Inside the box is a lotus flower, carved from wood. Under the lotus is a lotus root, also carved from wood.
This flower and lotus root are carved lifelike. The lotus is painted with green paint and looks green. The lotus root is white, but both ends are cut open, revealing several small holes running through it.
Lin Ping'an looked at the wood carving in front of him and couldn't help but be a little stunned.
The meaning of this wooden sculpture given to him by Zhu Youxiao is very simple, and everyone present should be able to see it.
"It comes out of the mud but is not stained, washes the clear ripples without being evil, is straight in the middle and straight outside, has no vines or branches, the fragrance is clear from afar, and the pavilions are clean and planted, they can be viewed from a distance but not played with."
This is the original text written by Zhou Dunyi in the Northern Song Dynasty in his "Love of the Lotus". Zhu Youxiao gave Lin Pingan this thing, which was nothing more than telling Lin Pingan how to be a human being. But what shocked Lin Pingan was that an uneducated and incompetent person How could the emperor, a skilled carpenter, think of such a meaningful gift?
"The Ming Dynasty had long-standing party disputes, and the relationships between the characters were so intricate that even the emperor was powerless to do anything about it.
Is this a knock on me? "
Lin Ping'an thought silently in his heart, always feeling that the Zhu Youxiao he saw in this world was different from the one in the history books.
Zhu Youxiao in the history books was not only illiterate, but also ignored government affairs. He only focused on carpentry work every day. He was a complete waste.
But now Lin Ping'an's impression of this good-for-nothing emperor is somewhat unclear. He even vaguely feels that Zhu Youxiao is a hermit master. This feeling is very strange. There is no reason. Perhaps he can only use the word intuition to describe it. explained.
Shi Fenglai was slightly startled when he looked at the wood carving in Lin Ping'an's hand. His thoughts changed slightly, and he immediately understood the reason. He couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart:
"Your Majesty's wish is good, but how easy is it to be a lonely minister?"
"Back then, I was full of enthusiasm, but if I didn't take sides, I would have no place in the court. Even if I am like this, let alone a teenager!"
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but stepped forward and patted Lin Pingan gently, and said:
"Your Majesty has good intentions. Dean Xiaolin must not betray his holy will."
Lin Ping'an nodded, put the wood carving back into the box, and carefully handed it to Sylvia Yunshu beside him.
"Dean Xiaolin, this is a gift from the Queen."
The eunuch said with great respect, waved his hand and ordered someone to bring a box.
Lin Ping'an was about to open the box, but Shi Qian on the side pulled him and whispered:
"How can you look at a gift in public and not thank me quickly?"
He wanted to remind Lin Pingan just now, but Lin Pingan was quick and didn't have time to stop him. Now when he saw Lin Pingan wanted to hand over the gift given by the queen and open it, he immediately stopped him.
Lin Pingan patted his forehead and secretly laughed at himself for being confused. This was the Ming Dynasty, not the world in his previous life. Opening the gift in front of him was disrespectful to the gift giver, and it was a gift from the Queen.
So he hurriedly thanked him and ordered Sylvia Lin to collect the gift.
At this moment, the outside of Zhulin Academy gradually became lively, and the sound of people and the sound of horse hooves could be heard from far away.
A moment later, a large group of people swarmed in. Cui Chengxiu, Li Kuilong, Tian Ergeng and others came over first. Lin Ping'an did not recognize these people and couldn't help but look at the four talented men beside him with some surprise.
The four great talents were also confused, and they did not recognize the people in front of them, but Shi Qian made the mistake of hearing Lin Ping'an's ears and whispered:
"The Five Biao, Five Tigers, and Wei Zhongxian's disciples and grandsons are all here."
Lin Pingan suddenly realized it, and saw that several people had already arrived in front of Lin Pingan. Cui Chengxiu raised his hands and said:
"Today's opening of Zhulin Academy is a grand event. We are here to congratulate you. Don't blame Dean Xiaolin for doing this so rudely and abruptly!"
Lin Ping'an returned the gift. The arrival of these people was really beyond his expectation. Tian Ergen pointed to several carriages behind him and said:
"It's just a small gift, not a sign of respect. I hope Dean Xiaolin will accept it."
