Today happened to be the officials' off-day, so Xi Xinheng was feeding the birds in the courtyard.
Soon, their housekeeper hurried in.
"Master, our young master has returned to the capital."
Xi Xinheng's hand paused. "Where is he?"
The housekeeper told him what the servants had reported, albeit reluctantly, "Young master said that he wants to go to the palace to do something important to glorify his ancestors. Whoever stops him will be obstructing his future.
"Since he said so, the servants did not dare to stop him anymore, so they hurriedly came back to report the matter."
Xi Xinheng immediately threw away the bird food in his hand, and his expression changed slightly. "This bastard, I'll go and take a look."
He even wanted to go to the palace to do something big to glorify his ancestors. Was he kidding him?
It would be good enough if he wasn't persuaded by others to cause trouble in the palace.
The housekeeper also felt that what Xi Rui said was not reliable. "Should we prepare a carriage?"
Xi Xinheng turned around to change his clothes and said, "Get ready. I will enter the palace immediately."
That brat better not cause any trouble, or else he would really break his legs.
On the other hand, Liang Mingcheng was talking to his younger brothers in the study room.
Their housekeeper came to report as well.
"Master, our young master has returned to the capital, but he said that he wants to enter the palace to do something important. He will also glorify his ancestors and will break the legs of those who obstruct him."
Liang Mingcheng almost spat out the tea that he had just drunk.
He choked after swallowing his tea.
After coughing, he could not help but pat his study desk. "This bastard, when will he be able to stop causing trouble?"
It was completely nonsensical that he would carry out some important matters to glorify his ancestors.
Once he thought of that bastard going to the palace, he immediately stood up. "I'll go to the palace now to take a look."
Second Master Liang saw this and said, "Big Brother, Youxiao is really becoming more and more outrageous. If we don't discipline him, who knows what kind of big trouble he will cause."
Third Master Liang was the most conservating one in the family, and he also had the most opinion of his only profligate nephew.
"That's right. If we can't, why don't we send him out to train for a few years? I think Mo Qingling from the Mo family is doing pretty good now."
Fourth Master Liang could not help but speak, "Although Youxiao is a little off-key sometimes, he's still reliable in handling matters.
"Maybe he really went to the palace to handle some important matters."
Only he and Liang Youxiao shared some bad hobbies in the family, so he spoke up on behalf of his nephew.
Second Master Liang and Third Master Liang looked at him in unison. "Only you can lie with your eyes wide open like this."
He actually said that this kid was reliable in handling matters.
His eyes were definitely not good enough to see through him.
Fourth Master Liang remained silent.
It would be better for him to endure such comments for a while more.
If his nephew really managed to accomplish something big, he would come back to rebuke the two of them.
However, he actually did not know what would happen.
After all, his nephew was more often than not unreliable.
Liang Mingcheng also did not believe that his profligate son would be able to do something serious.
Right now, he was worried that this bastard was manipulated by others to cause trouble and would bring shame to his family.
"I'll go and take a look."
He immediately got up and asked the housekeeper to prepare the carriage for him to enter the palace.
The Xi and Liang families rushed into the palace.
Xi Rui and the others had already followed Mo Qingling's team into the palace.
Although today was an off-day for the officials, the ministers still knew what was going on in the palace.
They heard that not only did Mo Qingling return from Nanxi county, but he also brought the few profligates from the capital into the palace.
All of them were confused.
They all had similar thoughts.
Could it be that those few profligates had caused such a big trouble and Mo Qingling personally went to bring them back?
After the emperor received the letter, he did not reveal about the heaven-gifted seeds to the ministers in advance.
The emperor had always been very cautious, and would only announce it after he had confirmed the matter himself.
Although he trusted Mo Qingling, he was also afraid that he would suddenly make a mistake which was difficult to clean up.
After all, the entire Daliang had been spreading bad news about him recently.
At this moment, the emperor had just finished reading the information sent by his informants, and his eyes turned cold.
