Chapter 509: Unfortunately, not like me

Zhao Bao naturally wouldn't steal the king's thunder, smiling narrowly as he waited nearby for Yang Fang to carefully admire the Orchid Terrace Hall.

The architecture of the Northern Border King's Manor far surpasses the current standard of Great Jin, and Zhao Bao has grown accustomed to everyone's astonishment.

He had just brought Yang Fang into the Orchid Terrace Hall when Tongchen also summoned the on-duty Xie Tu over. Regardless of whether the two knew each other, Zhao Bao smilingly introduced them.

Everyone exchanged polite praises for a while, and without the king meddling the atmosphere was still normal.

The Orchid Terrace Hall is spacious; avoiding the two rooms the king usually uses for reading, Zhao Bao led the two talents to begin their tour. The king's collection looks quite substantial—besides the original holdings, there are also the original texts given by the system to the Northern Border Library's Scripture Pavilion, and even the miscellaneous, wide-ranging books he obtained from Baiyang. Some are reprinted photocopies, some are outright printer versions, the main point being rampant piracy.

But now these voluminous books are all placed on shelves, and they are categorized using only the king's understandable alphabetic letters—how would guests dare pull them out to see if they're proper works?

So upon entering the main hall's book wall, it looks quite imposing!

The impression lasted only a few seconds; soon both were drawn to the massive sand table at the hall's center. At this time Great Jin had no concept of a sand table—perhaps besides the Establishing Regulations Palace, few had even seen Great Jin's territory, let alone a sand table of this scale.

That was a long—

That sand table is extremely precise, with mountains, rivers, lakes, and every minute detail visible; even using photosensitive LED for ambiance, if Secluded Prefecture had electricity it could even be made into a museum‑style projection.

A miniaturized Asia, a reflection of the real world. Towering mountain ranges, winding river systems, blue resin simulating crystal‑clear oceans—all enclosed within a huge glass cover; within a small space, they embrace the entirety of heaven and earth.

Baiyang, to avoid revealing too much, had all the text written in the alphabetic script that only the king could understand.

Yang Fang and Xie Tu couldn't take it all in with their eyes; anyone from a military family or who had been on a battlefield should know this is a treasure. Unfortunately, the two hadn't realized it yet in such a short time—Yang Fang thought the thing might be a display collectible, while Xie Tu, seeing those strange alphabetic characters, directly asked Zhao Bao whether it was an overseas artifact.

Zhao Bao shook his head: "I don't understand this; I only know it's His Highness's treasure. He doesn't let just anyone near it—not even the little eunuch who sweeps."

When the king arrived, he saw Southern Xie and Northern Yang together with hands behind their backs, bent over, necks craned to look at the sand table—there was no trace of any noble bearing. This thing truly ruins one's image first; without effort you can't even see the middle clearly.

The king nodded, satisfied.

The two were studying whether those blue strips represented rivers; nowadays ordinary people, unlike in later eras, would know the lie of the land after middle school. The royal family only treats the map as a trinket, and generals cherish their rough sketches like a beloved old broom—this leads even the top‑tier Xie‑Yang academic faction's military leaders to fail to recognize what this is. Combined with the king's age, they thought it must be a royal‑luxury version of playing house.

The king again wanted to show off his little neck; since studying wasn't working, at last he found a field they didn't understand.

He pulled out his high‑spec military sword, to which was attached as a trinket a mini outdoor flashlight—only a bit thicker than his finger, yet it could extend, zoom, and emit super‑strong light. This little gadget cost him over two thousand taels, bought especially for viewing the sand table. After ten days or half a month it dims and must be taken to Baiyang for recharging; without his Bai Ge it would be disposable.

The king marched in with those two toys, waving his hand grandly: "Zhao Bao, draw the curtains!"

Zhao Bao:..

You and your cousin meeting for the first time, and you haven't even cleared up his appearance before you plunge the room into darkness?

He didn't move.

Yang Fang turned back and saw a handsome youth wearing a white jade crown and a silver‑white brocade‑gold robe stride in, his identity obvious.

He had no time to think much, knelt and paid his respects to the king: "Commoner Yang Fang pays his respects to Your Highness; may Your Highness enjoy boundless happiness."

The king wanted to show off his big toy, calling out directly: "Get up, I know you, you're the Yang family's cousin! Too bad, you're not much like me."

Yang Fang:?

Xie Tu:..

Zhao Bao:..

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【Just need to revise, I'll occupy the spot first for tomorrow's release •᷄ࡇ•᷅】