Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan hurried over. When they saw Xu Yourong at Chen Changsheng's side, they froze for a moment, and then joy appeared on their faces.
The two of them were representatives of the Orthodoxy's new faction, and because of their relationship with the Tianhai Divine Empress, they were naturally extremely close to Xu Yourong. But after bowing, the joy on their faces faded and they said to Chen Changsheng, "Principal Mao has emerged from seclusion."
In the reign of the previous Pope, there had been at least three Storms that obeyed the Li Palace's orders, but now there were none. Thus, the appearance of Mao Qiuyu with the hope of breaking through was extremely important to the Li Palace. It could even be said to be the most important matter for the Li Palace in this period of time.
Today, he had emerged from seclusion, signifying that he had successfully broken through and become an expert of the Divine Domain.
To the Orthodoxy, this was naturally an incredibly good thing.
But Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan had rather grave expressions.
In the past few years, Mao Qiuyu had given much care to Chen Changsheng and the Orthodox Academy. After Chen Changsheng succeeded to the position of Pope and left the capital, he had become the executor of Chen Changsheng's will in the capital.
The problem was that Mao Qiuyu was still a member of the Orthodoxy's conservative faction, and now that he had crossed that threshold, he could no longer be regarded as an ordinary person.
In this period of time, the new and conservative factions of the Orthodoxy had been in constant conflict. The day before yesterday, Chen Changsheng had returned to the capital and begun a purge of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education.
What would Mao Qiuyu think once he learned of this?
… …
… …
The winter was about to pass, but the weather did not warm up. On the contrary, it got even colder.
The snowflakes fell from the sky like goose feathers in the cold wind, dying the dozen or so palaces white.
Xu Yourong asked, "Can I first see him?"
Linghai Zhiwang turned to Chen Changsheng.
He naturally knew of the relationship between the Pope and the Holy Maiden, but this matter was far too important.
If Mao Qiuyu succeeded in breaking through, his status in the Orthodoxy would be completely different.
If he could not be persuaded by the Pope, today would be his first day of breaking through into the Divine Domain, and it would also have to be his last day.
As he gazed at Mao Qiuyu on the other side of the snowstorm, at his white hair draped over his shoulders and his two sleeves fluttering in the wind, Chen Changsheng recalled the first time he met Mao Qiuyu at the Ivy Festival.
At that time, Mao Qiu Yu was the dean of the Heavenly Dao Academy and Luoluo's first teacher.
Chen Changsheng also thought of many things. Outside the Mausoleum of Books, Mao Qiuyu hugged Xun Mei's corpse with tears streaming down his face. During the All-School Martial Exhibition, Mao Qiuyu sat silently in the tea house. When he went to kill Zhou Tong, Mao Qiuyu's carriage appeared outside the courtyard filled with crabapple blossoms.
In these past few years, Mao Qiuyu had not said much or done much, but he had always silently stood behind Chen Changsheng and the Orthodox Academy.
Perhaps it was because of his relationship with his martial uncle the Pope, or perhaps it was because of Archbishop Mei Lisha's request.
But no matter which it was, Mao Qiu Yu treated him extremely well.
Chen Chang Sheng extended his hand and swept away the falling snowflakes in front of him, as well as those unnecessary thoughts.
He looked at Xu Yourong and said, "Then you go."
Daoist Siyuan's expression changed slightly, but he did not dare to disobey. The Orthodoxy's experts and arrays hidden in the snow all retreated.
…
…
The Taoist temple in the wind and snow was quiet for a long time.
After some time, Xu You Rong walked out and smiled at Chen Chang Sheng.
Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan both sighed in relief.
Xu Yourong had left in the snow, probably because she still had many things to take care of.
Chen Chang Sheng walked into the Daoist temple and stood side by side with Mao Qiuyu in front of the window, gazing at the Li Palace in the snow.
The Li Palace was very quiet. There were no footprints in the snow, so the figures of Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan were extremely clear.
"The people are getting fewer and fewer."
Mao Qiuyu had a very sorrowful expression.
