My Beloved Concubine Only Wants to Eat Melons

Chapter 58

As soon as the system reminded her, Yanshu remembered everything.

This Luo Zhixue was her father's former classmate, though a few years younger. He had some talent but came from a poor family.

Back when her father had already passed the imperial exams and was working as an official in the county government, Luo Zhixue was preparing to go to the capital for the imperial examination. However, he was so poor that he almost missed the chance to take the exam due to lack of travel funds.

Her father was a righteous and kind-hearted man who couldn't bear to see a friend in trouble. So he secretly took out twenty taels of silver that the family had been saving for a long time to renovate their old house, and lent it to Luo so he could go take the spring examination.

Yanshu vaguely remembered the scene that night. Her father made an excuse to take her out to play while delivering the money to this man. Upon receiving the money, the man wept profusely and swore up and down that he would repay them handsomely when he returned...

The next day, the man left with the travel money. However, her mother found out that her father had secretly lent someone silver, and the two had a big argument.

Fortunately, not long after, news came from the capital that this man had passed the imperial examination with flying colors. Her father was naturally delighted, feeling that he hadn't helped in vain. Her mother was also happy, thinking that the twenty taels of silver would finally be returned and their dilapidated old house could at last be renovated.

Who would have thought that after passing the exam, this man didn't even return home, but went directly to the neighboring Jihe County to become the county magistrate, without returning a single coin of the silver.

Watching their old house leak and grow damp, her mother became anxious again and urged her father to go to his house to ask for the money back.

However, before her father could go, the Luo family unexpectedly moved to Jihe overnight, leaving not even a copper coin behind.

As a result, her mother was naturally angry again, but her father still held out some hope, thinking that this Luo fellow was just too busy with official business and had temporarily forgotten about the debt.

Until one day, her uncle was transporting grain from out of town back home, and when passing through Jihe County where that man was stationed, he was detained by the local government on the grounds of unclear travel documents.

When the family received the news, they were frantic with worry. Her father rushed to Jihe, for the first time in his life wanting to use his connections to ask this man for a favor. Who would have thought that after waiting for three days, this Luo fellow refused to see him at all.

In the end, her poor fool of a father had to scrape together twenty taels of silver as a fine from various sources to bring her uncle back.

From then on, her father's heart was completely chilled towards this Luo character.

Who would have thought that this man's official career would continue to rise, all the way from county official to prefectural official, then entering the capital, and now he had even become the Deputy Director of the Salt and Iron Bureau?

Yanshu felt indignant - wasn't this just heaven turning a blind eye?!

After listening to her recollection in her heart, Yuwen Lan also nodded silently, thinking that indeed, heaven seemed to have turned a blind eye in this matter.

He hadn't expected that the Deputy Director of the Salt and Iron Bureau, carefully selected by the Ministry of Revenue, would turn out to be such a character.

With such poor moral character, it was unlikely he would perform his duties well. It seemed this matter needed to be reconsidered.

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Yanshu, who had just been angrily cursing heaven in her heart, suddenly greet that man with a friendly face—

"Isn't this Uncle Luo?"

As soon as these words fell, everyone in the hall was stunned.

What?

Who was Consort Yi calling... "Uncle Luo"?

Of course, at this moment there was only one person surnamed Luo in the hall, and everyone had just clearly heard him introduce himself as Luo.

So for a moment, everyone turned their gaze towards this man.

The Minister of Revenue, as his superior, also looked surprised. He glanced at Luo Zhixue, then hurriedly bowed to Yanshu and said, "Does Consort Yi know Lord Luo?"

Yanshu smiled and said, "I feel that this Lord Luo looks very familiar. May I ask if Lord Luo is from Ande County in Qingzhou Prefecture? And if you served as the county magistrate of Jihe County more than ten years ago?"

At these words, the Minister of Revenue looked back at his new subordinate in surprise and said, "Is it really you, Lord Luo? You actually know Consort Yi?"

