Chapter 157

In late July, the Great King's fields hadn't yet reached harvest season, but he was already packing up to return to the capital. The Great King cared deeply for his land, solemnly entrusting it to Tong Hui, and absolutely could not let last year's tragedy repeat.

The entire You King's Manor bustled into action, making arrangements for the itinerary and packing luggage.

The Chancellor saw the Great King calmly busy with trivial matters and couldn't help asking: 'Have we decided on the birthday gift we, You Prefecture, are presenting to Your Majesty, Your Highness?'

Great King: ……Forgot.

Seeing the Great King's bewildered expression, the Chancellor still had nothing unclear. He couldn't help but advise: 'This time, for the Emperor's birthday, not only will the feudal princes gather, but I've also heard there will be foreign envoys. As Your Majesty's son, a feudal prince, the birthday gift absolutely must… be acceptable.' He no longer demanded excellence, for the Great King was not that kind of person.

If it's too unsightly, then the face-conscious Ningde Emperor will definitely not let the Great King off the hook.

The Great King was troubled.

The Great King blocked Wei Shen at the training grounds, saying, 'Cousin, what birthday gift should I give that's presentable without bankrupting myself?'

Wei Shen: 'Just go by the actual situation—see what you have.'

"How about casting a birthday peach out of silver?"

"How tacky!"

"What does You Prefecture even have? I can't possibly bring two carts of dried fish—if I did, my father the Emperor would definitely make me look foolish!"

"The trinkets sold in Myriad Phenomena City are all available in Ever Peace City; bringing them out again would hardly be impressive. Why not go to the Phoenix Market and have a look?"

"You know it's shabby……but, will you ride Little Chestnut in Ever Peace City?"

"Ride it—what's the problem?"

"With our horse, in Ever Peace City I don't know, but in our southwest it will definitely draw attention and invite covetousness. What kind of mount does your father have? Don't let yours be better than his, or you'll really have something to drink about."

The Great King thought about it and said, 'Right.'

His mount was Little Chestnut; Wei Shen, Xiaoqi, and several others who performed well rode White Gold Wild Horses, while everyone else rode Black Wind Horses—all of them looked better than the horses in the Imperial Horse Pasture of his father the Emperor.

Unless they all changed horses……the best would be to give his father the Emperor a horse.

The Great King went to the ranch, took a look around, and casually picked an ordinary steppe horse. The horse's appearance was just ordinary, but compared to riding Little Chestnut it took far too much effort, and they didn't click at all; upon encountering a puddle, the beast would straight up step into it, splashing mud all over the Great King.

No way, I can't tolerate this injustice.

If they wanted to make a side trip to Prosperous Prefecture, they'd have to hurry, and everyone needed to ride good horses—none could lag behind. Moreover, Wei Shen had been out for almost two years; this time he'd likely stay in Prosperous Prefecture, so they couldn't not let him ride away on his beloved White Gold Wild Horse.

The You Prefecture entourage's horses were too flashy; they had to get a good horse to suppress the old man, or else he wouldn't be safe.

After confirming, the Great King returned and announced, 'Looks like I need to get a good horse for my father the Emperor as a birthday gift.'

Time was pressing; that night the Great King opened the mall and had now unlocked the Little Chestnut–model initial chestnut horse, the White Gold Wild Horse, and a horse blind box.

The king's claw-wheel flow point didn't actually hit the mark, "Letting my dad and I ride the same… that also isn't a good idea."

Bai Ze: "Buy a blind box~"

The king almost jumped up, "That's eighty thousand taels—what if it draws another little dwarf horse?"

"Short is short, isn't Xiao Zao more expensive? Make a pair and send it over—what other persona baggage do you still have with your dad?"

The king thought of that mini eighty-thousand-tael set he had braided into twist braids, a pair, and then braiding crystal beads into the braids to dazzle everyone—no problem.

After thinking a bit, the king smiled happily for a while: "I heard they just had a seventh son; maybe my dad would really like this cute longevity gift!"

Having a fallback, the king directly bought a blind box, deducting eight thousand treasure; upon opening the warehouse, a small white horse icon appeared.

"White—doesn't look like eighty thousand taels at all!"

The king first opened the annotation;

【White Dragon Horse, legend says it is the incarnation of the white dragon's son in the human world, produced in the Canglang Realm. Its coat is pure white, its bearing graceful.

Characteristics: fast speed, light and agile gait. Good endurance, can go long without food or water, likes high-protein diet.

But its temperament is stubborn and violent, not easy to tame; once tamed, it is especially loyal to its master.

The king thought the description sounded quite good—White Dragon Horse, is this the result of breeding with a dragon?

