Chapter 182

The conspiracy planned by the three counties was quietly taking root and growing in secret.

Many of the villagers who had fled from the three counties only arrived after summer had begun.

Though some had family members who had gone ahead and cleared a portion of the land, this second wave of arrivals was crucial.

However, it was too late to plant grain crops, but they could still sow fast-growing fruits, vegetables, and millet.

When they crossed the river, they had struggled and could only bring a few soft valuables with them, so they had to rely on the government to receive seeds.

It was said that the Emperor of Great Qi, out of compassion for the refugees from the three counties, provided them with the best millet seeds to sustain themselves.

These seeds, named Golden Bright, were said to be plump and glossy, with exceptionally high yields.

The people who received the Golden Bright seeds were overjoyed.

They plowed and cultivated the land, sowed the seeds, and watered them, eagerly waiting for them to sprout.

If all went well, they would have a harvest before the arrival of winter, ensuring that their first winter after crossing the river would not be one of hardship.

This wave of enthusiasm for planting, which had spread among the common folk, also made its way into the palace.

The young prince, Baoli, having accompanied his mother on inspections in the countryside, was inspired by the sight of farmers planting beneath the crops.

Upon returning to the palace, he enthusiastically rolled up his trouser legs and began planting crops in a small plot of land within the palace grounds.

To let him experience the joy of planting with his own hands, Jiang Xiurun even arranged for a eunuch skilled in farming to assist the young prince in tending to the land.

Most of the time, however, it was the eunuch, Chen Xing, who tilled the soil and pulled the weeds, while Baoli busied himself digging up earthworms with a small stick.

Whenever Jiang Xiurun had free time, she would bring her chubby little daughter, Princess Xueyan, to cheer on her brother.

That afternoon, Jiang Xiurun once again brought her daughter to sit under the silk canopy at the edge of the field, smiling as she watched her son dig holes in the soil.

Baoli’s efforts paid off—before long, he had gathered an entire jar of wriggling black earthworms.

He excitedly brought them over to show his mother and sister, proudly announcing that he would ask the imperial chef to fry them for his mother that evening.

Jiang Xiurun wiped the dirt from his small face with a handkerchief and asked with a smile, “Weren’t you planting millet and melons for Mother to eat? Why have you suddenly decided to serve earthworms instead?”

Scratching his head, Baoli replied, “Chen Xing said the first batch of seeds was bad, so he planted new ones, but they won’t grow in time. Baoli is afraid Mother and Sister will go hungry, so I dug up some bugs for you to eat.”

Jiang Xiurun chuckled and said, “You just don’t know how to plant, and now you’re blaming the seeds! Making excuses, aren’t you?”

She actually knew where her son’s seeds had come from.

Earlier, while inspecting the counties, she had specifically checked the seed reserves stored in the granaries of each region.

The officials from the Agricultural department who accompanied her were knowledgeable and had assured her that the reserved seeds were of high quality and would yield a good harvest.

However, Baoli, being mischievous as he was, had somehow squeezed through the gap under the locked door of one of the storage rooms.

His wet nurse had anxiously called out for him until he finally came out.

It was only later that night they discovered Baoli’s pockets were stuffed with various seeds, which must have come from that locked storage room.

After that, Baoli had eagerly insisted on planting the seeds himself.

But now, he was claiming the seeds were bad—wasn’t this just childish nonsense, spoken out of innocent ignorance?

Just then, Chen Xing arrived.

Seeing the empress reproaching the young prince for his laziness, he hurriedly explained, “Your Majesty, the seeds the young prince had stored earlier indeed failed to sprout, so this servant selected new ones. Only now have they begun to germinate.”

An ordinary person might have dismissed this as a trivial matter.

But Jiang Xiurun was anything but ordinary.

Her past experiences—posing as a man and navigating the intricacies of the political world—had long set her apart from the typical women of the inner palace.

Not to mention, her time as empress in Bo had honed her sharp instincts even further.

As she thought carefully, the smile on her face gradually faded.

Without revealing her suspicions, she simply asked, “Was it because the young prince was careless and didn’t store the seeds properly?”