Chen Chang Sheng understood what he meant.
Of the Orthodoxy's Six Prefects, the first to leave was Mei Lisha, and then Mu Jiushi had been crippled of the Orthodoxy's cultivation by the previous Pope and expelled from the Li Palace. Daoist Baishi had been executed in Wenshui, and last night, Archbishop An Lin had also quietly resigned from her post.
Even if Mao Qiuyu and Hu Thirty-Two were added, they still would not be able to gather the number of people required by the Li Palace's grand array.
Moreover, Mao Qiuyu was about to leave.
Chen Chang Sheng said, "Martial Uncle had me do this, so there are some things that must be done in the end."
This matter referred to using his status as Pope to wield the Orthodoxy's Divine Staff.
Some things referred to those things that had already happened, like those departures.
"I heard that Your Holiness said something last night."
Mao Qiuyu asked, "Your Holiness will bear all the crimes Your Holiness should bear?"
Chen Chang Sheng replied, "Yes."
Mao Qiuyu turned to look at his profile and asked, "But who has the right to judge whether Your Holiness is guilty or not?"
Chen Chang Sheng pondered this question for a very long time, then gave an answer that surprised Mao Qiuyu.
"Why have none of you ever asked my master or martial uncle this question?"
He did not speak of the will of the people, nor of history, much less of the future of the Human race. Instead, he asked a rhetorical question.
Mao Qiuyu noticed that his eyes were very serious, his expression very insistent, and then he realized that he actually could not answer this question.
Chen Chang Sheng had also not expected to receive an answer, so he continued, "Perhaps it's because I'm rather young? Tang Thirty-Six once said that being young is correct, but these words are not correct, because correct has nothing to do with age, so being old does not mean that one is correct. "
Mao Qiuyu replied, "The more you see, the more experience you have, the less likely you will take a detour."
Chen Chang Sheng replied, "Between two points, a straight line is the shortest, so there is naturally no detour."
He was speaking of his sword, of Wang Po's blade.
"Spirit is important, but ruling the world is like cooking a small fish. We can't act rashly."
Mao Qiuyu looked at him and earnestly said, "This was the Dao of the previous Pope."
This was the greatest difference between the previous Pope and the Tianhai Divine Empress and Shang Xingzhou.
He did not care about the struggle between the new and conservative factions of the Orthodoxy, nor did he care about the struggle between the Chen Imperial clan and the Tianhai Divine Empress.
He only supported the method that could stabilize the situation of the world.
More than 20 years ago, Shang Xingzhou plotted a rebellion. Seeing that the world was in chaos, he opposed it.
Twenty years later, the Tianhai Divine Empress was still unwilling to return the government to the Chen Imperial clan. Seeing that the world was bound to fall into chaos, he objected.
Mao Qiuyu gazed at that figure gradually moving away from the depths of the snowstorm and said, "The Holy Maiden's actions will assuredly throw the world into chaos. If it were the Pope of the previous generation, he would assuredly do his utmost to stop it, but now I choose to turn a blind eye. I truly don't know if this is right or wrong."
Just now, when Xu Yourong was trying to convince him, she had gone through a series of complicated calculations, and then said one sentence.
"Since my hands are clean, why not just stand by and watch?"
Two Sleeves of Breeze was Mao Qiuyu's Daoist title.
"In truth, I've always believed that Martial Uncle's method back then was not necessarily correct."
Chen Changsheng recalled that night in the Mausoleum of Books, when his martial uncle the Pope stood in the puddles of water in the slums of the southern part of the city. As he fought with the Tianhai Divine Empress, he did not forget to protect those innocent commoners. This made him feel very moved and admiration, but also rather complicated.
His martial uncle the Pope was a good person.
But should good people suffer so much?
Mao Qiuyu knew what he was thinking and earnestly advised, "Your Holiness, we should still be good people."
"There's no need to be a good person, because I have always been a good person."
Chen Changsheng looked at him and seriously said, "It's just that I hope that good people can be rewarded with good."
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