The Female Assistant of Wei Yuyan Shuangfei

Emperor Song Zhen, accompanied by Empress Fang Ya and Second Prince Zhao Qian, traveled southward. Ever since they met the old man that day, all they saw were countless wastelands.

The laws of the Song Dynasty clearly stipulate that if wasteland has not been cultivated for three years, the officials of the prefecture and county to which the wasteland belongs will be severely punished.

Emperor Song Zhen's anger was forcibly suppressed by Fang Ya. After all, everything on this trip was based on her, because it was she who proposed the idea.

Seeing the bitter and resentful expression on Emperor Song Zhen's face, Fang Ya hurriedly held Emperor Song Zhen's hand and said softly, "This is a disaster year. If you want to kill people at every turn, who will dare to work for the royal family in the future?"

"But land is the life of the people. If these lands can be used to grow food, why would the people leave their homes?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Fang Ya responded repeatedly.

She was afraid that her next words would irritate Emperor Song Zhen's tense nerves and bring unnecessary trouble.

"Qi Mu! I haven't seen any refugees on this road. I'll go down with you."

"Hey!~"

Qi Mu hurriedly stopped the carriage, put the stirrups in place, bowed and said, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please step out of the carriage."

The maid quickly stood up and lifted the curtain, and Fang Ya smiled and dragged Emperor Song Zhen out of the carriage.

Zhao Qian felt bored being alone in the carriage, so he followed him down. As for the guards beside the carriage, they had already dispersed and strengthened the vigilance around them.

Emperor Song Zhen looked at the barren fields in front of him, and said with a sad heart: "I have heard that Jiangnan is a land of fish and rice, and half of the taxes of the Song Dynasty come from Jiangnan, but now..."

Fang Ya replied softly, "Your Majesty! This is a natural disaster that cannot be avoided. It is not your fault."

"Zitong! Tell me, did I do something wrong to cause the heaven to send down such a disaster? How about I issue an edict of apology?"

Looking at the past dynasties, how many emperors were willing to issue an edict of self-blame, with more courage than Emperor Song Zhen? Fang Ya was still slightly relieved and comforted him: "Your Majesty will think about this matter carefully after returning to the capital."

Zhao Qian instantly lost his composure when he heard this. If Emperor Zhen of Song really issued an edict of repentance, then his future disputes with the crown prince might be criticized by historians.

Thinking of this, Zhao Qian hurriedly replied, "Father! Jiangnan Road is suffering from severe disasters now. Can you reduce some taxes to give the people some relief?"

"It's not that easy."

Emperor Song Zhen smiled bitterly and said, "The court's taxes are drawn up at the beginning of each year. Military expenses, losses, repairs, salaries... every item has been calculated. If Jiangnan Road is exempted, should Jinghu South Road also be exempted?"

Zhao Qian was startled when he heard this, and he quickly stroked his hand and said, "It is my fault for not considering it carefully. Please punish me, father."

"Alright! We are all out, so where is your father, the emperor? Today, I will be called Master Wang, Qian'er will be called Second Young Master Wang, and I will be called Madam Fang. What do you think, Master?"

"Just do as Zi Tong said." Emperor Song Zhen nodded slightly.

Just as the three were talking, they suddenly smelled a strange fragrance. Everyone present frowned and looked at each other, and saw a hint of confusion in each other's eyes.

"What a rich fragrance, can Zitong smell it?"

"Yeah!" Fang Ya nodded.

Zhao Qian looked around in confusion and saw a little smoke coming from a valley not far away. He pointed to the distance and said, "Father! Look."

Following the direction Zhao Qian pointed, everyone saw a puff of green smoke rising. Fortunately, the journey was not far, and they finally arrived outside the valley after only half an hour of riding in the carriage.

"Master! The carriage can't pass ahead, so we can only walk." Qi Mu stroked his hand and said.

"Okay!~"

Fang Ya responded and still led Emperor Song Zhen out of the carriage.

After the people got off the bus, the inexplicable fragrance became stronger and stronger. They looked in the direction of the fragrance and saw a large blue brick and tile house at the foot of the mountain.

Different from the scenery elsewhere, there are many fertile fields at the foot of the mountain, planted with rice of varying heights.

Even though Emperor Song Zhen didn't know much about farming, after seeing the heavy ears of rice, he was moved and said, "I didn't expect there would be such a paradise on earth."

"It seems like we're in for a treat today." Fang Ya said with a sweet smile.

Just as the three were talking, the guard who had been exploring the way ahead walked slowly over with an old man in shorts.

"Master! These fields belong to this old farmer." As the guard spoke, he took a half step back and stood behind the old farmer.

Emperor Song Zhen nodded at Zhao Qian with a smile. The latter took a step forward and said in a clear voice: "My surname is Wang. I brought my father and mother to Luzhou to meet friends. I got lost and I'm a little hungry. I don't know..."

Seeing the old farmer hesitate, Zhao Qian changed the subject and said, "Don't worry, old man. We can still afford the money from selling the grain."

Knowing that Zhao Qian had misunderstood, the old man hurriedly stroked his hand and said, "My surname is Mu, and people call me Mu Lao. It's not that I don't want you to pass, it's really..."

"Do you have a secret, father-in-law?" Fang Ya asked softly.

"Hey!~"

Mu Lao sighed, pointed to the fertile fields behind him and said: "These are not my property, I just took care of them. If there are a few nobles, I can share some food with them, but for others..."

"Don't worry, sir. My guards all have rations with them. They won't take up your food." Zhao Qian quickly replied.

Now that things had come to this, Mu Lao couldn't refuse, so he led the few people through the thorny path and came to the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain.

Although the courtyard was a brick and tile house, it was not very big and only Mu Lao lived there alone. The guards saw that there was no danger around and retreated again.

Just as Mu Lao entered the house to fetch water, Emperor Song Zhen was attracted by the various fenced fields in front of him. He touched the heavy ears of wheat and could not suppress his joy.

"Look, ma'am, this thing is so cute."

Fang Ya followed the maid's instructions and took a look. She couldn't hide her joy when she said, "This thing is so small. Can it be eaten?"

"I will ask that old man."

Before the maid finished her words, Mu Lao came out with a large bowl in his left hand and a teapot in his right hand, and said in a loud voice: "Madam! That thing is called tomato, and it is edible."

"tomato?"

The maid picked two or three suspiciously and held them in her hand, then followed Fang Ya back to the courtyard.

"My dear friends, there are not many good treats in this countryside, please don't be surprised." As Mu Lao spoke, he filled the glasses of water for each of them one by one.

Eunuch An quickly stepped forward, picked up the bowl, turned sideways and dipped a silver needle into the water. After confirming that everything was fine, he handed it to Emperor Zhen of Song.

The maidservant did the same thing and after secretly checking, she dared to pass the water to the other two masters.