“In ancient times, there was a Dachun1Dachun is the name of a tree in ancient fables and was later used to refer to the father., which regarded eight thousand years as spring and eight thousand years as autumn…”
It was already summer, and cicadas were chirping in the scorching heat. Sui Heng had just finished his task and returned from the Jiuda Battalions outside the city. He handed over his horse to Shi Fang and strode into the mansion, only to hear the refreshing sound coming from the main hall.
Immediately after, a tender little baby’s voice rang out: “In ancient times… there was a big bug paper…”
Sui Heng didn’t let the palace attendant announce. He stood outside and looked into the room through the window. He saw Jiang Yun wearing a light and thin summer robe on the small couch by the window, with his black hair tied in a strand and hanging down his shoulders. He held a book in his hand and looked across from him with his forehead propped up.
On the opposite side, a little boy in a snow-white gauze robe also held a book in his hand. He was sitting cross-legged, shaking his head as he read along. Because he had just started learning to speak, he couldn’t speak clearly.
There is a small table in the middle of the small couch with a plate of cheese blocks on it.
“It’s not a big bug, it’s Dachun.”
“Oh, big, tiger.”
The little boy shook his little head and bit down word by word, his voice was milky. After reading, he couldn’t wait to put down his book. He first glanced at the cheese blocks on the table and then looked at Jiang Yun with bright eyes, shouting, “Father.”
Then, with an “Ah—” sound, he opened his mouth and waited prettily to be fed.
Jiang Yun reached out and pinched the little one’s chubby face, saying, “You can’t eat until you’ve studied for half an hour.”
“You’ve already eaten three pieces this morning.”
The little troublemaker instantly turned back into a wilting little rabbit and picked the book back up.
“Big bug paper…”
Ji An happened to come over to deliver the cooling ice. Seeing Sui Heng standing silently outside, he was about to ask, but Sui Heng made a silent gesture.
Ji An understood, remained silent, and went in to change the ice himself.
Sui Heng stood outside and looked for a moment, then smiled silently before getting up and heading to the council hall. The little boy always wanted to save his face, and he also couldn’t provoke his little wife. If he went in at this moment, he would really provoke him.
“Your Highness.”
Shi Fang was already waiting at the entrance of the council hall, and next to him stood a gray-headed man about forty years old, dressed in a Daoist robe and holding a priest’s whisk. It was Immortal Yu Heng who has recently regained great fame among the people.
“Wish Your Highness healthy!”
Yu Heng smiled and saluted Sui Heng.
Sui Heng ignored him and entered the council hall. Immortal Yu Heng didn’t care either, he even kindly lifted his sleeve to shade Sui Heng from the sun. After being glanced at by Sui Heng’s cold, star-like eyes, he withdrew his hand. Shi Fang looked straight from behind, pouting.
It’s not surprising that Immortal Yu Heng is like this.
Two years ago, he took bribes and fabricated rumors about the auspicious stone. After the incident was exposed, he was directly sent to the northern territory to do hard labor. Every day, he went into the mountains to mine and carry stones. He had lost weight and thought his life was over. Unexpectedly, a messenger from the Sui capital suddenly called for him.
Immoral Yu Heng was put in a sack and brought back to the Sui capital by a group of seven or eight people, all dressed in black martial arts clothes and looking murderous. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a sharp and handsome face.
That face, Immortal Yu Heng really couldn’t forget even in his dreams.
“Your Highness please spare my life!”
Immortal Yu Heng clunked his head and began to kowtow.
“Gu won’t kill you.”
The God of Slaughter spoke coldly and mercilessly. “This time, Gu has an important task to entrust to you. If you do it well, all old sins will be forgiven, and you will be rewarded heavily.”
A few days later, Immortal Yu Heng put on a Daoist robe and resumed his work. His demeanor appeared gracefully in the Sui capital, urging the world to enter the well and explain the unsolved mystery of why the two Crown Princes were able to give birth to Xiao Huangsun.
Sui Heng indeed kept his word, not only did he exempt him from exile, but he also gave him a bag of gold as a reward.
