Chapter 124 - 86: Zhao Ci: I Deal With Anyone Who Crosses Me. Clear Enough?

Chapter 124: Chapter 86: Zhao Ci: I Deal With Anyone Who Crosses Me. Clear Enough?

Zhang Delv’s brow was already knitted into a tight knot, but he still said in a low voice, "No matter. I refuse to believe the Tenth Prince can actually hand them out one by one."

The fifteen thousand people below were, naturally, not all qualified recipients.

Only a little over twenty-five hundred of them perfectly met Zhao Ci’s criteria. They had all been conscripted from the three major prefectural cities and certain market towns, as these were the places Zhao Ci was most likely to investigate.

And they were standing right at the front, so there wouldn’t be any issues during the pill distribution process.

As for the second wave, they were relatively trustworthy people hired by various officials in the city. Their ages were slightly off from the standard, but not by much. It would be impossible to tell without a discerning eye.

The first two groups combined totaled around eight thousand people.

The remaining seven thousand were purely there to fill the ranks. Their ages were wildly different, and the deception would be obvious to anyone who looked closely.

But he didn’t believe Zhao Ci could last that long.

Verifying household registries and identities meant he could process sixty people per quarter-hour at most. Just getting through the first eight thousand would take days and nights.

’Is he made of iron?’

’If you can really hand them all out...’

’I, Zhang Delv, will salute you as a true man!’

An air of irritation began to well up in Zhang Delv. He never would have thought that this Tenth Prince would be so damn stubborn.

’Handing out pills, and he insists people come get them in person.’

’It drastically reduces my room for any under-the-table dealings.’

’But it only reduces it.’

’It just makes things a little more troublesome.’

’I went through all this trouble to gather so many people to fool you, and you’re going to hand them out one by one yourself?’

’Aren’t you taking things too far?’

"Ninth Prince!"

Zhang Delv said in a low voice, "I’m going to go take a look as well."

With that,

he too leaped down from the city wall.

「At that moment.」

Zhao Ci had already stepped onto the high platform for distributing the pills. He smiled and swept his gaze over the people below, announcing in a clear voice:

"For generations, you have all lived in the Northern Three Prefectures, rendering meritorious service for the peace of the Great Yu. His Majesty is grateful for your contributions and has thus allocated two hundred thousand taels, ordering my Xingyu Pill Association to refine five thousand pills to honor your patriotic hearts.

However, I am ashamed to say that I could only refine five thousand pills, a number far smaller than that of the young people in the Northern Three Prefectures.

Therefore, I could only purchase an additional ten thousand portions of Qi Nourishing Grass. In a moment, I will distribute fifteen thousand vials to all of you. Only five thousand of these vials contain a pill. Those who receive an empty vial, do not be disheartened. Many of the empty vials contain a slip of paper, which you can use to claim a portion of Qi Nourishing Grass. In this way, your trip here will not have been in vain."

A stir went through the crowd below.

They had all heard that five thousand pills would be distributed to the common people, but a full fifteen thousand had shown up. Many had worried they would go home empty-handed, but they never expected there was still a good chance to receive a portion of Qi Nourishing Grass.

Granted,

the price of Qi Nourishing Grass had already been driven down by the Crown Prince.

But "cheap" was a relative term.

The Northern Three Prefectures were extremely poor; not every family could afford to buy Qi Nourishing Grass without feeling the burden.

Meanwhile, lines of text began to refresh in Zhao Ci’s vision.

[Current Wish of Li Gen]: Obtain a vial with a Qi Cultivation Pill. Wish Fulfillment Reward: Insight +10, Luck Talisman x1.

[Current Wish of Wang Shuo]: Obtain a vial with a Qi Cultivation Pill. Wish Fulfillment Reward: Insight +10, Luck Talisman x1.

[Current Wish of Liu Hong]: ...

In the front rows, the rewards were uniformly 10 Insight and one Luck Talisman.

Their wishes flickered, occasionally changing to "at least get a portion of Qi Nourishing Grass." Although that only offered 1 Insight and didn’t even come with a Talisman Paper reward, it was still better than nothing.

Zhao Ci was inwardly pleased. ’It seems my guess was correct. Handing out these five thousand pills will net me at least sixty thousand Insight.’

He had come here specifically to earn Insight. He’d just said that only some of the empty vials had slips of paper, but in reality, all ten thousand of them did.

Judging by the Insight alone, this was even more cost-effective than the Qi Cultivation Pills.

The blind box model was indeed the best method for stimulating wishes.

However...

Ever since he began cultivating the Divinity Refining Furnace, his five senses had become more than twice as sharp as before, and he could clearly see the trickery below.

In the first few rows, the rewards were uniformly 10 Insight.

In the back rows, though the wishes were identical, the Insight reward was only 1 point.

Heh...

’Are you worried the pills won’t reach your hands?’

Zhao Ci cleared his throat and continued, "Of course, whether official or commoner, all are subjects of His Majesty, and all have made sacrifices. However, I’ve heard that the Northern Three Prefectures have poor security and that scoundrels often sneak in. This pill distribution is quite large in scale, and I fear it might create an opportunity for such villains to exploit.

His Majesty made a deeply considered decision about who should be granted these pills. Any attempt to cheat the system is a grave crime of deceiving the sovereign.

However, I am not one for wanton slaughter. If there are any impostors here with ill intentions, I will give you a chance to leave now.

But if I personally catch you when it’s time to collect the pills...

...the consequences will be severe."

As soon as he said this,

a large swath of the text in the back rows changed again.

[Current Wish of Zhang Meng]: Successfully claim a pill without being discovered. Wish Fulfillment Reward: Insight +10, Luck Talisman x1.

[Current Wish of Zhu Ju]: Successfully claim a pill without being discovered. Wish Fulfillment Reward: Insight +10, Luck Talisman x1.

[Current Wish of Gou Dan]: ...

Zhang Delv: "..."

Beads of sweat couldn’t help but form on his forehead.

’This Prince...’

’He’s really a handful!’

...

"Yah!"

"Yah!"

"Yah!"

A lone rider galloped swiftly toward Qingyang County.

Kan Luotang had no time for self-reproach; she just wanted to get to Qingyang County as fast as possible.

Everything else could be put aside for now. As long as she could make it before the pills were distributed, everything would be alright.