Chapter 669: Chapter 669. The Joy of Autumn Harvest
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Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
When the Golden Saber guards heard the sound of horse hooves, they hurriedly dropped the corn and gathered around the princess and prince to protect them. Su Qing saw that the guards had gone to protect the children, so she stopped what she was doing and looked at the corn.
A large group of soldiers and horses came rushing over. The one at the front was Xiao Zeyu. He had changed out of his yellow robe and was dressed in coa.r.s.e cloth. Behind him was the Xiao Family Army. They had also changed out of their military uniforms and wore ordinary coa.r.s.e clothes. Their hands, which should have been holding machetes, were holding sickles.
“Qing’er, we’re here to fight alongside you.”
Xiao Zeyu sped up his horse, and his voice had already arrived before he reached the place.
Today, when he returned to the inner palace after morning court, he heard the eunuch who stayed behind say that the Empress had taken the palace maids, eunuchs, princess, and prince to the manor for the autumn harvest!
There were only a few eunuchs left in the vast palace. Two of the chefs in the imperial kitchen were left to cook for Xiao Zeyu, and the rest were taken away.
When Xiao Zeyu heard that Su Qing had gone to the manor for the autumn harvest, he couldn’t stay in the palace any longer. He changed into casual clothes and brought many people to work.
Today’s national event was to help the Empress harvest all the crops in the manor.
“Father.”
Yun’ er saw Xiao Zeyu and came running with her short legs. The ground was covered with fallen stalks of corn. The little girl tripped and fell along the way. However, because she tripped and fell on the stalks, she did not fall but the sharp leaves of the corn cut her tiny hand.
When Xiao Qi saw her little master fall, she flew over to pick her up and brought her to Xiao Zeyu in the air. Yun’ er was not afraid as she flew in the air. She giggled happily and even forgot about the injury on her hand.
“You must have hurt yourself!”
Xiao Zeyu dismounted from his horse and carried his daughter to check her palm. It had only been a morning, and Yun’ er’s hand had already developed blisters.
He still remembered that he followed his adoptive father to work in the fields when he was young. It was also like this. His tender little hands were slowly ground into calloused hands. Although it was tough, it made him know early on that life was not easy.
Therefore, he agreed with Su Qing’s education method. Only by working hard could the child be stronger. Only when they knew that food was not easy to come by would they know how to cherish it.
“Father.”
Ziqi was much more cautious than his sister. He walked carefully through the stalks. Although he wasn’t as fast as his sister, he didn’t fall.
Zhang Qirui stood where he was and looked at his uncle foolishly. He was still holding the glutinous rice stick he had painstakingly broken off in his hand and was reluctant to put it down.
Su Qing gave each of the three children a small basket. There was a reward for filling it up. Zhang Qirui put the corn into the small basket before calling out sweetly to Xiao Zeyu,
“Emperor uncle.”
Xiao Zeyu looked at Zhang Qirui with a face full of black lines. This child always called him that; couldn’t he just call him Uncle Huang?
Su Qing turned around and saw Xiao Zeyu leading his army over. Since they weren’t enemies, there was no need to worry about them. She took her scythe and slashed her way over. It was better to chop down the stalks of rice than to chop down people. Seeing the b.u.mper harvest of her crops, the joy she felt was even stronger than she was an empress.
Xiao Zeyu saw that Su Qing had no intention of stopping. He hugged Yun’ er and ordered the army behind him,
“Work.”
“Yes, sir!” they shouted.
Their shout shook the mountains and rivers, and it was very imposing.
The Xiao Family Army had strict military discipline. Even when they came to harvest the crops, they were still orderly. The soldiers were in charge of cutting down the rice, breaking it, loading the trucks, tying up the broken corn stalks, and moving them out of the fields.
Without their help, this large cornfield would not be dry enough. Su Qing feared they would steal her work, so she quickly cut the corn stalk with the sickle. Her speed was twice as fast as before, and the sickle was swung until only a shadow was left.
The Empress had done it so quickly, and the soldiers at the side were under much pressure. Before they joined the army, they were also good at farming, but compared to the Empress, they were far inferior.
They had used all their strength, but Su Qing still pulled them down by a large margin. The Empress really could make men sweat. Why was she stronger than them in everything?
Xiao Zeyu wanted to s.n.a.t.c.h Su Qing’s work and let her rest.
“Qing ‘er, take the children to rest. Leave this work to me!”
“No.”
Su Qing was unwilling to agree. It was not easy to do some work. She initially thought the several hundred acres of land in this manor would be enough for her to work for a few days. When she worked, she felt very comfortable. The more tired she was, the happier she was.
But now that she had finally found something to be happy about, Xiao Zeyu’s good intentions had worsened things. Her crops, her happiness from the autumn harvest, were gone just like that.
“Emperor, the safety of the Imperial City is important. You should take the soldiers back!”
Su Qing said righteously.
“Qing ‘ er really knows the big picture. One day is fine. I’ve left most of the troops behind to protect the city. I only brought a few hundred people.”
Xiao Zeyu didn’t understand that Su Qing was chasing him away. He thought that she was apprehensive about the safety of the Imperial City and was quite touched.
“Your Majesty, these soldiers are the foundation of the country. We must take good care of them. Their hands can only be used for fighting. I can take the eunuchs and palace maids to work in the fields. Your Majesty, order them to go back!”
Su Qing said to Xiao Zeyu with a severe expression. Only then did Xiao Zeyu realize that something was wrong.
“Qing ‘ er, do you not want me to help you?”
Seeing that Xiao Zeyu finally understood, Su Qing explained,
“I only have this much work. If you do it for me, what should I do?”
Xiao Zeyu saw Su Qing’s frown, as if someone had stolen her treasure, and nodded solemnly,
“Alright, then let them all go back. I’ll accompany you to experience the joy of working.”
After being the emperor for a long time, he felt it was not as comfortable as working in the fields. He only needed to put in some effort, sweat, eat, and sleep.
“Alright.”
Only Xiao Zeyu was left. Su Qing had no objections. Seeing that Su Qing had agreed, Xiao Zeyu ordered the soldiers to return. Of course, when they returned, they would carry the corn already loaded into the car. These would be used as military rations.
The eunuchs and palace maids watched enviously as the soldiers returned to the city. They also wanted to return to the palace. Why was there a concubine who loved farming so much?
When the sun was setting, Su Qing finally straightened her back. Xiao Zeyu heaved a sigh of relief when he saw she had given up. He had secretly competed with Su Qing regarding work and almost couldn’t catch up.
“Let’s go home.”
Su Qing looked at the fallen corn stalks and the golden corn grains loaded into the cart. She was happy. She decided to smash the corn grains and cook some corn stubble porridge tonight.
Those palace maids and eunuchs were so tired that they couldn’t walk. Their arms were drooping, their faces were stained with sweat and mud, and they felt as if their legs were filled with lead when they walked. This time, could the palace still serve the Empress and the Emperor?
Yun’ er and Zhang Qirui were so tired they fell asleep on the corn pile. Ziqi sat beside them with his hands supporting his chin. His eyes were wide open so he wouldn’t fall asleep like his sister.
Yun’ er and Zhang Qirui were in such a deep sleep that they did not even know they were carried into the carriage. They did not even eat when they returned to the palace and only woke up hungry in the middle of the night..