Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 684 The Princess Arrives for the Marriage Alliance!
The three split up, with a target of ten taels of silver, but if they got too hungry, they would eat whatever they earned.

Old Zhang's business was relatively simple. He just picked up a piece of charcoal and borrowed a piece of paper from the young people on the roadside who wrote letters for others. That was how his business started.

Emperor Jingtai was more refined. He named people and analyzed their characters. He was well-versed in various things, such as the Wenwang hexagrams and the six lines of divination, and he could talk about them eloquently.

Although business is not plentiful, every time they make a move, it's sure to amaze everyone.

Xia Lin, on the other hand, would wander around and strike up conversations with anyone who looked like a young master from a wealthy family. He would call out to people like Brother Liang, Brother Zhao, and Brother Huang. Since people generally thought he looked good, they would be polite and would just say that they had mistaken him for someone else.

But Xia Lin didn't leave immediately. Instead, he continued to chat, talking about romance, family matters, literature, and even current affairs. With his abilities, he could quickly figure out what the other person was like. However, he neither lent nor cheated anyone out of money; he simply chatted, catering to their interests.

But just when the conversation is getting lively, he will suddenly say, "It's getting late, it's time to say goodbye." At this point, the other party will most likely ask, "Brother Zhang, there's no need to rush. How about we drink and chat for a while and then sleep together?"

At this point, Xia Lin would talk about his predicament. His older brother was a gambling addict who squandered the family fortune, his father died of anger, his mother was bedridden, and his wife made a living by weaving. He had come out to find some odd jobs. It was true that he had a pleasant conversation with the "Zhang, Wang, Li, and Zhao" brothers, but in the end, even a hero can't have a penny.

At this point, some people will try to persuade him to stay and offer him money. He will then pretend to be angry and say that true friendship is like water, and offering money would be an insult to their friendship...

Most people would have no chance of making money by this point, but Xia Lin was different; he had plenty of methods. He would then give the person a small gift as a souvenir. In return, the person would give him a personal item.

Xia Lin's personal belongings, apart from the Kunlun jade or gentleman's jade given to him by An Zi, were all worthless. However, the young master's belongings were quite valuable. After exchanging tokens, Xia Lin would not sell them immediately. He would use the same method to sell them to the next person in exchange for something of higher value.

An hour later, Emperor Jingtai earned three taels of silver, Old Zhang earned twenty-eight taels, and Xia Lin earned three thousand one hundred and seventy-five taels and two mace.

Emperor Jingtai: "???"

Lao Zhang: "???"

"You went and robbed it?"

Emperor Jingtai was quite astonished by this, but the problem was that even robbery couldn't be done so quickly. This wasn't robbery at all; it was as if he had found a gold brick on his way out the door. Considering that a skilled craftsman's annual income was about sixty taels, he earned in one hour what others earned in a lifetime.

"Sigh, the money earned through understanding is honest and upright, not stolen or robbed." Xia Lin shook her finger: "They still have to worry about me."

Emperor Jingtai didn't believe it. He thought Xia Lin had drugged the person, but Xia Lin didn't explain. Emperor Jingtai didn't know the true value of the Great Wei succubus, so it was normal for him to have doubts.

With money, they went to the pleasure boats but didn't call any girls; they just went for the ride. This behavior was very strange, but since they were being paid, the pleasure boat manager, who was also the madam, couldn't very well kick them out. So she could only call some girls to test the waters.

But who knew the girl would be kicked out as soon as she entered the door...

"Mom, those three men are really strange. They just sit there eating and drinking, they don't take any signs or call out to any girls, and they're acting all rude..."

"Well, all sorts of people come here, it's not surprising," the madam shook her head and said. "Who would come to a pleasure boat just to eat?"

She was still full of doubts, so she called the top courtesan of the pleasure boat to test her, but the result was the same. Even though the top courtesan went in, she was still scolded and kicked out.

The madam was now certain these three men were up to something, so she secretly reported them to the authorities. However, a search of the pleasure boat was not permitted, as it housed many high-ranking officials and nobles. The matter was quickly transferred to the Bureau of Investigation, since the three gentlemen's behavior resembled that of spies from an enemy state...

The spies from the Investigation Bureau were everywhere, and they quickly began their investigation. However, not long after the investigation began, the spy in charge of the investigation came out with a dark face. The madam was still looking forward to receiving a reward, but who knew that she would be greeted with two slaps.

"Take good care of him!" the scout said viciously. "If anything goes wrong, I'll scatter your ashes in the Qinhuai River."

