From that day onward, the rumor seemed to grow wings.
Not only were people in the streets discussing it fervently, but even in the various teahouses and taverns throughout Huzhou, storytellers had already woven tales and legends about Shu Changyu, placing the scripts on their tables.
The people of Huzhou had long suffered from the Yellow River flooding year after year. Yet their ancestors’ foundations were here, and they had no other choice. In the past, countless magistrates had resolved to control the floods, but to no avail. And countless officials had been dispatched from the capital to handle the flooding, yet there was still little improvement.
Especially in these past few years, the Yellow River’s floods had grown increasingly severe. Every year, countless victims were displaced, draining the emperor’s treasury dry. Yet the silver was siphoned off layer by layer, all of it ending up in the pockets of officials at every level.
But Shu Changyu’s methods could only be described as swift and ruthless.
He was young to begin with, but behind him stood a family that the overwhelming majority of officials could not afford to provoke. After arriving in Huzhou, he spent half a year eliminating corruption and embezzlement, recovering all the silver that had been skimmed off by officials at every level. He then heavily squeezed the local wealthy gentry. In just over two years, he had brought the flooding of the Yellow River under control.
Even more astonishing was that those wealthy gentry who had initially been squeezed by him did not complain in the slightest. Once the Yellow River was brought under control, Huzhou’s waterways became unobstructed, and the cost of transporting goods between the north and south immediately fell by more than half. These wealthy merchants and gentry also profited considerably from it.
Thus, from top to bottom, there was no one in Huzhou who did not admire and feel grateful toward Shu Changyu.
Once the rumor arrived, the common people spread it with even greater enthusiasm. Before long, it became more and more exaggerated, portraying Shu Changyu as practically divine.
Kongqing investigated for two days and could only say that it had come down from the north. But with so many people spreading the rumor, it was truly impossible to find its source.
After listening to the increasingly fantastical stories over the past two days, Shu Changyu felt more and more uneasy. He felt that he could no longer remain here. Yet when it came to returning to the capital, he was faintly hesitant.
That day, Shu Changyu accepted an invitation from the Prefect of Huzhou to have tea at a teahouse.
The Prefect of Huzhou was a jinshi who had entered the examination two sessions before Shu Changyu. Born into a poor family, his official career had been relatively smooth compared with other jinshi of similar backgrounds, and he had risen steadily through the ranks. Yet now, compared with Shu Changyu, he was still one rank below him.
This Prefect was quite perceptive. He had always been incorruptible, and after Shu Changyu arrived, he obeyed his every command. His cooperation could not have been more enthusiastic, thus removing quite a few obstacles for Shu Changyu.
The two had only just sat down when they heard the storyteller outside the private room strike his wooden clapper. With dramatic rises and falls in his voice, he began:
“Now, the Great Qi Dynasty’s national fortune had declined, the realm was buffeted by wind and rain, and its destiny had already reached the point where it was about to end. The Jade Emperor sent the various Dragon Kings to occupy the regions north and south of the Yellow River, yet deliberately left Shandong empty, causing droughts and floods to plague the lands of Great Qi, inevitably bringing about a change of dynasty.
“Yet the founding emperor of Great Qi, □□, could not bear to see a century-old foundation destroyed in an instant. Thus, he secretly stole a star from Heaven and entrusted it to his close friend, Old Master Shu. Old Master Shu cast that star down from the heavens, and it fell into the mortal world—
“And that was none other than the third young master of the Shu family, Shu Sanlang, who would save the world and rescue the nation!”
The teahouse erupted in cheers at these words.
Sitting inside the private room, the Prefect of Huzhou listened with great relish, propping up his head.
Those who became officials always had something they sought. Some sought wealth, some sought power, and some sought fame. For people like them, born into poor families and neither greedy nor corrupt, what they sought throughout their lives was nothing more than a good name that would last for generations.
Now, seeing Shu Changyu’s reputation, the Prefect of Huzhou could not help but envy him.
When the common people of the world revered someone to the extreme, they would inevitably treat that person as a deity and fabricate extraordinary stories about him. Looking through history, there had always been very few scholars who had ultimately attained immortality and joined the ranks of the celestial beings. But someone like Shu Changyu, who was still alive yet was already being praised as though he were a deity, was probably the only one of his kind throughout all of history.
