Chapter 72: The Dragon Bed Hatches Chickens

“Oh? Let’s hear it.”

The Minister of Personnel continued, “There’s a village not far from Baihua Mountain. This year, the fields there yielded no harvest, and they couldn’t grow crops at all.

Many people in the village either left or passed away, but more than half remained, determined to stay on their ancestral land.

However, this is not a sustainable situation, and the villagers are saying they will come to the capital to petition.”

“What’s going on with those fields? Have they been investigated?” The tyrant was always concerned about matters affecting the common people, especially regarding farmland.

Grain was the most basic necessity for the people.

People depended on food for their survival.

If a country had no grain, it was as if it had no foundation, and it would inevitably decline.

“Well, before the officials could investigate, the situation took a turn.

One night, the village’s fields sprouted and took root, the sky was filled with rays of sunlight, withered trees bloomed, and the once desolate village became vibrant and full of life overnight.”

The tyrant’s phoenix eyes deepened. “Is there truly such a miraculous event?”

“Indeed,” Minister Ye of the Ministry of Personnel said excitedly, slapping his thigh as if he were a storyteller, enjoying the tale immensely.

The tyrant said, “I didn’t expect Minister Ye to be so interested in such folk tales.”

“Ah, it’s my wife. She often chats with the women in the neighborhood, and yesterday, unable to sit still, she went to the village herself. I must say, that village now resembles a paradise on earth—peaceful, beautiful, with an atmosphere of serenity. It’s simply wonderful.”

Minister Ye spoke with bright, curious eyes. If he weren’t so busy with official duties, he would have gone to take a look himself.

“But, Your Majesty, the village has a new name. Would you care to guess what it is?”

The tyrant was nonchalant, “What’s so special about a village name?”

Minister Ye chuckled, “Hehe, the village is now called—Jiaoyang Village.”

The tyrant was stunned. “Jiaoyang?”

As in Princess Jiaoyang of the Tiansheng Dynasty?!

“Yes, indeed! The name honors our Princess Jiaoyang. I heard that Taoist Baiyun personally visited the village, and now the villagers no longer worship gods; they’ve started worshipping Princess Jiaoyang instead.

They say it’s thanks to Princess Jiaoyang that their village was revitalized.” Minister Ye laughed as he spoke, “Your Majesty, when I get a day off, I must visit that village and stay for a couple of days to soak in the aura of such a blessed place. Who knows, I might even bring back some good fortune myself.”

The tyrant gave him a sideways glance, “Minister Ye, you’re getting more and more out of line.”

“Ahem.” Minister Ye quickly stopped talking.

“A few days ago, Princess Ah Bao did visit Baihua Mountain, so it must have been Ah Bao who brought them good fortune.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty, the little princess brings blessings wherever she goes.”

The tyrant raised an eyebrow, “Of course, my Ah Bao is the best Ah Bao in the world.”

At the mention of Ah Bao, the tyrant, a devoted father, started thinking about her again.

Wait.

Ah Bao was napping in the inner chamber.

Why hadn’t she woken up after such a long time?

The tyrant stood up, intending to check on Ah Bao.

Minister Ye and Minister Zong exchanged glances, their eyes full of hope.

Sigh.

Could they possibly catch a glimpse of Princess Ah Bao?

The past few days, Princess Ah Bao hadn’t accompanied the tyrant to court.

Rumor had it she’d gone out of the palace with Concubine De.

They hadn’t seen Princess Ah Bao for days, and these old men were starting to miss her.

It wasn’t like at the beginning when they were shocked to see the tyrant bringing Princess Ah Bao to court, their eyes nearly falling out of their heads.

The key issue is that several ministers in the court disagree with the Emperor’s actions.

Who brings a princess to court?

Now, they feel like they’ve been slapped in the face.

Whenever the Emperor doesn’t bring the little princess to court, they anxiously wait, hoping he will.

The tyrant has no idea about the two ministers’ thoughts.

As soon as he reached the inner hall, the Emperor stopped.

The two ministers, extremely curious and unable to sit still, eagerly leaned forward. Upon hearing that the little princess was sleeping in the inner hall, they tiptoed in, not daring to make a sound.

But when they saw the scene in the inner hall, they were both stunned.

On the imperial bed, a small bundle was lying there, butt in the air, sound asleep.

The most notable thing was that, from their angle, they could clearly see that the little bundle was clutching a rosy… egg against her chest.

The little one must have been sleeping too soundly; she pouted, turned over, and the egg just happened to go “crack” and break.

Feeling the wetness, the little one instantly woke up.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes, sat up on the imperial bed, and looked down at the broken egg.

She opened her mouth: “Waaaah—”

The three onlookers: “…”

The tyrant immediately strode over, “My dear baby, what’s wrong?”

He tenderly picked up Ah Bao.

Ah Bao, still sniffling, pointed at the wet spot on the imperial bed.

“Egg… egg… wahhh.”

【My egg broke.】

【Oh no, that was the egg I worked so hard to steal from the chicken coop.】

【My chicken, my egg, my poor egg.】

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s just an egg. If you want, I’ll give you a whole room full of them, alright?”

“No, no…” Ah Bao shook her head, “Chicken… chicken… wahhh, no…”

The tyrant: ?

Chicken?

But that was clearly an egg.

Could it be that Ah Bao was trying to… hatch a chick?

The Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Justice couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into laughter.

“The little princess is trying to hatch a chick on the imperial bed, hahaha.”

The tyrant shot a glance at them, and the two immediately shut their mouths.

Minister of Personnel: “Your Majesty, I just remembered that I have an urgent matter at home, so I’ll take my leave.”

Minister of Justice: “Your Majesty, I also just remembered that I have a few cases left to handle, so I must quickly withdraw.”

Before the tyrant could say anything, the two ministers left in a hurry, afraid of angering him if they stayed any longer.

…

At the Wen Residence.

Minister Wen, the Assistant Minister of Rites, had just returned home. Madam Sun approached him, “My lord, what’s wrong with your expression today? Did something happen?”

“Don’t ask.” Minister Wen shook his head. He had only ever had one wife, a woman with a bold and fiery personality. There were rumors in the capital that he was somewhat afraid of her.

When Minister Wen was young and traveling with his family from the countryside to the capital, they were attacked by bandits. Madam Sun took an arrow for him, leaving her with a bad leg to this day.

Minister Wen had always been grateful to her, so he often let her have her way.