The new tax officials were warned, and no one dared tamper with scales. Scales were now stored in the castle and transported under strict supervision, minimizing opportunities for fraud.

This was a temporary measure for now, with plans to continue improving the system.

Seeing these astounding results, the laborers, and the townspeople were overjoyed, even if much of their harvest was taken away as taxes. The remaining harvest would last them a long time, and with other crops still to mature, they were confident in their future yields.

All of this success was attributed to following the duke and duchess’s advice on fertilizing, watering, pest control, and disease prevention. The...