The person who came was Prince Chen Liu, the only representative of the Chen Imperial family in the capital, and also the only junior that the Divine Queen could accept.
Prince Chen Liu's reputation in the capital had always been excellent. He was thought to be as gentle as jade, but also very courageous. Back then, this young Prince had helped Chen Chang Sheng and the Tradition Academy twice, so Chen Chang Sheng had a very good impression of him. But for some reason, Tang Thirty Six didn't like him.
Prince Chen Liu bowed to the Archbishop, then looked at Chen Chang Sheng and smiled, "Don't you think this meeting is a bit too early?"
Mei Li Sha didn't care about the hidden meaning of these words, and directly said, "The Orthodoxy wants the Queen to express her attitude as soon as possible. The people of the Tian Hai family naturally won't agree. Tian Hai Sheng Xue is a smart person, but not everyone in his family has his wisdom. Even if they do, they will be crushed by the throne that seems to be within their reach. After all, not everyone can resist that kind of temptation."
Prince Chen Liu said seriously, "As members of the Chen Imperial family, I and my brothers from the counties will act righteously."
These two words were both said to Chen Chang Sheng.
"The Orthodoxy has always stood behind the Imperial family. It has always been like this since the time of Emperor Taizu." Mei Li Sha continued, "It is still the same now. But because of Zhuang Huan Yu's death, there might be some problems on the side of the Heavenly Academy. Among the six Archbishops, there are still two that haven't changed because the Pope changed too quickly. "
Chen Chang Sheng thought to himself, if this is the case, then what happened in the Tradition Academy a dozen years ago? Why did the Pope support the Divine Queen for so many years? He understood that this was an analysis of the current situation, but he still didn't understand what he could do. What was the meaning of the Archbishop arranging for him to meet with Prince Chen Liu?
Mei Li Sha's next words revealed the answer to the riddle, but it was a new riddle. For both Chen Chang Sheng and Prince Chen Liu who heard this, it was the same.
"Your Highness, please remember what Chen Chang Sheng has sacrificed in the future."
Prince Chen Liu listened thoughtfully, but he couldn't think of anything.
Chen Chang Sheng couldn't think of anything, so he thought of something else and asked, "What about Zhexiu?"
The Pope said that Zhexiu would come out soon, but he was still very worried – Zhexiu was still in the Great Prison!
He couldn't imagine what kind of terrible torture the Wolf Clan youth had endured during this period of time.
Mei Lisha said, "If the imperial court still doesn't release him, in a few days, I will personally pay a visit."
Prince Chen Liu looked at him and said apologetically, "On the second day after Zhexiu was imprisoned, I handed over my name card … but you also know that this prince doesn't have much influence in front of Lord Zhou Tong."
…
…
Standing among the maple trees overflowing with spring, Chen Changsheng gazed in the rumored direction of Zhou Prison, then in the direction of the Mausoleum of Books, and finally in the direction of the Imperial Palace and the Li Palace. He sighed.
He wasn't an ordinary youth, but he was still a youth in the end. There were some things in the world that were too complicated and too heavy for him to bear. It was even to the extent that he found it difficult to breathe. Compared to the capital, he actually felt that the storm in Xunyang City was a little more refreshing and direct. He would rather stand together with that blade and simply do a few things, even if those things were not simple.
Under the humble gazes of the priests, he left the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education. He did not return to the Orthodox Academy, but instead went to the market to buy some food. Afterwards, he went to New North Bridge. Borrowing the flash of the setting sun, his body became illusory and he jumped into that dried-up well.
The underground space was still bone-chilling, but the Black Dragon was sleeping. Its massive body, like that of a mountain range, quietly lay on the ground. The chain was still rusted to death in the stone wall.
Chen Changsheng took out the meat and placed them on lotus leaves in front of the Black Dragon. Finally, he took the ruyi from his waist and placed it on the ground.
The Black Dragon's spiritual soul was still sleeping in the ruyi, and it was unknown when it would wake up.
After doing all this, he thought it over, then wrote a few words on the frost on the ground and left.
Leaving the pond, his body was drenched. After changing into the dry clothes that he had prepared, he once more saw the Black Goat in the courtyard of the Imperial Palace. He smiled, bent his knees, and hugged it affectionately. He completely disregarded the Black Goat's slightly raised head and its unwilling appearance.
… …
… …
There was a gust of wind. The chill was still there, but it was driven several dozen zhang away. The lotus leaves on the frost regained their tender green and the fresh meat once more began to emit heat.
The Tianhai Divine Empress held her hands behind her back and lowered her head to read the words that Chen Changsheng had just left on the frost. A mocking smile appeared on her lips.
She did not even glance at it. With a slight push of her spiritual sense, the jade ruyi returned to her waist.
The spiritual soul of the Black Dragon thus awoke, transforming into a clear and cold intent. Through the red mole between its brows, it returned to the dragon's body. The dragon's eyes slowly opened, snow rustling down. The mountainous dragon body began to shrink with unimaginable speed, ultimately transforming into that black-clothed girl. However, the coldness on its face had already been greatly diluted by that cinnabar mole.
"Do you see? Men are all fickle and lacking in loyalty," the Tianhai Divine Empress jeered at her.
