Chapter 211: The Lost Seeds

 Chapter 211: The Lost Seeds  

After the Chongyang Festival, Daohua’s daily routine gained an additional task: taking the horse for a ride outside the city.

Sometimes she would go with Zhou Jingwan, and other times, she would go alone.  

Madam Li, always concerned about accidents, insisted that every time Daohua went out, she should be followed not only by Wang Man'er and Qin Xiao Liu but also by an old maid and two servants.

As the days became busier, time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was mid-October.

One day, Daohua returned from outside, leading her horse, Hongzao. As she entered the main courtyard, she saw Madam Li sitting with a furrowed brow, clearly upset.

"Mother, what's wrong? Did someone upset you?" Daohua asked, her eyes filled with concern.

Madam Li glanced at her daughter, beckoned her over, and after Daohua sat down, she forced a smile, "With you here, who would dare bully me?"

Daohua smiled faintly, "Then what's going on?"

Madam Li sighed deeply, "Your father just returned and said that the batch of seeds sent to Fenxi has been lost!"

"What?!" Daohua’s eyes widened in shock. "How could it be lost? Wasn’t it the army’s responsibility to escort the seeds? How could they just disappear?"

Madam Li explained, "They say they were attacked by bandits."

Daohua found it hard to believe, "Are bandits really so bold nowadays that they dare to rob even the military?"

Madam Li sighed again, "It’s because of the severe drought in the North a couple of years ago. Many people could no longer survive and turned to banditry. Although the weather has improved a bit this year, the fields are still recovering, and the grain yield is low. People are still hungry, and the problem with bandits is getting worse."

Daohua frowned, "Didn’t those bandits know that they were robbing the seeds that were meant for planting? How could they do this to others?"

Madam Li shook her head, "When people become bandits, can you really expect them to have any conscience? The fact that they didn’t kill anyone is already a mercy."

Daohua’s expression became more worried. "So what do we do now? Didn’t the people in Fenxi need these seeds for the winter wheat planting? If they’ve lost the seeds, won’t they face another disaster?"

Madam Li shook her head. The matter involved the livelihood of the common people, and it was beyond what someone in the inner chambers like her could handle.

Daohua sighed, feeling the harshness of life in ancient times.

Suddenly, Daohua’s eyes widened as she looked up and asked urgently, "Mother, will Father be held responsible for the loss of the seeds?"  

Madam Li shook her head, trying to reassure her daughter, "No, your father handed the seeds over to Prefect Magistrate Guo with all the proper paperwork. If anyone is to be blamed, it would be Prefect Magistrate Guo, not your father."

Daohua let out a sigh of relief.

In ancient times, the concept of collective punishment was common. If something went wrong with her father, the entire family could suffer the consequences.

Madam Li frowned, "But…"

Daohua’s heart skipped a beat. "But what?"

Madam Li sighed again, "Your father had hoped to accumulate merit by solving the food problems of the people in Fenxi. Even though he isn’t an official there, by providing the seeds, he would have earned credit. Unfortunately, now everything is ruined."

Daohua nodded, but her face soon became clouded with worry. "But Prefect Magistrate Guo is Xiao Yeyang’s uncle. If he gets punished, Xiao Yeyang will certainly be worried."  

As if on cue, the very next day after Daohua learned of the lost seeds, Xiao Yeyang arrived at the Yan residence.

At that moment, Daohua was in the stable, feeding Hongzao some hay. When she saw Steward Sun and Qin Wu rushing into the stable, preparing to leave, she felt something was off.

Usually, Steward Sun would stop to ask her how she was doing, and Qin Wu would pet Hongzao. But this time, they simply greeted her and quickly left.

"What happened?" Daohua thought, watching them hurry off. "It looks like they’re going on a long trip."

Qin Xiao Liu, who was standing nearby, also looked confused. "Miss, should I go find out?"

Daohua nodded, "Go ahead."

After a short while, Qin Xiao Liu returned, breathless. "Miss, the Master has returned, and so has the Young Prince. They are both in the front courtyard now!" 

Daohua quickly threw the hay into the horse’s trough and frowned. "But the academy doesn’t have a break until the end of the month. Why are they back now? Could it be because of the seed issue?"

She hurried toward the main courtyard. As she reached the door, she saw Madam Li and Yan Wenxiu rushing out. 

"Mother, Big Brother, where are you going?" she called out.

Madam Li replied in a hurry, "Your brother and I have something urgent to handle. We’ll talk to you later," and with that, they both hurried away.

Daohua paused for a moment before turning to Wang Man'er. "Let’s go to the front courtyard."

As she passed through the flower gate, Daohua saw Xiao Yeyang sitting in the pavilion of the outer courtyard.

Unlike his usual confident and spirited demeanor, Xiao Yeyang now looked troubled and anxious, with furrowed brows and a worried expression.

"What's going on with you?" Daohua asked.

Daohua walked into the pavilion.

Xiao Yeyang, who had been anxiously worrying about his uncle, Prefect Magistrate Guo, was about to explode in frustration when someone interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and, upon seeing Daohua, immediately suppressed his anger, slumping in exhaustion. "What brings you here?"

Daohua sat down across from him, noticing his furrowed brow, and asked, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? Are you worried about your uncle?"

Xiao Yeyang glanced at Daohua and nodded. "A few years ago, the severe drought caused banditry to spread in many parts of the North. My uncle was appointed as the Prefect Magistrate precisely to deal with the bandit problem."

"Fenxi, in particular, has been the hardest hit, and as a result, the banditry there is the most severe."

"The root cause of this banditry is hunger. To solve the problem of banditry, we need to address the root issue—lack of food."

"Honestly, when Master Yan developed high-yielding grain seeds, not only was my Imperial Uncle delighted, but so was my uncle. With those seeds, he could have solved the bandit problem sooner."

"But now, just when we were hopeful, the seeds were lost!"

"If Fenxi doesn't have a good harvest next year, the bandit problem will only worsen. For my uncle, as the Prefect Magistrate in charge of suppressing banditry, this would be a severe dereliction of duty. Even though the loss was beyond his control, he will still face punishment."

"If things escalate into a major disaster, losing his position and title might be the least of the consequences."

"The Guo family has many political enemies in the court. They won’t let such an opportunity slip by and will strike heavily at my uncle's reputation."

Daohua's heart sank as she listened to him.

If things truly spiraled out of control, it might lead to the Guo family’s downfall or even exile and confiscation of property.

At that moment, Yan Wenxiu walked up, looking at Xiao Yeyang and saying, "Your Highness, my mother has already sent people to the surrounding villages to gather whatever remaining seeds they can find. However, there won’t be much."

The truth was that the high-yielding seeds had been planted only recently. Their family had only harvested one season's worth. Besides saving some for their own planting and giving some to trusted families, they hadn’t set aside much.

What made it worse was the timing—early October, when the Yan family’s fields had just planted the winter wheat.

(End of Chapter)