Chapter 271: The Not-so-miraculous High Priest
“Why didn’t they add more?”
Zhang Min couldn’t help but ask.
“The Grand Marshal does not allow adding more.”
Wu Tong’s answer was concise.
E Ji ignored these things and instead turned her gaze to the Dragon God Hall higher up. She didn’t care what the Emperor’s palace looked like; the Dragon God Hall and the vast palace complex behind it were the main focus of her attention today.
It was said that it all belonged to High Priest Liu Changsheng.
On the way here, E Ji had discussed it with Yun Ce: take the Changsha King’s Faction if they could, if not, forget it—purely a case of hitting three poles to see if there were dates.
By the way, use this matter to test Liu Changsheng’s view of Yun Ce. Anyway, Yun Ce didn’t believe in such baseless love, and neither did E Ji.
She now just wanted to put on a greedy posture for Liu Changsheng to see, best if he drove them all out entirely, to avoid falling into a bigger vortex.
After resting for a while, the little girls lifted E Ji and continued up the mountain. The desolate state of the Imperial Palace was shocking—not only did they not meet a single person along the way, but many palaces had collapsed, with small beasts scurrying among them.
1 “This is the Great Han Imperial Palace?”
1 A fat bird, startled by their group’s arrival, flapped away in panic. Lei Ming endured it and didn’t casually shoot the bird down.
1 “At the worst, there were six thousand people fighting each other here, with blood flowing down the steps like a waterfall.”
1 Wu Tong’s words carried no emotional color, like a cold passerby casually explaining to E Ji, Zhang Min, and the others what had happened here before.
1 “My husband said the Great Han’s elites perished in this palace battle, and the Great Han’s rivers and mountains will also perish because of this palace battle. Does the Young Minister agree?”
1 Seeing E Ji start speaking in a literary tone, Wu Tong lowered his head and sighed, “Clean the house well before inviting guests in. Can’t say if it’s good or bad.”
1 E Ji held Yun Shuo and leaned her body against a little girl behind her, continuing, “My husband said the same. He said Great Han has accumulated ills for a thousand years, like a person free of illness and disaster for a millennium, but actually, some small ailments had long become a deep-seated trouble and erupted this time. Even if Great Han survives, it will have lost at least half its life.”
1 Wu Tong looked at E Ji and said, “So what?”
1 E Ji sighed and said, “My husband said, ‘When Qin lost its deer, the world chased it together.'”
1 Wu Tong looked at E Ji and said, “Great Han still has loyal guards in the end.”
2 “My husband said, the culprit of this world’s great chaos is the Grand Marshal. He hopes the one causing the world’s great chaos is also the Grand Marshal. Young Minister, as someone under the Grand Marshal, how will you protect Great Han’s deer?”
2 Wu Tong frowned and said, “Your husband’s current bit of power is not enough to say such words.”
2 E Ji smiled and said, “My husband said, when the world shows signs of chaos, he emerges from the mountains; when the world is in great chaos, he plants the seeds; when heroes vie for supremacy, he has just finished recuperating; when a few claim emperorship and a few claim kingship in the world, that will be his time to chase the deer in the Central Plains.”
2 Wu Tong chuckled lightly and said, “Good thing no one is around here.”
2 With that, he stopped arguing with E Ji and quickly went ahead, reaching the platform of the Divine Dragon Hall in a few steps.
2 Zhang Min looked at E Ji and said, “Husband never said these words. They sound like they came from Feng An and Liang Kun’s mouths.”
2 E Ji smiled and said, “No matter. If we say them, then they are what Young Master said.”
2 Lei Ming, who had always been guarding E Ji’s side, suddenly said, “Give me another ten years, and I will don armor for Lord and break through a thousand troops with sharp weapons.”
2 E Ji affectionately raised her hand to pinch Lei Ming’s cheek and said, “It’s said that roasting Shehuo is very beneficial for you martial artists. Since we’ve come to the Divine Dragon Hall this time, you must not miss tasting the might of the Ancestral Fire.”
2 Lei Ming said in surprise, “Did Lord say this too?”
3 E Ji nodded and said, “Having such a good lord is your luck.”
3 As they spoke, they soon arrived at the platform of the Divine Dragon Hall. E Ji got down from the chair formed by the four young girls’ hands, held Yun Shuo, adjusted her hair and clothes, then beckoned to Zhang Min and the others. The group followed the mirror-smooth stone path toward the Divine Dragon Hall.
3 Liu Changsheng lay on a large couch, propped up his upper body, craned his neck to look at the entrance of the main hall. He saw a group of people entering from the door; his gaze didn’t fall on the woman walking in somewhat arrogantly, but on the tiny infant in the candle wrap. From the moment he saw that little person, Liu Changsheng opened his mouth and smiled silently.
3 The Dragon God Hall was very dry; the air here was like it had been scorched by fire, and breathing it into the lungs felt like inhaling dry sand grains. In just a moment, it made one’s mouth and tongue dry.
3 E Ji had met Liu Changsheng. After approaching, she curtsied gracefully and said, “Crown Princess Consort of the Heir of the King of Changsha, Yun E Ji, pays respects to the King of Changsha.”
3 Liu Changsheng glanced at E Ji and said coldly, “Why not call yourself Liu E?”
3 E Ji continued her salute and said, “The Yun Clan ancestral hall still stands; E Ji dares not call herself Liu Shi.”
3 Liu Changsheng said, “So you’re here at the Dragon God Hall this time to pick up bargains?”
3 E Ji chuckled lightly and said, “My husband said, while the High Priest is old, pick up his bargains now, pick them up quickly and ruthlessly, or there won’t be a chance later.”
