Isn't That Imperial Uncle Shen?
Shen Tao and the others were quite dumbfounded by the surroundings.
Shen Tao sighed and said, "You're saying our master is loyal to the Emperor of Great Xia?"
Zhao Kun nodded and said, "Of course! But what if I'm unwilling to pledge allegiance to the Emperor of Great Xia?"
"That idiot doesn't deserve our loyalty?" Shen Tao gestured with his chin.
Surprisingly, the dormitory environment was quite nice. After they took a hot shower, someone came in and led them to the canteen.
The canteen was huge, and everyone was queuing up for food.
Shen Tao looked at the canteen and said, "Not bad! I didn't expect the canteen in the City Lord's Mansion to be so good."
Zhao Kun said, "These should all be on duty, right? I see a lot of people wearing armor."
Zhao Tiangui stared longingly at the armored men and said, "How impressive! I wish I could wear armor too."
A man in armor nearby laughed loudly, "Little fatty, you can't wear armor. It's very tiring for us!"
Zhao Tiangui shouted, "Don't call me Little Fatty, my name is Zhao Tiangui!"
The armored man laughed loudly, "If you can go to the Yan Mountain Academy, you might become a military officer and wear armor someday."
Zhao Tiangui blinked and said, "Really? But is Yan Mountain Academy very difficult to get into?"
The armored man shook his head and said:
"It's not hard to get in! As long as you pass every exam, you can stay."
However, Yan Mountain Academy's standards are quite high.
Zhao Tiangui said:
I will work hard! I want to go to the Yan Mountain Academy in the future.
However, I've sold myself to my master, so I don't know if I'll be allowed in.
Logically speaking, I'm just a lackey!
Zhao Tiangui started to lack confidence again.
From now on, he will be a servant to others.
Those people looked at him and asked, "Who is your master?"
Zhao Tiangui said, "Zhou Wanwan!"
Everyone's expression changed. "Then you're very lucky; Yan Mountain Academy got you in through a guaranteed admission."
"Congratulations! Okay, it's your turn. The food here is pretty good, just order whatever you want."
Shen Tao, Zhao Kun, Zhao Tiangui, and Cui Wenyuan were stunned when they saw the dishes.
Isn't there way too much food in this cafeteria?
There were dozens of dishes. The lady serving the food looked at them and asked, "What would you like to eat? Do you have any brands?"
Shen Tao took out the wooden plaque in his hand and asked, "Is this the plaque?"
The older woman nodded and said, "Yes, yes, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes. What would you like to eat?"
Shen Tao looked at the dishes and swallowed hard; there were just too many.
He was momentarily overwhelmed.
The woman said, "These chicken legs are good! And this fish, you could also try the pickled cabbage fish, and a couple of vegetable dishes would be fine too."
Shen Tao nodded and quickly got his food.
The four of them returned to their dormitory and began to eat.
While eating, Shen Tao said, "What kind of place is Yanmen Pass? I have a feeling something's not quite right about it."
Zhao Kun nodded as he ate, saying, "Delicious! Is the food here really that good?"
Zhao Tiangui said while eating:
"Two chicken drumsticks and so much sauerkraut fish, this sauerkraut fish is just too delicious!"
And the portions are generous for everyone, how can the cafeteria not lose money?
Cui Wenyuan laughed and said, "Who knows! The thing is, they don't seem to spend any money on their meals!"
After dinner, Zheng Xing'an knocked on the door and said, "It's time to go to court. Would you like to go and take a look?"
Shen Tao looked at her and said, "You can't just casually visit the court? What if the dog emperor of Great Xia cuts our heads off?"
Zheng Xing'an laughed and said, "Don't worry, it won't happen. Let's go!"
Zheng Xing'an led them toward the underground palace.
The entrance to this underground palace was entirely made of Mingzhu, sparkling brightly.
They were led forward, and the further they went, the more open the space became.
