The Overachieving Little Husband of the Top Scholar’s Household - Chapter 114: Meeting Shiliu Again

Chapter 114: Meeting Shiliu Again

The Imperial Manor, as the name suggested, referred to farmlands directly owned by the imperial family, managed by officials appointed by the emperor himself, and the grain produced there served as the emperor’s private property.

The Yuchao dynasty had a long history of establishing Imperial Manors, and they were not confined to the outskirts of the capital. Radiating outward from the capital as the center, there were currently eight such manors in total.

However, the most prominent of these Imperial Manors—the one whose tenant farmers enjoyed the best conditions—was undoubtedly the several hundred mu of land spread out before Qiu Huanian’s eyes.

Emperor Yuanhua was a diligent ruler. Every year, during spring sowing and autumn harvest, he personally led his ministers and imperial sons to the Imperial Manor to conduct ceremonial farming activities. Since the emperor himself came twice a year, those beneath him naturally dared not act recklessly.

Qiu Huanian glanced at the land marked with the special signs of the Imperial Manor and then at his own thirty mu of land, which bore no such sign. The more he looked, the more convinced he became that this plot had been carved out of the Imperial Manor itself.

He simply walked forward a dozen paces and arrived at a ridge where, according to the pattern, there should have been a sign. Using the tip of his boot, he pried aside the loose soil.

After digging down about ten centimeters, he indeed uncovered the base of a broken imperial marker.

“……”

So Emperor Yuanhua had truly rewarded Du Yunse with thirty mu directly from the Imperial Manor. Why insist on making it so special?

Was it because of Du Yunse’s skill in agriculture, or because the Crown Prince resided on the Imperial Manor year-round?

Or perhaps both reasons?

Qiu Huanian pondered for a while before simply dropping the matter. Their household division of labor was clear: he was responsible for farming and making money, while Du Yunse handled navigating officialdom and power struggles. Matters like this were not his area of expertise.

In any case, with such excellent land in his hands, he would make the most of it and farm it well.

There were tenant farmers on the Imperial Manor too, but unlike ordinary tenants, those on the Imperial Manor were considered private property of the imperial family. They were jointly managed by officials from the Ministry of Revenue and eunuchs appointed by the emperor. Generally, they were exempt from corvée labor and taxes—life sounded much better than that of regular tenant farmers.

But if they were unlucky enough to encounter a foolish monarch indifferent to governance, coupled with ruthless eunuchs and corrupt officials, the Imperial Manor’s tenant farmers would find themselves utterly forsaken—living lives worse than beasts of burden.

Ordinary tenant farmers, unable to endure, could at least go to government offices to file complaints. Whom could the Imperial Manor’s tenants complain to?

During the reign of the late emperor, waves of tenant farmers here perished one after another, and the fat of the people’s labor was all funneled into the pockets of eunuchs and Ministry officials.

Fortunately, the current emperor, Yuanhua, was a formidable sovereign. He controlled everything—large or small—that rightfully belonged to him with uncompromising precision. Anyone daring to pilfer from his household under his very eyes? Not a chance.

After the Crown Prince was released from confinement last year and began residing permanently on the Imperial Manor, wholly devoted to agricultural pursuits, no one dared even touch a single blade of grass here.

Becoming a tenant on the Imperial Manor was now an enviable path to fortune.

Just as Qiu Huanian was about to ask Xingmi and Baiquan to find a tenant and gather some information, he suddenly spotted a lone rider approaching from afar.

Clad in black, swift as wind, with eyes as cold as ice—he resembled a sword bereft of warmth.

“……Shiliu.”

In only a few breaths, Shiliu arrived before Qiu Huanian. With precise control, he reined in his horse, dismounted fluidly, and addressed him in a tone utterly detached. The cold beauty of his face betrayed not the slightest emotion.

“Lord Qishu, His Highness the Crown Prince summons you.”

“……”

Qiu Huanian instantly sensed that Shiliu did not wish anyone to know they were close—even the Crown Prince himself was included among those “anyone.”

