Seeking What One Cannot Attain

Zhang Xuezhou really left Huainan.

To avoid any unforeseen complications, he set off early the next morning, without waiting for Rong Tianding, who might turn back, or even planning to rescue the remaining people of Zhang Household Village.

Zhang Changgong caught up with Zhang Xuezhou a short while after he left the city.

North of Huainan lies the Chu region, leading to the Northern Border; to the south lies Jiangdu, the place Dong Zhongshu was currently planning to conquer.

Whether heading south or north, one must start from the official road in Shouchun City and wait until a certain area before parting ways to the south and north.

"Master!"

As Zhang Xuezhou continued along the road, he also saw Dong Zhongshu driving a horse-drawn carriage at a leisurely pace.

"You run really fast!"

Dong Zhongshu glanced at Zhang Xuezhou with considerable surprise.

Dong Zhongshu leisurely drove the carriage, naturally not to wait for Zhang Xuezhou, but for someone involving the King of Jiangdu.

Just as Zhang Xuezhou went to great lengths to get close to the new emperor, Dong Zhongshu followed the same process. In fact, Dong Zhongshu even needed to seek an important position in Jiangdu afterward.

Looking at Zhang Xuezhou running ahead of the King of Jiangdu, he felt that Zhang Xuezhou must have done something bad to be in such a hurry to get on his way so early.

You're faster than me!

Dong Zhongshu laughed at Zhang Xuezhou, and Zhang Xuezhou replied to Dong Zhongshu, leaving Dong Zhongshu speechless for a moment.

Zhang Xuezhou did nothing good, Dong Zhongshu clearly had no intention of doing anything good either.

This topic is not suitable for further discussion.

"Are you also planning to go to Jiangdu?" Dong Zhongshu asked, changing the subject.

"I want to go to the Northern Border, not Jiangdu," Zhang Xuezhou, waving his hand.

"The road to the Northern Border is not easy!"

Dong Zhongshu had previously traveled to the Northern Border Northern Border with Zhang Xuezhou and others. That journey was unforgettable for him, and he would feel lingering fear whenever he talked about it.

Zhang Xuezhou's current retracing of his old path has prompted Dong Zhongshu to sigh with regret as he recalls the past.

"If you don't cause trouble, you won't get into trouble," Zhang Xuezhou laughed. "Besides, I'm traveling on the official road, and with the cooperation of various regions, the probability of something going wrong is not high!"

"You've actually gone to the Northern Border on an official mission?" Dong Zhongshu Outer Dao. "It seems His Majesty values you highly!"

"Those we value are all kept in Chang'an City," Zhang Xuezhou shook his head and said, "I'm just running errands."

"If you're entrusted with executing official documents, then the tasks you perform will be irreplaceable!"

Dong Zhongshu shook his head.

Zhang Xuezhou is a sick person. For the new emperor to send a sick person to carry out official documents, it is clear that only Zhang Xuezhou can do such a task. Otherwise, the new emperor would definitely send a healthy person to carry out the mission.

Of course, this matter shouldn't be too urgent, otherwise Zhang Xuezhou would have taken the fastest route by official carriage.

After a moment's thought, Dong Zhongshu guessed that Zhang Xuezhou was most likely on a mission to find treasure or a person.

This also proves that Zhang Xuezhou was highly regarded by the new emperor.

It is truly remarkable that Zhang Xuezhou has achieved this much, but the other party's poor health will limit Zhang Xuezhou from becoming a powerful and capable minister.

With his escape route cut off, if Zhang Xuezhou still harbors the ambition to promote the magic, he can only strive for the prestigious title of "Supervisor" to get closer to the new emperor.

Just as Dong Zhongshu was about to offer Zhang Xuezhou some more private advice, he heard the sound of horses galloping in the distance, along with the shouts and curses of Great Han urging them on.

This made Dong Zhongshu swallow back all his words.

"Heaven and earth have yin and yang, therefore the weather is unpredictable, sometimes with torrential rain, sometimes with scorching sun and drought..."

Leaving Zhang Xuezhou behind, Dong Zhongshu waved his Law Treasure fan.

A gentle breeze blew by, carrying Dong Zhongshu's voice far and wide.

"Oh dear, we've run into Erudite Dong lecturing again!"

Someone called out, and the King of Jiangdu's voice immediately rang out as well.

"Although I don't enjoy reading, I admire knowledgeable people. It's a rare Erudite Dong to give a lecture, so you should all go and listen carefully and use your brains!"

