Chapter 483: Play

Those who go out to sea to fish are mostly merchants, with a small chance being fishermen; when they come knocking, it's not up to Tao Ying to personally receive them, but the Great King has this ability.

Wei Ke brought his brother to the door; the two dressed very down-to-earth, except for their faces.

After knocking open the fort's gate, the wise and martial Great King couldn't understand human speech; he boldly requested to stay two days in the fort. If not allowed, he seemed likely to roll on the ground at the door.

Wei Ke looked anxiously at the Tao clan's steward and said, "My younger brother is making his first trip out; he's very unaccustomed to life at sea. Because I brought him, I've delayed our schedule, and by the time we got here our supplies were exhausted, so we could only hastily dock and seek refuge at your residence. I hope to borrow your residence to let my brother rest for a day or two; after we replenish supplies we'll leave. Please also sell us some fresh water and vegetables, not skimping on the silver."

No matter what, the steward couldn't make that decision; seeing the Great King's pitiful little gaze, he only promised to go report to the master and ask.

Tao Ying certainly didn't want to cause trouble at this juncture; in today's world, having mercy alone would only endanger his own life.

When he heard that the other side had added a young boy, making five people total—because the child couldn't bear the ship's rocking and wanted to rest on land for two days—he thought it over and agreed again. He regarded it as sending back kindness to A Tan to gain merit, and only had the steward investigate the other side's background.

The Tao clan's fort had nearly a thousand people; there was nothing to fear from five outsiders. Anyway, the fort…… they couldn't stay too long.

The Great King thus moved into the Tao clan's fort guest courtyard; he and Wei Shen were like melon-field rodents, maintaining a hundred thousand curiosities about the fort's people, affairs, and architecture.

"So that's what the fort's interior is like! I've only seen it from outside before; this is my first time entering."

"It's more crowded than I, the king, imagined; staying inside for a long time is quite unpleasant, right? There are many people, and they live too densely."

Wei Shen was speechless: "Isn't your reference your own palace? Even the one in Chang'an isn't as spacious as your palace."

The Great King fell silent.

After settling in the fort for half a day, the Great King learned that the Tao family was a branch of the Danyang Tao clan, famed for making incense, the biggest landowner in Miyang, immensely wealthy.

Before bed, the Great King met A Tan of the Tao family; after waking up the next day, the Great King and A Tan had become bosom friends who could talk about anything.

Wei Shen was deeply impressed: "…What is this, an ageless friendship?"

The Great King ignored him; if he wanted, he could hoodwink even a prodigy like Zhou Huang into lameness, let alone five-year-old A Tan.

By noon, the Great King already knew the fort's owner was seriously ill; the Tao clan wanted to leave Donghai Commandery and flee south, and were busy liquidating their assets. Having drifted at sea for so long, the Great King had only just heard that the route to the Northern Border had been blocked by the imperial court.

He verified it with Zhu Ti, and that afternoon he brought Wei Ke to sit in the place where Tao Ying received guests.

Little A Tan said the East Sea would sooner or later be devoured by two tigers; the Great King, upon hearing that he wasn't one of them, felt he'd lost five million.

Tao Ying found it strange that the boarding guest insisted on seeing him; after he finished his work he still went over, just to see what the other party intended.

Upon entering the reception hall and seeing the Wei clan brothers' faces clearly, he immediately frowned.

Although dressed ordinarily, their whole bearing was noble and their features refined—yet they claimed to be fishermen from Guangyang Commandery?

How could their demeanor resemble that of a fisherman's son?!

Yesterday he had no time to go to the seaside; now he doubts just how big the so-called 'big ship' really is.

After brief pleasantries, Wei Ke got straight to the point, conveying the Great King's meaning on his behalf: "My younger brother and your lord's son played together for a day. I've heard Donghai Commandery's situation is awkward; the Tao clan wants to relocate the whole family, but the imperial court's control of the main routes prevents them from fleeing to the Northern Border. My brother has a good impression of your young lord; I don't know… do you need our help? We can, on our way, use our sea vessels to assist the Tao clan in moving to the Northern Border."

