Liu Ruyi turned her head abruptly upon hearing the voice, and the moment she saw the Seventh Prince, her face turned ashen. "Seventh...Seventh Prince..."
Why is the Seventh Prince here? Wasn't he supposed to be not coming?
In a flash, Liu Ruyi suddenly realized that Xiao Rui didn't not want to come; he just wanted to come by himself.
Xiao Rui stood before Village Chief Li and Jiang Qinyu, staring directly at Liu Ruyi. Although his voice remained gentle, his words were as cold as ice. "Liu Ruyi, I was unaware that you had obtained this title of County Lady by falsely claiming credit for someone else's work. Now that your lies have been exposed, what else do you have to say?"
“No! No,” Liu Ruyi shook her head repeatedly, “Your Highness, please let me explain, I didn’t…”
Xiao Rui raised an eyebrow slightly. "Nothing? You didn't lie to or deceive Father Emperor, or you didn't claim credit for someone else's work?"
"No!" Liu Ruyi quickly denied, "I absolutely did not fulfill my promise to Your Majesty!"
When her gaze met the mocking looks from Jiang Qinyu and the others, she panicked even more, shaking her head frantically and pointing at Jiang Qinyu, saying, "They conspired to frame me!"
"Frame you?" Jiang Qinyu almost laughed out of anger. "We have no grudge against you, and we even took you in for several months when you were homeless. Why would we frame you?"
Liu Ruyi's eyes flickered, and she raised her voice, lacking confidence, "You can't stand to see me become the Lady of Yongshan County, you can't stand to see me receive His Majesty's reward!"
“What a joke,” Jiang Qinyu stepped forward. “Before today, we had no idea that you were a county magistrate, let alone that discovering and growing sweet potatoes would earn you a reward from the emperor. So how could we possibly conspire to frame you?”
Jiang Qinyu took a few more steps forward, forcing Liu Ruyi to retreat step by step. She stopped when Liu Ruyi was almost stepping into the ground. "Putting everything else aside, since you say that you discovered the sweet potatoes and that you led people to plant them, then tell me where the sweet potatoes originally came from?"
“I know!” Liu Ruyi’s eyes lit up and she exclaimed, “I bought the sweet potatoes from a foreign merchant!”
This is what Jiang Qinyu told the villagers; she naturally remembered it, and she told the emperor the same thing.
Jiang Qinyu smiled slightly, "Our whole village knows about this, so tell me how sweet potatoes are grown?"
Liu Ruyi choked, her face stiffened, and her gaze towards Xiao Rui flickered uncertainly. "This... the method of planting sweet potatoes is a secret. How can you say it in front of so many people?"
"These are all people of my Great Yue, and sweet potatoes are a crop that benefits the people. There's nothing wrong with the planting methods. I allow you to defend yourself," Xiao Rui said calmly, his gaze fixed on Liu Ruyi.
Liu Ruyi's heart tightened, her gaze darted around, and she opened her mouth several times but couldn't say anything.
"Ha," Jiang Qinyu sneered, "You don't even know the planting method, yet you dare to say that you led people to grow it?"
"I...I know!" Liu Ruyi's gaze stopped on the sweet potato seedlings in the field, and she exclaimed as if she had suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Just bury the sweet potatoes in the ground, then water and fertilize them!"
"Hahaha..." Village Chief Li and the others burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Jiang Qinyu also looked at her with a mocking expression.
Liu Ruyi was furious and embarrassed. "What are you laughing at?"
Sweet potatoes are whole; if you don't plant them directly in the ground, are you going to cut them into pieces to plant?
"They're laughing at you for being stupid, pretending to know what you don't, stealing credit and acting all high and mighty, and even trying to ruin their own success!" Jiang Qinyu said coldly, her mocking smile fading.
Xiao Rui bowed to Jiang Qinyu and said, "I am also very curious about how sweet potatoes are grown. I would be grateful if the General's wife would be so kind as to teach me."
"I dare not presume to offer my guidance, but..." She looked at Liu Ruyi with a half-smile, "why not ask this Lady of the County to tell His Highness?"
She truly hadn't expected that the person Village Chief Li had casually saved would have such an identity. But with him around, all the things she and Wei Chengzhong had prepared before would be useless. The Seventh Prince was the best witness, and Liu Ruyi couldn't deny it even if she wanted to.
Of course, the premise is that this seventh prince must be as upright and approachable as he appears.
Otherwise, if he were to make some kind of deal with Liu Ruyi afterward, all their efforts would be in vain.
Xiao Rui then looked at Liu Ruyi and said calmly, "In that case, Lady Liu, please tell me, what are the different ways to grow sweet potatoes?"
At this moment, everyone looked at Liu Ruyi as if she were a fool, and the mockery in everyone's eyes made her feel like she had nowhere to hide.
Liu Ruyi held back for a long time but couldn't utter another word.
Jiang Qinyu then asked, "Miss Liu, are you sure you have nothing to say? Don't let me explain how to grow sweet potatoes later, and then you blurt out something like, 'You know all this too.'"
She completely blocked Liu Ruyi's escape route, giving her no chance to turn the tables.
Xiao Rui also said, "I can testify that if Liu Ruyi does not reveal the method of planting sweet potatoes now, it proves that she has no idea how to plant sweet potatoes at all."
His words defined Liu Ruyi's character, leaving her no room for maneuver afterward.
Liu Ruyi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but her mind went blank.
Seeing that she had nothing to say, Jiang Qinyu simply explained several common methods of sweet potato breeding.
After she finished speaking, the people in the area suddenly understood.
"No wonder the general's wife asked us to use water to cultivate sweet potatoes. It turns out that's why."
"And there are also pieces that have sprouted and been cut into pieces..."
The whispers of the crowd made Liu Ruyi feel utterly ashamed, her face turning pale and then red.
Xiao Rui looked at Liu Ruyi and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"
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