The day before the wedding, Jian Yong finally returned with Liu Biao's envoy, Yi Ji. Gan Ning and Tai Shici also arrived just in time, pulling a cart full of local specialties such as pearls, coral, and ivory. Along the way, they encountered Wu Anguo, who had just returned to Qingzhou after escorting Liu Yu to Chang'an.
If it hadn't been for Liu Yu's situation, Wu Anguo would have arrived in Mount Tai much earlier. However, due to concerns about potential dangers on the road, Kong Rong had no choice but to have Wu Anguo personally escort Liu Yu. After all, Yongzhou had become a chaotic mess.
When Liu Yu was finally delivered to Chang'an, he had become much calmer. However, seeing the ragged officials around him clearly left Liu Yu feeling conflicted. Nonetheless, Grand Commandant Yang Biao took him in, and after seeing Liu Yu off for several hundred meters, Wu Anguo quickly left the dangerous city.
After that, Wu Anguo raced to Mount Tai and managed to arrive in Fenggao just before Chen Xi's wedding. Being quite familiar with the likes of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Hua Xiong, Hua Xiong personally greeted them upon their arrival.
"Hahaha, Anguo, Xingba, Ziyi, if you had been a day later, the strategist would have been furious!" Hua Xiong laughed heartily as he looked at the dusty trio.
"Hmph, we were busy getting gifts," Gan Ning replied, disgruntled. "Here, have one." Gan Ning pulled out a pearl the size of a small egg from his pocket and tossed it to Hua Xiong. "Wait until you see the gifts we prepared."
Gan Ning had fully embraced his lavish tendencies, which often left people stunned. Even Hua Xiong, who had seen many large pearls during his time in Yuzhou, was surprised by Gan Ning's casual gifting of such a precious item, especially since they weren't that close.
"Take it. It's not worth much," Tai Shici said with a wave of his hand. "Though it's large, it's really not valuable. In that place, every household has pearls. Only we country bumpkins think they're worth something."
Hua Xiong nearly spat out blood. A place where every household has pearls? This isn't just tempting me to go raid the place, is it?
"That's why I'm bringing a whole bushel of multicolored pearls," Gan Ning said proudly.
"Multicolored?" Hua Xiong's eyes nearly popped out.
"Yes, multicolored. The bushel is almost half my size," Tai Shici said, feeling that his once-refined self had become somewhat gaudy since joining Gan Ning. However, a whole bushel of multicolored pearls is indeed impressive.
As he spoke, Gan Ning took out a few pearls of different colors. "Maybe one day, I'll take you there too. What's considered cheap and expensive there is the opposite of here."
"Then it's settled. I'd love to visit a place like that," Hua Xiong laughed heartily, clearly intrigued by the prospect.
"Alright, let's get these gifts delivered first. Lend me a few men, Ganlan. Go to the Mi family and get me some gift boxes. They need to be delivered by today—tomorrow would be too late," Gan Ning said, glancing at the sun and then turning to Hua Xiong.
"No problem. The Mi family has been preparing gift boxes these past few days, so there's plenty available. Come with me. You can take a bath and tidy up. By the way, are you two delivering your gifts together or separately?" Hua Xiong nodded, knowing that if they didn't deliver the gifts soon, it would be too late. As colleagues, he intended to lend a hand.
After taking Wu Anguo to the Mi family's shop, they began packing the gifts. When Hua Xiong saw the dazzling array of treasures, he couldn't help but feel envious. Gan Ning really must have plundered that place, considering the bushel of multicolored pearls, even though the white ones made up over half of it.
"Take them away," Gan Ning said after packing the gifts and writing a gift list. He then had Hua Xiong's men carry the boxes towards Chen Xi's residence.
"Which small country did you raid?" Hua Xiong exclaimed, eyeing the nine ivory tusks, each over three feet long, the eight pearls the size of goose eggs, and the nearly eight-foot-long bright red coral. Having lived inland, Hua Xiong had never seen such things before.