Tsk tsk tsk, nowadays who doesn't know that Consort Yi is the most favored, and who doesn't want to establish a connection with her?

Who would have thought this man was so low-key?

However, at this moment, the person in question, Luo Zhixue, was rigid all over and didn't want to admit it.

—Indeed, he of course knew that the currently most favored Consort Yi was actually the daughter of his old acquaintance Li Huaizhi.

He also still remembered that he owed the Li family twenty taels of silver...

At that time, after passing the imperial examination, it wasn't that he hadn't thought about repaying the silver, but at first his finances were indeed tight.

As a scholar from a poor family, coping with various aspects of official life was quite difficult at first.

However, after he had made a name for himself and had money later on, he was afraid that the Li family would cling to him because of this, so he simply ignored it.

He thought that with Li Huaizhi's rigid personality, he would only be able to be a small-time official in Ande for his whole life. Since he had moved his family away, he probably would never encounter the Li family again in this lifetime.

Who would have thought that the Li family would have such a day of soaring success?

But regardless of how the Li family was doing, his official career had to continue.

He had finally worked his way up from that small place to the capital, and now had even become a close minister to the emperor. Originally today he didn't want to show his face in front of Consort Yi, but his superior, the Minister of Revenue, insisted on bringing him in to pay respects, so he had to grit his teeth and come in.

He had planned to just pay his respects quickly and leave, but who knew Consort Yi would recognize him at a glance.

At this moment, he could only force himself to say, "Indeed it is me."

What to do? This little girl wouldn't expose the old matter on the spot, would she?

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Consort Yi smiled again and said, "It really is you. Weren't you and my father good friends before? I remember you used to come to our house for meals often when I was little."

Luo Zhixue could only force a smile and say, "That's right, the Consort has a good memory."

Yanshu smiled and said, "It's not that I have a good memory, it's mainly that I have a particularly deep impression of you. I still remember when you were about to go to the capital for the imperial examination and had no travel funds, it was my father who lent you twenty taels of silver. At that time, you were so moved that you told my father that when you passed the exam, you would definitely repay us, and even give us a grand mansion and thousands in gold, or something like that."

At these words, Luo Zhixue's face turned as red as dripping blood, extremely embarrassed.

But at the same time, he was also a bit suspicious—

He didn't seem to have said anything about a grand mansion and thousands in gold back then...

However, at this moment, how could he refute? He could only nod with a forced smile and say, "Yes, that's what happened..."

The onlookers saw this and all began to ponder silently—

Why did his expression seem a bit lacking in confidence?

Could it be that he hadn't repaid the money later?

Sure enough, they then heard Yanshu continue, "But I never saw you again after that. I heard you went to the neighboring Jihe County to be the county magistrate. Once when my uncle was transporting grain from out of town, he was somehow detained in your Jihe. My father went to find you but couldn't even see you. I heard you were very busy at that time, truly a talent who was working tirelessly for the country. Otherwise, how could we meet here today?"

At these words, everyone again pondered the hidden meaning—

This sounded like a story of an ungrateful person who turned his back on kindness and refused to acknowledge old friends.

Luo Zhixue was about to die of embarrassment.

He could only say, "I am ashamed. After so many years, I have forgotten what happened at that time... Perhaps I was not in Jihe at that time, so I couldn't meet with the Loyal and Righteous Marquis."

However, the emperor had already grasped the key point and immediately looked towards the Loyal and Righteous Marquis Li Huaizhi, asking, "What was the reason for the grain being detained?"

To be honest, Li Huaizhi originally didn't want to deal with this person today, but since the emperor asked, he could only hurriedly stand up and say, "In reply to Your Majesty, that year my brother-in-law was transporting grain from out of town back to our home in Ande. Perhaps the official who issued the travel permit in the other place was careless for a moment and wrote 'chestnut' instead of 'millet', and my brother-in-law, being poorly educated, didn't notice at the time. When they reached Jihe, the local yamen runners detained my brother-in-law and the grain on the grounds that his travel permit didn't match the goods, saying there would be a fine of twenty taels of silver."

