Chapter 144

Xie Yuan's tutor discovered their master and disciple's gaze, and introduced: "That is a freshwater lake. Our Highness knows a wandering marvel from overseas who designed this garden for His Highness and supervised the construction of Youzhou Prefecture."

Xie Yuan nodded, "Then this marvel must surely be a great talent; I, the old man, would like the chance to meet him."

"Master Zhao is the only great talent Xu has ever seen in his life, a pity Master Zhao never stays in one place, his whereabouts are hard to trace. Fortunately, his sister serves by His Highness's side, managing the commercial department, so Master Zhao also has a chance to meet again in Youzhou. It is not easy for Duke Xie to come to Youzhou once; he must stay a while longer, and perhaps he will meet Master Zhao come spring, after all Master Zhao returned last spring to supervise the construction of Youzhou's city walls."

Xie Yuan then praised the city walls and internal road planning of Youzhou in one breath, learning they were all Master Zhao's handiwork, he truly admired it and wished to meet him.

Xie Yuan and his disciple praised the garden without end, Xie Yuan's tutor then spoke of the origin of this prefecture: "The You Prefecture mansion built by imperial decree lies within the old city; Youzhou's finances are strained, and our Highness's birth mother passed early, so the You Prefecture mansion only has outer walls and the most basic main hall and bedchamber. Our Highness is of good temperament and not so particular, so he moved in. Who would have thought he went out riding and encountered the Xianbei slave-catching squad, who, in His Highness's presence, lassoed Youzhou's able-bodied men like livestock and dragged them off into slavery, arbitrarily slaughtering the old, weak, women, and children. His Highness witnessed it personally, deeply grieved and angered, and declared he would build a new prefecture mansion on the northern frontier. He resides at the northernmost point, so the people can live in peace to the south of the mansion; should barbarians journey southward, the You Prefecture mansion would be the first to bear the brunt. And so, having encountered the marvel Master Zhao, who procured materials from overseas, His Highness had a new mansion built in the north."

Xie Yuan and his disciple were both shrewd, yet could not directly ask how much silver had been spent; gazing at this scale, they could scarcely imagine it, nor could they easily speak of it. They only kept praising the Great King's childlike heart, his love for the people as if they were his own children.

You say if they built such a palace in Chang'an, they could understand, expending all the might of the Jin Dynasty, but for a poor commandery like Youzhou to build such a one, it truly exceeds comprehension.

They had been in Youzhou for so long that they had seen the You Prefecture mansion from afar several times; with the city wall as a reference, seeing that the prefecture wall deviated from the norm, they merely thought the You Prince placed special emphasis on security. After all, within such a mighty city wall lay Youzhou's dilapidated buildings.

Only now did they know: originally, the corner of the hall revealed on the wall was truly just an inconspicuous part of the You Prefecture mansion's architecture; the interior was beyond imagination, and they were not merely superficial.

The You Prince was young, and the You Prefecture mansion lacked the standard musical and dance accompaniment for banquets; when the Great King arrived, several people were simply drinking tea and admiring the koi.

The Great King still kept a vat of koi here as ornament.

Xie Yuan knew his favorite came from the great lake in the You Prefecture mansion's garden, and he no longer wished to speak of it; he suddenly had a vague understanding of why the You Prince, in this poor place, appeared to live quite well.

How much does Bai Kang's ink painting sell for? He knows very well, after all he just came from there.

He also heard that these koi were transmitted from Youzhou, which prompted this journey; he simply wanted to see whether, at the source, there were koi of better quality.

Who would have thought good quality exists, but the price is not much cheaper than Bai Kang's.

Moreover, Youzhou's aquatic world has more novel playthings; before his household's silver aid arrived, he could not afford a single one.

The Great King took his seat and asked them what they were discussing; Xie Yuan replied they were talking about Master Zhao, wishing to meet the great talent who designed this garden.

The Great King thought of the two level-a prize wheels awaiting him, that smile could not be more sincere: "This is easy; wait until spring opens, perhaps there will be a chance, for I have springtime matters requiring Zhu Ti to contact her brother. Duke Xie's coming to Youzhou is no small matter; he must stay several more days." With just a few days left until the New Year, it seems they will spend it here; the Great King's urging is not entirely heartfelt.

Xie Yuan had no definite reply, and the Great King did not mind; he received Xie Yuan as he would receive his tutor's friends, generously and casually.

The tutor's flirtatious glances were as if thrown at a blind man; what affection could the Great King have for the head of the Jin Dynasty's top-ranked academy? He received Xie Yuan only out of respect for the tutor; his warmth toward the tutor was the tutor's responsibility toward him, usually considering problems from his perspective, a confidant.

The essence of a child who hates learning is hard to change.

Put plainly, no matter how learned Xie Yuan is, the Great King will not deign to notice him.

