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Chapter 288 - 288: Planting New Rice Seeds Too

Xiaoxiao was also very careful when she chose the replica. This bag of seeds was carefully selected grain seeds. At least, the difference was very obvious when the Emperor compared it to the ordinary rice seeds that Eunuch De had gotten someone to deliver.

The Emperor controlled his strength to grab a handful of rice seeds and take a closer look. On the other hand, Yan Lu had already begun to talk nonstop about the hardships of studying new rice seeds. He talked about the perseverance of several years, the Yan Family members who lived in the fields, the best fertilizer and the most meticulous care. They were just short of cutting off their flesh and letting out their blood.

In the end, he added, “After knowing that I planted new rice, many people asked to plant it, and many people imitate me. However, I wanted to offer it to His Majesty first, so I didn’t agree.”

“However, despite all the precautions, some of them were still stolen by thieves. I was afraid that there would be another mistake, so I immediately sent people to secretly send the rice seeds to the Imperial Capital. It was to avoid alerting the enemy and causing trouble.”

The more Xiao Ran listened, the more disgusted she became. Rong Yan’s expression was calm, but his heart was filled with disgust.

If Xiaoxiao was not smart, the new rice seeds that her family had painstakingly planted would have become the Yan Family’s property. If she did not go with the story, she would even be beaten up and framed that the Ning Family’s rice seeds had stolen from his Yan Family.

He was simply shameless to the extreme and had no bottom line.

The Emperor only looked calm on the surface to maintain his dignity as a monarch, but there was already a huge commotion in his heart.

With his understanding of the Yan Family, they did not dare to lie to the emperor about this, so the yield of the rice seeds must be real. Since it was real, he had to be flexible in his treatment of Yan Lu.

“Then what’s with the account book submitted by the young man from the Han Family?”

Yan Lu was already prepared. “Your Majesty, my local magistrate has been a loyal servant for many years. I didn’t expect him to be greedy. I also handed over more of my family’s accounts to him for safekeeping. All these years, I’ve been overly concerned about the rice seeds, but I didn’t expect him to be so bold as to do such an unforgivable thing…”

The Emperor said, “In that case, is it understandable?”

Yan Lu immediately took advantage of the situation. “Your Majesty, I’m terrified!”

Just as the Emperor was about to give him a way out, Rong Yan ignored Xiao Ran’s obstruction and took a step forward. “Father, coincidentally, I also have a memorandum with a new rice seed.”

He took out County Magistrate Shen’s memorandum and presented it to the Emperor.

With Yan Lu’s impassioned commentary just now as a foundation, the Emperor read quickly. After reading it, he frowned and looked at the signature. “Shen Congjun? The county magistrate of Xijiang County?”

Rong Yan said, “That’s right. Father, I happened to meet County Magistrate Shen before I returned to the capital. I learned that there was a bumper harvest of new rice seeds, so I brought the memorandum back for him.”

The Emperor’s gaze shifted between Yan Lu and Rong Yan. “Oh, so Shen Congjun is also planting new rice seeds? My subjects keep their secrets quite well.”

Rong Yan said neither servile nor overbearing, “Father, County Magistrate Shen didn’t report it early because he didn’t know if the yield of the rice was true at first. To be honest, when he first planted the new rice seeds in two acres, he just thought that it wouldn’t be a loss to try them, so he didn’t even look for the best quality land and only tried the middle quality land that happened to be empty.”

This was new. The Emperor asked, “He planted the rice himself, but he doesn’t know?”

Rong Yan then explained, “Lord Shen doesn’t dare to claim credit. That rice seed was actually given by someone else.”

They had changed the story of Mr. Yuan sending rice seeds to County Magistrate Shen, who was going home after leaving the government office, instead of Xiaoxiao. County Magistrate Shen felt that his statement about production was unrealistic and thought that the old man was either joking or he was old and confused.

He did not expect that when it was time to harvest this year—Good lord, the middle quality land’s yield per acre was at least 400 kg!

