Chapter 574: A Painstaking Effort

The Divine Altar Terrace of the Establish Chapters Palace was built by a certain ancestor to seek immortality and ask about medicine; during the High Ancestor's time, the palace was rebuilt and the terrace was restored exactly as before. These few emperors lost their fondness for seeking immortality, and because the terrace offers a good view, it has become the preferred venue for summer banquets.

The King took a liking to the Divine Altar Terrace, had the palace servants clean it up early, and promoted Zhang Xu, an internal affairs overseer from his father's reign, to act as temporary supervisor. His father sometimes called him Zhang Da Ban, and the King called him Old Zhang.

"Old Zhang, are the evening banquet preparations ready?" carried the weariness of a worldly person.

Lao Zhang blinked for a moment before realizing he was being called, then hurried forward to reply.

This was the simplest banquet he had ever handled; all the dishes prescribed by palace banquet regulations were omitted, and only a few unfamiliar foods were set out.

In his "plain" experience, a palace banquet ought at least to have roasted suckling pig, boiled suckling pig, carp sashimi, and venison jerky; without delicacies, how can it be a banquet?

This time there wasn't even a proper main dish, let alone staple food, fruits, snacks, and drinks; the King waved his hand and omitted them all together.

These dishes simply translate to roasted suckling pig, fried suckling pig, raw carp slices, and raw venison strips, etc.; not mentioning the suckling pig and deer, just the preparation and seasoning of these dishes would require considerable silver and manpower.

The King wanted to say, "It's a chaotic age already—can't you wake up?"

This is my charity gathering; do I still have to bankrupt myself to first entertain them with a luxurious palace banquet? With that money, why bother holding some ridiculous Divine Altar Terrace banquet?!

The King sighed in an old-fashioned way, "Old Zhang! Do you know I've invited all the aristocrats and wealthy merchants of Long Peace? Do you know how many people there are? Even if two people shared a suckling pig, I'd go bankrupt!"

Lao Zhang didn't know what "bankruptcy" meant; that was a blind spot in his knowledge.

Hearing he had no money, he didn't dare advise this person to save face by pretending to be plump; he knew full well this person was not the same kind as the Ningde Emperor. When the King first took his fief those years, he had always been in the imperial presence.

He had no choice but to ask the King again, "Is the banquet menu really not going to be changed?"

"I invited them to discuss matters; no one cares what they eat. A plate of fruit, a plate of melon seeds, and a pot of green tea are enough for them to crunch all night here. Old Zhang, rest assured—they'll keep their mouths busy, so there will absolutely be no awkward situation where halfway through the banquet the table has nothing to eat. Rest assured!"

Acting supervisor Lao Zhang: ……I can't rest assured at all.

I wonder when Zhao Bao will arrive in Long Peace.

Earlier, the King had reappointed him, and Zhang Xu had thought his career was getting a second spring; but now, serving under the King, it's better to remain the deputy head of the palace internal supervisors. Facing the King, his past experience is completely useless.

And in the imperial palace, guessing the master's mind wrongly can get you killed quickly.

A few words from the King sent the dazed Chief Supervisor Zhang packing; after he left, Wei Shen and Liang He, who had been watching from the side, finally couldn't hold back their laughter.

"Hahaha, Chief Supervisor Zhang, you've never seen such a shabby palace banquet in your life, huh? Sigh, it's also a case of being blind-hearted, daring to treat our King like a big spender to eat at."

The King glared angrily at his cousin, saying... the blunt truth.

Liang He tried to make amends: "The fruits are rare varieties; even buying them in Dark Prefecture is expensive, Your Highness truly values them."

The King snorted: "Exactly! I'm also doing this for everyone's good—why eat carp sashimi? Raw fish has parasites; you illiterates wouldn't understand my painstaking efforts!"

Wei Shen burst out laughing again: "Where did Xie Yuan go? He's not here, and there's no Xie Tu to back him up, so the King can now call others illiterates~"

The King fumed, "……I can't reason with you shallow people."

Wei Shen continued laughing and educated the King: "Being illiterate isn't shameful~ Liang He is all right, though—your cousin and Liang Ben give you a basement~"

Liang He: ……

The King: ……

Not very happy, thanks.

Establish Chapters Palace·Divine Altar Terrace

The old-timers in the palace vaguely saw the former grandeur at today's Divine Altar Terrace; there were really too many people, it felt like returning to the Ningde Dynasty. Back then, grand palace banquets were still quite common, but now they haven't been seen for several years.

Following the King's orders, Zhang Xu arranged not only the officials but also the great clans near him; these people took their seats properly, while the rest sat casually, emphasizing unrestricted freedom.