The black-clothed girl saw those words. After a moment of silence, she said, "He doesn't know when I'll wake up. He has something to do, so he naturally leaves first. Moreover, he doesn't know that I'm a girl …"
"You are a female dragon," the Tianhai Divine Empress calmly said. "What meaning is there in letting him know this fact?"
The black-clothed girl was very angry, the baleful aura on her brow greatly increasing. The temperature of the underground space rapidly dropped.
The Tianhai Divine Empress did not care. The area several dozen zhang in circumference around her was still as warm as spring, and the ground by her feet even began to emit specks of green.
In the world above the well, it was already early summer. At dusk, there was a hint of summer heat. Business in the distant ice shop had improved, but this place was very cold and cheerless, because there were many guards scattered around, and also because of the two terrifying snow mastiffs under the trees in the grass. Mo Yu held the rope in her hand and quietly waited.
When the Divine Empress's figure reappeared, she immediately walked over and said, "Prince Chen Liu also went to the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education."
The Divine Empress glanced at her and asked, "What do you want to say?"
Mo Yu replied, "I don't understand. Even if Chen Changsheng is Daoist Ji's student, how could he be worthy of the Orthodoxy's attention? This … could it be some sort of smokescreen?"
This sort of incomprehension was a question that she, as a subject and advisor, had to immediately raise, but perhaps she herself did not realize it. This would also cause the Empress to lower her guard against Chen Changsheng.
The Divine Empress said, "The actions of the Orthodoxy's people are best for them to deliberately mystify things. There is no need to pay attention to them."
After saying this, she walked towards the Imperial City. The two snow mastiffs silently left the tree and followed behind her.
Looking at the Empress's back, Mo Yu smiled bitterly, thinking, if there really is no need to pay attention, then why did the Empress follow Chen Changsheng right after he came to see the Black Dragon?
Her incomprehension was because she did not know of the agreement between the Divine Empress and the Black Dragon, did not know of the existence of the jade ruyi.
Returning to the Imperial Palace, she looked at the pond in front of her and thought that Chen Changsheng should have come out from here. The Divine Empress then thought of that night even earlier, the scene of Chen Changsheng emerging from the pond for the first time — that youth did not care that he was in the dangerous depths of the Imperial Palace. Seeing a flower pot knocked over by a startled squirrel about to injure a woman, he charged over.
A mocking smile appeared on the Divine Empress's face again, but it always felt like a senior mocking a junior.
Her spirit slightly moved, the jade ruyi left her belt and floated above the pond. The water in the pond moved as if it was boiling, giving rise to a lot of mist.
A ray of light shot out from the jade ruyi and fell on the mist. The scene gradually became clearer — it was the scene that the Black Dragon saw after leaving the capital with Chen Changsheng. Later on, her soul often slept in the ruyi, and when the ruyi was tied to Chen Changsheng's waist or wrist, it would also record the scene.
Looking at the scene, the Divine Empress became quieter and quieter. Her smile did not disappear, but the mocking intent decreased a lot. What was left was some kind of interest.
The scene flipped quickly and gradually became flowing light. It was many times faster than the normal speed of time. Only a saint like her could see it clearly.
When the golden phoenix wings lit up the night sky and the scene of the heavily injured girl in white appeared, the Divine Empress raised her eyebrows. For the first time, she expressed some kind of concern.
Xu You Rong was her most beloved junior. Although she disguised herself, it could not be hidden from her eyes.
In the following scene, Xu You Rong and Chen Changsheng met, but they did not recognize each other. She smiled without saying a word, probably finding it very interesting.
Finally, she saw the unsetting sun at the edge of the plains, the wild tide of monsters, Xu You Rong's inseparability, Chen Changsheng's unabandonment, and that person's mausoleum.
The smile on her face gradually disappeared. She silently gazed at the Mausoleum of Zhou in the scene.
After an unknown amount of time, the scene darkened and everything disappeared without a trace.
She lightly waved her hand, returning the scene to the place where Xu You Rong and Chen Changsheng first met, which was also the place where the misunderstanding began.
That place was on the reed island by the lake. The two met but did not recognize each other.
The ruyi could not record Xu You Rong's thoughts, but the Divine Empress clearly knew what she was thinking at the time. Why was it that after that, she never connected the unconscious fellow with Chen Changsheng, who was on the other side of the engagement? No matter who looked at it, Chen Changsheng did not seem like a fifteen-year-old youth. He was too calm and steady, even when he was unconscious. At the time, when Xu You Rong glanced over, she felt that this person was around twenty years old. Then, how could he be Chen Changsheng?
The Divine Empress stood by the pond for a very long time, thinking about something.
Suddenly, she looked at Xu You Rong in the scene and said, "So you also felt that he did not seem like a fifteen-year-old youth."
The night wind rustled the grass. At some point, a chief eunuch had arrived outside the hall.
She asked, "How is it?"
The chief eunuch reported in a low voice, "There are no new clues in the case. Lord Zhou Tong also did not discover anything in Xining Village … only that mad Lord Hu of the Imperial Astronomer still insists … that Crown Prince Zhaoming is not dead."
He had followed the Divine Empress for several hundred years and experienced countless great events, yet when he mentioned the words of that mad Lord Hu, his voice still began to tremble uncontrollably.
The Divine Empress gazed at the place in the night sky where a certain star should have been. For a very long time, she did not speak.
… …
… …
(The title of this chapter was decided upon together with the leader. Slightly praising.)
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