"My father-in-law and my humble wife were frantic with worry, so I rushed to Jihe overnight. I originally thought this matter was just a misunderstanding and wanted to find Lord Luo to explain the situation, but Lord Luo was busy, and I waited there for two days without being able to see him."

At this point, everyone was very concerned, and even the Empress Dowager couldn't help but ask, "Then what happened later?"

Li Huaizhi bowed his head and said, "I'm afraid the Empress Dowager will laugh, but at that time I didn't bring much money with me. I had to pawn some valuable items I had on me, and also borrow from local fellow townsmen, scraping together twenty taels of silver to pay the fine and redeem my brother-in-law and the grain."

The Empress Dowager sighed upon hearing this, "That is indeed quite pitiful. The official made a mistake writing one character, yet it cost you twenty taels of silver."

As she spoke, everyone nodded in agreement, thinking that the Loyal Marquis's family had suffered an unfair loss.

Then the Emperor asked Luo Zhixue, "Back then, how long could twenty taels of silver support an average family?"

With all eyes on him, Luo Zhixue dared not lie and honestly replied, "Your Majesty, twenty taels of silver could support an average family of six for one year."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Zhu, the wife of the Loyal Marquis sitting next to Yanshu, couldn't help but object in her heart—

Twenty taels for a year was the spending of a wealthy family. With her good-for-nothing husband always scrimping and saving to help others, they sometimes spent only fifteen or sixteen taels a year.

At this moment, the Emperor spoke to Luo again, "An official made a mistake in writing, yet the government used this to trouble the common people, fining them the equivalent of one or even two years' expenses? Is this reasonable?"

As he finished speaking, many officials present inwardly clicked their tongues—

Indeed, the Jihe County government was not only unreasonable but also cruel, practically flaying the common people to make money!

Luo Zhixue immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This regulation was established by the prefecture at that time. I had also advised my superiors about it, but to no avail due to my lowly position. Moreover, there were indeed some minor officials who were inconsiderate and abused their power. When I discovered such cases, I would severely punish them, but it was difficult to prevent all such occurrences."

Of course, everyone understood that this incident had happened over a decade ago, and even if the Emperor wanted to investigate further, it wouldn't be easy.

But... there was still a matter pending for this Luo Zhixue—he still owed money to the Loyal Marquis's household!

Just as they were thinking this, Luo Zhixue immediately bowed to the Loyal Marquis Li Huaizhi, looking ashamed as he said, "Please accept my apology, Your Lordship. I am truly sorry! Back then, due to my busy official duties, I had always intended to find you to repay the debt but never managed to do so. Later, because of changes in my position, I moved further and further away from my hometown and was unable to visit... In any case, it was entirely my fault. Today, I will definitely repay the full amount I owed back then, and prepare an additional generous gift to express my gratitude to Your Lordship. I hope you won't find it beneath you."

This explanation made it seem as if he had forgotten to repay the debt due to unavoidable circumstances, but no one present believed him anymore.

—The Li family had remained in their hometown for decades without moving, how could he not have been able to repay them if he wanted to?

What a joke!

Yanshu also snorted inwardly. How could the twenty taels from over a decade ago compare to now? How much hardship had their family endured after losing forty taels of silver in succession?

She still remembered clearly that for those two years, their family meals rarely included any meat. It was always tofu and vegetables or radishes and pickles. Heaven knows how much she craved roast chicken!!!

Tsk, that was when she was supposed to be growing. If it weren't for those vegetarian and pickled dishes lacking nutrition, she might have grown half a head taller now!!!

Yuwen Lan: "..."

To make a little foodie who loved meat the most eat vegetarian for so long, this Luo Zhixue truly deserved death!