The Prefect of Huzhou was not jealous, however.
He had worked alongside Shu Changyu for three years and knew exactly how Shu Changyu had worked himself day and night over the Yellow River matter, never neglecting the slightest detail. And not only was he diligent—his strategy for controlling the floods was also extraordinarily ingenious. He had actually managed to make the Yellow River submit completely. It could truly be called an unprecedented marvel.
Hearing this, even the Prefect of Huzhou could not help curling his lips upward. He clapped his hands and laughed, about to speak to Shu Changyu.
But when he turned his face, he found Shu Changyu looking displeased. There was not the slightest hint of a smile on his face.
The next moment, he saw Shu Changyu rise and walk straight out of the private room.
The Prefect of Huzhou hurried after him, only to see Shu Changyu walk directly up to the storyteller and reach out to press down on the wooden clapper on his table.
The storyteller had never encountered such a situation before. When he looked up, he saw that the very Shu Sanlang from his story was standing before him, looking down at him expressionlessly.
“Your words may be construed as making reckless comments about the imperial court. This story must not be told again in the future. Since the audience is in such high spirits today, why not change the script to Wu Song Fights the Tiger?”
The storyteller froze.
He had never seen the protagonist of a story himself come forward and make such a request.
Yet Shu Changyu simply stood there, pressing down on his wooden clapper, his face expressionless.
The storyteller could only nod timidly in agreement.
Shu Changyu reached out, took the storybook from his table, placed a silver ingot there, and turned to leave.
Everyone listening in the teahouse looked at one another, watching as Lord Shu walked straight out with a cold expression, his gaze fixed ahead.
Shu Changyu stopped at the entrance of the teahouse, holding the storybook with an unreadable expression.
Who exactly was trying to harm me?
The hand holding the storybook tightened more and more. His other hand unconsciously dropped down, pressing close against his waist, where it touched that piece of warm jade.
The warm jade’s uniquely gentle temperature passed into him little by little through his skin.
Just then, the Huzhou Prefect, looking utterly alarmed, hurried out after him.
“…Lord Shu?” he asked tentatively.
In an instant, Shu Changyu’s expression returned to normal. He also loosened his grip on the Lantian jade and turned toward the Huzhou Prefect.
“Lord Zheng, I will trouble you to pay more attention to this matter concerning the storybook. I am merely an official carrying out orders. Firstly, I am certainly no celestial star descended to the mortal realm. Secondly, I cannot possibly be said to have saved the world and rescued the nation. From now on, I hope that no such storybooks will appear within Huzhou, lest they invite unnecessary criticism.”
The Huzhou Prefect froze for a moment before timidly agreeing.
“I shall return first. You and I can meet again another day. Lord Zheng, please feel free to remain.”
With that, Shu Changyu gave him a bow and turned to board his carriage.
——
Shu Changyu went nowhere else and returned directly to his own residence.
The moment he entered the estate, a small, tender-yellow figure threw herself into his arms.
“Daddy!”
It was a little girl dressed in a tender-yellow spring outfit, her hair styled in twin buns. Her cheeks were rosy and soft, and she looked only three or four years old. She was not even as tall as Shu Changyu’s waist.
As soon as she threw herself at him, she wrapped her chubby little arms around his leg.
“You came home so early today!”
The little girl’s black-and-white almond-shaped eyes were large and bright. Whenever she looked at someone, her long, thick eyelashes fluttered, making her especially lovable.
“Daddy, can you fly a kite with Xunzhi today?”
This little girl was an abandoned infant Shu Changyu had found beside the carriage while traveling south.
At the time, her swaddling clothes had been abandoned beneath a gardenia tree. She had been on the verge of death, and her cries were as thin as those of a little kitten.
Shu Changyu’s group happened to stop and get out of the carriage to rest, and that was when he found the child.
Seeing the little girl’s pale, miserable face as she cried, Shu Changyu’s heart softened for a moment, and he decided to raise her.
