Chapter 88: Jiaodong King
Wei Shen noticed his royal cousin growing happier and happier each day, thinking it was because they were headed for Jiaodong Commandery—the king was delighted over the great harvest.
That day he slept in, feeling like he had gradually gotten used to life on the ship; just as he sat up, he felt something off—there was someone in the room!
"Who?"
Taking a closer look, he saw the Great King sitting at a table not far from his bed, chin propped on his hands, wearing a happy stare at him.
Seeing him awake, the Great King happily waved him over. Wei Shen threw off the blankets, got out of bed, sat opposite the Great King intending to pour some water, and casually asked his cousin, "What are you doing here? Again… ah!"
Wei Shen noticed two plump big worms placed beside his teapot; startled, he nimbly jerked back and ended up sitting on the floor……
That black worm was as long as a palm, covered in spikes—overall, it was disgusting!
"Baili Jing—!"
The Great King was utterly innocent; the situation unfolded faster than one could cover their ears—who would have thought the invincible Second Young Master Wei would be afraid of soft-bodied creatures?
"This is really expensive—I just caught it myself! People pay three hundred taels per jin for it, and I heard it's very nourishing. I specially saved two long ones for my cousin, and yet he reacts like this!"
Hearing the Great King say that, Wei Shen, who had just climbed up, felt a bit guilty—well, it counts as the younger brother's good intentions.
"Cough cough! You couldn't have been scammed, could you? Who would spend three hundred taels on such disgusting meat worms?"
The Great King staunchly defended his new money‑making tool: "What's ugly about it? It's clearly plump and adorable! Humph, it's expensive, expensive—I deliberately kept it…"
Wei Shen could tell he wasn't lying, so not appreciating it would hurt the child's feelings a bit.
He tried to make up an excuse: "Well… thank you, cousin, but I'm really fine—I don't need any tonic. How about… leaving it for your uncle? He's getting up there in age." Ugh! Anyway, he can't stomach it, so Dad, you'll just have to put up with it! Lighten up—he's your sister's own son after all.
Seeing that Wei Shen had taken the hint, the Great King immediately switched tone, waving his hand grandly: "There's more for the uncle! These two will be your cousin's lunch—they're called sea cucumbers. When dried they still retain nutrition; I've heard that soaking them in water restores them to this size. Uncle, maternal grandfather, aunt, and elder cousin can all eat them!" The Great King counted off on his fingers, Wei Shen blinked with each number; had it not been for saving face, he might even have shaken.
All you relatives, fend for yourselves—after all, I've got two fresh ones to eat myself, I really can't spare any for you.
After thinking it over, it seemed like only he in the family was afraid of soft‑bodied worms; nobody else was.
What a world of suffering!
Looking at his brother's proud, credit‑seeking face, he still had to feel grateful. Wei Shen wore a look of utter despair: "Still, Your Highness treats me well—if I eat these two worms I'll surely live to the age of sixty."
The Great King exclaimed in horror, "Cousin, how—how could you die so young! When you were sixty I was still little—I'd be heartbroken!" If Youzhou City hadn't fallen, I'd surely still be alive and well by then.
Bai Ge said, "These days plenty of people live to 120—how can you only manage half that?"
Wei Shen: ……
By fifty one knows one's destiny; to you that's still young. What does that show? It shows the Great King is illiterate—he hasn't read enough.
Later, the Second Young Master Wei personally handed his cousin over to the Grand Tutor, also checking on his studies.
Hearing the Grand Tutor say they were studying the
By the time the Treasure Ship drew near Jiaodong Commandery, they had been underway for twelve days, and the ship's icy‑fresh storage below deck was already eighty percent full.
Captain Chen Cang approached the Great King, who was playing with a green sea turtle, and reported, "Your Highness, with the current wind we'll reach the Jiaodong Commandery landing tomorrow morning. As for the catch, what are your plans, Your Highness?"
"If we can sell it, we'll sell it all, but can the Jiaodong Commandery landing accommodate our big ship?"
"Don't worry, Your Highness—if the depth isn't enough, we have two small boats that can transfer people and cargo."
Then the Great King relaxed—if it couldn't be sold, it was no problem; he'd just find a spot to transfer everything in front of everyone, then later sell it all to whatever supermarket Bai Ge runs—anyway, it wouldn't spoil in storage.
With that decided, they stopped pulling up nets at night, and the Treasure Ship raced full speed toward Jiaodong Commandery.
Wei Shen felt pretty good about landing soon—he didn't share the Great King's hobby of diving to scavenge junk, and after drifting at sea for twelve days he really missed the feeling of solid ground underfoot.
Whether it was the improving weather farther south or simply having grown used to the strong sea winds, everyone could now stroll around the deck.
When Wei Shen went up, he found not only his stalwart cousin present, but also Zhao Bao and the Grand Tutor.
The Great King was muttering to two sea turtles; he also moved closer, and when he got a clear look he wanted to turn back just then, giving his disobedient leg a slap.
The Great King held a soft, limp intestine and was feeding it to the sea turtles.
He knew it was called sea intestine; Baili Jing said it was expensive and had been used in some kind of fried rice, but he hadn't eaten a bite.
Wei Shen forced himself to look straight ahead and made a beeline for the Grand Tutor.
"Shen has a question for the Grand Tutor: I don't know which prince or lord's fief Jiaodong Commandery is—should we go pay a visit when we go ashore?" He had finally thought of a topic.
He happened to ask the right person—on this ship, only the Grand Tutor knew such matters.
"The title 'Jiaodong King' hasn't been heard in years; the last holder was our Highness's royal uncle, the sixth son of the former emperor. He was enfeoffed at five and died at seven, whereupon the Jiaodong Kingship was abolished."
The eavesdropping Great King let out a startled cry: "How awful! I already said the name sounded unfamiliar—I'd never heard of this king. Grand Tutor, how did the royal uncle end up like that?"
Could it be that some pirates or something attacked? Isn't the Jiaodong region supposed to be pretty safe?
End of Chapter
