This achievement was clear enough that even a child could see it, and naturally Kangxi saw it even more distinctly. This was also his accomplishment, one that would be recorded in future historical annals.

He was also considering how to reward her.

If she were a man, promotions and noble titles would be straightforward, but she was a woman, and furthermore a concubine, so his reward would need to take a different form.

Kangxi still held expectations for Yun Shi. Had these improved wheat varieties reached their limit?

Not necessarily.

Yun Shi was still young now, and judging from her physical condition, she shouldn’t have a short lifespan. Moreover, she was still researching improved rice varieties. If she could also achieve results in that area…

In any case, discovering such a talent during his lifetime was a fortunate matter.

So after three years of small-scale targeted experimentation, Kangxi confirmed the effectiveness of these improved varieties.

On ordinary land, yields could increase by about thirty-five percent. On superior land, with fertilizer and intensive cultivation, they could barely reach fifty percent!

Those fertilizers were also effective on rice and other grains. Depending on the grain type, yields increased by half a percent to one percent. These were all common materials, but simply because the composting methods and steps were different, they could produce such astonishing changes!

Everywhere these methods were promoted, experienced old farmers would kneel and loudly proclaim the Emperor’s sagacity on harvest day, crying “Long live the Emperor, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!” This was the only way to barely express some of the excitement in their hearts.

Thus in the fifty-fifth year of Kangxi’s reign, Yun Shuyao received an unexpected imperial edict.

The reason it was unexpected was that Yun Shuyao had imagined how Kangxi might reward her. The most straightforward method would be to grant her a noble title. From the imperial mandate Kangxi had previously given her, he wouldn’t be concerned about her being a woman and thus distribute her achievement to her husband’s family.

Now both Lin Ruhai and Chen Yu had contributed, but the main credit undoubtedly belonged to her.

So she was enfeoffed as a marquis—Marquis Dingfeng.

This was within Yun Shuyao’s expectations, but there was another provision in the imperial edict, with a prerequisite that mentioned Lin Ruhai’s wife, Yun Shi.

She was still a concubine.

It wasn’t unheard of for commoners to elevate concubines to wife status. If the people didn’t report it, officials wouldn’t investigate. But if an official did this, it would be a glaring weakness.

Anyone who still had aspirations for an official career would cherish their reputation.

Take Yun Shuyao’s current situation—in the Lin household, she was hardly different from the legitimate wife, but in terms of status, she was still one rank lower. But now, she had been elevated to wife, and no one could criticize this matter.

Because this was different from ordinary circumstances. Normally, elevating a concubine to wife was unacceptable, but if one had achievements that gained the Emperor’s approval, that was another matter.

At first, Yun Shuyao was somewhat surprised, but thinking it over, it wasn’t surprising. For Kangxi, this was an easy favor to grant, but for her, it was a grace sufficient to make her “deeply grateful.”

Yun Shuyao indeed appreciated this favor. As the second wife, the status of her two children changed—from common-born to legitimate sons of the second wife.

They could now loudly call the Yun family their maternal relatives.

Besides Yun Shuyao’s own ennoblement, Lin Ruhai also received a promotion for his contributions. Over these years, he had successfully entered the Cabinet, and now that the Minister of Works had retired, he became the new Minister of Works.

Even Chen Yu, because he adapted measures to local conditions, was promoted—from his initial position as county magistrate to assistant prefect, then to deputy magistrate. It could be foreseen that as long as he made no mistakes, he would soon rise another level.

Moreover, with this promotion, he finally returned from the provinces to near the capital.

Once he took up his post, family members wouldn’t have to be separated by such long distances anymore.

His daughter-in-law could also bring the children back to the capital more often.

Over these years, the family had gained another child—a daughter Tang Wanxin gave birth to after going to his posting, named Xi’er, who was already two years old this year.

After receiving the imperial edict, the Old Madam was already so delighted she couldn’t speak. Her hands trembled, her legs went weak, and she couldn’t stand on her own. Her son had to help her up. She had lost all sensation and couldn’t take her eyes off the imperial edict. Was this really not a dream?

The Lin family had a noble title again!

Although the current title-holder didn’t have the Lin surname, she was still her daughter-in-law! Still a member of the Lin family! And the next generation would have the Lin surname again—it was the same!

The more she thought about it, the more excited the Old Madam became.

