Reborn Lady - Chapter 271

Not long after the draft, Emperor Yongping announced in court that later that month, he would bring a group of officials and his five sons and grandchildren who were over five years old to the Royal Garden outside Jinling City for spring farming.

The other garden was built when the First Emperor established Jinling as his capital. Not to mention the beauty of the garden and the coincidence of pavilions, the special thing was that there were several acres of land in the garden.

The First Emperor was born in poverty, and he knew the truth that food was the first thing for the people. When the country was founded at the beginning of the year, it was a time when all kinds of wastes were waiting for prosperity. He was responsible for the management and rewards of the common people for reclaiming wasteland, as well as civil disputes about the fields.

Since Emperor Yongping was enthroned, the wars in the previous three years have also delayed the cultivation of Yandi, Henan, Shandong, and Huaibei. Whether for post-war recuperation or to follow the Late Emperor’s family motto of thrift and love for agriculture, Emperor Yongping decided to continue taking care of the fields in the courtyard. They were planted not only that year but every year in the future. When he passed away, he intended to instruct his successor son to continue planting.

The Emperor was very interested in taking his children and grandchildren to plant the land. Naturally, Wei Luo and the other princes could not refuse. Regardless of their thoughts, they had to show approval and support.

In the evening, when Wei Luo came back from the Ministry of Punishment, he ran into Wei Yan on the way.

Wei Luo rode a horse, and Wei Yan sat in a carriage.

Initially, Wei Luo wanted his brother’s carriage to go first, but Wei Yan pushed aside the curtain and insisted on him getting in the carriage to talk.

Wei Luo had no choice but to let Chang Feng lead the horse, and he stepped into the carriage.

Wei Yan gave up half of the main seat and asked how Wei Luo’s work in the Ministry of Punishment was going.

Wei Luo said, “There are too many cases accumulated in the past three years, and there are still more investigations.”

Wei Yan sighed, “Hey, the cases can be delayed. It’s okay to postpone them for a few days. The Ministry of Finance is demanding funds today, and tomorrow it’s for military pay. The national treasury is almost empty, and they asked me to find a solution. I am not the God of Wealth. I can’t generate money, so what can I do? They mentioned that the Ministry of Finance is plagued with troubles, but the Emperor still granted access.”

When he was in the finance department, he was still very happy. He felt that his errands were better than those of the third, fourth, and fifth children. His father still valued him in his heart. When he arrived at the finance department, Wei Yan discovered that the current finance department was a trap. The treasury was empty due to the war, so one may remember clearly how many copper coins were in it. Who would dare to fish for money? 

Wei Luo could see that his brother was really worried, but the work in the Justice Department was not as simple as what his brother was thinking. 

Some cases could be delayed, but some cases must be resolved as soon as possible. For example, in major cases such as homicide and arson, the suspect may not be the real murderer. If the real murderer was allowed to roam free, more people could be killed.

However, his elder brother asked him to come up just to complain, so Wei Hao didn’t talk about the Ministry of Punishment in depth.

“It will be fine if we get through this year’s autumn harvest,” Wei Luo comforted with that sentence.

Wei Yan didn’t expect Wei Luo to provide any good ideas, sighed again, and talked about the announcement his father made that morning, “Father really has endless energy!” The words seemed to be praising Emperor Yongping’s youth and strength, but he was obviously complaining. Emperor Yongping was free and asking for trouble.

Wei Luo listened silently.

Wei Yan suddenly remembered that his younger brother was a martial arts expert, and he was not afraid of fighting. Would he care about holding a hoe? In other words, complaining to his brother about the hard work of farming was tantamount to playing the piano to a cow.

After a moment of embarrassment in the carriage, they arrived at the Chu Mansion.

Wei Yan heaved a sigh of relief and politely invited him to drink tea inside. But Wei Luo declined, rode on his white-hoofed crow, and continued to the Shu Mansion.

Wei Yan looked at his back with his hands behind his back, shook his head, and sighed.

In the hall, Ji Xianxian was listening to Er Lang talk about what he had learned in the palace. Sister Zhuang sat beside her mother and listened, asking questions from time to time, while Si Lang stood quietly aside.

Wei Yan stepped in, and the three children shouted in unison, “Prince Father,” while Sister Zhuang rushed over.

Wei Yan patted his daughter’s head and said to Ji Xianxian, “Let’s have dinner; I’m hungry.” 

Ji Xianxian saw him tired and guessed that the day’s work was not going well. So she told the children to be more sensible and instructed the maids to prepare meals.

After dinner was set, Wei Yan took a few bites and then brought up the matter of spring plowing to Er Lang and Si Lang.

Twelve-year-old Er Lang was startled, annoyed, and muttered in a low voice, “If Grandfather wants to plant the land, he can go by himself. Why call us?”

Wei Yan, dissatisfied himself, criticized Er Lang severely, “Your Emperor Grandfather wants you to experience the hardships of farming, love, and cherish the people, so don’t complain.”

Er Lang pursed his lips.

Seeing that Si Lang didn’t complain, Wei Yan nodded in satisfaction.

At the Shu Mansion, Wei Luo didn’t inform his family about it until after dinner.

Nine-year-old Xiao Heng was a little worried. He said, “Father, I don’t know how to farm. ” 

When Wei Luo was young, he farmed several times with his father in Yandi, plowing up wasteland and doing all kinds of tiring work. Later, as the fertile fields of Yandi yielded enough food and clothing for the people, his father ceased personally persuading farmers in the fields, which deprived Xiao Heng of the chance to try.

Wei Luo said to Yin Hui, “Tomorrow, ask the housekeeper to buy some sets of farming tools. I will take them to farm Taoran Hall land on the tenth day of the lunar new year.” 

Yin Hui nodded with a smile, and Xiao Heng and Xiao Xun were also excited.

Xiao Ning didn’t quite understand what her parents and brothers were talking about, so she grabbed a piece of meatloaf made into a peach blossom shape and ate it with relish.

The meatloaf was mixed with golden-red diced ham, bright green vegetables, and black sesame seeds, presenting a delightful combination of meat and vegetables. Not only Xiao Ning, but Xiao Heng and Ciao Xun also had plates in front of them.

Xiao Heng wasn’t picky at all when he was a child, but as he grew older, he favored meat more. Regardless of how beautiful his mother’s meatloaf was, he didn’t eat it.