Chapter 64: Agriculture

「Master, the Capital Prefecture sent news. 」 Zi Su walked to Jiang Yunchu's side, looking at the Princess Consort rubbing her temples.

The Princess Consort has been extremely busy these days; the academy side has gone from nothing to having something.

No matter which aspect, it all requires the Princess Consort's decision.

「How so? 」 Jiang Yunchu didn't even open her eyes, her hand pressing her temples didn't stop; over the past few days she'd overused her brain, making her head feel lumpy.

「I've already obtained the confession, and got Steward Fang to talk. 」 Zi Su was somewhat impressed; she had already experienced how stubborn Steward Fang's mouth could be.

There have always been people from the Wang Fu guarding that side; she knows exactly what the progress is.

「Any wounds on your body? 」

Jiang Yunchu opened her eyes and sat up straight at the same time.

When counterattacking…

Here we are!

「No, the Capital Prefecture side passed along a message; the Princess Consort may act as she sees fit. 」

Jiang Yunchu narrowed her eyes; her maternal uncle's strength is really not simple.

「Send the letter to the Kang Fu, and give the testimony to my maternal uncle. 」

「Right, tell my maternal uncle a word: the Kang Clan should try to stay out of this. »

Although there's no way, we also can't get too involved in this matter.

The Kang Clan carries the prestige of the maternal grandfather, so there are naturally hidden channels, or perhaps someone unexpected; to bring this matter to light, we need a plausible pretext.

The Wang Fu is currently at the forefront of the storm; it's not suitable to be forceful, but rather to stand from the perspective of the weak.

「Yes! 」 Zi Su withdrew.

「Princess Consort, yesterday the workshop and the paint shop came asking; although Fangzi has been found, those craft techniques still require special handling, but the people in charge have all been arrested. »

Originally these matters were arranged by Su Xin, but it's already midsummer, and every shop and manor hasn't been checked; nobody can rest easy.

「Let both sides wait a bit longer. 」 Jiang Yunchu picked up a book and flipped to the page she had previously looked at.

Even if the sky falls, there's high ground holding it up.

The people at the workshop and shops haven't finished their investigation; even if she has many formulas, she doesn't want to let others benefit cheaply.

Just wait.

「Yun chu, agriculture class, who's coming to teach? 」

Over these days, many books have already been finalized; aside from introductory texts, the other books have more or less been revised, and some books are compiled by the Chun Hua Xue Yuan itself relying on materials.

「Me! 」

Jiang Yunchu put the book down; that statement was perfectly natural.

「You? 」

Kang Mengxian widened his eyes, looking at his granddaughter who wore a calm expression and seemed perfectly natural.

For all these years, although he had never appeared before her, his concern for her had not lessened in the slightest.

She resides in the Grand General's Residence; although she has always been in an unfavored position, if one were to say she truly suffered hardship, she hasn't actually endured any.

Agriculture, will she?

If Kang Mei dares to let her farm, he dares to break Kang Mei's leg.

「What? You think I don't understand? 」 Jiang Yunchu looked toward her maternal grandfather, raising her eyebrows.

Kang Mengxian furrowed his brows, wearing an expression of disagreement.

「Yun chu, even in many matters, I will support you. »

「Whether it's toward your mother or you, my heart is biased; I've always known, and your maternal uncle and aunt also know. »

「Those children gathering at the Wang Fu are to protect you, to give you more ties. »

「But! 」

「Yun chu, since we've taken in those children, we must be responsible for them; we cannot lead them astray. »

Kang Mengxian was very stern; a stern person carries an aura of unangered authority, and this was the first time he gave Jiang Yunchu a lecture.

Indulgence, can be indulged.

But, he has his own principles.

Jiang Yunchu curled the corners of her mouth, without feeling wronged, without crying, and without any complaint.

To be arrogant because of favor, she likes it.

But…

She clearly has her own strength; she fundamentally doesn't need to be arrogant because of favor.

「Maternal grandfather, please first take a look at the book I've ordered. »

She placed a book from the desk in front of Kang Mengxian; these past days of busyness, eighty percent of the effort has been on this book.

To shape this book, she ran to the Palace three times; even going to the Ministry of Agriculture twice a day would be considered little.

Moreover, it's the manor outside the city; she's practically living there day after day.

If she weren't worried about Ning Hanmo and Yue Yue, she would have planned to live at the manor.

Music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—these have been arranged by the maternal grandfather and Ningguang; she is a layperson and doesn't want to instruct experts.

But agriculture, she can only rely on herself.

Kang Mengxian flipped open the book; not only had the title and outline already been compiled, but every page also had specific page numbers, clearly this book was already a final draft.

「You wrote this? 」

That awkward handwriting, besides Jiang Yunchu, there's probably no one else; each time I see her characters, my heart feels tangled.

The cursive script was written well, but she insisted on practicing the hairpin style; now the cursive isn't cursive, the hairpin style isn't hairpin, becoming a four-not-like.

「Yes. »

Jiang Yunchu nodded, set down the book she had just been reading, and got ready to talk.

"Have you been busy with agricultural studies these days?" Kang Mengxian read the book, word for word, and finished the first chapter.

Whether the illustrations or the descriptions, they differed from typical books, adding interest, and there were also many popular short poems on it that were easy to recite.

"Yes, go to the palace, bother the Ministry of Agriculture, go to the manor, and also discuss with those tenant farmers."

Only when talking about these did she realize how tired she was, and it wasn't for no reason.

"Is everything in this book supported by real theory?"

Kang Mengxian could turn a blind eye elsewhere, but when it came to cultural knowledge, his serious nature had always been stubborn.

"Yes."

"These are data."

"These are the data submitted by various departments over the years."

"These are weather records from various places."

"These are the records of the Imperial Observatory."

"These are the manor's records from the past ten years, and the manors I visited this time all had lords who were home‑born sons, with their indenture contracts kept in the manor."

After the previous manor incident, her trust in the manor was diminished; this time she mainly used three manors as test manors, making inferences about their character, yield, and the tenants' expressions and reactions.

Probably because the Wang Fu holds the indenture contract, or perhaps because it's very close to the capital, there's simply no room for maneuver.

The data from these three manors are reliable; even if there are such minute deviations, they remain within an acceptable range.

Moreover…

She had never farmed in ancient times, but in modern times she had done plenty of farming; back then the orphanage was poor, and there weren't many kind‑hearted people.

The Dean's mother led them to reclaim land and farm; the grain they produced was what kept them from going hungry.

She wasn't completely ignorant; she took what others said at face value.

"I understand." Kang Mengxian looked at Jiang Yunchu's expression, no longer so stern, but rather relieved.

This is Jiang Yunchu.

She seemed never to disappoint.