Especially Shen Changyuan, the Minister of Revenue—his eyes lit up instantly.
At that moment, he felt as if his entire family had been saved.
If the Great Yan Dynasty truly possessed crops like sweet potatoes, then wouldn't the people finally be able to eat their fill?
Do you believe in light?
If Shen Mingzhu were to raise her head and look around, she would probably find that every civil and military official in the hall looked like Ultraman, their eyes shining with blazing light.
What Shen Changyuan could think of, Emperor Jingyuan and the officials of the court could naturally think of as well.
The Second Prince, Yan Yunxuan, felt as though he had just lost billions.
Shen Mingzhu that foolish girl who had once been infatuated with him actually knew about something as miraculous as sweet potatoes.
If he could obtain it, wouldn't his path to power become smooth and effortless?
Thinking of how deeply Shen Mingzhu used to adore him, he felt certain that with just a casual beckon of his finger, she would obediently place everything in his hands.
What he did not know… was that this pearl was no longer the pearl he once knew.
Under Emperor Jingyuan's burning gaze from the throne, Shen Changyuan glanced at Shen Mingzhu, quietly calculating how he might persuade her to present the sweet potatoes to the emperor.
[Guagua, don't you think the main hall is strangely quiet?]
With a single glance from Emperor Jingyuan, Imperial Censor Wang immediately stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, I wish to impeach General Tian, the chariot and Cavalry Commander. He behaved improperly before the palace, disgracing all scholars."
Tian Xuezhou: That damned Wang Qianhe, he's shameless!
After hearing this, Emperor Jingyuan said,
"General of Chariots and Cavalry Tian Xuezhou has behaved improperly in front of the emperor and is hereby fined one month's salary."
Shen Mingzhu: [Ahhh, General Tian has been fined! How are they going to survive this month? His family is going to starve! Madam Tian will have to stay up all night embroidering handkerchiefs again!]
[Host, don't worry. We'll have your beautiful mother visit them later, bringing some rice, flour, cooking oil, vegetables, and so on. After all, General Tian is Madam Shen's elder.]
[Yes, that's the only way, Guagua.]
Many ministers looked at General Tian and nodded repeatedly.
The way the military officers looked at General Tian, in particular, had changed considerably.
General Tian is worthy of their admiration.
[By the way, host, how are you going to get the sweet potato out? You can't just conjure it up out of thin air, can you?]
Shen Mingzhu pondered, trying to find a particularly reasonable excuse to take out the sweet potatoes and sweet potato seedlings.
"Guagua, my family is a noble household, so we should have fertile land, estates, and shops, right?"
Upon hearing this, the system immediately said proudly,
[Host, you really want to hear about the Marquis of Changping's mansion wealth! Thousands of acres of fertile land, countless estates and shops. When General Xie married off his daughter, the dowry stretched for miles, making everyone envious.]
Of course, most of these dowries were prepared by your maternal grandmother!
The social hierarchy is: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Your maternal grandmother, Madam Wu, was the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Jiangnan, yet General Xie held her in extremely high esteem. Without her support, the Zhenbei Army wouldn't have survived this long!
My maternal grandparents were a perfect match in terms of mutual support and success!
[Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, host!]
Back then, General Xie Yan, the General Who Guards the North, sought to marry Wu Baozhu, the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Jiangnan, breaking the hearts of countless noble ladies in the capital.
But only the Zhenbei Army knew how much they had benefited from following the General.
General Xie is a man who values substance!
Moreover, he and Wu were very loving and had three sons and one daughter, which was the envy of many.
Life is something you create yourself.
With General Xie as their backer, the Wu family of Jiangnan has seen their business flourish and their wealth increase year after year.
Of course, the Wu family also provided great help to Xie's army, donating money, grain and materials, contributing a lot every year.
Ahhh, my maternal grandparents were a match made in heaven—they fell in love after marriage!
Emperor Jingyuan: ...