Everyone looked in the direction of his finger and saw seven or eight carriages filled with large and small boxes, and they didn't know what they contained.
"My lords, you are too polite. It's just a small academy, so there's no need to bother with it."
As Lin Ping'an spoke, he waved to the four talented men, causing them to move the boxes in one after another.
Shi Fenglai on the side suddenly frowned. He heard that Lin Ping'an was indeed still a child. These people were all Wei Zhongxian's best friends. By accepting the gift with such a big fanfare, didn't it make it clear that he wanted to stand with Wei Zhongxian?
"Alas, it seems that he still failed to understand the meaning of the gift His Majesty just gave me!"
He sighed inwardly, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
At this moment, another group of people came outside the academy. They looked extremely large and turned out to be another group of eunuchs.
The team stopped in front of the academy, and a man emerged from the sedan chair. He was tall and thin, but it was none other than the 9,000-year-old Wei Zhongxian.
Lin Ping'an was quite familiar with Wei Zhongxian. He hurriedly stepped forward and shouted:
"Mr. Wei, why are you here too?"
Wei Zhongxian's face suddenly burst into laughter. He now likes people to call him Wei Gong, something like nine thousand years old, which is completely unqualified. It's a pity that no one in the entire court knows his thoughts.
"Guess what our family brought you?"
Wei Zhongxian pretended to be mysterious and asked with blinking eyes.
His appearance immediately stunned everyone!
Who is Nine Thousand Years Old?
He is a big shot below one person and above ten thousand people. He usually has a gloomy face and is extremely serious and rigid. How can he be smiling like this now, and blinking his eyes deliberately, like a hidden person? A secretive old kid who wants to show off.
Lin Ping'an shook his head, he really couldn't guess it.
Obviously, Wei Zhongxian could not give him gold, silver and jewelry because it would be too vulgar and inconsistent with the other person's identity.
But apart from these things, what else could Wei Zhongxian bring him?
"This guy doesn't know a lot of Chinese characters, so he can't write in an arty way, right?"
Seeing the confusion in Lin Ping'an's eyes, Wei Zhongxian smiled proudly, picked up an imperial edict from the tray in the hand of a young eunuch beside him, and shouted loudly:
"Lin Ping'an accepts the order!"
Everyone was shocked when they heard the words and knelt down one after another. Although Lin Ping'an didn't have the habit of kneeling, but now in the Ming Dynasty, some things must be followed the local customs, otherwise it will appear too different. If you don't kneel down when receiving orders, then there is only Waiting to beheaded.
So he pulled Sylvia Lin and Liu Rushi beside him and knelt down together.
Wei Zhongxian was illiterate and rarely recited imperial edicts in person. This time he obviously put in the effort and recited it fluently.
Everyone listened with their ears pricked up, especially the four talented people. The more they listened, the more surprised and excited they became, until in the end they almost jumped up from the ground.
The meaning of the imperial edict is very simple, consisting of three articles.
First, Zhulin Academy is listed as a subordinate educational institution of the Imperial College, and fifty students can be sent to the Imperial College every year. They can enroll directly without going through qualification examinations such as tribute students and supervisory students!
Second, Lin Ping'an was appointed as the dean of Zhulin Academy, the director of the Imperial Academy, and the sixth rank.
Third, Feng Jiang Xingzhou and other four great talents served as assistant teachers at Zhulin Academy and Imperial College, graduating from the eighth grade.
Don't underestimate this decree. It directly elevated Zhulin Academy from a private institution to an educational institution in the Ming Dynasty. Not only was it recognized by the imperial court, but it was also granted an exception of 50 places to study in the Imperial College every year.
In the past, anyone who wanted to study in the Imperial College had to pass the exams for Gongsheng students and Supervisor students. Only those who passed the exam would have the opportunity to enter the Imperial College.
But today's fifty places do not have this requirement. This alone can attract countless students to enter Zhulin Academy. With this privilege, it is conceivable that students who come to the academy to study in the future will definitely become more and more popular. Come more and more.
However, what made Jiang Xingzhou and others even more excited was that the imperial court actually gave several of them official positions. Although they were from the eighth rank, they were at least still imperial officials. This was a complete step to the sky. From then on, they entered the official career, and their future was even brighter.
