Chapter 602: Collapsed

At the gate of Futu Tower, many Chang'an nobles were queuing; everyone was equal in line, which was fine, but now someone is swaggering and cutting in!

Wei Taiping's flamboyant attire alone would be noticeable, but behind him followed a good-looking man, the Wei brothers, the famed Young Master Xie of Jiangnan, and the sword-bearing Great Hero Ling; this combo draws attention wherever they go, so his blatant cutting in broad daylight makes him the focus of everyone's eyes.

The King wore a mask, thinking he wasn't breaking any rules since it wasn't his own face showing—like trying to hide three hundred taels of silver here—swaggering past the gate.

That guy ignored the long line, fanning himself as he walked straight in.

The young noble who had just reached the gate didn't realize who it was, about to shout at the King for cutting in, when he saw several attendants at the gate silently bowing—'Oh, a connection?'

Then the leading boy, whose smug expression made you want to kick him, was greeted inside by an extraordinarily beautiful woman.

The young noble froze, forgetting what he'd wanted to say, and dumbly exclaimed, '…In the world…there actually exists such a beautiful lady!? Brother Tang, did you see that?' Before his companion could answer, 'No, what right did that kid just have to…'

His friend, clearly more perceptive, clapped a hand over his mouth and smiled at the attendants: 'Finally our turn—Brother Zhao's about to faint from the sun. Do you want to see the silver notes? Ah Liu, pull out our silver notes~' We're here to spend; as buyers, please hurry and turn the page!

The attire and attitude of the Young Master of the Tang Mingshi clan meant the attendants, of course, wouldn't be oblivious; they pretended not to hear anything, took the silver notes, checked them, and returned them to the attendant, saying, 'Are you two fellow travelers? …Welcome to Futu Tower, please come this way.'

After the two were seated downstairs, the Zhao still hadn't reacted: 'Brother Tang, why did you just stop me from speaking? Even though we're not from Chang'an, my Cangzhou Zhao clan doesn't dare to speak.'

Tang Ming was utterly speechless, he looked around and lowered his voice: 'Keep it down. You also know this is Chang'an under the emperor's feet; coincidentally, I know one of those few people—the third person behind the leading boy is Xie Tu of Chen Commandery.'

"Chen Commandery… Xie Tu? That rings a bell……"

Tang Ming gave up on this ignorant classmate, was about to prompt Zhao Sui when he remembered.

"Xie Tu, the qilin child of the Xie family? Oh him, what's the big deal? Does fame let you cut in line? Do we have to queue without checking identities? I see Lord Du still queuing behind us."

Tang Ming facepalmed at his stubborn friend: '……He's already serving in the Northern Border; haven't we seen the newspaper? He topped the imperial exams. The main branch heir of the Chen Commandery Xie clan, his uncle is the new dynasty's chancellor—can't you think more about who could make him act respectfully behind him? Besides, didn't you see the new emperor's procession yesterday?' Anyway, just think a little; he gave a hint in the opening.

Zhao Sui finally reacted, his eyes widening: 'Just that guy……'

"Exactly, it's the former Northern Border King you admire, who commands the world's strongest troops—now… uh, that person."

Zhao Sui: ……

Zhao Sui: To be honest, I've hit a wall.

Outside, the King's appearance caused a stir; upstairs in the Heavenly Character Room One, they were researching what to have for lunch.

Zhu Ti led them into the Heavenly Character Room One and spoke frankly: '……You came this early; you couldn't possibly be here just for a meal, could you?'

The King, hindered by his newly arrived cousin present, refused to admit: 'How could that be?'

Zhu Ti nodded: 'Then I'll step back; if Your Majesty has business later, have the outside attendants call me.'

Seeing she really left, the King said, 'Wait! The menu?'

Everyone: ……Still saying you're not here for a meal.

The threshold of Futu Tower is high; every furnishing inside is shipped from Youzhou, today's food and chefs are brought by Zhu Ti from Youzhou, all coming from the King's farmland and pasture bases, with prices quite lovely.

Upon receiving the menu, the King performed his traditional specialty: 'This page, take these, skip those, and one of everything else. Bring up this whole page to taste; I'm homesick.' The King closed the menu, having finished ordering.

Today's menu has two pages, only one for hot and cold dishes; the King removed two pure vegetable dishes. The second page is snacks to pass time, and he took them all.

Zhu Ti honestly said: 'Your hometown…couldn't it be Chang'an?'

The King: 'No. Our motto is: once you arrive in the Northern Border, you're a Northern Border person; I am a true-blue Northern Border person~'

Zhu Ti honestly said: 'Your status is different now; eating out this expensive is no problem—no need to act as a model for the world?' Mainly because the back page is costly and brings no revenue, the business-savvy Head Manager completely doesn't want to take the order.

The King's eyes lit up: 'Ah, this price is great—hurry up and go recommend our Youzhou cuisine to the… customers downstairs. As for me, I'm having a hegemon's meal; not paying equals not eating.'

Zhu Ti: ……

Xie Tu struggled to keep his expression under control; this Head of the Commerce Department handles anyone with ease, but his demeanor changes when facing the King.

Zhu Ti left the room and tossed the menu to the attendant: 'Give me one.'

Attendant: ……

This is the winter menu the Head Manager plans to open at his upscale restaurant in Chang'an; when Futu Tower isn't holding auctions, they intend to open part of it as a restaurant. This menu took considerable thought—the chefs are all brought from Youzhou, hoping to make a name today. The Head Manager regrouped, took the menu back, and personally went into Heavenly Character Room Two; what could he do? He had to recoup his losses from others.

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【Setting a bait, tomorrow I'll rest to make up the word count.

Family members are battling the rankings, we've fallen off the reading list (╥_╥)}}