Chapter 421

Great King flicked his sleeve, leaving behind four rice worms, not taking any.

He also couldn't just dump these four good-for-nothing, grain-ignorant goods and not care about them; even a slight chance would be troublesome, so Great King was considerate enough to leave behind a hundred Snow Cavalry, for now still able to assist Governor Jiang in managing the big farm.

Jiang Yong saw Great King off, then let out a heavy sigh.

In just a few days, Great King could be described in his mind with one word: unfathomable.

That map made him look at Great King with new eyes.

Peace and Stability is just an insignificant poor commandery of Merged Prefecture, but Great King precisely grasped all information about Peace and Stability. Jiang Yong turned back and summoned all officials big and small from the Governor's Office, even the tiny city guard, having them tighten up and work diligently. All matters big and small of Peace and Stability are in Great King's grasp; if something happens he will not take responsibility or plead for mercy, and everyone knows the laws of the Northern Border.

After all, the Great King even knows how many households there are in the deep wilderness, roughly how many mu of land they farm, let alone the big and small affairs of Peace and Stability City.

From then on, Jiang Yong firmly believed that the Great King possessed a massive intelligence network impossible to estimate.

For a moment, the whole Peace and Stability City was thrown into panic.

Seeing them off, Lu Xun was extremely sad, truly sad. He still wouldn't leave until the Great King's long procession vanished from sight.

"The Great King won't make us work here until winter, will he? Will he really come back to see us? I miss Secluded Prefecture. I miss the street food of Vermilion Bird Avenue, the song and dance of Spring River Flower Moon Night, even my classmates from the Northern Border Academy..." It was utterly sincere.

Xie Shu was somewhat speechless: 'I can see you love Secluded Prefecture, but let me remind you—you're from Fanyang. Don't you miss Fanyang?'

Lu Xun innocently said: 'The Lu clan has already moved into the Northern Border, anyway, from now on I am a Northern Border resident! The Great King said it himself—once you come here, you're a Northern Border resident!... Don't talk nonsense, will the Great King really detour to Peace and Stability City on his return? Have you looked at the map? No matter how you go from Liangzhou, you can't get to Peace and Stability City without taking a big detour! Can the four of us really go back to Secluded Prefecture? You, who study pest control, can't even use it until the sweet potatoes grow up!'

Xie Shu: ……

Lu Jia was too lazy to stand in the sun watching them bicker, turned around and headed back: 'Don't worry, there are still a hundred snow cavalry here; the Great King would surely not abandon them.'

Lu Xun perked up: 'So, we just need to keep an eye on the snow cavalry!'

'That makes sense!'

Long Peace

In the current court, one of the Three Dukes has been replaced by Bai Li Jin's own man, namely the Grand Minister of Works Wang Yu. Wang Yu is Bai Li Jin's maternal uncle, and also the head of the Glorious Reeds Wang Clan in Long Peace. This uncle-nephew pair's greed is obviously inferior to that of Emperor Ningde.

In the prince's study that night, the lights remained lit past midnight; after another hour, the people coming and going finally dispersed, leaving only Wang Yu and a few close aides speaking behind closed doors.

'...... Tomorrow, when the emperor learns of this at morning court, he'll get angry again.'

'You say the little rebel king of Secluded Prefecture is so young—how can he be so troublesome?'

'Upper Party and Clear River probably have other ideas as well.'

'The Minister of Works said......'

Obviously, Wang Yu, relying on the Grand Marshal's advanced age to overstep his bounds, was surprisingly the first to receive news of the matters in Fanyang and Peng City.

After all, he is the maternal uncle; the next day Wang Yu entered the palace early to inform Bai Li Jin of the news concerning Fanyang and Peng City, at least providing some buffer and mental preparation.

That morning, the emperor was late for court by one hour.

He didn't say it was cancelled, so the officials just stood waiting in the main hall of the Jianzhang Palace.

After one hour, Bai Li Jin entered with a gloomy face.

'Convey my imperial decree: summon the King of Clear River and the Prince of Upper Party to the capital!'

An uproar broke out below—what kind of mischief is this? Summoning the feudal lords back to the capital is no small matter!