Chapter 402: Offering Treasures

Chapter 402 Offering the Treasure

Xin You brought Sixth Boss into the palace, where they met Emperor Xingyuan, who had been waiting for them.

"Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty."

Sixth Boss knelt with a thud. "This commoner greets Your Majesty."

Emperor Xingyuan told Xin You she needn't bow and glanced at the visibly nervous Sixth Boss, smiling faintly. "You may rise as well."

Sixth Boss quickly stood up, keeping his head lowered and hardly daring to breathe.

"Ayou asked you to bring back sweet potatoes. Did you succeed?"

"Y-yes... Your Majesty. I have brought them back."

Emperor Xingyuan looked at Xin You.

"I have verified that what was brought back are sweet potato vines."

"Good." Emperor Xingyuan's expression softened slightly. "Your name is Zhu Liu, correct?"

"Yes."

"While abroad, did you taste the sweet potatoes?" Emperor Xingyuan asked the crucial question.

If the taste was unremarkable, it would still be somewhat disappointing.

"Your Majesty, I have tasted them. Sweet potatoes are sweet and soft, not only delicious but also filling."

"Truly?" The emperor's eyes lit up with interest.

Xin You added, "Your Majesty, Zhu Liu not only brought back sweet potato vines but also some potatoes. Unfortunately, because of the humid sea journey and the long trip, only a few survived the journey intact."

The emperor immediately asked, "Where are the sweet potatoes now?"

Xin You lifted the basket she was carrying. "I have brought them."

The fine cloth covering the basket was lifted, revealing two dark red spindle-shaped roots resting on soft fabric inside.

"So these are the sweet potatoes?" Emperor Xingyuan examined them closely, thought they looked unremarkable.

"My mother told me sweet potatoes are not fruits."

"If not fruits, then what are they?" The emperor's gaze remained fixed on the basket.

"They are roots."

"Roots?" His interest visibly grew. "How should these sweet potatoes be prepared?"

Xin You nodded encouragingly to Sixth Boss.

Though nervous, Sixth Boss was grateful. "They're commonly prepared by simply washing them, then steaming or boiling them directly. They can also be cooked into porridge, roasted, among other methods, Your Majesty."

Emperor Xingyuan listened intently, his eyes sparkling with amazement. "So many ways to eat them!"

Looking at the two measly sweet potatoes, Emperor Xingyuan said, "Let's go with the simplest method—steaming them. Sun Yan—"

Sun Yan quickly arranged for someone to take the sweet potatoes to be cooked.

In less than half an hour, the imperial chef brought in the steamed sweet potatoes.

Officially, it wasn't Sun Yan, the chief eunuch, who tested for poison, but the imperial chef. However, since no one had seen sweet potatoes before, the chef was stumped on how to eat them.

Sixth Boss hurriedly explained, "Just peel and eat the flesh, though eating it with the skin is also fine."

The imperial chef cut a small piece of the sweet potato and ate it. After waiting the required time, she presented the sweet potatoes to Emperor Xingyuan.

The plain-looking sweet potatoes were carefully peeled and cut into neat little pieces.

Sixth Boss watched silently, fighting back a smirk.

His Majesty eats with such ceremony!

Emperor Xingyuan eagerly picked up a piece of sweet potato and tasted it slowly.

Sweet, soft, and creamy.

Emperor Xingyuan looked astonished and took another bite to confirm his taste buds weren't deceiving him.

"How can this be!" Emperor Xingyuan widened his eyes, staring at the plate of sweet potatoes.

In his mind, a high-yield crop should at best be not too coarse in texture, but how could these sweet potatoes be so tender and sweet?

"This makes no sense," Emperor Xingyuan muttered, finding it hard to believe. "Ayou, you try it."

Xin You was also curious about the taste of sweet potatoes. Taking the silver chopsticks handed to her by the imperial chef, she picked up a piece and placed it in her mouth.

It was sweet and soft, a comforting sweetness—just as her mother had described.

As Xin You ate the sweet potato, tears welled in her eyes.

Even though her mother was gone, tasting the sweet potato made her feel her mother's presence.

The books her mother had read with her, the stories she had told, the lessons she had imparted—these treasures would never disappear from her life.

"How is it?" Emperor Xingyuan asked.

Xin You nodded. "Delicious."

"Sun Yan, you try it too."

Sun Yan bowed in thanks and curiously ate a piece of sweet potato. Under Emperor Xingyuan's expectant gaze, he quickly said, "Absolutely delicious."

Emperor Xingyuan burst out laughing.

Xin You thought his reaction was strange—why was he so desperate to share it with everyone? Then she realized: he had already claimed the sweet potatoes as his own, and as their owner, it was only natural for him to show off his prized discovery.

"How should these sweet potatoes be cultivated?" Emperor Xingyuan asked, getting to the more pressing matter when he'd finished laughing.

Sixth Boss glanced at Xin You.

"Just tell him what you know."

Emperor Xingyuan nodded: "Good, no need to be nervous. I'm not going to eat you."

Sixth Boss offered an uneasy smile and spoke cautiously: "That place seems to only have spring and summer, with plenty of rain. I secretly inquired—they say sweet potatoes can be planted year-round, taking about four months to mature. Beyond that, I didn't dare pry further to avoid alerting the locals."

Emperor Xingyuan listened, looking hesitantly at the sweet potatoes on the plate: "You know how they say... oranges south of the Huai River turn bitter north of it. Could these sweet potatoes, having traveled across oceans, truly take root, flourish, and sustain the people of Daxia?"

For these past six months, Emperor Xingyuan hadn't mentioned Sixth Boss's voyage to find sweet potatoes to the Minister of Revenue or others, precisely to avoid raising false hopes and becoming a subject of mockery among his ministers.

Sixth Boss dared not respond.

He was just an uneducated man—how to interact with locals overseas and how to find sweet potatoes were all taught by Miss. What would he know about dealing with climate differences?

"I know something about this," Xin You spoke up.

"Ayou, tell us then."

"Mother once said sweet potatoes can be grown in both the north and south. In the north, they're planted in spring and harvested in autumn like most crops. The vines we have now can be preserved through the winter using special methods—"

Emperor Xingyuan shook his head.

Never mind preserving these precious sweet potato vines through the winter—it was only September now. Waiting until next spring to plant and autumn to harvest would mean waiting a whole year to confirm their yield.

"But in the south, they can also be planted in autumn and harvested by next spring."

Emperor Xingyuan was overjoyed: "Then plant them in the south! If sweet potatoes truly yield so much without demanding fertile land, we can roll them out early, and many people won't go hungry."

Xin You nodded.

In her view, it was better to act sooner rather than later—plant the sweet potatoes first and see.

"As for who should oversee this in the south—" Emperor Xingyuan pondered seriously.

"Your Majesty, let me go. I know some key points about growing sweet potatoes. Though it's just book knowledge, bringing in some experienced local farmers should do the trick."

Emperor Xingyuan hesitated at Xin You's request but ultimately, the desire to secure sweet potatoes for Daxia prevailed: "Very well, I agree."