Chapter 699: Chapter Three

Yellow Spring Realm

Ning De tossed the six-year-old child wielding the No-Return Hand to the Youzhou border, feeling it was no problem.

There are already many feudal princes of the Great Jin; unowned good lands are just those few; even a slight move entangles the previous dynasty's harem; and Old Three's maternal clan he has long offended, and he doesn't mind adding this. He never imagined this would bring him endless troubles in life and after death—well, his father Zhang Zong didn't expect it either.

Thanks to his favor, Zhang Zong now sits at the bottom of the Eleventh Hall's food chain, no longer the group's pet Little Twelve—because the Great King, upon setting out, was enfeoffed.

The Eleventh Hall's Baili clan has twelve emperors, plus the emperors of the prior and pre‑prior dynasties, all following the Great King's gaze to watch the present Great Jin.

Beyond the city gate lies a refugee tide; the roadsides are corpses starved to death; bandits run rampant; the populace is skin and bone—truly… Taizu hasn't lost such a major figure in hundreds of years, especially before the Zhou clan who had him dragged off his horse.

The Zhou clan's last emperor, upon seeing him again, always wears an uncomfortable mocking expression; before, this person would detour at the sight of him.

The Great King's great‑grandfather and ancestor were a frail youth; his attitude toward his son Zhang Zong was barely maintained as before; but the Great King's great‑grandfather An Zong was a formidable iron‑blooded heavy martial figure; Zhang Zong is his grandson, with no need for ceremony, having already been beaten several times with shoe soles.

An Zong really lays into him with the shoe sole; Zhang Zong is just glad there's no handy old master's weapon around.

No wonder they say they're on the same wavelength; the Baili clan's ancestors favored by the Great King are Taizu and his great‑grandfather An Zong—both are capable, their reigns were extremely strong, exuding the true aura of a Celestial Dynasty.

If the Great King saw his grandfather being beaten by the great‑grandfather, he could pass him a shoe‑sole from the side. Go ahead and pick someone who loves pleasure—but don't even check whether the household has the means for that!

This heavenly broadcast is also lacking in virtue; earlier, following the Great King through the slaughter at northern Youzhou City, seeing the Great King's poor little thing reduced to a weeping rabbit; then the view shifts to Chang'an, where Ning De earnestly directs the dance troupe formation…

Taizu drew a deep breath; he no longer looked at Zhang Zong, but at An Zong.

An Zong rose and served his grandson a shoe‑sole feast—what a blind pick! With so many sons, you choose this?

Anxiety extends far beyond the beleaguered Zhang Zong; all twelve fear that this suddenly appearing heavenly screen is meant to let them witness the Great Jin dynasty's collapse firsthand.

Taizu hoped Little Three wouldn't grow up and would be dispatched to the frontier; the Baili clan had been in low spirits for a long stretch; meanwhile, the sole motivation keeping everyone watching was still Little Three Bai Li Jing, the classmate. Whenever the view shifted to Youzhou, everyone was eager, eagerly watching him jump about and cause mischief.

This child is busy every day, rebuilding the prince's mansion, raising the city walls, and laying out a new commercial street. Having seen much, the Eleventh Hall's greatest unsolved mystery is where the Great King gets the funds for all this—even An Zong can't be bothered to reprimand the Great King's clueless grandfather.

"……Such a scale of mansion……Little Ten, how much silver did you spend back then rebuilding the Zhang Palace?" Taizu pointed out the Great King's great‑grandfather.

"……Recall that erecting the Zhang Palace's buildings and plaza alone cost 300,000 taels."

Those who haven't renovated just gasp; those good at math have already figured out, from every angle, how much silver a Youzhou mansion of this scale would need.

Could it be that his maternal clan siphoned off military funds?

Even if the court doesn't allocate military funds, there must be a chance to skim—could the Wei clan really have such deep reserves?

The main point is, don't you think his construction speed is really fast? In just a few days without seeing him, his walls are already enclosed! And those pavilions and towers of his mansion—how could Youzhou have artisans of this level? Baffled, utterly baffled.

However, each time the view sweeps over the Youzhou mansion or close‑ups the Youzhou city walls, that's when the dozen‑plus Baili clan members feel most relieved and proud; such a scale of project is practically a miracle, opening everyone's eyes.

Those walls are as solid as gold and soup! Never mind where the money comes from—anyway, Little Three's work is genuinely not bad.

As the Great King's foothold gradually steadies, everyone finally loses interest in probing his purse; waiting for the Great King to repel the Xianbei surprise attack on New Year's Eve, Taizu again discovers that this fellow is quietly raising private troops in Youzhou, and his face finally begins to clear from gloom to brightness.

Good! Not yielding to disadvantage, not foolishly waiting to die, knowing self‑rescue at such a young age—excellent! Truly a descendant of our Baili clan!" Directly ignoring that the Chang'an city music‑and‑dance peaceful scene is also a Baili clan descendant.

Nobody spoke up; the most candid Yuan Zong timidly said: "……If he keeps developing like this, won't he become a major threat to the court?"

Taizu snorted coldly: "My biggest threat sits in Chang'an, building the Jianzhang Palace!"

Zhang Zong: ……