"I heard that the fish demon's corpse will be brought into the city today. I don't know if it's true or not."
"Of course it's true. Didn't you see that all the restaurants and bars on this long street are booked?"
“… Mostly the big players who got the news.”
Chang'an was already a metropolitan city where the politics, economy, and military of the nine provinces of the world were concentrated. Emperor Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty took over the throne smoothly from the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Coupled with the past foundation of the north, it has grown rapidly in recent years. Even if there are foreign enemies on the border, it is difficult to shake it.
The flourishing commerce boosted the economies of various places. The once prosperous Chang'an City became even more crowded. The news that the corpse of a fish monster had entered the city was heard from somewhere, and almost the whole city was in an uproar. The prefect of Chang'an sent out all the men who could be mobilized to maintain order. The policemen armed with knives and sticks formed a human wall, and teams of patrolling soldiers shouted at the people who came down from the street and stuffed them back into the crowds under the eaves on both sides.
"Go back, go back. You are such a grown-up, why are you still so ignorant?"
"You over there, pull your feet back. What do you want to do? Let people see your new shoes in the street?"
“… Upstairs, you can watch but don’t throw your food downstairs. Be careful not to get locked up and enjoy your life for a few days!”
The officer shouted loudly and walked through the crowded street. The noisy sound drifted to the second floor. Min Yuerou, who was wearing men's clothes, was sitting in a private seat by the window with her maid Tu Ling, drinking tea. The maid was very active and stretched her neck to look at the end of the long street from time to time. When she heard voices, she would run to another window excitedly, and then sit back disappointedly.
"Master, why haven't you entered the city yet?"
"No hurry, my father has already entered the palace, and the other civil and military officials have also gone there, most of them are here to see what the corpse of the monster presented to His Majesty looks like."
Min Yuerou savored the preserved fruits and desserts sold in the teahouse slowly. The taste was naturally not as good as those made by the auntie in the kitchen of the mansion, but she didn't care. This time she went out to see what the monster killed by the scholar she once knew looked like, although she didn't know if it was Lu Liangsheng.
If those people's description is correct, it should be his. After all, it is rare for a scholar to lead an old donkey around to do justice and slay demons.
"It should be him... I don't know if he still remembers his father... and I don't know if he will come to Chang'an."
“Here it comes!”
Supporting her chin, Min Yuerou was moving a piece of preserved fruit around on the plate with her fingertips. As she was thinking, a voice suddenly shouted from the crowd in the distance on the long street below the building.
“Here it comes!”
Soon after, a crowd of people began to gather. Everyone stretched their necks and stood on tiptoe to look. Many voices began to shout at the same time.
"They're really here." "Oh, there are several big cars!"
"Don't go down, be careful of getting contaminated by the fish monster's corpse!" "Bullshit, it's already dead, why should I be afraid? There are so many of us in this city, and a spit from each of us can drown it!"
Amidst the sudden noisy shouting, the master and servant sitting in the attic of the teahouse hurriedly leaned towards the window frame, and the other guests sitting upstairs also ran over and stretched their heads to look.
The maid Tu Ling pushed away a sweaty and smelly man, and while protecting her own young lady, she stood on tiptoe, but she couldn't see outside and was sweating profusely due to anxiety.
After finally squeezing through a gap, the convoy below was slowly approaching.
There were three large carts. The two front carts were nothing special, but the one in the middle was pulled by four horses. The cart bed took up half the width of the street. The four wooden wheels groaned, and the top was covered with a layer of white cloth, which was tied tightly with ropes.
Occasionally, the wind would blow up a corner, revealing a huge and colorful fish tail, which amazed the people in the city who were standing on the eaves along the way.
"Tsk tsk, such a big fish, I'm afraid I'll hardly see it once in my lifetime."
"Now you see it, don't you?"
"He's so big, I don't know how he turned into a monster."
"Of course, it must have eaten humans. I just don't know how much it ate... to grow this big."
"Oh, if you put it that way, then the master who killed this monster must be even more powerful, right?"
"... That's for sure, but according to rumors, he's a young scholar..."
The convoy gradually passed out of sight. Min Yuerou came out from the crowd with satisfaction, took the rabbit bell that she had only glanced at for a few seconds, paid the bill and left. She took the palace carriage and followed behind for a while until they entered the imperial city. Then she hurried back home before her mother noticed.
…
There were three carriages, the front and back two stopped at the palace gate, and the middle one was specially authorized to enter through the Daxing Central Gate, which only the emperor could enter. After all, the corpse of the fish monster on it was too large to pass through the small gates on both sides. The generals who were guarding this place also made comparisons and asked people to consult the officials of the Secretariat before they were approved.
