Your Highness, The Rice Is Ready For Harvest

A single chess piece, and it actually added 20 points of luck.

Fang Heng was overjoyed.

This was truly an unexpected bonus.

What made him even more curious was the origin of this chess piece.

It actually contained luck!

"Miss Shen, may I ask where you obtained this chess piece?"

"This..."

Fang Heng's question made Shen Qiushui hesitate, seemingly reluctant to discuss it.

"If it causes you any difficulty, Miss Shen, then just pretend I never asked," Fang Heng said lightly.

Shen Qiushui's bright eyes shifted, and she thought to herself.

Not only is His Highness kind and benevolent, but he's also so understanding and considerate of me.

After a moment of hesitation, Shen Qiushui spoke.

"The origin of this chess piece isn't something I can't tell you."

"But please, Your Highness, keep it a secret for me."

"Of course!"

Fang Heng readily agreed.

He noticed that this direct daughter of the Martial Prime Minister seemed to have quite a few secrets.

"This chess piece was bought from someone else in the City of Life and Death."

The City of Life and Death!

Fang Heng's pupils sharply contracted, shrinking to pinpricks.

Shen Qiushui certainly had a lot of secrets.

She had actually been to the City of Life and Death.

The City of Life and Death was an extremely mysterious city.

It was said to be built on the Road to the Yellow Springs, situated between the human world and the underworld.

In the City of Life and Death, all sorts of people mingled, and it was hard to distinguish between life and death. Even the Great Qian court had no control or influence over it.

One could say that the City of Life and Death was a lawless place, extremely chaotic.

At the same time, because it was unaffected by the Great Qian court, it also became the most famous black market and place for fencing stolen goods.

Shen Qiushui took a sip of fragrant tea and slowly spoke.

"According to the seller, this chess piece was the personal chess piece of Emperor Yuling from the previous dynasty."

"Emperor Yuling was known as the Chess Immortal, and I, a mere commoner, bought it out of curiosity."

Emperor Yuling, the last emperor of the previous dynasty.

He was obsessed with Go, and people called him the Chess Immortal Emperor.

During his reign, corrupt officials ran rampant, and the people suffered.

He was similar to Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of Song, who had extremely high artistic talent and would have been excellent as an artist.

But as an emperor, he was not good at governing, and only managed to plunge the country into chaos and war.

Emperor Yuling's personal chess piece?

Could it be...

Fang Heng had a guess.

The luck he absorbed might be the national destiny of the previous dynasty.

This chess piece, because of its long-term contact with Emperor Yuling, had become imbued with the luck of the previous dynasty.

If he could acquire all the other chess pieces and the chessboard, he might be able to condense a golden destiny.

Fang Heng secretly thought, this was the third method he had discovered for increasing luck.

Sharing the cake!

Baking the cake!

Eating the previous dynasty's cake!

Seeing that Fang Heng was very interested in the chess piece, Shen Qiushui proactively spoke.

"If Your Highness is interested in Emperor Yuling's chess pieces, the next time the City of Life and Death opens, I'll accompany Your Highness there."

"Then I'll trouble you, Miss Shen."

"No trouble at all!"

"The City of Life and Death only opens periodically. Before it opens next, I'll have my maid send a message to Your Highness."

After exchanging pleasantries, Shen Qiushui finally rose to leave.

Once Shen Qiushui had departed, Yun Menglan said lightly, "Your Highness, you're done so soon?"

"I thought you'd go straight to making it a done deal."

Fang Heng's head was full of question marks, his face darkening with dismay. He was shocked by Yun Menglan's bold words.

"Aunt Yun, don't play matchmaker."

"Shen Qiushui and I are completely innocent."

"She came today to thank me for the porridge incident."

Yun Menglan sighed softly. Your Highness, you really don't understand girls' hearts.

If Shen Qiushui didn't have even a little bit of interest, why would she secretly come to see you?

She's a well-bred young lady from a good family. If she truly wanted to express gratitude, she would first send a formal visiting card and then pay a proper visit openly.

Why would she come sneaking around like this, as if she were secretly meeting a lover?

"If Her Majesty knew that Your Highness could make it a done deal with Shen Qiushui, she'd be overjoyed."

"Whether my mother will be happy, I don't know."

"But the Martial Prime Minister definitely won't let me off the hook."

"At worst, His Majesty could grant a marriage. Could the Martial Prime Minister really refuse Your Highness as a son-in-law?"

"Your Highness, you have no connection whatsoever with the Ten Great Dao Courts."

Fang Heng stroked his chin, lost in thought.

The Martial Prime Minister had always been unwilling to get involved with princes, especially those with ties to the Ten Great Dao Courts. On the other hand, he wasn't as resistant to princes like Fang Heng, who had no Ten Great Dao Court background and were thus destined to have no hope for the throne.

