Chapter 171

The next day, the Great King's schedule was to stroll Long Peace Avenue, and incidentally check out his shop in the Capital City.

Zhao Bao came in early to tell him that the shop they had parted ways with halfway had also entered the Capital City, which was perfect.

"Are those two hundred elite cavalry following secretly?"

"They've already caught up. The other side is very professional and left no trace; the two squads of assassins didn't leave any useful clues about where they stayed in Wing Province or Grand Agriculture. Now these two hundred are stationed outside the south gate of Long Peace City, waiting for His Highness's return, and will then follow him directly to Prosper Province."

The Great King nodded. "Those two hundred in the city will take the original route, carrying my retinue back first to Secluded Province; by then, Zhao Bao, you should also go with them and return first."

Zhao Bao worried: "Your Highness—"

The Great King waved his hand: "I have Ling Yin by my side, what do you have to fear? Riding all the way to Prosper Province on horseback will only make you suffer. You are my personal chief steward; going back you can still cover up a bit. The return trip should be much safer, after all I made the assassination attempt a big deal, so the emperor will definitely send people to investigate Grand Agriculture and Wing Province; on the way back, there shouldn't be another one."

After thinking, the Great King sighed again: "The Chancellor and Grand Tutor still don't know I ventured to Prosper Province; when you go back, just say I finally managed to go out for a trip, and I want to take a detour around the south before returning."

Zhao Bao also fretted: "How big a detour would it take to last two months?" A little thought shows where that would be—even the Chancellor wouldn't be that stupid.

Great King: ……

The Great King was about to leave when Bai Ze also rose and stood at the doorway; the Great King jumped back a step in fright: "If you really follow me, I'll die just to show you!"

Bai Ze extended his forehoof in a pleading gesture, and the Great King instantly didn't want to die.

"I certainly can't go along with your wish!... There are really a lot of people on the avenue. How about this: after my second brother's wedding, we agreed to go hunting together; I'll bring you then, starting from Long Peace Avenue?" Would that work? The Great King was preparing a reprieve‑delay policy, able to hide his treasure one more day each day.

Bai Ze gave him a look, helping you build momentum in the hearts of Long Peace's people—you still don't know to cherish it, right!

Fine! It decided to cut the Great King some slack today, yawned, and went back to the Great King's bedroom.

This just made hiding Heaven‑Shrouding difficult. What's wrong, you're not going out again? Then what about me? Do I still have to stay cooped up in this little courtyard?

No way! Here even the sky isn't as vast as in Secluded Province!

That thing hesitated a moment, then perched on the Great King's shoulder and decided to keep an eye on you today!

Carrying Heaven‑Shrouding out onto the street forced the Great King to give up walking; he chose a carriage, but before he could even board it, he saw the Prince Yu's carriage coming from next door.

Unlike the Great King, who can only amuse himself, Prince Yu doesn't have to deal with too many obligations when he returns to the Capital.

The Great King performed a courteous bow and loudly said, "What a coincidence, Prince Yu! Nice to see you, Prince Yu!" Compared to the second brother, he was far more polite—sunny and enthusiastic, right?

Prince Yu lifted the curtain and glanced at the elongated fatty—oh, he's no longer fat.

He smiled and said, "Third Brother, where are you headed? Want me to give you a lift?"

The Great King was even more enthusiastic, waving his hands wildly: "No, no, don't delay your official business, Elder Brother—I'll go play in the street, you go attend to your duties." Since they called themselves elder brother, the Great King also stopped saying "elder brother."

Prince Yu glanced at the jade pendant at his waist and snorted, but spoke kindly: "Yesterday evening, after returning from the palace, I heard about your dispute with the Mayor of Jingzhao and the Minister of the Household. Third Brother, you're just too honest—how can a feudal prince be embarrassed by a pampered capital dandy? Ah! The emperor and empress, knowing or not, must feel heart‑ache for you. You! I heard it was the second brother who pulled strings for you? You two are actually on good terms, huh?"

The Great King thought, "You still owe the empress a favor—go ahead and call her 'itchy teeth'!"

The queen and Empress Cui were almost drawing knives on each other in the palace, but your way of addressing them is surprisingly friendly.

Besides, I have no quarrel with the Mayor of Jingzhao or the Minister of the Household!

"Elder Brother isn't around, so I can't have the family look for the Second Brother—I even dare to ask the Emperor what's up—yet this got me summoned and scolded by the Emperor; as soon as I entered the Imperial Study, a book smashed onto my head, sigh—bringing up painful memories!"

"Haha, got you! Third Brother, we live so close; come by later to hang out with the Great King—today he's got things to do, so he's leaving first."

"See you later, Elder Brother!"

After Prince Yu lowered the curtain and the convoy passed, the King rubbed his arms and said, "Ayoyo, I, the king, get goosebumps in this midsummer; talking to the eldest is so exhausting!"

Wei Shen first saw Prince Yu and thought he liked to show off; hearing the King's complaint, he said speechlessly, "That's just normal adult talk, huh~" Are they stupid? They put on a sour face toward their younger brother outside.

The King wrinkled his nose and mimicked: "What he wants to say is clearly, meeting you early in the morning is really unlucky! You get along well with the second brother, huh? Did you team up? When you return to the capital, you'll go all out to offend the Governor of Jingzhao and the Minister of Finance Qian—how big is your brain? You're so smug; why hasn't the father emperor smashed your head yet?!"

"Hahaha~" Successfully made Wei Shen laugh, "It would be great if everyone just said what's on their mind; it's quite interesting~"

Prince Yu lowered the curtain and indeed immediately put on a serious face, "That fish-dragon pendant really is hanging on him."

The carriage wasn't just him alone; inside also sat the Consort of the Wu King. She didn't take that inflammable topic, instead she smiled and said, "The You King looks quite clever; they're all younger sons, but maybe the Jing King is more favored?"

Prince Yu sneered, "He takes after his mother. Lady Wei is indeed a beauty; if she were alive, the third brother would now be even harder to handle than the fourth, and they still have troops in hand."

The King stood at the gate of the Youzhou Shengping Firm, "Just this storefront dares to ask for so much money, hum!" This guy again compares Chang'an Avenue to Youzhou.

Upon entering, I found it still lively; in midsummer, nobody buys honeycomb coal, but the side-dish pickles are very popular.

Due to the hot weather, Zhu Ti has already changed to have the caravan transport white radishes, ceramic jars, etc., as raw materials to Chang'an, and they are pickled on-site in the backyard of this firm.

Business is so good that his Zhuque Street is left in the dust; the assistants shout hoarsely, "Those looking to make up an order, come here to make up? Those who have made up, go over to pay, okay, ma'am?"

The King: "...... This is?"

Manager Zhou is also an acquaintance, "Summer hospitality: buy five jars, get one free. In this heat, nobody likes to eat rice; these two months our various sauces sell especially well, selling out by afternoon each day, so when we open the door there are quite a few people."

The King: "...... Understood, hunger marketing."

He was a bit envious of Chang'an's purchasing power; in Youzhou he not only had a workshop but also a shop, yet there was nothing to buy, so he finally withdrew the shop and directly supplied Pin Hai Lou.

"Have they brought out and sold the new soy sauce this convoy brought? Does it sell well?"

"The Chief Manager of Zhu Ti said to first give it to big customers to taste, not rush to put it on the shelves; I heard it doesn't spoil for half a year?"

The King nodded; business is still whatever Zhu Ti says; he directly went to the workshop behind the shop, and saw the intelligence unit that Zhu Ti left here.