Prince 021

Many people were gathered outside the Royal Academy, whispering among themselves.

“No exam? What the hell is an interview?”

“I heard that this time, to purge those disaster-bringing bastards, the Emperor had many court officials killed. This is an opportunity for us.”

“The ones ahead are so slow!”

The curtain in front of Fang Zhiyi was lifted, and a man walked in, glancing left and right without hesitation, then dropped to his knees with a thud.

“Your humble subject greets the chief examiner!”

“Stop the nonsense. What talents do you have?”

“Reporting to Your Excellency, I have been well-versed in the sacred texts since childhood.”

“And anything else?”

“That’s all…”

“Toss him out!”

The soldiers nearby stepped forward and grabbed him.

“Your Excellency! Your Excellency! I can write poetry!”

Fang Zhiyi rubbed his temples. He had been selecting candidates for three whole days now, and all he got were these kinds of riffraff.

“Do you not see, the waters of the Yellow River come from heaven!”

Fang Zhiyi stopped abruptly. “Drag him back!”

The young man’s face lit up with joy. “Your Excellency, I can compose many poems!”

Fang Zhiyi looked him over. His judgment hadn’t been wrong—no time traveler would resist the urge to become an official.

“Oh, besides writing poems, do you have any other skills?”

The time traveler thought for a moment and tentatively asked, “Your Excellency, have you heard of the Memorial to the Throne on Sending Out the Troops?”

Fang Zhiyi held back the urge to beat him to death. “This prince is asking if you have any other abilities, you know, survival skills?” His eyes were full of expectation.

The time traveler stared back, blinked for a long time, and then shook his head.

“Toss him out! Give him fifty lashes!”

The next person entered, dressed in men’s clothing, but Fang Zhiyi immediately recognized the person’s gender at a glance.

Fang Zhiyi froze for a moment, watching the woman disguised as a man walk up to him, then “accidentally” knock over a cup of water. Her tied hair conveniently fell loose, and a waft of fragrance filled the air.

Just as she was about to fall into Fang Zhiyi’s arms, he frantically scrambled away from his original position.

The woman hit the floor hard.

“Why didn’t you catch me!”

Fang Zhiyi looked at her, momentarily speechless.

“I, I…” The next moment, her eyes reddened, playing the dainty and delicate role.

“Guards, toss her out.”

“Prince Qi! I am from the shores of Daming Lake… What are you doing? Do you know what respecting women means? I’ll sue you for harassment, believe me!”

“No, seriously, since when did time travelers become this ridiculous?”

Little Black said nothing. It didn’t understand. Logically, its host should be avoiding time travelers, since he never knew which one might be hostile. But here he was, personally conducting interviews, determined to root them out.

Yet Fang Zhiyi was still disappointed. Thinking about it, any time traveler who had managed to survive this long in this world without showing themselves probably wasn’t much of a threat anyway.

Rather than waste time here, he might as well figure out his next move.

Just as he was about to head home, a eunuch hurriedly came to say that the Emperor wanted him at the palace for an urgent discussion.

“Him, lying around all day after eating—what urgent matter could he possibly have?” Despite his words, Fang Zhiyi still went.

The Emperor was holding something in his hands. When he saw Fang Zhiyi, he said, “Second Brother, perfect timing. Take a look at this. It was sent up from the provinces. They say it’s quite delicious.”

Fang Zhiyi reached out and took it.

He almost cried. Wasn’t this the potato he had been searching for? But why was it already cooked?

Seeing his reaction, the Emperor thought he liked it. “Second Brother, don’t be like that. There are several more. I didn’t even dare eat them myself; I waited for you to have them together.”

With that, the eunuch beside him brought out several more—all cooked.

Fang Zhiyi stared hard at the Emperor. “Imperial Brother, don’t tell me this is all of them.”

The Emperor nodded. “This is all. The newly appointed magistrate of Han County sent them, claiming they grant longevity or something…”

Fang Zhiyi spun around. “Investigate this immediately!”

The two eunuchs serving the Emperor looked at him, bewildered.

The Emperor nodded. “What Prince Qi says is as good as what I say.”

The results came back quickly. These potatoes had been found in the backyard of a noble family. The magistrate had originally planned to clear the land and distribute it to the people, but during the clearing, he dug up these things. After studying them and finding them edible, he sent them directly up.

Fang Zhiyi immediately summoned Leng Shaobai, the current Minister of War, who in turn brought in his subordinates.

Finally, someone remembered the incident.

“Oh, Han County—that’s the Feng family’s territory. When we entered the city, they tried to gather men to resist. I recall our chief ordered that no noble family was to be spared, and I thought their belongings were all moved out.”

Fang Zhiyi frowned. “When you led your troops in, did you see anyone unusual?”

“Unusual?” The man thought for a while. “No.”

Amid a burst of coughing, Zhu Hong walked in. He was now in full command of the Supervisory Bureau.

Seeing so many people in the room, Zhu Hong merely lifted his eyelids, looking half-asleep.

“Prince Qi.”

“Investigate whether any strange people have appeared in Han County.”

“Understood.”

Zhu Hong worked with extreme efficiency. Within just five days, the report reached Fang Zhiyi.

“Prince, our men interviewed the local populace. From an apprentice in a rice shop, we heard something.”

“It seems a man of unknown origin got involved with the Feng family’s daughter. The Fengs nearly beat him to death. Later, no one knows what he said, but the Fengs took him back. After that, he was never seen again.”

At this point, Fang Zhiyi had already guessed that the time traveler who brought the potatoes had likely died at the Fengs’ hands.

After all, growing potatoes isn’t that complicated. In a feudal society like this, once a noble family obtained the core technique, they naturally wouldn’t leave the man alive. He had underestimated the risks and ruthlessness of the ancient world.

Even a prince who had time-traveled could be manipulated, let alone an ordinary man?

“Send people immediately to search! Turn over every piece of land the Feng family owned!” Fang Zhiyi shot to his feet.

“Yes!”

“Let me just get lucky on this one,” he muttered, still holding the now-hard, cooked potato.

In early March, the imperial court distributed a new type of seed, said to have an extremely high yield. Most importantly, the Emperor, in his benevolence, declared a two-year tax exemption for anyone planting this crop!

The people were ecstatic. The Supervisory Bureau arrested people everywhere, corrupt officials were greatly reduced, long-forgotten cases were reopened for review, and the people’s grievances eased as they began planting potatoes.

But when this news reached the Liao Kingdom, its king grew restless.

“I struggled and climbed to this position, and now you tell me the Great Zhou has potatoes? System, didn’t you say other time travelers were useless?”

“Host, the time traveler who introduced potatoes is dead. It was the Great Zhou Emperor who discovered the crop.”

The king paced back and forth. The lack of border troop movements during the Great Zhou’s internal chaos had also surprised him. Perhaps one of the time travelers had altered the global situation.

But it didn’t matter. He still had his trump card.

“Summon my attendants! Take me to the firearms workshop to see the progress.”