Chapter 69: Recite a poem in exchange for pig's trotters!
After Ye Youyue and little A Zi came back from washing their hands, they sat obediently in front of Xiao Yan, just for tomorrow's big pig's trotter!
"Come and read with my brother the prince, while we hoe the fields at noon..."
What Xiao Yan taught little A Zi was "Song of Pity the Peasants".
After hearing this poem, Ye Youyue was shocked. This poem vividly describes the difficulties of farming for farmers.
"Your Highness? Is this a poem you wrote? It's absolutely amazing!"
Since he came to the Eastern Palace on the orders of Hu Shanxiang, Xiao Yan has never been seen reading, let alone writing poetry.
Today's poem made her look at Xiao Yan in a different light. Which woman doesn't like a talented man?
"Oh, you mean this poem? Hey, I just made it when I was free. It's perfect for teaching children!"
Ye Youyue rolled her eyes when she heard that. It was a bit too much to say that such a good poem was just written casually.
Many people may not be able to write such a good poem in their entire life.
"Do you remember how to read it?"
The little girl bit her fingers and read word by word.
"Remember this, Prince brother!"
These words shocked Xiao Yan and Ye Youyue. Is his memory so good?
"Okay, then you read this poem carefully to the prince brother."
The little girl didn't waste any time and even directly passed the paper over to him. This action shocked Xiao Yan and Ye Youyue even more.
Is this the rhythm you need to recite? Did you remember it just after reading it once?
"When the sun is high in the sky, I hoe the field and my sweat drips on the field..."
"I've finished reciting it!"
After the little girl finished reciting the whole poem, Xiao Yan was stunned. What kind of little monster did he encounter?
"Okay , okay, very good. Do you know what this means?"
At this time, the little girl shook her head and said, "Well... I don't know."
The little girl felt a little embarrassed.
Xiao Yan immediately breathed a sigh of relief . If this girl could understand the meaning, she would definitely be a child prodigy.
"Okay, then Brother Prince will explain to you what each sentence means."
“…”
Xiao Yan carefully explained to the little girl the meaning of each sentence and the implications behind them.
"Then the meaning of this poem is to tell us to save food. It's not easy for farmers to grow food, right?"
Xiao Yan nodded seriously. This girl's comprehension ability was so terrifying. It was very good. She was definitely a rough diamond.
"That's exactly right, and I remember it very well."
The little girl quickly said, "Does that mean we can eat pig's trotters tomorrow?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan and Ye Youyue were speechless. It turned out that they worked so hard just for food!
"No problem, let Sister Youyue stew the pig's trotters for you tomorrow!"
When the little girl heard that there was pig's trotters to eat, she cheered with joy.
" Yeah, we'll have pig's trotters to eat tomorrow!"
Looking at the excited little girl, Xiao Yan said to her: "Don't be too happy too soon. Go back and review seriously. Tomorrow, let Sister Youyue check it. If you don't know how to do it, you'll lose your pig's trotter!"
The little girl, who was originally very excited, suddenly became dispirited.
"Okay, I'll study hard!"
Xiao Yan smiled and nodded, "Alright, let Sister Youyue take you back. I still have things to deal with and can't take care of you!"
"Tomorrow, Prince Brother will eat pig's trotters with you!"
Mingde Palace.
After the little girl returned to the palace, she kept muttering to herself, fearing that she would forget that there would be no pig's trotters to eat tomorrow!
This happened to be heard by Hu Shanxiang.
"What are you mumbling?"
When the little girl saw Hu Shanxiang, she immediately pounced on her.
"Mother!"
"Hey, be gentle! Why are you panicking? What were you mumbling just now?"
The little girl whispered in Hu Shanxiang's ear: "Mother, I'm telling you, don't tell anyone else. I made a deal with the prince!"
Hearing this, Hu Shanxiang immediately became alert and suspected that Xiao Yan was asking Xiao A Zi to get information from her.
"What kind of deal is this? It's so mysterious?"
When the little girl heard Hu Shanxiang say it in such a loud voice, she quickly made a gesture.
"Shh, keep your voice down. I'm telling you in secret, but you can't tell anyone else."
"There are so many delicious foods at the Crown Prince's place, but he won't let me eat any. He will only let me eat if I recite a poem every day and check if there are no problems the next day."
"If people knew about this and started reciting poems, wouldn't the delicious food no longer belong to me?"
"So keep your voice down and don't let others know!"
After hearing the little girl's explanation, Hu Shanxiang felt like crying but had no tears. She is really... a foodie!
"Hey, I thought it was something else? Don't worry, no one will snatch it from you."
"Then tell me which famous poem you memorized today?"
The little girl shook her head and said, "It's not from a famous writer, it was just written by the prince himself!"
"I'll recite it to you!"
"When the sun is high in the sky, hoeing the field..."
After listening to the little girl's poem, Hu Shanxiang was stunned. As a royal concubine, she was naturally proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
You can still tell whether this poem is good or bad by listening.
"This... is it really written by your prince brother himself?"
The little girl nodded seriously and said, "Of course, I watched Brother Crown Prince write it."
"He also said that if I can still remember it tomorrow, he will give me a big pig's trotter to eat!"
Hu Shanxiang seemed to have thought of something, and her eyes became gentle.
This is obviously using food to guide the little ones to learn.
"Then memorize it well. Come back and tell me tomorrow when you learn something new. If you really remember it all, I will reward you with something delicious!"
But little A Zi refused bluntly.
"No, the food here is not as good as the one at the prince's place!"
After these words were spoken, Hu Shanxiang was speechless!
"You little foodie, I raised you for nothing!"
After Xiao A Zi left, Sande came in and handed in a stack of memorials.
"Your Highness, this is a memorial sent by the Ministry of Personnel. It is a method of employing officials starting this year. Please take a look!"
Xiao Yan opened the memorial, and saw that all the people listed were people recommended by officials. If they wanted to hire these people, they had to get Xiao Yan's approval.
Before, there was no one to regulate the country, so Hu Zhenghe had the final say on this matter alone. But now it is different. It must be approved by Xiao Yan.
"Tell the Ministry of Personnel that none of these people are needed. Ask their ministers to come to me!"
Sande was puzzled when he heard this: "Your Highness, are you dissatisfied with these people? If they ask about it, I will be able to give you a reply!"
Xiao Yan smiled and looked at Sande: "I want to ask you, has our dynasty always selected officials by recommendation?"
Sande nodded seriously and said, "Yes, it has been like this since the founding of the dynasty. Does Your Highness have any questions?"
Xiao Yan frowned and said, "Questions? That's a big question. When someone comes, just listen over there!"
Sande didn't understand, so he could only go to the Ministry of Personnel with his questions.
