Chapter 58: Holy Monk 24 (Even Bald, Still Ugly)

Holy Monk 24 (Even Bald, Still Ugly)

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Upon hearing Princess Chang's words, the Emperor said, "It's not only Xiao Bai; Master Xuanji has also been impeached."

Great White Snake's ears are keen; it immediately raised its massive head alertly, its tail unknowingly stopped, and Little Lion was not disappointed, pattering over to its mother for water.

Seeing everyone watching him with concern, the Emperor didn't tease them further and said directly, "Master Xuanji has planted a crop on the steppe that both humans and animals can eat, I think it's called Black Feather Grass? I heard he also planted oats; the steppe used to be unable to grow grain, and now the oats aren't even at harvest season yet, but I've heard they're growing well."

The Emperor also grew curious and had someone secretly contact Master Xuanji.

Not only the steppe; actually the Central Plains also lack grain—food that doesn't require much water, which the Central Plains also needs.

Princess Chang was genuinely puzzled, "Master Xuanji isn't in the Central Plains? Someone finds him disagreeable? What are the charges?"

"They say it's aiding the enemy," the Emperor said, reaching out to take the Little Crown Prince, and planted a kiss directly on the prince's fair, tender face.

He has only one son in his whole life, caring little for any rule about holding grandchildren versus children; every day he sees his son, he can't help but kiss and hug him, expressing his raging paternal love.

The Empress vaguely guessed what the Emperor intended, but was still a bit worried, "Your Majesty, what do they intend to do?"

A monk not in Da Qing—who exactly did he offend?

Princess Chang was also very angry; Great White Snake is the lifesaver of her son, and Great White Snake is close to Master Xuanji, so Master Xuanji also counts as her lifesaver.

Seeing that Master Xuanji, a man from outside the sect, was impeached, she truly couldn't calm her mind.

The Emperor snorted coldly, "It's the classic encircle Wei to rescue Zhao; the ultimate target is still Xiao Bai."

Seeing their worried faces, he comforted, "Don't worry; the library that Master built in his son's name is nearly finished, the books are almost all collected, and by then there will be plenty of scholars who benefited from him, surely some will defend him."

He is the Emperor, so he can't openly cheer for the Master, but many have benefited from the Master; when the Master was in the capital, the reputation of the Child‑Bestowing Guanyin wasn't baseless—there were facts, the clearest being that this year's newborns in the capital exceed those of previous years.

Great White Snake, using its modest brain, understood: the Master is fine; someone wants to use the Master against themselves!

Oh, then it's fine; anyone who wants to deal with it can come at full speed! It's waiting!

Feng Ming knit his brows, shoved the red bean cake in his hand into Great White Snake's mouth, and said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, if anyone attacks my snake father, just shift the charge onto me." As he spoke, his cute face broke into a sunny, handsome smile, masking the grim, blood‑soaked undercurrent beneath his skin, "My martial arts have greatly progressed lately; the Imperial Guard is hard to beat, and I'm especially lacking a sturdy opponent who can take hits."

The Emperor didn't want to see his younger brother‑in‑law, whose brighter the smile, the crazier he hits people.

It is because he randomly claimed a father that things became so complicated.

"Go away, none of your business," the Emperor hummed, "Rest assured, the matter will be resolved soon. Want to drive Xiao Bai away? Dream on. If Xiao Bai leaves, I fear I won't even sleep soundly."

His little crown prince will soon be able to run and jump, his range of activity will expand, and the palace has just this one child; if anyone tries to deal with him, although the Emperor is confident he has taken flawless protective measures, he's not afraid of ten thousand but fears that one unexpected case.

The Empress also showed a worried expression; only the Little Crown Prince understood nothing, complaining that his father's embrace wasn't soft enough, he reached out for his mother to hold him.

"Your Majesty, as long as I think Xiao Bai is nearby, I feel at ease," the Empress said, bringing her son over and lovingly kissing the child's chubby little face; she could hardly imagine, had she not had Great White Snake during her pregnancy, whether she could have kept this child alive.

