Chapter 366: Self-Cultivation of a Fine Person

Xie Tu had only gazed at the Northern Border King's Mansion from afar; today he crossed the bridge and approached it for the first time. The Nanhua Gate, shrouded in morning mist, was solemn and majestic, fully expressing that unattainable chill.

At the end of April, the Northern Border dawn was clear and bleak.

Xie Tu suppressed an involuntary shiver, straightened his chest, and negotiated again with the fully armored guards.

These guards of the Northern Border King's Mansion really felt oppressive; he suspected they had seen battle.

Actually his guess wasn't wrong; besides the valiant cavalry and the future snow cavalry, other soldiers could end up on this duty—the mansion's security is basically rotated among them.

After several rounds of identity checks, Xie Tu was quickly led to the reception pavilion to wait; after about the time it takes to burn two incense sticks, Zhao Bao personally came to escort him inside.

All along the way Zhao Bao was very enthusiastic, dispelling the solemn, oppressive pressure brought by the Northern Border King's Mansion.

After passing through the former court area, the scenery suddenly changed, arriving at the garden zone between the former court and the inner palace.

Xie Tu discovered that this garden of the Northern Border King's Mansion was extraordinary; the refined flower gatherings that the elegant southern clans prided themselves on now seemed utterly insignificant.

Every step a view, lake light and mountain hues.

The carved beams and painted pillars of the classical architecture precisely hit every ancient aesthetic point; Master Xie was no exception.

The king's garden had already turned green; the peach blossom forest along the lakeside was in full bloom, and spring had arrived in the Northern Border.

"Master Xie, please this way; His Highness has already left court ahead, let's go wait at that Mist Rain Pavilion." Zhao Bao led Xie Tu to a pavilion with a fine view, and palace attendants soon brought up a pot of hot tea.

Xie Tu didn't have time to drink tea; his standing in Great Jin was top-notch—he was the eldest legitimate son of the main branch of the Xie clan, comparable to princes and dukes. Yet at this moment he envied the Northern Border King immensely.

Seas of flowers, strange rocks, vast blue waves, misty Jiangnan—what more could one ask for in life?

As he sighed, he heard a few crane cries; turning back, he saw two white cranes flying to the lakeshore shallows.

In this scene, Xie Tu was stunned; just as he was about to exclaim that it was a paradise on earth, he saw one of them plunge headfirst into the water, and moments later lift its head with a golden-yellow fish already in its beak...

Such a vivid yellow was very familiar; how could it look like the famous koi from Chen Commandery?

Xie Tu was about to speak when a child in a jade-colored robe dashed out from the west corridor, shouting 'Shut up!' all the way, squatting down, picking up a stone, and hurling it at the crane...

"Put it down! Put it down! The golden carp is worth three hundred taels, three hundred taels! Xiao Gao, do you have no sense of propriety?!"

The crane spat out the golden carp, then lunged at its stumbling stone—hit you first, then eat!

The king pulled a willow twig from the bank and immediately squared off with 'Xiao Gao,' saying, 'You said you'd eat the koi and get hit?! Come on, who's afraid of whom!'

"Ga—!"

For a moment, the shore was just flailing—no flying sand or rocks, only crane feathers scattering wildly, accompanied by the king's anguished cries.

"... You really hit him? You're so arrogant—should I call for reinforcements?"

"Ga-ga~!"

Zhao Bao didn't know what expression to make; Xie Tu finally found his voice: "What is this?"

"... His Highness the Northern Border King."

Xie Tu:...

Just this guy swept away the Xiongnu cavalry and unified the Northern Border?

Xie Tu lost all faith in the auspicious crane filter; as for the Northern Border King, he remains to be observed.

The king was threatening to call for reinforcements when a loud, clear whistle rang out from afar; the next instant a huge shadow swooped down from the sky at breakneck speed, and the two immortal cranes immediately abandoned the king, fleeing without looking back.

Someone not to be provoked has arrived!

The king, arms akimbo and arrogant, shouted, "If you've got the guts, don't run!"

Zhao Bao had already descended the steps, jogging over to meet him. As he drew near, he whispered a reminder to the king: "Your Highness, Master Xie is waiting up ahead at the Mist Rain Pavilion—do you still care about your image?"

The king hastily threw away the willow twig, patted his robes to look nonchalant, and shouldered his way up to the Mist Rain Pavilion.

"Commoner Xie Tu pays his respects to His Highness the Northern Border King; may Your Highness enjoy boundless happiness."

