jdhmnovel Chapter 226: Duke Yun
Chapter 226: Duke Yun
Meng Shen not only brought her back what he saw and heard along the way, as well as interesting things that happened on the road, but also brought her back a gift.
"I went to Jianzhou Road in the south and saw the agarwood mentioned in the book. It has a rich fragrance. Although it is a medicinal herb according to the book, I always feel that it can also be used as a spice when I smell it, so I brought some back for you."
As Meng Shen spoke, he opened the box he was carrying, took out a wooden box from it, and handed it to Yun Xi.
"Thank you sir."
According to the records in the book, "Sinking water incense, honey incense. The heart of the wood sinks when placed in water, so it is called sinking water, also called water sinking. The half-sinking one is called stack incense, and the non-sinking one is called yellow ripe incense. Nanyue Zhi says that people in Jiaozhou call it honey incense, saying that its smell is like honey spleen. The Sanskrit book calls it Agaru incense."
In simple terms, if it is placed in water, it will sink, which is the top quality, called sinking incense; if it floats in the middle, it is the middle quality, called water-playing incense; and if it floats on the water, it is the second quality, which is called yellow ripe incense.
Yun Xi opened the box, looked at it, smelled it, and asked, "Have you tried it, sir?"
Meng Shen nodded: "It sinks in water, so it is a water-sinking fragrance."
Yun Xi smiled and said, "Sir, do you know why agarwood produces fragrance?"
"I don't know. Please enlighten me, Madam."
"Agarwood itself has no fragrance. However, if the agarwood tree is accidentally injured, struck by lightning, gnawed by wild animals, or chopped by people, the wound will secrete something, and over time, it will become agarwood. This is actually what the agarwood tree uses to heal the tree body. If the agarwood tree is not injured, it will not produce agarwood."
It is true that trees are accidentally injured in nature. Originally, the production of agarwood is a natural process, but people in later generations would artificially cut down agarwood trees in order to make them produce agarwood.
In essence, this is the same as extracting bear bile from living people.
"I see. No wonder I see some trees with it but not others."
Meng Shen pondered for a moment and said, "Agarwood is just a medicinal material."
Once agarwood becomes a spice, it will be sought after. After people have harvested all the natural agarwood, they will study the principle of agarwood formation and then use axes to chop it down.
If it is used as a medicinal material to treat diseases, then there is nothing wrong with it, but if it is just used as a spice, then it is really unnecessary.
Yun Xi nodded: "Sir, that's a good idea."
The two chatted for quite a while before Meng Shen said goodbye and left.
Everything he had seen and heard before had been recorded in a book, which also contained some divergent thoughts. Now it seems that it can be simplified and return to the original meaning of pharmaceutical books.
Just keep those divergent thoughts to yourself.
Mr. Xiao Meng walked on the streets of Beijing, looking at the city which was very different from two years ago, and his mood couldn't help but become more open.
When Meng Chen left, Yun Xi asked the system: "Can you give our Mr. Meng a talisman? It is very dangerous to go deep into the mountains and forests at this time."
"Yes, what Meng Shen has done is also to increase the performance of our infrastructure project."
The system agreed without further ado.
He is an infrastructure system, and he came to this world to contribute, so he comes with sufficient equipment.
The host didn't usually bother him much, and her relatives helped do most of the work.
What he did most was to sow seeds on the mountain.
Like a ruthless sowing machine.
The mountain that the host bought grows new things every year.
Now, the rumor is that it is a sacred mountain.
During the wheat harvest, Yimin Hou announced another shocking news. The wheat he planted after selecting the seeds had a yield of up to 500 kilograms per mu.
Master Liu, who was still working as his aide in the manor, burst into tears of excitement. He held Yun Dad's arm and sighed, "I never thought that I would be able to witness such a miracle in my lifetime."
Lord Yun was not much better than him. Although he had witnessed many miracles in the past two years, each time was still equally exciting.
In fact, with the promotion of sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and high-yield millet, people's lives have become much better. Although remote areas have not yet benefited, everyone always sees hope. Moreover, with the increase in per-acre yield, the proportion of taxes levied by the court will be reduced, and the emperor's reputation among the people will be improved.
To this day, the reputation of His Majesty among the people has surpassed that of his ancestors, and he is about to be praised as a "famous emperor throughout the ages." Mu Sheng said that every time he went to court, he would curl his lips and couldn't suppress it.
This time, the emperor personally led civil and military officials to the manor of Marquis Yun. Looking at the mountains of wheat, his heart was filled with pride. He upgraded Marquis Yimin to Duke Yun on the spot, and also named Yun Xi's son Mu Heng as the crown prince.
No one at the scene objected.
The emperor wanted to show his sincerity. He did not raise the title of Yun Hou arbitrarily because Yun Hou had no descendants who could inherit the title. He did not intend to take back the title after Yun Hou passed away. The title could be inherited by his grandson.
In fact, he had privately asked Yun Zhen before whether he had any plans to remarry and have another child, but Yun Zhen firmly rejected this.
He was originally working hard for his daughter. If he succeeded with the help of his daughter's advice, but had to give the fruits to another child, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
Moreover, his original wife died not long after marrying him, and they never had a good life. His daughter also lived an ordinary life when she was a child. As a result, he is rich now, and he wants to marry another person, give her a good life, and leave everything to her child. When he puts himself in his daughter's shoes, he feels very uncomfortable.
The emperor did not quite understand Yun Zhen's behavior. In fact, he was less than fifty years old, looked healthy and not old. His wife had passed away many years ago, so it was normal for him to marry another one. He also said to Yun Zhen, "Yongning will definitely understand you."
But Yun Zhen still shook his head. His daughter was considerate and open-minded. Of course, she would understand him, but understanding did not mean she was not wronged. He did not want his daughter to be wronged.
The emperor once asked Yun Xi if she wanted to inherit the title, but Yun Xi refused. She had a first-rank imperial title and the status of a princess, so why did she need so many titles?
Therefore, the clear heir to the title became Mu Lezi Heng.
He even joked with Mu Sheng, "Your son doesn't want it either, does he?"
Mu Sheng said: "That's not up to him. His mother can be willful, but he can't."
According to the system of primogeniture, the title of the Mu family would fall to Mu Jinyan, and there would be almost no exceptions unless there were special circumstances. If the emperor did not let Lezi inherit his grandfather's title, then Mu Sheng, as a father, would also have to consider making plans for his son's future.