The Matter Concluded
"A slight punishment is too lenient on you!"
After binding Gongsun Hong with water plants and making him drink two mouthfuls of lime water as punishment, Ao Li never used any other means to harm him again.
This punishment was far less severe than he had originally planned, and could be considered a concession by Ao Li to the Crimson Sky Sword.
He didn't even teach the King of Jiangdu a lesson; he simply prepared to seal the water palace as scheduled.
He held his hands in the water for dozens of seconds, and only after he finished casting the spell did Ao Li manage to pull a large fish weighing over sixty pounds out of the murky water.
This fish was far smaller than the large fish that King Jiangdu ordered to be caught, but it was still a rare big fish that had escaped the net after the search had already begun.
Ao Li reached out and grabbed it, which immediately drew cheers from the crowd. Even the military officers who bought and sold fish couldn't help but rush over from the big ship.
After a very generous sale, Ao Li managed to squeeze into the crowd, drawing envy from everyone.
He was tall and upright, and even though his appearance had changed and he was no longer as handsome as before, he still stood out from the crowd.
This made Ao Li feel somewhat out of place, far less at ease than Zhang Xuezhou.
Listening to the sergeant inquiring about which family's young master he was, Ao Li couldn't help but feel that being with ordinary people was too troublesome.
He dealt with it casually, collected another ten and a half taels of silver, and then went back into the water to fish while waiting for the time to pass.
Ao Li didn't give King Jiangdu and the others much time; only a quarter of an hour, and he had already cast a spell in the water.
The whirlpool beneath the cliff reappeared, but unlike before when it would sweep people in, this time it surged out like a bubbling spring.
A short while later, everyone saw King Jiangdu and his men come running out, their faces covered in dust and grime.
Although everyone looked disheveled, they were all adorned with gold and silver, and many had luminous pearls in their pockets.
When King Jiangdu and his entourage surfaced, a large ship that had been prepared approached and allowed them to board.
"This matter should be over!"
Seeing the King of Jiangdu discard the luminous pearl and other items, then throw the gilded halberd with goose wings onto the large ship, before jumping back into the water to search for them, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but shake his head.
The Gaoyou Water Palace was locked up. Only someone skilled in water could sneak in and use heavy weapons to repeatedly bombard it and break open the gate.
Forcibly opening the water palace would also cause some problems, resulting in a greater disaster than when the Huai River water palace was destroyed.
King Jiangdu searched the water palace for a quarter of an hour, and most of the visible valuables had been looted; what remained was not worth the trouble.
Zhang Xuezhou felt that Dong Zhongshu's plan to offer the Water Palace was quite successful, and he had made a good impression on the King of Jiangdu. It would be normal for him to become an honored guest.
This impression is very important. If Dong Zhongshu seeks an official position in the Jiangdu Kingdom in the future, it will be much easier for him to be accepted by the King of Jiangdu, rather than being seen as an official sent by the Chang'an court to control the vassal kings.
The relationship between the local vassal states and the imperial court was very delicate. On the one hand, the royal family needed to divide power. Since everyone was the son of the previous emperor, it was unreasonable for only one prince to inherit the throne while the other princes had no status at all.
Some of them became emperors, while others became feudal lords.
It's common for brothers to have conflicts, especially since many princes are half-brothers, and among them are uncles from the previous generation, as well as successors from the previous generation of uncles.
The complex web of relationships made it difficult for the vassal states and the imperial court to work together, with some individuals declaring independence and refusing to obey the court's orders.
Among these were vassal states that had extremely good relations with the imperial court in Chang'an City.
Not only did the imperial court struggle to discern the true intentions of the vassal states, but the vassal states themselves were also prone to suspicion, making the situation of the Great Han Dynasty rather delicate.
The division of power also led the imperial court to send officials down from time to time.
Holding a good position in such a delicate situation is difficult, and many have lost their lives because of it.
Dong Zhongshu was eyeing the identity of this dispatched official and was also building a good relationship with the King of Jiangdu in advance.
