Chapter 433 - The Hidden Instigators (1/2)
The farmstead next to the Imperial Plantation wasn’t very large and only had about six hundred mu in land. It was previously owned by an idle member of the imperial clan. Somehow, Royal Prince Yang was able to convince this person to give it to him. The vast majority of the fields had already been planted with soybeans and sorghum. It was apparent that this idle member of the imperial clan didn’t regard this farmstead with much importance. All of the people at this place, from the stewards to the tenant farmers, were all incredibly lazy. If they didn’t prep the land now, then the timing for farming would be over this year!
In actuality, it was still the middle of June right. If she got them planted now, she could harvest a batch of watermelons by September with the help of the mystic-stone water. At that time, it would be the right time in the market to sell these watermelons.
Royal Prince Yang had already switched out all of the stewards at the farmstead and recruited a bunch of new tenant farmers to tend the fields. He had already sent down his orders that every single person at this place needed to listen to Official Yu’s commands. Consequently, Yu Xiaocao had very little pressure when ordering these people around.
She first had the tenant farmers clear out a batch of land as she grafted watermelon seedlings to gourd vines. The well at this farmstead had already been altered by the little divine stone’s energy. She not only used the mystic-stone water to irrigate the grafted watermelon vines but she also instructed the tenant farmers to water all of the crops on the land with this water. Recently, the capital had been on the dryer side and it hadn’t rained for several days. Thus, her orders to irrigate all of the crops made sense to the farmers working there.
For the following few days, Yu Xiaocao frequently ran to the Imperial Plantation to check on things. Lady Fang often complained that the emperor had given the work of an adult man to a twelve year old young girl. However, only Yu Xiaocao knew that the reason she went there so often wasn’t for the corn growing at the plantation. Instead, she was more concerned about the fruit trees on the mountains as well as the watermelon vines at Royal Prince Yang’s farmstead.
After some precious rain fell, Yu Xiaocao once again arrived at the Imperial Plantation with the moist wind surrounding her. The people under Steward Wang, who were in charge of the everyday details of the fields, were currently reporting to her on how the corn was growing. Furthermore, they also gave her the reports that the secretary of the Ministry of Revenue wrote on the progress.
She flipped through these reports briefly and stated in an uninterested tone, “There’s not much difference between this and the materials I provided in the past. Even the most detailed documents cannot replace walking through the fields for a personal look.”
After she talked, she strolled into the fields with a bunch of somewhat unwilling stewards and officials. Under the blazing hot sun, they arrived in the middle of one of the experimental fields. With the little divine stone as her cheat, it’d be odd if the corn didn’t grow well!
“Miss Yu, all of the fruit trees on the hills are still alive. Other than a few that don’t look quite lively, the vast majority don’t look like they’ve just been transplanted over.” Although the fruit trees on the mountain were the private property of Yu Xiaocao, Steward Wang still helped her keep an eye on them. Yu Xiaocao gladly accepted this favor from him. In the future, once the fruit orchard expanded and the canning factory and preserved fruit factory started, she was planning on giving him a few shares.
However, didn’t Steward Wang state that some of the trees weren’t growing well? That couldn’t be, right? Yu Xiaocao walked towards the fruit orchard on the hills in unhurried steps. When she got to the fruit trees that Steward Wang said were ‘not quite lively’, she couldn’t help but frown. These fruit trees had all been moved!
As the proverbs said: ‘trees die when moved, people live when moved’. Finicky and precious fruit trees were the most afraid of being transplanted casually. If she didn’t have mystic-stone water on hand, Xiaocao would have never been sure that moving these trees now, out of season, would be successful. Apparently, there were people who took advantage of when she was gone and moved all of her trees. It looked like those people who had ulterior motives could no longer wait anymore and had finally acted!
“Steward Wang, let me get this straight. The Imperial Plantations usually don’t allow outsiders to easily step in, right?” Yu Xiaocao bent over to loosen the soil near the roots of one of the trees that was looking listless. At the same time, she secretly had the little divine stone infuse the tree roots with some spiritual energy. The little divine stone angrily complained to her in her mind that all of the fruit trees on this hill had been moved. If it wasn’t for its energy keeping them alive, all of them would have dried into sticks and died.
Steward Wang felt chills run through his heart. Was the problem with these fruit trees something that was caused by humans? He hurriedly stated in a serious manner, “Miss Yu, these are the experimental fields of the Imperial Plantation and the emperor places great importance on this. Even those tenant farmers were specially picked before they were sent here. Ever since the high-yielding crop corn has entered the country, the emperor has also sent his personal soldiers here to patrol the area. Thus, outsiders absolutely cannot enter here!”
“So doesn’t that mean that the culprits are the people who work here instead?” Yu Xiaocao shot a knowing gaze at the people behind Steward Wang. She slowly looked at every single person present and coldly smiled.
Someone automatically spoke up in discontent, “This isn’t even the season to transplant fruit trees, so the vast majority of these trees can’t even stay alive. It’s not unusual for a couple of trees to die here and there. Official Yu, all of us have been sent over by the emperor himself. You can’t just suspect us for no reason!”
The cold smirk on Yu Xiaocao’s face became more prominent as she slowly replied, “Steward Leng, it’s not as if you guys are the only people who are working at the Imperial Plantation. Aren’t there a few hundred tenant farmers too? You’re so eager to jump out to defend yourself. Is it because you have a guilty heart?”
“You...I, Leng Fang, have been here since the emperor emeritus was on the throne and have been helping the emperor manage the Imperial Plantation. I’ve already been here for many years yet I have to deal with the sarcasm and disdain from a little girl! I can’t take such disgrace anymore!” This steward named Leng Fang looked to be around forty to fifty years of age. His hair and beard was speckled with white hairs but the skin on his face was pale and smooth, without many wrinkles. At a glance, one could tell that he very rarely spent time out in the fields. Instead, he looked like an idle and wealthy lord who did nothing at home.