Chapter 406

Nobody in the whole hall escaped; the King sat on the steps beside the bowl, and anything not particularly valuable felt awkward to put inside. Haven't you heard the King say it's to be sent to auction? Things that aren't valuable aren't worth sending to auction.

When the time comes, announcing that this item was donated by some official, with a starting bid of two hundred wen—would that look good? Even if someone could afford to lose it, what would the King think? The King is not easy to deal with…

In the end, every official in the final hall produced their most valuable possession.

Having received the auction items, the King didn't mention going down to inspect, and walked off happily holding his already‑pointed black‑flowered large bowl…

Zhu Ti hadn't returned yet, so the King summoned He Guang and ordered him to start preparing the disaster‑relief charity auction.

Xie Yuan thought the King's attention had been diverted by the money and relaxed, but he relaxed too soon— that night the King summoned the group led by him, the 'Youzhou Second Generation Team'.

The Wei brothers, Xue Three and Xue Four, Xie Tu leading the Xie brothers, the Lu brothers, Zhou Huang, plus Liang Two—when they heard the King's call to gather for 'Spring River Flower Moon Night', they dropped everything, no matter how important, and promptly showed up.

Upon seeing Lu Jia, the King jumped back in surprise; in just a few days this person had broken out with blisters all around the mouth.

"How did you get such a huge fire? Too bad—tonight you won't get to enjoy it; the choice goods brought back from the Owl Riders' mountain training have all been sent here."

Lu Jia gave a bitter smile, rose, and performed another solemn bow: "Thank you, Your Highness, for saving Fan Yang and the Lu family! But since the matter isn't settled, I can't help worrying."

"I suppose the Prince of Lu who besieged Fan Yang but didn't attack wasn't doing it to kill people—the Lu family is quite safe." Having said that, he glanced at Xie Tu with meaning: "Maybe he's envious that I now have the Xie clan? That's why he's concerned about the Lu clan."

Xie Tu returned the gesture helplessly, and the King laughed triumphantly.

After the five flavors, the King was nearly full, and he brought up this year's drought.

In the decadent Spring River Flower Moon Night, ice basins were filled; here it wasn't hot, and whenever the King mentioned the outside drought, the temperature dropped another two degrees.

"……I, the King, am deeply worried. Although heavenly disasters are unpredictable and human effort can't save them, how could I resign myself to doing nothing and waiting for autumn's total crop failure, not knowing how many people will starve to death?"

The atmosphere in the room grew solemn, with only the music drifting in from outside.

Wei Ke spoke first: "Your Highness, do whatever you want—we and Wei Shen will always support you." Others nodded as well, and the King was pleased.

"Ling Yin knows a bit about hydraulic surveying; I was thinking of sending him out to give it a try. Bingzhou is especially severe—if we don't do anything about the autumn harvest, in a few days even people's drinking water may become scarce."

Wei Shen chimed in, "Then let him go—bring more people, dig wells, right? We've got plenty of manpower!"

The King let out a sigh of relief—finally we've gotten to this point!

He looked at Xie Tu: "Ling Yin is definitely going. Knowledge from books is always superficial; we must put this into practice…"

Wei Shen: "Watch your language!" Suddenly he dropped a satchel of books.

Xie Tu: …What is he doing?

He couldn't help it—whenever the King dug a pit, he always had him test the depth first. "Your Highness means you want to go yourself?"

The King nodded happily. "Exactly! We just need a smart person who speaks concisely." Thinking of that, he glared at Wei Shen, "Look at you, clueless!"

Wei Shen glared right back without hesitation!

Wei Ke: …How vexing.

"Not only me, I also plan to take you all along to have a look. None of us at this table have really seen ordinary folk life, right? I mean the life of peasants who farm every day. After next year's imperial exams, most of us will be entering officialdom, so going out now to broaden our horizons is also good."

Wei Shen: "Huh? Everyone's going?"

"Exactly! Come along and help out. I'll take you out to broaden your horizons! You could also see it as a study tour organized by me." The King was preparing to bring these young masters to the disaster zones to see for themselves; he didn't want officials who lacked basic understanding, and those who only knew how to write essays were useless to him. Sometimes the King feared that these 'naive sweethearts' of the aristocracy, who know nothing of earthly life, would trip up in the harsh laws of the northern border.

Everyone in the room had different expressions; the most eager was Xie Shu of the Xie family, who imagined what hardships he'd endure touring with the King and had already taken it as a spring outing.

Xie Tu thought it wasn't that simple, and sure enough the King looked at him again: "Senior Brother Xie, there's still a little matter I need your help with."

"Your Highness, please speak."

"Well, Mr. Xie disagrees with our going out, so you'll have to persuade him."

Xie Tu: …

"What do you mean 'doesn't agree to let us go out'? It sounds like we're the ones insisting on coming along! Could it be that the officials won't let you go, so you're dragging these lackeys along as excuses?!"

"As a commoner, I fear I'm not equal to this great task; please, Your Highness, think it over three times."

The King looked angry: "Nonsense! I won't allow you to belittle yourself!"

Xie Tu: …

No one knows who started it, but in the end the whole room burst into hysterical laughter; only Xie Tu's wounded world was fulfilled.

Wei Ke, as the Great King's paternal cousin, struggled to hold back the sympathy in his eyes and proactively poured Xie Tu a full glass of chilled beer.

"Master Xie, please."

Xie Tu downed a glass of ice‑cold beer; the last trace of summer heat completely dissipated, and he truly felt cool to the core.

Xie Manor

"What did you say?" Xie Yuan stared, bewildered, and lifted his gaze to Xie Tu.

"My nephew says the Great King wants to take us on an inland study tour and hopes for your strong support." Xie Tu spoke bluntly, laying it all out.

Xie Yuan gave him a thorough look and said, "Outside, the blazing sun scorches a thousand li of barren land—what's there to study?"

Or is it a study tour led by a poor student?

"There's a saying: 'Reading ten thousand scrolls is no match for traveling ten thousand li.'"

Xie Yuan raised his hand: "Pass! Skip the nonsense."

Xie Tu: "…Then that's it. I guess the Great King wants to go inspect the severely drought‑stricken regions, but you won't let him. Now he's made up his mind, and for that he's dragged a bunch of us along and pushed me out to talk to you. In my view, Uncle, you'd better just tell Your Highness to return as soon as possible. This trip is definitely necessary; Your Highness has already decided what clothes to bring and what route to take."

Xie Yuan: ……

Xie Yuan pondered for a moment, feeling that the Great King simply had too little homework, so this time when going out he also needed to give him more writing to do. Having figured it out, he looked at Xie Tu again, really curious and asked: "What leverage does the Great King have over you? Why do you always get stuck doing this kind of work?"

Xie Tu took a deep breath, "If it weren't for you 'missing me,' I wouldn't have come to You Prefecture. You came to You Prefecture of your own accord, and I'm just basking in your glory."

Xie Yuan: "……Get lost!"

Xie Tu scurried away, and Xie Yuan, thinking of something, called him back again: "You, on the road don't help Your Highness with his homework!"

Xie Tu: ……