The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Madam Luo woke up a little late, after dinner time.

Worried that the old lady was hungry, Madam Fan asked, "Old Madam, are you hungry? What would you like to eat? This old servant will have the servants make it right away."

Madam Luo had been in a coma for some time. She looked in the mirror and found that she had lost a lot of weight and her wrinkles were more obvious, especially around her eyes, which were almost like old tree bark.

It's all her fault for having such a tough son who grew up in the countryside; he's tormented her to this state.

Madam Luo felt she urgently needed beauty and skincare treatments, so she said, "Let's start with a bowl of bird's nest soup."

Madam Fan looked troubled. During the time that the old lady was ill, she had used many expensive medicinal herbs. In addition, after the master of the house was arrested, the master had spent a lot of money on him.

Then there's Mingfang, the master's favorite girl. She got at least a thousand taels of silver from him to buy clothes and jewelry.

Therefore, the Luo family mansion has been completely emptied out.

"Madam, I'm afraid bird's nest won't do. How about I have the kitchen cook a bowl of eight-treasure porridge and send it over?"

Madam Luo could hardly believe that the once prosperous Luo family could no longer afford even bird's nest.

"What did you say? I, the wife of a high-ranking official, can't even afford bird's nest, which I eat regularly?"

She was only sick for a few days, and the family's money was already emptied?

Seeing that the old lady was angry, Madam Fan tried to appease her by saying, "I heard that your granddaughter is good at making money and fighting. If we bring her back, our household will never have to worry about money again."

Madam Luo nodded. It was indeed time for her granddaughter to give the Luo family more money as compensation, because it was all the fault of her son who grew up in the countryside. Otherwise, she wouldn't have fallen ill from excessive worry.

"It's my fault. When I found out the children had been switched, I should have immediately asked you to investigate carefully. I shouldn't have made the assumption that my son, who grew up in the countryside, was a good-for-nothing, which delayed things for so long."

If she had recognized the person sooner, she wouldn't have lived in constant fear, which led to a serious illness.

"However, that family all grew up in the countryside. After we take them back, we must set some rules for them."

Mrs. Fan felt that as long as the Luo family treated that family well, they wouldn't have to worry about money.

But judging from what the old lady just said, she actually wants to set rules for that family!

Oh dear, is the old lady's brain made of mush? She doesn't seem smart at all.

That Miss Su from Qinghe County is no simple character. If she is angered, the Luo family will not only fail to get the money, but will also suffer a great deal of misfortune.

The old man was also not very wise; he ignored his own son and spent all his money and energy on his adopted son's family.

The future of the Luo family is bleak! As a servant in the Luo family, she certainly won't fare well either.

During the morning court session, Emperor Qi Jing lost his temper again and threw the memorial on the ground.

This memorial was submitted by the Ministry of Personnel, and it recommended that Vice Minister Luo be promoted to Minister of Works.

"You people are always forming cliques and thinking about promoting your own people. Don't you even see what state the Great Qi has become? You want to recommend Vice Minister Luo to be the Minister of Works! Don't you even see what contributions he has made to the court recently?"

He makes no contribution whatsoever; all he does is cause trouble every day.

Spring is the perfect time for plowing and sowing, but the southern prefectures and counties that actually produce grain are all in the hands of the King of Huainan.

Grain cultivation was a matter of vital importance to the survival of the nation, so Emperor Jing of Qi attached great importance to it.

"The climate in the south is pleasant, and the grain yield is also very considerable. In previous years, two-thirds of the grain of the Great Qi came from the south. However, dozens of prefectures and counties in the south have been occupied by the rebels. So tell me, where will the grain come from this year?"

This problem really stumped the ministers.

The ministers looked at each other, unsure how to respond to the emperor.

Is growing grain difficult? They don't want to either. If they could quell the rebels sooner, they could restore grain cultivation in the south.

But General Xin, the God of War, is already dead.

Duke Anguo proposed, "Your humble servant believes that we should increase grain production in the suburbs of the capital. At present, the most important thing is to do a good job in spring plowing in the suburbs of the capital."

There is a large plain near the outskirts of Beijing, spanning more than twenty prefectures and counties. If crops are grown well, it can alleviate some of the pressure of food shortage.

Emperor Qi Jing had actually sent people to secretly inspect the spring plowing, and found that the spring plowing in the suburbs was progressing very slowly, so he especially wanted to scold the Ministry of Works, which was in charge of the plowing.

