That girl was the maid of the Xu Mansion, Shuang Er.
A year and a half had passed, and she seemed to have matured a lot. Her brows had also become a little more serene.
Shuang Er looked at the youngster behind the lantern … … no, the young man. She became more and more nervous. Her tightly clenched hands became a little warm.
She wanted to say something. She felt that she should say something before her Miss returned to the capital. Because she now realized, just like what her master and mistress said, this marriage might really be the best choice for her Miss. However … … so many things happened back then. If it was her, she would definitely hold a grudge until now.
Just when she bit her teeth and was about to speak, Chen Chang Sheng came to her, nodded and continued to walk towards the stone door.
There was no resentment, no hatred, no arrogance, no gnashing of teeth.
It was very calm. It was as if he was just a passerby who nodded and greeted someone he met at a certain time and place.
Shuang Er was stunned.
It was during this time that Chen Chang Sheng walked past the stone door.
Shuang Er turned around and raised her hand. She wanted to stop him but she didn't.
Looking at his back as he left, she felt a little lost.
She didn't understand. Why did she feel that not much time had passed but the youngster and the world seemed to have changed a lot?
Leaving the Dong Yu General's Mansion, he walked along the official road and came to a stone bridge.
It was still the same stone bridge. In the hot summer night, the river under the bridge was filled with people enjoying the cool. There were no leaves in the river. He stood on the bridge and looked back at the eaves of the Dong Yu General's Mansion. He was silent. He had the same feeling as Shuang Er. It had only been a year and a half since he came to the capital to break off the engagement. Why did it feel like a lifetime had passed?
When he first left Xi Ning and came to the capital, his main purpose was to participate in the Great Trial, get first place, enter the Pavilion of Ascending Mist and find the secret to change his fate. Breaking off the engagement was just a side goal. Although he still hadn't found the method to change his fate, without a doubt, his fate had already changed drastically. But why didn't he break off the engagement?
He shook his head and walked towards the stone bridge. He decided to solve this problem as soon as possible.
The one who started the trouble should be untied, and it was the same for the annulment of the engagement. Old Lady Taizai had already passed away, and her teacher had disappeared without a trace along with her Senior Apprentice-Brother, so they could only look for a third party in the marriage contract.
He went to the Li Palace.
Without the need to announce his arrival, the priest standing guard in front of the palace respectfully invited him in and specially accompanied him through the long Divine Path to the palace in the deepest part.
At night, the Li Palace was very quiet, and the palace in which the Pope resided was even more so. The sky, separated by four black eaves, was dotted with stars. If one looked at it for a long time, it really did seem like a deep well.
At some point, he had removed the string of stone beads from his wrist.
The quiet hall resounded with the gurgling of water. He turned and walked in, bowing to the Pope who seemed like an ordinary old man by the Green Leaf Basin.
"Martial Uncle, why are you doing this?"
In the past, Chen Changsheng very rarely used the term 'Martial Uncle' to address the Pope. It was not because he had some sort of obsession with mental cleanliness, but purely because he was not used to it. But after so many things had happened in the Orthodox Academy and after hearing Xu Shiji's rather naked words in the Divine General of the East's estate, he knew that no matter how he addressed the Pope, in the eyes of the common people, his relationship with the Pope was already inseparable. Thus, it was better to get used to it. He was a person who greatly valued his time. Since he had decided, he would do it.
It was just like how this question had actually been lingering in his mind for a very long time. Now that he could meet the Pope, he would naturally very directly ask it.
The title of martial uncle and the question itself caused the Pope to freeze for a moment, and then he began to laugh.
Chen Changsheng was asking about the struggle between the new and conservative factions of the Orthodoxy and the recent silence of the Li Palace.
"You are all young people, and even if the matters of young people are not trivial, if you have done something wrong or are not good enough, there will always be room to make up for it or a reason."
The Pope placed the wooden ladle back into the pool and took the linen cloth Chen Changsheng handed over. After lightly wiping his hands, he said, "But us old people cannot do this. Young people can be impulsive, can be hot-blooded, but we must be calm, even cold. In the eyes of everyone, we are all very scheming and farsighted. To put it nicely, we can't act impulsively. Behind everything we do, there is bound to be some scheme, so as long as we move, the matter will easily become big and there will be no room for it. "
These two sentences were actually rather fragmented, but Chen Changsheng understood.
This storm was originally the beginning of the offensive launched by the Tianhai clan and the Orthodoxy's new faction against the Pope, but it had been forcibly blocked by the Orthodox Academy at the academy's gate. The Li Palace would naturally maintain its silence.
The Pope walked back to his chair and indicated for him to sit, saying, "And this is an opportunity."
These words were even simpler, even more vague, but Chen Changsheng still understood.
