Starting from a thatched cottage, the farmer embarked on the road to wealth through imperial examina

Chapter 415 Official Airs

With an agile movement, Ye Changyan caught the strawberry thrown by Li Ping. Just when Zhu Yuchun was surprised, Ye Changyan reached out and handed the strawberry to Zhu Yuchun.

"Come, Big Brother, have a try."

Zhu Yuchun was stunned for a moment, without moving his hands. Seeing Zhu Yuchun in a daze, Ye Changyan thought that Zhu Yuchun thought the strawberries were not clean because they were not washed, so he stepped forward, took Zhu Yuchun's hand, and was about to stuff the strawberries into Zhu Yuchun's hand.

"Big Brother, these strawberries are not as dirty as you think. Besides, you won't get sick if you eat them uncleanly. Come and try them."

Ye Changyan stuffed the strawberry to Zhu Yuchun, then turned back, gave Li Ping a look, and spoke.

"Pingzi, give me another one, I want to try it too. I wonder how this year's first crop of strawberries tastes."

Hearing Ye Changyan's call, Li Ping squatted down again, picked one and threw it to Ye Changyan again. Ye Changyan took the strawberry and took a bite of it. Zhu Yuchun looked at the strawberry that was juicy as Ye Changyan bit it, and then thought about how Ye Changyan had just blurted out that the Fourth Prince was Pingzi, and was shocked again.

It seems that this junior brother really doesn't know the identity of the Fourth Prince. No wonder they can get along so casually. Zhu Yuchun sighed in his heart, ignorance is not a crime. Then he carefully put the strawberry in his hand into his mouth. After taking a bite, the sweet taste instantly hit every taste buds.

"Mmm! The strawberries are really good this year!"

Hearing Zhu Yuchun's praise, Ye Changyan smiled and pulled Zhu Yuchun to walk around in the greenhouse and began to look for strawberries among the strawberry seedlings.

Although Sang Li was a student from a foreign country, he had heard of Zhu Yuchun, who was considered a high-ranking official in Dasheng. He did not expect that an official of this rank would carry a basket and follow Ye Changyan, acting like a big brother who doted on his little junior fellow apprentice. He secretly praised Zhu Yuchun for not having any official airs at all.

Little did he know that at this moment, Zhu Yuchun was secretly praising the Fourth Prince in her heart. He was not at all delicate and pampered like other princes. The way he squatted on the ground picking strawberries was so approachable and easy to get along with.

"Master Zhu, although I am a foreign student, I have been in the capital of Shengguo for more than a year. It is rare to see an official like you who has no official airs. Even in our Sixteen Miao, it is quite rare to see such a high-ranking official without official airs."

Li Ping heard Sang Li teasing Zhu Yuchun, but he was very interested in how Zhu Yuchun would respond to Sang Li. So he squatted down and picked strawberries among the strawberry seedlings, while pricking up his ears in anticipation of Zhu Yuchun's answer.

"Friend Sang Li, there is no high-ranking official here today. It is just a rare day for fellow disciples to gather together. If you still put on an official air in front of your fellow disciples, wouldn't it be too pretentious?"

Zhu Yuchun's words made Li Ping's eyes light up. He did not expect Zhu Yuchun to answer like this, but it was very much to Li Ping's liking. Just as Zhu Yuchun said, today everyone was just out for fun. If he still acted superior in front of his junior brother, it would be too pretentious.

"Master Zhu, I heard that you are serving as an adjutant in the Ministry of Personnel of Sheng State. I also heard that this is a good position to manage an official hat. I wonder if Master Zhu can arrange a position for me when I finish my studies at the Imperial College?"

Li Ping didn't expect Sang Li to ask such a question, but it was not without precedent for foreign students to serve as officials in Dasheng. For example, in the Honglu Temple, there were many foreign students who served as translators.

Li Ping pricked up his ears again, expecting how Zhu Yuchun would answer, but before Zhu Yuchun could reply, he saw Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng both had sly smiles on their faces, and heard Ye Changyan joking at Sang Li.

"Ah Li, please stop teasing my senior brother. You are the young city lord of Youshui City. You will return to be the city lord of Youshui City in the future. How can you care about the official position arranged by the senior brother?"

"Hey, how do you know what city lord I'd like to be? Besides, if I really want to be a city lord, then I can be an official in Shengjing first, so I can gain some experience."

Sang Li was not afraid of Ye Changyan's teasing, and the reasons he gave were reasonable.

"Haha, if you don't want to go back and be your young city lord, Miss Ah Man may not agree. When the time comes, she will plant some grass ghost on you. Don't regret it!"

Li Ping was surprised. Could it be that the rumored grass ghost really existed in the Miao land? From Ye Changyan's joking tone, it seemed that he had seen the grass ghost before. It seemed that he had to ask Ye Changyan about the grass ghost in private.

Hearing Ye Changyan and Sang Li joking with each other, Zhu Yuchun smiled and spoke.

"My dear Sang Li, this foreign student wants to stay in Da Sheng to serve as an official. Da Sheng has clear regulations. If you really want to serve as an official in Da Sheng and gain experience, after you finish your studies at the Imperial College, you can apply for the government office that recruits foreign students and take the unified assessment. If you meet the requirements of the government office, you can naturally stay in Da Sheng to serve as an official."

Although Zhu Yuchun's answer was quite conventional, he did not take on too much responsibility in front of his junior fellow student for the sake of saving face. Instead, he gave suggestions according to the normal procedures with principles and bottom line. This made Li Ping like Zhu Yuchun's style even more.

Li Ping knew his father. Once his father took something to heart, he would have his own rules. The Dragon Boat Festival match-fixing case and the flood corruption case involved many officials. After dealing with a large number of officials, his father personally promoted a fifth-rank Dali Temple Zuo Sicheng to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, which caused quite a stir at the time.

Now it seems that although Zhu Yuchun is only in his early thirties, he is principled in doing things, loyal in his conduct, and does not use his power to bully others. No wonder the emperor values him so much.

After hearing what Zhu Yuchun said, Sang Li was teased by Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng again before he could ask Zhu Yuchun more questions. Li Ping also interjected at the right time. Zhu Yuchun gradually integrated into the conversation of these young people and was no longer as reserved in front of Li Ping, a descendant of a noble family.

While chatting, a few people walked around the greenhouse looking for ripe strawberries, and in a short while they filled the baskets they brought.

The basket in Li Ping's hand contained the largest and reddest strawberries. When Zhu Yuchun saw the innocent smile of the Fourth Prince, he felt deeply moved. He was also a son and grandson of the dragon, but the others had already been fighting like chickens, while the one in front of him was completely out of it, living an easy and comfortable life.