“You are a blessed person, and our Lin family is also blessed!” At this moment, the Old Madam suddenly felt that the years of persistently giving old clothes to the poor and providing medicine, accumulating merit, was an excellent thing to do. Perhaps it didn’t show results immediately, but as long as enough merit was accumulated, there would be karmic returns. That’s why such good fortune fell upon the Lin family. Fortunately, she hadn’t missed the opportunity with the Yun family back then!

The change in the Lin family’s destiny was inseparable from her!

Lin Ruhai was also quite moved. This step forward was thanks to her fortune. Otherwise, if he wanted to become a minister, he would probably have to wait another two years.

The old minister was getting on in years, but it wasn’t that he couldn’t hold on for another two years.

The servants in the household all wore smiles—they were now people of a marquis household!

And it was a marquis household that the Emperor valued greatly and personally inscribed characters for!

Once this imperial edict was issued, it created a huge stir throughout the capital.

Over these years, only that portion of people involved in this area knew about it, so hearing this imperial edict wasn’t surprising. Most people still didn’t know, especially commoners.

When they heard others mention it, they thought it was fake: “This is really an imperial edict? And enfeoffed as marquis?”

How difficult was it to be enfeoffed as marquis! Without some great achievement, it was now very rare to be made a marquis.

Someone said with certainty: “Of course it’s real. The imperial edict was issued today, and the marquis household’s plaque has already been made and delivered. That was in the Emperor’s own handwriting!”

Some people were half-believing: “Really?”

Someone vowed earnestly: “Really, I saw with my own eyes that plaque being hung up!”

Then they heard someone else say: “It’s true. My wife’s village planted what must be this wheat. Very mysterious—we outsiders weren’t allowed to approach. Supposedly the harvest increased a lot. From the looks of it now, this must be it.”

“My second uncle also heard people mention it. He works at the yamen. Supposedly this has been researched for several years, and now they probably waited until they were sure there were no problems before issuing the edict of commendation.”

Commoners were excited: “If the wheat yield increase is real, then the Marquis is truly amazing—and this is a woman!”

Although it being a woman made them somewhat disbelieving, if it was true, never mind a woman—even a demon would deserve worship!

Some people firmly disbelieved: “This can’t be real. Definitely storytellers making things up. Aren’t those who work the fields all men? Experienced old farmers are never women, and this is a pampered woman from the inner chambers—this story is too absurd!”

These words did make sense, and the listeners wavered.

Believers remained firm: “Think about it—if it were false, would there be an imperial edict? Would she be directly enfeoffed as marquis? The Emperor is sagacious and mighty—who would dare commit the crime of deceiving the monarch?” To dare deceive the Emperor—did they think their neck was too sturdy?

“Then how do we get these improved seeds? I want to try these improved seeds. Even if they’re not as good as the edict claims, even a ten percent yield increase would be excellent.” That way, the family’s soup and water could be a bit thicker.

“That’s right. What if it’s true? Planting these at home would mean more wheat harvested.”

“Quick, go look! The yamen has posted a notice. The village head will report how many people want these improved seeds. Each village has a quota, first come first served. Old Zhang, will you register to try?”

The middle-aged man called Old Zhang hesitated, then gritted his teeth: “I’ll first go look at the notice and see what the scholars say. If it’s true, I’ll register and try it on two mu of land first!”

Some people still doubted: “This is absolutely fake. Come on, come on, where’s the notice? I’ll go see. In all my years, I’ve never seen such good wheat seed. If you plant it, be careful of getting no harvest at all!”

…

There were all kinds of voices. Overall, because of Kangxi’s imperial edict, most people believed it somewhat. To make them completely believe would require seeing with their own eyes.

Seeing with their own eyes wasn’t impossible.

Some places that hadn’t yet been harvested were made public—anyone who wanted to see could go anytime.

These improved varieties were to be promoted, so the Emperor naturally wouldn’t prevent this news from spreading.

In the Yun family in the capital, Yun Shuyao’s two younger brothers were both away serving in other places. Remaining in the capital was Yun Shuyao’s cousin Yun Chang, the eldest son of her eldest uncle. When he heard the edict had been issued, he immediately went to the ancestral tablets to inform the ancestors.

Their Yun family had someone who brought honor to their ancestors—enfeoffed as marquis!

