In the history of Xiyun Kingdom, droughts inevitably brought locust plagues, and wherever the swarms passed, they left a thousand miles of barren earth, causing severe crop damage, followed by famine, and the people struggled to survive.
Such natural disasters always caused the Son of Heaven great headaches.
This time, when the locusts passed through, since the grain had been sifted with either plant ash or charcoal ash beforehand, the locusts did not eat them. Without sufficient food, the numerous insects quickly flew away.
Before two days had even passed, the originally oppressive swarms that blanketed the sky like dark clouds disappeared, restoring clarity to the heavens.
Seeing the sky clear again, everyone cautiously cracked open their windows to peek outside, and not spotting any locusts, they dared to leave their homes.
Once out, they all rushed to their fields to assess how much of their crops had been consumed by the locusts.
When they found that the grain had suffered little damage and their losses were minimal, they naturally did not have to worry about starvation, and they immediately began to celebrate with hand over head.
Even more, facing the direction where the Emperor resided, they knelt to the ground to salute and cried out, "Long live the Emperor, long live, long long live! God bless Xiyun! God bless Xiyun! God bless Xiyun!"
Over the fields, between the ridges, their voices rang out, one wave louder than the next in a spectacularly shocking scene, all expressing immense gratitude that the Emperor of Xiyun had instructed the government to sift plant or charcoal ash onto the grain.
Yet, they had no idea that this order did not actually come from the Emperor of Xiyun at all, but rather from Xiao Changyi, the King of Eternal Victory.
At this moment, Xiao Changyi, the King of Eternal Victory, was supporting An Jing as they stood at the entrance to their courtyard watching everyone celebrate in the fields, and even as he heard their thanks directed toward the Imperial Palace, his face remained expressionless, as if it had nothing to do with him.
"My lord, it worked," said An Jing, truly delighted with the outcome.
"My lord," An Jing suddenly grinned mischievously, "what do you think my foster father will do once he learns of the minimal losses and that there won’t be a famine?"
Xiao Changyi responded with disdainful certainty, "Other than shamelessly dragging Chengyu into another night of chess, what else would he do?"
"Pfft." Imagining the Emperor of Xiyun, whose chess skills were awful, pulling Crown Prince Su Chengyu into a match that would last all night, was indeed torture for this son, and An Jing couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Four days later, upon learning that the crops were only slightly eaten by the locusts, the Emperor of Xiyun did indeed have Crown Prince Su Chengyu accompany him in a night of chess.
Su Chengyu: "..." Every time, he had to try in every way to let his imperial father win, and this task was truly a bitter one...
The Emperor of Xiyun was long accustomed to Xiao Changyi habitually ignoring imperial authority and directing the government on his own, so from start to finish, the Emperor didn’t take offense at Xiao Changyi; besides, the measures that Xiao Changyi took always ended up benefiting the Emperor the most. Moreover, he trusted this adopted son of his.
The next day during the court assembly, the Emperor of Xiyun conferred upon Xiao Changyi the title of Prince Yi, making him the foremost among all the princes.
Some court officials wanted to oppose the move, as royal blood ought to flow through the veins of a prince, but they were aware of the Emperor’s favoritism toward Xiao Changyi. Considering the formidable achievements of Xiao Changyi, no one who harbored opposition dared to speak against the decree.
"If there are any reports, step forward; if not, the court is dismissed," Eunuch Fu announced loudly.
At this, Crown Prince Su Chengyu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, your son has a request."
The Emperor, carrying the dignity of his station, remained silent.
Crown Prince Su Chengyu continued, "Your son humbly asks that An Jing be appointed as Third Class Agricultural Official, to serve Xiyun with her abilities."