The madam dared not ask any more questions, while Xia Lin and the others were completely unaware of what had happened, sitting there fully enjoying the fruits of their labor.

"Speaking of which, this is the first time I've made money today. How interesting! The three of us can earn more than three thousand taels today, which is more than a thousand taels a day when split among ourselves. That's really good."

"Yes, yes, yes, the three of us are really awesome." Old Zhang nodded: "Really good."

"That's for sure." Emperor Jingtai picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. "But these people are really foolish and rich. I have time to fool them every day." Old Zhang chuckled, but only saw through it without exposing it, and casually changed the subject: "I heard that Your Majesty secretly arranged a child bride for someone in Handan?"

"Yes, I heard she is Liu Bilie's niece, sixteen years old."

"Where would he get a sixteen-year-old niece?" Old Zhang looked bewildered. "His unmarried nieces range from six to twelve years old. Where would a sixteen-year-old come from?"

"Huh?" Emperor Jingtai looked up: "What?"

“I said, he doesn’t have a niece who can get married at sixteen. People on the grasslands get married early, as young as nine. By sixteen, she’s already considered an old maid. How could she possibly stay for a marriage alliance? She’d either be lame or blind, or extremely ugly. He can’t possibly marry a blind girl.”

"Isn't twelve years old a bit too young?"

Xia Lin remained silent throughout, drinking his wine with a dark expression: "They're arriving tomorrow, and you're already discussing who's who, huh?"

"Twelve years old... that's a bit too much." Emperor Jingtai gasped. "He's an emperor, after all. How can he be so unscrupulous?"

"How can you blame her?" Xia Lin said irritably, "I'm old enough to be her father."

Emperor Jingtai scratched his head and said, "How about I take charge for you and let you abdicate?"

"Do you know why I only refused and didn't say I was returning the daughter? It's because the custom on the grasslands is that a daughter who is returned must be sacrificed to the wolf god."

"Twelve years old? That's a bit too beastly." Old Zhang looked at Xia Lin: "Do you have any good ideas? To be honest, I'm pushing the age of marriage and having children to eighteen. You're giving me a twelve-year-old wife. Isn't that just adding fuel to the fire?"

"Am I causing you trouble?" Xia Lin looked at Emperor Jingtai: "Some emperors don't do their due diligence and just agree to things blindly. Can an emperor go back on his word? Can the agreements between two emperors be overturned at will? Isn't this just asking for trouble and insisting on war?"

Emperor Jingtai's face flushed red instantly: "This time I really failed to pay attention. You'd better think of a solution quickly."

"I'll take care of it tomorrow." Xia Lin paused for a moment. "I've already called your sister over; she should arrive in the next day or two. Please don't do anything reckless next time."

"understood……"

"Twelve years old," Old Zhang clicked his tongue. "How terrifying. In this cannibalistic and vicious era, I can't even imagine what it would be like if I had a daughter who had to get married at the age of twelve."

The next day, the news of the princess's arrival was announced by the Court of State Ceremonies in the imperial court. However, this was not so important. What was more important was the personnel changes in various departments, including the promotion of the Minister of War to Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince and the succession of Vice Minister Zhou of the Ministry of War to the position of Minister of War.

Once this news came out, everyone knew that Vice Minister Zhou had sided with the emperor's camp, and the pressure on him suddenly increased. But things had already come to this point, and there were really no other choices.

Therefore, everyone naturally focuses their attention on the princess who came from the grasslands for a marriage alliance.

"Summon the Northern Han princess to the palace."

All the officials turned to look, and even Emperor Jingtai craned his neck. At that moment, a girl dressed in finery walked into the hall accompanied by her maid.

She looked to be under sixteen, but Liu Bilie was absolutely right to say that she was the most beautiful pearl on the grassland. Even Old Zhang was amazed by her beauty at first glance.

Even when faced with the vast array of courtesans in Fuliang, Old Zhang's assessment was merely "average." Even those of exceptional quality like Yu Tingyun and Feng Lingyue were considered only average.

However, when they arrived at this pearl of the grasslands, Lao Zhang's rating was suddenly upgraded to "astounding".

The young girl quietly performed a grassland salute before the palace and said in fluent Mandarin, "Baozhu greets His Majesty the Emperor of Great Wei."

This shout brought Emperor Jingtai back to his senses. He turned and glanced at the chief eunuch: "Prepare a seat for the grassland princess."

(End of this chapter)