Shen Tao stared blankly at the palace and said:
"Wow, what a huge palace! Why is this palace exactly the same as the palace of the Great Qi?"
It's just a little bit small.
The underground palace of the Great Qi Emperor was a direct replica of the Great Qi palace, so it was exactly the same as the Great Qi palace.
Before he could finish speaking, he saw countless ministers in official robes walking towards him from a distance.
These official robes appear to be different.
It's different from Great Qi's.
Shen Tao said, "Goodness, there must be hundreds of people here, right? And why is the court session being held in the underground palace?"
Zhao Kun shook his head and said:
"That dog emperor of the Great Xia Kingdom is quite strange. Why does he come to the border to hold court for no reason?"
It's already noon, what kind of court is this?
Zheng Xing'an looked at them meaningfully and led them into the main hall.
They quickly found a spot in a corner of the main hall.
All the court officials stood at attention, while Zhou Wanwan sat on the dragon throne, watching them.
The people below all kowtowed and shouted, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Zhou Wanwan waved her hand and said, "Get up, everyone!"
Shen Tao stepped forward, looked up, and his vision went black; he almost fainted.
Zhao Kun rubbed his eyes and said, "Oh my god! Am I seeing things? Isn't that our master up there?"
Zhao Tiangui was also stunned. "No way? The Emperor? Holy crap, is this some kind of high-stakes game?"
Cui Wenyuan took a deep breath and said, "An emperor as my master? That's too exciting!"
Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said, "Tell me about what's been going on lately."
Zhao Muyuan said excitedly:
"Since the War God Hall opened, our profits have increased several times over, and Crushed Stone Fort is now thriving."
In this past month, the combined value of all the shops in Crushed Stone Fort has exceeded 200,000 taels of silver.
Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "It's really quite good. So, how about our money exchange and security escort agency?"
Zhao Muyuan, "The money exchange is excellent. Now our money exchanges are all over the country, and many people say that it is very convenient to deposit money in our money exchange."
Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "After a while, Tongtai Bank should also be mine."
Zhao Muyuan was taken aback and said, "Tongtai Bank? Isn't that the money exchange that's always been at odds with our family?"
Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "That's right. This time I made a bet with them. If I win, Tongtai Bank will be ours."
Zhao Muyuan's lips twitched. "A bet? Are these people crazy? They actually bet with you."
It would be strange if they didn't win.
Zhou Wanwan looked at Shen Tao in the corner and said, "This is Shen Tao, and Zhao Kun too. They're both from Great Qi."
Suddenly, someone in the crowd said, "Shen Tao? Isn't that Imperial Uncle Shen? What's he doing here?"
The one speaking was General Who Proclaims Might of the Great Qi.
Looking at the generals surrounding General Who Proclaims Might, Shen Tao exclaimed, "Good heavens, they've gathered all the fiercest generals from the Great Qi's borders!"
General Who Proclaims Might looked at Shen Tao and said, "Good heavens, our Emperor is truly too authoritative; he even managed to bring over the Imperial Uncle Shen."
Shen Tao coughed and said, "Our Shen Clan is now all loyal to His Majesty, even my sister has signed a contract of servitude."
General Who Proclaims Might said speechlessly, "Isn't your sister the Empress of Great Qi? Even the Empress has sold herself?"
Shen Tao said helplessly, "Yeah! There's nothing we can do!"
General Who Proclaims Might patted him on the shoulder and said, "Young man, you have a bright future. We all receive double pay, which is actually a good thing!"
They received salaries from both the Great Qi and Yanmen Pass, which was a win-win situation.
The soldiers' subsidies were all the same; they all received double.
This is the greatest guarantee.
Zhao Kun suddenly spotted several familiar figures. He stared blankly at them and said:
"Aren't you all from prominent families? What brings you to Yanmen Pass?"
No wonder your whole family suddenly disappeared!
Those men were all from prominent families in the Great Qi Dynasty. They smiled and said, "Brother Zhao, from now on we're all family. Please take care of us."