A single chess piece had actually added 20 points of fortune.
Fang Heng was overjoyed.
This truly was an unexpected delight.
What intrigued him even more was the origin of this chess piece.
It actually contained fortune!
"Miss Shen, may I ask where you obtained this chess piece?"
"This..."
Fang Heng's question made Shen Qiushui hesitate, as though she was reluctant to speak of it.
"If it puts Miss Shen in a difficult position, then pretend I never asked." Fang Heng spoke lightly.
Autumn ripples flowed through Shen Qiushui's bright eyes as she thought to herself.
His Highness is not only kind-hearted, but also so considerate and thoughtful of me.
After hesitating for a moment, Shen Qiushui finally spoke.
"The origins of this chess piece are not something I cannot reveal."
"However, I ask that Your Highness keep it secret."
"Of course!"
Fang Heng agreed without hesitation.
He had discovered that the Martial Prime Minister's legitimate daughter seemed to carry quite a few secrets.
"I bought this chess piece from someone else in the City of Life and Death."
The City of Life and Death!
Fang Heng's pupils abruptly contracted into pinpoints.
Shen Qiushui truly had many secrets.
She had actually been to the City of Life and Death.
The City of Life and Death was an exceedingly mysterious city.
It was said to have been built upon Yellow Springs Road, situated between the mortal world and the underworld.
The City of Life and Death was a place where dragons and fish mingled, where life and death were hard to distinguish. Even the Great Qian court had no control or influence over it.
It could be said that the City of Life and Death was a lawless land, utterly chaotic.
At the same time, because it lay beyond the influence of the Great Qian court, it had become the most famous black market and place for disposing of stolen goods.
Shen Qiushui took a sip of fragrant tea and spoke slowly.
"According to the seller, this chess piece was once used by Emperor Yuling of the previous dynasty."
"Emperor Yuling was known as the Chess Immortal. This commoner girl bought it only out of curiosity."
Emperor Yuling was the final emperor of the previous dynasty.
He was obsessed with Go and was known as the Chess Immortal Emperor.
During his reign, treacherous ministers held sway, and the people lived in misery.
He was much like Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of Song—an artist of extraordinary skill who would have made an excellent artist.
But as an emperor, he was incapable of governing a nation and could only turn the land into a battlefield filled with beacon fires.
A chess piece used by Emperor Yuling?
Could it be...
Fang Heng had a guess in his heart.
The fortune he had absorbed might have been the National Destiny of the previous dynasty.
Because this chess piece had remained in contact with Emperor Yuling for so long, it had been tainted by the previous dynasty's fortune.
If he could buy all the other chess pieces and the chessboard as well, perhaps he could condense a golden destiny.
Fang Heng thought to himself that this counted as the third method he had discovered for increasing fortune.
Divide the cake!
Make the cake!
Eat the previous dynasty's cake!
Seeing Fang Heng's interest in the chess piece, Shen Qiushui took the initiative to speak.
"If Your Highness is interested in Emperor Yuling's chess pieces, then when the City of Life and Death opens next time, I can accompany Your Highness there."
"Then I'll have to trouble Miss Shen."
"It is no trouble!"
"The City of Life and Death only opens after a certain interval. Before it opens next time, I will have my maid send word to Your Highness."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Shen Qiushui rose and left.
After seeing Shen Qiushui off, Yun Menglan said flatly.
"Your Highness, that was quick."
"I thought you would simply cook the raw rice into cooked rice."
Fang Heng was full of question marks, his face darkening with exasperation.
He was stunned by Yun Menglan's savage words.
"Aunt Yun, don't go playing matchmaker at random."
"There is nothing improper between Shen Qiushui and me."
"She came today to thank me for the porridge distribution that day."
Yun Menglan let out a faint sigh.
Your Highness, you truly do not understand a girl's heart at all.
If Shen Qiushui did not have even the slightest interest in you, why would she secretly come to see you?
She is a young lady of a distinguished family, with status and reputation. If she truly wished to express her thanks, she would first send a calling card, then pay a proper visit openly.
Why would she come secretly like this?
It was just like secretly meeting a lover.
"If Her Highness knew that Your Highness could cook Shen Qiushui's raw rice into cooked rice, she would surely be overjoyed."
"I don't know whether Mother Consort would be happy."
"But the Martial Prime Minister would definitely not let me off."
"At worst, have His Majesty bestow a marriage. Could the Martial Prime Minister really refuse Your Highness as his son-in-law?"
"Your Highness has no connection whatsoever to the Ten Great Dao Courts."
Fang Heng stroked his chin, deep in thought.
The Martial Prime Minister had always been unwilling to become entangled with princes.
Especially princes backed by the Ten Great Dao Courts.
