Chapter 359: Who is impersonating?
He just counted it several times and pondered it for a long time comparing it with the real object. Eunuch Lin did not write it wrong.
But, isn’t the output of sweet potatoes too scary?
If these sweet potatoes were food, wouldn't the people of Sheng'an Kingdom have a good life?
"Your Majesty, can you tell me quietly, are these sweet potatoes edible?"
Du Hongdao suppressed his thoughts, quietly approached Emperor Yongping, and asked in a low voice.
"Hmph! Guess."
Emperor Yongping raised his head proudly and did not answer directly.
Chu Qinshu was stunned. This little old man actually had such a naughty side?
But it's true, in front of Du Hongdao, an old minister, it was rare for Emperor Yongping to pretend.
The emperor was sometimes a little wary of the identity of the historian.
"Your Majesty, if you don't tell me, I will go to the field and get one to taste."
Du Hongdao also has a bad temper.
If you don't hear the answer, you have to verify it yourself. You have to figure it out no matter what.
"If you dare to take one, you will be fined three months' salary."
Emperor Yongping threatened.
"If you don't want to take it, then don't take it. I will dig it myself."
Du Hongdao raised his eyes and looked around, as if he was looking for a target.
"If you dare to dig underground, I will fine you half a year's salary."
Emperor Yongping was afraid that he might become stubborn and disobedient, so he continued to threaten him.
"Your Majesty, rest assured. I can still dig up sweet potatoes even if I don't go to the fields."
As Du Hongdao spoke, he squatted down and rummaged in the grass by the roadside.
After digging a few times, he actually found a piece of sweet potato vine. He pulled it, but it didn't move. The other end of the sweet potato vine was indeed growing in the soil.
Du Hongdao didn't care about anything and pulled out the weeds around the sweet potato vines and started digging with his hands.
Emperor Yongping: "......"
How should we calculate this one growing in the grass by the roadside?
Lin Fu: “…”
It doesn't grow in the ground, nor has it been dug. It seems that the emperor let Du Yushi take advantage of an opportunity today?
Lin Fu didn't dare to look at Emperor Yongping, so he stared at Du Hongdao's hand, as if thinking about something.
Du Hongdao didn't care what Emperor Yongping thought. He was a historian, and nothing he wanted to verify could stump him.
Isn't it just digging sweet potatoes? He really goes to his own farm every year to harvest in autumn. Harvesting crops can't stop him.
The imperial guards also noticed his abnormality, but he did not go to the fields or step on the sweet potatoes. He was just digging the soil at the edge of the field, right under the emperor's nose.
Should this be blocked or not?
Several guards who were nearby looked at each other for a while, and when they saw that the emperor did not speak, they pretended not to see him and continued to patrol other places.
"Master Du, let me help you. I have a shovel."
Lin Fu found a small iron shovel from somewhere and held it in his hand, shaking it in front of Du Hongdao as if to show off.
Although the roads in this village are not as hard as those outside, it is still very difficult to dig out the sweet potatoes without tools.
"Don't bother Eunuch Lin for help. I'll just lend you the iron shovel."
Du Hongdao didn't think twice and grabbed it as soon as he finished speaking.
Just like that, in the blink of an eye, the iron shovel that was just in Lin Fu's hand was in Du Hongdao's hand.
Lin Fu: “…”
Isn't Du Hongdao a civil servant? How can he be so smart at the age of over 60?
The shovel is his, so shouldn't he get half of the sweet potatoes he dug out?
Emperor Yongping: "......"
It's so embarrassing, who is impersonating Lin Fu?
Where did all the martial arts skills go? Where did the spiritual water that I drank every day go?
Du Hongdao didn't care what Emperor Yongping and Lin Fu were thinking. He was concentrating on using a shovel to peel sweet potatoes.
With that serious attitude, if he said he was digging ginseng, I'm afraid people would believe him.
A quarter of an hour later, he had dug a hole where the sweet potato vines grew, and in the hole lay a few sweet potatoes of moderate size.
These must have grown accidentally on the road. The yield is not as high as those grown in the field, with only five sweet potatoes of different sizes.
Du Hongdao didn't know whether this nest had a lot of holes or a few, but what he dug was his, and no one could snatch it away.
Considering that besides Emperor Yongping and Lin Fu, there were other colleagues around him, he cleaned the dirt off the five sweet potatoes and stuffed them directly into his sleeve pocket.
Emperor Yongping: "......"
Did you know he was going to rob you?
Lin Fu: “…”
What about the agreement to meet and split the money in half? I even provided a shovel.
Officials around Du Hongdao: "......"
Oops, I was too slow.
"Thank you for your iron shovel, Eunuch Lin."
Du Hongdao returned the shovel in his hand to Lin Fu, and then slowly took out the smallest sweet potato from his sleeve pocket.
Well, it’s about the size of Chu Qinshu’s fist.
Then, in front of Emperor Yongping, he used his thumb nail to peel off the sweet potato skin piece by piece.
When the red flesh inside was half an inch long, he couldn't wait to take a bite.
After chewing it carefully, he tasted it seriously and nodded, "Your Majesty, this sweet potato is edible, sweet and crispy. If it is cooked, it can probably be eaten as a meal."
Du Hongdao is indeed an experienced man. He can tell the difference between sweet potatoes and other grains with just one bite.
Whether it is rice, wheat, millet or soybeans, they all need to be processed before they can be eaten. Only sweet potatoes can be eaten without processing.
"Humph, you're the smart one."
Emperor Yongping didn't want to pay attention to him, and was thinking about how to coax the four sweet potatoes that he had put away out, even if he could only get half of them back.
In the past few years, he was always impeached by historians because of the empress.
In front of Du Hongdao, he rarely showed his toughness except when he gambled with the heir of Prince Shou.
But today it was not him who was impeached, but Du Hongdao who blatantly took advantage of the royal land.
If he wants to be tough on this matter, he can certainly be tough on it.
"You must hand over the sweet potatoes you hid. You are not allowed to take them out of the farmland privately."
When Emperor Yongping saw Du Hongdao stuff the sweet potato he had just taken a bite of into his sleeve pocket, he felt a little resentful.
He hadn't even tasted the sweet potatoes from the farm yet, but this old guy got them first.
"Your Majesty, I did not bring it in private. I brought it in front of you. And what I dug was not produced in the farmland."
Du Hongdao straightened his official robe, pulled up his sleeve pockets, and acted as if nothing had happened.
But in his heart he thought that this trip was not in vain. After he asked the farmer how to grow sweet potatoes, he would be able to plant a sweet potato field on his farm next spring.
Thinking that he was able to plant sweet potatoes before other court officials, he couldn't help but feel happy.
"It's not the produce from the fields, it's the produce from the farms. Logically, they should all belong to the royal family. It's wrong for you to hide them."
Emperor Yongping was stumped by Du Hongdao's unreasonable arguments and thought for a while before he began to refute.
However, his rebuttal sounded a little lacking in confidence.
When Chu Qinshu heard him say this, she knew that he did not take Du Hongdao's behavior seriously.
If it were true, he could be punished severely for secretly digging the produce from the royal fields. Why would he bother arguing with him?
"Um, no."
Chu Qinshu saw that the situation was getting lively and did not mind making things worse, so she spoke up to support Emperor Yongping.
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