Chapter 1482: Her Highness the Princess (28)

“Second Brother-in-law, off you go.”

Tang Guo smiled at Lü Qing. “Didn't you say you wanted to learn about these crops? The old farmers here are all highly skilled in growing vegetables and grain. People outside don't get the opportunity to learn from them.”

Dressed in coarse linen and holding a straw hat, Lü Qing vaguely felt that things were not turning out as he had imagined. Looking around, he realized that aside from Tang Guo's people and those guarding the farming grounds, everyone else here was an old farmer.

He had assumed that joining this place meant simply observing them at work every day.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to personally go into the fields.

This was truly nothing like what he had imagined.

“Later, Officials Chen, Xu, and Wu from the Ministry of Agriculture will also come to record the situation here. They may even enter the fields themselves to familiarize themselves with the crops,” Tang Guo said. “Second Brother-in-law, you should learn from the old farmers first.”

Upon hearing that even court officials would be coming to work in the fields, Lü Qing finally understood that things really were different from what he had expected.

He could only follow the two old farmers into the fields. At present, there was no other choice.

For some reason, he was beginning to regret it.

Who could have known this place was like this?

“Second Prince Consort, do you know the most important first step in planting grain?” one of the old farmers asked.

Lü Qing hesitated before answering, “Digging holes?”

System: Pfft—of course it's digging holes. You're already in one right now.

“Digging holes is merely one of the steps before sowing the seeds.”

Lü Qing hurriedly said, “Please teach me, Elder.”

With so many eyes watching, he had to perform well. Since he had already made such a great sacrifice, he had to at least learn something worthwhile.

The old farmer stroked his beard and said, “The first step is weeding.”

He pointed toward a patch overgrown with weeds. “Second Prince Consort, please remove the weeds with this humble commoner.”

“Like this, yes. Clear out all these weeds. If you don't, once the seeds are planted, the weeds will steal nutrients from the soil, hinder the seeds' growth, and affect the harvest later.”

Tang Guo sat nearby, leisurely sipping tea while watching Lü Qing bend over and pull weeds.

By the time they finished clearing the large patch, half the morning had already passed.

Lü Qing was exhausted, panting heavily, his face flushed red.

The straw hat he had initially refused to wear had eventually ended up on his head because he simply couldn't withstand the blazing sun.

He regretted it.

He should never have come.

Looking at the agile old farmers around him and Tang Guo, who was watching him without blinking, he couldn't bring himself to say that he wanted to quit.

It had only been half a day. If he gave up now, it would be far too humiliating.

At this moment, Lü Qing truly found himself riding a tiger and unable to dismount.

“Prince Consort, perhaps you should rest for a while?”

Lü Qing nodded. He really did need a break. If he didn't, he felt he might faint.

He walked over and sat down. Tang Guo smiled and asked, “Second Brother-in-law, how are you holding up?”

“Fine,” Lü Qing answered quickly, forcing a smile onto his face. “I never imagined that growing crops could be so hard and troublesome. It's certainly a new experience.”

“Oh, then I'm relieved. It seems Second Brother-in-law has truly made up his mind.” Tang Guo smiled with narrowed eyes. “Yingzhu, bring some chilled herbal tea.”

For the first time, Lü Qing felt acknowledged by Tang Guo.

His spirits immediately rose.

Deep down, he had always harbored regrets regarding Tang Guo. After all, she had been his original target. Now, all he could say was that once something was missed, it was missed.

Still, being recognized by her made him feel that all that weeding hadn't been for nothing.

After Yingzhu brought over the herbal tea, Lü Qing abandoned his usual refined demeanor and gulped it down in great mouthfuls.

“Second Prince Consort, it's time for us to proceed to the second step.”