After being bound to the learning system in my mother's womb, I became the empress

Chapter 339 Eating iced watermelon

There is a small bridge in front of the West Garden. Water flows under the bridge and there are green bamboos in groups beside the bridge.

Lin Wushang stopped in front of the bridge and pushed the cart into the green grassy yard.

He parked the car in the shadow cast by the small building, and unfolded an oilcloth he brought with him to cover the car tightly.

He was afraid that the sun would burn his beloved little tricycle.

Lin Xi saw it funny and picked a lotus pod from the vase nearby and threw it at him.

The lotus pods are mixed among the lotus flowers, which can be eaten and viewed.

Lin Wushang reacted conditionedly and dodged to avoid it.

At first glance, what hit him was not a hidden weapon, but a lotus pod.

Looking up, Lin Xi was looking at him from the window with a smile on her face.

Lin Wushang picked up the lotus pod and put it into his arms.

Lin Xi flew down from the window and looked into the carriage.

"What did you bring me?"

"Food, clothing, fun, and gifts in return from the Emperor, Queen, and Princess Fengyang."

Lin Wushang moved the box down and placed it in the living room.

Qin Shuang and Xiaoyun came to help.

Lin Xi, however, stood by and watched the whole process, waiting to unbox and receive the gifts.

Although she is as strong as a cow and can shatter a mountain (rockery) with one palm.

But she is only a five-year-old child with small hands and feet, and she cannot move the box.

While Lin Xi was having a great time opening the gifts, Lin Wushang was sitting next to him eating ice cream and drinking ice-cold mung bean soup.

There are several ice cubes placed in the room, and the ice cubes inside continuously release cold air, cooling the entire room.

It's no different from an air-conditioned room.

"Xiaoyun, cut two slices of watermelon." Lin Xi said.

Watermelons have been cultivated on Lin Chunniang's farm.

Although the taste is not as good as that of later generations, it is good to be able to eat watermelon in this era.

There was not much watermelon production, and Lin Xi only got two.

She wouldn't be willing to show it to ordinary people, that is, Lin Wushang, whom she has known for so many years.

Xiaoyun cut two palm-sized pieces of watermelon and placed them on the coffee table in front of Lin Wushang.

Lin Xi: "Try it."

Lin Wushang picked up a piece of watermelon and took a bite. The rich and sweet juice burst out between his teeth.

The watermelon has been chilled and tastes even cooler.

Lin Wushang finished the meal with small mouthfuls and cherished it.

Wiping his hands, he asked, "How is the watermelon yield?"

He estimated that it shouldn't be too high.

After all, Lin Xi is not a stingy person. If the output is high, she will not only take out these two petals.

Sure enough, I heard her say: "It's very low, but it will be better next year. Select good seeds from this batch of watermelons this year and plant them in large quantities next year, and you will have a bumper harvest of watermelons. You can eat as much as you want by then."

After opening the gifts, Lin Xi only took a few of the ones she particularly liked, and asked Xiaoyun to register the rest and put them in the warehouse.

When they arrived at the study, Lin Xi said to Lin Wushang, "I heard that the Dragon Boat Festival is very lively and fun. Tell me about it." Although Lin Wushang had written a letter to her before, the length of the letter was limited, so he only mentioned it briefly. A few words about the scene at the Dragon Boat Festival celebration.

Not nearly enough to satisfy her curiosity.

Lin Wushang then detailed the situation at the celebration.

Lin Xi's eyes sparkled when she heard this, "If I had known, I would have flown over to take a look."

Lin Wushang: "There will be another chance in the future."

Then he asked: "How do you celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in the college?"

The two chatted for a while, and then got down to business.

Lin Wushang: "Grandpa has paid homage to the prime minister."

Lin Xi: "Grandpa Lin has become prime minister? Isn't the quota of prime ministers in the court already full?"

Lin Wushang: "Zhongshu Ling and Right Chancellor Li Xuelin was implicated by his younger brother Li Xueming and was demoted. He was demoted to the governor of Peizhou. The original governor was promoted to Beijing."

