Little Sizi came to my house and became the family's darling, and Li Shimin got anxious.

After the court ceremony concluded, the Taiji Hall remained solemn and dignified.

The officials stood in their assigned rows, their eyes fixed straight ahead.

The Dragon Boat Festival greetings had been delivered, but the gifts had not yet been bestowed. The officials knew that there was a hidden agenda for today's court meeting, but no one knew for sure what it was.

Changsun Wuji was the first to step out of the class.

He bowed respectfully and began to play the music in a loud voice.

"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present."

Li Shimin sat upright on the dragon throne and nodded slightly: "Speak."

"The virtuous Li Yinxun has offered many wise strategies since entering the Tang Dynasty. First, he presented sweet potatoes, which yielded over ten bushels per mu and have been widely distributed throughout the prefectures. Later, he presented herbal medicine manuals, benefiting the countryside. He also introduced medical techniques from later generations to save the Empress and the Crown Prince and treat members of the imperial family. Such great achievements deserve to be rewarded. Your Majesty, I earnestly request that you bestow honors upon him to demonstrate your virtuous character and encourage the people."

Fang Xuanling followed closely behind, bowing and echoing the sentiment.

"What the Duke of Zhao said is absolutely right. Li Gaoren is of a simple and honest character, never seeking fame or fortune, yet he has repeatedly gifted the Tang Dynasty with valuable items to benefit the people. Rewarding merit is the way of a wise ruler; clear distinction between rewards and punishments is essential to encouraging the people and revitalizing the dynasty. I also earnestly request Your Majesty to bestow upon him a title of honor."

The successive pronouncements by the two prime ministers carry significant weight.

The remaining officials knew perfectly well that His Majesty had already finalized the plan, and today's event was merely a formality.

Moreover, the title of princess conferred was merely an honorary title without any real power, and it did not involve politics or grant any real authority, so it did not harm anyone.

No one objected, and no one dared to object.

"What you all say is quite right," Li Shimin's voice came from the throne, carrying an unquestionable authority. "Issue the decree."

The Vice Minister of the Chancellery was already waiting by the side of the hall. Upon receiving the order, he stepped forward, unfolded the bright yellow imperial edict, and read it aloud.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: A virtuous man named Li Yinxun has presented high-yield, superior seeds, bringing blessings to the people and benefiting the nation. He is of gentle and kind character, wholeheartedly devoted to the Tang Dynasty, and worthy of being a model for the imperial family. Therefore, he is hereby conferred the title of Princess Anping, with a fief of three hundred households, and granted a residence. This is the imperial decree."

After the imperial edict was read, the entire hall fell silent.

Li Yinxun stood by the pillars on the side of the hall, frozen in place.

She just said it casually!

She thought Li Shimin would just listen and forget it, but who knew that this great emperor of all time would actually take it seriously and even chose such a grand and formal occasion to officially announce the investiture in front of all the civil and military officials.

"Princess Anping, why don't you step forward to express your gratitude?" the eunuch beside her whispered.

Li Yin regained her senses, cleared her mind of all distractions, and stepped forward with proper posture.

She walked to the foot of the imperial steps and gracefully bowed.

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I will do my utmost to assist the Tang Dynasty and live up to your trust."

Li Shimin looked at her and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Rise! With Princess Anping's help, the Tang Dynasty will surely become even more prosperous and powerful in the future."

All the officials in the hall bowed in unison and offered their congratulations.

"Congratulations, Princess Anping..."

With the investiture ceremony concluded, the traditional Dragon Boat Festival gift-giving ceremony began.

This was a customary item for the Dragon Boat Festival court assembly during the Tang Dynasty, a gift bestowed by the emperor to celebrate with his subjects.

Li Shimin was the first to extend his wrist, and the eunuch respectfully tied a five-colored longevity thread around his wrist. The thread was fine, braided into five strands, wrapped around his wrist three times, and tied with a slipknot.

This is an ancient ritual for warding off evil and prolonging life during the Dragon Boat Festival, which can be worn by everyone from the emperor to the common people.

Then, the eunuchs filed into the hall, carrying lacquered trays, and distributed festival gifts in turn.

Each of the officials received a bundle of life-extending silk, an imperial fan, a box of nine-section rice dumplings, and a sachet to ward off plague.