Even if the academic prowess of Qingyang Academy is superb, for the current Youzhou it is useless, because it cannot directly aid people's livelihood, development, and military strength.

The Great King feels he surpasses them in mere ideological talk; he firmly believes producing ten thousand 'whys' could overthrow Qingyang Academy. Unfortunately, that night he regretted his daytime casualness toward the Jin Dynasty's foremost cultural figure.

When the people had gathered, the kitchen began to serve dishes.

The guests were literati and refined scholars; the kitchen's dishes paid special attention to shape, and there was plating; usually the Great King only pursued taste, minding not what form the dish took.

The Great King specially ordered the kitchen to prepare two dishes using sea urchin; the steamed egg with sea urchin served today had fresh purple-black alfalfa flowers arranged in the center as scenery.

The Great King warmly greeted Master Xie and his disciples, telling them not to stand on ceremony, and formally opened the banquet.

Xie Yuan, who had sent all his silver to Pin Hai Lou, considered himself already quite familiar with Youzhou's cuisine; now, coming to You Prefecture mansion, he discovered he was still too unfamiliar.

Compared to You Prefecture mansion, Pin Hai Lou's dishes are nothing much.

The Great King naturally had to use precious ingredients when entertaining guests; the banquet centered on seafood and vegetables sent from his manor. Moreover, the seafood were just taken out by Zhu Ti from the Great King's warehouse, tossed about, and sent into the mansion; the Great King kept the best for himself, and Xie Yuan discovered his favorite braised beltfish was even wider than Pin Hai Lou's, and the mansion's method was evidently more meticulous, with texture and flavor reaching the peak.

He also discovered that You Prefecture mansion's dishes, like Pin Hai Lou's, lacked that earthy fishy smell of salt, and the saltiness was adequate—this alone was quite strange.

Moreover, they loved using precious sugar for seasoning!

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Lu Xin had been striving to control his facial expression; having been in Youzhou so long, he believed he had eaten more seafood in this lifetime than ever before, yet most of the dishes on this banquet at You Prefecture mansion he did not recognize……

He looked at the Prince's gaze differently; though this royal highness came to a poor frontier commandery, his life was too comfortable—this must be imperial power?

If the Great King knew, he would surely advise him not to think too much; his father the Emperor certainly could not eat such things, being too far from the sea.

On this table the Great King demanded steamed large yellow croaker, braised beltfish—both of the finest quality. Shellfish: garlic-red potato powder fans, cabbage-stewed clams, potato-roasted abalone. Also sea urchin steamed egg, scallion-oil spotted bass shrimp; if not eating seafood, there were carrot-lamb stew, roasted lamb chops, and two stir-fried vegetable dishes. Serving these dishes were the surrounding items sent when You Prefecture mansion was completed: white bone china with retro floral patterns, a set served up, looking quite meticulous.

Lu Xin marveled endlessly; he inquired, and the Great King casually said it was called white bone china.

He felt embarrassed to say these, with their freehand floral paintings, were all a set, totaling one hundred and eight pieces, named 'Blossoms Bring Wealth,' fearing laughter from those two cultural figures opposite.

Later, the Great King saw on the mall the price of these tableware sets; the price was quite lovely, the name rather rustic.

When Xie Yuan came, he was reluctant; now he only felt the trip was worthwhile, other things unimportant, he could only focus on seriously tasting the food.

The Great King was much the same; after the banquet began, aside from introducing the dishes, he devoted himself to eating heartily, and the tutor had already despaired of him.

Xie Yuan had never before eaten so happily at a banquet of nobles and dignitaries; the host had not a word of idle talk, only the joy of tasting food. Especially when the final dish, crab-powder lion's head, was served, he had already begun to regard the Great King as a confidant.

Because the Great King also loved this dish most!

Since obtaining this recipe, whenever the treasure ships returned with fat crabs, the You Prince must eat it.

The Great King only wanted to say: You think it's easy for someone about to turn eight to keep his baby fat?!

The tutor never imagined the Great King's "please come eat" would truly mean just eating; the banquet without even a cup of wine dispersed quickly, only he himself was speechless, while others ate happily.

Seeing off Xie Yuan and his disciple, the tutor wanted to return and speak with the Great King about the importance of Xie Gong to Youzhou's cultural and educational affairs, but alas, the Great King had already vanished.

The Great King's greatest concern upon returning to the mansion was the Eagle Riders; having finished his meal, he marched to the North Great Camp, taking Ling Yin to inspect the training results of these left-behind soldiers.

Then he went around the East and West Great Camps; border defenses were normal, yet vigilance could not be relaxed, with only a few days left until the New Year—last year the Eastern Xianbei had taken advantage of the festival to journey southward.

The spot-check results were all normal, achievements pleasing; the Great King walked back with happy little steps to the Sui Fu Dian.

