Imperial Palace, main avenue.
Consort Ning and Consort Shu walked side by side.
Their figures were slender and graceful, like two twin lotuses.
Behind them followed a crowd of maidservants and eunuchs.
"Elder Sister Consort Ning, did you see Noble Consort Zhuang's expression just now... Hehe, she really lost face today." Consort Shu covered her mouth and snickered.
At the thought of Noble Consort Zhuang's face, as though she had swallowed a fly, she could not help laughing.
"Noble Consort Zhuang holds great power in the palace. Little Sister, do not mock her before outsiders."
"Rest assured, Elder Sister Consort Ning. I know where the line is."
"And that Consort Min, always trying to outdo Elder Sister at every turn. She should take a look at herself—she cannot even bear a son."
"How could she compare to you, Elder Sister? You are truly blessed to have given birth to such an outstanding prince. Even His Majesty never stops praising him."
"You also had a discerning eye, Elder Sister, sending the Ninth Prince to the Seed Selection Department."
"That was why he had such fortune today. He stayed silent until he suddenly shook the world with a single cry."
Consort Shu's praise for Fang Heng pleased Consort Ning immensely.
How could the child she, Lu Wan'er, had given birth to possibly be lacking?
She had completely forgotten how, just over a month ago, she had opposed Fang Heng going to the Seed Selection Department.
Consort Ning and Consort Shu chatted as they walked, soon arriving outside Yaoguang Palace.
By coincidence, they encountered Fang Heng entering the palace. He approached them head-on, dressed in magnificent robes and a sable cloak, as elegant as jade tree and orchid.
"Your son greets Mother Consort. Your son greets Consort Shu."
Fang Heng bowed to the two women.
Consort Shu sized Fang Heng up, the curiosity in her eyes overflowing.
She seemed as though she wanted to strip Fang Heng bare and see exactly how he had grown to create such a huge stir.
"Little Sister, come inside and sit for a while."
Consort Ning chuckled and invited her, interrupting Consort Shu's thoughts.
"Elder Sister Consort Ning, there is no need!"
"I shall take my leave first and not disturb you mother and son."
"Take care, Little Sister. Come visit when you have time."
After Consort Shu left, the two returned indoors and dismissed the servants.
Consort Ning grasped Fang Heng's hand and asked impatiently.
"Heng'er, tell me—what exactly happened today?"
Knowing that his mother consort was anxious, Fang Heng selected the important details and recounted them one by one.
After Consort Ning heard it all, her willow brows curved and the corners of her lips lifted. A faint smile hung upon her stunning face.
"Your mother had originally worried that you would not be able to endure the hardships of the Seed Selection Department."
"I never expected you to give Mother such a great surprise."
"Some time ago, I asked your uncle to smooth over connections at the Divine General's Estate for you. Now it seems that will not be necessary."
After understanding the full course of events.
Consort Ning quickly realized that Fang Heng had no need to build up seniority at the Divine General's Estate.
The Ministry of Agriculture was Fang Heng's blessed land.
His meteoric rise was right before his eyes.
"It is only a pity that the method for cultivating Sacred Emperor Rice must be handed over to the court." A trace of regret appeared in Consort Ning's eyes.
"Mother Consort, there is nothing to regret."
"If only your son knew the method for cultivating Sacred Emperor Rice, that would be a calamity of annihilation."
"Who knows how many people would want your son dead."
Hearing Fang Heng's words, Consort Ning smiled in relief.
"Mother was being greedy."
"Compared to one's life and family, the method of cultivating Sacred Emperor Rice can be handed over."
"His Majesty has seen all your merits. He surely will not treat you unfairly."
"Mother Consort, Father Emperor has already conferred upon me the title of Prince of a Commandery. As for my fief stipend, I wish to discuss something with you."
Fang Heng pondered for a moment, then explained in detail.
According to Great Qian's system of enfeoffment for the imperial clan, fief stipends could be said to be unimportant—but they could also be quite important.
A Prince of a Commandery's fief stipend was nominal, not an actual fief.
As a Prince of a Commandery, one merely received the corresponding salary and held no governing authority.
Therefore, where the fief stipend was located did not matter to a Prince of a Commandery.
Many Princes of a Commandery never set foot on the land of their fief stipends in their entire lives.
But should one advance to Heir Prince, that fief stipend could become an actual fief.
