On the second day, the tenant farmers harvested the rice normally, and Du Jinning took Jin Gonggong and Wu Shangshu to see the corn.

It was the first time Wu Shangshu had seen corn as a crop.

He asked curiously: "How many catties can this crop yield per mu?" ”

"According to the planting situation in Gui Province in previous years, the general yield per mu is three or four stones." Du Jinning said, "Different regions will have different outputs. How much we can harvest in this field will not be known until autumn. ”

Saying that, she instructed a few subordinates who came with her: "Go and break a dozen or so corn, and let Gonggong Jin and Wu Shangshu taste it at night." ”

"Can you eat it at this time? Don't have to wait for autumn to ripen? Grandpa Jin asked curiously.

"At this time, the corn is the most tender and delicious time, but it is not resistant to storage...... Du Jinning introduced the characteristics of corn to him, and he was very much looking forward to it.

However, he was the eunuch next to Zhao Yu, and he knew how to show loyalty best, and said: "What the emperor has never tasted, our family doesn't dare to eat it first with the emperor, and we don't need this corn tonight." Lord Du, you have someone break dozens of corn, and let our family bring it back to Beijing tomorrow to taste it for the emperor. ”

"That's what Grandpa Jin said." Wu Shangshu also hurriedly said.

Du Jinning was helpless, and she was afraid that these two would say that as a courtier, she didn't put the emperor first, and she didn't know what good things to pay tribute to the emperor as soon as possible.

She had to explain: "Actually, this kind of corn has been grown in Gui Province for one or two decades. It is estimated that when it appeared, the governor and prefect of Gui Province had offered it, and maybe the emperor had tasted it. It's good to eat this thing tenderly, but when you eat it when you're old, it's very rough and hard to swallow. In Gui Province, this corn is generally eaten by poor families who do not have access to rice. It is estimated that the emperor did not like it, so he did not call tribute. ”

Jin Gonggong and Wu Shangshu were a little embarrassed.

Gonggong Jin is in his thirties, he entered the palace when he was twelve or thirteen years old, and he has been in the palace for almost twenty years. Not to mention Wu Shangshu, a person in his sixties is an old man from the Ministry of Industry. Even if the emperor didn't take the matter of the Gui Provincial officials offering corn to heart, they couldn't show that they didn't know about it, otherwise they didn't care about state affairs.

But they really don't know about it.

But the words of loyalty just now showed that they were ignorant. It's really a slap on the horse's leg.

"But Gonggong Jin and Master Wu said so, so don't eat this corn." Du Jinning said, "As for the corn dedicated to the emperor, it needs to be picked early tomorrow morning to be the freshest." When the time comes, I will bother Gonggong Jin to bring it back to the emperor. ”

Yes, now I don't have to eat, I don't have to say anything, and Grandpa Jin has also taken on a troublesome matter.

You must know that it is not an easy task to bring things into the palace from outside the palace for the emperor to eat. In case something is drugged on the way, the father-in-law Jin who sent the thing to the palace will not want to save his life.

This time, Jin Gonggong especially regretted that he had just said so much. Alas, what kind of loyalty!

But that's not all.

Du Jinning also knew that it was a big deal to send food to the emperor, so she simply said to Jin Gonggong: "In order to ensure the safety of corn, does Jin Gonggong want to go to the corn field with his subordinates tomorrow morning to pick corn?" ”

She pointed to dozens of acres of fields: "Such a large corn field, when the time comes, you can choose an area at random and let the guards you bring to pick it, so that it does not go through other people's hands, which is more reassuring." ”

Father-in-law Jin now wants to die.

From the capital to Runzhou, after a day of carriage, he still remembers the bumpy taste vividly; Thinking that he would have to take another day of carriage back to the capital tomorrow, he was terrified, and he thought that he would sleep well tonight so that he could cope with the hardships of tomorrow. But I don't want to get up early to break corn.

In order to rush to the capital before closing the city gate, I have to leave early tomorrow. From this, it is conceivable that tomorrow it is estimated that it will be dark to this cornfield.

At this moment, he couldn't wait to tell Du Jinning, don't send corn to the emperor.

But can he say that? No! Can he refuse Du Jinning's proposal? Neither can it! He refused to go even when he got up a little early to break corn for the emperor, and the matter reached the emperor's ears, and the emperor didn't have to do anything with him, and the chief administrator of Wu Gonggong would directly remove him from his position, and he would never be reused again.

He smiled more ugly than crying and said, "That's very good." ”

Seeing Gonggong Jin's constipation-like face, Du Jinning was in a good mood.

Wu Shangshu looked funny and said, "The old man is old and has bad legs, so he won't hold you back." Tomorrow morning, I will have a hard time with the two of you. ”

After agreeing on a time to arrive at the field tomorrow, everyone returned to Zhuangzi from the cornfield. Jin Gonggong and Wu Shangshu returned to the garden where they lived, and Du Jinning returned to her Zhuangzi courtyard.

In the past two days, in order to entertain these two people, she has not been back to the city for two nights. Tonight, of course, is the same.

On the second day, sure enough, the stars were still hanging in the sky, and Gonggong Jin was woken up by the little eunuch he brought, washed up in a daze, and after meeting Du Jinning at the intersection, he was supported by a royal guard, and went to the cornfield with one foot deep and one foot shallow.

For the sake of his own life, he can't be led by Du Jinning. When he reached the cornfield, he walked around the ridge for a while, and then he pointed to a place of corn and said, "That's it." ”

It was only then that a light appeared on the horizon.

After breaking the corn and returning to the garden for breakfast, Du Jinning sent Jin Gonggong and Wu Shangshu out of the city.

A sturdy man who had been waiting at the city gate for the past two days, saw Du Jinning appear at the city gate, waved goodbye to Jin Gonggong and others, and he hurriedly rode out of the city and ran to the northwest.

After running for more than a hundred miles, he found Qi Muyuan, who was living in an inn, and said, "Young Master, those people have left." ”

Qi Muyuan raised his head from the pile of files, glanced at him, and immediately cleaned up the table: "I'll go over now, you can rest for one night and go back tomorrow." ”

This nursing home is not Liu Gao, Ma Biao, and those who often follow Qi Muyuan. Qi Muyuan came to investigate the case, and he needed to disguise himself, so naturally he couldn't bring someone who could be recognized at a glance. So he brought two nursing homes that don't usually go out and about, one is Wei Dong and the other is called Yu Yongxing, and let them make disguises.

The nurse named Weidong watched Qi Muyuan clean up in amazement, and pointed to the sun outside in the west: "Young master, at this time, it will be dark before you reach the halfway point." Even if you go to Runzhou, you can't enter the city gate. ”

Qi Muyuan waved his hand: "It's okay, if you can't enter, stay at the city wall overnight, and enter the city early in the morning." ”

He is short of time, so he can stay with Du Jinning for one more moment. Moreover, he had doubts in his heart, and he had been pressing them all the time. Now that he thinks that the answer will be revealed soon, he really can't wait for a moment.

If it weren't for Gonggong Jin and Wu Shangshu suddenly running to Runzhou, he would have gone straight to Runzhou after investigating the case, and it would be impossible for him to stay here and write the file.