Chapter 152: Nearby
All of Yuan’s Giant Rice around Hangzhou City was harvested within three days.
Almost all paddy fields planted with giant rice have a yield of approximately 11 to 13 shi per mu.
The whole of Hangzhou was almost in a frenzy. Many people had carved tablets of "Yuan Sheng" or "Yuan Nong" and began to worship them openly.
As a result, there were also a lot more longevity tablets for Lu Sen.
And those 'tourists' who came to Hangzhou to watch the excitement were even more excited. They left some people in Hangzhou City, waiting for someone to report back when Master Lu 'distributed' the fairy rice seeds next time.
The news that Yuan’s giant rice produced over 1,000 kilograms spread faster than Lu Sen had imagined.
On the sixth day after Lu Huiqing presided over the harvest ceremony, the news had already spread back to Bianjing City.
Because the imperial court has also been paying attention to this aspect. After all, food is the top priority for a country's stability. Any official with a little common sense would understand this.
As a result, discussions about the "immortal rice" arose again in the court.
Zhao Zhen sat on the dragon throne. Although he had eaten some fruit recently and felt much better, this could not stop his high blood pressure caused by obesity. As long as he did not lose weight for one day, his high blood pressure would recur. Even if he ate the fruit produced by the system, it could not be cured.
After all, fruit does not cure obesity.
Gently rubbing his forehead, Zhao Zhen said, "Now the three messengers from the post station have all returned to the capital at full speed. The Yuan family's fairy rice can indeed produce more than 11 dan per mu, and some even have 13 dan. The rice seedlings are as their name suggests, nearly ten feet tall. The rice stalks after cutting down the ears can be dried and used for burning, which is also very useful. The wood ash can also be used to fertilize the fields. It is truly a rare thing."
When he was young, he also worked in his own fields. Although he was an emperor, Zhao Zhen also understood farming.
All the officials in the court were talking about it and making a lot of noise.
Soon Bao Zheng stood up, and when he raised the jade token in his hand, everyone fell silent.
"Your Majesty, Master Lu's actions are very kind and will benefit many people. It's just a pity that I heard that the high yield of this rice can only be maintained for one season, and the rice seeds after that will be ordinary seeds." Bao Zheng bowed and said, "In this world, only Master Lu can enlighten rice seeds. Therefore, I suggest that the emperor should summon Master Lu to the capital again to specialize in supplying large quantities of rice seeds to relieve the worries of the people of the world."
When many officials heard this, they nodded vigorously.
It’s good that Master Lu is back. Not only can we have a supply of fairy fruits again, but no one will dislike fairy rice seeds.
As an official, every family has some good farmland.
Zhao Zhen nodded slightly at first, then shook his head and said, "Master Lu's whereabouts are unknown now, and we can't find him. How can we announce the decree?"
"Then let the world know that Master Lu is not unwilling to appear, but he is hiding too well." Bao Zheng said with a sullen face, "I believe that as long as the emperor is sincere and announces the decree once a month, Master Lu will definitely be moved by the emperor's sincerity."
Zhao Zhen was stunned when he heard this, then smiled bitterly and said, "It's feasible to announce the decree once a month. But I'm still afraid that Master Lu will not be willing to respond to the decree and go to the capital. After all, he left so decisively more than a year ago."
Bao Zheng also sighed, and said with a slight bow: "No matter what, man proposes, God disposes. Let's do the work first, and then consider the success or failure and the gains and losses."
"This is the only way." Zhao Zhen sighed.
Bao Zheng retreated back to the group of ministers. At this time, Ouyang Xiu stood up again and said, "Your Majesty, it has been widely rumored recently that Master Lu has returned to the capital and seems to be involved with Grand Tutor Pang's family. Why don't we start with Grand Tutor Pang and track down Master Lu's whereabouts?"
"I've heard about this, too." Zhao Zhen pondered for a moment, looked around, and said, "It seems that Grand Tutor Pang didn't come to the morning court again. Hasn't he recovered?"
All the officials shook their heads. They had indeed heard that Grand Tutor Pang had recovered, but they really couldn't figure out why he still claimed to be sick and didn't attend court.
"Are you worried about the young lady from the Pang family?" A young man stood up from the crowd. He was handsome and handsome. He smiled and said, "Your Highness Wang Anshi has something to report."
Wang Anshi was still as proud as ever. Normally, when he made suggestions, he would first say "I want to submit a report" and then continue speaking after the emperor agreed.
Only important officials such as Bao Zheng, Grand Tutor Pang, and Ouyang Xiu were exceptions.