Speaking of Long Peace City, not only did the Wei and Du clans of the Jingzhao elite receive the invitation, but also the powerful figures of Guanzhong-Longyou. Even some surnamed big landlords were not overlooked by the King; today, having few people at the Divine Altar Terrace simply won't do.

The Wei clan, having dealt with the King once, felt this banquet was certainly not a good one, but upon hearing that the whole city had received the invitation, they also couldn't afford to stand out by not going. Afraid that if he again acted recklessly, the Wei clan, already injured in muscles and bones, couldn't spare another three million taels for him.

As for the Du clan, because of Madam Wei, they also had no good impression of the King. The Wei clan couldn't possibly come up with that much cash at once, so Madam Wei also had to hustle to raise funds. The Du clan's head, Du Weiyue, had arrived; waiting under the guidance of palace servants to come to the Divine Altar Terrace, his expression instantly turned grim.

He flicked his sleeve, "Outrageous! Why humiliate me?!"

Morals are declining day by day; even outside-the-city merchants are now seated alongside the Jingzhao Du clan!

Not long after the King had come out, that rascal was still playing in the sleeping quarters with Little Jin; a young eunuch ran over to say Du Weiyue was angry and refused to take his seat, the King's just-peeled banana slipped from his hand and was caught precisely by Little Jin's mouth……

At that moment the King was utterly shocked: "Could it be… he saw the banquet menu and was dissatisfied? No way—I haven't even taken my seat yet, how could the dishes have been served?"

Zhang Xu's little apprentice, handling such a big task for the first time, found the King's leaping thought process and completely unrelated artistic style bewildering; he was dumbfounded, wondering where to even begin explaining…

Wei Shen was speechless: "……Do you have any dishes? What dish list?!"

"Don't treat a fruit platter as nothing; they're all imported from overseas, have you Long Peace folks ever seen them?! For example, bananas shipped from Dark Prefecture to Long Peace rot en route; only he himself in Long Peace can cheat by bringing some from outside the city to fool the Long Peace people."

Wei Shen: "Are you sure you're not letting them see this so they can later sell it in Long Peace?"

The King: ……

The King, having been guessed right, slammed the table and shifted the topic: "So he knows my intentions, stirs up trouble in advance to avoid giving grain? Good, good, good! Give Bai Li Jun, not me, and I'll make him look bad!"

The dazed little eunuch was finally brought back to his senses by the rapid-fire dialogue: "Your Highness, it's Lord Du who's dissatisfied with sitting together with merchants!"

"Tsk—" the King showed his disdain, then sat back down.

"Doesn't he have a shop? I know the Du clan has a famous calligraphy and painting shop in the capital. What? Selling calligraphy and paintings is elegant and noble, but selling sweet potatoes isn't worthy of sitting with him?!" Hmph! In Dark Prefecture he already has a shop selling sweet potatoes and other new crops.

Wei Shen nodded bluntly: "Exactly!"

The King: ……

The King was furious.

Sure enough, when the time came, the King leisurely ascended the Divine Altar Terrace with his Heavenly Group; at first glance he saw that among the crowded, squeezing crowd, there was a cluster of people still standing.

"His Highness the Northern Border King has arrived～"

The crowd sprang up with a rustle, squeezed together again to salute the King; the King secretly twitched the corner of his mouth—there were quite a few people, a bit crowded.

That oaf, swaggering along, brought his Great Auspicious Beast to stand at the foot of the emperor's throne, and only then did he let out a cry.

Everyone rose, and discovered that standing before the steps, besides the King, there was a giant, fluffy, ethereal White Marsh; on the White Marsh's back stood a sharp-eyed, oddly proportioned eagle? The thing circling the King was quite famous—the Wei clan's three million taels.

Wei Hang must have wanted this one, right? That strange dog suggested renaming it three million.

The king is used to big scenes; the gaze of myriad eyes can't stop his desire to cause trouble. He called for them to rise, then enthusiastically invited everyone to be seated; the few who had been standing earlier, unsurprisingly, still hadn't sat. Wei Kai was hesitating whether to abandon Du Weiyue when the king called his name.

"Du Gong? I heard you don't like your seat?"

Without waiting for Du Weiyue to answer, the king enthusiastically pointed to the emperor's throne on the steps, wearing an innocent, sincere expression: "Want to swap?"

?

Behind him, Chief Steward Zhang, who was bent over waiting to help the king up the steps, almost choked on his own saliva! Step back to the second line! He needs to retreat to the second line ASAP!