usatvline Chapter 330 A Woman Resembling the Madam
Chapter 330 A Woman Resembling the Madam
Chapter 330: A Woman Resembling the Madam
Madam Wang patted her hands and said, "Lian'er, go up first. I'll be there to accompany you soon."
Xia Xuelian had no choice but to get on the carriage first.
Xue Qing and Wu Yu acted as if nothing had happened and put Liu, Ding and Xiu into the carriage.
Xue Qing turned around and saw a woman not far away looking at him. This woman was none other than Mrs. Wang's dowry nanny.
The nanny walked up to Xue Qing and said, "You look very familiar to me, I wonder which family you belong to?"
Xue Qing looked at the woman, then glanced at the carriage of the Duke of Zhenguo not far away. Xia Xuelian was no longer visible, so he presumably had already boarded the carriage.
Wu Yu came over and said, "General Dingyuan's Mansion, please don't disturb us, sister-in-law."
The nanny watched the carriage that Wu Yu and Xue Qing were riding in go further and further away.
He turned around and got on the carriage back to the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion.
After Xue Qing got in the car, he said to Liu while taking off his hair: "Mother, take out the clothes in the bag and give them to me."
Liu saw it and asked quickly, "Qing'er, what happened?"
Ding helped Xue Qing to remove his hair.
"It's okay, it's just that I'm too beautiful and it's not very convenient."
As soon as Xue Qing said this, Liu, Ding and Xiu all laughed.
"Aunt is so beautiful!" Wu Xiu said and covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.
"Xiu'er is also a little beauty"
The two helped Xue Qing change into men's clothes, and Ding helped Xue Qing tie up her hair.
Xue Qing went from being a peerless beauty to a handsome young man in the blink of an eye.
The carriage, which was originally heading back to the city, turned directly to the farm when it reached a fork in the road.
"Mother, sister-in-law, it's rare for us to come out today. Let's stay at the farm for the next day and return home tomorrow."
Ding had been here before, but Liu had never come out since she came to the capital.
Wu Yu rode on the horse, looking straight ahead, keeping his body alert at all times.
Xue Qing changed his clothes and lifted the curtain: "Wu Yu, I want to ride a horse"
Wu Yu's face lit up: "Okay"
Jiang Yi stopped the carriage, and Liu and Ding looked at each other with joy in their eyes.
"Hurry up and drive the carriage to the farm," Xue Qing whispered in Jiang Yi's ear.
Jiang Yi understood, and after Xue Qing got on Wu Yu's horse, the carriage sped up.
Wu Yu hugged Xue Qing, but until they arrived at the farm, the people Xia Xuelian sent to kill Xue Qing never showed up.
When they arrived at the gate of the manor, Xue Qing joked, "It seems that Wang Yong was scared away by General Dingyuan."
Wu Yu jumped off the horse and wanted to help Xue Qing, but he saw her just roll over and get off the horse.
"I'm awesome, right?" Xue Qing said with a smile.
Mrs. Wang and Xia Xuelian took a carriage back to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. Seeing that Xia Xuelian looked unhappy, Mrs. Wang asked her to go directly back to the Lotus Villa.
After dinner, Mrs. Wang found that Madam was a little absent-minded, so she asked, "Madam, are you worried?"
The nanny's face looked even worse and she hesitated whether to say it or not.
Mrs. Wang frowned and looked at her: "If you feel uncomfortable, go back and rest."
The nanny fell to her knees with a plop.
"Madam, there is something I want to tell you but I don't know whether I should tell you or not." The nanny still looked conflicted.
Madam Wang stood up and helped her up: "Mammy, you have been by my side since I married into the Duke of Guo's Mansion. Is there anything you can't tell me?"
The nanny gritted her teeth and said, "Madam, I saw a woman at the temple gate today. She...she looks about 80% similar to you back then."
After hearing this, Mrs. Wang was stunned!
Ever since she saw the young man who saved Wang Chuyue last time, she has always had a doubt in her heart. Now that the nanny saw such a woman today, her heart, which had already calmed down, was stirred again.
"Mammy, you suspect Lian'er..."
"I dare not doubt it, but when I saw that girl, I felt really... Since the eldest daughter came back, I was really happy at first. Although the eldest daughter grew up in the countryside in the past year, her appearance is really not similar to the lady and the master. But when I saw that girl today, I felt that something was wrong."
Mrs. Wang told the nanny to shut up and let her go back to rest.
In the middle of the night, Xia Xuelian developed a high fever again. After the court doctor examined her, he diagnosed her with a fever and cold. After prescribing some medicine, she left Lotus Cottage.