But adopting a person was not like adopting a kitten or puppy. A moment of kindness would bring plenty of trouble later. Raising a young child required care, and she needed a name and a proper status as well.
Shu Changyu was twenty years older than her, so calling him older brother would hardly be appropriate. Thus, Shu Changyu simply recognized the girl as his daughter, named her Shu Xunzhi, and raised her at his side.
He had been so busy these past three years that he was often unable to attend to the child. She had been raised entirely by the servants. Yet Shu Xunzhi was extremely attached to him and had a gentle, well-behaved temperament, so everyone liked her very much.
When Shu Changyu lowered his head, he saw that the little girl was clutching a bundle of kite string in her hands. Behind her, a kite dragged along like a long tail.
The kite was clearly one that the Li family had sent him.
For these three years, the Li family had sent him a kite every year, and Shu Changyu had flown every single one. He had not expected that this year, the little girl would intercept it first.
Shu Changyu laughed.
Seeing her soft, adorable appearance, more than half of the irritation in his heart disappeared. He bent down, picked the little girl up, and asked, “Why are you dragging the kite around?”
Shu Xunzhi pouted aggrievedly and said in a tiny voice, “…I can’t get it to fly.”
Shu Changyu smiled as he held her with one arm and took the kite string from her hand. As he wound it up, he laughed and said, “Then Daddy will help you fly it.”
In his previous life, he had also had a son.
Although that son was not actually his own—both he and Danyao knew this perfectly well—in front of outsiders, the child still had to call him Father.
Thus, Shu Changyu did not find stepping into the role of a father particularly awkward.
He himself had been a serious and orderly child since he was young, and he had always addressed his parents respectfully as Father and Mother.
But Shu Xunzhi’s little tongue had never been very nimble. From childhood, she had been unable to speak clearly, mumbling and babbling her words, so she could only call him Daddy.
Shu Changyu bent down and put Shu Xunzhi on the ground. He easily adjusted the kite string, and after only a few movements, the kite was gently lifted into the sky by the wind.
Seeing this, Shu Xunzhi happily clapped her hands and jumped up and down.
Shu Changyu bent down and handed the kite string to Shu Xunzhi, instructing her, “Hold it carefully. Walk slowly, and don’t fall.”
Shu Xunzhi answered crisply. She then pinched the kite string between her fingers and ran around the courtyard with a smile.
There were quite a few willow trees planted in Shu Changyu’s courtyard. Later, he had personally planted several peach trees for Shu Xunzhi as well.
It was spring now. Green willows and peach blossoms complemented one another, while a rosy little girl ran among them, her silver-bell-like laughter scattering everywhere.
Shu Changyu raised his head and saw the kite beneath the clear blue sky.
For a moment, he was somewhat dazed.
The kites made by the Li family had always been of the same design. Three years ago, he had likewise sent an identical kite to someone confined within the deep palace.
He looked up at the sky.
For a moment, it was as though time had reversed. His eyes stung slightly as he stared fixedly at the drifting kite.
After a while, Shu Changyu made a decision.
He walked forward until he reached Shu Xunzhi’s side, then crouched down and asked,
“Xunzhi, would you like to return to the capital with Daddy?”
“Return to the capital?”
Shu Xunzhi stopped and tilted her little head.
“Wherever Daddy goes, Xunzhi will go with Daddy!”
Sunlight spilled across the little girl’s fair, tender cheeks.
Shu Changyu smiled and nodded, reaching out to rub her head.
For a moment, all was peaceful and beautiful.
Yet no one knew that beneath that same clear blue sky, a thousand miles away in Shandong, raging flames were burning dry haystacks and houses.
“The emperor is without virtue! Heaven has abandoned Great Qi! We brothers have no choice but to overthrow those generals, ministers, princes, and marquises. Only then will we have a path to survival!”
As soon as his words fell, a tsunami-like chorus of agreement and furious roars erupted.
“The Shu family of Huzhou is descended from a celestial star! We must now march to Huzhou, enthrone Shu Sanlang, change the dynasty, and create a world of peace and prosperity!!”
Author’s Note: Jing Muda has unlocked a new achievement—unexpectedly becoming a dad!