bayedsolid Chapter 189 Harvest
Chapter 189 Harvest
Hearing this, Consort Qin finally nodded: "Alright, since that's the case, then go ahead and plant them! At worst, I'll designate that area as a forbidden zone, and forbid servants from approaching it casually! That way, outsiders shouldn't know that our Prince's Mansion has planted crops!"
Zisu quickly smiled and said, "Yes, Mother's idea is excellent! Thank you, Mother. Once the corn has grown, I'll let you eat your fill!"
After finishing half of the corn, Consort Qin looked at the golden corn again.
Zisu couldn't help but smile and said, "Mother, this is golden corn. You should try some. It's different from the glutinous rice corn we had earlier!" As she spoke, she stuck half an ear of corn into her chopsticks and handed it over.
Consort Qin did not refuse and readily accepted it. After taking a bite, she couldn't help but nod and say, "Mmm, this flavor is also very delicious!"
Prince Duan also took one for himself, stuck it on his chopsticks, and ate it while nodding repeatedly: "This corn is really good. I'll have someone clear two acres of land later and plant it tomorrow!"
Zisu: "Let's cultivate three acres of land. I'll go out for a stroll again tomorrow; maybe I'll run into a Western Regions merchant selling corn!"
The Dowager Consort Qin glared at her: "No, you're a new bride, how can you wander around the market aimlessly?"
Prince Duan said, "I'll send someone over!"
Zisu waved her hand and said, "Forget it, it's all about luck, and nine times out of ten it won't work! Thirteen ears of corn can plant an acre of land, so there's no need to look for more! One acre of corn, after harvest, can plant at least a hundred acres of land. The year after next, we can promote it nationwide!"
After the land was cleared, she would personally take Hongcha and a few others to plant the corn. As long as Prince Duan didn't interfere, how would anyone else know if too much corn had been planted? Then, she would go to the field in her space to pick more corn, process the corn cobs into kernels in her space, put them in a cloth bag, and take them out of her space.
The thirteen corn cobs on the surface represent the land she intended to plant on two acres of land.
Even if Prince Duan has doubts, she'll know how to deceive him. After all, at most he'll just have doubts, and he can't do anything to her.
Prince Duan found thirty strong and capable guards, who cleared two acres of land in just two hours. The next day, as she requested, they added fertile pond mud and wood ash as fertilizer.
Corn is a high-yield crop, the highest yield of all crops, but it requires a large amount of fertilizer. In the west courtyard of the Prince's Mansion, there was a lotus pond. The water in the lotus pond was scooped out, and then the silt was dug up and spread on the newly turned soil. On top of the silt, a layer of wood ash was spread.
Having done all that, the energetic young men turned the soil over again, mixing the silt, wood ash, and soil together perfectly.
On the third day, a sunny day arrived, and the mud had dried a little. That evening, Zisu hid in her spatial dimension and picked about twenty corncobs from the ground there, filling a small cloth bag with corn kernels. There were glutinous corn and golden corn.
The thirteen ears of corn that had already appeared had been turned into corn kernels by Hongcha and the others.
Early on the fourth day, Zisu took black tea, red leaves, and red beans to the fields to plant corn. The thirty guards had already planted tall, dense hedges around the two acres of land she had cleared, as she had requested.
The land had already been prepared into neat rows. Zisu took a small hoe, dug a small hole in the soil, and placed a corn kernel in it. Then, she covered the corn kernel with a little soil. After that, she watered it a little, and that was it.
This work isn't tiring; in just one morning, two acres of land were planted with corn.
Prince Duan was quite surprised: "Such a small amount of corn is enough to plant two acres of land?"
Zisu: "Of course it's not enough, so I found a way to buy some more."
Prince Duan: "Didn't we tell you not to wander around the market?"
Zisu: "I asked my dad to buy it!"
These past two days, Prince Duan has been busy and hasn't stayed at the palace. He goes out early in the morning and doesn't return until dark. Although he doesn't quite believe her explanation, he doesn't press the matter further.