But Wang Anshi was no longer the Prime Minister at this time, and was about to be sent to a remote place to make up for his "guilt" and mistakes, and his rank was very low.
But he still dared to make direct suggestions like those important ministers.
But Zhao Zhen had a gentle personality and had no particular objection to this. He nodded and said, "Go on."
"When I was in Yongxing Army Road, I spent some time with Master Lu. I was impressed by his pride, which I had never seen before." Wang Anshi bowed his head slightly and said, "I feel that I am already proud, but Master Lu appears calm and gentle on the surface, but his heart is like a mountain standing alone in the plain. I am ashamed that I am far inferior to him."
All officials were curious as to why Wang Anshi made such an evaluation.
After all, Lu Sen had spent two years in the capital and often attended court. All the officials were acquainted with him and they would occasionally chat with him.
In their impression, Master Lu was a very gentle person, even soft to the point that they could almost bully him, and his personality seemed similar to that of an official.
Is this person more arrogant than you, Wang Anshi?
Just kidding.
You, Wang Anshi, look up to the sky every day. Apart from a few important officials and government officials, who else do you take into account?
Zhao Zhen also knew some rumors about Wang Anshi, and immediately said in surprise: "Master Lu doesn't seem like a proud person."
Everyone looked at Wang Anshi with similar curiosity.
He said calmly, "Laozi once said that heaven and earth regard all things as straw dogs, and saints regard the people as straw dogs. And Master Lu seems to have this taste."
All the civil and military officials raised their eyebrows, and Zhao Zhen hissed softly, "How do you think so? If that were the case, Master Lu would not have tried to get the sea merchants to get the spices, nor would he have released the immortal rice seeds."
"In the eyes of saints, there are still differences between common people, scholars, and officials. But in the eyes of Master Lu, everyone in the world is no longer rich or poor." Wang Anshi took a deep breath and continued, "Master Lu looked at me the same way he looked at a beggar or a passerby. In the two months since I returned to the capital from Xingqing Prefecture, I have been collecting information about Master Lu's background, words, and behavior, and finally came to this conclusion: In Master Lu's eyes, all beings are equal."
Everyone was puzzled at first, but soon they all understood what was going on, and the sound of gasps could be heard one after another.
Zhao Zhen was very smart, but he was a bit soft-hearted. Hearing this, he also took a deep breath: "Is it really so?"
"Absolutely." Wang Anshi said with certainty: "A great practitioner must have great courage to achieve what others cannot. I once heard a master from Mount Longhu say that if you want to practice, you must have great faith and a great vision to reach a realm that ordinary people cannot see or hear. But how many people in this world have great courage and a great vision? That master said he couldn't do it. I once thought I could do it, but now after meeting Master Lu, I feel that I can't do it either."
Now, all the court officials started talking about it.
Only Bao Zheng remained silent, and even seemed to be sighing.
In fact, he had already seen through Lu Sen's ideas. This kind of thinking, although not outrageous, was at least very unsociable. If too many people knew about it, he would definitely be ostracized and criticized.
After all, all officials think that they are superior to the common people, even Bao Zheng himself has some of this idea.
So in order to protect Lu Sen, he never mentioned this.
Unexpectedly, it was exposed by Wang Anshi.
Zhao Zhen thought deeply, then smiled bitterly and said, "So this is why Master Lu usually doesn't want to offer me fruits and jade honey? He only offers things to me when my youngest child is seriously ill. He is not trying to please me, but simply because he doesn't want to see the child die?"
"If that's the case, then how do we explain the fact that Master Lu sent fruit to all of us when he was in the capital?" An official stood up and sneered, "If he didn't think highly of us, would he have sent the fruit to us?"
Many officials nodded in response, and they all felt that what the censor said made sense.
But Wang Anshi said calmly: "It was Lu Yang who sent the fruit, not Master Lu."
The discussions of the officials suddenly stopped, as if controlled by a master switch.
Especially the censor, his expression was shocked at first, and then turned pale.
Wang Anshi continued, "So when Master Lu thought we were cowards, he immediately withdrew and left without giving us any chance to save our situation. He didn't think of us as important people. In his eyes, we were no different from ordinary people and beggars."
"Only in the eyes of Lu Yangshi are we considered officials?" The censor felt that his worldview seemed to be breaking down. "In other words, Master Lu doesn't care whether the fruits are given away or not, so he is so generous?"
Wang Anshi nodded slightly.
That's what he meant.
This time, the discussion started again.
After a while, Zhao Zhen asked the eunuch next to him to strike the small gong. After a bang, the whole court became quiet again.
