“Sneeze…”
Li Mo wiped his nose, thinking who might be constantly talking about him, then entered the Hengtong Bank’s main office. The place was already under strict lockdown, with armored soldiers both inside and outside. Judging from their armor, they should be the personal troops of the King of South Border.
Under the guidance of the soldiers, he walked through the main hall and directly entered the warehouse.
The warehouse had been organized, with various supplies piled up like mountains, and people were busy coming and going.
All the officials had been waiting there for quite some time, having run to the restroom multiple times due to drinking tea, and their faces didn’t look good.
Since ancient times, when have officials ever waited for someone?
This person was someone from the merchant community.
But Li Mo was not a merchant, and even these old foxes couldn’t figure out why he took on this grand event, saying it was just a whim didn’t fit either.
Who would suddenly get the urge to throw a mountain of gold?
Sun Gui was carefully serving beside, occasionally wiping sweat and looking at the door. When he saw Li Mo come in, he finally relaxed.
“The adults have been waiting for a long time. This is Minister Song from the Ministry of Revenue, and this is Deputy Minister Qian. Both need to sign off during the inspection.”
Zhong Qin was still wearing a long robe today, speaking in a gentle tone that didn’t seem like he was a seasoned general:
“Thanks to Li Mo’s generous donation, we managed to resolve the urgent situation. We still need to work together to make this event successful.”
Song Baiyue and his colleagues exchanged glances and nodded slightly: “Li Mo, this is a major event, you can’t afford to delay. Do you know?”
The tardiness was settled.
Li Mo only paid a deposit, not the final payment yet.
If someone as stubborn as a young man could ignore even the Crown Prince’s face, it seemed the emperor also favored him. It wouldn’t be appropriate to show any official authority here.
“Indeed, I heard from Sun Gui that most of the materials are ready. Let’s start the inspection now.”
Li Mo nodded.
As they spoke, Sun Gui held a list and read aloud while walking:
“Hundred bolts of plain silk.”
“Three hundred yew logs.”
“Six hundred blue cloud fish, four hundred pine seed chickens… one hundred thousand shi of fine grain… one hundred thousand shi of hay…”
“Wait, stop!”
Deputy Minister Qian suddenly stopped, eyes wide, watching the continuous flow of grain being transported into the warehouse:
“Li Mo, what are you doing with all this grain?”
“Just like the ingredients before, to cook. The Hundred Yi Festival is a celebration for all, everyone needs to eat well. Otherwise, how would you deal with the Hundred Yi getting hungry and losing weight?”
Little Li looked innocent and reasonable.
“But ten thousand shi? Are you feeding pigs?”
Qian still felt something was off.
“Oh, I have a famous dish that requires the essence of a hundred grains. Only one liang of food can be made from a hundred jin of grain, and it tastes exquisite.”
“What about the hay? Can you make dishes with hay?”
“Of course not. But if guests come from afar, we can’t let the horses run without hay.”
“…”
Qian scratched his head, feeling it made sense but also not quite right.
He glanced at Minister Song, who said nothing, so he reluctantly nodded.
They continued walking.
“Ten thousand swords of refined hundred-refined iron, seven thousand spears…”
“What?”
Deputy Minister Qian couldn’t hold it anymore, pointing at the piles of weapons:
“Li Mo, are these part of the Hundred Yi Festival?”
“As everyone knows, my Cold Fairy has unparalleled sword skills. A single dance of her sword can cause thousands of swords to float in the air. Moreover, her music is unparalleled. When ‘Heavenly King’s Battle Array’ plays, it can make the weapons dance, as if there were thousands of soldiers.”
Li Mo spoke convincingly.
“So these are performance props?”
Deputy Minister Qian looked at the King of South Border for confirmation.
“Yes, performance props.” Zhong Qin’s mouth twitched, guessing what Li Mo intended to do.
But after guessing, he had to make it sound reasonable.
Minister Song coughed lightly: “You don’t understand because you’re inexperienced. Since the King of South Border says there’s no problem, it must be fine.”
“… Deputy Minister Qian has read many books but hasn’t experienced military service.”
But he always felt that this didn’t seem like a grand event…
Now they had the food and weapons, if this young man raised his voice again…
After a moment.
Everyone looked at the bright yellow robe not far away, deep in thought.
—
“Li Mo, I knew you were up to something! What are you planning?” Deputy Minister Qian slammed the table.
At first, he was a bit skeptical, but now he was certain!
“Sigh… Young Hero Li, this… this is a bit too much.”
Even the Minister Song who accepted the money couldn’t ignore it any longer.
King of South Border cleared his throat, looking at Li Mo with a wise and profound gaze that was confused.
Did he misunderstand?
He thought this young man just wanted to support the southern border troops by providing them with food and weapons.
Wasn’t he planning to put on this robe and do something rebellious?
You’ve caused trouble for the King!
“If you’re found out…”
“Huh?”
Li Mo was equally puzzled: “There’s nothing like that in what I need.”
Sun Gui was silent for a moment, scratching his head: “Well, Brother Li said you wanted to make the most noble and valuable robe.”
“That’s right.”
Li Mo remembered.
“And you said you wanted to make the most splendid design in the world.”
“Also true…”
“And you said you wanted to give it to someone who shines over the world, surpassing the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, and that robe would be worn during a significant event.”
“You did say that.”
Zhong Qin took a deep breath, leaning back slightly.
He only taught Li Mo a technique to fight against millions, but he never expected it to become so important in his heart.
But… this kind of thing…
You’ve caused trouble for the King!
“Li Mo, the evidence is clear. What else can you argue? This is under the imperial capital, if you plan anything untoward, you must consider carefully. Before you make a big mistake…”
Deputy Minister Qian appeared fierce but was actually nervous, starting to observe if there were any hidden assassins.
“What nonsense!”
Li Mo finally understood, throwing the bright yellow robe on the ground:
“I want the Phoenix Feather and Rosy Crown!”
“???”
Indeed.
Ever since that vivid dream last time, the image of Bing Tuo wearing the Phoenix Feather and Rosy Crown had been haunting Li Mo’s mind.
So when requesting supplies, he asked Sun Gui to find the best tailor in the Imperial Capital to recreate the clothes Bing Tuo wore that day.
To be specific, he provided detailed descriptions.
He never imagined Sun Gui would take it seriously, and the tailor would actually make it!
“So it’s a misunderstanding?”
Zhong Qin clicked his tongue.
Li Mo: “???”
Uncle Zhong, what are you disappointed about?
“No matter if it’s a misunderstanding or not, if the Sky Patrol doesn’t investigate this thoroughly, we will all be implicated.” Deputy Minister Qian’s desire to survive surged.
It’s just that the robe alone would be enough.
Plus so much grain and weapons.
He even saw dozens of siege crossbows!
Putting all this together, who could handle it?
Minister Song also frowned, weighing the pros and cons.
At this moment, Sun Gui approached, dismissed the others, and showed the list to the two officials, whispering:
“Ministers, the money has passed through your hands, and the gold and silver for these items have also been allocated. If this gets out in public, not only will everything fall apart, but the ministers will also…”
This list was manipulated.
It contained the numbers each official was supposed to receive.
So from the moment they took the money, they were tied to this ship.
Minister Song, Deputy Minister Sun, and the other officials knew beforehand that if they all benefited, they would feel secure.
No one expected this to happen.
“Cough, in my opinion, these things are all ordinary, nothing special.”
“Young Hero Li is indeed comprehensive.”
“If it’s a misunderstanding, then there’s no issue. Let’s order some food, I’m starving.”
