In the center of the painted boat hung a curtain, clearly made of finest blue gauze, layer upon layer, light as clouds and mist, yet one couldn’t see through it clearly. Below the blue gauze hung several strings of crisp bells that chimed melodiously in the breeze. This naturally made people wonder what sort of figure would be behind such a painting-like scene.
Qing Xia watched very intently, seeing this person arrive in such an ethereal and elegant manner, she couldn’t help but feel curious. Chu Li beside her observed coldly, immediately feeling anger rise in his heart. He suddenly snorted coldly and said in a deep voice: “Mysterious pretenses, putting on airs—only capable of fooling ignorant women.”
Hearing this, Qing Xia turned back to see Chu Li slightly raising his head with a disdainful expression. She suddenly burst into laughter but didn’t argue, simply turning back to continue watching the excitement.
Chu Li immediately felt quite uncomfortable, having thought she would surely turn back and quarrel with him after hearing this, or at least exchange a few words. Who would have expected such a reaction? The great emperor of Southern Chu’s face darkened, suddenly thinking somewhat defiantly: If I wanted to create a scene, I would certainly be far more impressive than this fellow. No matter how arrogant he is, he’s merely an imperial steward.
At this moment, a small boat suddenly rowed to the center, and a blue-clothed young servant walked to the painted boat, apparently receiving some instructions from the person inside before boarding the small boat. The small boat moved quickly and soon reached shore. The blue-clothed servant had a pale face and lively eyes, holding an ancient stone box in his hands. Walking straight ahead without looking sideways, he went up to the high platform, whispered a few words in Dongfang Li’s ear, then stepped aside to stand.
Dongfang Li was slightly startled but still nodded, reaching out to slowly open the stone box. Inside the stone box was another wooden box made of yellow rosewood. Everyone stretched their necks and held their breath. With the previous great displays by various aristocratic families, this wealthiest man of the southeast had only produced a stone box—everyone wondered what priceless treasure it might contain.
With a crisp crack, Dongfang Li’s gaze momentarily froze, then he turned the stone box to face everyone, saying with some puzzlement: “Young Master Jin’s offered treasure is called ‘Abundant Five Grains.'”
Everyone immediately cried out in astonishment, for what was contained in the box was a pile of golden yellow things—neither gold nor silver, not silk or satin, not pearls or precious stones, but handfuls of rough small grains, like seeds of some crop.
Qing Xia, who had been watching the excitement with a smile, suddenly put away her smile upon seeing this, looking seriously toward that stone box with sharp eyes that carried barely concealed brilliance.
Seeing this, Chu Li frowned and asked: “What’s wrong?”
Qing Xia shook her head: “This Jin Shaohuang is indeed extraordinary.”
The blue-clothed servant suddenly stepped forward and said in a clear voice: “These items are high-yield seeds that my young master spent vast sums to bring back from overseas across thousands of miles. Current crops yield only one to two hundred catties per mu, and this requires good farmland. But these crops are not particular about soil and are drought-resistant—they can even be planted in sandy ground, yielding two thousand catties per mu, absolutely no false words. My young master cannot bear to see the southeast people suffer disasters year after year, unable to fill their stomachs. If everyone believes, tomorrow you can go to the Jin family estate to collect seeds for planting at home. We take not a single coin, only hoping that next year at this time, the southeast will be golden yellow with abundant harvests.”
The crowd below fell silent, completely unlike the earlier excitement. Most below were poor commoners who had come only to watch the fun—whether these wealthy households burned gold or poured liquor had nothing to do with them. But suddenly hearing such words involving their own interests, they all perked up immediately.
A bold commoner gathered courage and said: “Young master, each of our families has a fixed amount of farmland. If these things cannot truly yield two thousand catties per mu as Young Master Jin claims, what will we do then?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the people below immediately buzzed in confusion. Indeed, coastal people depended on either the sea or their farmland each year—who would dare easily plant unfamiliar seeds? Hearing this, the young servant replied crisply: “My young master said that if everyone doesn’t believe, tomorrow you can still come collect seeds to plant at home. You need only report how much grain your families produce each year, and we will immediately pay you the equivalent in silver. However, at year’s end, your harvest for the year must be turned over to the Jin family.”
Upon hearing this, everyone was immediately delighted. Dongfang Li said with a smile: “If so, then this year truly will have abundant harvests.”
Qing Xia leaned against the tree, not looking at the platform but turning around, gazing deeply toward that blue wooden painted boat on Taichang Pool. Haishi’s main street was full of noisy, clamoring crowds, while that distant small boat gradually rowed away, disappearing into the expanse of blue lake. Night mist drifted, flute music grew distant, and a faint smile gradually appeared at the corners of Qing Xia’s mouth.
