The Concubine's Daughter Travels Through Time and Space and Takes the Road of Confrontation

Finally, someone mentioned the drought in Huaizhou at the court meeting. The officials argued endlessly about who should be selected to provide disaster relief. Emperor Longqing did not comment and announced the adjournment of the court.

After the court meeting, Eunuch Wang went to the Ministry of Revenue in person. Naturally, this scene could not escape the prying eyes of those who were interested.

After bringing Earl Dingyuan into the room, Eunuch Wang turned around and closed the door. Even during the day, tallow candles as thick as a child's arm were lit in the hall.

"Sit down." Emperor Longqing was wearing a bright yellow suit and sitting cross-legged under the south window with a tray of grain seeds in front of him.

Dingyuan Bo stepped forward and performed the formal ceremony before sitting on the small round stool. "Your Majesty."

Emperor Longqing grabbed a handful of grain seeds and asked, "Lord Zhao, do you still remember this?"

Dingyuan Earl: "Your Majesty, I remember. This is a variety specially improved by Princess Ning'an. Planting this variety can double the original grain yield. It is also thanks to Princess Ning'an that nine out of ten warehouses along the canal have been prosperous in recent years, and the number of warehouses has increased by nearly half."

Emperor Longqing nodded, pinching a seed between his fingers and examining it carefully. He spoke in a voice that was neither happy nor angry, "But I have discovered a strange phenomenon. No matter how much food there is, it cannot satisfy the appetite of those termites."

Your Majesty's face remained calm, but Earl Dingyuan was already shivering all over, as the matter involved the grain transport and was of great importance.

"In your opinion, where and who is the problem?" Emperor Longqing continued to fiddle with the grain seeds in his hand, and his words were a fatal blow.

Dingyuan Bo knelt on the ground, sweating profusely. "I have been in charge of the Ministry of Works for many years, and I know very little about the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."

After a long time, I heard a voice from above: "You, you are also playing tricks on me."

Dingyuan Bo did not dare to stand up, and knelt down to reply, "Your Majesty, the grain transport is indeed related to the safety of the country. I dare not speak rashly. If anything happens, I will be held responsible even if I die."

"Well, this is you. Get up." Emperor Longqing pushed the tray aside. "If you have anything to say, just say it. I won't punish you."

Dingyuan Bo stood up straight, carefully choosing his words. "There are numerous checkpoints along the canal. Every time the grain transporters pass through a checkpoint, they are exploited. This practice cannot be allowed to continue, but it is difficult to eradicate. I believe this is the biggest difficulty."

"I know what you said, but I'm not here to listen to you." Emperor Longqing smiled.

Dingyuan Bo continued, "Therefore, I think it would be better to change river transportation to sea transportation." After saying this, he did not dare to raise his head.

There were two "pa pa" sounds, and Emperor Longqing clapped his hands and laughed, "I knew it, Zhao Duan is still the same Zhao Duan, it's worth your time as my subject and my king."

"Wang Quan, go to Ronghua Palace and tell them that I'm going to have dinner later."

When Eunuch Wang came, Concubine Li was leading people to check the things Princess Yongle wanted one by one. She met him in person and said, "It's troublesome for you to make this trip." Then she asked the senior palace maid beside her to send the eunuch away.

After preparing the meal according to the usual rules, Concubine Li pondered for a moment, placed the list of items and the planting tutorial written by Ning An on the small kang table, and placed pen and ink on it.

When Emperor Longqing arrived, he saw many boxes and cages placed in a corner of Ronghua Palace. When he walked into the room and sat in his usual seat, he saw a small booklet on the table. He picked it up and glanced at it out of habit. "Did Yongle ask Ning'an for seeds?"

Concubine Li took out the letter and said, "That's right, Yongle just likes to mess around."

Emperor Longqing nodded, his eyes still fixed on the planting tutorial, his eyes full of smiles. "Ning An is a warm-hearted child who treats everyone well. I think it would be a waste of her talent to send her to Qingxin Monastery. I wonder how much trouble these 20 dan of fine seeds will bring to Cao State."

Seeing that His Majesty was not angry, Concubine Li half-jokingly and half-testingly said, "Your Majesty is not angry? If that Lu guy knew about this, he would probably gossip about it again."

Emperor Longqing closed the booklet and put it away. "The small country of Cao is rich in strong soldiers and fierce horses, but the inherent weakness of human beings is the desire for comfort, and the Cao country is even more so. In the years since Yongle married, many battles have been avoided on the southwest border. I see that she also wants the classics, history, and collections of our dynasty. In another hundred years, I really fear that the Cao country will be filled with people from the Qin Dynasty."

Concubine Li smiled sincerely. "Your Majesty, I am relieved to hear this. Although the weather has warmed up recently, Your Majesty must take care of yourself. I heard that the Fifth Prince is making trouble again?"

Speaking of Xiaowu, Emperor Longqing couldn't help but shake his head. "He does whatever he wants. He was so happy about passing the imperial examination that he kept talking about taking the palace examination. His personality is a good match for Ning An. If he keeps acting up, I'll find him a wife to take care of him."

Concubine Li thought of Ning An's strength and jokingly said, "Your Majesty, with Ning An's strength, he would probably be no different from holding Xiao Wu like holding a chick."

"That's all right." Emperor Longqing even laughed after saying this.

Lu Yun, who was being talked about, sneezed twice. The potatoes in the farm had already blossomed. The blossoming potatoes became a beautiful scenery in the farm, attracting many tourists who came for an outing.

Liu Qing led his men on duty day and night, fearing a repeat of the previous mistake. The Wang siblings transformed themselves into two industrious little bees in the potato field, wishing they could eat and sleep in the fields. Liu Qing and his companions' impression of them gradually changed.

Ning An's words opened the door to a new world for Roujia. It turned out that men could be like this, and there were other things like this. Once again rejecting the intimate invitation of a man who was much more handsome than her husband, Roujia felt relaxed and at ease. The depression that had accumulated in her chest for the past few days was swept away. "Lu Tan, look at that guy, wow."

Roujia excitedly pointed it out to Lutan, but after just one glance, Lutan covered her face with her sleeves and said, "Princess, I still have to serve you, and I can't get stye."

"Hey, look at that lady, is she the wife of Marquis Dingyuan, Cui?" Roujia pulled Lutan's sleeve anxiously, asking her to look at a lady who was going upstairs.

When the lady turned around, Lu Tan saw clearly, "I heard that Madam Cui loves to listen to operas the most, so it's normal for her to come to Xiyuan."

Roujia shook her head. "Didn't you ask me just now? Because the palace examination is in a few days, the West Garden has stopped rehearsing plays. Instead, talented people from all over the country are writing poems and essays."

"This." Lu Tan was speechless. He continued to observe and saw Mrs. Cui walk into a high-end private room with ease. Then he saw the boss of the opera troupe leading a slicked-back, powdered-faced and elegant actor in. After a while, only the boss of the opera troupe came out.

Lu Tan was dumbfounded, and Rou Jia said, "Oh, this, this——".

Roujia retracted her shocked expression and winked at the guards behind her, "Go and listen to what they are doing."

The guard returned quickly and said in a serious tone, "Princess, Madam Cui is touching someone."

"Puff!" Roujia laughed so hard that her hairpins trembled. "I know. You, don't tell anyone." Lutan's face flushed. "Princess, didn't you want to go to the princess's manor last time?"

"Yes, yes, you are right." Roujia suppressed her smile, stood up and led her people away.

Dingyuan Bo is one of the ministers that her father relies on, and she cannot get involved. Having grown up in the deep palace, she does have some political awareness.