"I don't know."
Chen Changsheng could not admit or deny it, because even now, he had not been able to confirm his origins.
The only thing he could confirm was that he was also a member of the Chen Imperial clan. To put it another way, he and the Prince Chen Liu in front of him were brothers.
From friends to brothers, this sort of feeling was rather strange.
Perhaps Prince Chen Liu had sensed his current mood, but he changed the topic. "Ever since Crown Prince Zhaoming was born, his body has never been good. At the time, I was still young and lived in the Imperial Palace the entire time, but I never had the chance to see him."
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, if I really am Crown Prince Zhaoming and my sun wheel collapsed in the Divine Empress's stomach, then my body naturally can't be too good.
"If you really were Crown Prince Zhaoming, what would you do?"
Prince Chen Liu's voice suddenly became light, but the gaze with which he gazed at Chen Changsheng began to blaze, brimming with hope and desire.
Chen Changsheng did not know how to answer this question. Only at this moment did he suddenly understand that the most important aspect of Crown Prince Zhaoming's identity was … he was the legal successor to the throne of the Great Zhou.
"No matter what the Divine Empress has done in these past few years, no matter how many elders of the Imperial clan she has killed, there is one thing that cannot be denied. She is Emperor Xian's wife, Crown Prince Zhaoming is her son, and also Emperor Xian's son. If the throne of the Great Zhou is empty, there is no one more qualified than Crown Prince Zhaoming to sit on it."
Prince Chen Liu stared into his eyes and spoke with extreme seriousness.
Because Chen Changsheng had not admitted that he was Crown Prince Zhaoming, he did not directly say 'you', but 'Crown Prince Zhaoming'.
But his intentions had long since been made as clear as day, and anyone could understand.
The Divine Empress had ruled for more than two hundred years, managing the entire Imperial Court like an iron board. In these ten-odd years, through the use of several major cases and Zhou Tong's methods, the Chen Imperial clan had been suppressed into an extremely miserable state. At present, it was impossible to see the slightest influence of the Chen Imperial clan in the capital. At least on the surface, Prince Chen Liu, the sole descendant, was only a sliver of face that the Divine Empress had left for the Imperial clan, a bit of comfort for the common people. It was mostly just a symbol. He was completely like a lonely ghost without any strength.
However, when they emerged from Tianliang County and possessed the world, they had produced Chen Xuanba, the former Crown Prince, and Emperor Taizong. The resources of the Chen Imperial clan far surpassed the imagination of the common people, so how could they be so easily purged? They were assuredly concealing a great deal of strength in the capital. That strength might be hidden in the Orthodoxy, the Imperial Court, or even the Imperial Palace. And in the counties outside the capital, the strength of the Imperial clan was preserved rather well, even capable of shaking the Imperial Court.
For example, in Tianliang County, if the Great Zhou truly did fall into turmoil, both the officials and the common people of the county would firmly stand on the side of the Chen Imperial clan.
The Chen Imperial clan had several hundred descendants scattered throughout the various provinces and counties, each forming a faction. The strongest faction was the Prince of Xiang's faction.
The Prince of Xiang was Prince Chen Liu's father.
It was unknown whether the words that Prince Chen Liu said to Chen Changsheng had been approved by the Prince of Xiang, but he had the right to speak on behalf of the Prince of Xiang.
If Chen Changsheng really was Crown Prince Zhaoming and really wanted to ascend to the throne of the Great Zhou, obtaining the support of the Prince of Xiang's faction was an extremely important matter.
Yet Chen Changsheng showed no reaction.
Prince Chen Liu's eyes revealed regret and confusion.
Who did not want the throne of the Great Zhou?
Chen Changsheng did not want it, at least not now. He was in no mood to ponder these so-called major matters.
This was the principle that there were no major matters before life and death.
Prince Chen Liu could not remain in the Orthodox Academy for long. With the rumor that Chen Changsheng was Crown Prince Zhaoming, this sort of meeting had always been taboo.
The Divine Empress's people were assuredly watching the Orthodox Academy, as that imperial decree from before was proof.
He looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "Don't stand on the Empress's side because of Yourong. Don't be in a rush to make a decision. Watch more, think more, see just what my Great Zhou Dynasty needs right now."
Chen Changsheng gazed at his handsome face, at the unswerving determination on his brow, and thought back to the rumor that he had heard when he first entered the capital that the Empress regarded Prince Chen Liu with great importance. He was rather confused.
Prince Chen Liu seemed to know what he was thinking and said, "The Empress treated me well, but she was wrong."
Chen Changsheng did not ask who was right and wrong, because everyone had their own judgment of the situation in court over the last few years, and everyone had their own eyes.
"The Empress's mistake was not in using Zhou Yong, not in using Cheng Jun, not in using the so-called Eight Tigers."
As Prince Chen Liu spoke of the names of those famous treacherous officials, his expression became more solemn. "… the Empress's mistake was not in using the wrong people, not in using the wrong people, but in wanting to use these people, purposely using these people. She did not care about anyone's life or death, only about her own power and position. She put all her energy into the court, killing countless people that she thought were her enemies, but she forgot where the true enemies of my Great Zhou Dynasty were."