The child grew larger, and her affection for him deepened, unable to bear any possibility of losing him.

This is also why she doesn't oppose her younger brother recognizing a snake father.

Because Great White Snake saved her countless times, if she weren't the Empress, she'd want to acknowledge a father together with her brother.

Her biological father was never that good—no, her real father is a scumbag! He doesn't even harm her, so why expect him to be good to her?

After Princess Chang and Feng Ming left, the Emperor whispered to the Empress, "Those fools only think Master Xuanji is planting on the steppe to aid the enemy, but in fact I hope the steppe can also grow grain; if they have food, they won't risk their lives attacking the Central Plains, and the borderlands can be stable."

"The steppe can't grow grain; herders move with water. If they could grow grain, would they choose to settle down?"

The Empress's eyes instantly flashed with insight, and she grasped the key.

"The Master once said civilization merges; I have been pondering, if the steppe also chooses an agrarian civilization, it could truly achieve the great ethnic integration he spoke of," the Emperor said with a self‑satisfied smile. "When advanced civilization merges with a backward one, I don't mind Da Qing having an additional Hu people nation."

"How long will that take? At least a few decades, right?" the Empress also understood, "Wool procurement will push the Hu people toward sheep‑raising; with grain to eat, the money from selling wool can be exchanged in the Central Plains for needed goods, moving from frugality to luxury easily, allowing peaceful days—who would want war?"

The Hu people are also humans; when there is no war, they are just ordinary, hardworking individuals.

The Empress did not reject them because of the Hu's battlefield ferocity; unlike those nobles who turn pale at the sight of Hu, assuming they are cannibalistic barbarians and demons.

The Emperor said, "Master Xuanji wrote in his letter that he saved the Chanyu of the Tie Man Tribal Alliance; he was supposed to die next year, but now he can live at least another decade or so. Shu Wu is already old; he won't want to continue the war, so there will be a decade‑plus of peace, and later sheep will become increasingly valuable—who will then breed warhorses?"

He will leave a trouble‑free steppe for his Little Crown Prince.

The Empress listened quietly; her political insight is sharp, so she naturally understood what the Emperor said.

She knows her son will one day be the ruler of this realm, and she is naturally deeply concerned about these matters.

"When the Hu have money, the barter market should be taken seriously," the Emperor considered. "As exchanges increase, Hu will speak Da Qing language, learn Da Qing speech; the Master said culture needs a sense of identity—same script and language, different peoples will gradually merge… The monks and Taoists I send aren't for preaching; they're to transmit culture, though their numbers are still few. In the future, when border trade flourishes, we should send more scholars over…"

The Empress silently nodded, agreeing with the Emperor's thoughts.

"When the steppe embraces Central Plains culture and poses no major threat, I will open the imperial examinations, allowing Hu to take them; Hu who have undergone the exam's indoctrination will manage Hu lands, and they certainly won't resist."

That, of course, is the ideal scenario; the Master said one shouldn't rush, perhaps a hundred years will pass before results appear.

Thinking of this, the Emperor scooped the Little Crown Prince into his arms, kissed the child's chubby face, and said, "My little crown prince, the matters I, the father emperor, cannot see, I entrust to you."

The Little Crown Prince patted his face away disdainfully, twisting to cling to his mother. The Empress smiled, took the child, patted his chubby little face, and used a cloth to wipe his drool.

The Emperor, feeling depressed, stroked his beard, convinced the problem lay in his own prickly beard; his son could never possibly dislike him!

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The Jiri Tribe is some distance from Sang Ya's tribe; on horseback, a round trip takes two hours, not counting wind or rain.

Ba Tu worries about his adoptive father's leg and temporarily doesn't want to leave this home.

Jiang He has to work harder himself, coming every few days to treat Sang Ya's father and also look after his son.

Of course, watching his son is the top priority; treating illnesses is merely incidental.