I only want sweet potatoes, a divine food. As for your maternal grandfather and grandmother's fairytale love story, I don't want to hear about it!
...
Shen Mingzhu had been standing all morning and felt a little tired, so she unconsciously stepped back and leaned against a pillar to rest.
[Guagua, when are we going to finish court? I'm so tired and hungry!]
[Host, hang in there a little longer! Can't you see the ministers haven't finished discussing state affairs yet?]
Shen Mingzhu: It's so tiring, I don't want to come to court anymore!
This is even more painful than the modern 996 work schedule!
All the officials listened to Shen Mingzhu's complaints and enthusiastically accelerated their discussion.
Shen Changyuan is now numb to Shen Mingzhu. This brat actually ran behind a pillar in the main hall and leaned against it. I don't know whether to say she knows how to enjoy herself or is just incredibly audacious!
[Ahhh, when will court be over and I be able to leave? I still need to go to the Hanlin Academy for my roll call, and then I need to stroll around the market to get the sweet potatoes and sweet potato seedlings. It will take time for my beautiful mother to plant them on the estate!]
It's August now, a bit late, but the temperature is still nice enough to plant one crop.
Upon hearing that they were going to get sweet potatoes, Emperor Jingyuan immediately gave Wang Defu a look.
Instantly, the entire hall was filled with the high-pitched voice of the chief eunuch, Wang Defu.
"If you have something to report, speak now; otherwise, the court is adjourned!"
In an instant, because of Shen Mingzhu's heartfelt words, today's morning court session came to an end!
Of course, after the grand court assembly ended, Emperor Jingyuan, the prime minister, the six ministers, and other important officials held a smaller court assembly. Shen Mingzhu was not qualified to attend, so she could only slink back to the Hanlin Academy where she was currently working.
She still has to clock in!
It's just like modern fingerprint or facial recognition check-in.
Emperor Jingyuan valued Shen Mingzhu quite a bit. She was a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a sixth-rank official position, a position usually reserved for the top scholar in the imperial examinations.
Grand Scholar Su Huaiyuan was very considerate; he thoughtfully prepared a small room next to his office so that he could communicate with Shen Xiuzuan at any time.
After the roll call was over, Shen Mingzhu had Shaoyao move all the daily necessities and snacks she had left in the carriage into her room.
It could also be described as her ancient office.
As soon as the blankets were laid out, Shen Mingzhu lay down and fell asleep!
Su Huaiyuan: ...
We were supposed to go find sweet potatoes!
She's actually taking a nap!
Shaoyao smiled helplessly at the assembled officials, then stood guard at Shen Mingzhu's door.
The emperor's extraordinary appointment of someone as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy was like a bombshell dropped in the academy, arousing great curiosity among everyone.
They was thinking of getting to know her properly today, but wow, she just ignored everyone and went to sleep.
An old man with a white beard pulled Su Huaiyuan aside and whispered,
"Scholar Su, what's going on? Is this how the Hanlin Academy compiles works? This is too frivolous!"
Su Huaiyuan stretched out his index finger and swung it back and forth.
"Once Shen Xiuzuan wakes up, you will understand His Majesty's intention."
At this moment, Shen Mingzhu was unaware that she had become the "topic" of the Hanlin Academy.
She's dreaming that she's eating a Manchu Han Imperial Feast!
She was smiling in her dreams.
After finally waiting for Shen Mingzhu to wake up, a colleague from the Hanlin Academy couldn't help but ask,
"Shen Mingzhu, may I ask what your expertise is?"
Shen Mingzhu looked at the man in the blue robe in front of her, rubbed her eyes, and said,
"I'm good at eating, drinking, having fun, and sleeping."
Man in blue robe: ...
Fellow colleagues of the Hanlin Academy: ...
Her answer was so free and easy!
She completely disregard the lives of those around her!
Su Huaiyuan: ...No wonder she is the Crown Princess chosen by His Majesty.