Chapter 453

Today Youzhou City was bustling; although the populace had long known from the newspaper that the Northern Border had gained another commandery, after the Great King triumphantly returned he actually distributed grain, and the whole Youzhou once again boiled over.

Each person received one dou of grain; calculated per capita, a household could normally get quite a lot. The line of people waiting at the Shengping Grain Shop on Zhuque Avenue stretched so far you couldn't see the end, winding all the way to the old city.

This bustling Great King had to join in; after lunch he ran out to watch.

Looking out over the street, crowds packed thick and thin; their faces showed no numbness, only heartfelt joy. Each person held a bag of grain and chatted animatedly with the neighbors around them.

The Great King was very pleased that spending a little money had made all the people of Youzhou happy; if they received the grain and their happiness index rose, that would be even better.

Zhu Ti worked with great efficiency; a formal notice about grain price controls had already been posted at the entrance of the Shengping Grain Shop.

【Notice to All the People of the Realm, No. 89:

In order to stabilize grain prices in the Northern Border, no one is allowed to engage in price‑gouging. Effective immediately, purchasing grain requires presenting a household register, and the monthly purchase total may not exceed the population‑control limit for that household. Effective immediately, to prevent grain smuggling, grain prices will be controlled on a sliding scale: prices unchanged for up to five dan; for amounts over five dan but under one hundred dan, add twenty percent for transport costs. Please consume rationally—buy and eat immediately. The Northern Border King's Mansion promises that, no matter what natural disasters or man‑made calamities occur outside, as long as you bring your household register you will be able to buy enough grain each day to fill your stomach.

---Northern Border King's Mansion Commerce Department---

The petty clerk repeated the notice over and over at the gate; after finishing he paused a moment to let people ask questions, then he answered them.

The Great King pushed his way in to listen and found that the Chief Steward lived up to her commerce‑full score; he had her issue a notice to control grain prices, and she didn't forget to squeeze the big households. The Northern Border populace would never buy five dan of grain all at once; only those gentry and wealthy merchants with retinues of servants would purchase that much.

The Great King himself does not make money in chaotic times, and he does not allow the Northern Border's wealthy merchants to profit either; the Shengping Grain Shop has already squeezed the Northern Border's gentry and merchants who deal in grain out of any foothold.

Lu Tong was standing on the second floor of the Luofu Building, looking far down at the street where a line of people shaped like a rectangular loop filled the view completely; Lu Xu and Lu Xiu ran over to find him.

"Second Uncle, at last I've found you! Minister Qian has delivered your formal appointment decree, ordering you to report for duty tomorrow!" Lu Tong ignored Lu Xiu; seeing Lu Xu arrive at the window, he gestured toward the outside street market and said, "Look at that little kid squeezing over here toward us."

"Your Highness?!" Lu Xu recognized the Great King and instinctively wanted to run; he'd suffered too much lately and didn't want to play with the Great King for a while.

Lu Tong reached out and dragged him back, saying, "Look at you, such a coward—he bites people!"

Lu Xu thought to himself, "It would be fine if he bit me," but aloud he said solemnly, "Second Uncle, although you are about to take office as Minister of Justice, the laws of the Northern Border apply equally to all—mind your wording."

Lu Xiu hurriedly pushed forward to look, shouting loudly, "Which one? Which one? Let me see!"

Just as he finished speaking, a pair of sharp eyes shot straight at him; Lu Xiu startled, feeling as if a fierce beast had fixed its gaze on him in an instant, and his whole body froze there.

After the person withdrew their gaze, he shifted his leg and looked down again—there stood a big man holding a sword.

Lu Tong snorted from the side, "You're so young and naïve! You shouted that loudly—how could a master possibly not notice?"

Lu Xiu patted his chest, "I didn't say anything either—that sword‑bearer's gaze was just too sharp, really frightening!"

"Did you see only that one? Just now at least five people had locked onto this window of ours; the opposite building might even have archers."

Lu Xu was also dumbfounded, unable to tell whether his Second Uncle was joking to scare A Xiu or being serious.