The "Life-Extending Silk" is a bracelet woven from five-colored silk threads, symbolizing longevity; the round fan is painted with a picture of a tiger made of mugwort during the Dragon Boat Festival, painted by a painter from Sichuan; the "Nine-Child Zongzi" consists of nine small zongzi strung together, each wrapped with a different filling; the "Plague-Avoiding Sachet" is filled with herbs such as angelica, atractylodes, and patchouli, and is small and exquisite, and can be worn at the waist.

Each high-ranking official in the court was given an extra set of brocade summer clothes, made of light and thin material, specially made for the hot summer days.

The festive gifts and rewards extended throughout the court and the countryside, and the Taiji Hall was filled with a peaceful and joyous atmosphere.

It was noon.

The lengthy rituals finally came to an end, and the banquet officially began.

In front of the throne was an imperial desk, with long tables and brocade stools arranged on both sides according to rank. The tables were covered with plain white silk cloth, and cups, chopsticks and utensils were all provided.

The music hall began to play banquet music, with melodious strings and gentle drumbeats, a stark contrast to the solemnity of the court just moments before.

The little princess scrunched up her face. "Auntie, there are seven seats already."

"Okay, go ahead and eat."

Li Yinxun sat next to the two little ones, constantly putting food into their two small bowls.

However, when the palace servants from the imperial kitchen carried the first batch of dishes into the hall, the officials all turned their attention away from their own dishes and chopsticks.

Today's Dragon Boat Festival state banquet includes more than just traditional calamus wine, rice dumplings, and zongzi.

The first thing served was a plate of long, golden, crispy strips, neatly arranged on a white porcelain plate, steaming hot and emitting a rich, caramelized aroma unlike anything I'd ever smelled before.

"What is this?" an official couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

No one can answer.

Immediately afterwards, dish after dish was served.

A bowl of translucent rice noodles, soaked in a rich bone broth, topped with bright green scallions and a few thinly sliced ​​braised pork;

A pot of steaming stew, with golden chunks of meat simmering together with pork belly, the broth thick and glistening with oil;

A dish of soft, mushy food, mixed with finely chopped scallions and a touch of salt and pepper, has a smooth texture and a lingering aftertaste.

And then there was the first plate of golden strips, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, soft and slightly sweet inside, with a touch of fine salt, the taste was simply wonderful.

The officials were all stunned.

One ingredient yields five different dishes, each dish is unique.

I've never seen an ingredient that can be prepared in so many ways.

Even Li Shimin was quite bewildered.

He had eaten potatoes in modern times and knew that they were an extremely common staple food in later generations, but he never expected that this thing could be made into noodles, mashed potatoes, stews, or fried into crispy long strips.

He picked up a French fry, dipped it in salt, and put it in his mouth.

The crispy and fragrant flavor explodes between your teeth.

"...Is this really a potato?"

Seeing the officials' surprise and uncertainty, Empress Zhangsun smiled slightly, picked up her wine cup, and stood up.

"My lords, please do not be surprised. All the dishes served today use the same main ingredient, which is potato."

"The entire potato feast was proposed and prepared at the suggestion of the newly appointed Princess Anping, and was specially intended for the officials to enjoy."

All the ministers turned their gazes toward Li Yinxun.

Li Yinxun sat upright at the table, a faint smile on her lips, showing no stage fright despite being stared at by dozens of eyes.

Empress Zhangsun continued, "As you may already know, sweet potatoes are highly productive, yielding over ten shi per mu, which can help in famine years. Potatoes, like sweet potatoes, are high-yield grain crops with excellent adaptability. They are not picky about the soil and can be planted in dry or poor fields, yielding twenty shi per mu."

Modern potatoes can yield thousands of kilograms per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres), thanks to chemical fertilizers. In the Tang Dynasty, when conditions were different, the yield was only 20 shi (a Chinese unit of volume, approximately 100 bushels) per mu. Empress Zhangsun was right.

Even with meticulous cultivation, the best rice fields in the Tang Dynasty yielded only two or three bushels per mu.

This unassuming crop in front of us yields as much as twenty shi per mu.

"Good!" Li Shimin slammed his hand on the imperial desk and stood up abruptly.

His eyes gleamed, and his excitement was almost palpable.

Sweet potatoes yielding over ten shi per mu were already a gift from heaven, and now we have potatoes yielding twenty shi per mu. With these two high-yield crops working together, the Tang Dynasty's food famine problem can finally be solved!

"Heaven bless the Tang Dynasty! Heaven bless my Tang Dynasty!"

The entire court was utterly shocked.

It is unclear who knelt down first, but then, like a tidal wave, all the officials in the hall knelt down on the ground.

"Your Majesty is wise..."