Zhao Zhen looked at Bao Zheng and said, "Lord Bao, if Lord Wang's guess is true, then even if I send more decrees, Master Lu will not accept them."
Bao Zheng sighed and said nothing more.
Seeing that Bao Zheng didn't want to talk, Zhao Zhen habitually wanted to ask Master Pang for his opinion.
As a result, he looked over but didn't find anyone, and then he remembered that Master Pang had claimed to be ill.
Zhao Zhen smiled bitterly and said, "Master Pang is indispensable in the court now, but he didn't come..."
Even as he was saying this, he heard the faint sounds of gongs and drums, firecrackers, and even a lively atmosphere outside the palace.
The imperial palace of the Northern Song Dynasty was actually a bit small, and the imperial walls were not very high, so any noise outside could be heard through.
Even in the late Northern Song Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, vendors ran to the imperial city to set up stalls, forming a commercial street. It was so noisy that it made it difficult for ministers in the palace to discuss matters.
Zhao Zhen gave a wink, and the eunuch next to him immediately trotted out and came back after a moment.
The eunuch screamed, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something big has happened outside. Master Lu has taken the young lady from Napang Mansion as a concubine. The lacquered sedan chair with eight bearers has almost carried her down the hill."
"What!"
Zhao Zhen almost jumped up from the dragon throne.
The other civil and military officials had almost the same reaction, screaming in surprise. They had been looking for Lu Sen, but they didn't expect that Lu Sen was actually in the short mountain?
The time goes back half an hour.
In the Pang Mansion, Grand Tutor Pang looked at his granddaughter who was wearing a red dress and a large red veil on her head, with tears in his eyes.
"In the blink of an eye, Mei'er is going to get married. I still remember when you were a little girl. Time flies by so fast."
Pang Meier bowed gently and said with a sob: "Granddaughter...granddaughter doesn't know how to...speak..."
She was a little sad, but also very happy to marry Lu Sen. She was so mixed with sadness and joy that her emotions fluctuated greatly and she was so excited that she couldn't speak.
At this time, Master Pang forced a smile again: "It's good this way. It's better to marry the one you love than to marry someone you don't like and feel sorry for yourself every day. You have a strong character. After marrying into Master Lu's family, you should restrain your temper a little. Master Lu has a gentle personality and is especially kind to his own people. He will never treat you unfairly."
"Mei'er knows."
"Well, go talk to your parents."
As he said this, Master Pang rubbed his eyes and walked aside.
Then the Prince of Runan came over and said jokingly, "I never thought that I would be able to see this side of Master Pang's character one day. It's really a miracle."
"That's what happens when you get old." Master Pang didn't argue. He looked around and asked, "Have you arranged the dowry?"
"It's settled." The Prince of Runan clasped his fists and smiled: "From now on, we are half relatives. Let's help each other more."
"It should be so." Master Pang also laughed.
After all, it was the residence of Grand Tutor Pang, and the dowry that Grand Tutor Pang brought was quite generous. Because some things cannot be bought with money, especially contracted spirit beasts, the Pang residence once again greatly increased the value of the dowry.
The Pang family was indeed rich, but if it came to cashing out, they couldn't come up with so many good things at once, so they asked the Prince of Runan for help.
Boxes and carts of precious medicinal materials, rare wines and other things were brought over.
On Lu Sen's side, only three things were reported.
As Pang Meier and her father were talking in private, they heard someone outside shouting, "Master Lu's betrothal gift: a contracted spirit beast, ten bottles of jade bee nectar, and a hundred kilograms of Yuan's giant rice seeds."
Wow!
Such exclamations came from outside the wall.
This time the Pang Mansion made the event very lively, and Zhe Sanlang was even more attentive, with lanterns and decorations all along the way to the wedding and a red carpet on the ground.
Hongniang would throw out a handful of red envelopes of copper paper every two steps she took, so when the sedan chair stopped in front of the Pang Mansion, a large number of people had already gathered around.
Because the Pang family did a good job of keeping secrets, they had no idea who was going to marry the lady from the Pang family this time.
After all, the Pang family also has several daughters waiting to get married.
Besides, no one thought of Pang Meir as the cause of the incident, because according to rumors, she had already been Master Lu's woman.
So when Master Lu said this, everyone was shocked.
They didn't expect that it was Master Lu who was taking a concubine.
When they heard about Lu Sen's betrothal gift, their exclamations became even louder.
Whether it is the contracted spirit beast, the jade bee nectar, or the fairy rice seeds that "appeared" in the capital for the first time, they are all super heavyweight items.
What's more, three things are available at once.