Chapter 625: Handsome Stumbling Stone

The Great King hastily recalled the price of those four characters from the Northern Border Prince's Mansion; it seemed to be 2999?

He felt somewhat relieved; more debt wasn't a worry, anyway his balance temporarily couldn't cover John Pu, what could an extra three or four thousand do?!

The Great King bravely opened the shop and began refreshing; soon on the brand‑new first page he brushed past a shiny new label: 【The Sovereign Establishes a Palace, Taking Form as an Elephant. The Celestial Star Palace, the Mundane Imperial Palace—Purple Forbidden Palace】

Below were strings of numbers, seemingly dimensions; the bottom line was also a string of numbers, written as 95000.

The Great King glanced and muttered: "What is this? Dimensions? How big is this unit, bigger than the palace gate—where do you press it~ Why isn't there a price tag?"

Bai Ze, who had been annoyed by him to no end, was now delighted to add insult to injury, "That ninety‑five thousand at the bottom is clearly the selling price."

The Great King had actually sensed it faintly, but he just couldn't believe it; when it was exposed he jumped up! "Why didn't Mengmeng go grab it?!"

"Maybe you get what you pay for?"

In the Great Jin where one tael of silver could support a family, the Great King didn't believe any plaque could be worth ninety‑five thousand taels of silver. Those who liked to harvest leeks got harvested themselves—that was a huge setback, and the Great King was unhappy. But Mengmeng's punishment was also harsh, not giving the Great King any chance to delay; making him pay for the upgrade was enough to scare him off. Nobody else knows how expensive the things in the Northern Border Prince's Mansion are, but he could hardly not know!

Better a short pain than a long one; with insufficient balance, the Great King unprecedentedly topped up six thousand taels to scrape together the money for those three big characters.

The online treasury went straight to zero; the Great King resentfully opened the warehouse, intending to see if the plaque was pure gold. After examining it a while, he had to admit that the three characters 'Purple Forbidden Palace' could be considered immortal‑grade.

If Xie Yuan were here he could better appreciate its realm and pattern, its spirit and vigor, but now the Great King has to hire a ghostwriter just to write a single big character. The Great King was preparing to praise it, thinking of a few adjectives to boast, but after thinking for a long time he couldn't come up with any……

"It's… passable!"

Bai Ze: ……

Last time he spent 2999 to buy the Northern Border Prince's Mansion plaque, it was Zhu Ti who took it out to exchange for him; this time was different—the Great King discovered that beneath the extravagantly shining, treasure‑light plaque in the warehouse there was a 【Use】 button.

"Is it still automatic this time? Won't it just be expensive for this reason!" The Great King clicked Use, a white light flashed, and a new frame popped up on the light board.

【Side Quest Three: Purple Forbidden Palace Supporting Upgrade and Transformation

a: Renovate and upgrade the South Palace Gate

Official subsidy: all raw materials; all tools and equipment;

Mission duration: ten days.

b: Upgrade and remodel the main hall, Chengguang Hall specifications

Official subsidy: all raw materials; all tools and equipment;

On‑site technical supervisor NPC x1 (to be reclaimed after mission completion); professional technical personnel x3000 (to be reclaimed after mission completion);

Logistical supplement: recruit local manpower from the Great Jin x3000;

Estimated construction period: two months (sixty days);

Mission supplies: work uniforms x3000; work meals x3000x60; labor costs x3000x60; winter construction subsidy: cold‑proof tents x300 (tops)

This time the Great King finally felt he had gotten something back, "Let's treat these ninety‑five thousand as me providing three thousand jobs for Youzhou!"

Bai Ze: "But ninety‑five thousand taels of silver, at the Great Jin's wage rate, could hire a hundred thousand people to dig half of the Grand Canal."

The Great King's psychological comfort vanished in an instant.

The next day, anyone who could contact the Great King's upper echelons discovered the emperor had turned from clear to cloudy.