Hu people who know Master Xuanji's reputation warmly welcome his arrival; these days, who doesn't have a little ailment? Even if humans are healthy, animals have them too.

Ba Tu follows behind the monk father, watching him treat people or livestock.

The Hu pour all their enthusiasm for the Master onto the Master's son; now wherever Ba Tu goes, people shove his hands full of jerky and wild fruit—a treatment starkly opposite to his early days on the steppe.

"Are monks really this popular?" Ba Tu couldn't help wondering, "Should I inherit my father's vocation? No, no, I won't become a monk."

Ba Tu popped the jerky into his mouth; this jerky is the Hu's specialty, and he found it chewy and fragrant.

But for the elderly and children it's still too hard; is there a way to soften it so teeth aren't needed?

Chewing this fragrant jerky, Ba Tu felt he could never become a monk, because he loves meat so much!

After Jiang He finished treating the ox and horse, he prepared to leave, he put his son on the horse's back, then directly mounted the horse.

"Do you want me to become a monk?" Batu turned his head to look at the monk father behind him.

Jiang He asked, puzzled: "How could you have the idea of becoming a monk?"

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Jiang He didn't hear clearly; seeing this child being obstinate, he simply stated his own idea: "You can become a monk, a Daoist, a herder, or return to the Central Plains… you can do whatever you want, as long as you feel happy."

Batu's heart went thump-thump-thump, he felt a little nervous: "If I spend my whole life not marrying and having children? Not continuing the lineage?"

It seems that marrying and having children is what fathers everywhere demand of their children; even on the grasslands it's the same—once the child marries and has children, the parents feel relieved, feeling that their duty as parents is finally fulfilled.

Although he is young in age, he has experienced many things and has many thoughts; he is not a normal ten-year-old child.

He heard the monk's calm voice coming from above his head: "Then you won't marry and have children."

Batu felt the large hand on his head gently stroking his head; the monk's voice was equally gentle, expressing the idea that the grassland's parents consider deviating from the norm: "As long as you don't engage in killing and plundering, you can do whatever you want! Father will be your strongest support… As a father, I will give you all the paternal love I have in this lifetime; even if you have children, my affection for your grandchildren stems from them being my children's children… Therefore, I could not, for the sake of future grandchildren, force my son."

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Jiang He let out a soft sigh, took out a large soft blanket, wrapped the child completely, to block the grassland wind for him.

Perhaps having been abandoned by his father, overlooked by his biological grandfather, and kidnapped by his step-grandmother… this child's personality is obstinate yet craving love, so the Sang Ya family regards him as already lost, and he will in the future stand with the Hu people, risking life and death for them.

Now, regarding his biological father's pure, unadulterated love, he feels both joy and resistance, wanting to accept it yet fearing he might lose it.

Fortunately, the monk father never forced him to choose one or the other; if he didn't want to follow him, he would take the initiative to approach; Batu knew how exhausting it was to travel back and forth two hours each day, yet the monk father never uttered a word of tiredness in his presence, nor showed him even a bit of the journey's hardship.

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Wait until the foster father's body is fully healed, wait until he is completely certain that the monk father has no intention of abandoning him again…

The master has shown kindness to the grasslands; they certainly cannot do something like stealing someone else's child.

Jiang He added: "You'll be able to meet next month; the poor monk will come to perform a prenatal checkup for your mother."

Jiang Si Yin looked utterly confused, asking puzzled: "Who are they?"

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"Why buy millet? The master didn't teach us to grow oats? We'll have a harvest soon." The Hu woman who spoke looked regretful, because the master said the oat seeds were limited, only enough to plant this tiny amount; looking at those heavy grain heads, she knew the harvest wouldn't be small.

Sang Ya cried loudly, she patted the horse and chased after.

While speaking, a neighboring woman couldn't help but ask: "Mother Sang Ya, when will Batu leave?"

When the oat-harvest season arrived, Batu grabbed the monk father's sleeve and left with him the tent where they had lived for over three years.