The Great King nodded honestly on the side; at this moment he was wholeheartedly a living Lei Feng for his friend.

Tao Ying turned over eight hundred thoughts in his mind, then unsurprisingly refused.

The Great King didn't mind; he still had his killer's mace.

"A Tan is very worried about being separated from his father; I heard his father is ill? If I'm not mistaken, he doesn't intend to drag his sick body along with you, does he?"

Indeed, whether heading south or west to Chang'an, this journey is no easy feat; it's hard to bring along the seriously ill. My father also passed away when I was A Tan's age, so seeing A Tan like this makes me especially want to help.

I'll just tell you one piece of news: the Northern Border has auctioned Soul-Returning Pills before, and there's an upgraded version called Again Youth. As the name suggests, as long as you have breath, taking it can buy you some time, extending life by eighty or ninety years with no problem. The Northern Border Pagoda's auction will open a second time during the New Year, and Again Youth will appear.

"Is this news true?!" Tao Ying's face changed dramatically.

That's his older brother; as long as there's a sliver of hope, he doesn't want to give up.

The Great King remained calm: "As long as you can come up with the money."

Money—the Tao clan truly has it.

Tao Ying calmed down a bit, then after a moment opened his mouth: "…Are you two lords really from Guangyang Commandery?"

The Great King smiled narrowly: "This lord is already A Tan's friend, and I'm not afraid to tell you the truth—we come from Youzhou."

Upon hearing the auction news, Tao Ying knew these two weren't simply from Guangyang Commandery: "Then, I don't know if the two lords have a way to relocate the entire Tao clan to Youzhou to escape disaster?"

This time Wei Ke responded: "Sure. However, we've just set out and haven't caught many fish yet, so we can't turn back. How about this: in twenty days, wait for us at the seaside; when our fishing boats are full, you can board our vessels heading north, and we'll give you a ride."

Tao Ying looked at the two brothers and told himself they were certainly not ordinary Youzhou people; their bearing also resembled that of aristocrats. He already had a faint idea in his mind, but reason told him it was utterly impossible.

"Having met by chance, Tao Ying dares not accept such a great favor for nothing; I wonder what the Tao clan could do for the two lords?"

The Great King rose: "Settle down, then donate two schools to Liangzhou."

Upon hearing this, Tao Ying felt half his guess confirmed; he rose and politely saw Wei Ke and the Great King out the door.

He hadn't expected that this was the Great King himself arriving in person; hearing they were surnamed Wei, and thinking of the Great King's maternal house, Marquis Wei Ting, he assumed they were merely remarkable brothers of the Wei family, some branch of the Northern Border King's cousins. By ordinary logic, which feudal lord would personally go out to sea to fish? Moreover, in an era when shipbuilding technology was so backward, nobody would think that.

"A couple of sentences of intelligence can't summarize the undercurrents surging here. Based on what we've heard today, the second son and the Wang clan are privately up to no end! Tsk tsk, there's a feeling that a major battle is about to erupt. The East Sea isn't a must-contest territory, yet people are panicking like this……"

Wei Shen tossed aside the little wild flower he was chewing on and said, "What do you want to say?"

"Or how about after fishing we return to the Northern Border by land?"

Wei Shen turned and walked away: "The kid's gone mad; you're disregarding the lives of the old folks at home! I and Wei Ke will just pretend we didn't hear."

The Great King kicked him: "Do you think I'm playing? We're going to feel out the situation in Jiangnan!"

Wei Shen: "Oh, you still want to go to Jiangnan."

The Great King anxiously sought allies: "Elder cousin, say something!"

Wei Ke's face was calm: "Not worthy. If you keep playing like this, I might have to call you elder cousin."

The Great King: ……