Previously, Kyoto's weather would occasionally be hit by a storm, but recently, it hasn't rained for more than ten days in a row.
The scorching heat baked the earth, causing cracks to appear in the fields, and many crops were scorched to death.
The farmers were full of complaints and extremely worried, because in addition to the grain they had to give to their families for the coming year, a portion of it also needed to be handed over to the landowners.
It hasn't rained for days, and most of the crops have died. The few that survived are growing very weakly.
If it continues to not rain, then the remaining little bit will probably all die.
To address this issue, the imperial court has been trying various methods, including reducing agricultural taxes and dispatching a large number of officials and soldiers to construct water conservancy projects.
The emperor even ordered that the food allowance for each palace be halved, so that the saved grain could be distributed to the disaster-stricken people.
Xiao Xuan then led agricultural experts from the palace to various severely affected villages to guide farmers in using ridge cultivation and alternating field cultivation methods to grow crops.
For an entire day, Xiao Xuan worked tirelessly from before dawn until dusk, only then managing to visit half of the disaster-stricken villages near Kyoto with agricultural experts. The remaining half will not be completed until tomorrow.
Xiao Xuan originally wanted to rush back to the East Palace before dark to take care of Ning Yin, but when he thought of the worried people affected by the disaster, he also wanted to resolve the matter as soon as possible.
With Granny Zhang and Su Xin taking care of A Ning, and Qing Ying left behind in the East Palace to guard the palace, he brought Li Chengyan out with him.
"I think we should stay at Old Man Wang's house tonight, then we won't be in such a hurry tomorrow."
Xiao Xuan wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and made a suggestion to Li Chengyan.
"Jingyuan, you've dragged me out to do hard labor. When Chongning and I get married, how much money will you give as a wedding gift?"
Li Chengyan raised an eyebrow and chuckled. His devilishly handsome face was covered in a little dust, making him look somewhat like a rough man.
"I'm telling you, you're obsessed with money. Last time, of the 500,000 taels collected from Chu, didn't all of you who made contributions receive 10,000 taels?"
“Last time is last time. By the time you deal with Xiao Ling, I’ll be getting married to Chong Ning. How can you be so stingy as my younger brother? Besides, you’ll have to call me brother-in-law. Just thinking about it makes me excited.”
As he spoke, Li Chengyan smiled, his eyes crinkling, seemingly looking forward to the day when Xiao Xuan would call him brother-in-law.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xuan frowned slightly. This kid not only thought about how to empty his pockets all day long, but also tried to take advantage of him in terms of address.
If he had known this would happen, he should have handed Li Chengyan over to the Prince of Nan and let the Prince of Nan torment him.
He glanced at Li Chengyan, but the guy arrogantly raised his chin and said, "Why don't you get used to it beforehand? I might reluctantly let you practice a bit."
Xiao Xuan's deep eyes were dark, and his voice was indifferent: "If you want me to send you to the Chu Kingdom's palace, you can look forward to it. I've heard that the Prince of the South is deeply in love with you and even wants to make you his empress. Why don't you give it a try?"
Upon hearing the words "King of the South," Li Chengyan felt a chill run down his spine, goosebumps covered his skin, and he clutched his chest, pretending to vomit.
"Jingyuan, you, you can't bully me like this! If you're going to send me to that perverted Prince Nan, I'd rather just kill myself! I'm a straight man, and I love your sister."
"Oh well, fine, if they don't want to call, they don't have to. Let's go, I'm starving..."
Xiao Xuan curled his lips into a smile and lashed Li Chengyan's horse's rump with his whip, "A starving ghost reincarnated!"
The two rode their horses to Old Man Wang's yard, where Old Man Wang was drawing water from the well at the entrance. He had just returned home from the fields.
He is the village head of Fuxi Village, and today he is responsible for guiding Xiao Xuan. He is honest, kind, and dutiful. He and his wife have a sickly daughter.
Upon seeing Xiao Xuan and Li Chengyan arrive, Old Man Wang's expression flickered. He then quickly bowed to them and invited them into the house.
"Your Highness, Your Excellency, have you not eaten yet? Please come in."
"Cuixi, cook a few more dishes, we have important guests. Also, kill that old hen!"
As Old Wang poured water for the two of them, he called out to his wife.
"Wang Liyin, there's no need to be so polite. We'll eat whatever you eat."
As he spoke, Xiao Xuan also had Li Chengyan give Old Man Wang one hundred taels of silver as payment for his meal and lodging.
Old Man Wang didn't want to offend the important person, so he wanted to kill the chicken himself, but Li Chengyan grabbed him.
"Just treat us like ordinary people. Keep the hen to lay eggs and improve our meals."
Old Wang couldn't refuse the two men, so he finally served them a plate of scrambled eggs, a bowl of mushroom soup, and a plate of stir-fried pumpkin shreds.
As was customary, Li Chengyan used silver needles to test Xiao Xuan and confirmed that there was no problem. Only then did he nod to Xiao Xuan.
However, Old Man Wang and his wife were slow to sit down at the table, saying that they dared not eat at the same table as such distinguished guests, as it would be disrespectful.
Seeing that Old Man Wang insisted on not sitting at the table, Xiao Xuan could only eat with Li Chengyan first. The simple food tasted quite good.
He suddenly remembered the few meals he had eaten at Ningyin Medical Clinic. They were just ordinary farm dishes, but Ningyin's cooking was incredibly delicious, a hundred times better than the imperial cuisine in the palace.
After finishing their meal, the two went back to their respective rooms to rest.
Feeling tired from a busy day, Xiao Xuan lay in bed, wondering if Ning Yin had eaten and slept well that day.
As he pondered, he took out the sachet he always wore close to his body and placed it beside his pillow to help him fall asleep, and soon drifted off to sleep.
At this moment, Old Man Wang and Cui Xi knelt beside Ning Chang Le and kept kowtowing, "Heroine, what exactly do you want to do? This is the current Crown Prince, please don't implicate us."
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