Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 279 It's better to have a wolf than a sheep.

The black-haired eagle perched on the rammed earth wall of the simple Changsha Prince's Mansion, watching the strangely behaving humans in the courtyard. Seeing that Liu Changsheng was nowhere to be seen from the Shenlong Hall, it jumped down from the wall and slowly hopped towards the Shenlong Hall.

After it jumped onto the window, looked around to make sure no one was there, it spread its wings and fiercely pounced on the ancestral fire.

A golden fire dragon burst forth from the ancestral fire, and in the next instant it was in front of the black-feathered eagle, the flames enveloping the eagle like viscous mud.

"Croak, croak..."

The black-feathered eagle let out a few miserable cries and flew out of the Divine Dragon Palace like a fireball.

With its two claws swirling like wheels, it squeezed into the Changsha Prince's Mansion, found an empty bucket with water, and dove inside. A wisp of smoke rose, and the flames on the black-feathered eagle finally went out.

When it struggled to climb out of the bucket, it fell to the ground upside down with a thud, and only a few black furs remained on its body.

Eji and the others had gotten used to the Black-feathered Eagle always going to the Ancestral Fire and being abused by it. Liu Changsheng was almost used to it too, and the Ancestral Fire was probably almost used to it as well, and even a little happy about it. It always managed to burn off the Black-feathered Eagle's feathers just right without killing it.

Fortunately, the black-feathered eagle grows its feathers very quickly; after lying on the ground overnight, it will be covered in new feathers the next day.

Lei Ming emerged from the bucket of water, and before the water could even dry off, he threw a heavy punch. The punch was so powerful that it made a tearing sound, a phenomenon that only occurs when a fist tears through the air.

Zhang Min laughed and said, "You have the strength of a hundred generals. Lei Ming, you are now the third most skilled martial artist under the Yun family."

Lei Ming raised his chapped face and laughed, "I'm going again tonight."

Liu Changsheng stepped out from behind and said, "Going again? If I hadn't appeased the Ancestral Fire last night, you would have been burned to ashes long ago. You are truly insatiable."

Holding the cloud spear, Eji moved closer to Liu Changsheng and said, "How about..."

Liu Changsheng waved his hand and said, "The growth of your inner energy is actually an evolutionary process. There are no shortcuts. Last night's fire only burned away the impurities in your bodies. The growth of your inner energy does not come from the ancestral fire; it is the inner energy that you have wasted."

Seeing that Liu Changsheng was unwilling, Eji pouted and said, "The old man is over a hundred years old, and he doesn't leave any good things for his children and grandchildren. He just watches us farm in the wilderness."

Liu Changsheng laughed and said, "At my age, it's time for me to enjoy the filial piety of my children and grandchildren. If my children and grandchildren need to be taken care of by their elders in everything, I'd rather not have such children and grandchildren."

Alright, in five days, you, the Crown Princess of Changsha, will officially meet the public. Prepare yourself well.

Eji asked, "A palace banquet?"

Liu Changsheng said, "Palace banquet."

Eji asked, "Will He Junnian come?"

Liu Changsheng shook his head and said, "He won't come."

"Wouldn't Wu Tong and the others be extremely disappointed?"

Liu Changsheng laughed and said, "No, they just hope that such a palace banquet can prove to the world that I am on their side."

Eji smiled and said, "In that case, shouldn't we accept some gifts?"

Liu Changsheng laughed and said, "Of course, there's nothing wrong with that."

After the old priest agreed, Eji said to Zhang Min, "Go and make preparations. Tell Wu Tong that if he doesn't have a gift of two thousand taels of gold, he shouldn't attend the banquet hosted by the Crown Prince's Consort of Changsha."

After Zhang Min led Lei Ming and the others who had been soaking in the water down to the bottom.

Liu Changsheng laughed loudly: "You are someone who can host palace banquets, but is there anything I don't know about it?"

Eji frowned and said, "Back then, when my husband came to Chang'an, he didn't even have the chance to enter the city. He was humiliated in a dilapidated town outside. You don't know, old priest, Hengji received no less than ten thousand taels of gold just for meeting him once."

I now want two thousand taels, but I feel that's too little.

What do you need so much money for?

“We must build a cloud city. My husband wants to build a cloud city that can rival Chang’an.”

Why build a city?

“My husband said that there is not a clean place in the whole country, and he wants to build a clean new city. He also said that a new city means a new atmosphere.”

Upon hearing Eji's words, Liu Changsheng felt his blood churning violently. A candle flame flew out from the Divine Dragon Palace, landed on his fingertip, and crackled, sending two sparks into his body, which finally calmed the turmoil.

"Nowadays, Chang'an is in decline, and there won't be many people who can afford two thousand taels of gold to attend the palace banquet."

Eji laughed and said, "Even if only one person comes, it will still be two thousand taels of gold. If no one comes, we will entertain ourselves."