—Although, in his own mind, Qiu Huanian jokingly labeled Shiliu as “expressionless, emotionless, heartless—a beautiful three-no youth,” he still believed their relationship was, in fact, close.

To be honest, Qiu Huanian was somewhat reluctant to meet the Crown Prince alone.

During his year in Xiangping Prefecture, he had mingled with officials’ families and heard much about the Crown Prince.

Popular opinion held that His Highness was benevolent and broad-minded, intelligent and talented, bearing the grace of the late empress. Even after falling from favor and being confined due to the Jiangnan embezzlement case, many still regarded him as an unjustly maligned and compassionate prince.

Except for his frail health, anyone not allied with other princes acknowledged him as a flawless and exemplary heir.

But Qiu Huanian’s husband was Du Yunse. And who was Du Yunse? A former classmate of the Crown Prince for a year, handpicked by Emperor Yuanhua himself to temper the Crown Prince. His understanding of the Crown Prince far surpassed that of most in the Yuchao dynasty.

From Du Yunse’s tight-lipped remarks, Qiu Huanian had long realized that this Crown Prince concealed depths far beyond the surface image of benevolence.

But could Qiu Huanian refuse to go? Obviously not.

They were already at the Imperial Manor’s edge. With the Crown Prince personally sending a shadow guard to summon him, could he reasonably run back home to consult Du Yunse first?

Shiliu regarded him coolly before suddenly saying, “To avoid keeping His Highness waiting, allow me to take you there on horseback.”

Huh?

By the time Qiu Huanian processed this, he was already hauled onto the horse by Shiliu.

The steed galloped across open fields. Shiliu was extremely thin—far slighter than Qiu Huanian had imagined. Each shadow guard possessed unique skills; Shiliu had sacrificed other attributes in exchange for extreme agility and stealth.

Yet his frame was remarkably steady, like supple bamboo—unyielding, impossible to break no matter what.

As the horse raced and the wind howled past, Qiu Huanian suddenly heard Shiliu’s voice at his ear.

“Do not worry. His Highness only wishes to inquire about farming.”

Qiu Huanian wanted to turn his head to study Shiliu’s expression, but Shiliu gripped him firmly, preventing any movement that might expose them.

Seizing this rare chance to speak privately, Qiu Huanian could only stare ahead and ask quietly, “Why are you pretending we are unfamiliar? Does the Crown Prince not know you met us in Liaozhou? Are you hiding something from me?”

Realizing he had overstepped with these questions and would receive no answer, Qiu Huanian fell silent for several seconds.

“…Have you been well this past year?”

Shiliu remained silent all the way until the steed halted before the gates of the Imperial Manor’s temporary palace.

Just before dismounting, Qiu Huanian finally heard Shiliu’s sparse words:

“You’ve grown taller.”

He could almost swear he saw the corner of Shiliu’s lips lift slightly.

Qiu Huanian wanted to confirm, but palace guards had already approached, forcing him to continue playing the role of a mere acquaintance.

The Imperial Manor’s palace complex had once been vast in scale, but during the late emperor’s reign, it was burned to the ground—a deliberate act by the steward eunuch to destroy evidence of embezzlement.

In the late emperor’s declining years, chaos over the throne’s succession had thrown the Yuchao realm into flames; the burning of this palace was but a small vignette of that turbulent era.

When Emperor Yuanhua rebuilt the palace, he decreed that its size be reduced by three-quarters, economizing expenses and returning more land to farming.

Even so, though shrunken, the palace remained imposing—far grander than any building Qiu Huanian had seen since arriving in this world.

If such magnificence existed merely in an Imperial Manor, how awe-inspiring must the Forbidden City within the imperial capital be?

Qiu Huanian felt curiosity but no envy.

To him, surrendering freedom to live in such gilded halls paled in comparison to personally tilling two mu of farmland.