Over a month later.

Within the manor, thunder rumbled.

Azure-blue lightning snakes darted through the air.

In the backyard, the occasional thunderous roars had long become commonplace for the manor's servants. Everyone in the princely estate knew that for the past month, His Highness had been obsessed with cultivating lightning magic.

The power of his lightning magic was growing stronger by the day.

In the backyard.

A turquoise lightning orb floated in Fang Heng's palm.

Lightning flickered, imbued with terrifying destructive power. It seemed that if it were to explode, it could level the entire princely estate.

With a flick of his right hand, the lightning orb shot towards the sky.

It pierced through the clouds and the heavens.

Then, high in the firmament, it exploded, transforming into azure lightning.

Thunder boomed.

If Daoist Xuanqing were here and saw this scene, he would undoubtedly be astonished and dumbfounded. This was because the power of this Wood-Thunder Divine Lightning strike was three times that of Fang Heng's last attempt.

Even a cultivator in the mid-stage of Feasting on Rosy Clouds, even if they had perfected the Wood-Thunder Divine Lightning, would absolutely not possess such power.

"Wood-Thunder Divine Lightning, perfected."

"However, compared to Master, it's still a drop in the bucket."

Fang Heng looked at the thunderous sky, sighing with a hint of regret and dissatisfaction.

Under the blessing of the Wood-Thunder Body fate, Fang Heng's Wood-Thunder Divine Lightning was three times more powerful than anyone else's.

Three times the power of the perfected stage.

It completely transcended Great Qian's evaluation system.

He ceased his practice.

Silence descended upon the backyard.

After he had washed up, a servant came to report.

"Your Highness, Sir Tian from the Seed Selection Department is here to visit."

"Tian Sheng? Let him in."

Soon, Tian Sheng walked into the main hall with light steps, his face beaming with joy.

"Sir Tian, have you brought me good news?"

"Your Highness is truly discerning!"

"Your humble servant has some absolutely wonderful news."

"Tell me!"

"The rice is ripe; it's ready for harvest."

As soon as he spoke, two sharp gleams burst forth from Fang Heng's dark eyes.

The Hybrid Rice was finally ready for harvest.

"Let's go, to the farm at once!"

Fang Heng's heart swelled with excitement; he wished he could sprout wings and fly to the farm immediately.

Soon, the two arrived at the farm.

All the officials from the Seed Selection Department were present, their faces alight with excitement and joy.

Their gazes were fixed on the rice in the paddies.

The plump rice stalks formed a golden expanse.

Although it hadn't been harvested and weighed yet, just by looking, they knew it was a bumper harvest.

Anyone could tell this was a great achievement.

The Ninth Prince deserved the most credit, and they would also receive a considerable share.

"Start the harvest!"

Fang Heng waved his hand, and the Seed Selection Department officials, from top to bottom, began harvesting the rice.

Each one was more energetic than the last, and the rice paddies buzzed with activity.

The officials of the Seed Selection Department all possessed cultivation.

They quickly harvested ninety mu of rice paddies.

"Experimental Field No. 1, six hundred eighty-two jin!"

"Experimental Field No. 2, seven hundred five jin!"

"Experimental Field No. 3, seven hundred twelve jin!"

"Sir, the ninety experimental fields totaled sixty-three thousand fifty-seven jin, with an average yield per mu of..."

"Over... seven... seven hundred jin!"

When Tian Sheng saw this yield per mu, he felt dizzy.

Even his usually fluent speech became a stutter.

Seven hundred jin!

A yield of seven hundred jin per mu!

The Seed Selection Department officials instantly burst into an uproar.

They had long known that this rice crop would yield a bumper harvest.

But no one had expected the harvest to be so incredibly abundant.

A yield of seven hundred jin per mu meant the yield had doubled.

What did this signify?

They understood it all too well.

It was more than just beneficial to the nation and its people!

The words "beneficial to the nation and its people" weren't enough to describe this monumental achievement.

Everyone felt as if they had been struck by a pie falling from the sky.

Their excitement was so profound they didn't know what words to use to express it.

Tian Sheng's heart throbbed with exhilaration, feeling his blood surge.

He knew that this time, he had hitched himself to the right wagon.

Fang Heng, however, remained completely unfazed.

Having already known the outcome, he wasn't surprised in the slightest.

Seven hundred catties, by China's standards in later eras, would be considered below average.

If chemical fertilizers were developed, production could increase by another forty to fifty percent.

A thousand catties per mu wouldn't be just a dream.

"What are you standing around for?"

"Go quickly and inform Father Emperor and the Martial Prime Minister."

"The remaining ten mu of land must be harvested in front of Father Emperor and all the civil and military officials."