The next day, the servants began to discuss secretly that the eldest daughter fell ill after returning from the temple, wondering if she had offended the Buddha.
Youranju
Xue He drank a whole pot of tea, then stood up impatiently and looked at the people coming and going outside the window.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Duke," Zhou Qian walked in.
Xue He quickly turned around, saw Zhou Qian, and immediately stepped forward to salute; "Greetings, Your Highness"
"The Duke invites you to rise"
The two sat down.
Xue He asked respectfully, "I wonder why Your Highness invited me here?"
"Duke, my father has granted marriage to my daughter and me. Please remember that the imperial decree states that the marriage is for the Duke's daughter, not Xia Xuelian."
After Zhou Qian finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes and looked at Xue He.
"Your Highness, what do you mean?"
"The Duke's daughter may be someone else."
Xue He's eyes shone, and he continued, "I wonder why Your Highness is sure that there is someone else?"
"Your daughter disappeared when she was still a baby, and she suddenly came back. As your legal wife, it would be easy for me to check..."
Zhou Qian briefly explained what he had found out about Xia Xuelian.
After hearing this, Xue He broke out in a cold sweat.
"My wife must be the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo. If she is fake, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor," Zhou Qian said threateningly.
Xue He raised his mouth and said, "Your Highness, my daughter was still a baby when she disappeared. Her adoptive parents said that they found the child at their doorstep and raised her..."
Zhou Qian waved his hand to interrupt Xue He: "The Xia couple has two daughters and another daughter who has been abused since childhood. I heard that she has been washing clothes since she was three years old. In winter, even if the river is frozen, she has to collect firewood outside and wash clothes in icy water. She has never eaten a meal..."
Xue He's eyes slowly turned red, and he interrupted him: "Your Highness..."
Zhou Qian ignored Xue He and continued, "This Xia couple treats their biological daughter as a servant and their adopted daughter as the apple of their eye."
Xue He couldn't help but interrupt loudly: "Your Highness, I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave first."
After saying that, he fled in a hurry.
Zhou Qian raised his lips and said, "Someone come here."
Little Li, who was waiting outside, bowed and came in; "Your Highness, your servant is here"
"Go to Dingyuan General's Mansion to invite Master Wu Qing to Youranju"
"Yes"
Zhenguogongfu
Xue He hurried to Zhufeng Courtyard.
Xue Zhong was in the study at this time, and Xue He repeated to Xue Zhong what Zhou Qian had said to him.
Xue Zhong: "Your Highness is forcing us to recognize the child!"
Xue He calmed down and asked, "Father, if we take the child back..."
Xue Zhong interrupted him: "No, we haven't found out who assassinated Qing'er yet. If we take her back like this, it will only put him in greater danger."
After taking a breath, he continued, "It is the best choice to let her be an ordinary citizen now."
next day
The atmosphere in the court was solemn and serious. A young eunuch held two packages respectfully in both hands and walked steadily to the Grand Minister of Agriculture Duan Fang, while another young eunuch opened the packages.
Duan Fang looked at the package in front of him with a puzzled look on his face, totally confused. Other ministers also cast curious glances at him and talked among themselves.
Duan Fang gently untied the straps of a package, and when the contents were revealed, he was slightly stunned.
The golden corn and the plump potatoes appeared before his eyes. He had never seen such strange things before. Other ministers could not hold back their curiosity and began to pass the contents of the package to each other.
"What is this? I have never seen it before." A minister said softly.
"It looks very strange, I wonder what its use is." Another minister took over the conversation.
At this time, the emperor looked at the puzzled expressions of the crowd, smiled and explained: "My dear ministers, these small grains are called corn, and the larger ones are called potatoes. If these crops can be widely planted, the grain production can be greatly increased."
When Grand Minister of Agriculture Duan Fang heard this, his eyes instantly shone with gold. As an official in charge of agricultural affairs, he knew the importance of grain production to the country.
He had heard some legends about new and strange crops, but he didn't expect to see them with his own eyes today. Duan Fang asked hurriedly: "Your Majesty, where did this come from? Do you know how to grow it?"
The emperor nodded slightly and said, "This was obtained from a farm outside Beijing. This farm is owned by a woman named Xia Xueqing."
The next day, the emperor summoned Wu Yu and Xia Xueqing to the palace. Xia Xueqing was dressed in a simple and elegant dress and behaved dignifiedly, while Wu Yu was dressed in an official uniform and looked dignified. They came to the hall and saluted the emperor respectfully.
