All Under Heaven Admire It Together

Jiangdu Kingdom is a kingdom surrounded by rivers, with the Yangtze River and Gaoyou Lake surrounding Guangling City.

However, compared to Shouchun City, Guangling City is inferior in terms of cultural heritage.

The Jiangdu Yizhi records very little about the water palace and dragon palace, unlike the Huainan Yizhi which provides detailed information.

If it weren't for the rumors Gongsun Hong overheard, Zhang Xuezhou thought the King of Jiangdu would never have been able to find the Water Palace in Jiangdu.

"So, so, did your research on the Jiangdu Yizhi lead you to the Dragon Palace or the Underwater Mansion?"

Seeing that the King of Huainan had excavated a water palace, the King of Jiangdu was indeed itching to do the same.

He not only wanted to excavate a water palace, but he also wanted the water palace in Jiangdu to surpass the water palace in Huaihe River. The King of Jiangdu even wanted to capture those legendary dragons.

Some snakes can be used in medicine, but dragons are far more precious than snakes, and many parts of their bodies have wonderful uses.

King Jiangdu even hoped that eating dragon meat and drinking dragon blood would allow him to reach the Sole Self Realm".

The thought crossed his mind, and he felt that the beautiful women and men in the palace had lost all their appeal.

After the banquet, Dong Zhongshu and the others discussed the matter, and the King of Jiangdu indeed waited for the consensus reached by everyone before personally coming to greet them, showing great respect and courtesy.

He looked expectantly at Dong Zhongshu and the others who were walking out of Xuanhua Tower.

"We have lived up to Your Majesty's expectations. After a day and a night of research, we have finally discovered a possible location for a water palace," Dong Zhongshu said, bowing with clasped hands. "Once the water palace is found, Your Majesty can personally explore it!"

"Where is it? Where is it?" King Jiangdu asked impatiently, "I can go with you to find it!"

"This underwater palace is hidden and requires us to search for it by boat. It might take three to five days, seven to ten days, or even a month," Dong Zhongshu said. "Searching for the underwater palace will be quite tedious. Your Majesty, you should just wait patiently for our good news!"

"This is taking way too long!"

The King of Jiangdu could endure searching on the boat for two or three days, but a month, as Dong Zhongshu suggested, was too long for him.

"Looks like we'll have to put in a lot of work for you guys!"

King Jiangdu had to suppress his eagerness, and then patted his chest to assure everyone that he could supply whatever the Water Palace needed.

"We need a large ship with a crew, and ideally, enough food for ten to fifteen days," Dong Zhongshu said. "We also need some clean clothes. I'll go into the water every now and then to check, so our clothes don't get wet and we don't have anything to change into!"

"Is there anything else?" the King of Jiangdu asked.

"That's all, that's all the information needed for the investigation!"

Dong Zhongshu shook his head, indicating that the group would not need much.

"Oh dear, you only need this little bit? I heard that to investigate the underwater palace, you need to bring young boys and girls, various offerings, and so on..."

The King of Jiangdu kept rambling on about his experiences, which prompted Dong Zhongshu to point at Zhang Xuezhou.

With someone like Zhang Xuezhou, who had discovered the Water Mansion, standing before us, all rumors and gossip would crumble on their own.

"All right!"

Seeing that Dong Zhongshu and the others had no further requests, the King of Jiangdu could only shout, "Guards!" and then give the orders.

For the vassal states located near waterways, Jiangdu might lack horses, but it would never lack boats.

Dong Zhongshu's request was too simple; the King of Jiangdu simply gave a shout and arranged everything, even inviting Dong Zhongshu and his entourage to inspect the ship at that very moment.

"Gentlemen, what's the situation with this water palace you've been researching? I'm very interested in everything about it," King Jiangdu asked after inviting everyone over. "Could you give me some advance notice?"

"This long river has nine sections, and each section has a water palace. Our Jiangdu is located in the ninth section. If the water palaces were counted from the beginning of the long river, we are looking for the water palace of the ninth section of the long river," Gongsun Hong explained.

"I like the name of this water palace from the moment I hear it!"

The King of Jiangdu beamed with joy, finding Jiangdu's water palace to be wonderful.