On the other hand, a prince like him, one with no background in the Ten Great Dao Courts and no hope of ascending the throne, was far less objectionable.
More than a month later.
Thunder rumbled throughout the residence.
Azure-blue lightning serpents slithered through the void.
The servants of the estate had long grown accustomed to the occasional thunderous eruptions from the rear courtyard.
Everyone in the entire Prince's Manor knew that over the past month, His Highness had become obsessed with cultivating lightning arts.
The spectacle of his lightning arts grew greater by the day.
In the rear courtyard.
A green thunderball floated in Fang Heng's palm.
Lightning flickered within it, containing terrifying destructive power.
It seemed that once it exploded, it could level the entire Prince's Manor to the ground.
With a sweep of his right hand, the thunderball shot toward the heavens.
It tore through the clouds and pierced the sky.
Then it exploded high above the nine heavens.
Transforming into green lightning.
Thunder rumbled endlessly.
If Daoist Xuanqing had been present to witness this scene, he would surely have been so astonished that his eyes fell wide open.
The power of this Wood-Thunder Divine Lightning strike was three times greater than when Fang Heng had used it last time.
Even a cultivator in the middle stage of Feasting on Rosy Clouds who had cultivated Wood-Thunder Divine Lightning to the perfected realm could never possess such power.
"Wood-Thunder Divine Lightning has reached perfection."
"Still, compared to Master, it is merely a firefly before the moon."
Fang Heng looked at the rumbling thunder in the sky and sighed, carrying a trace of regret and dissatisfaction.
With the enhancement of the Wood-Thunder Body destiny.
When Fang Heng unleashed Wood-Thunder Divine Lightning, its power was three times that of others.
Three times the perfected realm.
It had completely transcended Great Qian's system of evaluation.
He withdrew his power.
The rear courtyard fell silent.
After washing up, a servant came to report.
"Your Highness, Lord Tian from the Seed Selection Department has come to visit."
"Tian Sheng? Let him in."
Before long, Tian Sheng strode briskly into the main hall, his face brimming with joy.
"Lord Tian, have you brought me good news?"
"Your Highness sees through all things!"
"This subordinate has extraordinarily good news."
"Speak!"
"The rice has ripened. It can be harvested."
The moment those words fell, two sharp lights burst from Fang Heng's dark eyes.
The Hybrid Rice could finally be harvested.
"Come, we will go to the farmstead at once!"
Fang Heng was exhilarated, wishing he could sprout wings and fly straight to the farmstead.
Very quickly, the two arrived at the farmstead.
Every official of the Seed Selection Department was present, their faces filled with excitement and joy.
Their gazes were all fixed on the rice in the paddies.
The heavy rice ears formed a sea of gold.
Although it had not yet been harvested and weighed, one could tell from the sight alone that it was a bountiful harvest.
Anyone could see that this was a tremendous merit.
The Ninth Prince would naturally receive the chief credit, and they too would receive no small share of the benefits.
"Begin the harvest!"
With a sweep of Fang Heng's hand, everyone in the Seed Selection Department began harvesting the rice ears.
Each worked with greater vigor than the last, and the paddies were soon a blazing scene of activity.
The officials of the Seed Selection Department all possessed cultivation.
They quickly harvested ninety mu of rice paddies.
"Experimental Field Number One: 682 jin!"
"Experimental Field Number Two: 705 jin!"
"Experimental Field Number Three: 712 jin!"
"My lord, the ninety mu of experimental fields yielded a total of 63,057 jin, with an average yield per mu of..."
"Over... seven... seven hundred jin!"
When Tian Sheng saw that yield per mu, his head spun.
Even his usually fluent speech became stammering.
Seven hundred jin!
Seven hundred jin per mu!
The people of the Seed Selection Department instantly erupted in an uproar.
They had long known that the rice planted this time had produced a bountiful harvest.
But none of them had expected the yield to be so abundant.
A yield of seven hundred jin per mu was equivalent to doubling the yield per mu.
What did that mean?
They understood it better than anyone.
How could it merely benefit the nation and the people?
The words "benefit the nation and the people" were far from sufficient to describe this towering achievement.
Everyone felt as though they had been struck by a pie falling from the heavens.
They were so excited that they did not know what words could express their feelings.
Tian Sheng was exhilarated, feeling his blood boil within him.
He knew that this time, he had chosen the right thigh to cling to.
Fang Heng alone remained utterly calm.
Having known the result long ago, he was not surprised in the slightest.
Seven hundred jin—by the standards of later Huaxia, that was below average.
If they could produce chemical fertilizer, yields could rise by another forty to fifty percent.
A thousand jin per mu was no dream.
"What are you still standing around for?"
"Hurry and inform Father Emperor and the several chancellors."
"The remaining ten mu must be harvested before Father Emperor and all the civil and military officials."
Before you continue