Chapter 364

After boarding the Wing Province carriage, it sped up; the carriage could run on the Expressway, and there was hardly any jolt.

The three pampered young masters had never ridden such a carriage; Lu Xun would sigh several times a day about how spacious and flat the Expressway was, and upon reaching the border of Secluded Province and seeing the walls of Peace and Health, he sighed about the walls instead.

Only when they saw Youzhou City did the carriage fall silent.

The city guards, seeing Tie Zhu's waist plaque, let them pass directly; they entered Youzhou City through the side gate of the west gate. Passing the wide walls, the wengcheng and arrow towers, Lu Hen finally managed to blurt out: "This… is as solid as gold and moat! Surely no army could attack here now, right?" After all, those bandits outside had made short work of Xiao Guang, yet they still had such sturdy city walls.

He forgot to lower his voice saying that; outside, Tie Zhu took it as an open discussion and naturally replied, "Hey, the three Xianbei tribes already came to attack—look, now all the survivors are out north reclaiming land for His Highness!"

Lu Hen: ……

An honest person's words were especially to the point.

By then, they were immensely curious about this Northern Border King—over a hundred thousand times curious. The Xiongnu and Xianbei that had always made the north tremble at their name, he had fought them all and never lost.

Tie Zhu directly sent them to Xie Yuan's residence in the city; as long as they had reached the Northern Border, the king didn't restrict their activities, even though they had been forcibly summoned.

"First I'll send you to Master Xie's residence, but please, Young Master Xie, do not leave Youzhou City before His Highness summons you."

"Uncle, don't you live in the academy outside the city?"

"Now that we're here, there's no need to keep it secret anymore: Master Xie has officially been appointed Northern Border Grand Censor; he doesn't go to the academy every day, spending most of his time residing in the city."

Xie Tu: ……

Lu Qie: ……They even have a Grand Censor now?

Lu Hen: "Then that essay really was written by Lord Xie?"

Tie Zhu, unaware of this, pointed to a passing manor and said, "That's the Eastern Capital Marquis's manor; just ahead is the Xie residence."

Xie Tu looked up and saw that it was even more magnificent than the Eastern Capital Marquis's manor in Chang'an……

He personally admired several border-defending generals, and when he went to Chang'an for studies, he deliberately visited the mansions of the Xue and Liang families.

Lu Hen practically burst with questions: "Do all the members of the Eastern Capital Marquis's family also live in Youzhou City?"

"Yes. The grand matriarch lives in the city with the second son and the female relatives, while the eldest son is stationed at Shanggu Pass."

Good grief, is the whole family being held hostage?

They passed Luo Shui Pass, hearing that it was garrisoned by the Eastern Capital Marquis. The father and son managing the two passes must…… then they immediately thought of Xie Yuan also entering service, and upon seeing Xie Tu's complex expression, they wondered, "Could that Brother Xie also be a hostage?"

Just then, Tie Zhu added, "I've heard that many of Master Xie's clansmen are also coming to live in the Northern Border; Young Master Xie will soon be reunited with his relatives."

Xie Tu: ……He felt he had understood.

Tie Zhu's thick nerves finally kicked in; he hurriedly explained, "It's because Master Xie, after weighing the situation, felt that only the Northern Border was safe in these troubled times, and he genuinely invited his clansmen to come north!"

All three nodded, each feeling they had understood.

Tie Zhu, now at a loss for words, said, "Don't believe me—just wait for Master Xie to return and ask him yourself!"

The three realized Tie Zhu had delivered them to the Xie mansion, handed them over to the steward, and then truly ignored them, turning back to report.

"Are we free just like that? Aren't you afraid we'll turn and run?" Lu Hen felt there must be some ulterior motive, but no one went along with his reasoning.

Xie Tu had just exchanged a couple of words with the Xie mansion's steward when Zhou Huang got off work.

He now spends most of his time at the Xie mansion; upon returning and seeing a crowd of people, without waiting for the steward to introduce them, he casually went over to greet them, "…Are you all also Master's disciples? Did you come from the Qingyang Academy?"

Lu Qie: "No."

