Chapter 238

In the next two days, the Great King didn't wait for news of his father's 200,000-strong northward sightseeing army

Zhu Ti led a hundred Xiaoqi cavalry southward, and on returning brought back a convoy stretching several li.

The King also greatly admired Chief Steward Zhu's ability—just look at how much silver the Wang family has looted!

Zhu Ti exchanged all his money for grain and wagons, and incidentally bought some coachmen and slaves in Gunzhou, then returned in grand fashion. Convoys to Youzhou at this time are almost nonexistent, but his party was still quite conspicuous; thanks to their formidable strength they made it back to Youzhou smoothly.

Upon seeing her, the King said, "If I had ten Zhu Ti's, I could just lie back and relax."

Zhao Bao and Ling Yin there looked at him and said, "You're not lying down either, are you?"

The King suddenly recalled the good deeds he'd done these past days…

"Cough cough! Zhu Ti, you've worked hard on this trip—go rest first; we'll talk about other matters after you've recovered."

Zhu Ti looked bewildered: "I don't need to rest. I have some observations from Gunzhou I'd like to tell Your Highness; let the Xiaoqi disperse first."

What Zhu Ti wanted to complain about was the King's own father.

It turns out this 200,000-strong army isn't just out for sightseeing; their slow march is because they're waiting for supplies.

Who would have thought they'd dare launch a personal campaign without bringing enough supplies?!

The King stood there with his mouth wide open the whole time…

"The grain stored in the western granaries of Gunzhou was forcibly bought cheap by the government, claiming it was to supply the emperor's northern expedition. Half of what we brought back is hemp cloth and fine silk."

The King, rare for him, felt like cursing someone; first he cursed Magistrate Cui, then his own father.

With such capability they dare to drag the emperor out on a personal campaign—his northern expedition is like a joke. They dare to march north with 200,000 mouths without enough provisions?!

The King then realized he had no standing to complain… Hmm, he knew from those days at court that the treasury was empty; he himself hadn't paid last year's tribute, substituting coal instead.

He wasn't just looking at how well the people of Chang'an lived; our Youzhou has only just escaped starvation.

Fortunately, thinking about it, we've already reached Wuwei—it's just retaking our own city, not a deep incursion into the steppe, so the King felt a bit more at ease.

By the way, Zhu Ti had seen the King habitually return to her office, and then she was stunned by the pile of stuff on the desk!

Every day's summary slips pile up on the desk, filling it completely, with flying transmissions from all over as well. The King glanced at a few important items, then tore open the rest just to glance at them and left them stacked on the desk—now they've accumulated like little hills…

She summoned the assistant left in Wanxiang City: "While I'm away from Youzhou, is Your Highness handling the Ministry of Commerce affairs here, or have you gone to the Prince You's Ministry of Commerce?"

"Well… Your Highness comes by each day to see if there's anything major. He says, 'Don't bother me if there's nothing major.' And what counts as major is also up to him to decide."

Zhu Ti gritted her teeth, thinking of going on strike.

Even high-level AIs aren't pushovers.

That night, as the King slept, he felt something fuzzy; he jolted awake, opened his eyes, and saw a green blob sitting before his bed, looking especially terrifying in the dim night-light.

"Ow ow ow, Bai Ze!" Help!

Bai Ze lifted his head, glanced at him, then silently lay back down.

Tsk tsk, such a jumpy start.

After shouting enough, the King focused and realized the green blob was his all-purpose chief steward; he said, "Not even Bai Ze, Winnie, or Zhetian reacted—these traitors!"

At that moment the green blob drawled, "My lord, are you just going to sleep now? I've got a backlog of work—I've been busy till now, just finished~"

The King realized, thinking you're still pretty capable—those mountain‑sized problems are now solved; indeed robots beat human brains!

But he instinctively felt he ought to be tactful, so the King immediately praised: "Chief Steward, you've worked hard! Having you is my blessing!"

Zhu Ti: "Thanks to my lord, I have this blessing."

The King: …

Zhu Ti finished speaking and handed him a few pages; the King took them and asked, "What is this?"

Zhu Ti: "A new skin."

By the dim night-light the King finally made out that it showed screenshots of green‑blob outfits, like some corner of the mall he'd never visited. Who even sells such things?

Indeed, the Chief Steward's green skirt is often changed, in various shades of green.

The King habitually glanced at the price below: "... How can these green blobs be so expensive?!"

Zhu Ti expressionlessly: "Yeah. Before I was diligently saving up to buy them myself, but now someone's footing the bill. They're my overtime pay for working late into the night. My lord, are you trying to exploit the AI? I can go over the backlog of matters in the Ministry of Commerce with you, item by item…"

The King, feeling guilty, raised his hand to stop her: "Buy! I don't have any extra ingots either—go to the privy purse, draw some silver, and top up to buy them yourself!"

Having gotten what she wanted, Zhu Ti immediately rose: "My lord, good night; go back to sleep—this should be settled now."

The King: …