The lanterns in the Orange Garden were warmer than those in other parts of the capital. Perhaps it was because all the lanterns were covered with orange peels.
Xu Yourong stood in front of the window, her hands clasped behind her back as she looked at the orange lanterns in the garden. No one knew what she was thinking.
As she watched her back, Mo Yu suddenly thought of the Divine Empress.
In those years, the Divine Empress liked to stand on the Dew Platform and look down on the capital, and she also liked to hold her hands behind her back.
Mo Yu felt very uneasy.
Would another Divine Empress appear in this world?
She asked, "Why do you want to see Prince Chen Liu? What do you want to do? "
Without turning around, Xu Yourong said, "Just reminiscing about the past."
Mo Yu's voice was slightly cold as she said, "Must you go to the Orthodox Academy to reminisce? Why did you kill Mei Chuan then? "
"With Tang Thirty-Six's style, do you think he would let Mei Chuan live?"
Xu Yourong replied, "I'm not a person of the Orthodox Academy, nor am I a person of the Li Palace. It's more suitable for me to act."
Mo Yu said, "Your actions can be understood as your deep affection for Chen Changsheng and your desire to resolve his troubles for him. It can also be understood as your desire to intensify the conflict between the new and conservative factions of the Orthodoxy, leaving no room for reconciliation between him and the venerable Daoist. The question is, what exactly are you thinking? "
Xu You Rong turned around to look at her and calmly said, "You told Chen Chang Sheng that you were worried that I would avenge the Empress."
Mo Yu said, "I don't believe that you would forget, even though you denied it to him."
Xu Yourong smiled and said, "Since that's the case, isn't what I should do?"
Mo Yu was slightly annoyed and said: "But you should understand that this will bring a lot of trouble to Chen Chang Sheng. The Education Board doesn't have the right to demand an explanation from you, but they can demand an explanation from Chen Chang Sheng. "
Xu Yourong said, "This is very easy to solve."
"Yes, the word 'disrespectful' is enough, because only you and Prince Chen Liu are present."
Mo Yu looked at her and sneered, "But you know Chen Chang Sheng. You know that with his personality, he wouldn't do such a thing. So what should we do? In the end, he will be forced to become the kind of person he doesn't want to be. "
Xu Yourong replied, "He should learn to do this if he wants to become Pope."
Mo Yu asked, "What if he simply doesn't want to be Pope?"
Xu Yourong was quiet for a while, then said, "Then I'll be the Holy Maiden."
…
…
News of what had happened in the Li Palace quickly spread to every corner of the capital.
The purge of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education was within the expectations of many people, but it was still a bit surprising that it happened so quickly.
What was even more shocking was that Archbishop An Lin had lost her power.
Back when Daoist Baishi was killed in Wenshui City, many people had been shocked speechless. It was just that there were other secrets at the time, so both the Imperial Court and the priests of the Li Palace had maintained their silence. Tonight's events, however, had been witnessed by many people.
Everyone thought that Chen Chang Sheng's return to the capital was the first bolt of lightning. They couldn't help but sigh in awe.
As expected of the successor appointed by the previous Pope, as expected of the Venerable Dao Master's student — facing Chen Chang Sheng's purge, neither the Education Board nor Archbishop An Lin put up any resistance. Beneath the calm surface of the situation, who knew how many unimaginable methods were hidden.
Just when everyone thought that the curtain would fall on tonight's great show, another clap of thunder exploded in the night sky over the capital.
That was the last sentence Chen Chang Sheng said.
Stop here? What did that mean?
Did he mean that his purge of the Orthodoxy's conservative faction would end here?
Did he mean that Shang Xingzhou and the Imperial Court's probing of the Li Palace would have to end here?
Or was he talking about … the position of Pope?
… …
… …
Rumors spread like the wind, and with the addition of several bolts of lightning, they quickly dispersed the snowy clouds over the capital.
The vast sky of stars calmly watched over the mortal world, and the mortal world was also filled with stars.
Several thousand of the most devout believers of the Orthodoxy walked out of their homes, came to the Li Palace, and kneeled on the bone-chilling ground.
They held candlelight in their hands. It seemed weak, but when several thousand were gathered together, it was extremely bright.
An Hua knelt at the very front, her face even paler than her ceremonial robes, and one could faintly see traces of tears on her face.
As the number of believers increased, so did the candlelight, until it became a sea of light.
There were no bitter pleas, but the mood was gloomy, and one could occasionally hear weeping.
… …
… …
When Mei Chuan died in the Orthodox Academy, the capital was abuzz with discussion.
These discussions were naturally very unfavorable to Chen Chang Sheng.
Tonight, as the lightning bolts and the sea of light in front of the Li Palace shook the entire capital, public opinion rapidly changing.
The populace had long ago forgotten what they had said at dinner. They angrily stared at the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education behind the maple forest, the princely estates on the Road of Peace, and even the Imperial Palace.
These flames of anger that had not yet broken through the earth caused the important personages living in those places to become extremely vigilant and angry.
They urgently wanted to know just what had happened in the Li Palace, wanted to grasp all the details.
The spies in the Li Palace and the several Star Condensation painters of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, now under the control of the Imperial Court, played an extremely important role.
In the great hall brimming with sacred light, Chen Chang Sheng stood at the highest point and said those words, the meaning of which was so clear.
… …
… …
"Flipping the table and refusing to do anything? Who can this threaten?"
A hint of derision appeared on Tianhai Chenwu's face. "Do they really think that they can rely on those mediocre people to make the venerable Daoist yield?"
… …
… …
"This move of retreating to advance is very shrewd and ruthless."
The Prince of Xiang rubbed the fat on his belly, his face fraught with worry. "The Imperial Court can't just tear down this memorial arch, right?"
… …
… …
Towards Chen Chang Sheng's words, different people had different interpretations.
To the common people, this was the Saint being somewhat disheartened by the perilous situation of the times.
To the important personages, this was just a method he was using to resist Shang Xingzhou and the conservative faction.
And whether they responded with derision or headaches, the important personages all felt that this method was very formidable.
Only Xu Yourong and Tang Thirty-Six knew that this was not a method.
Because when Chen Chang Sheng said those words, he really had been thinking this.
… …
… …
Xu Yourong said, "Doing these things goes against your heart and conflicts with your Dao. It truly is rather exhausting."
Chen Chang Sheng replied, "I'm not even willing to do these things myself, so how can I watch as the rest of you do them for me?"
Xu Yourong calmly replied, "Perhaps we are people who like to do these things?"
Chen Chang Sheng replied, "No one is born with the desire to kill, to struggle for power, to scheme against each other."
Xu Yourong indifferently replied, "When I was born, I also didn't like playing mahjong, but that was because I didn't know how to."
Chen Chang Sheng was quiet for a while, then asked, "Are you very disappointed in me?"
"Of course not, because only those who don't want to be Pope can be good Pope."
Xu Yourong continued, "Just like your senior brother. He didn't want to be Emperor, so he became a good Emperor."
Tang Thirty-Six's flustered and exasperated voice came from outside the hall.
"I'll leave first," she said to Chen Chang Sheng.
Chen Chang Sheng replied, "Senior is a very approachable person."
Xu Yourong replied, "But I'm not."
Chen Chang Sheng froze.
Xu Yourong turned and walked out of the Li Palace.
After a while, she arrived in front of the Imperial City.
She wanted to see the Emperor. (To be continued.)
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