Eunuch Liu replied in a low voice: "The servant is here."
"Notice that anyone who didn't come to court today, no matter what the weird and outrageous reason is, will have 10 taels of silver deducted from their salary this month."
Eunuch Liu was somewhat speechless. Is 10 taels of silver a lot of money? How could the emperor be so stingy in deducting money?
…
Dagua Street, the backyard of Xiang’s roasted nuts shop.
The mule was still neighing, and everyone was lying comfortably on the recliners with Xiang Hua, eating melon seeds and chatting about gossip.
Xiang Hua was delivering wave after wave of melons to the people lying in a row.
"Do you know? The sly old man from East Street is the bad landlord who used a lantern to assess damages. His house was recently demolished for illegal construction, and he was fined a large sum of money. He couldn't even afford to wear his underwear. It was really gratifying."
The civil and military officials had heard Xiang Hua talk about this story in the court before, but they didn’t expect to hear about the sequel of this story today.
Not bad, not bad. It’s a pleasure to be able to eat a whole melon.
Xiang Hua took a bite of the watermelon that Chi Gua handed to her, wiped the juice from the corner of her mouth, and continued speaking.
"Also, Wu Laoshi, the troublemaker from West Street, recently sued his wife to the county government, demanding compensation for his mental damages over the years. His wife was beaten by her three lovers to the point that she couldn't get out of bed."
Everyone sighed and encouraged Wu Laoshi.
"Well done, Wu Laoshi. That's what you should do. Make that slut lose her reputation and pay the price."
"Yes, if an honest person is bullied severely, he will resist."
"If this happened to me, I would have stabbed that bitch to death."
"For example, right now, the emperor is squeezing our salaries and not paying them. He is bullying us honest people. He is sure that we dare not resist, so he keeps delaying."
"That's right, the emperor is bullying us honest people, we can't let him succeed. Otherwise, we will become the second Wu Laoshi."
"Yes, that's right."
Everyone responded, and even touched the melon seeds in their hands and ate them like drinking wine.
The yard of Xiang Hua's house was filled with the sound of people cracking melon seeds and the braying of mules.
It was at this time that Xiang Daguan returned from court.
He felt a headache when he saw the civil and military officials lying in rows as if they were on vacation.
These people have no idea what's going on and are still leisurely strolling here.
"Ahem, Hua'er, you'd better go to court with your father tomorrow. Just like all the others, if the emperor gets angry, the consequences will be serious."
Everyone stopped cracking melon seeds and looked at the official.
Prime Minister Gongsun Tudou asked, "Why is the emperor so angry? Is he going to chop off our heads?"
Sima Ruhua also asked: "Isn't it going to be torn into pieces by five horses? Or is it going to be slow execution?"
Shangguan Dazhuang patted his chest and said indifferently, "Everyone has to die, sooner or later. In this case, let the storm come even harder."
Official Xiang found what everyone said ridiculous.
He seriously suspected that these people were drunk, but they didn't have any wine glasses in their hands. Could it be that they were drunk from eating melon seeds? !
"The emperor said that he will deduct 10 taels of silver from your salary. If you don't go for one day, 10 taels will be deducted. If you don't go again, you will starve to death in the future."
Everyone was silent.
Xiang thought he had fooled everyone and looked very proud.
You guys were so tough just now, why do you become so weak when you hear that your money will be deducted?
Hahahaha.
After a moment of silence, everyone suddenly burst into laughter.
Because everyone laughed so loudly, Little Trumpet was frightened and ran around the backyard excitedly.
It knocked down Xiang Daguan all of a sudden, and he fell flat on his face.
Everyone laughed even louder, especially Shangguan Dazhuang, who laughed like a goose.
When the civil and military officials in the court heard Shangguan Dazhuang's goose-like cry, they laughed even more happily.
There was a group of people, some laughed like pigs, some laughed like ducks, and some rolled on the ground with laughter.
Suddenly, in the Hua family's yard, a group of people were stumbling around, and the laughter of various animals could be heard.
Xiang the official got up from the ground angrily and said, "What's so funny? The emperor can deduct your salary today and chop off your heads tomorrow."
No one agreed.
"Isn't it just a deduction of 10 taels of salary? Let him deduct it. It's not going to be paid anyway, so what difference does it make whether it's deducted or not?"
"That's right. If the emperor really chops off our heads tomorrow, he will find someone to replace us and not pay us wages."
"Then that person went on strike, and that person was also chopped off."
"If we continue to cut them down like this, will there be any people left in our Great Gua Country?"
Xiang Hua was very satisfied with everyone's reaction. Fortunately, no one deserted the battlefield and now everyone stood firmly together.
"Dad, you can remain silent, but don't laugh at those who are brave enough to fight for it. When we fight for our own interests, it will also benefit you."
Xiang Hua knew that her father was stubborn and would not join their strike, so she could only give her a hint.
He waved his sleeves at the official and left angrily.
As soon as he left, joy returned to the yard.
Prime Minister Gongsun Tudou asked Xiang Hua while cracking melon seeds with his not-so-good teeth.
"Master Xiang, shall we continue the morning court tomorrow?"
“Everything went according to plan.”
…
At the next morning court session, all those who had asked for leave yesterday came to attend.
The emperor looked at the civil and military officials below with a proud look on his face.
Humph, you were a miner yesterday, but today you still came to court obediently.
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