Its Julie, its Dorothy, its Jenny…

"Not much, only a few big baskets." Mother Sang Ya said happily, "If the price is still what it was three months ago, that would be enough for me to buy thirty or forty catties of millet."

"Little Si Yin, you've come." The parrot flew onto the boy's shoulder, affectionately rubbing his cheek, "You're back, so your father doesn't have to keep coming to see you; he can leave the temple affairs to me."

The boy didn't really understand the pain of baldness; he was just curious, what pig profit, many labors die, steam you…

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Sometimes it's not that people desire to have sons, but reality forces them to make such a choice.

However, Mother Sang Ya sternly refused, saying his leg hadn't healed yet, so what alcohol could he drink?

Nowadays, pregnant women, especially those on the grasslands, are not so delicate; they have to do all the housework, raise cattle and sheep, milk them, etc., but everyone knows that riding a fast horse can cause a miscarriage.

Sang Ya jumped off the horse, threw her arms around him, buried her face in the boy's neck, and sobbed: "Batu, can you not leave?"

Master Xuanji's love for the child far surpasses theirs; at least on the grasslands, no father would ride a horse for two hours each way just to see his son.

Jiang Si Yin looked at it curiously, then heard the parrot complain to him.

Father Sang Ya will be able to discard his crutch in a month's time; then he can just help with the oat harvest, and next year he can plant a bit more oats—anyway, oats aren't picky about soil, so the land that cattle and sheep have grazed bare is perfect for planting.

The Hu people will be delighted then—by that time, winter will come and they won't have to worry about feed for their cattle and sheep.

Master Xuanji's tent temple is huge—so huge that Jiang Si Yin, who has visited a few times, can't help but marvel.

"Batu, we're going to have younger brothers and sisters." Sang Ya was overjoyed, hugging Batu and spinning around.

She let out a soft sigh, "Once Father Sang Ya's leg is fully healed, Batu will go with his biological father."

"Mother Sang Ya, another merchant has come to collect wool." The neighbor happily told them the good news, "How much wool do you have stored?"

Jiang He intoned a Buddhist chant, then solemnly told the maiden: "The poor monk has come for him; he is the poor monk's fate; all the poor monk's thoughts and actions are for him."

The smile on Mother Sang Ya's face couldn't help but fade; after three years of getting along, she had raised this child with her whole heart, and she truly couldn't bear to part with him.

The surrounding neighbors all looked over, their expressions conveying much the same sentiment.

After saying goodbye to Sang Ya, Jiang He brought Jiang Si Yin back to his tent.

And so another two months passed, but Father Sang Ya's leg still hadn't fully healed.

The parrot looked heartbroken: "They're all my feathers! Every single one of my feathers has its own name… boo-hoo-hoo, I've lost them forever, truly breaking the bird's heart!"

Father Sang Ya was also excited, repeatedly calling for Sang Ya to bring over liquor, wanting to have two drinks to celebrate.

The parrot lamented incessantly, picking up each fallen feather with its beak, its heart breaking.

Thinking this, Mother Sang Ya turned her head to look at Batu, who was speaking with Sang Ya; all of this was brought by his biological father, Master Xuanji had once said that all his actions were for his own son, and since this grassland had shown kindness to his son, he would repay it a hundredfold.

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He spoke with utter sincerity, and Jiang Si Yin couldn't help but rub his eyes.

These names are so weird—does that mean this is just an illiterate parrot?

"If one day I return to the Central Plains, you can call me Jiang Si Yin again." Jiang Si Yin hesitated for a while before saying this; he didn't really want to leave the grasslands, thinking it was great, but the monk father is a Central Plains person, and Central Plains people emphasize returning to their roots, so someday he must go back.

Mother Sang Ya rubbed her belly, which wasn't yet visibly pregnant, her face all smiles: "This child's arrival is perfectly timed."

Since he's going to leave with the monk father, he must restore his former Han name and can no longer be called by his grassland name.

