The people transporting the goods looked at the two buckets of water on the cart with great curiosity.
"Little Six, you said the Crown Prince specifically ordered that these two buckets of water be kept under close watch, what's the point?"
"Who knows? Even if there's a water shortage, it's not like we're short of two buckets."
"Moreover, the container for holding the water is also very strange; I have never seen it before."
"Shh, keep your voices down. Talking about His Highness the Crown Prince behind his back is just asking for trouble."
A dark-faced man, seeing the group of people talking so enthusiastically, also spoke up: "If we told you to guard it well, then you should guard it well."
Why all this nonsense? Do you think the water in here is ordinary water? Use your brain and think about it.
The group quickly agreed.
Everyone is a little curious, though, since this looks like ordinary water.
I was very curious because the water had no impurities and didn't look like it had been soaked in medicinal herbs.
However, because the Crown Prince repeatedly instructed them not to open it and take a look, they guarded it very well.
What no one knew was that the seemingly ordinary water would save the soldiers across the entire border a year later.
...
Princess's Mansion
After Long Yuan sent the servants to the Su family, they hurriedly moved, since the small two-courtyard house couldn't possibly accommodate so many people.
Today is the harvest day for the sweet potatoes and potatoes that the Agricultural Service Department has been tending to.
Su Muyao was a later arrival, and since her potatoes and sweet potatoes were planted later than those of the Agricultural Office, she could harvest them even later.
I received a message from the palace early this morning.
Su Muyao had just woken up in her boudoir when a maid came to report that she was invited to go and harvest the crops together.
"Xia, help me change. Let's go now so as not to keep His Majesty waiting."
“Princess, you should say ‘this princess’.”
"Oh dear, Xia, you're so young but you're already turning into a nagging old woman."
"Aren't we alone here? Let's hurry up and go."
Xia shook her head, feeling helpless about her new master.
The young princess had four maids, each named after the four seasons. However, since they joined the princess, the four sisters had never been treated poorly.
They were already prepared, after all, a new broom sweeps clean, and it's normal for new maids to be severely disciplined and lectured by their masters.
In many cases, there's even a practice of making an example of someone to deter others, so everyone has to be extra careful when serving their new master.
Unexpectedly, everyone in the young princess's family was very kind to them, and unlike other families, they didn't beat or scold the maids.
They were all extremely grateful to have been assigned to the Princess's residence.
After getting dressed, Su Muyao quickly ate breakfast and went out.
When they arrived at the palace gate, they found that Eunuch De had been waiting there for a long time.
"Greetings, Little Princess"
"Get up."
"Thank you, Princess. His Majesty has already led his men ahead and sent this old servant to meet you here."
Su Shuyao nodded and, guided by Eunuch De, boarded the carriage and headed towards the Imperial Garden.
Despite its name, the Royal Garden is actually just a place with hundreds of acres of prime land.
When we got closer, we could see from a distance that many people were already busy working in the fields.
When Su Muyao and Xia Xia arrived, the emperor excitedly reached out to hug Su Muyao.
This startled Su Muyao, who shrank to the side. "Greetings, Your Majesty. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
Although she is often held in the arms of her own family, she doesn't want strangers to hold her!
If it were a handsome guy, that would be fine, but this old geezer in front of me... forget it. (=_=)
The emperor, seemingly oblivious to the little girl's disdainful expression, continued, "Oh my, from now on, the little princess won't need to bow. Just look at her rosy cheeks, she's so adorable."
Other officials, seeing the commotion, also came to pay their respects to the princess. Of course, the ministers didn't need to, given their official positions.
"My dear, your brother Yuan has gone to the border to guard the frontier. If you miss him, you can send a letter. Just leave the letter with the Empress and have someone in the palace send it to you."
Come visit the palace more often when you have time; the Empress misses you very much.
"Yes, I will go and see Her Majesty the Empress in a while."
"Ah, good, I'll go back and tell the Empress. Your Empress Auntie will be very happy, haha." The Emperor was in a great mood at the moment, and he was genuinely happy to see the little girl from the Su family.
At this moment, a minister came over and reported, "Your Majesty, this entire plot of land has been dug up. Shall we weigh it now?"
After the emperor finished speaking about weighing the goods, the minister who had come to report immediately ran back.
The next step was a simple weighing and calculation, which was completed in less than half an hour.
Su Muyao also stood aside and watched.
Then the man who had gone away returned ran back again, saying, "Your Majesty, the quantity has been weighed; it totals 6520 jin."
All the ministers gasped in unison when they heard the number.
Everyone knew that this acre of land would yield a considerable amount of crops, but no one expected it to actually contain over 6,000 jin (3,000 kg).
"You said it weighed 6,500 jin, could you have misread it?" The emperor wanted to confirm one last time.
The minister replied, "Your Majesty, I weighed it twice, and it was 6520 catties, there is no mistake."
"Good, good, Xiao Dezi, pass on the decree and announce this good news to the world."
After Xiao Dezi withdrew, the emperor stood to the side, his eyes reddening as he looked at the mountain of sweet potatoes piled up before him.
Several ministers also had red eyes, because the people of the great dynasty had always been starving.
Now that we have such high yields of crops, doesn't that mean the people of the great dynasty will never have to go hungry again?
"Good, good, good! The princess is truly a lucky star for the dynasty."
The emperor pulled his outstretched hand back. He knew that the little dumpling didn't like being held by strangers, so he didn't want to upset her.
I don't know how to comfort someone who makes them cry.
I had only heard about it before, but now, seeing these crops piled up like a small mountain right in front of me, I was truly thrilled.
After all, what you hear is one thing, and what you see before your eyes is another.
Even without a drought, the tax revenue from a normal acre of land is only three to five hundred catties.
The yield from this one acre of sweet potatoes is now equivalent to that of many acres of rice.
"All the crops on these hundred acres of land will be kept as seeds and distributed."
"No waste is allowed. This matter is to be handled entirely by the Agricultural Affairs Bureau. If there is any damage or embezzlement, they will be held accountable."
"Yes," said the agricultural official, feeling a cold sweat break out on his forehead, which showed how much the emperor valued these crops.
The potatoes in the other acre were quickly all turned over as well.
After weighing, the potatoes weighed a total of 3,600 jin (approximately 1800 catties), which was another blow to the emperor.
All the ministers looked at the crops before them, and everyone was itching to get started. Many ministers who didn't care about their image were already frantically digging and pulling at the crops.
Others stood around Su Muyao, itching to make a move.
In particular, General Ma of Zhenbei Prefecture looked at Su Muyao with a constantly changing gaze.
He and his wife had always preferred daughters, but they had only had seven sons in a row. Now, seeing such a sweet and gentle girl, they wished they could just put her in a sack and snatch her home.
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