The Blessed

During the lunch time, Ling Jingxuan asked the waiter about the little fatty’s situation. After he made sure he was fine, this incident finally drew to an end. After the meal, those who were used of a noon nap didn’t go to rest, instead, they saw together communicating about the ‘harvest’ they got in the morning. And the little buns even brought out the pinwheels Chu Yan bought them to show off. But when speaking of Xinyue Gold Shop, the atmosphere suddenly went down again, and the few little buns all kept their heads down, looking sullen.

“Still unhappy about it?”

Knowing that his baby sons felt a big blow this time, Ling Jingxuan held up Ling Wen and put him on his lap with a smile, while Ling Wu who was nesting on Yan Shengrui had never come down.

“Hmm. How could they look down upon us countrymen? It's not that we buy their things without paying.”

With a nod, mouth pouted, Ling Wen said sullenly. Yeah, he is a country bumpkin, so what? What does it have anything to do with him? How could they say that? Aren’t countrymen human beings?”

“When the woods are big enough, you could find all kinds of birds in it. Someone eat food but spit out sh*t, while some dogs eat sh*t but make nice barks. There are too many kinds of people in the world. So, just take those irrelevant people’s remarks like a fart. Don’t take it to your heart, otherwise, wouldn’t you level them up?”

Touching his face, Ling Jingxuan appeased him in the simplest and most direct way.

“Well, I see, but daddy, I still haven't bought anything for grandma yet.”

Ling Wen was very obedient. After he said that, he nodded, but the next second as he remembered the silver earrings thing, his face sank again.

“Later I will take you to buy it. We will go to Xinyue Gold Shop again. I’d like to see how butter-tonsiled they are.”

As early as when he heard that his sons got bullied, he had already kept it in mind. Even the little fat boy learned his less, how could he let the adults who started all this get spared?

“Daddy, will you teach them a lesson?”

Head tilted, Ling Wen asked curiously. Didn't Dad say they shouldn’t put them in heart just now?

“Hehe...”

Rubbing his head dotingly, Ling Jingxuan’s smile was kind of freezing cold. How could he even let go of those who bullied his precious sons?

“Jingxuan, count me in, I can run some errands.”

No one knew him better than Yan Shengrui, one could tell from the smile on his face. Someone would suffer soon! But they were also his sons, how could he stand by?

“OK. You don't need to go to the yamen with us later. You can go to Baiyunge and ask Shopkeeper Hong to come over, and bring everyone of us a suit of ready-made clothes.”

Giving him a light glimpse, Ling Jingxuan picked up the teacup and took a sip, deliberately trying to send him away with an excuse, for no other reason but that all civilians had to kneel down on seeing the magistrate. Letting him a prince kowtow to a petty official? He highly doubted the magistrate would have his lifespan reduced.

“Are you sure you're all right to go to the yamen on your own?”

Picking his eyebrows, his peach blossom eyes look at him. Why did he feel something was not right?

“Of course. If the magistrate is really a good official, he should hear the civilians’ voice and accept those visiting civilians. On the contrary, if not, he is just a hypocrite.”

“You think the yamen runs for you only? And he should hear the civilians’ voice and accept any visiting civilian?”

Hearing that, Yan Shengrui found it so funny, really couldn’t understand how his bizarre remarks came out. Officials are officials, and civilians are civilians. If the officials are on an equal footing with the civilians, how could they govern their territories?

“Of course, it is impossible to receive everyone’s visiting. What I mean is that on the premise of making sure that the people really need help, or that the suggestions are really good for the people, the officials should accept it. Only in this way can they be regarded as a real good official.”

Obviously, there was a huge generation gap between them on this kind of thing. Yan Shengrui, who grew up under the imperial hegemony, and Ling Jingxuan, who grew up under the democratic education of the 21st century, fundamentally understood many things differently.

“Oh? How can you be sure if there is any benefit without seeing the visiting civilian in person? If everyone asks for a visit on the pretext of giving advice, won't the officials die of exhaustion?”

Facing him sideways, Yan Shengrui suddenly became interested. He wanted to hear what he was thinking.

“You are quite astute usually. Why being stupid on this?”

Throwing him a look of contempt, Ling Jingxuan took back his line of sight and continued, “Mountains may not move, but we could build a road to climb up. Of course, not everyone has the chance to see the officials, but the yamen could put a complaint box at the gate or in the downtown area, and send a specially-assigned person to collect them. And those who make complaints or suggestions would sign their name or don’t. Don’t tell me most civilians are illiterate, or the officials don’t have the time to read them. A solution for the former one, those who are illiterate could ask those poor scholars out at the elbows write for them, for the latter thing, as far as I know, the magistrate, his private advisor and other positions, they got nothing to do all day. Let them pick those useful ones first, and then hand them over. If there goes any problem in any link, ask the one who is responsible for that link to take the responsibility. Make the punishment heavy, and then no one dares overtly agree but covertly oppose. As for whether the official who has the final say would accept those suggestions or not or whether he would like to see the one who makes that suggestion, it depends on whether he loves the subjects as if they were his own children.”

Doesn't the modern society also open the government informants' hot-line telephone? In this age without communication equipment, letter is undoubtedly the best communication tool.