Zhang Shixun didn't know Prince Pu, so he clasped his fists and asked, "May I ask your name?"
Prince Pu looked him up and down, then spat out two words: "Beat him!"
Several thugs rushed forward.
Zhang Shixun squatted down and swept his leg on the spot, and several guards fell to the ground with a thud.
"Good skills!" Prince Pu clapped his hands and cheered loudly, as if the person lying on the ground was not his.
Zhang Shixun grinned, "Thank you for the compliment."
Prince Pu approached him and asked, "If my guess is correct, you are Zhang Shixun, right?"
"That's me."
Zhang Shixun looked the man up and down. He saw that he was about forty or fifty years old, with a round face, sweeping eyebrows, a futou worn askew, a red flower stuck in his temples, and a half-open chest, revealing his sparse chest hair.
"I'm Zhao Zhongli, Prince of Pu. You can just call me Old Zhao."
"Ouch! It's His Royal Highness Prince Pu. My apologies."
Zhang Shixun pretended to straighten his clothes and bowed respectfully.
"Don't! What I hate most in my life is false formalities... Boy, I heard the food here is delicious, so I came here today to try it. I didn't expect the Gao family's brat to push it off and tell me to come back another day. Humph!"
"That's perfect. I'm hungry too. How about we eat together?"
"Then let's eat together." Prince Pu was delighted.
"However, there are no private rooms left. If you don't mind, I'll have someone set up a table under the window over there, and we can eat there, how about that?"
"Good!" Prince Pu patted Zhang Shixun on the shoulder. "You're very much my type... By the way, do you know how to play finger-guessing?"
Zhang Shixun was stunned.
This Prince Pu seems a little out of touch.
"I'm asking you, can you play finger-guessing?"
"meeting!"
"Then stop standing there and go move the table."
The table was brought in, and the cold dishes were ready. They just put four plates on the table and started drinking.
"Come on! Three cups first." Prince Pu grabbed the wine glass and drank three cups in a row without saying a word. After drinking, he wiped his mouth and said curiously, "I drink Gao Laozhuang wine at home too. It's the same Gao Laozhuang wine, why does the wine here taste better than mine?"
Zhang Shixun picked up the bottle and pointed to the small words underneath. He said, "The wine in our Paradise on Earth is different from yours. Look here, it says 'Special Supply'."
Prince Pu was probably nearsighted. He took the bottle and looked at it. Sure enough, there were the words "special supply" under the trademark.
"Where can I buy this special wine?"
"This wine is exclusively for Paradise on Earth and cannot be bought outside."
"Can't I buy it at a high price?"
"No matter how much money you spend, it won't work."
Prince Pu slammed the table and said, "I am Prince Pu. If you don't buy it for me, I..."
"What will you do?" Zhang Shixun looked at him with a smile.
"I'll report you to the authorities."
Someone nearby said, "Brother Emperor, it's useless even if you report this to me. Not only you, but even I can't buy this kind of wine."
The two turned around and saw that it was Emperor Zhao Ji and several of his ministers.
Zhang Shixun quickly stood up, bowed and said, "It's you, Your Majesty! You've come so early today."
"Alas! Ever since I saw Romance of the Three Kingdoms on the third floor, my mind has been filled with its plot. I even dream about Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei... Hey, Shixun, I can only watch one episode a day, which is not enough. Can you watch more?"
"Your Majesty, I can't make the decision on this matter. The heavenly officials don't..." Zhang Shixun had just finished speaking when an idea suddenly occurred to him. "Your Majesty, if you want to watch more, it's not impossible. As long as you get rid of the officials, not to mention watching one more episode, even watching ten more episodes a day won't be difficult. It's just..."
Zhao Ji was overjoyed when he heard this. "Just what? Tell me!"
"It's just that you have to bribe the officials."
"Ah! Do officials in the Heavenly Palace also accept bribes?"
"Haha!" Zhang Shixun smiled but did not answer.
"How much does it cost to watch one more episode?"
"I don't know either. I'll ask him later."
Zhao Ji was unwilling to wait any longer and urged, "Ask now. I'll wait."
"Your Majesty, please wait a moment." Zhang Shixun sat cross-legged in front of them and closed his eyes.
Zhao Ji and Prince Pu did not dare to disturb him and looked at him with wide eyes.
Zhang Shixun entered the intelligent system and contacted Wang Dong: "Old Wang, there is a big business."
"What big business?"
"I'm showing Zhao Ji one episode of the Three Kingdoms every day, but he doesn't like it enough and wants to watch more. I told him that if he wants to watch more, he has to bribe the officials in heaven, hehe!"
"Haha! You're really ruthless, but I like it... Tell me, how do you want me to cooperate?"
"Play a scene."
"How do you act?"
“Are there any robots that can fly?”
"Would the goshawks and pigeons used for surveillance in the sky work?"
"Is there anything more eye-catching?"
Wang Dong immediately understood what he meant and said with a smile, "How about a peacock? Isn't it eye-catching enough?"
"Phoenix...Phoenix?"
Zhang Shixun was delighted, "Of course Peacock will do."
"Okay! You wait."
A moment later, a colorful peacock landed on the open window and called out to Zhang Shixun twice.
Zhang Shixun stood up and bowed to it. "Immortal messenger from the Heavenly Palace. The emperor on earth would like to watch one more episode of Romance of the Three Kingdoms every day. Please ask the heavenly officials how much it would cost."
The peacock cried out again, spread its wings and flew away, soaring into the sky.
This scene left Zhao Ji and Prince Pu stunned.
Zhang Shixun pretended to bow in the direction of the peacock's flight, then turned to Zhao Ji and said, "Your Majesty, please wait patiently for the immortal's message."
“How long will it take?”
"Heavenly Palace is 18,000 miles away from here. A round trip would only take the time of a cup of tea."
Zhao Ji walked to the window and bowed to the sky: "Thank you for your help, celestial being."
Seeing this, Zhang Shixun couldn't help but laugh secretly.
After a short while, the peacock returned and landed on the windowsill. It began to speak in human language: "The heavenly officials asked me to tell you that the Bagua furnaces in Lihentian and Tushita Palace need repairs. If the emperor on earth can donate for the repairs, he will be allowed to watch five more episodes every day."
Zhang Shixun asked loudly, "How much gold and silver will it take to repair the Bagua furnace?"
"One hundred thousand taels of gold."
Zhang Shixun was secretly shocked. Wang Dong was really bold in asking for a price. He asked for 100,000 taels of gold right away.
He looked at Zhao Ji and asked, "Your Majesty, you have heard that the Taishang Laojun's alchemy furnace needs to be repaired and it requires 100,000 taels of gold. What do you think..."
Zhao Ji waved his hand, "No need to ask any more questions. I will donate 100,000... No! I will donate 200,000 taels of gold."
Depend on!
He actually increased his bet himself, turning 100,000 taels into 200,000 taels.
Liang Shicheng walked up to Zhao Ji and whispered, "Your Majesty, the inner treasury is out of money. We can't take out that much gold."
Zhao Ji glared at him and said, "Even if you can't give it to me, you have to take it."
Liang Shichengdu was about to cry. There was nothing in the inner treasury. How could he get it?
The government spends money too much. No matter how much gold and silver there is in the treasury, it will be spent in a blink of an eye.
Today, the inner treasury is almost empty.
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