Liu Changsheng sighed and said, "How much do you look down on the people of Chang'an to set such harsh entry requirements?" Eji sighed as well, waved her sleeve, and Anji and other maids, who had been waiting to be summoned, brought out many books from the room and placed them in front of Liu Changsheng.

Liu Changsheng flipped through the top book, "Records of the Grand Historian," then quickly closed it and asked, "The history of the ancestral land after the King of Huo?"

Eji said, "Queen Huo, with two thousand years of history from our ancestral land, does the old priest still think I'm asking for too much?"

Liu Changsheng reopened the Records of the Grand Historian and, while reading it, said, "Not much."

Eji continued, "My husband said that the people of the Han Dynasty have read too little, experienced too little, and have been too well protected by the Shehuo (a traditional folk performance), so much so that even today, they have not found the path to evolution. It's truly pitiful."

Liu Changsheng said, "With such treasures, holding a palace banquet in five days is too hasty. Those who travel far will not be able to make it in time. Also, taking out these books is equivalent to making your husband's background clear."

Eji shrieked, "How could that be? I only said it was an old book from the Changsha Prince's Mansion. Surely you can't even take that much responsibility?"

Liu Changsheng frowned and said, "Are you trying to say that I got all these books?"

Eji smiled and took Liu Changsheng's arm, saying coquettishly, "Apart from you, even if you said it was brought by someone else, no one would believe you."

Liu Changsheng looked up at the sky and said, "Indeed, only I have the ability to sit in the Divine Dragon Palace for a hundred years, and only I can share such a thing with the people of the world."

After speaking, he raised his hand and gently patted Eji's back three times.

Eji stared at Liu Changsheng's departing figure with disdain.

Zhang Min leaned closer and said, "You can't keep a bad word about the old man to yourself; he might see it."

Eji snorted and said, "I wonder if all experts are like this. They could just tell me directly, and I would go to them with the child in the middle of the night. Instead, they would pat me three times on the back and make me guess."

Zhang Min's eyes widened as she said, "It's not that the old man is affectionate with you, but that he wants you to take Shuo'er to him in the middle of the night?"

Eji sneered, "That's probably true."

Zhang Min tapped her forehead and said, "How come I can't see it?"

Eji rolled her eyes at Zhang Min and said, "If you can guess, you are the first wife of the Yun family. Come with me tonight, take Tui'er with you. Try to exchange as many benefits as possible from the benefits your husband offers."

For the first time, Zhang Min looked at Eji with an almost reverent gaze, and was speechless for a long time.

Eji walked into the house with her hands behind her back. A black eagle blocked her way, so Eji kicked the eagle. The eagle squawked and did not move aside. Zhang Min quickly stepped forward and kicked the eagle away so that Eji could return to her bedroom smoothly.

Back in the bedroom, Eji took her son from Anji's arms, affectionately touching her forehead to his, and began to babble in baby talk. Perhaps her son had complained to her, for Eji suddenly looked up at Zhang Min standing beside her and said, "That old man wouldn't burn my son with the ancestral fire, would he...?"

Zhang Min stared blankly for a long time before finally managing to say with difficulty, "I don't think so?"

Eji frowned and said, "This child's father doesn't even want the dragon on his arm. Our innocent child shouldn't be possessed by some strange thing by that old man."

Zhang Min gritted her teeth and said, "Probably not."

After thinking for a moment, Eji said to Zhang Min, who was still gritting her teeth, "Let's keep a close eye on things tonight, so that the old man doesn't roast my son and eat him."

Zhang Min said, "Okay, sister."

After she finished speaking, Eji picked up her son again, opened her clothes to prepare to breastfeed him, glanced back at Zhang Min's increasingly prominent chest, pointed to the door, and Zhang Min immediately bent over to make her chest look less imposing, slowly retreated, and even closed the door herself.

After the child was fed, it immediately turned its head to lie on the other side, whimpered twice, and then fell asleep.

"Just like your father, you're shameless. Once you've eaten your fill, you ignore everyone else."

As Eji thought about Yun Ce, she gently patted her son's bottom. With the sun about to set, she unknowingly fell asleep.

At the third watch of the night, Zhang Min woke up Eji while carrying Yun Tui. Eji picked up her son, checked his bottom, changed his diaper, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, casually tied her hair into a bun, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and then carried the child to the Divine Dragon Palace.

Liu Changsheng was dozing by the fire pit when he saw Eji enter. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Zhang Min follow him in, and he frowned as he looked at Eji.

Eji said, “The Yun family doesn’t have any of those messy things. They are all my husband’s sons. My husband only has these two children now. Although the position of family head will definitely be my child in the future, it is what his eldest son deserves. My child only wants these things. As for everything else, they are all the same. There is no need to praise one and put down the other.”

Opportunities for advancement should be given to everyone equally.

Liu Changsheng lay back down, looking at Eji with interest, and said, "This is the way to bring chaos."

Eji glanced back at Yun Tui in Zhang Min's arms and chuckled, "That's a competition between two capable children. My husband once said, 'It's better to have a son like a wolf than a son like a sheep.'"

(End of this chapter)