Lin Xi: "Did Li Xueming really conspire with Cui Shilang and Lu Shangshu? Or did the emperor take the opportunity to attack and have someone beat him into submission?"

Lin Wushang coughed lightly. Although he knew there were no outsiders here, her rebellious remarks still made his heart skip a beat.

"You shouldn't be beaten into a trick, have you forgotten? Four years ago, Li Xueming's grandson Li Rui seized the threshing machine built by Sanfu and wanted to keep it for himself.

"His son Li Ce, the former imperial censor Zhongcheng, committed the crime of deceiving the emperor by offering a threshing machine at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in order to gain a good reputation for Li Rui.

"Later the emperor exiled Li Ce, and Li Xueming was demoted because of his lax management of the family. He stayed in the position of a seventh-grade official for several years and was never promoted.

"On the other hand, his elder brother Li Xuelin served as the secretary of the Central Committee and the right prime minister, with a first-rank official position and power in the government and the public. He was jealous of the injustice in his heart, so he participated in this with the idea that he could revenge the emperor, or drag Li Xuelin down if he failed. A conspiracy."

Lin Xi: "We have a poem there that says, 'We are born from the same roots, why are we so anxious to fry each other?' But in fact, it is precisely because we are born from the same roots that we are so anxious to fry each other."

"But this is not a bad thing for Li Xuelin. He has completely gotten rid of Li Xueming, the younger brother who was holding him back, and there is one less restless cancer in the family."

Lin Wushang: "After Li Xuelin was deposed, he took the initiative to come to Peizhou, seemingly to find his youngest son Li Mi who ran away from home. Do you plan to tell the Lin family about this?"

Lin Xi: "Tell me, why don't you tell me? I will tell Chun Niang and the others at the next family gathering that their grandfather has arrived and has become the largest official in Peizhou.

"As for whether they want to recognize their relatives, that's their own business."

Lin Wushang: "After my grandfather paid homage to the prime minister, he wrote to ask for three things."

Lin Xi: "Grandpa Lin, these are the three things that a new official needs to do when he takes office. What are the three things?"

Lin Wushang: "The first thing is to propose a set of standards for evaluating officials, which are divided into four categories: body, speech, writing, and judgment.

“The body is an assessment of appearance, and officials must have a majestic appearance and good facial features.

"Speech is an assessment of eloquence. Officials must have something to say, be well-reasoned and have dialectical skills.

"The calligraphy test is to assess calligraphy. Officials must have beautiful regular script and strong handwriting.

"Judgment is an assessment of the judgment and handling of official document cases. Officials must be familiar with the law, distinguish right from wrong, handle cases impartially, and be able to write official documents with excellent literary and scientific skills." (The above is from "The Rise and Fall of the Tang Dynasty in 300 Years")
Lin Xi smiled, "With such an assessment method, those officials will probably feel like they are facing a formidable enemy, right?"

Lin Wushang: "Yes, today's officials in the court can be roughly divided into three categories.

"One type is an official position obtained by relying on the shadow of the ancestors. Most of these people are mediocre and inactive people, resting on the merits of their ancestors and fathers and eating empty pay.

"The second category is official positions obtained by recommendation, and those who can be recommended are actually people from within the aristocratic families. They are very good at creating official reputation and personality, but few can actually do practical things.

"The third category is the capable ministers and officials promoted by the emperor. They are mostly from humble backgrounds, but have outstanding abilities and can share the emperor's worries. But there are too few such people.

"The first two categories account for the majority, so redundant, mediocre, and corrupt officials abound in the court. The reason why my grandfather proposed this assessment method in a letter is to eliminate these people who do nothing but occupy high positions."

Lin Xi: "This has touched the foundation of the family. They will definitely not agree. The emperor and Grandpa Lin will be worried."

Lin Wushang: "Ninety percent of the people in the court are against it."

(End of this chapter)