"Quick, come with me to the front to welcome... no, no, never mind. I shall go to receive the imperial carriage myself.
You, hurry to the back and find Old Shi. Tell him to put aside whatever nonsense he's fiddling with for now!"
The steward hastily set down his teacup and scrambled to give hurried instructions. Without waiting for a response, he dashed out in a flustered rush toward the entrance of the estate.
From a distance, he could already see that familiar flash of imperial yellow walking steadily between two lines of guards. At His Majesty's side walked two more figures, equally clad in finery.
The steward broke into a trot, barely catching his breath as he fell to his knees in the dirt.
"This humble one pays respects to His Majesty. May the Emperor live ten thousand years!
To the Crown Princess, a thousand years of peace! To His Highness the Sixth Prince, a thousand—"
"That will do."
The greeting was far too long for Emperor Xuanwu's patience. He waved a hand casually, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings with mild interest before speaking.
"Are all the estate workers out in the fields tending to the spring plowing?"
"Yes... yes, Your Majesty."
The steward wiped the sweat from his brow, still catching his breath from the sprint.
"Today marks the first day of spring plowing. Everyone on the estate is out in the paddies."
"Very well."
Emperor Xuanwu nodded slightly, then turned to Yun Shu.
"Would you prefer We summon them here, or shall We go to the fields ourselves?"
"Let us go to the fields and see."
If they were searching for someone with true knowledge of agriculture, words alone would not suffice. They needed to see capability in action.
Otherwise, they might overlook someone who had skill but lacked a silver tongue. That would be a grave loss indeed.
Yun Shu answered without hesitation.
"If Father Emperor feels weary, then please rest indoors. Your Daughter can inspect the fields alone."
"No need. We shall go together."
This was, after all, someone recognized by the Simulation Life Selection System. A man of that caliber in the field of agriculture was worth seeing with his own eyes.
Dismissing Yun Shu's suggestion to rest, Emperor Xuanwu walked with hands clasped behind his back.
"We recall you came to this estate last year concerning the Tudou. Did you take note of anyone particularly capable then?"
"Everyone was gathered to hear me speak about Tudou and greenhouse farming. Even if someone skilled in agriculture had been among them, Your Daughter would not have known."
Yun Shu shook her head helplessly.
"We will have to observe them one by one today."
As Yun Shu and Emperor Xuanwu spoke, neither paid any heed to the steward's expression.
But Yun Chuhuan did. He could not follow the discussion about agriculture or talent, nor did he care to. His eyes darted about restlessly, clearly seeking something amusing.
Then, entirely by accident, he caught a flash of guilt on the steward's face.
At once, his spirit lifted.
"Father Emperor! Fifth Elder Sister! Look at him! That man is definitely up to something!"
"Who?"
The two of them turned in the direction Yun Chuhuan was pointing.
Instantly, the steward felt all eyes upon him. His mind went blank, and his knees buckled beneath him. With a heavy thud, he dropped to the ground.
"This humble one is innocent! I swear I am innocent!"
"This Prince would never wrong you!"
Yun Chuhuan crossed his arms with all the righteous indignation of a child who had just solved a mystery.
"You had that exact same guilty look I get when I've done something wrong and don't want to tell Father Emperor or Fifth Elder Sister!"
Yun Shu: "..."
Emperor Xuanwu: "...?"
So this child regularly commits mischief behind his back?
Casting a long, meaningful stare at the back of Yun Chuhuan's oblivious little head, Emperor Xuanwu silently made a note to interrogate the boy thoroughly once they returned to the palace.
But for now, he allowed his gaze to turn cold. His tone grew low and threatening as he looked toward the steward who still knelt on the ground crying innocence.
"Will you speak for yourself, or shall We have someone investigate?"
"I truly am innocent! This humble one..."
Confessing of one's own volition might still leave room for leniency.
But if he chose to stay silent now and let the Emperor's men uncover the truth, he would be charged not only with negligence, but with deceiving the sovereign.
His face pale, the steward panicked. Words spilled from his mouth in a rush.
"This humble one merely held a sense of loyalty. Old Shi has worked here for many years. He is honest and hardworking, and in the past, he always performed his duties well.
Though he's been a bit stubborn this time and has fallen behind on his tasks... still, I thought perhaps if he managed to come up with something worthwhile, it might turn into a good thing after all. That is why I allowed him to slack off, and even... even let him take over an entire mu of field for his own tinkering!"
This was, after all, a Imperial estate. The farmers here worked under imperial decree, cultivating the land on behalf of the court.
The steward was tasked with overseeing these people.
To permit one of them to neglect his duties, and even give up a full mu of land to personal use—by strict standards, it was dereliction. At the very least, it should cost him his post.
But what seemed like a major offense to the steward meant little to Emperor Xuanwu.
Especially now, when his attention had shifted elsewhere.
The Simulation Life Selection System had spoken of an agricultural genius. In light of that, the Emperor's thoughts naturally turned to the man mentioned just now.
"You said he might come up with something worthwhile?
What exactly is he working on?"
"This..."
The steward had not expected this to be the Emperor's focus.
Recalling the absurd things Old Shi had muttered, he now bitterly regretted having ever indulged the man's strange ideas.
But he had no choice now. Bracing himself for ruin, he spoke through clenched teeth.
"Old Shi... he said... he believes that rice plants have male and female types. He wanted to carefully examine each panicle, grain by grain, to figure out whether male or female rice yields better results..."
Yun Shu: "!!!"
A genius!
Though the direction was slightly off, for a common farmer of the Tian Sheng Dynasty to even notice such distinctions, and more than that, to pursue the idea proactively—
If that was not a genius, what was?
Yun Shu could barely contain her excitement. Yun Chuhuan, on the other hand, looked completely bewildered.
"Rice has male and female?
Fifth Elder Sister, you weren't joking earlier about matchmaking rice plants?"
Still kneeling on the ground, the steward was struck dumb.
What nonsense was this?
He had thought Old Shi's theories were already outrageous, but it seemed there was someone here even more mad?
Matchmaking... for rice?
How could one arrange a marriage for the grains people ate? Were they supposed to fall in love inside a human's stomach?
Was the Crown Princess... mad?
And yet, if the Crown Princess herself held such beliefs...
Did that mean there might still be hope for him?
Wild thoughts spun through the steward's mind before he could sort them out. At that very moment, he heard the Crown Princess speak.
"Get up and lead the way. This Princess wishes to meet Old Shi."