After the New Emperor Ascended, He First Demoted Me to Farming - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The road to Qingzhou was hard going.

The officer escorting me was surnamed Liu. He had a decent temper, but he talked far too much.

He sighed the whole way.

“Miss Jiang, what were you thinking? If you’d known it would come to this, why be so good to the Deposed Crown Prince in the first place?”

I leaned against the carriage wall and gnawed on a steamed bun.

“Uncle Liu, do you lecture every prisoner you escort like this?”

“You’re not like a prisoner.”

“The imperial edict was very clear. Daughter of a criminal official.”

Uncle Liu waved a hand.

“What daughter of a criminal official gets granted a land deed? What daughter of a criminal official has the imperial guards delivering hot steamed buns? I’ve been escorting people for twenty years, and I’ve never seen an exile treated this properly.”

I didn’t answer.

The wooden box rested on my knees.

The packet of grain seed was sealed tightly in oil paper. On the outside, two small characters were written.

Qiubai.

I recognized Xie Xuan’s handwriting.

But I had no idea what “Qiubai” was.

By the time we reached North Ridge, it was already dark.

Those so-called thirty mu of wasteland were every bit as bad as advertised.

The weeds were taller than people, and there were more stones than crops.

At the foot of the mountain stood a single broken-down thatched hut, with three holes leaking through the roof.

Uncle Liu frowned so hard his brow folded in on itself.

“How is anyone supposed to live here?”

I carried the wooden box inside.

“As long as it blocks the wind.”

The moment I said that, a gust blew through, and the door panel fell off with a slap.

Uncle Liu fell silent.

So did I.

The next day, I started fixing the door.

On the third day, I started cutting weeds.

On the fourth day, people from the neighboring village came to watch the show.

They stood on the ridges between the fields, staring at me like I was some not-very-bright goose from the capital.

“Miss, you can’t grow grain on this land,” an old man said.

“Snow comes early in North Ridge, and the soil’s thin. A few years back, the government sent people to reclaim it too. Two oxen died, and they harvested three dou of rice.”

I asked, “Then what is it suited for?”

The old man thought for a moment.

“Stones.”

The children beside him burst into laughter.

I laughed too.

“Can stones be sold for money?”

The old man glanced at me, clearly deciding I might actually be ill.

I had no ox. All I had was that small rusty hoe.

A tiny character was carved into the hoe handle: Wan.

When my fingers brushed over it, my palm stilled.

This wasn’t some old thing the palace had dug up at the last minute.

This was something Xie Xuan had prepared long ago.

He wanted me to come here.

Why?

On the seventh night, someone came.

I heard the faintest sound outside the window, grabbed the hoe, and charged out.

Under the moonlight, a man in black stood in the yard.

He wore a bamboo hat, and a saber hung at his waist.

I raised the hoe.

“If you’re here for money, I have none. If you’re here for my body, get in line.”

The man in black was visibly stunned.

“Miss Jiang.”

His voice was very low.

“His Majesty sent me.”

I did not lower the hoe.

“Proof.”

The man in black took half a jade pendant from his robes.

It fit together with the half in my box.

I stared at him.

“What did Xie Xuan send you here to do?”

“Protect you.”

“And?”

“Watch you farm.”

I nearly laughed from anger.

“So he really did exile me here to reclaim wasteland?”

The man in black was silent.

I asked, “What’s your name?”

“Shen Zhao.”

“What did you do before?”

“Eastern Palace Shadow Guard.”

I nodded.

“And now?”

Shen Zhao paused.

“Farming assistant.”

I looked at the saber at his waist.

“Do you know how to farm?”

“No.”

“Do you know how to fix a door?”

“A little.”

I lowered the hoe.

“Then start with the door.”

Shen Zhao looked up at the door panel lying on the ground, and for one brief instant, the expression on his face cracked.

My mood suddenly improved a little.

The New Emperor demoted me here to farm.

So first, I would have his shadow guard fix my door.

Perfectly reasonable.