Chen Xing quickly shook his head.

“After the young prince brought the seeds, he entrusted them to this servant. I took great care in storing them, ensuring they remained dry. But… the color of those seeds seemed off, and despite being sown in the soil for a long time, not a single sprout emerged…”

Jiang Xiurun might not be a farmer, but upon hearing this, she immediately sensed that something was wrong.

The saying one grain of millet yields ten thousand seeds existed for a reason.

Even if there were some bad seeds, how could an entire handful fail to produce even a single sprout?

She recalled that the seeds she had inspected during her visit were from the first planting wave of early summer, and there had been no issues with them.

Then where exactly had Baoli taken his seeds from?

Without delay, Jiang Xiurun summoned the wet nurse who looked after the young prince and questioned her about the events that day.

The wet nurse, naturally, recounted everything honestly, saying that Baoli had taken the seeds from a locked storage room behind the county granary.

Jiang Xiurun then asked, “Are there any seeds left?”

Chen Xing quickly fetched the small bamboo container where he had stored the prince’s seeds.

Inside the gaps of the woven bamboo, a few remaining seeds were still lodged.

Pouring them onto a piece of fine white silk, Jiang Xiurun examined them closely.

The seeds had a dark yellow hue, and when brought close to the nose, they carried an indescribable, peculiar scent…

The more she thought about it, the more unsettling it became.

Jiang Xiurun had an instinctive feeling that these mysterious seeds, grabbed by her mischievous son, were not as simple as they seemed.

Her past experience in the Agricultural department had made her exceptionally sensitive to matters of spring planting and autumn harvest.

Without hesitation, she wrapped the seeds in the silk cloth and went to see Feng Liwu.

Feng Liwu was in his study, reviewing official documents.

Upon hearing what she had discovered, he immediately examined the seeds closely, his brows furrowing.

“I will summon the officials from the Agricultural department to investigate.”

Jiang Xiurun thought for a moment and then said, “Your Majesty, it’s best not to alert anyone just yet. If there is something amiss, we don’t want to startle them too soon. However, the refugees from the three counties should have begun their second round of summer planting by now. Why not send people to discreetly investigate and collect some of their seeds for examination?”

Feng Liwu understood Jiang Xiurun’s intention and immediately summoned the officials from the Agricultural department to inquire about the growth of crops across the counties.

The officials reported that crops in all counties were growing well and that the second round of summer planting had already begun.

After hearing their report, Feng Liwu secretly dispatched numerous covert agents to investigate various regions.

It didn’t take long before these agents returned with grain seeds from different areas.

The results were truly shocking.

When Feng Liwu brought the seeds close to his nose, he could faintly detect a burnt, charred smell.

So much for “golden and bright” seeds! There was a saying: It’s easy to deal with the King of Hell, but the little devils are hard to handle. When the petty officials in rural counties resorted to corruption, they were the ones who acted with the most lawlessness and reckless abandon. Worse yet, they were the ones directly interacting with the common people—and it was often such scum who ruined the very foundation of a nation!

With this thought, Feng Liwu couldn’t help but embrace Jiang Xiurun upon returning to the palace, deeply grateful that she had discovered the problem in time, allowing him to take action before disaster struck.

Jiang Xiurun, however, did not dare to take credit and naturally attributed the merit to their son, Baoli.

Feng Liwu couldn’t resist leaning over to plant a kiss on their young son, who was sprawled out on the bed, fast asleep with his belly rising and falling.

The seeds had already been distributed to the villagers.

Fortunately, Baoli had planted his seeds as soon as he returned from his tour, enabling them to detect the issue early.

Swift action was necessary: to intervene before the trouble caused by three counties escalated into a full-blown disaster.

—

Meanwhile, in the Northern Qi territory of the Three Counties, Meng Jin and his associates, upon learning about Qin Zhao’s covert arrangements, felt much more at ease.

In their arrogance, they even credited themselves for the sabotage that had been carried out on the seeds.

Qin Zhao, however, did not argue with them.

