Ye Caiping frowned: "What do you mean?"
Shen Zhiyan said, "Last year, the county magistrate here reported on the method of eating cassava. Before that, everyone thought it was Magistrate Lu who discovered it. But it wasn't until last night that I found out it was actually your doing?"
Ye Xuan suddenly realized something and his expression changed drastically: "What you mean, sir... no, last year my aunt asked the village head to report on cassava, and later the imperial court even rewarded her with 50 taels of silver! Everyone saw it."
Shen Zhiyan raised an eyebrow: "50 taels? You think the imperial court is too stingy."
Ye Caiping and Ye Xuan looked tense, only to hear Shen Zhiyan say:
"Last June there was a severe drought, but our southern region recovered quickly because of the abundant rainfall in August. Even so, many places still suffered from famine."
"The situation is even more severe in the north and northwest, with some people even resorting to cannibalism. Last year, the report on bitter cassava resolved the food crisis in the entire northwest. Even though it is poisonous, if handled properly, it can be a life-saving food."
"This is a great achievement, and the Emperor is overjoyed..." Shen Zhiyan paused, "Well, the Emperor doesn't feel anything, but the Empress Dowager is overjoyed."
Ye Caiping was speechless. Ye Xuan whispered in Ye Caiping's ear, "The Emperor is only four years old."
Ye Caiping nodded, remembering as well.
Gu Han eventually became regent because the emperor was too young and needed a regent.
Shen Zhiyan continued, "At that time, Magistrate Lu reported that his son, Lu Wansheng, in order to solve the famine, did not hesitate to test the poison on himself and almost died in order to find a way to eat cassava."
Ye Caiping was shocked.
Shen Zhiyan asked, "Have you ever heard of his son, Lu Wansheng?"
Ye Caiping nodded, "The county magistrate's wife said that he was a Jinshi from the previous year, and a fellow Jinshi."
Shen Zhiyan said, "A Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) is only slightly better than a Juren (successful candidate in the provincial imperial examination). In a single imperial examination, there are dozens of people in the first and second classes alone. Among these dozens, not everyone can successfully enter officialdom, let alone the more than one hundred Jinshi below them?"
"So after passing the imperial examination, Lu Wansheng returned to the side of Magistrate Lu of Yue'an County and waited at home for his appointment, which was basically sitting on the sidelines."
“Magistrate Lu came from a poor family and only had the title of Juren (a degree in the imperial examination system). He was able to become a magistrate back then only because of the war. Given his background and lack of political achievements, his path to promotion was extremely slim.”
“His son is more capable, he is a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), but even so, he has no future.”
"But because cassava was reported last year, Magistrate Lu gave all the credit to his son, saying that his son had discovered it."
"With such great merit, and Lu Wansheng being a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), he was directly promoted and exceptionally admitted to the Ministry of Works, and was granted the title of Fourth-Rank Official in the Ministry of Works."
"In addition, Magistrate Lu was also credited with a merit and awarded 5,000 taels of silver."
Ye Caiping and Ye Xuan's faces darkened upon hearing this.
So, the discovery of cassava earned him a fourth-rank official position and 5,000 taels of silver?
Ye Caiping was stunned with anger. She said, "How come I only got 50 taels of silver for discovering cassava? It turns out that the magistrate's son took credit for my work and stingily only gave me 50 taels!"
Ye Xuan was so angry he was practically fuming: "They're so audacious! And they even gave my aunt a reward of 50 taels of silver?"
If it were him, he might have killed them to silence them!
Magistrate Lu actually left Ye Caiping unpunished; he's quite a character!
Knowing what Ye Xuan was thinking, Shen Zhiyan said, "At that time, Madam Ye was just an ordinary peasant woman. In Magistrate Lu's eyes, she was an ant that could be crushed at any time. Such a lowly commoner would never be able to leave Yue'an County in her entire life."
"Moreover, the news about cassava had already spread to several villages by then. He could kill one person, but not the people in several villages. Besides, he controlled the entire Yue'an County, so he was naturally not afraid."
"This time, Magistrate Lu reported the yellow-fleshed cassava again. But Lu Wansheng was already in office in the capital, so the yellow-fleshed cassava was not for him. What Magistrate Lu reported was that he had been sending people to search for it in the mountains to relieve the suffering of the people from cassava poisoning."
"Finally, his hard work paid off, and he found a non-toxic yellow-fleshed cassava. He also had 60 acres of land planted for breeding purposes."
"Unexpectedly, because yellow cassava is of great importance, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Agriculture were sent down to inspect and promote yellow cassava."
"So now you know why he's so determined to marry you!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Caiping's eyes widened.
I suddenly remembered the time when the county magistrate's wife came to propose marriage.
She asked at the time, "I am just a common woman. Even if I discovered and planted the yellow cassava, Magistrate Lu would report it and it would be recorded as an achievement. It was originally a win-win situation. Why make such a fuss?"
The magistrate's wife said she wanted to have more merit recorded in her record.
She was a little confused at the time, just for one more point?
Only now do I realize that Magistrate Lu directly took credit for her work, whether it was bitter cassava or yellow cassava!
Because someone from higher up was coming down to inspect, Magistrate Lu was afraid that the villagers would expose his attempt to take credit for her, so he wanted to marry her and completely control her.
When the inspectors came, they pushed her forward to speak on their behalf. They said that the adults and Lu Wansheng were the ones who discovered the bitter cassava last year, and that she led the villagers to dig cassava, all at the adults' behest!
Those 60 mu of yellow-fleshed cassava were also planted by her for the adults!
Thinking of this, Ye Caiping felt a chill run down her spine.
This is not about gaining any more credit, but about impersonating someone else!
I might not survive!
Once the inspection is over, she might be imprisoned and "die of illness" within a few months. Her relatives will also "die unexpectedly" one after another, because only the dead can keep the secret.
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