If the offensive launched by the Tianhai clan and the Orthodoxy's new faction could be controlled to a certain degree, then for him and the Orthodox Academy, this was an extremely precious opportunity.
Just like how his spiritual sense had been cleansed in the ocean of sword intent to become even purer and tenser, his sword had also become even more stable and powerful in these battles.
"Only this way can you mature as quickly as possible," the Pope amiably said to him.
Chen Changsheng only understood a part of this conclusion. In his discussion with Tang Thirty-Six, he had been unable to confirm this point. Why had the Pope chosen this method to let him mature? It seemed too impatient. To use Tang Thirty-Six's words, it was almost like pulling a sapling to help it grow.
Seeing his expression, the Pope was somewhat surprised. "I thought that you weren't very interested in these matters and would need some time to understand, or perhaps you would have come to find me even earlier."
"There are many things that even if you aren't interested in, you still have to learn. Since you can't avoid it … this is what Tang Tang said to me," Chen Changsheng said.
Tang Thirty-Six had said to him, since you want to become the Pope, then you have to learn these seemingly uninteresting things. You have to have your own team, like the Orthodox Academy.
The reason he had been able to understand the Pope's previous words was also because Tang Thirty-Six had made a similar analysis in advance.
Now it seemed that Tang Thirty-Six's calculations had been correct.
"You've made a very good friend." The Pope was somewhat sorrowful. "When I first met his grandfather, we were about the same age as you. But later on, because of a few things, my thoughts differed from his grandfather's, so we naturally could not continue our friendship. He returned to Wenshui and I entered the Li Palace. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed."
A few days ago, when he saw Mo Yu and Tang Thirty-Six talking in the Orthodox Academy, Chen Changsheng had realized that the upper class of society existed, but he had never imagined that the Pope and the Tang Old Master had once been so close.
"Since you didn't come in the past few days, I thought that you wouldn't come in the near future. Why did you suddenly come tonight?" the Pope asked.
The Orthodox Academy had already endured through the most difficult phase. If it had not requested help from the Li Palace at that time, then there was even less reason for it to do so now.
"I went to the Divine General of the East's estate." Chen Changsheng said, "I want to end the engagement, but they've always been delaying, so I want to ask Martial Uncle to directly end this engagement."
The Pope noticed that the expression on his face was very serious. With a slightly surprised expression, he asked, "Do you know what this engagement means?"
If it was in the past, Chen Changsheng would naturally believe the story his master had told him — Xu You Rong's grandfather sacrificed to the mountain for Emperor Xian and was ambushed by a Demon Great General. Even the imperial physicians could not cure him. Coincidentally, his master, Daoist Ji, passed by the area and miraculously brought the dying back to life. The Grand Minister, in his gratitude, made this engagement. But now, he naturally understood that there was definitely a secret behind this engagement.
Because his master was not only Daoist Ji, but also Principal Shang, the Divine Empress's strongest enemy.
"No matter what this engagement means, it has nothing to do with me."
If a normal youth said these words to his elders, it would often be very childish and laughable, filled with a feeling of hot blood that would make others cover their noses. In reality, it was just selfishness and impudence. But when these words came out of Chen Changsheng's mouth, they did not have these problems. They seemed very calm and very persuasive. The difference was that the former often did not know what responsibility was, while he, after very serious consideration, had confirmed that this was not a responsibility that he should bear.
Life and death were one's own business, marriage was one's own business, whether to have children was one's own business, how to raise children was also one's own business. Chen Changsheng did not organize these matters, he just did it very naturally. Perhaps it was because he had always cultivated the cultivation of following his heart, and the above four points were the lowest requirements of following his heart.
The Pope looked at him and asked again, "Will you regret it in the future?"
The old man's eyes, which were as vast as the sea of stars, flashed a deep meaning.
Chen Changsheng did not notice and said, "I won't."
The Pope quietly looked at him and said, "Good."
Before Chen Changsheng bid farewell, he asked, "Can we not fight?"
This was obviously referring to the much-anticipated battle between him and Xu You Rong. According to Tang Thirty Six's information, it was said that the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green had already begun to prepare a letter of challenge. The writer was a great scholar of the court. Chen Changsheng had never wanted to fight with Xu You Rong in the first place. Today, after going to the Divine General of the East's estate, he felt even more sympathy for this girl that he had never met. Now that he had obtained the Pope's approval to cancel the engagement, he felt that there was even less reason to fight.
"Our sect cultivates the cultivation of following our heart. As long as you are willing, of course you can. Even if the other person wants, you can still avoid it."
The Pope picked up the wooden ladle from the pool and continued to water the Green Leaf. He slowly said, "But you must be able to confirm that your choice is truly following your heart."
Chen Changsheng looked at the Pope's back. This time, he finally understood a little. He knew that these words had a deeper meaning.
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