Jiang Si Yin indeed didn't understand what 'foreign style' meant; he had never seen a foreigner, yet he harbored in his heart the idea of a grand-sounding foreign name—until he actually met foreigners, and then he was terribly disappointed.

Jiang He stopped in his tracks, gesturing for his son to go say goodbye to the maiden.

The master said that straw could also be used as fodder, which cattle and sheep love to eat.

Batu merely stared for a moment, then immediately burst into laughter, his smile bright and free of any shadow.

"Tongtong, you must call me Batu." the boy said seriously, "On the grassland I am Batu."

Batu is a name belonging to the grassland, the greatest blessing his foster parents gave him, hoping he would become a warrior.

He is a smart child, knowing that leaving with the monk father is the best choice; although his foster parents love him, they will have their own children, and if he stays in their home his status will become awkward, which would not be good for their children either.

It finally understood the programmers' suffering; it was worse than them— they went bald but also grew stronger, while it went bald and also grew uglier.

Just as he entered the tent, he saw a fat parrot fly over.

The parrot didn't even glance at the host before immediately agreeing.

Because this child lacked love, and had marched into the Central Plains for his foster parents, the host decided to dote on him for life, ensuring he would lack neither love nor calcium.

The Great Master said it takes a hundred days to heal torn muscles and bones, yet Sang Ya's father is still on crutches, while Sang Ya's mother is already pregnant.

He turned to Sang Ya and said, "Older sister, go back and look after your foster parents; I won't leave the grassland, we can meet often."

Can you imagine? A parrot actually started losing its feathers!

"Older sister, that's wonderful."

Batu silently made a decision in his heart.

Grinding millet into porridge for the child is the most nutritious.

He followed the monk father, changing back to his own name, but as long as he spent a day on the grassland, he was called Batu.

Sang Ya cried for a long time before releasing the boy, then threatened the monk: "You must treat Batu well; if you mistreat him, I will take him away!"

Now he is no longer called Batu, but Jiang Si Yin.

He will forever remember those three years, when he had lost his memory and his mind was a blank slate, a warm and cheerful Hu girl embraced the helpless him, giving him a home so his heart would not drift unsettled.

On the grassland, families like hers where parents have only one child are almost nonexistent; their household is weak and isolated, and if it weren't for her father being capable and a decent person, who knows how badly they'd be bullied.

Jiang Si Yin did not ask; this question had been bottled up in his heart.

The parrot seethed with resentment; ordinary herders were fine—they could simply refuse—but what about the nobles? For example, the Crown Prince loved to play chess with it, yet refusing was not an option, nor was accepting.

Now Sang Ya's mother straightened her back, warmly greeting the neighbors who had come to congratulate.

Adding a member is a joyous matter; a family needs enough people to prosper and avoid being bullied by outsiders.

His tent temple stood there; able-bodied herders would come on their own for treatment, but for those too ill or immobile, whether human or animal, he had to make house calls, which also included some pregnant women.

"Your father is heartless, squeezing even a parrot; poor me working for him with no rest! Zhou Bapi! Capitalist!"

The ten-and-a-half-year-old boy wiped away her tears, his own eye sockets reddening, "Don't be sad, older sister."

"Batu! Batu!"

There was silver from selling wool, plus black feather grass and naked oat; this child was born without lack of food, she need not worry about raising him.

"Nonsense! This parrot is learned as five carts of books; these are foreign names, yet they sound cool!" The parrot's anger flared, determined to seize any chance to make this ignorant little brat witness how knowledgeable it is.

Even if Sang Ya felt she was not inferior to men, the fact that the household had a male member, a brother, still made a difference, capable of eliminating most troubles.

He raised his head to look at the monk father, his expression somewhat bewildered; although the monk father had told him the reason he drifted to the grassland, there remained a question he never asked: if he was so important, why did he initially abandon himself to become a monk?

The foster parents' tent probably occupies only a corner of this temple.

So what does it matter what Hu name he is called; even if this child were named Zhang San Li Si, the host would probably have no objection.

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