Another world. Another... time and space?
Emperor Xuanwu stared blankly at the glowing screen before him. All three options that appeared bore the same beginning words, and this deviation from the usual pattern left him momentarily at a loss.
Normally, each image that followed would correspond to a different path based on his previous selection. Why, then, were all three choices this time centered around a single figure—the so-called "Father of Hybrid Rice" from another world?
Could it be that this man's achievements were so monumental that the moment hybrid rice was mentioned, the Simulation Life Selection System would immediately call forth his image?
Emperor Xuanwu hesitated briefly. In the end, he chose the third option with great solemnity.
He had been tempted by the poetic phrasing of the first choice, that "dream beneath the rice stalks," but the word "dream" gave him pause. If it were merely an image conjured from a dream, would it truly carry any real significance?
As for the second option... he still remembered the last time he read the so-called "netizens' evaluation" of the ancient minister Tang Muzhi. The statements those "future netizens" made had been wildly unreliable.
Even if these netizens were from another world, who could say they were any better? In the end, netizens were still netizens. Likely not too different from the others.
But the official version was a different matter. Anything released through formal channels ought to be the most authoritative.
As expected, the screen shifted the moment he confirmed his choice. A new image unfolded, this one filled with lines of dignified, reverent text:
He was a true cultivator of the land. When still a village schoolteacher, he already possessed the courage to challenge the world's established authorities. When his name was known throughout the realm, he remained rooted in the fields. Unmoved by fame or wealth, a simple farmer sowing wisdom, reaping abundance. His lifelong dream was to ensure that none would suffer hunger.
Delighted to see waves of golden rice, he was the very image of grace and grandeur.
In eternal tribute to Mister Yuan, the man who ended hunger for 1.4 billion people of Huaxia. May his legacy live on forever.
After reading these few lines, Emperor Xuanwu sat in stunned silence. A solemn awe filled his chest.
No wonder not even the Simulation Life Selection System could avoid this Mister Yuan. A man like that, to call him divine would not be an exaggeration.
"Father Emperor, are you alright?"
Yun Shu could not see the glowing screen nor the system her Imperial Father beheld. All she could see was her Imperial Father, seated upright, suddenly shifting in place as though he were sitting on pins and needles. His expression even bore a faint trace of excitement.
She blinked in confusion.
"Did something come to mind?"
"We thought of the future you spoke of."
One day, the future of their Tian Sheng Dynasty would surely be just like that other world that had Mister Yuan. One day, their people would never again suffer from hunger.
Emperor Xuanwu, visibly uplifted, declared with a face full of color:
"You spoke true. Many matters require thought, require attempts, before progress can be made.
Even if it is difficult to find a scholar of agriculture, it matters not. The Academy cannot be completed overnight. Spring plowing season will arrive in a few days.
We shall take you to the Imperial Farm. The stewards there are all seasoned hands in the field. Perhaps among them, we will find the person you seek."
Yun Shu: "..."
Why did it feel as if her Imperial Father had suddenly become overexcited, like someone infused with unnatural energy?
Just from her vague description alone?
Could that really be all it took?
Then again... her Imperial Father did have a tendency to let his imagination run wild.
She had already witnessed it several times. Whenever she presented some new idea, he would often fall into silent contemplation, and once that inner imagining concluded, he would somehow end up supporting all her ambitious proposals.
Wait. Something felt off here.
Granted, the things she proposed were usually worth considering, but still...
Yun Shu sensed that she had nearly caught onto something. Just as she tried to piece it together, Emperor Xuanwu's voice reached her again.
"Why so quiet? What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
Whatever threads of thought she had gathered scattered immediately. Yun Shu shook her head and cast aside the strange feeling lingering in her chest.
"Then Your Daughter shall take her leave for now."
"Very well. Go on."
Ten days later. The Spring Plowing Ceremony.
The ritual followed the same procedures as the previous year. The difference was that the road had been repaired, and Yun Shu's motion sickness had greatly improved.
After planting several clusters of seedlings beside Emperor Xuanwu as the Crown Princess, she soon boarded a carriage that veered toward the Imperial Farm.
Yun Chuhuan managed to squeeze into the carriage as well.
Initially, Emperor Xuanwu had not intended to bring him along.
But this child always sought to follow his Fifth Elder Sister around. Today, failing to find her in the usual places, he had turned just in time to see her secretly boarding a carriage with Imperial Father, surrounded by an unusually large escort.
Furious, he had immediately dashed over with his short legs and clambered aboard, settling in indignantly and pointing an accusing finger at Emperor Xuanwu.
"Father Emperor, this is unfair! Last year you stomped down the mud walls I built, and now you're secretly taking Fifth Elder Sister somewhere fun without me!"
"Who said We are going somewhere to play?"
Still bitter over last year's incident being dredged up again, Emperor Xuanwu snorted coldly.
"We are handling official duties. What would you come along for?"
"What kind of official duty must be done outside the Palace, and just by the two of you?"
Yun Chuhuan was unconvinced.
"Does Your Son look like a fool? I heard you mention the Imperial Farm to Fifth Elder Sister just now. You must be sneaking off without me to eat something good!"
"Spring plowing has only just begun. What delicacies could there possibly be?"
Yun Shu gave a helpless sigh.
"Father Emperor and I are going to observe the plowing conditions and, incidentally, look for someone suitable to serve as the agriculture instructor at Tian Sheng Academy."
"You need schooling just to farm now?"
Yun Chuhuan blinked, his face full of confusion.
"What are you even supposed to learn? How to till soil? How to plant seeds?"
Yun Shu barely held back a laugh.
"How to make rice have a better arranged marriage."
"...Huh???"
Yun Chuhuan's small head filled with giant question marks.
"Fifth Elder Sister, are you even speaking human language?"
"Mind your manners with your Fifth Elder Sister!"
Emperor Xuanwu still held a grudge. He glared at the boy with a stern face.
"You never study properly. Now you can't even understand your sister. What will become of you?"
"I just have to cling tightly to Fifth Elder Sister's thigh, don't I?"
Yun Chuhuan muttered, entirely unrepentant.
"Fifth Elder Sister will protect me."
Yun Shu: "..."
Emperor Xuanwu: "..."
"Look at this child's lack of ambition.
Useless at everything, but excellent at clinging to others.
Though... at least he had good judgment."
The Imperial Farm was not far from the site of the Spring Plowing Ceremony. Within the time it took to burn a single stick of incense, the carriage arrived.
The steward, who had not received any advance notice, choked on a mouthful of tea the moment he heard the Emperor, Crown Princess, and Sixth Prince were already waiting at the gate.
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Emperor, your daughter nearly guess that you have system (￣(ｴ)￣)