Only now did he finally understand why she valued food so much now—it was because she had been deprived so much back then?

Feeling both angry and indignant, he spoke to Luo, "Not only should you repay the silver you owed the Loyal Marquis back then, but you should also relearn many life principles. Repaying debts is a fundamental moral obligation. Not only were you ungrateful, but you also returned kindness with enmity. How have you been able to sleep soundly these past ten years and more?"

Luo Zhixue was utterly ashamed and could only hurriedly kneel down and say, "I am ashamed, I know my crime."

Yuwen Lan ignored him and instead instructed the Minister of Revenue, "Reconsider the personnel for the position of Deputy Commissioner of the Salt and Iron Bureau. Remember to keep your eyes wide open this time."

The Minister of Revenue nervously responded with a "Yes," and glanced at Luo Zhixue, signaling him to leave quickly.

Standing for too long had even caused him to be scolded.

—Not repaying twenty taels of silver, truly shameless.

Luo Zhixue could only respond with a sound, regretting his actions but unable to change the past, and slunk out of the hall dejectedly.

After this small interlude, the water music and dance performance on the lake had finished, and the important content of today's water show was about to begin.

The first event was a boat race, similar to a swimming competition in later times.

At this time, dozens of soldiers were already prepared on large boats in the lake, with twenty people standing ready for each round.

With the sound of gongs and drums, the entire audience held their breath and watched intently. Then, at the commander's signal, twenty soldiers leapt into the water simultaneously, racing towards the shore.

As the gongs and drums sounded again, the lake surface was filled with splashing water, and the soldiers moved through the water as smoothly as fish, leaving the onlookers in awe.

Ms. Zhu couldn't help but whisper to her daughter in admiration, "They swim faster than fish! This competition is wonderful to watch!"

Yanshu smiled and agreed, "There will be even more exciting events later."

However, in her heart, she lamented—these soldiers were still wearing clothes. If they could wear only swimming trunks like in later times, showing off their inverted triangle physiques, that would be even more pleasing to the eye!

Yuwen Lan, who unexpectedly overheard this, thought: "???"

She actually wanted to see other people's bodies???

Wasn't looking at his not enough???

However, what did she mean by "later times"?

Could that be the source of her special abilities?

Just as he was thinking this, a cheer erupted from the lake, signaling the end of the first round of the boat race.

Immediately after, the second round of soldiers entered the water.

This continued for eight rounds, with the three fastest from each round selected for the final competition. The ultimate winner would receive a generous monetary reward.

Of course, considering that the preliminary rounds had just finished and the soldiers' stamina might be affected, the final race would take place in the afternoon.

However, there were still exciting competitions to come, such as the Golden Bowl contest.

First, two teams of soldiers wearing red and yellow uniforms waited in the water. With the sound of gongs and drums, the commander threw a golden bowl into the water. At his signal, the two teams of soldiers began to compete for it.

During the contest, they cooperated with each other, employing various formations and tactics for both offense and defense, creating a spectacular sight.

Yanshu thought to herself, isn't this just like water polo from later times?

Tsk tsk, although the current scene was already quite impressive, if these muscular men could also change into the sleek little swimming trunks of later times, fully displaying their solid muscles and physiques while competing, it would certainly be even more eye-catching!

Yuwen Lan, who was quietly observing her, thought: "???"

Again with the "later times"?

Could it be that men there could be so shameless as to let others see their bodies so casually?

It's truly frightening!

After four rounds of the Golden Bowl contest, the top two teams were selected for the final competition in the afternoon.

Just as the audience was still savoring the excitement, the impressive water acrobatics began.

To the sound of drums and flutes, a painted boat entered everyone's view. On the boat, people performed tricks with knives and sticks, executing beautiful and thrilling martial arts moves in time with the gongs and drums, captivating the audience.

Ms. Zhu whispered to her daughter in admiration again, "How do they not get dizzy? We can't even open our eyes when we're on a boat."

