Ning Shu chose to go alone to the Manor Garden on horseback. Thinking of her riding journey, she couldn't help but feel a pang of exasperation. It had been a grueling three months filled with countless falls and setbacks, but she'd finally mastered the skill well enough to shoot arrows on horseback.
Upon arriving at the Manor Garden, she handed the reins to the manager and headed straight for the sweet potato fields. When she reached the plots, she was pleased to see the plants flourishing, clearly well cared for by the Manor Garden staff.
Eager to inspect the crop, Ning Shu grabbed a hoe and dug up a few sweet potatoes. To her delight, the freshly unearthed red-skinned potatoes were roughly the size of a fist. She laughed with genuine joy, not only at the success of her mission but also at the prospect of providing a valuable new food source for the people.
"Dig up all these sweet potatoes and measure the field," Ning Shu commanded energetically. "I want to calculate the yield."
The tenant farmers quickly set to work, digging up the harvest in no time. The manager began weighing the sweet potatoes with a scale.
"Princess, these sweet potatoes yielded a total of one thousand catties," the manager reported.
Ning Shu was thrilled. In an era so vulnerable to droughts, floods, and other disasters, the sweet potato—a hardy, drought-resistant crop—would be a game-changer. While rice yielded around seven hundred catties in a good season, the sweet potatoes could bolster food security and stave off famine during hard times.
"Take some of these to the Princess's Residence," she instructed, "and store the rest in a cellar. His Majesty may wish to inspect them soon. You all have done a wonderful job, and rewards will follow."
The manager and tenant farmers' faces brightened, and they bowed in unison. "Many thanks, Princess."
Back at the residence, Ning Shu's first move was to roast a batch of sweet potatoes. She then packed them up and rode to the Imperial Palace, eager to deliver them while still warm. As she arrived, she dismounted and headed for Li Wen's Imperial Study. She had to wait patiently outside as the ministers filed out, casting her strange looks as they passed.
Ning Shu's heart skipped a beat. She remembered this was around the time the Huns would likely propose a marriage alliance. Could those looks mean she was still a candidate for the alliance marriage?
Trying to shake off the troubling thought, she stepped into the study with her food box. She noticed the small gray ball sprawled on Li Wen's desk, seemingly dozing. Strangely, it looked even rounder than before, almost as if it had fattened up.
Li Wen glanced at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What brings you here so suddenly?"
"Imperial Older Brother, I've brought something special for you," Ning Shu said, raising the food box.
Li Wen's expression remained indifferent; he received gifts all the time and was hardly moved by them. But at the sound of her voice, the little gray ball perked up, sniffing the air with its tiny, twitching nose and waving its paws eagerly toward the food box.
Smiling at its enthusiasm, Ning Shu opened the box, releasing the sweet, rich aroma of roasted sweet potatoes into the air.
Li Wen's gaze, initially dismissive, grew more curious. As he glanced at the roasted sweet potatoes, a flicker of recognition crossed his face.