The afternoon sun turned from scorching to scalding, and the flowers in the imperial garden and the golden glazed tiles of the palace lost their color. Occasionally, a few ants emerged from under the trees, and were immediately scalded back into the shadows by the scalding air.
In Le Zhi Zhai, the bastard could not help but let someone put an ice basin in the hall, but it was still difficult to resist the scorching heat.
Zhu Yunxi took an ice towel and kept wiping his head and face.
As a king, he must have the rules of a king. No matter how hot the weather is, he must wear a robe and a gauze crown. He can only wipe his body in a private place without any image, unbuttoning his clothes, and wearing shorts and vests like later generations.
Put on flip-flops, or take a dip in the pool, it’s a no-brainer.
"It's so hot today!" Zhu Yunxi changed another towel and put it under his arm to wipe the sweat. "I haven't felt this hot in the past years!" He said, looking at the sky outside, "Is it going to rain?"
The bastard was adding ice to the chilled sour plum soup. After putting two pieces in, he thought about it and took out one piece with a silver clip.
"Put more ice!" Zhu Yunxi laughed and scolded when he saw it, "Why, I can't even eat more ice?"
"Long live my lord!" Wang Ba Shai held the sour plum soup in both hands and put it on the royal table and smiled. "Although it is hot, you can't eat too much ice. You have already eaten several pieces in the morning. If you eat again, be careful with your stomach.
!”
Zhu Yunxi drank the sour plum soup in one gulp. The coolness in his mouth relieved the heat on his body, and he let out a sigh of relief.
The bastard took the feather fan from the palace maid and fanned it gently.
"I see why you are not hot at all?" Zhu Yunxi turned to look at the bastard. He was wearing a red robe, and his body and feet were tightly wrapped, but there was no sweat on his forehead. "It's such a hot day, why don't you come out?"
It’s not hot at all when you go in!”
As he spoke, he twisted his body again, "Why am I so hot?"
"Long live my Lord, you are full of fire!" The Bastard said with a smile, "I would like to say something disrespectful. Men of your age are most afraid of heat!"
"Is there a fire?" Zhu Yunxi was puzzled, "Don't you have one?"
"Slave...where did the fire come from!" The bastard laughed in a low voice, "How can you not have that blessing!"
"Oh, you are talking about inner fire!" Zhu Yunxi understood and said with a smile, "That's right, if you have fire in your body, then you will have to stab me again!"
The bastard said with a smile, "Long live my lord, this side of the Imperial Garden is on a high ground and is sunny. The sun shines down directly during the day. My slave, you might as well go to the West Palace side. It is a shady place and is cooler than this side."
Too much!"
The West Palace is the harem of the Forbidden City.
Hearing this, a picture emerged in Zhu Yunxi's mind. He was sitting under the grape trellis in the West Palace, surrounded by several concubines, holding iced grape wine in his hands, and behind him was a beautiful woman shaking a fan. The breeze was blowing, and laughter was continuous...
.....
"Hey!" Thinking of this, Zhu Yunxi sighed and pointed to the mountain-high memorial on the table, "Do you think I can walk away?"
As he said that, he suddenly became irritable again, "I wonder where Li Jinglong and his son are? How is He Guangyi doing over there?"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a eunuch kneeling at the door.
"Your Majesty, Hou Yong, the right servant of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, handed over the sign and is waiting outside the palace!"
"Why is he here?" Zhu Yunxi thought about it and sighed, "Let him come in!" Then he said to the bastard, "Change my clothes!"
When the ministers come, the king's airs must be raised, and he cannot sit around casually.
After waiting for a while, Hou Yong came in from outside under the guidance of the eunuch.
"Your Majesty, Hou Yong, comes to see the Emperor!"
"Get up!" Zhu Yunxi, wearing Su silk uniforms and sitting on the throne, smiled and said, "Come here, let Hou Aiqing sit down and serve herbal tea!"
Hou Yong was also very hot, and his temples were all wet. Moreover, he was wearing heavy official uniforms and an official hat.
Zhu Yunxi noticed that the skirt of Hou Yong's official uniform had white edges. He was wearing new clothes except for the shoes under his feet. Official uniforms in the Ming Dynasty had to be purchased by officials themselves. Hou Yong was like this
An upright official would probably wear an official uniform for a lifetime.
