let your subordinates do more work and get rid of them as soon as possible. That would be the best thing for me."
Although the Left Vice Minister said this, it didn't mean he disagreed with his subordinates' ideas. However, this matter couldn't be done openly; he had to find people privately and look for their faults in their character. As long as they were not upright, wouldn't it be natural for him to take charge? The Left Vice Minister secretly admired his own idea, but he didn't know what he would face.
The waiting period was the longest, and seeing that the court had not made the matter public, they dared not speak of it casually.
However, there was also other good news during this period. For example, Zhao Yuping had been unsuccessful for many years, but after following Fu Changfeng, he finally passed the county-level examination a few years ago and even ranked first. This year happened to be the time for the provincial-level examination. As soon as he received the results, he sent a letter to Fu Changfeng. He passed the provincial-level examination in one fell swoop and was truly in the limelight.
When Zhao Yuping saw his name on the list, tears streamed down his face. Years of pent-up frustration were relieved at that moment, and he could also experience the joy of returning home in glory.
Upon receiving the news, the Zhao family hurriedly took out the firecrackers they had prepared and set them off with a bang. Apart from the Fu family, who learned of the news immediately, the other neighbors were unaware of the situation and were wondering why the Zhao family, whose child seemed so young, was suddenly setting off firecrackers.
When they got closer, they learned that Zhao Yuping had passed the imperial examination and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination). Their family was now considered to have some officials, and everyone congratulated them.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhao had been holding back their joy for years, and now that their son had passed the imperial examination, they naturally had their servants throw money around so that everyone around them could feel their happiness.
Fu Changjin returned home not long after and learned that the eldest son of the Fu family had also passed the imperial examination and was now an official. Even more families around came to congratulate him. The Fu family had truly changed its fortunes. Now both brothers were officials, and the younger generation had also passed the county-level examination and the county-level examination. They were truly living up to their reputation.
The Fu family of Fucheng also got the benefits they wanted. Seeing that Fu Changjin had also passed the imperial examination, they dared not act recklessly, for fear of offending them and finding an excuse to turn their family into a poor household.
The people the Emperor sent to investigate returned with good news: the rice seeds indeed yielded twice as much as the previous ones. Fu Changfeng had not lied. The Emperor told the other ministers about this during a morning court session. Everyone knew how capable Fu Changfeng was, and now he was likely to be promoted again.
As expected, Fu Changfeng, who was not usually qualified to attend court, now stood in the Golden Palace. Under the reading of the imperial eunuch, he became the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The former Right Vice Minister was promoted to Left Vice Minister, while the former Left Vice Minister was demoted to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works by the emperor due to his improper family conduct and lax family management.
As a result of this incident, Taozi was appointed by the emperor as a Gentleman of the Eighth Rank, mainly in charge of rice seeds. From then on, he was responsible for the management and research of rice seeds in order to increase yields.
Taozi never expected that he would become an official because of the rice seed matter. When he received the imperial decree, Xichun quietly reminded him so that he would not lose his composure.
Xi Chun also made significant contributions to improving the quality of rice varieties. The Emperor granted her an imperial decree and allowed her to work with Tao Zi on rice variety research. If they discover other varieties, they will be greatly rewarded.
Xi Chun was surprised that His Majesty the Emperor was so unconventional. Although women in this dynasty could engage in commerce, they were not allowed to participate in politics. Even the Empress could not interfere. Xi Chun was filled with gratitude and thought that she must use her abilities to do more for the people of the country so that she could have more to do instead of staying in the inner palace all day watching the situation.
After a long period of silence, Xi Chun found something to do again, which made her feel much more at ease. She then devoted herself to the research of rice varieties.
After a brief period of excitement, Fu Changfeng felt an even greater sense of responsibility. He consulted with the Left Vice Minister every day and did not become arrogant or complacent because of the Emperor's reward. Since the Left Vice Minister had benefited from him, he would not deliberately make things difficult for him at this time.
Three years later, A-Zhao and A-Zheng returned to their hometown to take the imperial examination. The two children lived up to expectations, one becoming a Juren and the other a Xiucai. They were preparing to travel around, and Xi-Chun naturally did not stop them, as it was always good to travel more.
Along with their good news came the fact that Xiaofeng had passed the imperial examination and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination), and several other villagers had passed the Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination) and Tongsheng (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination). Taoyuan Village had truly become famous in Guangming Prefecture, and many curious people began to investigate the reasons behind Taoyuan Village's fame, which led to the mention of Xichun's contribution.
Everyone sighed in admiration, saying that one should marry a virtuous wife. Who would have thought that the little orphan girl from Taoyuan Village would have such a good life? People were thinking that they should treat their daughters better, because maybe they could become legendary figures like Chen Xichun in the future.
(The End)
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