Yanshu smiled and said, "They are specialized naval soldiers who have trained countless times. Of course they won't get dizzy. Besides, how could they fight in battles if they got seasick?"

Ms. Zhu nodded in agreement, smiling. Then she heard her daughter say, "Mother, try some of the snacks on the table. The imperial kitchen's skills are quite good."

Ms. Zhu responded and glanced at the table, surprised to see—

That plate of book-shaped pastries was actually made of pancakes?

Tsk tsk, do people in the palace also like to eat this kind of thing?

She quietly looked around the hall and saw that most people were focused on watching the acrobatics and weren't eating anything. However, among the male guests near her husband, there was an elegantly dressed middle-aged man eagerly enjoying the pancake books.

And he was eating them page by page, without any accompaniment...

Ms. Zhu thought, doesn't he find it choking?

He could at least roll it up with something to make it easier to bite...

As the acrobatics on the painted boat finished, another small boat entered the water, signaling the start of the most attractive water puppet show.

On the small boat was a miniature colored pavilion with three small doors at the bottom. With a light drumbeat, the doors opened, and an even smaller boat emerged from within. On it sat a small wooden puppet holding a fishing rod with a fishing line that dangled into the water, presenting the image of someone fishing.

The little wooden puppet could blink its eyes and move its mouth to sing. It sang for a while, then suddenly jerked its fishing line and actually caught a small live fish from the water, which was quite remarkable.

For a moment, everyone watched intently, even Lan Jun and the other children forgot to make a fuss and focused on watching.

The little wooden puppet caught five or six fish in a row, filling its small boat. Then it sailed back through the small colorful gate. Immediately after, more puppets emerged from the colorful gate and began to perform pre-arranged plays.

Stories like Emperor Wen of Wei raising an army, the Legend of the White Snake, the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, and Sun Wukong causing havoc in the Dragon Palace were performed one after another, leaving the audience in awe. It was incredibly entertaining.

Even the Empress Dowager rarely smiled, but she nodded and said, "Today's program is arranged very well, much better than before."

As soon as she finished speaking, an official from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices who was attending nearby hurriedly said, "This is thanks to Consort Yi's suggestion that we were able to adjust the program in time."

The Empress Dowager nodded, looking at Yanshu with approval.

This girl certainly had a talent for matters of food, drink, and entertainment.

After watching three or four puppet shows, it was time for lunch.

The noon banquet was set up in the hall, featuring mainly fresh fish from the Golden Bright Lake.

There were dishes like steamed perch, braised fish head, salt and pepper shrimp, braised soft-shelled turtle, salt-baked crab, as well as milk soup with water shield and silverfish omelet. While not as luxurious as bear's paw or deer tendon, they were very flavorful.

As everyone was enjoying the food, a storyteller took the stage on a nearby painted boat and began to tell stories.

As luck would have it, it was a story by the Carefree Young Master, and the first tale was "The Romantic Scholar and the Beautiful Lady."

This was the first time this item had been included this year, and everyone immediately pricked up their ears to listen.

Of course, listening to the story didn't interfere with eating. They could eat and listen at the same time, making it even more enjoyable.

However, Lord Lu, the Minister of Works, could hardly eat his meal, his heart pounding with excitement—

Heavens, to be able to hear the Carefree Young Master's story in such an occasion!

The Court of Imperial Sacrifices really knew how to arrange things!

They understood him!!!

As a die-hard fan, he of course knew that "The Romantic Scholar and the Beautiful Lady" was the Carefree Young Master's first story, and he had read it countless times.

But revisiting it in such a setting with everyone, coupled with the storyteller's interpretation, gave it a whole new flavor!

