Chapter 392
**Chapter 390: Escorting the Tribute to Qingguo**
Every day, the King of Wu would stroll out, searching for beautiful women and purchasing delicious seafood. Today, he was dressed in luxurious attire, wearing a slightly worn white jade crown and a purple-gold robe that had seen better days. Instead of riding, he wore cloud-patterned boots and held a white jade fan, leisurely wandering through the marketplace.
The people of Wu County all recognized him.
The King of Wu never took from the common folk. His guards carried money bags, and whatever caught the king's fancy, they would pay for it.
As the King made his daily rounds, the pressure of his noble status kept merchants from cheating or inflating prices. Ordinary citizens could find quality goods at reasonable prices.
“Your Highness, there are no beauties to be found in this shabby place. You might as well give up,” one guard suggested, cradling a bounty of seafood in his arms.
“Shh, don’t make a sound!” The King suddenly halted, his gaze fixed on a slender figure not far away.
As delicate as a willow!
Her posture swayed gracefully!
Even in cheap linen clothes, her aura was undeniable.
Having seen countless beauties in the imperial city, the King recognized at a glance that this must be an extraordinary girl!
While other fisherwomen grabbed clams with both hands, this girl delicately pinched them between her thumb and forefinger, her fingertips slightly raised, exuding elegance.
The King was thrilled. He snapped his fan shut and approached her, saying, “Miss, where do you come from? What’s your name? Are you married—”
Before he could finish, he was left speechless, staring at Shen Wei.
How could it be her again!
The King’s expression fell instantly, and he waved his fan impatiently. “How much do you admire me? You keep running into me! I’ve told you many times, you’re not my type!”
Shen Wei looked utterly bewildered.
She was just helping her brother sell seafood when this King appeared out of nowhere, babbling accusations at her.
He must be out of his mind.
The King’s gaze shifted, landing on the unsold clams beside Shen Wei. “I’ll take all these clams. You take your money and leave!”
Now Shen Wei understood. She quickly handed over the remaining half-bucket of clams to the guard. The guard paid her, and after counting the coins to ensure everything was correct, she grabbed her brother and turned to leave.
Her movements were swift and decisive.
Before the King could react, Shen Wei was already walking away with the empty bucket. He stood there for a moment, gazing longingly at her retreating figure. “Her back looks quite nice, but what a shame about her face…”
After spending half the day at the market, the King returned home laden with goods. Just as he stepped into the palace, a decree from the emperor arrived.
The eunuch delivering the decree chattered away, and the King knelt to listen. The decree stated that this year, the Eastern Lin Kingdom was to send a batch of tribute to Qingguo, and the task of escorting the tribute was assigned to the King of Wu.
The decree also mentioned that due to poor harvests this year, the Eastern Lin Kingdom hoped the King could represent the emperor and suggest to the Emperor of Qingguo a “reduction of twenty percent in tribute.”
Once the eunuch finished delivering the decree, he left behind several carts of tribute and departed.
The King stared blankly at the decree, cursing to the heavens, “Father, you fool! Are you trying to get me killed?”
In previous years, sending tribute to Qingguo was a prestigious task. Qingguo didn’t just accept the tribute; they would also reward with silver. Princes and ministers from the Eastern Lin Kingdom would compete fiercely for this opportunity.
But this year, with poor harvests and an empty treasury, the quality of the tribute was subpar. To ask the Emperor of Qingguo for a reduction in tribute was practically a death sentence.
Who was the new Emperor of Qingguo, Li Chengtai? He was the very one who first proposed building a dam upstream in Eastern Lin to block the water!
Perhaps the new Emperor had long harbored thoughts of destroying the Eastern Lin Kingdom.
What if the Emperor of Qingguo used “insincere tribute” as an excuse to execute the princes and ministers escorting it? The Eastern Lin Kingdom wouldn’t dare utter a word.
A weak nation has no voice before a strong one.
The King was in a frenzy, “I haven’t even married yet, and my father, that coward, wants me to walk into my own grave!”
The guard looked worried. “Shh, Your Highness, keep your voice down. The eunuch hasn’t gone far. If he hears you cursing the emperor, the consequences would be dire.”
The King snapped, “Can’t you just close the door? If the door is shut, the eunuch won’t hear a thing!”
The guard: ...
The guard silently went to close the door.
Once the door was shut, the King unleashed his frustrations on his father. The emperor’s command was absolute; escorting the tribute to Qingguo was a done deal.
To resist the emperor was death, and to go to Qingguo was also death.
The King paced back and forth in the room, hands clasped behind his back. After a while, he made up his mind and instructed the guard, “Prepare ink. I need to write to my sister for help. Worst case, I’ll go to Qingguo and seek refuge with her, never to return to Eastern Lin. I might as well become a traitor, side with the Emperor of Qingguo, and lead an army to conquer Eastern Lin.”
“After all, Eastern Lin is rotten to the core, top to bottom. It would be better to be absorbed into Qingguo’s territory.”
The King grumbled as he worked quickly. A letter seeking help was soon dispatched.
He then went to inspect the carts of tribute, which mostly contained dried seafood and pearls. The Emperor of Eastern Lin likely knew the dangers of this journey, as he hadn’t sent palace attendants to accompany them, not even a guide, but instead instructed the King to take his own men to escort the tribute.
It was as if he had written “sacrificing my son” on his forehead.
The King ground his teeth, his hatred for his father deepening. He scratched his head and called the guard back. “Go to the county and post a notice saying that I’m looking for someone familiar with the roads and customs of Qingguo to escort the tribute. I’ll pay handsomely.”
The guard turned to carry out the task.
The palace fell silent. The King plopped back into his chair, rubbing his temples, overwhelmed with mixed emotions.
...
...
In the Yuan Family Fishing Village.
Shen Wei and her brother Yuan Fu had sold all their seafood and earned a handful of coins. Yuan Fu bounced with joy, grinning as he said, “Sister, if we save for another two or three years, we can buy a small house in the county!”
Yuan Fu wanted to move out of the fishing village.
The village was too small, filled with gossip. When their parents were alive, Yuan Fu always thought the villagers were good people, simple and kind. But ever since their parents died in a shipwreck, the once honest villagers had turned into something monstrous.
The honest men coveted his sister’s beauty.
The honest women whispered behind her back, calling her lowly.
Yuan Fu no longer liked this village.
“I’m afraid we won’t be able to move out in time.” Shen Wei stopped in her tracks, noticing a large crowd gathered in front of their little house.
A dark-skinned old woman spotted Shen Wei and greeted her with a smile, “Xi’er, A Fu, you two are finally back—come here, Xi’er, I have a good marriage proposal for you.”
As she spoke, the old woman pointed to a middle-aged man in his forties standing beside her.
The middle-aged man wasn’t alone; he had brought along his elderly parents and two toddlers who had just learned to walk.
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