The Great Zhou was the legitimate dynasty of the human world, representing the fundamental interests of the entire human race. Its enemies were of course in the north, the demons.
"Look at the mountains and rivers of the last two hundred years. The Great Zhou Dynasty is at its peak, but it has not advanced an inch in the north, and has even lost many times. Its people are still bitterly suffering in the wind and snow, but they are still occasionally seized by the demons to be used as army rations. Why did such a situation occur? Because the Empress's thoughts were simply not placed there. "
Prince Chen Liu looked into his eyes and harshly said, "No matter how high her cultivation, how powerful her strength, how outstanding her scheming, she is still a woman. Her vision and ability to plan are inherently lacking. She cannot lead us to victory in this war, so she has no right to continue sitting on the imperial throne."
The sun gradually moved west. It was not yet dusk, but the sky was already tinged with a warm red.
Chen Changsheng walked back to the side of the cloth. Under the uneasy and hesitant gazes of the South Stream Temple disciples, he climbed up the great banyan tree and stood on the tree's arm, gazing into the distance.
The capital was shrouded in the early autumn sunlight. Black eaves and white walls could be seen everywhere. The streets were filled with people, and the streets were bustling with activity, peaceful and joyous.
The people living here found it very difficult to imagine what sort of pressure the human armies endured in the snowy plains of the north, what sort of miserable days the people there lived.
Just as the people living in the modern world had probably long forgotten, one thousand years ago, the vanguard of the demon army had besieged Luoyang for three whole months, and the vanguard was only four hundred li from the capital.
Thinking of Prince Chen Liu's previous words, he was silent for a very long time. Then he stopped thinking about it and began to think about his own matters.
The great banyan tree was by the lake. The lake was in the Tradition Academy. There was green grass here.
He had already lived here for more than two years. When he first came here, the name of the Tradition Academy engraved on the stone had been completely covered by ivy. This was the old garden that had been forgotten.
Here he met the Black Goat and the granny from the palace. Later on, he saw the granny from afar in the Imperial Palace, but he had almost forgotten what she looked like.
The bamboo carriage pulled by the Black Goat was not the granny's, but Mo Yu's.
He had not seen Mo Yu for a very long time. He had not smelled her scent on the bed for a very long time. Perhaps it was because of Xu You Rong?
At the time, there was only him in the Tradition Academy.
On the other side of the wall was the Hundred Herb Garden. A little girl climbed over the wall, so the Tradition Academy had one more person.
Then, Xuan Yuan Po came, Tang Thirty Six came, and then Zhexiu and Su Mo Yu came. After the recruitment last autumn, this place became even more lively.
Thinking of the time he spent here with Luo Luo, he felt like it was a lifetime ago.
Xuan Yuan Po had already left. He was probably madly running towards the Red River. If Luo Luo knew, she would probably be very sad.
Thinking of this, Chen Chang Sheng felt somewhat comforted. Then he realized that he could not achieve a heart as still as water. He still cared about some things.
Tragedy was tearing a beautiful place to pieces for others to see. Sorrow was seeing a beautiful place but being unable to approach it. In the end, he was forced to turn and leave, never to be seen again.
Looking at the capital under the autumn sun, thinking that he was about to leave this beautiful world, he officially began to feel sorrow.
He looked into the distance and suddenly shouted twice. There was no specific meaning, he just shouted to prove his existence.
The disciples of South Stream Temple and the students of the Tradition Academy looked at him on the great banyan tree. His figure seemed to melt into the sunlight. After hearing the shout, they were even more shocked. The disciples of South Stream Temple thought, how could the Holy Maiden like this kind of person? The students of the Tradition Academy thought, so the principal is this kind of person.
Tang Thirty Six, Zhexiu, and Su Mo Yu looked at him with grave expressions and heavy hearts.
… …
… …
If you knew that you only had a few dozen days left to live, how would you spend this time? Would you make a wish list of the things you most wanted to do, and then sell your house and land to fulfill them one by one? Or would you hide in a dark corner of your room and wash your face with tears every day? Or would you disregard all moral rules and indulge the desires and evil in the depths of your heart?
While Chen Chang Sheng was standing on the great banyan tree by the lake in the Tradition Academy, pondering this question, in the prison of the Department for Purging Officials deep within the alley of the Northern Military Department, the former Imperial Physician, Lord Sun, and the former official of the Bureau of Rites, Lord Yang Xiushen, were also facing this question. However, they did not have the energy to think about how they would spend these next few days. They only wanted to reduce these days as much as possible.
Ever since they had been secretly imprisoned in Zhou Prison, they had wanted to die. The earlier they died, the better, because in this place, life was truly worse than death.
The sharp iron wire was pierced into Yang Xiushen's left ear and then came out from the other side of his right ear, bringing out something similar to brain juice. However, there was not much blood. This was because he had already lost too much blood in the past few days, or perhaps it was because his hot blood had already gradually dissipated from the torture of the past few days.
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