"This water palace is likely a living water palace, and correspondingly, it is more dangerous. We can only go there disguised as tourists or fishermen, so as not to alert the dragon," Dong Zhongshu said. "That's why we're bringing fewer people and don't need any special equipment!"

Leaving Xuanhua Tower and boarding the carriage of the King of Jiangdu, Dong Zhongshu had already seen the large ships that the King of Jiangdu had mobilized within a quarter of an hour.

Seeing that there were more than twenty burly soldiers on the large ship, Dong Zhongshu repeatedly indicated that so many people were not needed.

"And we still have to play roles?" King Jiangdu asked in surprise, "Your methods for finding the Water Palace are indeed quite sophisticated, far more reliable than mine!"

Entrusting the task to Dong Zhongshu and others was very reliable.

People like Dong Zhongshu were so famous that the King of Jiangdu would trust them almost without thinking and would not suspect that Dong Zhongshu and others would cheat him out of money, sex, or other women.

Moreover, what Dong Zhongshu and others demanded was far too little.

King Jiangdu stood in front of the five-zhang-long and one-zhang-high warship, and every now and then he wanted to stuff more things onto the ship.

Only after Dong Zhongshu and the others boarded the ship and set sail did he sigh a few times, feeling that Dong Zhongshu's search for the Water Palace's layout was too simplistic.

"Erudite Dong is a man of action, unlike my crew, who are all just trying to take as much as they can!"

The King of Jiangdu made several complaints.

He waved again at the large ship, and only returned dejectedly after the ship had sailed off towards Gaoyou Lake and disappeared from sight.

The days that Dong Zhongshu and others spent searching for the Water Mansion were bound to be very boring for him.

When the luxuries of life lose their appeal and one's self-cultivation stagnates, one enters a period of stagnation and boredom, where nothing can provide any stimulation.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

King Jiangdu returned to his palace in Guangling listlessly. Only when a burly man who was delivering a message screamed did he raise his head.

"So you're just a messenger. Do you have some good news?" King Jiangdu asked the burly man.

"Your Majesty, this is momentous news!" the burly man exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. "We just received word from Chang'an City that His Majesty, blessed by his ancestors, has obtained a sword and has invited all the princes of the realm to admire it!"

"To acquire a sword and then have all the princes and kings of the land admire it together, how good must that sword be?" King Jiangdu complained.

"They say it's the Crimson Sky Sword, an unparalleled treasure!"

"Red Sky, what's wrong with Red Sky?"

At first, the King of Jiangdu did not take it seriously, only feeling that the new emperor's criteria for rewarding swords were too simple.

They couldn't go to Chang'an City for nothing; they had to bring back some local specialties, which meant they had to pay tribute.

If there are too many reasons for paying tribute, he will inevitably have a headache over what gifts to give.

The King of Jiangdu had just uttered a complaint when he heard the burly man confirm the sword's name, causing him to shudder involuntarily.

As a member of the royal family, and even the new emperor's half-brother, King Jiangdu was well aware of the supreme power of the royal family.

"With this divine sword in hand, Your Majesty will likely face frequent battles in the future!"

Thinking of the various rumors about the Crimson Sky Sword, the King of Jiangdu couldn't help but feel a little excited, as he felt that the day of war for the Great Han Dynasty was drawing ever closer.

With the new emperor's Crimson Sky Sword and the support of the King of Huainan, they will inevitably launch conquests against external enemies.

"Once I reach the Sole Self Realm, I too can become a mighty general, conquering all directions!"

King Jiangdu originally felt that life was too mundane and too boring.

But the Water Mansion and the Crimson Sky Sword filled him with extreme excitement.

"If the Water Palace can capture a dragon, we must send it to His Majesty to taste. Perhaps His Majesty's cultivation will greatly increase after eating dragon meat!"

The King of Jiangdu used to only think of himself, but the new emperor with the Crimson Sky Sword obviously has to be included in his list of thoughts as well.

He pondered the gifts to be sent to Chang'an City, but felt that everything from Jiangdu was unbearably vulgar. Only the gifts from Dong Zhongshu and others who searched for the Water Palace and slew the dragon were worthy of being presented as tribute.