Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

"Wow!" With Li Gongdu saying that, others naturally began to feel envious, looking at the already sliced melons on the cart, their hearts filled with curiosity.

Seeing this, Li Yuanzhao quickly took the melon and passed it around.

The first dozen or so people all began to take the melon and savor it carefully.

Fang Zheng Yi had already taken a slice in advance, and one bite confirmed it was indeed sweet!

Li Yuanzhao stealthily moved closer to him and whispered, "Old Fang, is it sweet?"

"Sweet! Did Your Highness add sugar?"

Li Yuanzhao smiled triumphantly: "You'll never guess how I did it. Yesterday afternoon, I thought of a way to make the melon sweeter."

"Guess how I did it? Forget it! I doubt you could guess!"

"I mixed some honey water. There were still some penicillin syringes in the East Palace that you used for poisoning before. I used the syringes to inject it. You didn't expect that, did you!"

"Your Highness is brilliant!"

Fang Zheng Yi chewed on the melon, feeling speechless.

This is just an injected melon. What's so unexpected about it? And he's slandering me for poisoning.

"Hey, Old Fang, this doesn't count as false advertising, does it?"

"No, it doesn't!"

This is at most a primary agricultural product becoming a processed agricultural product. This idea is worth ten thousand gold!

Everyone took a bite, praising it endlessly. As expected of a melon sold by the Crown Prince, it's truly sweet!

With honey water added, how could it not be sweet?!

Fang Zheng Yi looked at everyone's reactions, unsure of what to think for a moment.

Things are getting more and more off track!

Zheng Qiao also took a slice of melon, ate two bites, smacked his lips, and said with lingering interest: "Your Highness, where did this melon come from? Could it be that the palace is growing melons?"

"This is goods I brought in from Taoyuan County!"

Everyone suddenly understood.

So it was goods brought in from Taoyuan County. No wonder.

The local customs there are different from normal places. There are even women openly fighting on the streets, and no one stops them.

What's so strange about having a watermelon out of season? Maybe it's a cold-resistant variety?

"Alright! Then pick one for me! Pick a big one!" Li Yansong pointed at Fang Zheng Yi.

Oh, I, a dignified Grand Tutor, am not at home sleeping but selling melons here!

Fang Zheng Yi reluctantly picked a watermelon from the pile and patted it.

He took it to Li Yansong and asked: "Is this one okay, Lord Li?"

When the melon was brought in front of Li Yansong, he hesitated again: "How can there be melons in this season? Was it planted late? Could it be unripe?"

Fang Zheng Yi looked displeased: "Would I, setting up a fruit stall with the Crown Prince, sell you an unripe melon? Do you want it or not!"

Li Yansong smiled wryly and took out his money bag: "Yes, yes, yes! There's no business like this. Even if it's a charity sale, the attitude can't be so bad! How much is it?"

"Ten taels per melon, regardless of weight," Li Yuanzhao said proactively.

"How much?!" Li Yansong's hand came out of the money bag, looking at Li Yuanzhao in disbelief.

"Ten taels," Li Yuanzhao repeated.

The crowd immediately burst into an uproar, and then a group of courtiers began to whisper to each other.

Ten taels of silver, although no one present takes ten taels of silver seriously, you can't be that much higher than the market price, right?

"Damn, is the melon skin made of gold, or are the melon seeds made of gold?"

"Ten taels of silver! Isn't this just ripping people off? No matter how sweet it is, it's still a melon! Wouldn't it be the same to eat an ordinary melon soaked in honey water?"

"Huh! Now that you mention it, I feel like this melon is strangely sweet! Could it be filled with honey water inside!"

"If it's filled with honey water, there should be a break. Take one and check..."

Li Yansong stood in the crowd, looking suspiciously at Fang Zheng Yi and Li Yuanzhao, then took the melon from Fang Zheng Yi's hand.

He turned around and faced the crowd to inspect it.

Li Yuanzhao looked at the group of ministers with their backs turned, a cold sweat dripping from his forehead, looking at Fang Zheng Yi for help.

Fang Zheng Yi shrugged helplessly.

These old foxes are not so easy to fool!