Lu Tong found these two naïve nephews utterly vexing: "Do you think I, standing here looking down from this angle, could instantly recognize the Northern Border King whom I've only met once and who has grown a bit taller? I noticed that people were silently clearing space around him front, back, left and right so the crowded passersby couldn't reach him. Upon closer look there were also a dozen or so sturdy fellows rotating around him, and they disguised themselves so well that from my viewpoint, without careful observation, you wouldn't notice them. In this place, the Northern Border, having such a retinue around a child—isn't that obvious? You pampered nobles, when you go out you bring servants; of course you need disguise."

Lu Xiu: ……

Lu Xu: ……

The two juniors were mercilessly mocked by Lu Tong; after the laughter, Lu Xu pulled Lu Xiu down to meet the king, saying he wanted to introduce the king to him.

I haven't mentally prepared myself; I should have said I'd change clothes before coming out, or maybe another day?

Believe me, Your Highness won't care what you wear; he only likes plain folk.

Then is this outfit of mine a bit too new?

... What exactly are you nervous about?

He, at eleven, led four hundred men in a lightning strike on Dayun Valley and just wiped out the Shaodang Qiang—how could he be an ordinary princely lord!

Lu Xu understood; the king constantly mentions his idol.

The king was inspecting how his Hetian jade market was doing, saying, "This bracelet looks not bad; take it out so I can have a look!"

The newly arrived clerk, not knowing him, dutifully put on gloves, took out a pad, and carefully placed a clear ice bracelet onto it.

You have good taste, customer—this jade color is beautiful, right? Jade is the king of stones; this bracelet, even if you can't wear it yourself, you can buy it back as a collectible. With such fine, oily smoothness, it makes a good collectible. Look, the material is warm, moist, and fine; it's all spirited. Have you heard the saying 'jade wards off disaster'? It's a truly fine thing! Buying jade of this quality, your money isn't spent—it's just changed into a form that stays by your side. With this craftsmanship and texture, from now on you'll only buy one and have one less; when it appreciates and becomes more valuable, you'll still profit later!

The king beamed, "Great—money not spent, just changed into a way to stay by my side, bought!"

Ling Yin: ……

The king picked it up and saw the bracelet really was of good quality—no impurities, no water lines, nice color, fine and oily, indeed a fine thing. He planned to buy it back for his sister and aunt to comfort them after their recent fright.

And that larger one over there too—how much silver in total?

You've come at just the right time—the Northern Border Prince has taken Qingyu Commandery, and our store is running a celebration discount: each one only twelve thousand taels!

The king: "Cough cough!" He almost choked on his own saliva.

Now as a customer himself, he realized this shop is really black-hearted!

What bracelet sells for twelve thousand? Though he hadn't examined each item when stocking, he'd seen the invoices and had never bought such an expensive single item.

Summon your manager!

The manager of Luofu Tower was summoned; from afar he saw the king running over in a little trot, "Young master, you've come!"

The king bluntly pointed at the two bracelets on the counter, "Two thousand taels, wrap them up—this lord wants them!"

The clerk was stunned, "You're crazy! Uh…" He wanted to say "You're crazy!"—who haggles like that! For two thousand taels' worth of bracelets, why not just grab them outright! What are you dreaming!

The moment those words left his mouth, the manager kicked him hard, shutting him up. The quick-witted clerk instantly knew he should keep quiet.

Ah! I'll wrap it up for you right away!

Seeing the manager busy packing, the king smiled at the quail-like little clerk and said, "What you said isn't wrong; anyone else who dares to haggle using my method is just crazy. Your introduction was fine—keep it up. Jade nurtures health, and we Northern Border merchants are plenty; from now on, chat more with them~

Clerk: "... All right, young master, rest easy." Oh dear, maybe the boss is coming.

Lu Xu pulled Lu Xiu down, and saw the king sprawled over the glass counter, gazing at the beautiful jade inside, his legs swinging below…

Lu Xu: ……

He gave his brother a meaningful glance: "Look! That hanging there is your idol, the Northern Border Prince. This guy slaughtered all the men of Shaodang who could pick up a sword, captured the great magnates of Shaodang and had them move in opposite Wan Niu—unbelievable, right?"

Lu Xiu obviously didn't get the hint, his eyes shining as he stared at the king while trying to pull his sleeve smoother.

Good, good, good—just looking at you, I can tell you haven't been beaten by the 'Farm and Manure' ordeal; next time I'm unlucky, I'll try to bring you along!