From the current perspective, Dong Zhongshu's management can be considered quite successful.
He not only met the King of Jiangdu beforehand, but also gave the King a lecture, and they also went on adventures together.
Meanwhile, Dong Zhongshu was in danger, and the King of Jiangdu broke into the underwater palace to rescue him. The King of Jiangdu also got his wish and found another underwater palace.
With all these factors combined, the relationship between the two became extremely harmonious.
"Don't worry, just follow Master Dong. He should collect the 100,000 taels of gold on my behalf. With this money, we can settle the people of Zhang Household Village!"
Seeing that the matter was settled, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but whisper in secret to inform Lady Yourong about the matter.
"I'll be back in a few days. If anyone asks about my whereabouts, just say I went to investigate clues about the water demon and will return to Guangling City in a day or two!"
Seeing Ao Li look up and glance at him, Zhang Xuezhou quickly cut off his words.
"I want to go to Chang'an City. Do you also need to go there?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.
"It's fine if you go!"
Ao Li nodded.
The area outside the Water Palace was covered in lime water, and the lifeless lake displeased him, making it difficult for him to assist Ao Qing in renovating the Gaoyou Water Palace in the short term.
Ao Li also wanted to go to Chang'an City in person to see and witness the new emperor's grand sword appreciation event.
"Are you also here to see the spectacle of that sword?" Ao Li asked.
He's going there to seek justice for me!
Before Zhang Xuezhou could answer, Bi Lan interjected.
When Zhang Xuezhou whispered about Yao Yuanguang, Ao Li's interest immediately piqued.
Not only were Zhang Xuezhou and others interested in fortune tellers like Yao Yuanguang, but Ao Li was also very interested.
Whether Yao Yuanguang's predictions were accurate or not, listening to what the other party had to say was a good reference.
The title of the other party's number one physiognomist in the Southern Jambudvipa Continent is somewhat exaggerated, but Yao Yuanguang is one of the few great physiognomists. This is not a case of choosing the tallest among the short, but rather that there are only a few short in physiognomy, and one can only ask such a person for help in reading one's face.
"Let's go together! If that guy surnamed Yao is unreliable, I'll get justice for you!"
In order to join in the fun and find Yao Yuanguang, Ao Li couldn't help but get involved as well.
He grabbed Ao Qing, who was happily playing with the dead fish, and then strode towards the shore.
"If you can't help me get justice, you can spit on me a couple of times, and I won't hold it against him for cheating me out of my Thousand Flower Wine!"
Pilan's shameless words left Ao Li speechless.
In short, the consequences of his eagerness to help are mostly similar to this situation.
Rather than helping someone seek justice and vent their anger, most people would rather reward them with some ambergris as compensation. That's what most people think.
Ao Li felt that helping was pointless, but in order to find Yao Yuanguang, he had no choice but to follow the gossipy old woman, Bi Lan.
The journey, which wasn't long, seemed incredibly long.
This prompted him to urge Ao Qing several times.
"Going back to your hometown is fine, don't rush you!"
"My home is so small, I don't want to stay there!"
"I've been away for three months now, and I'm starting to miss my mom!"
"Although I only slept for two out of these three months, I also missed my mother for a whole month!"
I miss my fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth brothers even more! If they weren't so naughty, I would miss them even more!
"My eldest and second eldest brothers are the ones truly enjoying life as dragons. They built their water palaces much faster than I could, and they can sleep in them every day!"
Seemingly influenced by Pilan, Ao Qing also started rambling on.
This almost meant that Ao Li wanted to send Ao Qing to Dong Zhongshu for a thorough brainwashing and education.
However, after thinking about it, he realized that their relationship had only just begun and needed to be observed to avoid any unforeseen complications. So he withdrew his intention to send Ao Qing away.
Everyone slowly broke away from the group of fishermen.
Once they reached a secluded spot along the river, Ao Li gestured to the others.
In an instant, everyone manifested their demonic forms and soared into the air, stirring up gusts of black wind as they headed towards Chang'an City.