The king smiled and said, "Xie Tu, I've long heard of your great name. From now on, when we meet privately you need not perform this grand ceremony; I am quite easygoing."

Xie Tu thought he was indeed easygoing—he could even get into a fight with the immortal crane...

"I will obey Your Highness's orders."

"Please sit! Huh? Why is tea already served? Bring more snacks!" Zhao Bao hurriedly ordered attendants to bring more tea, pastries, and fruit.

The king had already become familiar enough to address them as fellow martial brothers.

Although the heaven's pride Xie Tu is always the center of attention wherever he goes, and people naturally look to him for cues and respond with great enthusiasm, he had never seen the king so... extroverted before.

The question arose: how can a person be this extroverted?

"Come, Senior Brother Xie, eat a bit more; I'll take you out for a stroll later."

"Your Highness Xie."

"Don't be polite. Senior Brother Xie, you're indeed quite handsome—so, is it true or false that Jiangnan ladies crowded the bridge just to see you?" The king, in less than three sentences, went straight for the biggest gossip.

"Your Highness, it's just a rumor spread by the townsfolk; I suspect the bridge collapsed because it had long been neglected."

"Oh! Senior Brother, you're still modest!"

"When I grow up, if such rumors circulate among the folk, I'll surely admit them right away! Clearly one could rely on looks, but Senior Brother Xie insists on relying on talent—how troublesome."

Xie Tu:...

Even his uncle never told him the Northern Border King would be so unreasonable!

There's no one like this king in all of Great Jin!

Xie Tu felt his over a decade of study had been wasted; he simply didn't know how to answer Bai Li Jing's question.

However, looking at the king's face, he thought this could probably work out; the king had already started to fill out, and was likely to grow into a handsome, graceful youth.

The king had moved past that topic, and began to enthusiastically explain to Xie Tu that he had started a newspaper, and would soon take him out to gather material.

To Xie Tu, a newspaper was a novelty: "What is gathering material?"

"It's simple—you'll know once you go see."

Later Xie Tu learned that gathering material mainly meant him doing the gathering.

The King took Xie Tu in a carriage out of the East City Gate; the carriage sped along the Imperial Road, heading straight toward the northeast, and only after passing noon did it finally stop.

Xie Tu let out a long sigh silently and didn't stop; not only the Xie clan, the King also laid out all the lands and people of his maternal clan.

Strangely, his questions were endlessly natural; one only felt he was an especially curious child, making it impossible to feel any dislike.

Because while the King asks you, he also leaks his own affairs, and his way of speaking is very special, making people find it only interesting.

Sometimes Xie Tu really wanted to cover his ears, wanting to say, 'Just ask me directly; I'm willing to spill everything unconditionally.'

At this moment, Xie Tu finally believed his uncle's evaluation of the Northern Border King: the royal family has no trivial matters, and Bai Li Jing is a shrewd person.

After they got off the carriage, the King switched to riding a horse, and only then did Xie Tu discover that the Imperial Road had been built only up to here.

After riding another three or five li, a crowd appeared ahead.

It was a large-scale slave land-reclamation site.

The King proudly extended his whip and pointed east: 'The east previously belonged to the Liaodong vassal state, but now it belongs to me. This year I have reclaimed it to unify the land reclamation, planning to plant corn and soybeans; do you know these two crops?'

'I've seen it at my uncle's mansion.' Xie Tu stared in shock at the bustling, fiery land-reclamation scene before him.

He had never seen so many cattle!

In the fields, countless cattle pulled wooden curved-shaft plows back and forth; he had never seen such a sight even in the grain-producing great prefecture of the south.

The Northern Border King's resources are quite substantial!

Moreover, looking closely at those people in the fields, they actually had double shackles on their hands and feet, and not far away there was a mounted armored soldier supervising them.

The identities of these people were obvious.

'Your Highness, they…'

'They are of the Three Xianbei Tribes. The tides of feng shui turn— the once-arrogant Xianbei people, on the land that was once their vassal state, are reclaiming and farming for me.'

Having said that, the King turned back, his eyes bright, looking at Xie Tu: 'Senior Apprentice Xie, in this situation and scene, don't you have any ideas?'

'... Yes?'

The King happily nodded: 'You surely want to write a fu poem or paint a picture? That's right— get to work, I'll put you in the next issue of the newspaper!'

Xie Tu: ……

He seemed, appeared, perhaps understood.