If this scheme succeeded, not only would it create unrest among the disaster refugees in Qi, but it would also help him curry favor with the two most powerful noble families.

The revival of the Qin family in Northern Qi depended solely on him—he had no choice but to plan ahead.

But if the plan failed, then the blame would naturally fall on the two noble families instead.

Why wouldn’t he take advantage of that?

When Feng Wu heard Meng Jin’s report, his anger finally subsided a little.

If their scheme unfolded as planned, it wouldn’t be long before the refugees who had fled to Qi would realize that the seeds they had received from the court had been tampered with.

By then, even if they lodged complaints with the government and Qi rushed to redistribute new seeds, the delay would already cost them precious time.

After all, the second round of summer planting had to align with the season.

If they missed the critical ten-day window, an entire season’s effort could go to waste.

By the time autumn frost set in, there would be nothing left to harvest.

Just imagine—watching others reap bountiful harvests while their own fields remained barren after months of toil.

Would that not drive them to fury?

Moreover, the villagers would undoubtedly believe that the Qi government had deliberately deceived them, treating them unfairly just because they were displaced refugees.

At that point, Qi’s credibility would crumble, and the mass exodus of villagers escaping from the Three Counties would naturally come to a halt.

And what would happen to those refugees who had already fled to Qi, with no land of their own to rely on?

Would they not be driven to rebellion, forced to take up arms and turn to banditry in the mountains?

When that time came, his dear elder brother would certainly have a tough mess to clean up!

With this in mind, Feng Wu eagerly awaited news from the other side of the Great River and sent out spies to monitor the situation among the refugees.

However, after several days, the reports from across the river were completely unexpected.

The spies reported that while the refugees had indeed planted the millet they received, and none of it had sprouted as planned—before they even had a chance to protest, Qi’s Agricultural department had already dispatched officials to each household to personally distribute replacement seeds.

However, this time, the replacement was not millet but rather sweet potato seeds from foreign lands.

It was said that the Empress’s eldest sister-in-law had purchased them from overseas while engaged in trade.

These sweet potatoes required very little rainfall to thrive, and though the delay had cost some time, they were guaranteed to bear abundant fruit by autumn.

With just one shovel, the yield would be substantial.

Moreover, the potatoes had a bright red color, and when cooked, they were fragrant, sweet, and much tastier than millet.

The clerks distributing the seeds also brought along some mature sweet potatoes and handed them out for the villagers to taste.

Everyone agreed that they were delicious.

Thus, by the time the spies from the Three Counties arrived, these foreign sweet potatoes had already sprouted and taken root in the fields.

Their rapid growth covered vast expanses of land in lush greenery.

The crop was easy to cultivate, requiring little watering or fertilization.

Though the villagers had initially been apprehensive, seeing the seedlings flourish gave them hope.

As for the failed millet seeds, while some discussed the matter privately, they merely assumed that the officials responsible for storing the seeds had been negligent, allowing them to become damp.

There was no widespread outrage.

A few days later, the government issued an official notice, revealing that the millet’s failure to sprout was due to Northern Qi spies infiltrating the granaries of Great Qi and soaking the seeds in poisoned water.

These spies had all been captured and executed, their heads displayed at the gates of various counties.

The purpose of this announcement was, of course, to maintain public order.

After all, if it were revealed that Qi’s own officials had been bribed to sabotage the seeds, it would severely damage the government’s authority.

As for the granary officials who had taken bribes from Feng Wu and tampered with the seeds before fleeing to the Three Counties with their gold and families, Feng Liwu had already dispatched skilled assassins to track them down and eliminate them in their beds.

As a result, the villagers not only felt grateful to the Qi officials for uncovering the spies in time but also cursed the Emperor of Northern Qi for disregarding the lives of the people and resorting to such underhanded tactics—poisoning the very seeds upon which their survival depended.

What kind of legitimate ruler would do such a thing?

From their perspective, the so-called imperial edict of the late emperor must have been a forgery.

Otherwise, the old emperor would have to have been blind to overlook the virtuous and benevolent rightful heir, Feng Liwu, in favor of supporting that scheming and sinister second prince.