“But County Magistrate Shen is not sure if this crop of rice is the only one with high yield or if it has been like this ever since it was planted. Therefore, he left most of them for testing and asked me to bring a small bag to the capital to present to Father.”

After saying that, he took out a small cloth bag.

Yan Lu, who thought that victory was in his grasp, narrowed his eyes and looked at Rong Yan in shock.

Then he said, “Oh, by the way, there was a small episode during this period. I heard that some mountain bandits tried to take away the new rice seeds. Fortunately, County Magistrate Shen took precautions and used ordinary rice seeds to muddle through. The real new rice seeds are all intact. I believe that the seedlings have been planted and they are ready to sow autumn rice.”

Yan Lu only felt that his knees were in so much pain that he could not feel them. His mind was filled with—it was over!

What kind of person was the Emperor of Xia? He could hear the profundity in just a few words, not to mention that Yan Lu was already in a daze.

Xiao Ran naturally wouldn’t be absent from kicking Yan Lu when he was down. “Lord Yan looks very surprised. Actually, we’re the same. I didn’t expect Lord Yan to also plant a new rice seed. I didn’t hear you mention it on the way. Otherwise, we would have brought it in for you when we entered the palace. It would have saved you from kneeling for so long.”

Oh, right. Since they’re all new rice seeds, why don’t we plant them together?” How could Yan Lu dare? He could only lower his head deeply and avoid the Emperor’s gaze.

No matter how cunning he was, he could not think of a way to save himself when he suddenly encountered such a sudden reversal. In a short moment, cold sweat had already drenched the ground.

Seeing this scene, how could the Emperor not understand? He put down Yan Lu’s rice seed and asked coldly, “What do you think, Official Yan?”

Yan Lu stammered, “I-I-I…”

The Emperor chuckled. “Why? Lord Yan, are you really going to make a decision for me?”

Yan Lu was stunned. He heard a dignified and cold voice. “Lock him in the prison of the Ministry of Justice and wait for his punishment.”

When he was escorted by the guards past Rong Yan and Xiao Ran, Yan Lu asked with a trembling voice, “Did you deliberately make me think that I had obtained the new rice seed?”

Rong Yan cupped his hands. “If not, why would Lord Yan follow us to the capital obediently and not cause any trouble?”

Yan Lu’s eyes were unfocused. He opened his mouth to speak a few times, but he was forcefully dragged away by the guards.

The Emperor flipped around and looked at the small bag of rice seeds. Then, he suddenly wanted to plant them in the palace. He had to work in the Hall of Diligent Government every day, so he simply plucked the flowers and plants in the courtyard to make room for the rice seeds.

It was impossible for the Empress to pretend that she did not know about such a huge commotion. Yan Lu went for wool and came home shorn. He was taken into custody by the Ministry of Justice, but he had not been convicted yet. The Empress rushed to the Hall of Diligent Government and saw the Emperor in his prime taking off his dragon robe and personally hoeing the ground.

She was scared out of her wits. Just as she was about to go forward, she saw Eunuch De, who was serving the Emperor, ask in a low voice, “His Majesty is in high spirits. Do you need me to pass the message to the Empress?”

How could the Empress dare to do that?

Under the scorching sun, she stood in the open and waited until the Emperor was done. The Emperor asked in surprise, “Eh? When did the Empress come? Dezi, what’s wrong with you? Why didn’t you tell me?”

The two of them were so close that he would have seen her if he wanted to see her. The Empress was tactful and wiped her sweat. “Your Majesty, don’t blame me. I saw that Your Majesty was engrossed and didn’t want to disturb you.” She knew very well that the Emperor must have seen through the Yan Family’s plan. Not only would Yan Lu not be able to escape punishment, but he would also implicate the family.

“Men, get the imperial chef to send a bowl of green bean soup over. Your Majesty, please take care of your dragon body.”

The Emperor returned to the Hall of Diligent Government. “Why is the Empress looking for me on such a hot day?”

The Empress’s mind raced and she smiled widely. “I’m here to congratulate Your Majesty.. I heard that an iron mine was found in Liang City…”