Upon returning, he first summoned Zhu Ti; the New Year was approaching, he had returned early this year, the Great King planned to celebrate the New Year heartily for several days.

He wished to rejoice with the people, to hold festivities on Zhuque Avenue, and moreover, for the three days of the New Year, Zhuque Avenue would have no night curfew, lights burning all night—only then would there be New Year atmosphere.

Zhu Ti had no objection, merely curious how he came to think of stirring up such affairs.

The Omnipotent AI Steward, having heard the Great King's preliminary plan, thought it could be summed up in four words: laboring the people, harming the wealth.

The Great King spoke confidently: "We cannot remain stuck in the shadows of the past; this year we have the city walls, we should enjoy ourselves and let everyone relax well, let everyone forget last year's unhappiness; next year is a new year, a hopeful new year. All along Youzhou's main theme has been farming and warfare, with shadows looming overhead; we must create some such lighthearted activities, so that at the beginning of the new year the people may have a little beautiful confidence in future life. Even if future trials arise, severe ones—ah, you understand? —when they recall past happiness, they may gain a little support, have some courage."

He himself was. During those days in the palace, he relied on the uncle he had seen at age four and the future freedom from his fief to get by. Thinking of these things, no matter how many cold stares or how much委屈 he received, he could still remain a happy child.

Zhuti felt Da Wang was right and immediately proposed several activity suggestions.

"Let's organize a night market—anyway, Zhuque Avenue is long enough to accommodate many people. Hang lanterns, solve riddles, add some gambling games, and let everyone have fun."

As soon as Da Wang heard about gambling games, he thought of gambling—this kind of unproductive activity is unsuitable for Youzhou.

"No gambling games—change it to ring toss."

Zhuti quickly searched for ring toss……it might work.

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The two tasks completed this time were long-term, gradually accumulated efforts, and the rewards were of a higher tier—a-level roulette draw.

Da Wang placed great importance on it; after nightfall, when Sui Fu Dian had quieted down, the bathed and changed Da Wang dismissed the palace attendants, sat upright at the table, and solemnly opened the main mission interface.

Da Wang first opened the hunger index task, which had taken two refresh cycles to barely complete after nearly a year of effort—"This took almost a whole year to climb up; Mengmeng must give something especially, especially good!" Da Wang muttered before clicking it open; the previous a-level draw had yielded city walls, and this harder one filled Da Wang with anticipation.

The roulette spun wildly, then stopped on a golden grid, and instantly a yellow box tied with a bow popped out—Da Wang eagerly clicked it open;

【Congratulations, Lord, for drawing the a-level top prize: Wealth Foundation Blind Box x1, already placed in the warehouse—please check.】

Da Wang was stunned: "What does this mean? Did I draw another blind box inside a blind box? Is this a nesting doll?" This resembled the ceramic nesting dolls of Wanxiang City—open one, find another inside—how surprising!

Da Wang rushed to the warehouse; newly stored items usually appeared first, and this one could be sorted or categorized. Upon opening, he saw the gold small box in the top position, its pattern resembling a copper coin.

Even Bai Ze took interest, gathering alongside Zhetian to watch from the front row.

Bai Ze guessed big: "Won't it just give money directly?"

Upon hearing this, Da Wang's large eyes nearly sparked with tiny flames—get money? Can I just lie back? Such good days have finally come to me? I can't believe it!

He impatiently clicked to claim.

【Wealth Foundation Blind Box: Precious Metal Deposit x1, can be viewed after placement in a city.

Producer: Jiu Li Realm

Placement terrain requirement: Mountainous

Mining duration: Until the city lord's lifetime ends

Additional functions: Complies with Youzhou civilization mining zone construction x1; complies with Youzhou civilization mining zone tools and facilities x1; x1;

Confirm site selection now? Yes / No】

Da Wang was overjoyed—give! the! mine!

And this mining duration—does it mean he can never exhaust it in his lifetime? How wonderful!

But: "What precious metals are there? Not counting coal?"

Bai Ze: "……Gold?" He guessed from this golden-yellow box, after all, palladium and such are beyond Jin Dynasty's level—he couldn't use them anyway, no matter how valuable; giving them wouldn't make sense to a pure qi person.

But Da Wang had already believed it.

"Really? Really? Really? I'll just find an uninhabited mountain and place it!" Da Wang was nearly overcome with joy.

Seeing the clueless novice digging around near his hometown, Bai Ze quickly spoke up: "You can't place it inside the city."

Da Wang looked puzzled: "Why? Is it unsafe to place it inside the city?"

Bai Ze: "……Not only must it be placed outside the city, but far away—precious metal mining pollutes the environment, air and groundwater, understand? It doesn't come with buildings, does it? Just assign more people to watch it, and it'll be fine."