The Great King's low spirits made the whole team quiet down; those behind who didn't know why became even more uneasy—wasn't everything fine yesterday? Homesick? No way, this guy doesn't constantly think about his fief Youzhou?

Their lives were hard, but the people of Youzhou boiled over. Good news came one after another—the Great King was about to return, not to mention the court was again conscripting people to repair the prince's mansion. What does this mean? It means the emperor won't abandon Youzhou!

Streets and alleys were quickly swept up by these two pieces of news. When the Great King earlier ascended the throne, Youzhou had been lively for a few days; the Great King is one of their own, and a native taking the throne is always Youzhou's glory—now the new emperor returning to Youzhou is also a great blessing for the common folk.

The people of Chang'an each day carefully avoided getting shot, while the Great King's little mood actually faded quickly, but he noticed that when he was low‑spirited, Xie Yuan was especially indulgent toward him! What more could be said? This guy just went along with it.

All the way through Bingzhou, arriving at Yizhou, the Great King sighed by day and gazed at the moon by night—just when everyone thought the Great Jin might face a life‑or‑death crisis, Youzhou arrived!

Thus the Great King could no longer keep up the act, the corners of his mouth went crazy upward~

Even that whooshing north wind couldn't blow away that arc, "Sir, we're home~" There wasn't a trace of unhappiness!

Now it was Xie Yuan's turn to twitch the corner of his mouth, "Yes, congratulations, Your Majesty."

As Youzhou City drew nearer, the Great King saw the vexed old fogies of Chang'an all able to flash eight teeth, and as the Owl Riders reported that Censor Xue was leading the officials out of the city to greet the emperor, the whole team's tension finally eased. Everyone finally had the mood to size up the fief the Great King couldn't forget, to see what charm it actually held.

Desolate…… it seems there isn't any either!

This causeway is a hundred times wider and flatter than Chang'an! Both sides show signs of cultivation, and there is none of the legendary desolate scenery of a thousand miles without people.

You speak of beacon fires, but it seems there aren't any either; the grassland is obedient, yet one still has to seek tribute backwards.

Cheng Taichang's great‑grandson observed for two days and told his grandfather: "……I find that the counties under Youzhou seem more prosperous than those under Chang'an—at the very least the walls are new and tall, and they don't appear to lack grain at all. Grandfather, why did you originally oppose coming to Youzhou?" This guy healed his scar and forgot the pain, already forgetting his initial resistance to the Northern Border.

Cheng Taichang: ……

During the break, the officials as usual went before the Great King to pay their respects; the Great King pointed at the distant, still‑invisible Youzhou city and gestured grandly: "Just go another twenty‑plus li and you'll see Youzhou's city walls—then you'll know that Chang'an's walls, Xuanping Gate, and Heroic Pass Jade Gate amount to nothing before our Youzhou city!"

Below, aside from Youzhou's past, every single person thought he was bragging.

They had previously looked at the walls of Peace and Health County, which were… about the same as Chang'an's. As the capital, Youzhou—where could its strengths possibly go! But they didn't dare to contradict, because when those people brag, they have the Iron Ferocious Beast Owl Riders standing behind them.

How could the Great King not know their little thoughts? He deliberately spoke extravagantly, full of enthusiasm, waiting to see those old‑timers get slapped in the face. This guy silently put his hands on his hips—now that he's arrived at His Majesty's main base, your good days are coming up later!

This guy was happily pleased inside, when he saw the faces of several old men across from him suddenly change: "Your—Your Majesty! Quick—run!"

"Danger!"

The older ones were already ashen‑white and swaying on the brink of collapse—what danger could there be even after reaching Youzhou? The Great King instinctively turned his head; before he could even finish turning, his peripheral vision caught a huge shadow lunging at him at speed, and before he could see it clearly he was pounced! Toppled! over!

My lifetime of fame!

The Great King was knocked down, head hitting the ground, amidst the chaotic cries of 'guard the carriage!' he angrily thrust out the only paw not pinned and hammered the ground!

Good grief…… the Great King finally felt his stumbling stones were too many……