An Understanding with the Emperor

The next day at court, Emperor Jing formally received Paba.

However, Fang Zheng did not attend the court session, directly skipping work.

He stayed home without eating a bite until the evening banquet.

An old habit. He was really determined to take advantage of a free meal.

Fortunately, he was used to going hungry from before, so going a day or two without food naturally had no effect on him.

Li Yuanzhao was different. He couldn't make it through the afternoon and ran off to a restaurant to eat.

Speaking of the evening banquet, Fang Zheng was quite looking forward to it, though not just to save money.

Eating was one of his few pleasures in life.

Although palace food wasn't particularly tasty.

But he always held onto the fantasy.

He fantasized that at such a formal large gathering, there would be dishes so delicious they'd make the plates shine and people's clothes burst.

He'd attended Imperial banquets for officials before, but none had been as grand as this one.

These were Imperial chefs after all! They couldn't serve mediocre food every time!

This grand banquet was held in Taihe Hall.

By now it was dark outside, but countless candles had been lit inside, illuminating the great hall brilliantly.

Emperor Jing sat in the center with translators by his side and officials in their places.

Li Yuanzhao sat below Emperor Jing, with small tables arranged before each person.

They were using individual portions for dining, of course.

When Paba entered the hall, his first glance fell on Fang Zheng.

His gaze sharpened as he felt something was amiss.

Wasn't he just a Vice Minister of the Court of Diplomatic Receptions? Why was he here, and in such a high seat?

He recognized several people nearby, but why hadn't he seen this one during yesterday's audience with the Emperor?

Fang Zheng smiled and returned the greeting, naturally seeing through Paba's confusion.

He hadn't expected this fellow to be so poorly informed, still not knowing he was the Grand Tutor.

But it wasn't a big problem. He could probably brush it off easily.

Just blame everything on his brother-in-law...

Having entered the hall, there was no time for Paba to think further. He immediately bowed to Emperor Jing.

"Paba greets Your Majesty."

Chilie's appearance beside him clearly sparked another round of discussion among the officials.

Many had heard tales of the Northern Rong's beast-men.

They'd been disappointed not to see him at court. Now seeing him in person, the tales were indeed true!

The title of beast-man was well deserved!

Emperor Jing was also slightly startled. Though he'd heard reports about Chilie, he hadn't expected the real person to be so striking!

However, his expression remained unchanged as he smiled and said, "No need for formalities!"

"That strong warrior beside you must be Chilie of Black Mountain?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Khan specifically appointed Chilie to accompany me on this mission. He cannot communicate in our language, so I hope Your Majesty will forgive this," Paba replied respectfully.

Emperor Jing chuckled, "No matter. With such a mighty general under Wutu's command, no wonder he could unify the Northern Rong."

"Today you must enjoy yourselves thoroughly. We won't discuss state affairs, so there's no need to be formal. Please be seated!"

Hearing the Emperor address the Khan by name, Paba simply smiled and nodded, then followed the eunuch's guidance to his seat.

Once everyone was seated, Guo Tianyang called out loudly.

Palace maidens gracefully approached.

Fang Zheng couldn't help feeling moved.

The Emperor truly lived up to his military background with his straightforward style.

Not only was his thinking open-minded, but he also dispensed with all unnecessary words whenever possible.

The previous two times eating in the palace had been the same. Not a single wasted word, just straight to serving the food!

Even during regular court sessions, he didn't waste words, getting straight to discussing problems.

Unlike the leaders in his past life who would ramble for an hour without saying anything useful.

After a whole meeting, his notes would only be two lines, less than thirty words total!

When the first dish was served, Fang Zheng looked down and felt greatly disappointed.

He'd eaten this dish during New Year's!

Palace dishes were beautifully presented, but their taste and aroma fell far short.

But considering it was free, and he hadn't eaten all day, Fang Zheng stopped being picky and began eating silently.

Across from him, Paba's eyes went wide.

He looked left and right, seeing that others hadn't started eating, and began to wonder.