Soon, the early autumn morning sun became bright, and among the densely packed palace buildings, a carriage escorted by the palace guards slowly drove past the towering palace walls.
In the past, there was the Daxing Palace, with many other palaces and gardens. Yang Jian stood in front of the Zhenguan Hall, with civil and military officials from the court on his left and right, as well as officials from the Sheren Hall, the Zhongshu Province, the Menxia Province, and the History Museum accompanying him.
Three years had passed. Yang Jian's temples were now gray and he had gained a lot of weight. When he saw the cart pulled by the soldiers, he lifted the white cloth, nodded, and took a breath, from which a faint fishy smell came.
Under the lifted white cloth, there was a large fish bone, as big as an ordinary house. After a long journey of more than half a month, the fish head still looked fresh and the fish eyes still had expression visible. It seemed that it was still alive and much more powerful than it is now.
Beside him, his cousin Yang Su came closer, stroking his long beard.
"Your Majesty, this fish has become a monster."
"How do you know?"
"The bones are jade-like in color, and the fish beads are full of spirit and not scattered. This is a sign that it has become a monster. Moreover, it is just a black fish, but it has grown to this size. It must be a monster."
After hearing what his cousin said, Yang Jian nodded. He was not clear about the matters of Taoism, but since this big fish was sent to Chang'an, he would naturally make use of it.
After looking at it for a while, he ordered someone to take the fish monster's corpse to the inner courtyard for storage, and then brought a group of civil and military officials back to the Xuanzheng Hall. He stroked the armrest with his dragon sleeves, sat down with his horse and sword, and swept his eyes over the ministers below.
"Since I ascended the throne, I have worked hard to govern the country, and only then have peace prevailed throughout the country, and the people have lived and worked in peace. Even if there are people causing trouble in the south, they are just small-time rioters. Today, you all saw that these fish monsters were causing harm, but some Taoists in the folk killed them. The prosperity of our Great Sui Dynasty is not far away."
After saying this, Yang Jian stood up from the dragon throne, walked down the imperial steps step by step in his golden shoes, stopped at the last step, and reached out to pat the red painted fence post.
"You know that I never treat anyone unfairly, let alone those who have contributed to the stability of the Sui Dynasty. No matter who they are, I will reward them!"
The ministers below did not dare to respond, and it seemed that only the emperor's voice could be heard in the entire hall.
"I order you to kill the monk who is causing trouble for the fish monster, Lu..."
"His Majesty!"
Among the ministers who were bowing their heads to listen to the emperor's order, the voice was vigorous and powerful. Min Changwen shook his official robe and pushed aside a minister beside him who wanted to pull him away.
Now that I have come to serve the Sui Dynasty, I must not let the incident of Pu Du Ci Hang happen again.
When he walked out of the queue, the emperor on the steps was just finishing his words: "... Lu Liangsheng, a tribute scholar from the Southern Chen Dynasty, was quite talented. Now he is devoted to practicing Taoism and eliminating evildoers for the Sui Dynasty. This shows his character."
There was a pause in his speech, and he heard a voice coming from among the civil and military officials. Yang Jian looked at the old minister who was walking out and narrowed his eyes.
"Minister Min, what do you want to report?"
Min Changwen, who had just come out, only then heard the emperor's next words, especially the three words "Lu Liangsheng". He was stunned for a moment. When the emperor asked him what was the matter, his face changed, his expression became solemn, and he bowed solemnly.
"Your Majesty, I think Your Majesty is wise, so I'd like to come out and praise you."
Yang Su, who was at the front of the procession of ministers, glanced at the old man from the side, trying not to smile. This usually serious and stubborn man made his words sound quite funny.
Yang Jian, who was standing on the imperial steps, naturally knew the relationship between the old man and Lu Liangsheng, so he waved his sleeves and asked him to leave.
"I know I am wise and wise, so I don't need your praise."
"yes."
Min Changwen bowed and stepped back, letting out a long sigh.
"It's good enough if it's Lu Liangsheng..."
In front, on the Dragon Court, the emperor resumed his previous words.
"… But this man is an idler and does not want to serve as an official in the court. I cannot but reward him, so I will give him a title. Bring me the pen!"
Two eunuchs came forward with paper, inkstone and brush, and two guards pulled over a scroll and unfolded it in front of the emperor. Yang Jian took the brush and ink and wrote a few big characters on it stroke by stroke.
—**The demon spirit reveals the real person.
He put down the last stroke and waved his hand: "Bring me my imperial seal."
Then, he stamped it heavily and printed the seal in the lower right corner.