These days, the court officials have been discussing one matter—whether the Ninth Wise King is worth investing in.

Now His Majesty has reached the age of understanding his fate, yet has not appointed a crown prince.

Such uncertainty regarding the heir to the throne is detrimental to the foundation of the country. The ministers are somewhat worried, fearing that if His Majesty accidentally passes away one day, what will become of the nation…

Investing in a prince is a high-risk, high-reward gamble.

Currently, His Majesty has nine princes. In the past, ministers seeking high returns mostly chose among the Eldest Prince, the Second Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Seventh Prince.

As for why there were no other princes to choose from—

Ah, there are too many flaws to mention; anyone with eyes can see why other princes were not chosen.

In the past, no one chose the Ninth Prince simply because he was utterly unimpressive!

No family backing, no ability, no reputation—any minister with a bit of scheming would never pick such a prince!

But that was in the past.

The ministers don’t even know when exactly the Ninth Prince suddenly appeared out of nowhere, unexpectedly becoming His Majesty’s favorite.

Although the reason for the Ninth Prince’s favor is obvious to all, it is precisely the absurdity of that reason that makes everyone astonished!

Who has a rare method or prescription that can be taken out as easily as grabbing something from one’s pocket?

So the Ninth Prince’s previous lack of prominence was because he was privately practicing these strange techniques? Did he avoid competing for so many years just to hide his skills and then show off spectacularly later?

No one dares to speak of ghosts and monsters, but privately, ministers believe the Ninth Prince must be an immortal sent from heaven to save the people…

Whoa, that’s a bit exaggerated.

But that is indeed what many people in the capital city think now.

However, this is all discussion; no minister has yet come forward to personally recommend himself for the prince’s favor.

After all, the ministers recalled that the Ninth Wise King’s rise took, at most, only one year—and in half of that year, he wasn’t even in the capital city.

When investing, one must first understand the basic information of the investment target.

For the Wise King of this style, he spent over ten years in the palace without any fame or recognition. He finally established a mansion and entered court governance, yet he leaves for other places the very next day!

Leaving is one thing, but he does return. Still, the Wise King is hard to approach!

Except when attending court, he never responds to any invitations or visits anywhere. To understand his character, one must privately ask his servants, but their gossip is all over the place, making it hard to tell truth from falsehood.

So the ministers have no clear idea of the Wise King’s character, family wealth, or abilities…

—

Zhang Jinbao is a young man who does not like to accept his family’s business.

He spent two months traveling from his hometown in Youzhou to Jiaozhou, investigating the source of bottled salt. He took many detours and, with help from various kind people, finally tracked it down to Ziyang County in Ji Prefecture.

Then—

Zhang Jinbao was astonished by the scene in Ziyang County.

The city inside and outside the walls was full of people!

Really, everywhere was crowded. This was no exaggeration. And the people were not solitary; many were dressed alike, moving in groups in and out of the city gates.

The backs of their clothes had embroidered words. Zhang Jinbao looked carefully: brown clothes with white characters said “White Sugar Processing Plant,” black clothes with white characters said “Glass Factory,” blue clothes with white characters said “Soap Factory”…

He didn’t understand any of it.

Nor could he comprehend the language.

These differently dressed people spoke many words as they passed Zhang Jinbao—words like “enter factory,” “Chongyang benefits,” “promotion and salary raise,” and “hiring”—phrases that felt somewhat understandable yet confusing. Along the way, Zhang Jinbao heard many such words from passersby.

Though he did not understand, he remembered them, planning to ask someone inside the city later.

Before Zhang Jinbao entered the city, he saw many vendors on a small road outside.

The stalls were orderly, mostly selling food, fragrant and tempting. The hawkers’ calls, groups of passersby, occasional quarrels quickly mediated by officials—all created a peaceful and harmonious market atmosphere, making Zhang Jinbao briefly feel as if he had entered the city rather than remaining outside.

The city and outside were not very different; the main difference was that there were more wealthy people inside the city, wearing much finer clothes than the rough linen garments outside.

Zhang Jinbao also saw a lot of glass here.

Many, many pieces of glass.

Not just glass bottles, but glass bowls, glass windows, glass tables… Everything in Ziyang County seemed novel to Zhang Jinbao.

He had never seen such scenes in his hometown, Qixian County.

Usually, only big cities paved their roads so smoothly like official roads. How could a small county, inside or outside the city, have roads compacted so flat as if a lake’s surface?

Even the people gave Zhang Jinbao a very special feeling.

How to describe these people?

Zhang Jinbao stood on the street, observing each person carefully. The vegetable sellers sighed, sugar buyers smiled as they paid, waiters quietly asked customers questions, playful children ran from one street end to the other… Although everyone’s expressions differed, Zhang Jinbao felt they were all smiling.

Very strange.

But this was Zhang Jinbao’s genuine impression.

He thought maybe he was unwell from traveling without rest, hence his eyes and heart were confused.

But actually, he did not dislike this feeling.

Although it was only a brief encounter, the people here gave Zhang Jinbao an unprecedented… sense of comfort?

—

Zhang Jinbao spent half a day inquiring about the differences in Ziyang County.

Well, actually, he only planned to spend fifteen minutes.

But!

Who would have thought that just a few months ago, Ziyang County and Ji Prefecture had been a terrifying scene?

Officials colluding with bandits, people unable to make a living, citizens not daring to leave the city lightly… And all this changed thanks to the court secretly sending three princes to suppress the bandits?!

Even storytellers dare not say this.

But it is the truth.

Zhang Jinbao specially paid a storyteller to hear the recent changes in Ji Prefecture, especially what the Ninth Wise King had done in Ziyang County…

He listened enthralled, slapping his thigh when excited, wearing a worried expression at tense moments, tears in his eyes when moved. His emotions shifted with the storyteller’s narrative.

Understanding that Ziyang County’s present condition was all thanks to the Ninth Wise King, Zhang Jinbao looked up to the sky in admiration.

“The Wise King truly is an unprecedented good official. You who live in Ziyang are indeed fortunate.”

The storyteller stroked his beard and smiled, nodding.

“Indeed, meeting His Highness the Wise King is a great fortune for Great Wei.”