Chapter 336
Chapter 336
Ji Yan’an did not keep him in suspense. He answered directly, “Jiang Yunsui.”
Then he left.
Shen Qingzhu’s eyes widened as he looked from the drawing to the image of Jiang Yunsui in his mind.
“It was actually her…”
Then he added, “Of course. Only she could produce something this strange and unusual.”
How did she know everything? He truly wanted to open her head and see what was inside!
“Is there anything you don’t know?”
In the courtyard where Jiang Yunsui lived, several Ji young ladies far older than her were now looking at her with admiration.
After this lesson, they truly could no longer regard Jiang Yunsui as an ordinary child.
How did she understand so much?
There were simple concepts such as the shaded side, the shadowed side, and highlights…
Even simple drawings became three-dimensional through their use.
It was simply miraculous!
They had all been taught the qin, go, calligraphy, and painting from childhood. Even those with little talent for art possessed some foundation in painting.
Sketching opened the door to an entirely new world and fascinated them.
Although they still could not draw well, they were delighted to have learned something new.
Jiang Yunsui planted both hands on her hips, brimming with pride.
“I know all kinds of things.”
“All right. Go home and find something to draw on your own. That’s all for today’s lesson.”
Her little mouth had gone dry from talking.
She felt much better after drinking a cup of water.
Once Jiang Yunsui sent all her students away, she lay back on a reclining chair beneath a tree, crossed her legs, and rested at ease.
She had not been asleep for long when something nudged her awake.
“Huohuo, what’s wrong?”
Jiang Yunsui embraced Huohuo’s beautiful head and stroked its feathers.
Huohuo gave several clear cries.
Its voice was beautiful, almost like singing.
“What? A flood?!”
This was important news. Jiang Yunsui immediately went to find Ji Yan’an.
Flooding usually occurred along both banks of the Yellow River.
This time was no different.
Persistent rain along the Yellow River had raised the water level, while heavy silt clogged many channels. The river overflowed and affected numerous towns downstream.
The birds had brought all this news.
Jiang Yunsui could now understand everything animals said.
As a result, she received news even faster than Ji Yan’an did.
All she needed to do was pass the information to Ji Yan’an.
“There’s more. Huohuo said someone has been sneaking around asking about you.”
All the birds in Beizhen City followed the eagles Jiang Yunsui raised, and nearly all of them served as her eyes.
Whatever happened in Beizhen City or within a hundred li nearby could scarcely escape the birds’ notice.
It was also easy for Jiang Yunsui to learn anything she wanted.
She had little ambition, however, and mostly used the birds to hear gossip and enjoy the latest scandals.
Ji Yan’an, on the other hand, used them to learn a great deal of information he wanted and kept Beizhen City firmly under his control.
As a result, public order throughout Beizhen City was reassuringly good.
Ji Yan’an said, “A large number of refugees will probably head this way soon. I’ll summon the prefects and county magistrates from the other towns and issue a plan for resettling the disaster victims.”
“As for the people asking questions, have the birds continue watching them.”
Ji Yan’an had even assigned people specifically to feed the birds.
After all, these little creatures were extraordinarily useful.
Jiang Yunsui said, “Then I’m leaving.”
After she left, Jiang Yunsui had Huohuo lead the birds away to eat.
Most of them ate grain and grass seeds.
Their appetites were small, so although there were many of them, they were easy to feed.
Jiang Yunsui followed them to the bird enclosure.
Many birds had already landed there, chirping noisily.
Sparrows were the most numerous, followed by crows.
In this era, crows symbolized filial devotion and good fortune.
The same was true of black cats.
Crows ate meat.
That meat-eating, insect-eating, and grain-eating birds could gather in harmony was also largely thanks to Jiang Yunsui.
The birds in Beizhen City never lacked food, so conflicts seldom broke out among them.
After eating and drinking their fill, some perched on branches, others on walls, and still others on lines prepared especially for them.
Long lines stretched between the eaves and a tree, giving the birds plenty of space to perch and rest.
A crow cawed excitedly, “Someone died! Someone died! I saw one sneaky two-leg kill another two-leg. The one who died was Big Lord’s follower.”
The lord the crow referred to was Ji Yan’an.
Jiang Yunsui noted this down with a serious expression.
“Pretty little person, we caught a pigeon secretly carrying information outside.”
An eagle escorted over a trembling pigeon.
“That’s the one. It’s a bird from outside.”
Jiang Yunsui took the pigeon and first examined the note.
“Did you see who sent the message?”
The eagle nodded. “I saw. I can take you to catch them.”
Another sparrow began chirping.
“Where they weave cloth.”
“Someone gave silver to a woman.”
“Wanted that… machine.”
A flock of crows flapped their wings and cawed noisily. “There’s more! There’s more! At the shiny place.”
“I saw it too. The bad person threatened someone. Said he had that person’s parents. If they didn’t obey, kill the parents!”
Ah. These were all people trying to steal secrets. The shiny place was the glass workshop; the crows particularly liked the glass produced there.
She wrote it all down.
There was nothing else important afterward, but there was still plenty of gossip that interested Jiang Yunsui.
For instance, one family held a wedding, but someone caused trouble and a fight broke out during the ceremony.
Someone else was pushed into the water. A man jumped in to save her, but the girl knew how to swim and sped away. After changing her clothes, she found the man and the person who had pushed her and gave them both a fierce beating.
Jiang Yunsui propped her little chin in her hands and listened with great interest.
Birds truly were remarkable. There were so many of them, and they could go almost anywhere, so they knew an extraordinary amount of gossip.
Jiang Yunsui did not even need to leave the residence to hear every major and minor scandal in Beizhen City.
After the birds’ tea party ended, Jiang Yunsui went to find Ji Yan’an and told him the important news.
Then Ji Yan’an merely had to bring the avian witnesses and arrest those who needed arresting or kill those who needed killing.
In Beizhen City, only messages he wanted released could leave safely by carrier pigeon.
Messengers on horseback would also be spotted by his birds and intercepted.
That the Imperial Court had still learned so little concrete information about Beizhen City was due in no small part to these birds.
However, the Imperial Court had probably realized something was wrong. The Prince of Nanyang appeared to be losing, so the Imperial Court turned its attention back to Mobei, and the emperor grew suspicious.
He therefore sent many people disguised as refugees into Mobei. They infiltrated Beizhen City, attempted to gather information, and tried to send it back.
As a result, spies and scouts had become increasingly common in Beizhen City lately.
“It’s all thanks to you and the birds.”
Otherwise, with so many spies and scouts hidden among the refugees, distinguishing them would have been extremely difficult.
Jiang Yunsui raised her chin proudly. “Of course. I’m incredible.”
That was impossible to dispute.
Jiang Yunsui left with Huohuo and the others, while Ji Yan’an continued running himself ragged with work.