King Jiangdu grumbled and urged the group of Great Han to concentrate on listening to the lecture and not to rush back to Jiangdu.

"Use your brain! Use your brain!"

"Reading more books is beneficial!"

"It's a good thing to be exposed to some knowledge even if you don't understand it!"

The Great Han men grumbled, slowing their galloping horses to a pace almost identical to Zhang Xuezhou and the others, who were also slowly waiting for Zhang Changgong.

Although these Great Han were not as strong as Mao Bei and others, they were still rare talents. Each of them possessed vigorous Qi and Blood energy, exuding an aura that kept strangers at bay.

Until Lady Yourong hesitated and dared not raise her head, fearing she would cause trouble for Zhang Xuezhou, Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to rein in his horse and politely give way.

"Hey, hey, you didn't go to... you know what?!"

As the King of Jiangdu said, he liked knowledgeable people, but he didn't like reading, let alone concentrating on listening to Dong Zhongshu's teachings.

As Zhang Xuezhou pulled his horse aside, the King of Jiangdu's darting eyes caught a clear look at Zhang Xuezhou's face.

He remembered that Zhang Xuezhou had once held his breath underwater for fifteen minutes, and the other party had even received a reward of ten thousand taels of gold.

Although the experience of exploring the Water Palace was terrible, discovering it at all was a skill in itself.

The King of Jiangdu liked people who were knowledgeable, and he also liked people who were capable.

Originally, Jiangdu King thought Zhang Xuezhou was a guest advisor under the King of Huainan. However, he did not expect Zhang Xuezhou to be on his way out of Huainan, which made it unlikely that he was one of the King of King of Huainan's men.

"Dongfang Shuo greets Your Majesty!"

Zhang Xuezhou politely bowed, trying to avoid becoming 'that kind of person'.

"Oh, Dongfang Shuo, how did you discover that underwater palace in the first place?" King Jiangdu asked with interest.

"Your Majesty, we discovered it purely by chance," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"You happen to stumble upon something fifteen feet underground?" King Jiangdu said, "Don't try to hide it, tell me quickly, and I'll reward you for a good answer!"

"In the Wenying Pavilion of the King of Huainan's Household, there's a book called 'The Strange Tales of Huainan,' which clearly records the existence of the Huai River Water Palace and even details the locations of each sacrifice to the Water God and Dragon King. We went to those places of worship to take a look," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I happened to have a treasure that can burrow underground, so I explored everywhere and found it!"

"Your mention of books gives me a headache," said the King of Jiangdu. "We in Jiangdu also have the Jiangdu Chronicles, which record many strange and unusual events. Would you like to help me find them?"

"This... but what about my precious underground treasure..."

Cough cough cough!

Just as Zhang Xuezhou was about to decline, Dong Zhongshu was driving ahead to give a lecture, coughed repeatedly to remind him.

Dong Zhongshu never expected that after going to great lengths to seek close contact with the King of Jiangdu and then become intimate with him, before he could even finish what he was doing, the King of Jiangdu had already come knocking on Zhang Xuezhou's door.

Seeing that Zhang Xuezhou still wanted to refuse such a thing, Dong Zhongshu couldn't help but cough repeatedly to remind him.

He hoped Zhang Xuezhou could help him seize the opportunity to properly integrate himself into the relationship, and then allow him to get closer to the King of Jiangdu, instead of the King of Jiangdu only listening to his reputation and preferring to observe from afar rather than getting intimately close to him.

In seeking to get closer to the King of Jiangdu, Dong Zhongshu's approach was not wrong, and it did indeed attract the King's attention.

However, there was a huge difference between what Dong Zhongshu learned and what the King of Jiangdu liked and enjoyed.

He inquired in Jiangdu for a long time and only learned that the King of Jiangdu liked Hunk, and only Hunk could get close to the King of Jiangdu.

Dong Zhongshu could not possibly meet such conditions.

He could only occasionally show off his extensive knowledge while trying his best to stimulate the interest of the King of Jiangdu.

For example, he had just started lecturing when he touched on the political insights of governing a region, but the King of Jiangdu didn't listen at all and went off to talk with Zhang Xuezhou and others.

When Dong Zhongshu was disappointed and wanted to change the content of his lectures, he unexpectedly heard that the King of Jiangdu was willing to be close to Zhang Xuezhou and had even taken the initiative to invite him.

The contrast between not getting what he wanted and having everything he avoided delivering things to his doorstep caused Dong Zhongshu great distress.