3 Liu Changsheng chuckled and said, “It’s not impossible to pick up. It mainly depends on what thing you gave birth to. If the child is right, you’re the Crown Princess Consort; if the child is wrong, you’re nothing.”
4 E Ji smiled and stepped forward, handing Yun Shuo to Liu Changsheng, who had sat up.
4 Liu Changsheng took the child, opened the swaddling clothes, picked up the naked child’s leg with his hand, held it in front of his eyes for careful inspection, then reached into the fire pit to pluck a Shehuo flame, placing it on the infant’s head. This may have startled the child; Yun Shuo reached out with his little hands to grab the Shehuo. The Shehuo moved slightly, letting him miss; Yun Shuo grabbed again and missed once more. When Yun Shuo grabbed a third time and the Shehuo dodged again, a bright crystalline water column spurted from Yun Shuo’s crotch, arcing and landing on the Shehuo.
4 Though only an instant, the Shehuo was like a startled small beast, plunging headlong into the fire pit without looking back, never to emerge again.
4 “No divine anomaly—”
4 Liu Changsheng couldn’t help but call out.
4 E Ji didn’t care if her own child had any divine anomaly; she only felt great dissatisfaction at her heart and soul being held by one leg. She stepped forward, snatched her child back, held him to her chest, and said, “My husband said this child being born alive is already heaven-sent luck. As for whether he has divine anomaly, we spouses truly don’t care.”
4 Liu Changsheng didn’t answer, his eyes fixed on the fire pit. Seeing a candle flame flickering as if about to extinguish, he waved his robe sleeve, allowing that nearly extinguished candle flame to enter the blazing Ancestral Fire.
4 Zhang Min held Yun Tui and placed him in Liu Changsheng’s arms, saying, “High Priest, take a look at the second son of the Yun Clan.”
4 Liu Changsheng similarly opened the swaddling clothes, grabbed the child’s leg, summoned a candle flame to place on this child’s head. The candle flame quickly grew from a weak flicker into a bright yellow blaze, tightly enveloping Yun Tui. The Yun Tui wrapped in flames seemed to feel no pain and blankly flailed his hands.
4 Zhang Min proudly glanced at E Ji, then hurriedly asked Liu Changsheng, “High Priest, is this the divine anomaly?”
5 Liu Changsheng waved away the Shehuo, returned Yun Tui to Zhang Min, and said to E Ji, “Give me your son.”
5 E Ji held Yun Shuo and shook her head firmly, saying, “My husband said this is the Eldest Legitimate Son of the Yun Clan and cannot be casually entrusted to others.”
5 Liu Changsheng sneered, “Without the Dragon, where does the nobility come from?”
5 E Ji smiled and said, “My husband said his own is the best. As for some dragon spawn, he doesn’t care. Alright, alright, you’ve seen the child. We’ve traveled through wind and dust and need to rest.
5 Besides, it’s too dry here.”
5 Zhang Min asked anxiously, “Is my child good?”
5 Liu Changsheng said, “Nothing particularly special.”
5 Zhang Min said, “That flame reacted.”
5 Liu Changsheng casually summoned a candle flame onto Lei Ming’s head. Instantly, Lei Ming’s body was enveloped in a bright yellow flame, with continuous explosions sounding from within the fire.
5 Liu Changsheng looked at Zhang Min and said, “Indeed, nothing special.”
6 E Ji stood up directly, held Yun Shuo, and walked toward the back. Liu Changsheng didn’t stop her. Watching their group go to the rear residence, he went to the Ancestral Fire’s side, stretched his hand into the Ancestral Fire, and after a moment said as if waking from a dream, “So that’s how it is.”
6 Wu Tong emerged from behind a pillar, saluted, and said, “High Priest, how long must we wait? If we don’t eliminate the traitors to the country soon, Great Han will perish.”
6 Liu Changsheng sighed and said, “If Great Han perishes, so be it. It’s still a country formed by that group, just changing its name—nothing major.”
6 Wu Tong said sorrowfully, “Will the High Priest ignore the world’s people suffering in misery?”
6 Liu Changsheng waved his hand and said, “Go. I’m tired of it.”
6 With that, he lay back on the couch and fell asleep in moments.
6 E Ji had been happy for nothing. Entering the Changsha King’s Mansion behind the Dragon God Hall, she discovered it was actually just a small courtyard, empty of people, with only a few simple thatched huts surrounded by a bamboo fence isolating it from the luxurious world outside into two different realms.
6 The door header of the thatched hut bore the four words “Changsha King’s Mansion,” ancient and full of charm, not seeming fake.
6 The carved beams, painted rafters, flying eaves, and grand brackets she had seen outside were not the Changsha King’s Mansion, but an even larger Dragon Palace.
6 Lei Ming opened a firewood gate and said to E Ji, “Madam, let’s rest first.” As he spoke, he took a large bundle from his back and placed it on the stone table in the courtyard.
7 E Ji said, “Good or bad, this is ultimately the Changsha King’s Mansion. Whoever lives here is the King of Changsha.”
7 Just as everyone finished cleaning and tidying, and Lei Ming started cooking with his younger siblings, Wu Tong came again. Leaning against the door frame, he said to E Ji, “Doesn’t the Crown Princess Consort want to hold a palace banquet here to establish the Heir Apparent’s name?”