Lu Hen: "From the Fangyang Academy."

Xie Tu bowed with clasped hands: "Xie Tu."

Upon learning they were junior members of Xie Yuan's family newly arrived in Youzhou, Zhou Huang volunteered to take them out for a meal.

"The other senior disciples all stay at the academy; here it's usually just me and Master living, and the mansion doesn't have much good food, so let me take the three of you out to eat! Master's affairs are busy, and he won't be back to the mansion for a while yet!"

Zhou Huang also had a reason for liking to stay at the Xie mansion: the king's grant of residence to Xie Yuan was surely in a prime location, making it convenient for him to go anywhere from here.

Zhou Huang led his three newly acquainted friends on foot, and they ended up strolling to Zhuque Avenue.

The sun was setting, the lamps were just lit, and Zhuque Avenue was already bustling.

The three, who had thought they were coming to the Northern Border to suffer, stood in the bustling market and felt that they themselves were the country bumpkins.

In comparison, Fangyang is nothing but a backwater!

Young Master Xie maintained a dignified composure, showing nothing unusual; it was only after great effort that Lu Hen finally managed to shut his mouth.

Standing in place and turning around, he murmured, "…Is this Youzhou?"

Zhou Huang felt this place was his second homeland; seeing the newcomers' looks of surprise, he took pride in saying, "Lively, right? Youzhou is far livelier than our Changzhou; this street is Youzhou's most prosperous, called Zhuque Avenue. On this street you can buy the finest food, clothing, and entertainment in the world!"

Lu Hen: "The finest in the world? Don't be bragging! Those pavilions are nice to look at." He had never seen so many lantern-decorated pavilions before; even though most buildings on Zhuque Avenue are two or three stories tall, this was rare even in the Great Jin.

They also lacked the concept of a nightscape, but seeing the blazing lights and the crowds flowing through the street left them utterly dazed.

Is the outside world really like this?

Even the relatively steady Lu Qie couldn't contain his excitement: "Reading ten thousand scrolls is no match for traveling ten thousand miles; the truth of that saying is revealed right now—we ought to get out and walk more."

As a semi-landlord, Zhou Huang warmly welcomed the master's junior kin and invited them to first go to a tavern for a meal.

"Master won't be back to the mansion for another one or two hours; you all must be hungry from the long journey, so let's eat first…" He also caught the king's habit of greeting first and then inviting guests.

That proposal was good; the few of them, starving, immediately agreed, and Zhou Huang led them straight to the king's tavern.

The three were genuinely stunned by the tavern's fresh dishes and delicious flavors; after eating their fill and going out to stroll and digest, Zhou Huang deliberately took them to the king's stationery shop, where the four of them gathered at the entrance to gaze at the banner reading "Personally Selected by Xie Yuan" for a while.

This thing even had its lights wired up at night; even after nightfall it didn't lose its eye‑catching brilliance, glowing red and striking.

Lu Hen finally couldn't hold back his laughter: "Hahaha, so it's really true! Brother Xie, Lord Xie, you're quite interesting!"

Xie Tu: ……

Zhou Huang hadn't forgotten Xie Yuan's earlier speechlessness; it wasn't that the master was amusing, but that the king was overbearing, daring to tweak the tiger's whiskers, right?

Lu Hen's joy came to an abrupt halt upon entering the shop; he found that the pencils there came in more varieties than in Fangyang, were far cheaper, and buying ten even came with a free pencil sharpener!

He resentfully said, "Give me another thirty!"

Lu Qie: ……"You don't even know how to use the ones you have; why buy so many?"

Lu Hen: "It's so cheap here, I need to buy some to bring the average price down."

Only Zhou Huang listened and agreed wholeheartedly, feeling this person had good business acumen...

In the evening, Xie Yuan returned to his mansion and saw his nephew, feeling surprised: 'Ah Tu? How did you come to You Prefecture?' Based on the timing, the news from Chen Commandery shouldn't have reached Fan Yang so quickly.

I heard it's because Uncle misses me.

Xie Yuan:...

I get it. Most likely the Great King thought of that for him.