Chapter 6

The closer to Secluded Prefecture, the sparser the population, and hardly any signs of life could be seen beside the official road.

Even flat land lay completely uncultivated wasteland, utterly unlike the southern side where every flat patch was farmland.

Bai Li Jing thought he was mentally prepared, but upon actually arriving in Secluded Prefecture he was still shocked.

The walls of Secluded Prefecture City ahead looked not short, after all they belonged to a border prefecture, but reduced to this state they far exceeded Prince You's expectations.

Of the three characters "Secluded Prefecture City" on the gate, only the character "Prefecture" remained after weathering—this doesn't matter, but why is the wall still made of rammed earth?

Prince You saw exposed straw sticking out of the mottled parts of the wall…

Could this stuff possibly hold back the Xiongnu cavalry?!

He flicked down the curtain with a swish, saying, "This place is called 'Prefecture', not Secluded Prefecture—we must have taken a wrong turn! Let's go back, I want to return and study the Thousand Character Classic!" As for this city, smashing it wouldn't be that easy, would it? His little life… really hanging by a thread…

Zhao Bao was already used to his lord's occasional astonishing remarks; hearing this, he pretended not to hear and went about helping him put on the full formal attire of a prince.

"We're about to enter the city, Your Highness, compose yourself—Prince You will make his first appearance before the populace, and must maintain imperial dignity."

The gold‑crowned, black‑robed Yuyu Tangzi tugged at the corners of his mouth, saying, "Got it—look how happy I am!"

Zhao Bao: …

By now the conveyance Prince You rode was no longer the earlier travel carriage; instead, the horses were harnessed and a full set of princely regalia of the Great Jin was laid out outside the city.

The attending palace servants dismounted and stood beside the carriage, the carriage's heavy curtain was rolled up, leaving only a half‑transparent gauze curtain fluttering in the wind, half‑concealing, half‑revealing a silhouette—so the populace could glimpse the future ruler of Secluded Prefecture without directly offending the king's countenance.

Secluded Prefecture City had long since received, last year, the edict granting the third imperial son the fief of Secluded Prefecture, which for the populace was hardly a good thing.

If a pleasure‑loving king came, the people would suffer even more than they do now.

But there's nothing to be done—no one dares to complain, for the realm belongs to the Bai family, and the emperor may give it to whomever he wishes.

Some optimistically thought that if a king were enfeoffed here, Secluded Prefecture's security might actually improve.

It was heard that princely states are protected by large armies, so the northern barbarians might be deterred a bit if he resided in Secluded Prefecture City.

The city gates opened, and the first to enter were Prince You's personal guards, who were posted every few steps from the gate to his residence, all replaced with his own men; soon the prince's entourage marched through the gate.

Bai Li Jing sat upright in the carriage, appearing to look straight ahead, but actually using his peripheral vision to observe the commoners kneeling on both sides of the road.

They had just been rebuked by the officials, so no one dared to raise their heads, and Bai Li Jing couldn't see their faces.

He also didn't know what attitude the locals held toward him, nor whether their faces were as sorrowful as those of the refugees he had met on the road.

As the entourage passed, the guards who had been overtaken by the procession fell in line behind it one after another, and some of the commoners kneeling in the rear seized the chance to glance furtively at the carriage.

A gust of wind blew, the gauze curtain fluttered up, and many saw the prince's soft, baby‑fat belly.

The hopes of those who had expected the emperor's adult son to be stationed here to awe the northern barbarians finally died—Prince You is just a suckling babe!

Who said imperial sons only receive fiefs after coming of age?! The legend led me astray!

★

Prince You's Residence

The Great Jin princely residences have no fixed regulations; as long as you don't overstep the Imperial Palace of Everlasting Peace, nobody interferes.

Wealthy princely lords build extravagantly, while those assigned to poor, barren prefectures make do as best they can, so the overall quality of princely mansions varies greatly.

The Governor of Secluded Prefecture, together with the court official sent to supervise construction of the residence, spent a year rushing and dawdling, finally completing the building before Prince You's arrival.

Upon seeing the South Splendid Gate of the main entrance, Bai Li Jing felt quite satisfied—it was better than he had imagined.

Especially after the shock of the outer city gate.

Prince You's Residence had towering walls and a lofty, imposing gate, giving it the aura of a princely mansion.

But upon stepping through the gate, he found the gate itself was indeed fine—meaning only the gate was satisfactory.

His Prince You's Residence was nothing but a superficial facade!

The governor could do nothing either; he followed behind the prince's entourage, not daring to raise his head.

A year to build the residence was already rushed, and the emperor's allocation for constructing a manor for an unfavored son's fief followed the usual quota—meaning not even an extra tael of silver was given.

Other princely mansions' construction funds came from court subsidies, imperial supplements, maternal clan aid, and local fiscal aid, whereas Prince You's Residence received only the court's modest allotment.

Prince You's birth mother, Lady Wei, had died early, and her natal family was the Marquis of Wei Ting, who guarded the southwestern border.

The Wei family submits an unknown number of memorials each year urging grain, provisions, and military funds; because the southwest is relatively stable, getting the court to give funds once after ten urgings is already not bad. Marquis Wei Ting simply would not openly spend large sums to help Prince You build his mansion.

As for Youzhou's finances, there's no need to mention them—they are so poor that they can't spare even a bit extra.

Thus, constructing the Prince You's mansion by imperial order is truly like cooking without rice.

After Governor Jiang Xun became so anxious he lost two handfuls of hair, he steeled himself and decided… to leave it to fate. He bet that the young Prince You wouldn't just chop off his head.

Anyway, he has no money, so I'll use whatever amount the emperor gives.

When Prince You entered the main gate, he saw that his front court and rear palace were just two isolated building clusters placed in the middle of the vast princely residence, and his mouth stayed open for a long time.

This shabby place isn't even comparable to Jianzhang Palace or Changle Palace; it's not as good as Consort Wei's Yongning Palace.

And this huge empty space—is it all left for me to ride horses?!

Even the Grand Tutor and Chancellor, who have seen the world, were startled. They exchanged a glance, silently observing Prince You's expression, then saw the prince's mouth wide open and not closing for a long time—needless to say, it was rather cute…

The governor's head lowered even more.

The land of Youzhou is worthless, so the prince's residence covers a huge area; he thought there must be some advantage! He simply granted Prince You a large tract of land, with four main gates and a surrounding wall, and then…… the inside really had no money to fill it.

He and the official in charge of constructing the prince's residence discussed it and decided to leave it empty, building only the essential front court and rear palace to the most basic standards, leaving the rest for Prince You to handle when he has money.

Now that the situation has come to a head, looking at the still infant Prince You, he feels very guilty, as if he's bullying a child.

Conscience of heaven and earth, the silver allocated by the court has all been used here; it's not that they embezzled it, but that it's truly insufficient.

"'One of our own' Chancellor Xue quietly explained a few things to Prince You, and he soon felt relieved."

The prince's residence is empty and bare, but fortunately the Palace Guard Battalion behind it was built, so at least this entourage no longer needs to camp, and Prince You can only accept it.