Speaking of which, she glanced at the Young Emperor.

"Normally, grasshoppers don’t eat their own kind, but when locusts have no food source, they will choose to eat their own kind in order to survive," she said.

Yuan Shangyi turned pale upon hearing this.

Feng Yun crushed the locusts underfoot in the oxcart, tossed them out, and said indifferently, "In order to avoid being eaten by their own kind, the more locusts there are, the faster they move. That’s where the saying comes from about locusts passing through, darkening the sky, and leaving barren thousands of miles..."

"Then why do they swarm?"

"For reproduction, for survival," she answered.

Where there was a question, there was an answer.

Yuan Shangyi grew to like the Princess, full of learning, even more.

"Madam knows even more than the Grand Tutor," he remarked.

Feng Yun looked at him and said, "I too learned these things from books. If Ayuan likes, he can often come to my manor to read books..."

Yuan Shangyi could already recognize many characters, but he had a limited selection of books to read in the palace, lacking the variety of miscellaneous and leisure reading.

And he happened to enjoy such readings, immediately nodding emphatically.

"Madam, when you return, inform the Female Historian that I can come to find you at any time," he requested.

"Alright," Feng Yun agreed.

As expected, it was very hot when they arrived at Liu Family Village, but the farmers were not indulging in the cool indoors; instead, they were in the fields, driving away and killing locusts.

Wearing straw hats, braving the scorching sun, adults, children, and the elderly, the entire family was mobilized.

The Village Chief, on the other hand, was leading several village elders at the center of the village, setting up an altar to offer sacrifices to the deities and seeking blessings to eliminate the locust plague.

Feng Yun led Yuan Shangyi out of the carriage, taking him to a tree with a lush crown to rest in the shade, instructing Xiaoman and the guards to keep watch, while she and He Qia walked up to the fields.

To have locusts in the fields was actually quite normal, as long as they did not swarm in droves and become a disaster.

However, the villagers said that the number of locusts this year had increased significantly compared to previous years. They had been capturing and killing them for three days, but their numbers showed no sign of decreasing, which forced them to take up arms and drive them away...

Feng Yun actually disagreed with the method of driving them away.

It was nothing more than shifting them from one village to another.

The Village Chief washed his hands at the well and came over to He Qia, bowing deeply.

"Governor, you must help us think of a solution. The crops are all eaten, the entire village has no way to live," he pleaded.

Liu Family Village, like Shen Family Village, was named after a surname, with clans living together; everyone in the village bore the surname Liu and were relatives. If a locust plague struck, there would be nowhere to borrow grain...

He Qia did not know much about agriculture.

But having heard about the horrors of a locust plague and having just listened to Feng Yun’s explanation, he was also sweating with anxiety.

"We’re thinking of a solution, thinking of a solution," he asserted.

He was distressed.

In the past, he was a Military General whose only concern was to fight in battles.

A locust plague, however, had been an agricultural problem since ancient times; whoever encountered it was simply unlucky. Besides capturing and killing, he could not think of any better solutions...

So the pleading look fell upon Feng Yun’s face.

The Village Chief did not yet know that the woman leading the child was the Princess of Yonghuai, and the boy standing under the shade of the tree was none other than the sovereign of a nation.

He merely thought Feng Yun was a member of He Qia’s family and after a glance, turned to He Qia and said:

"The price of grain has risen again this year, and the households in the village have no surplus grain... Alas, it’s worrying. If only we were like Huaxi Village, with farming tools, weaving, pottery kilns, and various workshops, even if we can’t grow crops, at least we wouldn’t starve..."

He Qia awkwardly chuckled.

"Village Chief Liu can go to Huaxi Village and learn from them,"

The Village Chief shook his head, "In these times, who doesn’t keep secrets? Who would teach others the means to provide for themselves at mealtime? Besides, if everyone goes to work in the workshops, then who will farm the lands?"

It sounded quite reasonable, and He Qia could only laugh.

The food crisis was not only a concern of Village Chief Liu, but as the governor of a province, He Qia was actually even more worried...

Feng Yun suddenly spoke up, "Right now, the locusts are not dense. Why don’t we rear more chickens, ducks, and geese in the village? When the locusts come, we could use them to save on feeding grain..."

The Village Chief shook his head, casting a somewhat disdainful glance at her.

"Madam, you are unaware. When there are many insects, ducks can’t keep up..."

Feng Yun smiled faintly, "Then we simply do not have enough ducks."

Her idea of "more" was not just a few or dozens as the Village Chief imagined, but a multitude of ducks flocking together.

Feng Yun turned to He Qia and suggested, "Perhaps the Governor could call upon duck breeders from each county to organize a large ’duck army’ to join forces in eradicating the locusts?"

People of the time enjoyed duck meat, and in Xinzhou, close to the water, there were many considerable duck breeding establishments. If one was not enough, what about ten or a hundred?

Duck breeders need grain to feed their flock, which is costly, but locusts don’t cost a thing.

If the government were to call upon them and offer even a small subsidy, they would surely flock to the cause.

He Qia’s eyes lit up, "We might try that, thank you, Princess, for the suggestion."

Only then did Village Chief Liu realize that the woman before him was the Princess of Yonghuai, as well as the Village Chief of Huaxi Village. Recalling what he had just said, his face flushed with embarrassment, and he kept apologizing profusely.

Feng Yun laughed and shook her head, dismissing the matter. She took a walk in the village under the guidance of the Village Chief and then left with He Qia.

Upon returning to Huaxi Village, she called several town and squad leaders to discuss matters under the Great Pagoda Tree.

Huaxi Village was separated from the Liu Family Village by the Changhe River, and news of the locust crisis had not yet reached them, but the old farmers’ faces turned pale upon hearing about it.

"Village Chief, ma’am, we should start prevention as early as possible."

Feng Yun nodded.

Aside from rearing ducks, she could not think of any other good solutions for the moment and merely reminded the farmers before burying herself in her study.

She was very fond of her books.

The storage capacity of the human brain is limited.

Books are limitless.

She hoped to find useful methods for controlling locusts in the books.

However, dealing with locusts has always been a difficult matter throughout history. She read until midnight without finding any clues. Early the next day, she called for Xing Dala, allocated some funds, and bought back batches of ducklings.

In the pond, the lotus flowers were in full bloom.

The ducklings lined up and waddled past, plunging into the water, their fluffy appearance exceedingly adorable.

Yuan Shangyi, leaning over the flower wall, took Dong Bai and slipped away to the estate.

The Female Historian was full of anger but had already been warned by Feng Yun the day before, so she could only follow with an umbrella, a water bottle, and a few maidservants trailing behind eagerly.

Just as she arrived at the pond, before she could speak, she almost fainted...

What in the world was that big creature next to the Young Emperor? A cat, a tiger, or a leopard?

Such a large beast, and the Princess of Yonghuai not only allowed it to stay but permitted such a dangerous thing to approach His Majesty?