He summoned it straight away to have a look, feeling the description was similar to that of the White Gold Wild Horse, except for an added dietary habit?

Upon summoning it, he was struck—it's really good-looking, with excellent appearance!

The White Gold Wild Horse has white fur tipped with gold light, while this White Dragon Horse is pure white, like a cloud.

Its whole body is snow‑white, without a single stray hue!

Like wild horses, though both are said to have mediocre tempers, the White Gold Wild Horse standing there is wanton and unrestrained, while this White Dragon bears that noble, disdainful gaze—do you mortals even deserve it?

The king was captivated—who would bear to give away such a fine appearance?

He also fancies the White Gold Wild Horse, but it's openly priced—he can buy it whenever he wants. This White Dragon is another matter—who knows if this horse is even within his means?

Mine, mine! I have beast‑taming pills—don't look at its foul look, I'll surely be able to ride it someday!

Without a word, the king shoved the White Dragon Horse back and went straight to the warehouse to buy another blind box.

Bai Ze clucked his tongue in wonder—today the king is being so generous.

Not wanting to dwell on the loss, the king drew another right away, fearing delay would make him regret it—this time it's still a light shade, looks like yellow?

【Suhaerte Golden Horse, produced in the oasis of the desert.

Its coat is mostly yellow, it is strong, has good endurance and speed, adapts well to hot environments, and has a gentle temperament; it can be trained as a ceremonial mount for honor guards.】

The king summoned it and took a look: narrow head, high neck, bulging muscles—indeed tall and imposing, fit for the honor guard; it looks a head taller than the steeds of Great Jin. Compared to the White Dragon Horse, its gaze is that of a proper law‑abiding citizen.

This appearance alone is certainly valuable; the king felt these two blind boxes were definitely a profit.

"Looks valuable and impressive—this longevity gift is presentable now! Yellow, eh, the color fits; such grandeur suits the sovereign of all under heaven."

Bai Ze, who knows his stuff and isn't blind, teased him upon hearing that: "At a glance the White Dragon Horse is more valuable—maybe it's even a hidden edition. Shouldn't the sovereign of all under heaven be matched with something better?"

The filial son put away the yellow horse, turned his head left and right, "Who's talking? I can't hear clearly~"

Bai Ze: ……

Immediately another question came up: since even his face‑loving dad has one, shouldn't the grandfather and uncle who constantly worry about him also have one? If they do, and Wei Shen also has a White Gold Wild Horse, then are Wei Peng and Wei Ke being tossed aside?

Originally he had bought a few mortal‑body‑strengthening pills from Qiao Yi to bring as gifts to Changzhou, but now he thinks the Wei family, who have spent half their lives in military service, might prefer horses—perhaps even more suitable than his father‑emperor.

He plans to give jewelry to his older sister, his female cousin, and his two maternal aunts; he has gold ornaments made from Youzhou pearls and some expensive cosmetics purchased from Bai Ge; the few underage children are easy to please, and when the time comes he just needs to take out a few little trinkets from Wanxiang City from the warehouse.

Giving horses is suitable, so the problem arises: four horses need four blind boxes, thirty-two thousand yuanbao; the Great King calculated and, heh, the money is not enough.

His yuanbao still needs to pay the balance for the new army's armor and weapons; after calculation, he can roughly allocate one blind box, and he still needs to keep some spare.

After thinking, his ranch's Black Wind Horse is a precious horse from another world, actually not bad either; the Black Wind Horse is not necessarily inferior to the mall's leek-cutting horses.

His father the emperor has no choice; if he presents a horse like the Xiaoqi, he might be thrown out of Jianzhang Palace, right?

The poor Great King opens another blind box, then tries his luck once more.

He grabbed a handful of White Marsh's horn, then spent eight thousand to test his luck.

［Leke Horse, warm-blooded horse, the jumping genius of the grassland.

Leke Horse's coat is black, tall and sturdy, good at jumping, crossing obstacles is their talent, they belong to high-grade riding horses. ］

The Great King summoned it out for a look; very good, the body is pure black, only a hint of white on the face, and placed together with the Black Wind Horse it is very low-key and not out of place.

The Great King personally went to the ranch and picked three Black Wind Horses with the best appearance, added the Leke Horse, and incorporated them into the entourage heading to the capital; all right, the poor Great King can only do this much for now.

Maternal grandfather, maternal uncle, cousin brother~ When This King has saved up a lot of money, I'll definitely draw two more horses for you; then you can ride one and have two run behind～

The next day, Zhu Ti sent this Suhate Gold Horse from outside into the mansion, saying the price is twenty thousand taels of silver; the Great King was astonished, and on the spot announced he bought it to give as a birthday gift to his father, and the matter was settled.