Everyone has secrets, right? If she doesn't want to talk about it, she must have her reasons. Oh well, let her tell me when she's ready. Anyway, it's not a big deal. I'm sure one day she'll tell him willingly.
Zisu breathed a sigh of relief. If he had pressed on, she really wouldn't have known how to handle it. After all, Shangguan Mufeng had been on official business at the yamen these past few days, and corn wasn't something you could just buy whenever you wanted.
Twenty days have passed in the blink of an eye.
The corn seedlings have sprouted, a lush green expanse that is exceptionally pleasing to the eye.
Zisu was overjoyed, but the waiting days were always hard to bear. So she found five or six guards and had them cultivate an acre of land near the cornfield.
She planned to use this acre of land to grow vegetables and fruits, and another three-tenths of an acre of peanuts. She suddenly had a great interest in farming. Perhaps it was because staying in the Prince's mansion, unable to come and go as she pleased, made her feel stifled.
She felt a sense of joy watching the seeds sprout, grow leaves, and mature as she planted various vegetables and fruits.
Recently, the Emperor's health has deteriorated significantly.
The old physician was urgently summoned from Medicine King Valley to the capital. By then, the emperor was on the verge of death. The physician used the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill to prolong the emperor's life. After emergency treatment, the emperor finally came back to life, but he knew that his lifespan was not long.
Prince Duan was urgently summoned to the palace. When he arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Crown Prince and the Emperor had already been waiting for him for a long time.
"Crown Prince, kneel down before your elder brother!" the Emperor suddenly said to the Crown Prince.
The crown prince was very obedient, so he stood up and walked to Prince Duan, intending to kneel down.
Prince Duan was taken aback and quickly reached out to support him, saying, "This is unacceptable! I am a subject, and the Crown Prince is the sovereign! If anyone should kneel, it should be me!"
As he spoke, he knelt down: "Uncle, please tell me your orders!"
The Emperor coughed and sighed, "Hao'er, your uncle probably doesn't have much time left! In the future, the Crown Prince will still need your support! Otherwise, given his age and experience, he might not be able to hold onto the throne!"
Prince Duan was greatly alarmed and quickly said, "Uncle, you are overthinking it. With the divine physician here, you will surely live for many more years. Moreover, His Highness the Crown Prince is both intelligent and benevolent. When he ascends the throne, he will surely be a good emperor loved by all the people!"
The Emperor waved his hand: "I know my own body best. I don't have much time left! The divine physician also said that I can only last two or three years at most. And that's the most optimistic estimate. Who knows when I'll be gone!"
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince's eyes immediately reddened, and he quickly knelt down on the ground: "Father, please don't frighten your son. Father will surely live to be a hundred years old!"
The Emperor looked at the Crown Prince, who was only eleven years old, and felt a pang of sorrow in his heart: "Good child, get up! If anything happens to your father in the future, you must listen to your brother Hao! Minister of War Shangguan Mufeng is also a good man. You must rely on them and never listen to slander and harm your brother Hao or Shangguan Mufeng!"
The Crown Prince kowtowed and said, "Father, I understand. I will always remember your teachings!"
The Emperor then looked at Prince Duan and said, "Hao'er, for my sake, you must assist the Crown Prince until he turns fifteen!"
Prince Duan nodded helplessly: "Yes, Hao'er will keep it in mind and will not forget it!"
The Emperor coughed and said wearily, "Starting tomorrow, the Crown Prince will oversee the country and handle affairs in my stead! Hao'er, you will assist him. If the Crown Prince has any questions, I hope you will carefully guide him!"
Prince Duan respectfully replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, Hao'er will certainly do his best to assist His Highness the Crown Prince!"
The Emperor immediately issued an imperial edict, appointing the Crown Prince as Regent, granting him full authority to handle the affairs of the Western Liang Kingdom. He also appointed Prince Duan as Regent Prince, to assist the Crown Prince in managing state affairs.
