CHAPTER 1625: CHAPTER 1600: JUDGING OTHERS BY ONESELF

Manbao and Bai Shan frowned together and asked, "When did this happen, and how come we don’t know?"

"Just now."

Manbao and Bai Shan looked up at the morning sun in the sky and asked, "It’s so early, and isn’t today a rest day?"

"Huh? Then it must have been yesterday afternoon."

The three: ... Can you be a bit more precise?

Bai Shan sighed and turned to Manbao, "Looks like this matter isn’t resolved yet."

Manbao waved her small hand and said, "It’s none of our business now. Let the adults handle their own issues. Primus Pavilion, right? Have they invited me?"

Liu Huan laughed, "He announced that anyone from Chongwen Pavilion can go, naturally including you. Speaking of which, you’re quite unlucky this time. I heard you were singled out and got a salary deduction?"

Always bringing up what makes people uncomfortable, how annoying.

Manbao turned around and handed her basket to Daji who was waiting nearby, then pulled Chiji and jumped onto the horse, "Let’s go, we’re going to feast."

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang also handed their luggage to Daji, then mounted their horses together and asked Yin Huo, "Are you going?"

Yin Huo thought for a moment. He had to "fall sick" once he went back, and this meal would probably be the only one he could have outside for some time, so he nodded, turned, and got on his own carriage.

A group of students from Chongwen Pavilion didn’t even go home after leaving the palace and went straight to Primus Pavilion.

People like Cheng Er were not interested in attending such gatherings. Although they weren’t much older than Zhao Liulang and the others, they subconsciously divided into two groups in Chongwen Pavilion.

One side consisted of the Crown Prince’s confidants, recruited by him, mainly to work and gain experience; the other side included Zhao Liulang, Feng Zongping, and Bai Shan, who were either chosen or placed there, mostly to accompany the Crown Prince in his studies.

Cheng Er and his friends didn’t like playing with Zhao Liulang and his friends, and Zhao Liulang and his friends didn’t like playing with them either.

So, including Manbao, only ten people went to the banquet, all of whom were there for study.

Zhao Liulang was delighted to see everyone had arrived without skipping anyone and waved grandly, "Order whatever you want to eat, today’s meal is on me, don’t hold back."

Bai Shan laughed, didn’t even glance at the menu, and directly named two signature dishes of Primus Pavilion. Zhao Liulang happily patted his shoulder and said, "Exactly, just like Bai Shan, don’t hold back."

No one planned on holding back, a large amount of food and drink was ordered without concern for whether they could actually finish it.

The food in the palace was not bad, but surely wasn’t as comforting. They weren’t princes or princesses; if they wanted good food, they had to pay at the Bureau of Food Supplies, which was expensive and wouldn’t necessarily satisfy their cravings.

So every time they left the palace, they wanted to enjoy themselves.

This time, they were indulging even more.

With the food and drink served, everyone picked up their chopsticks; Zhao Liulang poured drinks and raised his glass to the group, "This time we’ve been through hard times together. In the future, we’ll have to work together. We can’t let outsiders bully us, thinking just because we’re students from Chongwen Pavilion they can treat us poorly."

Everyone lifted their glasses noisily; Manbao didn’t like alcohol, so she just clinked but didn’t drink, and Yin Huo merely lifted his glass.

Zhao Liulang knew Yin Huo couldn’t drink alcohol, so he didn’t force him but had a bit of an issue with Manbao, "It’s not hard liquor, you’re old enough, how could a sip hurt?"

Manbao said, "It’s bitter, not tasty at all."

Everyone laughed heartily; Yi Ziyang chuckled while drinking, "You just haven’t discovered the good taste of alcohol yet."

They let her off.

The group ate from morning until noon, only dispersing when family came to find them.

Manbao, full and satisfied, rode Chiji home under the blazing sun.

The family wasn’t really worried about them because Daji had taken their belongings back early in the morning and informed everyone that they were dining at a restaurant, invited by classmates.

So when Manbao came home, Old Zhou asked her, "Did you eat well?"

Manbao nodded, "Very well, I feel like I don’t need dinner tonight. Dad, their braised pork and steamed pork were really delicious. I’ll treat you all to a meal there next time."

Listening to this, Old Zhou’s mouth almost watered. He directly turned to Junior Ms.Qian, "Eldest’s wife, do we have meat at home? How about we have steamed meat tonight?"

Junior Ms.Qian agreed with a smile, "Yes, although there isn’t much. I’ll go with Lijun to buy some more later. We can steam more, and if we keep it chilled in the well, it can be eaten tomorrow too."

If you had to say what Junior Ms.Qian was most satisfied with about this home, it was that it had many wells.

Basically, every courtyard had a well, and there were two ancient wells in the garden. The water was very good, cool in the hot summer, perfect for keeping meat chilled or cooling fruits and vegetables. And they didn’t need to carry water out, how great!

Listening to this, Manbao thought she could actually eat a bit tonight.

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang also felt they could still eat, so they looked at Manbao.

Manbao, being particularly clever, invited them over, "Why don’t you come to my house for dinner tonight?"

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang nodded together.

After Manbao ate at their house for several months, they could finally come over to her house for a meal.

Manbao rarely returned, so Old Zhou began to boast about his achievements over the past eight days, "Your brother and I have walked through many market areas in the capital and finally gathered the fruit trees you wanted to plant. Go see, the orchard now has fruit trees planted, and in two or three years they will bear fruit. At that time, you can just stroll around and pick fruit to eat."

Manbao nodded repeatedly, suddenly doubting her stomach size, but overeating is not good; today she had already made a mistake.

Old Zhou asked, "But I forgot to ask you, I heard that the official land is not yours after you leave government service. What about this house, if you’re not in office in the future..."

"Don’t worry, Dad. Even if I’m not in office in the future, this house is mine," Manbao said. "It wasn’t given by the court and the emperor; it’s a gift from the Crown Prince, and the house deed is with me."

Old Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief, "That’s good. I was worried that the fruit trees planted would benefit someone else in the future."

He looked around, then asked quietly, "Did you ask the people in the palace? Can we cultivate the official land ourselves?"

Manbao: ...

She didn’t dare to admit she forgot, so she maintained a straight face and said, "Dad, it’s only August now. The land will be allocated to me after this year’s crops are harvested. The land starting in September will belong to me."

Old Zhou understood, "Yes, indeed, the previous official who provided the seeds and labor genuinely deserves the credit. I heard that Yongzhou suffered from disasters this year, many crops dried up, and the harvest isn’t good."

Manbao nodded.

Old Zhou: "So the land should be managed by ourselves. If handed over to the officials in the palace, they would undoubtedly take more care of their own land; there’s hardly any attention left for yours."

He speculated on others’ intentions with his own, using an example and asked, "For instance, if a place suffered from disasters and needed irrigation, would you water your own land first or theirs?"

Without waiting for Manbao to respond, he answered, "Of course, you’d water your own land first, then relatives’, then neighbors’ and friends’. By the time it’s your land, there’s no water left; do you think you would still have any profits?"

Manbao opened her mouth wide, eventually finding her voice, "Dad, you’re so smart, but the officials from the Ministry of Revenue managing the official land don’t seem to have official land themselves."