Quick Transmigration: The Pregnant Little Fairy is Pampered by the Heirless Boss

Chapter 421 The Little Doctor Girl Knows How to Pamper and Flirt (Part 16)

The capital city, the imperial study in the palace.

The flickering candlelight illuminated the emperor's ever-changing face.

He held a secret letter in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"What a shrewd Emperor Si..." He sneered and slammed the letter on the table. "The drought-resistant wheat harvest is bountiful, and the border people regard him as their second father?"

Prime Minister Liu knelt on the ground, cold sweat beading on his forehead: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! According to our scouts, that wheat seed is indeed miraculous. Although its yield per mu is not as high as that of the fertile fields of Jiangnan, it can grow in dry land, and the people..."

"How are the people?" the emperor asked, narrowing his eyes.

"The people..." Prime Minister Liu swallowed hard, "are all praising the Emperor and the female physician's virtues, saying they were sent by Heaven to save them from suffering..."

"Absurd!" The emperor abruptly overturned the table, scattering writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones all over the floor. "I am the Son of Heaven! The people should be grateful, but they should also be grateful to me!"

Liu Xiang dared not raise his head, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty is wise... but now that the wheat seeds have been distributed to each household, if they are allowed to plant them, the border granaries will be full next year, and the Emperor's prestige will likely..."

The emperor took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He paced to the window, gazing towards the border, a sinister glint in his eyes.

"Prime Minister Liu," he suddenly spoke, his voice terrifyingly soft, "tell me, what if the people discover that the wheat seeds given by the Emperor simply cannot germinate..."

Liu Xiang was taken aback, then suddenly realized: "Your Majesty means..."

"I remember reading in agricultural books that seeds that have been scalded with boiling water will hardly germinate."

The emperor turned around, a cold smile playing on his lips. "You will take care of it yourself. Sneak into each household tonight and... clean up their seeds."

Liu Xiang's pupils contracted sharply: "This... if we're discovered..."

"Fool!" the emperor interrupted sharply. "Who gave you permission to do it yourself? Find some unfamiliar faces and have them pose as bandits. Remember, do it cleanly and don't leave any evidence."

"Yes..." Prime Minister Liu wiped the sweat from his brow, "Then the grain seeds in Emperor Si's hands..."

"Destroy them all." The emperor said indifferently. "Doesn't he like to play the savior? I'd like to see if the people will still be grateful to him when the borders are plunged into famine again!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Liu Xiang's eyes: "I understand. I will immediately arrange the manpower, and within three days, the border will be left with nothing!"

The emperor nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly remembered something: "Oh, right, that female physician..."

"Your Majesty, rest assured," Liu Xiang said with a sinister smile. "I have already discovered that this woman has a close relationship with the Emperor. If the plan goes smoothly, she will also be ruined."

"Very good." The emperor waved his hand. "Go, and don't disappoint me."

Liu Xiang bowed and withdrew, and the imperial study returned to silence.

The emperor stood alone by the window, gazing at the starry sky, and murmured to himself, "Si Linyuan, do you think you can defeat me by planting a few acres of wheat? Ha... This empire will ultimately belong to me."

*

The night was as dark as ink, and the border villages were fast asleep, broken only by the occasional bark of a dog.

Several dark figures silently sneaked into the village, carrying specially made copper kettles filled with boiling water.

The leader made a gesture, and the group immediately dispersed, each heading towards the fields they had just sown during the day.

"Hurry up," the leader said in a low voice. "Water every plot of land thoroughly, but don't leave any footprints."

The man in black skillfully lifted the soil covering the seeds and slowly poured boiling water into the planting furrow.

The scalding steam rose into the cold night air, only to quickly dissipate without a trace.

The soil absorbed the water, and there was no visible abnormality on the surface, but the wheat seeds buried deep underground had their germs die rapidly in the high temperature.

"Boss, will this method really work?" a young man in black asked in a low voice.

"Nonsense." The leader sneered. "Prime Minister Liu said that seeds scalded with boiling water cannot be saved even by a god. If they fail to sprout in a few days, the people will only think that there is something wrong with the seeds given by the Emperor."

"Then...won't those farmers go hungry?"

"What's it to us?" the foreman kicked him. "Finish your work and get out of here!"

In less than an hour, the fields of several villages had been "taken care of".

After the men in black gathered, they quietly made their way to the experimental field near the military camp.

"This place is heavily guarded, be careful."

They lay prone in the grass and observed that there were indeed soldiers patrolling the edge of the field.

But strangely, the soldiers seemed distracted, yawning from time to time.

"Heaven is on our side!" the leader grinned maliciously. "When they change shifts, we'll sneak in."

However, just as they were about to take action, a cold laugh suddenly came from the darkness: "I've been waiting for you for a long time."

The men in black froze, and before they could react, torches suddenly lit up all around them.

Dozens of archers emerged from the shadows, their arrows gleaming coldly, aimed directly at their throats.

Si Di slowly stepped out of the shadows, his black cloak fluttering in the night wind.

He toyed with a grain of wheat in his hand, his eyes gleaming with golden light: "Is this all the ability Prime Minister Liu has?"

The leader's face was ashen: "You...how could you..."

"How did you know?" Ji Xiaosong stepped out from behind Si Di, holding a glowing glass cup with a few wheat seeds soaking in the clear water inside. "Because we dug up the first plot of land you watered last night."

The wheat seeds in the glass cup should have sprouted tender shoots, but instead they rotted and turned black.

“Scalding the seeds with boiling water will indeed leave no trace,” Si Di’s voice was as cold as ice. “But you’ve forgotten that whether the seeds will germinate or not can be determined with a single test.”

The leader suddenly sprang up, a dagger sliding out of his sleeve and stabbing straight at Si Di's heart!

"General, be careful!"

A golden light flashed in Si Di's eyes. Just as the dagger was about to touch his clothes, he grabbed the other's wrist with his right hand like lightning and struck his throat with his left hand.

With a crisp "crack," the leader's eyes widened as the dagger clattered to the ground, and he collapsed like a rag doll.

"Who else wants to try?"

Si Di coldly swept his gaze over the remaining men in black, blood still dripping from his fingertips.

Upon seeing this, the other men in black felt their legs go weak and they all knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy, daring not to resist in the slightest.

"Take them all away." Emperor Si turned and flicked his sleeve. "The trial will be held publicly tomorrow."

*

Three days later, the day when wheat seedlings should have sprouted, the villages along the border were shrouded in gloom.

"What's going on? My land hasn't moved at all!"

Mine too! Are the seeds spoiled?

"That's impossible! The seeds General Si gave us were clearly so good..."

"What are we going to do? The whole family is counting on this season's crops to survive. If the seeds don't sprout, how will we live in the future!"

"Why would General Si give us bad seeds? There must be something fishy going on! Is someone deliberately trying to harm us?"

"Heavens above, what sins have we committed? We finally got the new wheat seeds, and this has to happen! This is driving us to our doom!"

The villagers gathered by the field, talking animatedly, and some had already begun to wipe away tears.

Just then, a group of soldiers came running in, banging gongs: "Fellow villagers! The general has ordered everyone to assemble at the military training ground! It concerns the wheat seeds that are not germinating!"

On the training ground, the Emperor sat high on the platform, with a group of men in black kneeling below.