Shiliu and the Crown Prince’s personal attendants escorted Qiu Huanian to a side hall. After announcing his arrival, the attendants withdrew, and Shiliu melted into the shadows—Qiu Huanian knew he remained hidden within.

There, in that side hall repurposed as a study, Qiu Huanian met the Crown Prince Jia Hongyuan for the first time—a member of the imperial family.

The prince sat behind a desk reading.

Draped in heavy robes, his face bore a sickly pallor, yet his unmatched beauty could not be concealed. Gentle and broad-minded, he nonetheless carried the unique authority of one born to rule.

Following the etiquette he had studied before entering the capital, Qiu Huanian bowed in greeting. A female attendant beside the prince promptly helped him rise.

“I have long heard of Lord Qishu’s name. Today, at last, I behold you. There are many points in your writings I do not comprehend—might I trouble you for instruction?”

Jia Hongyuan’s demeanor was sincere, his smile like a spring breeze.

Qiu Huanian could only sit and begin “teaching” the prince.

The spacious hall was otherwise empty; the female attendant went to stand guard at the entrance. Knowing Shiliu was silently observing from some corner, Qiu Huanian felt slightly more at ease.

Soon, he discovered the Crown Prince’s professed devotion to agriculture was no act. His understanding of farming was profound, and every question he posed struck precisely at key points—some even stumped Qiu Huanian.

The second prince had yet to grasp the basics of Fundamentals of Algebra: Equations, yet the Crown Prince had thoroughly absorbed Qiu Huanian’s treatise on cotton cultivation.

The prince possessed an uncanny quality that inspired belief in his sincerity, his thirst for learning, and his humility.

He indeed embodied the charisma of a true leader.

Qiu Huanian, holding his breath, lowered his gaze and continued explaining the practical steps of cotton cultivation.

In another month or two, with this spring’s sowing, the new cotton-planting method would be trialed in multiple regions of the Yuchao realm.

From seedling cultivation to fertilization, growth control, pest management, and harvesting—the entire process was standardized, yet adjustments and improvements had to be made according to each region’s climate.

It was impossible for Qiu Huanian to personally conduct trials in so many locations; this phase would have to be entrusted to the court.

This year’s experiments would be carried out not only in traditional cotton-growing regions but also in the frigid northeast and northwest, as well as on various Imperial Manors.

Jia Hongyuan gazed at the map marked with red circles on the desk and smiled faintly. “When I was a child, my mother told me: before ascending the throne, my father was ordered by the late emperor to lead troops defending the border against foreign invaders. Supplies were cut off by rebel princes amid bitter cold; the soldiers lacked even winter clothing. The mighty fortress was on the brink of collapse, and the enemy nearly poured into the Central Plains.”

“My mother was not of noble birth and could not fund my father’s purchase of cotton at high prices from merchants…”

Jia Hongyuan smoothly shifted the topic, voice unchanging. “In those days, my father was revered by the people as the Righteous King. Wherever he passed, peasants greeted him joyfully with food and drink. Some even dismantled their own cotton garments and bedding to extract old cotton for military use.”

“Later, when my father ascended the throne and peace returned, the soldiers safeguarding the Yuchao realm could finally eat their fill and stay warm. Yet cotton remained difficult to cultivate; even with my father urging the Ministry of Revenue to expand production, not every household could afford new cotton.”

“My health is frail; I cannot emulate my father in leading troops to repel invaders. All I can do is devote myself to agriculture, share my father’s burdens, and seek blessings for the countless people of our great Yuchao.”

Jia Hongyuan spoke earnestly and solemnly. “In that sense, Lord Qishu, you are to me as Duke Zhou was to King Wen, or Guan Zhong to Duke Huan!”

“……”

Master of lofty promises himself, Qiu Huanian was struck dumb by this colossal flattery.

He merely researched farming techniques—how had he suddenly been elevated to the ranks of sage ministers like Duke Zhou and Guan Zhong?

For any ordinary Yuchao native, such praise from the Crown Prince would be dizzying.

Qiu Huanian’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly as he cast aside the absurd thought.

