Chapter 1514: This pancake is both big and round

This gate tower, both imposing and solemn, showed no signs of having been rushed to completion. Gu Xuan clapped repeatedly: "Remarkable! His Majesty truly has a keen eye; this major project was entrusted to the right person." The Soul-Absorbing Mirror in He Lingchuan's arms let out a huff: "Sycophant!"

To be able to secure an official monopoly, this fellow truly possessed no small amount of skill.

The crowd followed with a round of applause, curious about how He Lingchuan had managed it. But He Lingchuan only said that the skilled craftsmen sent by His Majesty were simply too capable.

As he spoke, he stood on the inner side of the gate tower, where an entire stone wall was covered by a red cloth.

The so-called unveiling ceremony was for him, along with You Rongzhi and several other high-ranking officials and prominent clan members, to pull down this red cloth.

The cloth fell, revealing the mural beneath.

The gate tower was nine zhang wide, and the matching mural was six zhang wide. This was not made of gold-veined stone or blue square stone, but was a massive piece of raw jadeite, its black-brown and grey-white stone skin rough and uneven, with quartz clusters growing in some places.

Its overall shape resembled a giant whale covered in barnacles lying on the seabed.

The raw stone had several "windows" cut into it, revealing the crystal-clear, jelly-like jadeite inside! As sunlight shone in, it looked as if an endless green sea were hidden within the windows, mysterious from every angle.

This shade of green was bottomless, making one worry that a lake beast or sea beast might charge out at any moment.

Jing Yuanxun couldn't help but clap: "Good, good, good. Brother He, your ability to slack off is truly natural and effortless."

Whose mural wasn't made by buying a large piece of jade and carving it meticulously?

He Lingchuan had simply procured a massive piece of raw jadeite; as long as the shape was good and the bright windows were polished out, it lacked nothing in color, layering, or brightness.

This rustic beauty became more pleasing the longer one looked at it.

And the key was that it saved effort.

Furthermore, its position was excellent, receiving sunlight all day long.

He Lingchuan laughed heartily: "His Majesty demanded that I build the gate tower within seven days! Alas, time was tight and the task heavy, so I had to make do in a slapdash manner."

The crowd kept saying it wasn't slapdash at all, but then heard him add: "This was bought with the silver earned on the day of the Longevity Ceremony."

At the Yao King's Longevity Ceremony, he had won several bets, especially the battle between himself and He Yang, which had netted him a significant amount of silver.

It just so happened that the Red Fortress auction was selling this huge piece of raw jadeite. Because it was too large, no one was interested, and it had failed to sell twice, with the price dropping repeatedly. He Lingchuan had a flash of inspiration and simply bought it to serve as the mural for the main gate of the villa.

For this great treasure, just moving and fixing it onto the low hill had required the use of six Yellow Turban Warriors.

When the crowd bypassed the mural and passed through the gate, they all froze in unison, unable to stop themselves from bursting into laughter: there was nothing behind the gate.

Such a magnificent, imposing, eye-catching, and intimidating gate, yet the area behind the mural was completely empty; nothing had been built at all.

There hadn't been enough time.

Only two sections of the road leading to other parts of the villa had been paved; the areas meant for springs and ponds were still mud pits. The newly arrived saplings were all set aside, not yet planted.

Everywhere was filled with stone, timber, and debris; apart from the newly paved road, there was nowhere to step.

The craftsmen were busy and clattering away, too lazy to even lift their heads to look at them.

He Lingchuan sighed: "Forgive the embarrassment; the time was truly too short."

The crowd kept saying they understood and were sympathetic.

From the approval of the land plot for the Youhu Villa until now, only half a month had passed, and the Office of Works had been throwing obstacles in the way the whole time.

Besides, the officials and nobles present today all had gardens of their own and knew well that building landscapes, pavilions, and fountains was time-consuming and laborious; some of their own projects had been under construction for years.

That He Xiao had managed to build the gate tower first, and so impressively at that, already left the crowd deeply shocked.

This also gave everyone confidence that the refined residences within the villa should be expected soon.

Look at that glorious, majestic, and massive gate head! Look at those imperial-bestowed gold-veined gate stones! This was a major project directed and endorsed by the Yao King, with the prestige of the royal family safeguarding the entire process.

Everyone's hearts suddenly felt secure and steady.

Besides, this messy, noisy construction site was right across from Huaji Island; the Qingyang Regent could see it every day—how annoying! Following this, He Lingchuan invited the crowd to move on to visit the lakeside refined residences reserved for the Qing Prince's Mansion.

Time had been short, so the residences certainly weren't finished, but the basic framework had been erected. He Lingchuan explained to the crowd one by one, including the layout, material selection, components, and furnishings... very detailed and convincing.

The Soul-Absorbing Mirror in his arms chuckled: "Look at this pancake; it's drawn so big and round."

After circling half a round in the refined residence, they arrived at the shore of Youhu Lake.

Youhu Villa drew lake water into the grounds, and the Qing Prince's Mansion's residence was less than ten zhang from the water. Standing on the second floor, one could gaze at the lush green island opposite.

Huaji Island.

The buildings on the island often revealed a corner, and from the crowd's angle, one could even see Qing Guards patrolling back and forth.

"Looking at Huaji Island from here, it's truly clear!" Those with particularly sharp eyesight could see a teacup placed on a table in the small building opposite, and even the bird-beak knob on the lid was clearly visible.

Someone said: "Eh, it's pink."

The color of the teacup was a tender peach pink, the glaze clear and transparent. No need to guess, its owner was the Qingyang Regent.

If they hadn't come here for a walk today, who would have known that the decisive and swift Great Regent used a pink teacup? With the two sides so close, there was no privacy left.

Of course, this was the reason the Qing Prince's Mansion bought the first row of residences by the lake:

Its mission was to make the Regent uncomfortable.

The progress of the Qing Prince's Mansion residence was less than one-fifth, but the prototype and framework were already up. Not to mention its political function, just as a luxury suburban vacation home, it was quite up to standard.

He Lingchuan smiled: "Once Youhu Villa is finished, everyone here will be neighbors."

The crowd laughed upon hearing this.

But as they laughed, they felt this sentence had deeper meaning.

Indeed, Youhu Villa also had a strong social function. From now on, this would be the base of the Pro-King faction; if they needed to discuss matters, they could just gather for a meeting without even leaving the villa gates.

Conversely, how much first-hand information would officials and nobles who didn't live here miss? Because there was a big boss on the opposite shore, those living in this villa would be united and exclusive, both geographically and psychologically.

Thinking about it was terrifying, truly terrifying.

Seeing the guests lost in thought, He Lingchuan clapped his hands: "My lords, it is not easy for you to travel all the way to the countryside; why not have a simple meal here at our 'Immortal Guest Arrival' at noon?"

It would be too impolite to let the guests go back on an empty stomach. Since so many officials had finally come, he had to find a way to keep them a while longer.

Youhu Villa still had a few good plots of land that hadn't been dug up, all by the lakeside, with weeping willows and blooming flowers. He Lingchuan had the foreman quickly build a two-story bamboo and wood wine restaurant here, called "Immortal Guest Arrival," specifically to entertain visiting guests.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1515 =====