Chapter 315: Victory Settlement

Better a short pain than a long one; the Da Wang gritted his teeth and bought everything he needed.

He needed to buy that plaque for the North Territory Prince's Mansion; as for other lanterns and such, he thought he'd just buy a few for show, and talk about more when he was rich—what's the point of hanging so many lanterns?

Who knew that upon opening the variously sized and styled lanterns, he discovered they had already been selected for him in fixed quantities, unchangeable.

220 lanterns, 600 lanterns, 80 lanterns……

The Da Wang had never noticed there were so many different lantern styles; he paid angrily, "Meng Meng is really being distant, blocking me front and back!"

He bought all the newly popped little trinkets; the silver ingots flowed away with a splash, and the Da Wang's pitiful balance dropped back to three digits. He immediately shut it off—just one more glance would be heartbreaking.

The Da Wang was about to triumph; all of Secluded Prefecture was watching this, and Zhu Ti also noticed the movements of the Da Wang's storehouse.

She saw those extra things and understood; she directly took them outside for a round, arranged for people to haul them to the mansion, and had them swapped in right away.

Money spent clean out, the Da Wang listless. Wei Shen tossed him a fruit he'd brought from Upper Valley Pass; the Da Wang shook his head, "Not eating, too poor to stomach anything."

As soon as he said that, Wei Ke and Xue San, Xue Si all looked over, "What thing? Who's poor?"

Wei Shen nearly choked; he swallowed the fruit in his mouth and pointed at the Upper Valley Pass they'd just left, "Poor?" Who's so poor they can't eat, yet could expand the pass that long?

The Da Wang put on a perfunctory "you don't understand anything" expression, waved his hand, and combined with his age, successfully made Wei Ke laugh.

Wei Shen then looked at his elder brother, "What are you laughing at? We're heading back to Secluded Prefecture this afternoon; then you'll see how capable our Da Wang is. I've described the You Prefecture Prince's Mansion to you before—it's all true, no exaggeration. Go see for yourself, and you'll know: compared to it, our marquis's residence is just a stables!"

Wei Ke lifted his leg and kicked him, "No filter!" A prince's mansion is naturally not comparable to a marquis's.

Wei Shen clutched his butt and darted away a bit, "You'll see when you look! The funniest part is that everyone thinks our Wei family contributed, to the point that even our grandfather would be shocked enough to drop his jaw."

Wei Ke didn't need the You Prefecture Prince's Mansion to drop his jaw; the city walls of Secluded Prefecture were enough.

Outside Secluded Prefecture City, the first sight was a sea of people; the townsfolk braved the cold wind to welcome the western expedition army.

The imperial road cleared out, with the populace standing on both sides; the front row consisted of Secluded Prefecture soldiers.

As soon as the Da Wang appeared, the people all knelt, shouting long live the heir, boundless happiness.

Whether the populace was driven by the authorities to come greet or came spontaneously, careful observation can tell.

At that moment, Wei Ke was stunned.

The Wei family had operated in Prosperous Prefecture for three generations; his grandfather's reputation was no more than that.

From his horse he could see the people's faces; in the cold wind they touched their heads to the ground, performed the great kowtow, demeanor proper, sincere and earnest. Looking closely at the rear, there were plenty furtively glancing up at the Da Wang, their eyes and mouth corners betraying nothing.

And the Da Wang had only been operating in Secluded Prefecture for a few years?!

Besides, behind them stood the majestic city walls of Secluded Prefecture, the solemn Black Armor Guards on the walls—everything showed this was no ordinary city.

At the very least, Wei Ke had never seen such a city-wall standard outside Perpetual Peace; if one had to compare… it seemed even better than Perpetual Peace.

Wei Shen beside him deliberately bumped him and whispered, "How is it? Don't listen to Wei Taiping crying poor every day—once you've been to Secluded Prefecture you'll know, no need to believe him!"

Wei Ke: "... Now I know."

If the Da Wang heard that, he'd surely cry himself to death—of course he has no time now.

This fellow is very steady outwardly.

