klisemfg Chapter 2164 Your Highness, can you act as a matchmaker?
Chapter 2164 Your Highness, can you act as a matchmaker?
Su Zhenhai has been working with great enthusiasm these past two days.
I went to bed late last night and slept in the study. I got up early this morning, bent over the land register on the table, and held a wolf-hair brush between my fingers, occasionally making marks on the edge of the register.
This booklet was found in the governor's mansion; the pages were yellowed, and it recorded the acreage of land owned by every household in Rongzhou.
Su Zhenhai was completely focused on his work and didn't even notice Yan Ruyu and Huo Changhe entering.
"Envoy Su, what are you busy with?"
Upon hearing Huo Changhe's voice, Su Zhenhai suddenly sat up straight and strode towards the door to greet him.
"Your Highness, Doctor," Su Zhenhai bowed, his smile warm, and stepped aside to let the two into the study. "Please come in quickly, the freshly brewed tea is still warm."
Yan Ruyu entered the study, her gaze first falling on the land register spread out on the table. The pages were covered with dense handwriting, and Su Zhenhai had marked it with red circles, making it easy to read.
When Su Zhenhai saw her looking over, he unconsciously touched the edge of the booklet and smiled awkwardly: "Please don't laugh, this is an old land register."
Qian Wu and the Liu family forcibly seized land from the people, causing widespread suffering. Fortunately, this register wasn't lost—I thought, even if Rongzhou doesn't have a prefect now, these matters can't be delayed. Let's return the land to the people according to the register first, so everyone can feel at ease.”
He spoke with a hint of uncertainty in his voice, after all, he was just the city magistrate, and he was always afraid that doing these things beyond his authority would be against the rules.
Huo Changhe walked to the desk, glanced at the annotations in the booklet, and lightly tapped one of the pages with his fingertip. That page recorded the land of several tenant farmers in the west of the city, with the words "verified, no dispute" written next to the red circle.
He looked up at Su Zhenhai, his tone steady: "You have done very well. I came here today to discuss this matter. Although Rongzhou is temporarily without a prefect, the people's livelihood cannot wait. It is your duty to take responsibility."
With Huo Changhe's affirmation, Su Zhenhai felt a weight lifted from his shoulders.
Yan Ruyu took out a coarse cloth bag from her cloth bag.
“These are the seed samples I had prepared. Take a look,” she said, pointing to the seeds in a calm tone. “At this time of year, it’s too late to plant rice or wheat, but the land can’t be left barren.”
These seeds will sprout in about twenty days and be ready for harvest in a little over a month. The yield is quite good. Although they are not a proper staple food, they can fill the stomach. When cooked, they even have a slightly sweet taste. Once this batch is harvested, it will be just in time for planting winter crops, without delaying the farming season.
Su Zhenhai's eyes lit up instantly, and his heart was filled with joy.
After the turmoil in Rongzhou over the past few years, many families have run out of food, so these seeds have come at just the right time!
He excitedly took half a step back and was about to bow to Yan Ruyu: "Young doctor, you are truly a lifesaver! On behalf of the people of Rongzhou, I thank you!"
“There’s no need for that, Governor Su.” Yan Ruyu stepped forward and gave him a helping hand. “The most important thing right now is to quickly post notices so that the people know about this and can take the seeds back to plant as soon as possible. We can’t afford to delay.”
"Yes, yes, yes!" Su Zhenhai nodded repeatedly and quickly instructed his subordinate, "Quickly! Go and call the clerk over, draft a notice, the sooner the better!"
The subordinate responded and ran out, making the atmosphere in the study a bit more lively.
Yan Ruyu remembered something else, her brows furrowed slightly, and she pondered before speaking: "Also, there is something else I need to tell Envoy Su."
On both banks of the river outside the city, a lot of silt has accumulated in some places, which not only affects navigation but also makes the dikes prone to breaching during the flood season. It needs to be cleared as soon as possible.
However, the silt that was cleared out turned out to be a good thing; it's very fertile and perfect for growing forage.
She paused, looked at Su Zhenhai, and continued, "Before, the Liu family secretly planted pasture to supply their horse farm. Now that the horse farm is in our hands, why not openly plant pasture on both sides of the river?"
It can both stabilize silt and prevent riverbank collapse, and the pasture grown can also feed horses—a win-win situation.
Su Zhenhai's eyes widened in amazement. He had only thought of clearing away the silt, but he hadn't expected it to be used in this way. He felt that Yan Ruyu had thought things through thoroughly, and he was filled with admiration and surprise. His tone was excited as he said, "This idea is brilliant!"
This solves the siltation problem and also provides a place to raise horses—truly killing two birds with one stone! I will immediately arrange for people to investigate the siltation situation on both banks and begin construction as soon as possible!
His eyes were full of admiration as he looked at Yan Ruyu—this young doctor was not only skilled in medicine and agriculture, but also had such amazing methods for managing the land; she was truly a rare genius.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard. Yin Ding rushed in, sweat beading on his forehead, and bowed to Yan Ruyu, saying, "Miss Qi has arrived and is waiting at the entrance of the yamen."
Upon hearing this, Yan Ruyu nodded to Su Zhenhai: "Envoy Su, Your Highness, I will go first. Please take care of the seeds and land."
"Don't worry, young doctor!" Su Zhenhai quickly agreed, and after watching Yan Ruyu and Yin Ding leave, he turned around and looked at Huo Changhe.
Su Zhenhai hesitated for a long time, rubbed his hands together, walked to Huo Changhe's side, and lowered his voice, with a hint of probing: "Your Highness, I...I have a question, but I don't know if I should ask it."
Huo Changhe raised his eyes: "What is it? Please speak freely."
Su Zhenhai swallowed hard, glanced in the direction Yan Ruyu had left, and then whispered, "I just... I wonder if the young doctor is married?"
I admire him greatly for his extraordinary demeanor and abilities.
If he is not yet married, I wonder if Your Highness could help me find a match? My daughter is lively and straightforward, kind-hearted, and a very good person.
"This humble official can prepare a large dowry!"
Before he could finish speaking, Huo Changhe paused, his previously calm expression darkened, and the warmth in his eyes faded, instantly chilling the atmosphere in the room.
Su Zhenhai's heart skipped a beat, and he felt inexplicably nervous. He blinked and tentatively guessed, "Your Highness, could it be... that he is from a noble family? So, is my idea too presumptuous?"
Seeing that Huo Changhe didn't speak, he quickly added, his tone tinged with uncertainty: "Or is it... that he's a disciple of the Divine Doctor Valley? I've heard that the Divine Doctor Valley has strict rules, forbidding its disciples from marrying easily? But he knows about planting, could it be..."
The more he guessed, the more off-topic it became. Huo Changhe finally lost his temper and slammed the booklet down on the table, his voice filled with anger: "She is neither from a noble family nor a disciple of the Divine Doctor Valley. She is my queen."
"Your...Your Highness?" Su Zhenhai was stunned, frozen in place, the land register in his hand falling to the ground with a "thud".
It took him a while to realize what had happened. His face turned deathly pale, and he hurriedly knelt down, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Highness, please forgive me! This official... this official deserves to die! This official was blind and did not know that she was the Princess! This official was just talking nonsense!"