Things like glasses that they've never seen before are easy to deceive, but common things like watermelons in life are not so easy to deceive.

I can only hope that the pinholes are not discovered.

A group of people took the melon and passed it around repeatedly.

"There's no break here. How was the honey water injected?"

"Could it be that the whole melon was soaked in honey water?"

"Slurp... Impossible, the melon skin isn't sweet!"

"Huh? There seems to be something here at the stem... No, no, it seems to be this variety, it's just that sweet!"

Zheng Qiao didn't participate in the discussion, but instead narrowed his eyes and looked at Fang Zheng Yi, and then had an answer in his mind.

He leaned into the crowd and whispered: "Everyone, this melon is so expensive at ten taels apiece! But look, Fang Zheng Yi still looks reluctant, which shows that these melons were forcibly brought over from Taoyuan County by the Crown Prince, otherwise Fang Zheng Yi would have kept such a treasure for himself!"

"According to my observation, although Fang Zheng Yi is young, he is proficient in the art of health preservation!"

"This melon must not be an ordinary melon, maybe it has health benefits!"

A group of people stood there and pondered for a while, then nodded.

"That makes sense! Fang Zheng Yi isn't happy even when he sees silver, he must be at a disadvantage! Ten taels... it seems it's really not expensive!"

After discussing, everyone turned around again, and Li Yansong happily took out ten taels of silver: "Alright! Since it's a charity sale, ten taels it is!"

Li Yuanzhao breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed he hadn't been exposed....

When Fang Zheng Yi handed over the watermelon again, Li Yansong happily took it and hugged the melon in his arms.

I'm old, my only hobby is health preservation. This thing is very rare, I'll savor it carefully when I get back!

"Pick one for me too!"

With such a start, other officials began to buy honey-injected watermelons one after another.

Li Yuanzhao was overjoyed, handing out watermelons one by one, while Fang Zheng Yi collected the money and kept shaking his head and sighing.

Damn it, I'm seeing ghosts!

People are rushing to buy a broken melon for ten taels, when did business become so easy?

Even if the watermelon is sweet, it shouldn't be like this, right? Am I the only one who doesn't like to eat watermelon?

Maybe I should get more greenhouses...

The more helpless his expression was, the happier the ministers were.

Only ten taels! I made a profit, you lost!

Under the crowd's scramble, the cart full of watermelons was sold out in a short time.

Li Yuanzhao grinned and shouted loudly: "Sold out! Sold out! The honey melons are gone!"

"Your Highness, isn't there another cart over there!" Those who didn't buy it looked at the other melon cart behind Li Yuanzhao with reluctance.

Li Yuanzhao jumped onto the cart, cleared his throat, and shouted: "The honey melons are sold out! This is another kind of melon!"

"This cart is even more precious, called Milk-Scented Melon, fifteen taels apiece! First come, first served!"

Milk-Scented Melon! ? That's really new, you can even taste milk fragrance from eating a melon?

Everyone was surprised. Sweetness is nothing, but it's really unheard of to have a fruit that tastes like milk.

While everyone was wondering, Li Yuanzhao directly took out a melon from the melon cart.

Just like the previous one, following the same method, he cut it into a dozen pieces with a knife.

A large pool of milky white liquid immediately burst out of the melon, which was particularly eye-catching with the bright red flesh.

Fang Zheng Yi couldn't help but feel a little creepy when he saw the liquid flowing out of the melon.

Crap, if I guessed correctly... it's milk inside!

This is not a Milk-Scented Melon! This is a freakin' spraying watermelon, wouldn't everyone who eats it get diarrhea?!

Besides, if the milk was injected last night, wouldn't the melon have gone bad?

Damn! These old bones better not get sick from eating it!

The Crown Prince is really lacking in virtue this time! Fang Zheng Yi cursed inwardly.

Zheng Qiao secretly observed him, and when he saw his expression suddenly change, he was overjoyed, and immediately shouted: "Your Highness, this old minister wants one!"

"I want one too! I want one too!"

At this time, everyone didn't even wait for a taste! Such a rare thing, buy it first.

Even Zheng Gongdu is snatching it! A fool doesn't take advantage of an opportunity!

......