Chapter 1488: Her Highness the Princess (34)

 Before long, a remarkable sight appeared outside the Imperial City.

Countless citizens gathered to watch and were left dumbfounded at the sight of cart after cart of grain and fruit being brought into the city.

All of the arrivals rode ox carts. They wore coarse linen clothes, and their faces were filled with simple, honest smiles of happiness.

The guards asked them what they had come for.

An elderly man with a kindly smile replied, “We commoners have come to thank His Majesty, the Crown Prince, and Her Highness the Eldest Princess.”

The old man was the head of a village.

In the past, his village had been terribly poor. Life had been hard, and no household had enough to eat.

Later, seeds were distributed from above. They were told these were new varieties, specially selected after careful study of their local environment, guaranteeing a good harvest.

With a mentality of simply giving it a try, the entire village planted the seeds.

Who would have imagined that they would enjoy a bumper harvest?

Although many grain crops still required longer growing periods, the fruits and vegetables had already sustained them through difficult times.

Now that the harvest had arrived, they wanted to thank the people who had given them a better life.

They had heard that the cultivation of these seeds had originated from the Eldest Princess's efforts.

The order to distribute them to their village had come from His Majesty, while the Crown Prince had supervised the process and sent people to teach them how to cultivate the crops.

Therefore, they had come to thank all three.

The guards themselves were stunned.

Especially when they looked at the long procession behind them, it was obvious that these people did not come from only one village.

After reporting the matter to the Emperor, the guards allowed them into the Imperial City.

What followed was truly astonishing.

The people of the Imperial City had never seen so many carts loaded with grain and fruit. The melons tied onto the carts were especially large and round, so pleasing to the eye that people couldn't help but stare.

More than half of the ox carts were taken to the imperial palace, while the remaining portion stopped outside the Princess Manor.

Listening to the villagers' words of gratitude, Tang Guo's smile grew brighter.

Accepting their gifts, she said, “There will be even better seeds in the future. You will never again have to endure those years of total crop failure.”

The farmers hurriedly thanked this beautiful and wise princess who held the common people in her heart.

Only then did they leave, completely satisfied.

Tang Guo kept one cart and distributed the rest among those who worked in the farming grounds and the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Emperor and the Crown Prince each kept one cart as well, while the remainder was distributed among the imperial consorts and court officials.

As the Emperor's children, the Third Prince, Tang Zhao, and the Second Princess, Tang Xi, naturally received a share too.

Staring at the enormous watermelon in front of him, Tang Zhao raised his eyes and glanced at Lü Qing, whose complexion was equally dark and whose expression was equally ugly.

He slammed his fist into the watermelon. Unexpectedly, the melon was rather hard, and the impact left his hand red.

“You spent three months over there. Didn't you hear anything about the distribution of the seeds?”

Lü Qing felt deeply wronged.

He had gone there to steal seeds and techniques. Every day he had been exhausted from farming. How was he supposed to know that all the seeds he had stolen had already been distributed among the common people?

“Third Prince, perhaps I should go back there. Maybe there will be something new—”

“Enough!” Tang Zhao snapped angrily. “Those things are useless now. The common people already have such excellent crops, and life will only get better from here. Even if we obtain them, it won't matter. There's little profit to be gained.”

“Then what should we do next?”

“How should I know?” Tang Zhao was furious. He took a deep breath before continuing, “Remain still. They're enjoying too much momentum right now. We don't have any opportunity at all".