in2ebook Chapter 172 Offering Corn
Chapter 172 Offering Corn
"Just have someone bring it over. Why bother Steward Qin to make this trip himself?" Su Nuannuan gracefully rose to her feet, a bright smile on her face like a spring flower in full bloom, and said softly.
Qin Huai, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, who was standing to the side, quickly bowed and greeted the guests with a fawning smile: "Your Majesty, you may not know this, but if I had just sent those clumsy servants to deliver the dried goods to you this time, I really wouldn't have felt at ease. Besides, Your Majesty's status is extremely noble, so it would be more appropriate for me to handle such a small matter personally, wouldn't it? Also, Your Majesty, the variety of dried goods this year is truly impressive."
Before long, Su Nuannuan arrived outside the gate of Cuiwei Palace. When she saw the entire cart full of dried goods, she was speechless and completely stunned.
After a long while, she finally came to her senses, slowly turned her head to look at Qin Huai, and asked incredulously, "Chief Steward Qin, are all of these... meant for me?"
Qin Huai quickly bowed again and replied, "Your Majesty, that is indeed the case. Without exception, all the dried goods in this cart were prepared specifically for Your Majesty."
When Qin Huai mentioned that a truckload of dried goods had been delivered, Su Nuannuan had assumed it was just a small cart like the ones she usually saw. However, the enormous, mountain-like load of goods before her was a complete surprise.
"Are you really sure that these things were specially ordered by His Majesty to be sent to me?" Su Nuannuan hesitated for a moment, but still couldn't help but ask again.
"Your Majesty, this matter is absolutely true, without the slightest falsehood," Qin Huai replied, nodding his head vigorously like a chicken pecking at rice.
Upon receiving an affirmative reply, Su Nuannuan beamed with joy and immediately turned around to shout loudly towards the palace: "Li Quan, quickly bring people out to unload the goods!"
"Your servant is here!" With a loud shout, Li Quan jogged over, responding loudly as he hurriedly directed his men to file out from outside the door and begin unloading piles of dried goods into the courtyard.
Meanwhile, in Anning Palace, Ying Qiu hurriedly entered the hall, bowed to the Empress who was sitting on the phoenix throne, and respectfully reported, "Your Majesty, we just received news that His Majesty has specially ordered the Imperial Household Department to send a whole cart full of dried goods to Consort Zhuang."
The Empress slightly raised her eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips, and said casually, "Isn't this something we send every year as usual? There's nothing to make a fuss about, it's just that we sent a little more this year." She gently waved a silk handkerchief in her hand, seemingly unconcerned about the matter.
Inside Yunhe Palace, Consort Qin was leisurely leaning on a soft couch, listening to the palace maid's report. When she learned that the Imperial Household Department had sent a large amount of dried goods to Consort Zhuang, she simply waved her hand lazily and said indifferently, "Consort Zhuang receives this favor every year, so I'm used to it."
At this moment, Xinghua approached Consort Li with a puzzled look and couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, I heard that the Imperial Household Department sent a large cart of dried goods to Consort Zhuang. Does Consort Zhuang really like dried goods that much?"
A hint of jealousy flashed in Consort Li's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure and said sourly, "Hmph, the Emperor really dotes on Consort Zhuang!"
Seeing this, Granny Guo, who was standing to the side, quickly and gently comforted her, "Your Highness, you have never been very interested in those dried goods, why bring them up?"
"Hmph, it's only because she likes those worthless things." Consort Qing sat upright on the couch, slightly raised her chin, and said to Dongyu, who came to serve her, with a face full of disdain.
Su Nuannuan, however, was completely unconcerned about the reactions of the other concubines. At this moment, she was happily calculating the treasures she had recently acquired.
Nowadays, besides her passion for hoarding various dried goods, Su Nuannuan has also become obsessed with stockpiling charcoal. Moreover, she doesn't just hoard ordinary charcoal; she hoards expensive fruitwood charcoal such as silver thread charcoal and walnut charcoal. These high-quality charcoal pieces were all purchased with her own hard-earned money.
Fortunately, as long as it didn't cost the Emperor's money, the Emperor and Empress turned a blind eye and let her do as she pleased. Not only that, they even declared: anyone who felt envious could simply take out their own money and buy it.
Although they were all concubines, in terms of wealth, the other three concubines were far inferior to Su Nuannuan. Therefore, they only symbolically added a small amount of silver charcoal to their palaces.
Of course, Su Nuannuan was also quite adept at social etiquette. For instance, she specially arranged for some silver charcoal to be delivered to both the Empress and the Empress Dowager as a sign of respect.
However, when asked if she had prepared anything for the Emperor, Su Nuannuan pretended to be clueless, so Jinse had no choice but to give up.
Regardless of Su Nuannuan's situation, the imperial court was in an uproar, with everyone discussing the matter...
Nothing more than the Zhenguo Gongzheng directing the young eunuchs to carefully carry the freshly harvested corn from his estate to the imperial court. The basket was overflowing with corn, each kernel a dazzling golden yellow, seemingly radiating the joy of a bountiful harvest.
At this moment, everyone in the court was drawn to this, even the emperor, high above, couldn't help but cast a curious glance. "My dear minister, what exactly did you bring here?" The emperor leaned slightly forward, pointed to the basket of golden corn on the ground, and asked with a face full of doubt.
The Duke of Zhenguo quickly stepped forward and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, this is corn, a completely new type of grain crop. My third son acquired it by chance while doing business abroad, and it is said that its place of origin is far away on the other side of the sea." After saying this, he raised his head, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes.
Then, the Duke of Zhenguo continued, "After my third son brought these corn seeds back, he immediately arranged for them to be planted on the estate. With careful tending, the harvest season has finally arrived. If this year's harvest is good, I will certainly report it to Your Majesty as soon as possible. In this way, it can be considered that I have done a truly great deed for the people of our dynasty." As he spoke, the Duke of Zhenguo stood upright in the center of the hall, neither humble nor arrogant, appearing confident and composed.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor looked surprised and asked, "Is this true? Can corn really be eaten as a staple food? What is its yield?"