The emperor looked at Xia Xueqing and said gently, "Xia Xueqing, I heard that you have new crops such as corn and potatoes on your farm. Now the country needs to increase food production. You can report the methods of growing corn and potatoes to the court."
Xia Xueqing bowed her head slightly and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I will do my best. These corn and potatoes were brought from the Western Regions, and I got the seeds by chance. Although I have some experience in planting, I still need to keep exploring."
Grand Minister of Agriculture Duan Fang said anxiously, "Miss Xia, please give me some advice. Food is a matter of national importance. If we can successfully grow these crops, it will be a blessing for the people."
Xia Xueqing nodded and said, "Lord Duan, you are too kind. I will do my best. Corn is suitable for planting in fertile land. When sowing, pay attention to the spacing. It should not be too dense or too sparse. Watering should be appropriate, not too much or too little. Potatoes can grow in poorer land. When planting, cut the potatoes into small pieces to ensure that each piece has buds."
Duan Fang listened carefully and asked some questions from time to time. Xia Xueqing patiently answered them one by one.
Afterwards, Xia Xueqing followed the emperor's instructions and brought the Minister of Agriculture to the farm.
When Duan Fang, the Minister of Agriculture, arrived at the village, he was so shocked by the scene that he was speechless. The endless cornfields shone with golden light in the sun, and the breeze blew, and the corn leaves rustled, as if telling the joy of the harvest.
Duan Fang's eyes widened in amazement: "This... This is really spectacular! I didn't expect there would be such a large-scale cornfield."
At this time, Xue Qing, dressed as a man, was walking in the cornfield with Wu Yu, who was also dressed in shorts.
Their movements were skillful and their faces were filled with the joy of the harvest.
After arranging the division of labor, Zhao Da quickly started working in the cornfield.
One group of people was responsible for picking corn. They carefully broke the plump corn cobs off the stalks and put them into baskets; the following group of people cut the corn stalks to prepare for the next season's planting.
Everyone worked together, busy and orderly.
Before the sun went down, large quantities of corn were put on the threshing ground.
Duan Fang looked at the mountain of corn and his hands trembled slightly with excitement.
"This is really a great harvest!" Duan Fang said with emotion.
Xue Qing came over and said with a smile: "Master Duan, the yield of corn is indeed considerable. We must quickly arrange for someone to process the corn."
Duan Fang nodded in agreement: "Miss Xue is right. So what are your plans?"
Xue Qing said: "I asked Zhao Da to recruit all the women from the surrounding villages to peel the corn. The wrapped corn will be arranged to dry in the sun. This will speed up the process and allow the villagers to earn some wages."
Duan Fang looked at Xue Qing with appreciation: "Miss Xue has considered everything very carefully."
Soon, Zhao Da recruited many women.
The threshing ground was bustling with activity, as women were shelling corn and chatting and laughing.
The women were all very curious about what kind of crop this was; the peeled corn looked bright yellow.
"This...are we just going to bite it directly?" asked a burly woman.
The other women laughed and said, "Then you should try it first to see how salty it is, haha."
Everyone in the surrounding villages knew that Miss Wu was a very kind person. She earned a year's worth of money in just half a month.
Every family is happy and hopes to have a good New Year this year.
Ten days later, Xue Qing came to the palace with fresh cornmeal.
She prepared a corn feast with corn tortillas, corn porridge, corn stewed with pork ribs, etc.
Corn noodles, because corn is not sticky enough, are made with cornmeal and white flour together, but the color is golden yellow.
The emperor tasted these delicacies with a satisfied smile on his face.
"This corn feast has a unique taste, I like it very much." The emperor praised.
Xue Qing said respectfully: "As long as the emperor likes it. This corn is a newly introduced crop with high yield and rich nutrition. If it can be widely planted throughout the country, it will definitely benefit the people."
The emperor nodded slightly: "Miss Xia has made great contributions to the country. I will reward you generously. Is there any gold, silver or jewelry you want?"
Xue Qing quickly knelt down to express her gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty! Please reward me with something useful."
The emperor looked at Xue Qing and asked, "Practical things? Gold and silver?"
Xue Qing said with a happy face: "Thank you, Your Majesty! What I lack most now is money." She muttered softly: "Silver notes are also fine."
After hearing this, the emperor laughed and said, "Okay, I will reward you with 100 taels of gold."
Xue Qing complained in his heart: How stingy.
But her face showed a look of surprise; "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Eunuch Li Zhun walked up to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the eldest prince is here to pay his respects."
The emperor nodded.
Xue Qing stood aside. The emperor did not ask him to leave, so he moved to the corner.
The eldest prince is Xia Xuelian’s fiancé.