That "Essential Survival Course in the Martial World: How to Spend Money," personally taught by the Empress, ultimately failed, leaving the instructor exhausted and the students drowsy.
Lin Wanwan dragged Xiao Che to a secluded teahouse, attempting to establish a complete system for converting private currency for him.
“Your Majesty, listen carefully,” she said, placing several copper coins of different shapes on the table and beginning her literacy lesson. “These with a square hole in the middle are called ‘wen’ or ‘copper coins.’ A thousand copper coins strung together make a ‘string of coins.’ And a string of coins can be exchanged for about… one tael of silver.”
Xiao Che was completely confused. He picked up a copper coin and examined it from all angles. He found it to be small and dirty, a far cry from his gleaming gold ingots.
Lin Wanwan continued to patiently explain with examples: "The meat buns we just ate cost about two copper coins each. That is to say, one copper coin can buy half a bun. One tael of silver can buy five hundred buns. And that one hundred-tael silver note you just took out can buy... fifty thousand buns! Enough for every single person in the entire capital to have a bite! Do you understand?"
She tried to use the most intuitive "steamed bun exchange algorithm" to help Xiao Che understand the purchasing power of money.
However, what she received in return was a blank look from Xiao Che and a question that almost made her flip the table on the spot:
"Then... how many steamed buns can my gold ingots buy?"
Lin Wanwan: "..."
She gave up.
She despairingly discovered that teaching basic economics to an emperor who had no concept of money since childhood and believed that everything in the world belonged to "him" was more difficult than teaching him embroidery.
Ultimately, the lesson ended abruptly after Xiao Che finished drinking three pots of tea and successfully fell asleep twice.
Lin Wanwan made a wise decision: to strip "Master Xiao" of all financial power and to take full responsibility for all expenses of the two of them on this trip.
Having solved the major problem of "spending money," the two resumed their journey. They bought a sturdy and durable carriage and some dry rations in the city, officially embarking on their journey to Jiangnan.
They traveled by day and rested by night.
As evening fell, the carriage arrived at a post station on the outskirts of the capital.
This is a town of moderate size, where merchants from all over the country would stop for a while, so the town has no shortage of inns.
Lin Wanwan chose the largest and most impressive-looking inn in town – “Yuelai Inn”.
With its gilded signboard, three-story building, and two large red lanterns hanging at the entrance, it stood out like a crane among chickens among the other small inns. Lin Wanwan thought to herself, surely this place will satisfy that picky emperor?
Sure enough, when Xiao Che saw the inn's facade, his brows, which had been furrowed all afternoon, finally relaxed a bit.
"Waiter! Prepare us the best room!" Lin Wanwan handed the carriage to the waiter, displaying the air of a wealthy merchant's wife.
"Alright! One top-class room! Please come upstairs, gentlemen!" The waiter enthusiastically took the bundle and led the two up to the third floor with bows and scrapes.
"Sir, this is our best room, the 'Top Class'! It has a great view and is quiet and comfortable!" The waiter pushed open the door with a creak and stepped aside with a big smile.
Xiao Che still had a reserved smile on his face. However, when his gaze fell on the interior of the room, that smile instantly froze on his lips.
This... is the best "top-tier room"?
The room was indeed quite large, but the furnishings were extremely simple: a wooden bed, a table, and two chairs—that was all.
What he found most unbearable was the faint, musty smell permeating the room, a smell caused by damp bedding. His gaze swept across the room and he even noticed a speck of grease, left by some unknown food, on the greasy corner of the table.
This environment...
It was a far cry from the servants' quarters where even the lowest-ranking eunuchs in his palace lived!
The waiter, oblivious to the inner turmoil of this "Master Xiao," continued his enthusiastic introduction: "Sir, look out this window, and you can see the town's night view!"
Xiao Che's face had turned somewhat pale. But he still remembered his identity as someone on an "incognito visit" and forced himself not to lash out on the spot.
He forced out a few words through gritted teeth: "I understand, you can go now."
"Alright! Dinner will be served to you two shortly!" The waiter happily withdrew.
As soon as the door closed, Xiao Che couldn't hold back any longer.
He kicked the not-so-clean-looking floor with his toe with disgust, and complained to Lin Wanwan in a low voice, "Wanwan! This is the best inn you talked about? This... this place is uninhabitable."
"Your Majesty, please make do with this." Lin Wanwan said as she took out a clean handkerchief she had prepared from her bundle and began to carefully wipe the tables and chairs.
As Xiao Che watched her busy figure and then looked at the simple, damp room, his obsessive-compulsive disorder and his instinct for a life of luxury were screaming wildly within him.
He resisted the urge to sit down and stood there stiffly until the waiter brought up dinner.
Dinner was quite plentiful, with two dishes and a soup, all steaming hot.
After a long day of travel, Xiao Che was indeed hungry. He thought, "The accommodations may be a bit poor, but at least the food should be edible, right?"
With a dark expression, he sat down on the chair that Lin Wanwan had wiped eight times, and then picked up the chopsticks on the table.
However, his hand stopped just as he was about to pick up the chopsticks.
He could clearly see that at the tip of the bamboo chopsticks, there was a tiny, almost invisible burr sticking up.
Xiao Che's pupils contracted slightly.
In the palace, he used ivory chopsticks and silver chopsticks. Not to mention burrs, even the slightest scratch would result in the responsible palace servant being dragged out and beaten with a board!
He took a deep breath and told himself to be patient.
He put down his chopsticks, picked up the teacup in front of him, and prepared to drink some water to calm his nerves.
However, as he brought the teacup to his lips, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a small, crescent-shaped notch on the rim of the bowl!
"Smack!"
A crisp sound suddenly rang out in the quiet room!
Xiao Che could no longer hold back! He slammed the teacup he was holding onto the table with such force that the tea inside splashed out.
His disguised, rugged face was now ashen!
The place I live in is damp enough! The chopsticks I use for eating are splintered enough! But now even the bowls I use for drinking water are broken?!
This is practically challenging his bottom line as an emperor!
This is outrageous!
Lin Wanwan was startled by his sudden outburst. She was about to speak and advise him to "make do and not be so picky about a bowl."
But when she looked up, she saw the incredibly spectacular internal monologue above his head.
A huge, glittering, jewel-encrusted bowl, its image flashing an angry red light, was positioned above his head, accompanied by a line of large characters filled with imperial rage—
[Where is my personal golden bowl! .gif]
Before the first meme disappeared, a new one popped up from the side.
It was a pigsty with an extremely sloppy style, inside which several piglets were lying in the mud, grunting and squealing. A line of text filled with disgust and disdain floated across the picture—
[Even pigs wouldn't live here! .jpg]
Lin Wanwan: "..."
Okay, she took back what she just said.
It seems that for His Majesty the Emperor, hygiene standards are a matter of principle that cannot be compromised.
Just as she was pondering whether she should take him away from this "pigsty" overnight or try to conjure up a golden bowl and chopsticks for him, she saw the emperor, whose face was ashen, suddenly turn around.
His deep eyes were looking at her pitifully, filled with grievance, accusation, and a hint of... a weakness from extreme hunger.
Then, in an almost coquettish tone, with a thick nasal lisp, he said to Lin Wanwan:
"My wife..."
"I……"
"Hungry."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com