The Ministry of Rites hadn't taught this!

But... shouldn't they at least wait for the Emperor to say a few words before eating?

How could Fang Zheng just start eating on his own? This wasn't just about being straightforward anymore, it was almost foolish!

The money had been delivered yesterday. Could he really handle things properly like this?

Emperor Jing looked at Fang Zheng, saw him stuffing his face, and showed a helpless expression.

Before I could say a few simple words you started eating, just like the last two times.

Are you really that hungry? I wonder if the Ministry of Rites has taught him anything yet...

But seeing him eating with such relish, Emperor Jing showed a faint smile.

This was fine too. It reminded him of his own eating style back in his military days.

Emperor Jing said to Paba, "Paba, from what I understand, it's been nearly ten years since our two countries last exchanged envoys, correct?"

"Yes, Your Majesty! It's been ten years and seven months. After my King swept away all opposition, he wished to send envoys to strengthen diplomatic relations between our nations."

Hearing this, Emperor Jing felt a subtle joy.

Paba spoke truth. Shortly after Wutu unified the Northern Rong, he immediately sent envoys to Great Jing.

Though there was still chaos within the Northern Rong, it was mainly due to fear of Great Jing, the mighty tiger next door.

Great Jing's prestige could still intimidate other nations. His military achievements had earned recognition.

Others flattered him daily, but hearing these words from an envoy's mouth felt truly different.

"Good! Wutu shows goodwill! Then I shall drink this cup to peaceful relations between our nations."

With that, Emperor Jing raised his cup toward Paba.

Paba hurriedly raised his cup as well, "On behalf of my King, I thank Your Majesty!"

They both drained their cups at once.

Only then did the officials below begin eating one after another.

Having eaten one plate to fill his stomach, Fang Zheng began eating more slowly while listening to the Emperor's conversation.

"I hear Minister Fang took you sightseeing in the capital the other day. This must be your first visit to the capital? How did you find it?"

"A single day in the capital truly opened my eyes. Great Jing is rich in treasures, and Minister Fang showed me many things I'd never seen before."

Paba felt somewhat bitter inside. The level of Great Jing's development was secondary and within expectations, but the Crown Prince's terrifying administrative abilities had left him rather frightened... He still hadn't recovered after two days.

"Oh? What things?" Emperor Jing began asking questions he already knew the answers to.

Hearing this, Fang Zheng wiped his mouth and immediately stood up, "Your Majesty, I showed National Preceptor Paba some of Great Jing's precious specialties, the Celestial Immortal Tea and our finest treasure, diamonds!"

Paba's fists suddenly clenched.

You know damn well I'm not a monk!

Emperor Jing immediately understood and smiled, "Oh! Indeed, the Celestial Immortal Tea is excellent. I'm quite fond of it myself."

"Though I hear it's hard to obtain even for a thousand gold in the marketplace. Were you able to buy any?"

"No, Your Majesty, I wasn't!"

Emperor Jing felt delighted.

Trading trash for gold and silver! His private treasury had actually been preserved!

Giving the tea to Fang Zheng to sell had indeed been the right decision!

If he'd arranged for others to sell the tea, they probably would have lowered the price of Celestial Immortal Tea long ago.

Only this fellow could stubbornly maintain the price and even treat garbage as treasure.

The officials below still thought Celestial Immortal Tea was something precious.

Using tea to fool people could be called a perfect scheme.

Thinking back to their first meeting when he'd used this tea to fool him, who would have thought it would now be used to fool the Northern Rong.

Fate works in mysterious ways!

Emperor Jing's expression remained calm, "National Preceptor Paba has come from afar. How could we let him leave without tasting our tea!"

"Minister Fang, this matter is yours to handle. Make sure the National Preceptor has this tea to take back when he returns!"

"Your servant obeys~"

As the two played their parts, Paba's heart leaped with joy.

Seeing the Emperor's very friendly attitude, the chances of successful trade negotiations would greatly increase, and besides, he really wanted to taste that Celestial Immortal Tea...