"These items are precious there, but here... well, you know," Gan Ning chuckled after a bath, still dripping wet. "If we had more time, I could have looted more, but we had to hurry back."
"If you had kept looting, we wouldn't have made it back in time," Tai Shici said, casting a disdainful glance at Gan Ning. "If we were late, making up for it later with gifts would be pointless."
"Let's go, or we'll miss the timing," Gan Ning said after drying off with his internal energy and changing into fresh clothes.
"I'm ready too," Wu Anguo said with a sigh. Compared to Gan Ning's flashy gifts, the ones Kong Rong had prepared were much simpler: no jewels, but several rolls of bamboo slips from Confucius' time, two white jade bi-disks, a jade ruyi scepter, and a coiled dragon incense burner. All of these were ancient artifacts. In addition to these, there were one hundred pounds of gold and silver as backup.
In some ways, Kong Rong was the real rich man. As a descendant of the Sage, his family's heritage ran deep, so he could easily find a few valuable items to give as gifts.
In recent days, Chen Xi had become so accustomed to bowing and greeting people that his waist ached. Some people could be dealt with by the steward, but others required Chen Xi himself to greet them. Only now did Chen Xi realize that people like Guo Jia, who always claimed to be penniless, and Jia Xu and Li Ru, who wore the same green robe most of the time, were far from poor.
It's true that the official-oriented mindset of this era, and even afterward, meant that no matter how poor they were, they always had some money. As for where that money came from, Chen Xi couldn't be bothered to investigate. These matters were for Man Chong to handle. With his upright nature, Man Chong would fight tooth and nail with anyone who crossed his line, regardless of their status.
Chen Xi sighed as he glanced toward where Fan Jian lived. The envoys from Li Jue and Guo Si had acted differently than he expected. After arriving, they handed Chen Xi an imperial edict, officially appointing him as Marquis of Yingshang. Similar documents were also sent to Chen Lan and Fan Jian, though Fan Jian's reaction was less enthusiastic than Chen Lan's joy.
"It's been a long time, Strategist," Gan Ning said with a bow, dressed in fine robes. He then laughed heartily, "I hope my efforts didn't disappoint you! Hahaha!"
"Greetings, Strategist," Tai Shici said with a bow.
"Zichuan, since the Battle of Hulao Pass, we meet again," Wu Anguo said with a bow.
"I'm very pleased," Chen Xi said, smiling despite Gan Ning's boisterousness. He returned Tai Shici's bow before turning to Wu Anguo. "Yes, Anguo, do you have any thoughts about taking up a position here in Mount Tai?"
"Wenju asked me to stay and follow Lord Xuande's orders," Wu Anguo replied calmly. He wasn't Kong Rong's subordinate, but Kong Rong had saved his life, and he was willing to repay that debt with his own life.
"Excellent!" Chen Xi said, full of joy. Wu Anguo was a warrior who had held his own against Lü Bu for thirty exchanges before losing—his martial prowess was undeniable.
Chen Xi's steward took the gift list, and once again, he was shocked. He had already been stunned several times over the past few days by the various gift lists, but Gan Ning and Tai Shici's combined gifts still left him in awe.
"Nine three-foot-long ivory tusks, a bushel of five-colored pearls…" The steward's monotone voice echoed outside the Chen residence.
Chen Xi looked up at Gan Ning, who was smiling broadly. "So, you've already been to Zhuyi County? It seems that place is indeed worth doing business with."
"It's a unique business opportunity. Calling it a kingdom would not be an exaggeration. Just as you said, it could be the key to Qingzhou's prosperity," Gan Ning said, his playful demeanor replaced by seriousness.
"That place is only a temporary money bag, but it's sufficient for now. You've done well," Chen Xi said with a nod. "Be sure to arrive early tomorrow for the wedding. There are things you need to witness—don't forget."