The five-day wedding leave had just ended when Prince Duan was plunged into busy affairs, leaving early and returning late every day.
The old physician and his disciple Shenzhi entered the Imperial Medical Academy, taking full responsibility for the Emperor's health. Even the head of the academy was unable to intervene in the Emperor's illness.
With the two men's best efforts in treating him, the Emperor's health finally improved, which greatly relieved Prince Duan.
The Crown Prince is still too young. The Emperor should at least wait two more years until the Crown Prince turns thirteen. During these two years, he should do his best to assist and guide the Crown Prince. Once the Crown Prince ascends the throne at the age of thirteen, the Emperor may be able to step down as regent.
Being a regent is no easy task. One wrong move could bring disaster upon the entire family. Therefore, both publicly and privately, he hoped more than anyone else that the emperor could live a few more years.
Zisu personally prepared a large table of delicious food to entertain the old doctor and Shenzhi.
After the old doctor had eaten and drunk his fill, he assured Prince Duan, "Your Highness, please rest assured, I will definitely find a way to improve His Majesty's health and try to help him live for two more years."
Hearing this guarantee, Prince Duan's heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, finally settled down.
The old doctor never lied or spoke falsehoods. Since he made such a guarantee, he must have been more than 80% certain, which put his mind at ease.
The Emperor heeded the old physician's advice and decided that unless it was something extremely important, he would never interfere. Without worry or strain, with good food and drink, and supported by the Nine-Turn Resurrection Pill, the Emperor repeatedly escaped death's clutches.
Before we knew it, it was early June, the season when corn ripens.
The corn planted in the west courtyard of the Prince's Mansion has finally ripened.
Prince Duan reported this good news to the Emperor.
The Emperor was overjoyed: "Excellent! Princess Yulin, you truly live up to your reputation! Now that the corn is ripe, let's harvest it tomorrow! Tomorrow morning, I will take the Crown Prince to the Prince Duan's residence to personally inspect the yield per acre of corn!"
When the Empress learned that the Emperor was going to Prince Duan's residence the next day, she was greatly alarmed and hurriedly went to persuade him, "Your Majesty, I heard you are going to Prince Duan's residence. This is not good! Given your health condition, it is better for you to stay in the palace! What if you encounter assassins?"
The Emperor waved his hand: "Empress, I am already in this state, I don't have much time left to live! Even if we encounter assassins, it doesn't matter! If you want me to say, you should go with us if you are willing! The Crown Prince will also be going tomorrow! Take this opportunity to get closer to Princess Duan, because the Crown Prince will need the support of Prince Duan and the Minister of War in the future!"
The Empress couldn't help but shed tears: "Your Majesty, let me and the Crown Prince go tomorrow. You should stay in the palace!" In case of an assassin, even if the assassin fails, just a hard impact on Your Majesty would be too much for your health to bear.
The Emperor's attitude was resolute: "No, I must go! We'll set off first thing tomorrow morning. Don't try to persuade me anymore. No matter what you say, I won't change my mind! The harvest of this corn is a good omen, a sign of good fortune, and it will benefit the people and the nation of Xiliang! I believe nothing will happen tomorrow. Even if there are assassins, as long as Prince Duan is there, nothing will go wrong!"
Prince Duan's skills are extraordinary, unmatched in the world!
He is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also meticulous in his thinking and adept at planning and strategizing. Tomorrow, with proper planning, those lurking assassins will surely fail.
The Empress had no choice but to nod in agreement: "Well, very well. Since we're going to Prince Duan's residence tomorrow, then I'll make some preparations!"
First, I need to give instructions that tomorrow the old physician and his disciple Shenzhi will accompany the Emperor to the Prince's residence so they can provide medical assistance at any time. Besides, the old physician and his disciple are both highly skilled in martial arts. With them protecting the Emperor, he will have more security.