“I too hope for the people of Yuchao to live in abundance and warmth. That is why I devote myself to agricultural studies. If Your Highness has any questions in this regard, you may ask me freely.”

As a properly titled rural lord, Qiu Huanian referred to himself as chen (臣) rather than as a mere commoner when addressing the Crown Prince.

He thought: With Du Yunse’s backing and Emperor Yuanhua’s attitude, they were firmly in the Crown Prince’s camp. A prince concerned for the people’s livelihood and farming was far preferable to one indifferent.

Upon receiving Qiu Huanian’s assurance, Jia Hongyuan proceeded to ask many more questions. Qiu Huanian even explained experimental methods—control groups, variable control—in terms understandable to locals, speaking until his throat was parched.

Before he realized it, a teacup appeared at his side—Shiliu, emerging silently from nowhere with a teapot procured from who knew where, poured tea for him first, then for Jia Hongyuan.

The tea’s aroma was pure and delicate; even Qiu Huanian, ignorant of tea, could sense its rarity.

Thus was Qiu Huanian subtly won over by this master-and-servant duo.

Jia Hongyuan chuckled softly. “You must have met Shiliu before. He is my most trusted shadow guard—never appearing before others, yet it matters not that he has met you and Yunse.”

“In future, should you face difficulties and I be unable to attend to them, you may seek Shiliu directly.”

Shiliu silently inclined his head toward Qiu Huanian.

Suppressing the odd feeling within him, Qiu Huanian followed etiquette and thanked the Crown Prince.

After the noon meal, Jia Hongyuan took his medicine and, per the imperial physicians’ instructions, rested.

Before parting, he asked, “Lord Qishu, are you seeking to purchase a residence in the capital?”

Qiu Huanian perked up. Was this about to become a salary?

Having gauged Jia Hongyuan’s style, Qiu Huanian answered directly, “I wish to buy a residence in the southeastern quarter of Nanxun Ward.”

Clear goal. Concise statement.

Jia Hongyuan recalled the location—ah, a quarter-hour’s walk from the Hanlin Academy.

He smiled faintly. “Alas, I hold no property there.”

“Unlike my second brother, beloved of our grand councillor grandfather and Great Prince uncle, or my third brother, backed by maternal aristocratic clans—I am, truth be told, rather impoverished.”

“……” Qiu Huanian was speechless. Since when did the Crown Prince resort to playing the poor card?

And openly speaking of his brothers’ backing—was this his way of marking Qiu Huanian as a trusted ally?

Jia Hongyuan continued, “The fine houses in that quarter are all occupied and rarely sold. Yet, since Yunse and Lord Qishu intend to settle here, I shall see about having one vacated.”

Qiu Huanian blinked. Vacated?

His instincts screamed: whatever method the Crown Prince had in mind, it likely did not involve politely knocking on someone’s door to request they sell.

“Shiliu, see to it.”

Shiliu nodded. “Rest well, Your Highness. I shall escort Lord Qishu back to the city.”

Jia Hongyuan hummed in assent. “The fields of Lord Qishu lie beside the Imperial Manor. There will be ample opportunities—we shall continue our discussions another day.”

“……”

Qiu Huanian thought to himself: So that’s why such prime Imperial Manor land was randomly allotted to me—just to keep me conveniently nearby for the Crown Prince’s use.

Xingmi and Baiquan had not met the Crown Prince, but they were treated to a fine meal by the palace staff and were rather giddy about it. Their gazes toward Qiu Huanian brimmed with newfound reverence.

Carrying out his orders, Shiliu escorted them back to the city, heading straight for Nanxun Ward. Dismounting at the street nearest the Hanlin Academy, he gestured calmly toward the row of residences.

“Which would you like to live in?”

Huh? Once again, Qiu Huanian was stunned.

His gaze swept over the plaques above the gates: Prince’s Manor, Vice Minister of Revenue’s Residence, Court of State Ceremonials Minister’s Estate…

Wait—these were options he could actually choose from?!