Chapter 457

Xie Tu didn't know why the Great King had invited Qingxu, but now that things had come to this, he felt the Great King's purpose in setting up this situation wasn't that simple.

After he left, Zhu Ti came holding a red snapper, and right in front of Weini tied the fish to the Great King's fishing line; then the Great King, delighted, reeled in the line, saying, "I caught a fish! Weini, you have fish to eat!"

Weini: ……

It can still tell the difference between a live fish and a dead fish.

This guy looked at the red snapper the Great King handed over, then lifted his paw and pointed at Zhu Ti, indicating the bear had seen it—it was the one she had just tied on!

The king plucked the fish and shoved it into its claw, 'How can you not tell good from bad! This is genuine wild sea fish, far more fragrant than those freshwater-fed koi! Look how fat they are—all oil, where's any real meat!'

Seeing Winnie half-convinced, the king concluded, 'That red fish in your hand is just right—look at those in the lake, they're too vivid! Let me teach you a rule: overly vivid fruit is poisonous, and so are fish.'

Winnie turned to glance at Zhu Ti in her bright green dress, then suddenly stepped back and hid behind the king.

The king: ……

Zhu Ti: ……

One always feels scolded by the bear!

After dealing with the bear, Zhu Ti and the king still had matters to discuss; the king mysteriously produced his spirit beast bag and handed it to Zhu Ti, '... When the clam was taken back yesterday, we already communicated; just release it on time.' Zhu Ti neither confirmed nor denied that the communication was settled; anyway, she would do whatever the king ordered.

As for Xie Tu, after meeting Qing Xu and Zhang Tonghe at the Nanhuamen Gate, he led them straight to the garden per the king's orders. Actually he wasn't familiar with this place either, but fortunately Zhao Bao led the way, so he only needed to act as commentator.

Qing Xu, who had spent ten years in a row meditating on the mountain; Zhang Tonghe, who had spent forty years shuttling among every famous mountain and river, either practicing medicine or gathering herbs; together they had never seen such a splendid scene at the Northern Frontier Prince's mansion.

As it turns out, what we saw from outside was merely the tip of the iceberg—not worth mentioning.

Only by approaching close did they realize how majestic the halls were; only by entering the covered corridor could they see that even the wooden railings were exquisitely carved. Though both were well‑traveled, at a glance they noticed the corridor ceiling's murals—apart from the gilding, the vivid colors were painted with five‑colored stone! Thus even a random corridor would cost a fortune.

Zhang Tonghe reflected and soon the logic made sense: the king's master sells a single pill for a million taels of silver, so painting a corridor with azurite and cinnabar is nothing.

Soon they were dazzled by the garden's scene‑by‑scene layout; Xie Tu kept stopping to explain to them what was wonderful about each view, afraid the two would chew on peonies and not understand.

'…When the Northern Frontier Prince built this mansion, the conscripted laborers each day received three hundred wen and two sheng of rice; when construction began they were also issued work clothes. This job was so desirable that one had to check that none of the past three generations had a criminal record before being eligible. It is said that after the mansion's completion, thousands of households in Youzhou escaped the brink of starvation.' Xie Tu added this specifically lest they think the king had used the people's fat and ointment.

As expected, the divine physician and Daoist were astonished, unable to imagine how much silver it would take to erect a palace of this scale. Not to mention the materials, even the laborers were paid.

They had just spent a long time walking through the former court; only upon reaching the rear garden did they realize that was merely the former court, occupying only a third of the mansion's area. Between the former court and the inner palace lay a vast garden, even containing a huge artificial lake.

Xie Tu brought them to stand under the willows by the lake to rest and admire the lotuses; Zhang the physician asked, 'Does His Highness also walk every day inside the mansion?' Isn't it that just strolling around his own residence would already exceed his exercise quota? The physician's first thought was that walking from the former court to the bedroom in his own home would fulfill a full day's training goal.

'Yes, on foot. His Highness walks from the bedroom to the former court for the morning audience, then goes to the Northern Guard barracks at Beihuamen to practice martial arts, and afterward heads to the stables near Donghuamen to ride horses to the academy.'

Zhang Tonghe: ……

The king is no better off—having only seen half the garden, he has already walked as much as he usually does when gathering herbs on the mountain.

A wooden pier extends into the lake; seeing them curious, Xie Tu led them to the pavilion hovering over the water for a look. Zhao Bao, upon entering, reached under the stone table and, as if performing a trick, produced a wooden box.

He said with a smile, 'It's the fish feed His Highness hid.'

Xie Tu opened it, grabbed a handful, and scattered it onto the water; three seconds later the area before the pavilion seemed to boil as countless vivid large fish surged forward to grab the feed. The two stared and saw they were actually the extravagantly priced koi from outside.

Koi starting at three hundred taels, the king has an endless supply.

Having toured half the garden, the time was about up, so Xie Tu no longer delayed and led them to their destination, the Lanxia Pavilion.

Upon going upstairs, Xie Yuan and Lu Tong et al. had already arrived; the mansion was so vast that they had just been touring the garden and yet never run into each other.

The king arrived right on time; although he was the organizer, with Xie Yuan and the grand tutor present he didn't need to lift a finger for the socializing—two gentlemen, each saying a word, had already taken care of everything for him.

Not a single dish at the banquet was known to the divine physician and Daoist.

Their savings didn't allow them to spend at the king's restaurant or at Spring River Flower Moon Night, so today's banquet featured all sorts of fancy delicacies they had never seen before.

Hearing others comment on the deliciousness, they realized this seemed to be a common Youzhou dish.

The king smiled throughout, often urging them to eat more.

The first time seeing him, Qing Xu, looking at the king's clear big eyes, felt that the king himself should be completely different from what he imagined—truly, stereotypes harm people.

After dining and enjoying the view at the Lanxia Pavilion, everyone moved on to the second venue.

It is another viewing platform built on the artificial hill by the lake, with the king's current study, the LanTai Palace, behind it.

Before them lay beautiful mountain‑water scenery, behind them stood majestic halls; as the lanterns were first lit, everyone was instantly stunned.

People gazing from afar at the night view of the Northern Frontier Prince's mansion sigh in wonder, for they have not seen the interior—inside is truly splendid, like being in a heavenly palace.

Lu Tong noticed that the willow by the lake, which looked serene in the daytime, now had stars flickering above it—the Northern Frontier Prince's mansion had even strung lights on every willow tree! And they were purely for beauty, not for illumination.

He silently complained to himself, not wasting a moment to widen his eyes, striving to etch this non‑human beauty into his memory.

He now only wants to say…… the Northern Frontier Prince really eats too well.

Everyone took their seats, palace attendants served tea, and the king went straight to the point.

'I have heard that Daoism also splits into many schools—there are those who exorcise evil and catch ghosts, and those who draw talismans and cultivate; I don't know which school Daoist Master Qing Xu belongs to.'