Wherever the original fief stipend was located would become the Heir Prince's territory.
Thus, the fief stipend conferred while one was a Prince of a Commandery determined the territory one would hold as an Heir Prince and later as a Prince of the First Rank.
This was where the importance of a fief stipend lay.
Of course, under Great Qian's ancestral clan laws.
An Heir Prince's territory belonged only to that Heir Prince and could not be passed down to descendants, much like a lifetime title.
Only a Prince of the First Rank could pass their territory down to descendants.
And with every generation, the title would be reduced by one rank.
A Prince of the First Rank would become an Heir Prince, and an Heir Prince would become a Prince of a Commandery.
After three generations, the princely title would be removed, and the territory reclaimed by the court.
Want your family to keep its territory?
Then every generation had to render meritorious service to Great Qian.
This was also the ancestral instruction left behind by Great Qian's Founding Emperor, meant to spur the imperial clan's descendants to strive upward rather than become rice-eating parasites.
"Heng'er, what do you have in mind?"
Consort Ning raised her lovely head and looked at Fang Heng.
She knew her son had strong opinions of his own; she could see that from his decision to enter the Seed Selection Department.
Therefore, she did not immediately state her own thoughts.
"Your son wishes for his fief stipend to be conferred within the Imperial Secret Realm."
"The Imperial Secret Realm?" Consort Ning's willow brows furrowed as she asked, "Why not have it conferred within Great Qian's Seventy-Two Commandery?"
"The Seventy-Two Commandery are Great Qian's homeland. They have been cultivated for ten thousand years, with fertile land and dense populations."
"If it is converted into an actual fief in the future, it will already be rich land without any need for development."
"Although the Imperial Secret Realm is rich in resources, it is inconvenient to develop and ultimately cannot compare to the Seventy-Two Commandery."
In Great Qian, there was a chain of contempt among different lands.
Yujing City looked down on the Seventy-Two Commandery, and the Seventy-Two Commandery looked down on the various secret realms.
It was much like the homeland looking down upon colonies in the Age of Exploration.
If Fang Heng's ambition was merely to become an ordinary Prince, then having his fief stipend conferred in the Seventy-Two Commandery would naturally be excellent.
Only...
"Mother Consort, your son has taken a liking to the mineral resources in the Daishan Secret Realm. I must trouble Mother Consort to speak to Father Emperor."
"Mineral resources?"
Consort Ning's beautiful face went blank for a moment.
Then she suddenly realized it, and her expression changed.
"Heng'er, are you planning to follow the Path of Puppetry?"
Among the many paths of the Daoist School, Puppet Masters consumed the greatest amount of mineral resources.
When Fang Heng set his sights on the Daishan Secret Realm's mineral resources, Consort Ning instinctively thought of the Puppet Master lineage.
Fang Heng did not conceal it and nodded.
"Mother Consort has guessed correctly. Your son indeed intends to follow the Puppet Master lineage."
Consort Ning patted her smooth forehead, her gaze toward Fang Heng filled with speechless exasperation.
Her son was simply too capable of stirring things up.
He had made such great contributions at the Seed Selection Department. By all reason, if he followed the Spirit Farmer lineage, his future would be boundless.
Why had he suddenly changed his mind and decided to follow the Puppet Master lineage?
"Mother Consort, I beg you."
"You... you are going to wear Mother out."
Consort Ning spoke irritably.
But she only had this one son.
Since Fang Heng wished to follow the Puppet Master lineage, she naturally had no choice but to help him.
Follow the Puppet Master lineage?
To be precise, Fang Heng's true purpose was somewhat different from the Puppet Master lineage.
Hybrid Rice had been developed.
Ammonia Synthesis naturally had to be prepared for launch as well.
Once Ammonia Synthesis was settled, could fertilizer be far behind?
Fertilizer was different from Hybrid Rice.
Hybrid Rice was planted in scattered locations, while fertilizer factories would be concentrated in one place and would certainly draw covetous eyes.
Even if no one coveted them, mere sabotage would be enough to give Fang Heng a headache.
That was also why Fang Heng chose the Imperial Secret Realm.
The Imperial Secret Realm was not within Great Qian's homeland, so it would not draw so much attention.
It was suitable for lying low, developing steadily, and advancing bit by bit.
If he placed the fertilizer factory in Yujing City, it would be far too conspicuous.
Before you continue