Then he immediately had someone take word to Second Uncle and Second Aunt. If they had time, they should come to the capital.

Although Second Uncle no longer served in Baili County, he was near the capital.

Meanwhile, everyone in the Jia household fell silent. For them, there were two pieces of bad news. One was that the Lin family now had a second wife, so Lin Ruhai’s relationship with the Jia family had become even more distant. Even though he had been promoted again, the Jia family couldn’t benefit from it.

The second piece of bad news was that the capital now had such a sought-after new noble, but their previous attitude hadn’t been good. They didn’t know if she would hold a grudge and retaliate against them.

If roles were reversed, if Madam Wang were Yun Shuyao, she wouldn’t let go of those who looked down on her when she was of low status.

So her head spun dizzyingly: “What—what are we to do?”

Then she informed Grandmother Jia. Grandmother Jia’s eyes widened with obvious disbelief. Madam Wang said with a bitter taste in her mouth: “Old Ancestor, it’s true. The imperial edict was issued today and has spread throughout the entire capital.”

Grandmother Jia’s breathing became unsteady. Wang Xifeng quickly advised: “Old Ancestor, please don’t get agitated. Your health is what matters.”

With this mention of health, Grandmother Jia snapped alert. She closed her eyes to indicate she was tired and wanted to rest well. She couldn’t listen anymore and didn’t want to continue listening. She didn’t want to die.

The relationship with the Lin family was already like this. The Lin family was stingy with helping the Jia family. Now the situation really wasn’t much different from before—she didn’t need to worry. As for retaliating against the Jia family, that probably wouldn’t happen. There were still the Imperial Concubine and young prince in the palace. Even if Yun Shi did it for the sake of the children she bore, she wouldn’t be too obvious in her actions against the original wife’s family.

Grandmother Jia persuaded herself to accept it. But Madam Wang, the more she thought about it, the more that breath in her heart choked her.

The Jia family had married off a legitimate daughter to Lin Ruhai with a ten-li red dowry. Now Lin Ruhai was in the limelight, but it had nothing to do with the Jia family. The more she thought about it, the more it made her want to spit blood!

There was more to make Madam Wang spit blood.

Because the estate’s improved wheat cultivation was opened to public viewing, quite a few people did go to see, including many experienced old farmers. Once there, looking at those wheat heads, they had a rough idea in their hearts.

The heavy weight wouldn’t lie.

“How was this achieved? I’ve farmed for decades and never grown such good wheat!”

“Is this the fertilizer made from that compost? I’ll go back and pile up a couple to try.”

“Quick, quick, quick! There’s a field over there ready to harvest. Let’s go see!”

There weren’t many hands for harvesting, so it was slow. Some people even brought their own tools to help in the fields, then helped thresh the wheat and spread it to dry. When it came time to weigh it, a crowd gathered around.

“This is exactly one mu of land, and it yielded two hundred and one jin!”

“I also have superior land at home. My whole family constantly tends to it carefully at the field’s edge, and we only harvested one hundred and forty-two jin of wheat!”

The crowd was in an uproar, discussing animatedly.

“Marquis Dingfeng must be a celestial star who received orders from the Great Emperor Ziwei to descend and help us. Our Emperor is sagacious and mighty—he is the incarnation of that Great Emperor Ziwei!”

“Supposedly Marquis Dingfeng researched for over twenty years to obtain these seeds. Her daughter even married into the imperial family, yet she never slacked off!”

“Supposedly the composting method she researched has village heads taking people to learn it, to promote it so everyone can learn. They say it’s effective for many crops!”

“Women aren’t necessarily inferior to men. Look at Marquis Dingfeng—throughout history, how many have been enfeoffed as marquis by their own merit?”

“Supposedly Marquis Dingfeng is extremely intelligent, loves reading, and excels at gardening. My daughter is also very intelligent. I wonder if Marquis Dingfeng takes disciples…”

Hearing these words of praise, Madam Wang’s chest felt even more stifled. It wasn’t that she had never seen that Yun Shi—where was she as miraculous as these people claimed?

She didn’t believe it. She didn’t believe that everyone who planted improved wheat would see increased yields. When that time came, however many people praised her now, that many would curse her. Perhaps she might even be thrown into prison on charges of deceiving the monarch. She would wait and see!