What a boastful tone!
Wei Chengzhong knew from her words that she was a stupid woman.
How important is the people's grain harvest? Liu Ruyi actually said that even if it is planted, it should be dug up. It is clear that he has never suffered before and does not understand the people's hardships at all.
Although Wei Chengzong knew Liu Ruyi's character, he still pretended to be troubled: "Isn't this a bad idea? If we dig up the sweet potatoes now, wouldn't that prevent the people from having a good harvest in the fall?"
"Not good?" Liu Ruyi sneered. "It's just that they can't harvest enough grain this autumn. Can't they just buy more with silver? If they delay the Emperor's important affairs, they won't have enough heads to lose!"
She had lived in Dingshui Village before and knew that the village had food, so even if there was no harvest this autumn, they could survive until next year.
Besides, if they were sensible, they shouldn't have planted the sweet potatoes so early. If they had cooperated even a little, she would have paid out of her own pocket to make up for some of their losses.
In Liu Ruyi's view, she had already considered the villagers of Dingshui Village a lot. After all, she was ordered to come, and Dingshui Village had to hand over the sweet potatoes no matter how unwilling they were. She had even kindly thought of compensating them. How could they not be satisfied?
“The Emperor’s decree cannot be disobeyed, but we must also consider the circumstances afterward. Why don’t you go to Dingshui Village yourself and see for yourself?” Wei Chengzhong suggested.
Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyi's expression changed, her eyes lowered slightly, and she said coldly, "This county magistrate will not go to see it. As long as Lord Wei sends people to have them cooperate in digging up the sweet potatoes and handing them over to the imperial court, that will suffice."
“I’m afraid this won’t work.” Wei Chengzhong looked at her with even more difficulty. “Dingshui Village presented sweet potatoes to the county government and the border army before. Now, those sweet potatoes are not only grown in Yongshan County, but also in the border town. Such a large-scale effort will probably attract criticism. If His Majesty finds out, he will definitely not agree to the county magistrate’s actions.”
"What did you say?" Liu Ruyi suddenly looked up. "The people of Dingshui Village presented sweet potatoes to the county government and the border troops?"
Wei Chengzhong pretended not to know and looked at her with suspicion, "Indeed, why is the county magistrate so agitated? I heard that the border general has also sent people with sweet potatoes to the capital, hoping that His Majesty can promote sweet potatoes throughout the country of Da Yue."
Liu Ruyi panicked for a moment, but tried to calm herself down. "General Lu's men have also entered the capital? I haven't seen them, nor have I heard the Emperor mention them."
She said it on purpose to make it seem like she was very close to the emperor.
But at this moment, Liu Ruyi was so panicked that she wished she could immediately return to the capital to see what Lu Yanzheng's people had said to the emperor.
Others may not know, but surely she knows it herself? Her current status and glory are all due to being the first to discover sweet potatoes and get people to cultivate them.
If Lu Yanzheng's men told the truth to the emperor, then... Liu Ruyi dared not imagine the consequences.
“In any case, it’s impossible to dig up the sweet potatoes. You should report the truth to the Emperor, Your Highness!” Wei Chengzhong said, seemingly helpless but also very considerate of Liu Ruyi. “This matter cannot be blamed on Your Highness. The Emperor will surely understand.”
Liu Ruyi's face turned very ugly. If she couldn't complete this task, she would probably lose her title as the Lady of Yongshan County.
If she could bring the sweet potatoes back and have the Ministry of Revenue study and promote them, the Emperor would surely think that everything that happened before was thanks to her.
However, if she fails to complete this task, the emperor will inevitably suspect her because of Lu Yanzheng's people.
“Tomorrow I will personally go to the fields to take a look,” Liu Ruyi said. “However, since Lord Wei said that sweet potatoes are also grown in other parts of Yongshan County, I will go to other places to take a look.”
Since Dingshui Village had presented the sweet potatoes to the county government, it was hard to guarantee that Wei Chengzong wouldn't collude with the people of Dingshui Village to deceive her. She should go and see for herself.
Wei Chengzhong had been waiting for her to say this, and upon hearing it, he nodded and said, "Then I will go with the county magistrate to take a look tomorrow."
Of course, when Liu Ruyi arrives at the field tomorrow, she will find out that a big surprise awaits her.
After returning home, Liu Ruyi went to see Xue Zian, the substitute for the Seventh Prince. On the surface, she invited him to go to the fields with her, but in reality, she didn't want him to go.
Xue Zian naturally wouldn't go along, since the Seventh Prince had already come out. The secret guards he sent out to protect the Seventh Prince later sent word that the Seventh Prince had gone to Dingshui Village.
In retrospect, this was also his mistake. The Seventh Prince left in such a hurry that night that he didn't have time to have his guards follow him. Later, when they caught up with enough water, they saw the Seventh Prince with the people of Dingshui Village.
Upon learning that the Seventh Prince had previously fainted due to dehydration, Xue Zian wished he could take his place.
Since Liu Ruyi was going to check on the fields, he could take this opportunity to apologize to His Highness.
Hearing Xue Zian say he wasn't going, Liu Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief and turned to go back to her room.
...
The next day, Liu Ruyi got up early, rubbing her temples, and went with Wei Chengzong to the place where sweet potatoes were planted.
The carriage swayed precariously. Liu Ruyi, who hadn't slept well the night before, was now resting with her eyes closed.
"Your Highness, shall we also change the ice for Lord Wei?" the maid asked cautiously.
Although it was morning, the heat made everyone sweat. Liu Ruyi's carriage had been filled with ice basins since early morning, and it was time to change them now.
Knowing that Wei Chengzong was unwilling to cooperate with her, Liu Ruyi said coldly, "No need."
She hadn't expected that the new magistrate of Yongshan County would be this kind of person.
Before she left, she had heard that the previous magistrate of Yongshan County was a man of Prime Minister Su, but he was impeached by Lu Yanzheng and sent back to the capital for punishment.
Moreover, Zhu Youcai had both arms cut off by Lu Yanzheng. Prime Minister Su naturally hated Lu Yanzheng. After all, although Yongshan County was a poor county, it was close to the border army, and the court would always allocate grain and salary. Yongshan County was a necessary passage. The benefits involved need not be said. Liu Ruyi felt sorry for Prime Minister Su.
Unexpectedly, the imperial court sent Wei Chengzhong to Yongshan County again, a man in his forties whose official career had been bleak. It was unknown what kind of power he had behind him.
Growing up in a large family, Liu Ruyi knew much more about the affairs of the court than ordinary people. To gain a foothold in the court, one needed a powerful backer and a strong background. However, the fact that such an important position as Yongshan County was suddenly filled by someone whose background was unknown suggested that things were not so simple.
While I was thinking, we arrived at our destination.
Liu Ruyi was helped out of the carriage by her maid. What she saw was a patch of slightly dry land, but there were a few green shoots sprouting on the ground, and someone was watering it.
"There's still water for irrigation here?" Liu Ruyi was surprised for a moment.
Wei Chengzong said without changing his expression, "Thank God, there is still some water in this area."
Whether there was water or not, Liu Ruyi didn't care. She frowned as she looked at the green sprouts in the ground. "How long have these sweet potatoes been planted?"
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