Of course, he wasn't the only one excited. Most of the people present were listening with great interest, empathizing with the twists and turns of the plot—

When they heard about the courtesan generously giving gold to help the scholar take the imperial examination, everyone praised her loyalty and righteousness;

When they heard about the scholar abandoning his former lover after achieving success, they all shook their heads in disgust;

Later, when the courtesan worked hard to establish her own business, they all nodded in approval;

And when her son entered officialdom and was bullied and harmed by that scholar, everyone was indignant.

Fortunately, in the end, they heard that evil was repaid with evil, and everyone applauded and cheered, making the atmosphere very lively.

Seeing this scene, Yanshu was also very moved and gratified, and even her awkwardness improved considerably.

As the first story ended and while the audience was still savoring it, the storyteller began to tell the second story - "The Clever Wife's Treatment of the Philanderer."

However, just as it began, when the story mentioned the husband frequenting brothels, it was suddenly interrupted.

"Forgive this old man for speaking frankly, but such vulgar stories are not suitable for performance on such an occasion."

Everyone was stunned and turned to look. The speaker was a white-haired old man in his sixties.

Yanshu remembered that he had been introduced earlier during the audience. He seemed to be the former emperor's tutor, named Zhuang Kaicheng.

This man had once been a minister to the former emperor, but after Yuwen Lan ascended to the throne, he no longer held a position at court.

Probably out of consideration for the former emperor's old affection, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices would still invite a group of the former emperor's old ministers to enjoy the water festival with the new emperor each year, to show the new emperor's care for them.

Of course, most of them were just there to eat, drink, and have fun, enjoying themselves.

Who would have thought that this one would stand up and say the story was inappropriate?

Seeing this situation, Yuwen Lan asked, "What does Master Zhuang find vulgar about this story?"

The old man replied, "Your Majesty has heard it too. The woman in the previous story came from a brothel, which I found inappropriate. I was trying to endure it, but now this story mentions brothels again. Such dirty and filthy places being frequently mentioned by the storyteller, isn't it an insult to Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager's ears? It's truly harmful to public morals and extremely inappropriate."

At these words, everyone was stunned.

— The word "brothel" couldn't even be mentioned?

Wasn't this being a bit too nitpicky?

But then, the old Zhuang added, "I also think that the author of these stories is too lacking in ambition. Since ancient times, there have been so many stories of heroes, righteousness, loyalty between rulers and subjects, and filial piety to write about. Yet they choose to write stories about things happening in brothels. It's truly despicable."

As he finished speaking, Yanshu raised an eyebrow.

What? This person actually called her despicable?

Of course, everyone else looked surprised as well.

Didn't this old man pay attention to current affairs? Didn't he know that the Carefree Young Master's stories were the most popular nowadays?

As a die-hard fan of the Carefree Young Master, Lu Kaihe, the Minister of Works, couldn't help but speak up, "Master Zhuang's words are mistaken. If the author doesn't write about these stories, does it mean they never happened? If we don't talk about them in such occasions, do brothels cease to exist in this world? All people, be they scholars, farmers, artisans, or merchants, are Your Majesty's subjects. Your Majesty cares for the people's feelings and loves them like his own children. Why shouldn't we listen to their stories?"

This rapid-fire questioning left the old man speechless and made everyone else applaud.

— Tsk, this Minister of Works, who usually seemed so serious and taciturn, who knew he had such eloquence!

Yanshu was also very moved, thinking that she must find an opportunity to give her die-hard fan an autograph after the banquet.

At the same time, she was also curious.

Was this old Zhuang some kind of moral paragon? Even writing a story about a brothel made someone despicable in his eyes?

Then she heard the system snort, [This man is truly despicable. He came from a poor family, and his wife worked the fields and raised pigs to support his studies for the imperial examination. But after he succeeded, he looked down on his farmer wife. Instead, he took a noble concubine in the capital. Since then, whenever he was posted to various places, he only took this beautiful concubine with him, introducing her as his official wife, while leaving his first wife in their hometown, never mentioning her.]

Yanshu, [Heh.]

What was going on today? These despicable people were all coming out to show their true colors!