Chapter 184 - : Sugar-coating the dragon as if it was free

Xi Xinheng and Liang Mingcheng hurried over.

If it were not for the emperor, they would have brought their troubled sons home and beat them up.

They first bowed to the emperor. “Greetings, Your Majesty!”

The emperor was in a good mood and raised his hand, “No need for formalities.”

He asked with a smile, “Why did you come to the palace?”

Xi Xinheng smiled and replied, “I heard that Xi Rui suddenly came to the palace. I was afraid that he would make a fool of himself, so I came here to bring him back.”

Liang Mingcheng also said, “Me too.”

Xi Rui was lost for words, “Father, I told you that I’m here to do something important. How have I made you worry?”

Xi Xinheng wished that he could use a handkerchief to shut his son’s mouth.

He glared at him and said, “Shut up.”

Xi Rui gave an innocent look. “Father, you are too unreasonable.”

Xi Xinheng was so angry that he almost fell to the ground. “You, I will go back and teach you a lesson.”

When Xi Rui saw his father like this, he knew that his life would be miserable when he reached home.

He looked at the emperor pitifully and said, “Your Majesty, please tell my father that I came to the palace today to offer the seeds for official business. Otherwise, he will beat me up when he goes back.”

The empress dowager usually liked him very much, and the emperor had always been kind to him, so he was not afraid.

Xi Xinheng really wanted to slap this bastard when they returned home.

Just as he was about to speak, the emperor smiled at him and said, “Okay, he really came to the palace today to do official business.

“If you don’t come to the palace now, I would have sent someone to get you.”

Xi Xinheng was stunned. “Your Majesty, what official business would this kid have?”

Xi Rui curled his lips and whispered, “Why can’t I have official things to do?”

Then, he received a warning look from his father and shut his mouth with a grievance.

The emperor liked Xi Rui, who was straightforward and wasn’t one who would scheme against others.

“Nanxi county had some heaven-gifted seeds that produced a thousand catties for every mu of land. They saw the harvest with their own eyes and tasted it first.

“So, the few of them also followed Mo Qingling back to the capital to offer the seeds.

“You don’t have to blame him.”

Xi Rui immediately said, “Yes, we are here to offer the seeds.”

Xi Xinheng was extremely shocked.

Obviously, he did not expect such a thing to happen.

He could not help but ask, “Your Majesty, are you sure that the heaven-bestowed seeds are edible and that it can produce a thousand catties per mu?”

The emperor nodded. “That’s right, it has already been verified.

“I am intending to send someone to gather ministers who are fourth-rank or above into the palace. I would like to invite everyone to taste this heaven-bestowed grain.”

Initially, he didn’t need to mobilise so many people, but rumours had been spreading around recently.

Moreover, if the seeds could produce a thousand catties of corn per mu, as long as they planted these seeds in the next few years, all the people in Daliang would be able to fill their stomach.

This benefited everyone in the country.

It was a major breakthrough.

Xi Xinheng smiled and said, “Then I entered the palace at the right time.”

He also heaved a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, his bastard son did not cause any trouble.

By a stroke of luck, he even managed to get into the team that offered the seeds.

From the looks of it, the emperor should have some rewards for them.

He was the emperor’s cousin, but precisely because of this, he kept a low profile at the public administrator house after the emperor ascended the throne.

His father had even handed over his military authority back to the emperor.

This caused the emperor to trust them more.

All these would affect his family’s status and prosperity, so he had to think twice for every step he took.

Liang Mingcheng also did not expect that his son actually did not cause any trouble and even did a good deed.

He smiled and echoed, “Then, I shall also bask in the glory.”

Next, a group of people followed the emperor to the main hall.

The officials who received the notification quickly rushed to the palace, including Xiao Yuanshi.

When most of them had arrived, the emperor asked the palace attendants to serve the food made from corn flour.

“This is the heaven-given high yield corn from Nanxi county. Not only can it be a staple food, but it can also produce a thousand catties per mu.”

He paused and said, “These are steamed buns and wowotou made from corn flour. Come and taste them.”

The emperor’s words were like a clap of thunder.

All the officials were stunned.

They had never heard of such a high yield of a thousand catties per mu.

If this was true, it would benefit the imperial court and all the people in Daliang.

Most importantly, they also knew about those rumours spreading outside.

Many of the officials were on tenterhooks.

After all, these officials had supported the emperor since the past.

If the emperor’s reputation was ruined, they would almost be doomed.

Hence, everyone revealed excited smiles. “That’s great.”

Some of the old courtiers did not believe it. “Your Majesty, are you sure this can produce a thousand catties per mu?”

The emperor replied, “It’s true. When it was harvested, not only did Nanxi county magistrate, Mo Qingling personally lead his people to supervise, Xi Rui, Liang Youxiao, and Fei Yuzhe were all present.

“They can prove that all the thousand over catties of corn sent to the capital came from just one mu of land.”

Everyone present was shocked again.

Why were these young profligates involved in it too?

As the ministers looked at them one after another, Xi Rui and the other two puffed out their chests and gave a rare serious expression on their faces.

Xi Rui said, “We all saw it with our own eyes, and we were the first to taste whether the corn was edible.”

Fei Yuzhe said, “That’s right. This benefits both our nation and our people. How would we dare to deceive our Majesty?”

Liang Youxiao’s thought for a moment. “At that time, some were from Nanxi’s county office and some who went to the Taoist temple to offer incense. They all saw it with their own eyes. There is sufficient evidence to prove that the yield is indeed so high.”

He bowed even more respectfully to the emperor and said with a look of reverence, “This is all thanks to our Majesty’s blessing, which is why we have these heavenly-bestowed high yield seeds!”

Liang Mingcheng listened to his son flattering the dragon.

He was stunned.

It turned out that this bastard not only knew how to coax the old lady and the others at home, but he was also so good at talking at the imperial court.

Xi Rui and Fei Yuzhe were not stupid either.

They immediately reacted and secretly cursed him for being shameless.

Then, without hesitation, they also flattered the dragon without any shame.

“Yes, these are the heavenly-gifted seeds specially bestowed by the old immortal for our Majesty. We can testify.

“At that time, the old immortal showed his spirit, and I even saw it with my own eyes.

“The golden light flickered, and his spirit suggested that we could harvest these high yield seeds.

“This is because our Majesty is the orthodox and cares about his people. That’s why heaven had sent the old immortal to bestow these seeds.”

“That’s right. At that time, the wind and clouds surged, and the sky changed drastically. The old immortal…

“Our Majesty’s fortune was as great as the heavens. He is the first emperor in the past generations to be given these high-yield seeds from heaven…”

After reading the immortal cultivation novel, they were also creative in making up their own stories.

They flattered the emperor as if all the sugar-coating from their mouth was free.

This stunned all the ministers present.

Was this for real? How could it be so miraculous?

Xi Xinheng and Liang Mingcheng immediately wanted to dig a hole and hide.

These bastards were getting more and more ridiculous in their utterance.

Their flattering was so good that their faces turned red.

Hearing these words, a smile appeared on the emperor’s face.

Although these rascals usually didn’t do anything serious, their words were very pleasant to the ear.

Mo Qingling listened to them and began to wander off.

He immediately went forward and took out an envelope from his bosom.

“Your Majesty, these are the last words left by the old priest who tasked the corn plantation.

“More than ten years ago, he had already forecasted that your Majesty would be the chosen one.”

“Therefore, before he died, he left the corn seeds to his disciple, Shi Qingluo, and told her to plant it in July this year, harvest it in October, and offer it to your Majesty!”