"You are much thinner than when you were in the Central Plains!" Zhu Yunxi looked at Hou Yong's face. He should be in his prime, but he had a trace of white hair on his temples. "You are also much older! Hou Aiqing, you are the Ming Dynasty.
Lord of the humerus, you should take good care of your body!"
"I dare not bother the emperor with his concern!" Hou Yong stood up hurriedly and said.
Zhu Yunxi smiled and laid hands, gesturing for the other party to sit down, "This is not a court meeting, only you and I, the monarch and my ministers, are talking. Why are there so many etiquettes!" He said, looking at the other party's feet, "Finally, you know how to change those open official boots.
New!”
"These are the newly made shoes for me by my mother!" Hou Yong lowered his head and said, "My mother came to the capital from her hometown and worked day and night to make them. Today I learned that I was coming to the palace to see you, so I specially asked me to put them on!
"
Hearing this, Zhu Yunxi felt slightly sad.
You can imagine a scene like this. In the swaying frame of the carriage, next to the broken lamp of the inn, the white-haired old woman was sewing for her son, stitch by stitch.
"The thread is in the hands of a loving mother, and the clothes are on the wanderer's body!" Zhu Yunxi said slowly.
As he spoke, it seemed that this topic was too heavy. Zhu Yunxi continued, "Didn't I tell you to take three days off and take your mother for a walk in the capital? Why are you in such a hurry to enter the palace?"
"It was my mother who told me that state affairs are important!" Hou Yong said sternly, "I met my mother's car outside the city, welcomed her to the capital, and lived in the house given by the emperor. My mother said to me, can my Hou family have a good life?
Today's dignity is all the grace of the Holy Emperor. As a minister, the country is the most important thing and the king is the most important thing. You can't abolish the official position for personal reasons!"
"What is my holy grace?" Zhu Yunxi waved his hand, "Sometimes, I feel very sorry for you honest officials! The salary of the Ming Dynasty is only so much, and you all support your family!"
A man in this era is not as simple as just supporting his wife and children. Moreover, the cost of being an official like Hou Yong is even greater. He has to take care of his parents, wife, children, relatives, and family members, and he also has to do good things in his hometown to gain a good reputation. In addition, there are also
They have to worry about the dignity of being an official. They have to take care of the sedan bearers and servants themselves, and they also need to have a staff around to help them handle official documents.
Beginning in the 20th year of Hongwu, the salary of officials in the Ming Dynasty changed from annual salary to monthly salary. The monthly salary of a third-grade official like Hou Yong is forty-eight dan. It seems like a lot, but there are many ways for officials to spend money.
.
Moreover, these forty-eight shilu rice are not distributed in full. Sometimes they are mixed with rags, rags, and other worthless things that have been accumulated in the treasury for several years.
Just this, the salary has improved a lot compared to the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
I remember that when the old man gave me a salary, it was half lumi and half treasure notes. Treasure notes are banknotes, and they have already started to depreciate before the Ministry of Finance prints them out. When I hold them in my hand, it feels hard to wipe my butt.
To be honest, Zhu Yunxi hated corrupt officials, but whenever he faced these honest officials, he always felt a little guilty in his heart.
"How many people are in your family?" Zhu Yunxi asked again.
"I have an old mother, an old wife, two brothers and six nephews!" Hou Yong said in a low voice.
What a big family, Zhu Yunxi sighed inwardly, and asked, "How many children do you have?"
"I only have one daughter!"
"That's not bad!"
"Seven sons!"
Suddenly, Zhu Yunxi's face turned red. How could he support these people with such a small salary?
As if he knew what he was thinking, Hou Yong said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, my salary is enough!" After saying that, he paused and said, "I read the books of sages. Since ancient times, sages have regarded diligence and thrift as a virtue, and it is good to be diligent and thrifty in running a household.
The way to live in the world and the family inheritance is not about money but family style!"
"I believe that having great power and money is a disaster rather than a blessing for your descendants!" Hou Yong continued, "No matter how rich you are, you can only have two meals a day, two bowls per meal. If you have porridge in the morning and dinner in the evening, you are worthy of being an official.
In my heart, everything I eat tastes sweet!"
"You really made me...ah!" Zhu Yunxi sighed, speechless.
He paused for a moment and smiled, "How is your mother?"