The four of them were trembling with excitement and thanked them repeatedly. They were secretly glad for their choice that day. If they had not chosen Lin Ping'an as the dean, such good things would never have happened to them.
After everyone thanked them, they hurriedly invited Wei Zhongxian and others into the academy. At this moment, several more sedans stopped in front of the academy.
Wei Zhongxian stopped and looked back, frowning immediately.
As soon as the sedan curtain was raised, Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Gu Dazhang and others walked out one after another, with gentle smiles on their faces, and came to Lin Ping'an.
"Dean Xiaolin, you won't welcome me when I come uninvited, right?"
Yang Lian said with a smile, looking at Lin Pingan like an elder.
Lin Ping'an also looked unfamiliar to the people in front of him, but the four talented people were very excited.
These people are all well-known figures in the literary world of the Ming Dynasty, especially Yang Lian, who is a representative of the Donglin Party. They had thought of inviting these people before, but the status gap was really too big, so they could only Thinking about it in my heart, I just didn't expect that these people would all come together today.
"It seems that our dean is really quite proud!"
The four talented men looked at each other and instantly had a deeper understanding of Lin Pingan.
"This is Mr. Yang Lianyang, this is Mr. Zuo..."
Jiang Xingzhou was overjoyed and introduced Lin Ping'an one by one, but Lin Ping'an became more and more frightened as he listened. He did not expect that the six famous gentlemen of Donglin in history would arrive together, so he smiled at these few people. People bowed one after another.
Wei Zhongxian watched with cold eyes, couldn't help but get angry, and cursed secretly in his heart:
"Grandma, I didn't expect these people to have noses like dogs. They actually smelled something different about Lin Ping'an. It seems they are trying to steal someone from our family!"
So he snorted coldly, ignored everyone, and walked directly into the academy.
Yang Lian and others naturally saw Wei Zhongxian, and naturally understood the meaning of the other party's cold snort, but it didn't matter, the Donglin Party and the Wuqian Party had long been in the same situation, let alone snatching an individual, if they could use the knife, these people would not Would you mind lifting the knife to give Wei Zhongxian a break?
In fact, before this, the entire Donglin Party did not pay any attention to the opening ceremony of Zhulin Academy. It was not until that day at the court meeting that Wei Zhongxian put forward the suggestion to give Zhulin Academy a title, which made the entire Donglin Party The party began to pay attention.
According to the previous routine, 90% of Donglin Party members would object to anything Wei Zhongxian proposed, but Yang Lian did not make such a rash move at that time.
Zhulin Academy is just a private organization. How could Wei Zhongxian be so dedicated?
There must be something fishy about this!
As for Lin Ping'an, he had also heard a little bit about it. In addition, the emperor's marriage grant was causing a lot of commotion. Yang Lian made a bold decision in an instant, and that was to second the proposal!
For the first time, he agreed with Wei Zhongxian's opinion. This not only made Wei Zhongxian feel very strange at the time, but also the other Donglin Party members were baffled.
But even so, since Yang Lian had seconded the proposal, the rest of the Donglin Party members naturally wanted to support it. However, after the dynasty dispersed, these people gathered together for a brief meeting.
Although these people were all civil servants, they also had their own intelligence channels. With almost no effort, a list of Lin Ping'an's performance since he entered Beijing appeared in front of these people.
"I see!"
After reading it, Yang Lian suddenly realized, patted the desk and said:
"Although this Lin Pingan is young, he will definitely be a rising star in the Ming Dynasty in the future."
Zuo Guangdou sighed solemnly: "Fortunately, Mr. Yang thought of this today and did not lose the opportunity. Lin Ping'an is like a blank sheet of paper. Wei Zhongxian obviously wants to win over him. If this is the case, then we should do our best to make it happen. He roped him in."
So these people came to Zhulin Academy together today, and they also brought their own gifts.
Shi Fenglai looked at Yang Lian and others, his brows suddenly furrowed. He was an old man in the world, so he naturally saw the clues, so he looked at Lin Ping'an with eyes full of worry.
"I didn't expect that just a hospital opening ceremony would involve so many people. Lin Ping'an is young and if he doesn't make good decisions, he may cause a lot of trouble."
As soon as he finished his thoughts, he heard the sound of horse hooves, and a group of extremely tough soldiers appeared in everyone's sight.