Steady in his exemptions from ceremony, steady in his proclamation—to celebrate the great victory of the western expedition, unify the northern territory, all of Secluded Prefecture will hold a three-day celebration, with night curfew lifted.

The populace rose together to cheer; just seeing the neat ranks of cavalry, not fewer than when they set out, the people were genuinely delighted. Most of these cavalry were locals, and their safe return was the best thing for the townsfolk.

Having expressed his attitude, the Da Wang thereafter directly waived formalities and called out as he went forward, all the way until near the city gate, where the hurriedly arriving civil and military officials were.

These people now each do the work of three; the surplus are sent out to the localities. Moreover, they now handle not just Secluded Prefecture affairs but the entire northern territory.

After these people finished their morning shift, the Chancellor organized them to greet at the city gate; he believed the Da Wang wouldn't nitpick—if he did, let him look at the piles of files in the office!

The Da Wang called out, and the Chancellor and Grand Tutor were the first to rise.

The Da Wang looked and said, "The Chancellor and Grand Tutor have grown quite thin; you'd better take care of yourselves!"

The two finally could lift their heads; upon inspection, good grief! Though the Da Wang seated on horseback shows no sign of having grown taller or shorter, that baby‑fat little face is still as fresh and tender as ever!

Without mentioning that the western expedition endured several major battles, fighting all the way to the foothills of Heavenly Mountain?

They also worried that the hardships of marching and fighting would affect the Da Wang's growth. After all, ten is a crucial age for growing; what tasty food could there be fighting in some northwestern desert…

With your appearance of having suffered nothing, what would those two oldsters who toil like oxen and horses at home, feet never touching the ground, think?!

The Grand Tutor looked at the Da Wang's outstretched paw as he called out—complete and intact, very good. Just don't know if this little paw has forgotten the characters he previously practiced.

The Da Wang led the officials into the city and found that both sides of the main thoroughfare were crowded with people.

The Da Wang whispered, "Surely not every single person in Secluded Prefecture City has come out, right?"

Wei Shen shook his head: "Not just that! Look at those dressed in filth—they're definitely from the Tongshui Coal Mine!"

Da Wang: ……

The Da Wang kept a faint smile, relying on the horse's hooves making noise, he quietly boasted to Wei Shen about his insights.

He couldn't laugh too loudly and lose royal decorum, nor be too solemn on such a fine day and put on a face—the timing needs to be just right. And he, doing this, is a professional!

Wei Shen: ……

For Wei Ke and the Xue brothers, first-time visitors to Secluded Prefecture, their eyes weren't enough; Secluded Prefecture City actually had farmland—just say how big it is!

All along they passed through the renovated residential districts; they thought such fine houses must be the prince's mansion, only why weren't they walled? It looked a bit chaotic! Who knew the procession didn't stop—perhaps it was circling the city?

When the procession entered the old city district and saw the dilapidated old area, they breathed a sigh of relief—finally it felt like a frontier commandery!

But after leaving the old district and heading north, the ramshackle houses disappeared again.

Starting at Vermilion Bird Avenue, the newly built houses were all of the renovated style.

After passing Vermilion Bird Avenue, they saw the You Prefecture Prince's Mansion ahead—ah, no, it's now called the North Territory Prince's Mansion.

Xue San and Xue Si, including Wei Ke, have all seen the imperial palace; they understand its significance better than the Secluded Prefecture populace. Wei Ke even gave the Da Wang two extra looks—these past two years, whichever of your brothers comes to Secluded Prefecture, they ought not to let you off easy!

Wei Shen instantly spotted the difference, seizing the moment to jab, "Wow, 'North Territory Prince's Mansion'? Those words are great—so imposing!"

The Da Wang followed up muttering, "…The price is also extremely imposing."

The second floor of the gatehouse of Southern Splendor Gate hangs the four large characters 'Northern Border Prince's Mansion'; it must be the work of some calligraphy master—just looking at it exudes a mighty, domineering aura!

The Grand Tutor gazed at it, utterly enamored, wanting to rush over and ask whose work it was. He thought that although the king's own calligraphy isn't much, his taste is still good.