Immortal Yu Heng was overjoyed, thinking that he had finally ushered in a good day. He was about to sneak out of the Sui capital overnight, but unexpectedly, he was taken back by the people of the Crown Prince’s mansion.
“Gu noticed that Daozhang’s accurate predictions reputation was not all false.”
“To think back at Mount Li…”
Upon hearing the word ‘Mount Li’, Immortal Yu Heng’s scalp tingled, and his hair stood on end. He thought that Sui Heng was going to dig up old accounts again, but unexpectedly, Sui Heng’s words changed: “Thinking back at Mount Li, Daozhang predicted that Gu’s heir should come from the south, it really is laying bare the truth with one penetrating remark.”
“This time, Daozhang’s clever plan has helped Gu out. Therefore, Gu has decided to appoint Daozhang as the exclusive master of divine prediction for Gu’s Crown Prince Mansion. In the future, just follow Gu in handling matters.”
Immortal Yu Heng was bewildered, but before he could react, Sui Heng continued, “Now, Gu has another important task to hand over to Daozhang. Could Daozhang divine where the Tonghe is in this world for Gu?”
“Tong-Tonghe?”
“That’s right, Gu will give Daozhang one month. If Daozhang can predict the location of the Tonghe, Gu will reward Daozhang with another bag of gold. If Daozhang can’t figure it out, Gu will have to retrieve the gold from Daozhang’s hand.”
Sui Heng didn’t say the rest, but Immortal Yu Heng could also guess. Most likely, he would be sent to mine on the northern border again.
Immortal Yu Heng has been a swindler for so many years, and he is also a clever liar. He immediately understands that it is impossible to escape from the Sui capital and live a carefree life. In the future, he can only survive by holding onto the Crown Prince of Sui’s thighs.
So for this whole month, Immortal Yu Heng had been running around looking for Tonghe’s whereabouts.
“Your Highness, rejoices!”
Entering the council hall, Immortal Yu Heng couldn’t wait to report, “With the blessing of the First Heavenly Father and Guanyin of the South Antarctic, the holy creatures have been located!”
Sui Heng sat in the main seat, ignoring the pile of nonsense in front of him and saying, “Speak the point.”
“Yes, yes.”
Immortal Yu Heng was so excited that his saliva flew uncontrollably: “After receiving Your Highness’s task, the humble has been observing the sky day and night. Finally, half a month ago, the humble divined that the purple light in the northwest direction was flickering and that there might be sacred cranes appearing. The humble dared not neglect the celestial guidance and immediately followed the celestial phenomena, day and night, to track the whereabouts of the sacred cranes in the northwest. After some twists and turns, the humble person finally discovered two sacred cranes at the site of the Shahu Palace.”
Immortal Yu Heng was able to find Tonghe not only by relying solely on recklessness but also by using all the astrological divination techniques he had learned over the years. He also mobilized all kinds of connections that he had accumulated through deceit and deception before finally reaching out to Shahu. After the Shahu was eradicated, it became a free trading ground where various goods were sold at the market every day. It’s not easy to find if one doesn’t know the inside story and that part of the world well.
“The former site of Shahu?”
“That’s right. The humble has read it for Your Highness: the holy creatures are strong in muscles and bones, their wings are spreading, their feathers are bright, they are in their prime, and they will be able to lay eggs in the spring of next year at the latest. It’s just…”
“Just what?”
“It’s just those two holy creatures that have been raised by the Hu people since they were young and don’t have a good temper. It is said that when they lose their temple, they even dare to attack people. The humble didn’t dare to do anything without authorization, so the humble paid the deposit for the time being and returned to the Sui Capital immediately to report to Your Highness.”
Sui Heng is not afraid of this. He even wiped out the entire Shahu, could he still be afraid of two wild cranes from Shahu?
The matter of the cranes is of great significance, and it was hard to find two, so Sui Heng didn’t take it lightly. After much thought, he decided to go personally and take Immortal Yu Heng’s with him to transport the Tonghe back.