He had really underestimated his younger brother in the fiefdom.
He actually held such a great power in his hands.
It made him think of the person his younger brother had been prioritising.
Thinking of this, he could not help but be angry.
His young brother had a completely crooked heart.
He actually left him such a big problem just because of a woman.
At this moment, the palace attendant came to report that Mo Qingling had arrived.
He put away the coldness in his eyes and smiled. "Proceed!"
He had already thought of how to clean up this mess, but he didn't really want to use so much time and energy to settle it.
Now was the perfect time for these heaven-gifted seeds to come.
It would not take much effort to resolve this big problem and could also boost his reputation.
Then, Mo Qingling walked in with Xi Rong and the others trailing behind.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" They bowed.
The emperor was a little confused when he saw the bunch of young profligates behind him, but his expression did not change. "No need for formalities."
He looked at Mo Qingling and asked, "Did you bring back the high-yield seeds?"
Mo Qingling nodded. "I got someone to carry the sack and put it at the door.
"Some have been ground into powder. Your Majesty, why don't you let the cooks prepare some for you to taste first?"
The emperor knew that Mo Qingling was very meticulous. "Alright, I'll have a look at the seeds first."
He immediately stood up and walked out of the door to have a look.
He reached out and grabbed the corn seeds. "Have you all tasted it?"
He was intelligent and had almost guessed the purpose of these dandies tagging along.
Mo Qingling replied first, "I've already tasted it. It is very filling, and the taste isn't bad either. It can be a staple food.
"And the yield is extremely high."
He took out the folder that he had prepared beforehand from his sleeve pocket. "This is what my people had recorded."
The emperor took it and browsed through it.
His breathing became heavier.
"My imperial uncle, pancakes made from corn are very delicious. The corn flour can even be steamed into steamed buns or made into wowotou."
Once Xi Rong started the ball rolling, the others followed.
"That's right, your Majesty. The corn tastes great."
"Your Majesty, we have all tasted it. Don't worry."
"We can harvest a thousand catties of grain from five catties of seeds. We have also seen it with our own eyes."
The emperor's gloomy face suddenly brightened up.
He smiled and said, "Okay. After the minister of agriculture comes and confirms it, all of you will be rewarded."
After that, he instructed the palace attendants to send some corn flour to the kitchen to make steamed buns, pancakes and wowotou.
The minister of agriculture had been on standby for the past few days and quickly came over.
After seeing the corn seeds, he was excited.
He reached out and grabbed a small pinch of corn flour and put it in his mouth to taste.
"Your Majesty, this corn is indeed edible."
He looked at Mo Qingling and asked with some doubts, "Is the yield really so high?"
Mo Qingling replied, "I dare to use my life to guarantee that I personally brought my people to harvest it."
The dandies said one after another, "We've seen this too. One mu of land can really harvest a thousand catties of grain."
"That's right. We have all witnessed it. What's there to not believe, minister?"
The minister of agriculture thought to himself, I just don't believe you guys, alright?
However, he still somewhat believed in Mo Qingling.
After all, he even dared to bet his life on it.
"Where are the rest? I also want to take a look."
Mo Qingling was already prepared and immediately got his people to bring over the remaining corn.
At this moment, the kitchen had already prepared corn buns and other corn-related dishes.
The emperor and the minister tasted them.
The minister was so excited that his eyes were red. "Your Majesty, if it is really like what Magistrate Mo said that this produces a thousand catties, then it is really a blessing for Daliang!"
However, he still spoke with some uncertainty and doubt.
The few dandies were disappointed.
"What do you mean if it's really like what he said? It really is."
"Yes, we saw it with our own eyes."
"Don't say it with such ambiguity, old man."
"We can also use our lives to guarantee that it's true. Don't look for trouble, old man."
Xi Xinheng and Liang Mingcheng had just arrived when they heard their sons' words.
They were so angry that they almost fainted.