Returning to the residence, it was already very late. The group hadn’t even eaten dinner and were quite hungry. After ordering the kitchen to prepare a late meal, they each went to their rooms to change clothes. Though there were no outsiders in the inner residence, Qing Xia still wore men’s clothing after bathing. Thinking about what she had seen that day, she headed toward Chu Li’s room. On the way, she saw Jinyu carrying food and took it from her, carrying it herself.
The door was half-closed. Qing Xia didn’t knock, just called out and walked in. Who would have known that upon entering, she was immediately stunned. She saw Chu Li bare-chested, standing by the bed putting on pants, one leg already in, working on the other leg. The palace lamps on both sides illuminated his body, perfectly outlining this man’s muscular physique and bronze skin tone in the most seductive way. From Qing Xia’s angle, she could take in everything, and those pants not yet put on could be completely ignored. Chu Li was clearly startled upon hearing the sound and quickly turned around. His angry expression instantly became furious upon seeing Qing Xia. The great emperor of Southern Chu immediately roared without any dignity and then bounced onto the bed with a thud.
“Get out! Who told you to come in?”
Chu Li shouted angrily, calling back the three souls and seven spirits of the embarrassed woman. Qing Xia neither knew whether to stand nor leave, then somehow became angry out of nowhere. She walked straight to his bedside, slammed the food onto the table with a bang, and angrily said: “Good intentions treated as donkey liver and lungs!” Then she turned and walked out.
After returning to her room, she realized she was very hungry but didn’t want to go out to find food. She sat on the bed hugging her knees, resting her head on her knees in silence.
Recently, her temper seemed to have worsened considerably. It seemed that whenever she encountered Chu Li, she would easily get angry. The first few days after they met were fine, but as they became familiar, she inevitably returned to her former ways. She had thought that after five years of tempering and eight years of ups and downs, she had matured considerably. It seemed her cultivation of temperance was still insufficient.
Sighing slowly, her stomach began growling again. Just as she was thinking of finding some pastries to make do, she suddenly heard two knocks on her door.
Could it be Jinyu bringing me food?
Qing Xia immediately felt happy, jumped down from the bed, and ran to the door. With a creak, she pulled open the door to see the man standing at the entrance with a gloomy face, holding a tray in his hands, looking quite out of place.
“Your things—why did you leave them at my place?”
His tone was unfriendly, his expression even worse. Qing Xia glared at him fiercely, snatched the tray, turned and entered the room, then kicked with her left foot to slam the door shut with a bang.
Chu Li stood at the door, immediately furious. This woman not only didn’t invite him in to sit and eat together but also gave him attitude? At this moment he seemed to forget that this wasn’t the first time the woman inside had given him attitude. Angry as a lion, he paced in front of the door twice, then suddenly had an idea, stamped his foot hard, and walked toward his own room. Just as he was about to turn the corner, Chu Li suddenly stopped, then tiptoed back to Qing Xia’s room, standing quietly to one side of the door waiting.
Time passed bit by bit. Soon sounds of moving tables and chairs came from the room. The door creaked open and a small head peeked out, looking toward the eastern side room.
Chu Li chuckled, immediately startling that person. Qing Xia whipped her head around to see Chu Li grinning foolishly right behind her. Her brows furrowed—a sign of impending anger.
“I’m hungry. Let’s eat first then talk.” Chu Li flashed inside the door, seeing the tray still on the table completely untouched, and began helping himself with a smile.
Qing Xia slowly walked back, looking at him sideways, suddenly shaking her head: “You really don’t have the bearing of a nation’s ruler. You can only put on airs for two days in front of me.”
Chu Li looked up to glare at her: “What should a nation’s ruler be like? You tell me.”
“Anyway, not like you.”
The room fell quiet. After eating and drinking his fill, Chu Li leaned back in his chair and said slowly: “Tell me, what’s this ‘Abundant Five Grains’ really about?”
“That’s the corn I mentioned to you before—indeed high-yield grain. Everything Jin Shaohuang said is correct.”
“Oh?” Chu Li raised his eyebrows slightly. “Then he’s done something beneficial for the country and people.”
“From a long-term perspective, yes, but currently the Jin family can make a fortune from this.”
Chu Li frowned, his eyes showing sharp brilliance: “How so?”
Qing Xia stood up to analyze: “Commoners depend on farmland for their livelihood. How would they dare easily plant unfamiliar seeds? If the yield is low or inedible or the price is poor, wouldn’t a year’s hard work be wasted? Jin Shaohuang promised to pay commoners in advance for a year’s harvest, so most commoners will take seeds from the Jin family to plant. No one would refuse such a guaranteed deal regardless of drought or flood. Jin Shaohuang essentially pays for two hundred catties worth to buy two thousand catties of grain. When the harvest comes at year’s end, how much will the Jin family profit? More than millions!”
Chu Li nodded: “You’re right. But doing this causes no harm to the people—it can be considered a good deed.”