"Your Ministry of Works hasn't submitted any reports on agricultural tool innovations for many years. In the past, the Great Chu Kingdom would innovate agricultural tools every two or three years. Minister Luo, Minister Fan, you two Ministers of Works, come out and tell us, what's the use of keeping useless people like you?"

The border war is not over yet, and nearly 300,000 troops consume a lot of food every day. If there are problems with food production, the Great Qi will perish without a fight.

Therefore, Emperor Qi Jing has been so worried these past few days that he has been unable to sleep, and at such a young age, he has grown quite a few white hairs.

When Vice Minister Luo and Vice Minister Fan heard Emperor Qi Jing call their names, they both knelt down in the center of the main hall with a thud.

"Since the founding of the Great Qi Dynasty, the Ministry of Works has accomplished nothing. If your Ministry of Works cannot come up with a plan for innovative farming tools, I will abolish the Ministry of Works and reduce the number of ministries from six to five."

The ground was still quite cold in early spring. Minister Luo knelt in the center of the hall, his legs trembling like leaves; it was unclear whether he was trembling from fear or from the cold.

He was happily anticipating a promotion, but unexpectedly encountered a misfortune, and he might even lose his official position.

Innovation is never that easy.

The Ministry of Works has two vice ministers. Although he is mediocre, the other vice minister, Fan, has not made any significant achievements either, so he cannot be blamed alone.

"I will punish you two Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Works—"

Hearing Emperor Qi Jing's angry voice, Minister Luo knew that he and Minister Fan were in big trouble this time, but he did not expect that someone would interrupt Emperor Qi Jing.

The messenger reported from outside the palace: "Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from Qinghe County regarding spring plowing."

Emperor Qi Jing exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "Come in and tell the ministers your thoughts."

The chubby messenger entered the hall and carefully read the letter from beginning to end.

Everyone in the hall was stunned.

It turns out that the young woman surnamed Su from Qinghe County had actually innovated the plow.

The straight-shaft plow was improved into a curved-shaft plow, and a whole sheet of practical data was recorded.

Data shows that the innovative plow is half the weight, can turn flexibly, has adjustable tillage depth, and produces high-quality tillage, which is more conducive to increasing grain yield.

Duke Anguo was very protective of Miss Su, and quickly praised her, saying, "Your Majesty, Miss Su is a great blessing to our Great Qi!"

Minister Qin of the Ministry of War quickly echoed, "Your Majesty, having Miss Su is a blessing for the people of our Great Qi!"

Prime Minister Feng muttered under his breath, "Two sycophants!"

Minister Luo knelt on the ground with his head down, not forgetting to secretly observe Emperor Qi Jing's expression. Seeing that the anger on Emperor Qi Jing's face had faded, he felt much more at ease.

The other ministers were also sweating bullets. The news of the plow innovation sent by Miss Su was just in time; otherwise, His Majesty would probably have been furious today, and they might have suffered as a result.

Therefore, more ministers stood up to speak for Miss Su.

"Your Majesty, Miss Su deserves a reward!"

"Miss Su has made a great contribution! She deserves a reward."

Prime Minister Feng was most afraid that His Majesty would act impulsively and grant that young girl an official position, so he quickly stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, Miss Su is not only good at fighting and making money, but also a genius painter. I don't think it's possible for one person to have so many talents. That doesn't make sense. So Miss Su must have gathered skilled craftsmen and had them improve the plow, and then claimed the credit for herself."

Emperor Jing of Qi didn't care who got credit; all he wanted was the result.

"Fine, so what if it was done by her skilled craftsmen? At least they produced a result. What about you? You can't even be bothered to find skilled craftsmen; all you do is give me perfunctory answers all day long. Do you think I'm easy to fool?"

The letter from Qinghe County also included a picture of the innovative plow, which the messenger presented to Emperor Jing of Qi.

Emperor Jing of Qi held the painting in his hand and looked at it for a long time.

No wonder that little girl was hailed as a genius painter; her paintings were indeed unique and remarkably realistic, with the structure of a plow clearly depicted. One could simply build a plow based on this picture.

If only that girl weren't a woman, she could even become the Minister of Works.

"Minister Luo, this drawing will be handed over to your Ministry of Works. Make the curved plow according to the drawing. Remember to keep this drawing safe. After the curved plow is made, present the drawing to me in perfect condition."

"Yes, Your Majesty."