The clear light of autumn shone through the library, and it was very quiet.
Suddenly, a voice rang out. This voice was very old, very calm, very elegant, unruffled, and very convincing.
Eunuch Lin replied, "I know what you're thinking. You think that His Majesty was coerced by us treacherous officials, so he issued that decree three days ago, had people surround the Orthodox Academy and prevent the people inside from leaving. But you're wrong. That decree truly was drawn up by His Majesty himself, because … he wanted to protect you. "
As he spoke, he kept his eyes on the young man by the window, or perhaps it was better to say that he stared at him as if he wanted to see through him. However, the young man did not react. No matter what he heard, his head remained lowered and he remained silent. How could there be no reaction? Whether it was gratitude, disbelief, ridicule, anger, or something else, after hearing these words, there should have been some change in his emotions, right?
The library was still quiet. Perhaps it was precisely for this reason that Eunuch Lin said nothing more, nor did he announce the decree. He allowed the silence to continue.
After some time, the young man finally raised his head and gazed out the window at the clear and cold autumn scenery.
Three days had passed since the great battle in the Mausoleum of Books. His face was still pale and he was clearly much thinner, but his expression was still very calm.
There was no sorrow or anger on his face, no frustration or helplessness. There was only calmness.
His clear and young features, because of this pensive look, had become even more composed. It was not the mature youth that the common people had judged him to be, but true maturity.
In a single night, one had experienced so many things, passed through life and death, seen so many ugly and magnificent sights. Anyone would have matured, right?
As he thought of these things, Eunuch Lin couldn't help but look at the young man with a hint of pity.
The bright yellow imperial decree had already been taken out of his sleeve. He did not open it, but tightly gripped it like a Dao Spear.
"You know why I came to the Orthodox Academy today." Eunuch Lin was quiet for a very long time, then he said, "I want to take the Empress's body away."
The library was still quiet. The autumn wind blew in through the window, wantonly blowing back and forth between the bookshelves and the floorboards.
"And then?" Chen Changsheng asked.
For three days and three nights, he hadn't eaten, drank, or opened his mouth.
He spoke very slowly and his voice was very dry, like a desert that had been exposed to the sun for three autumns.
"You finally spoke."
Eunuch Lin looked at him and said, his voice filled with emotion.
Chen Chang Sheng shook his head and said, "I've already spoken before. If I didn't speak, how could you enter this place?"
As he said this, he was still looking out the window. Outside the window was the grassland that was turning yellow, the slightly cold autumn lake, and the big banyan tree by the lake. His voice was very calm, seemingly devoid of any emotion. His expression was very serious, without any hint of mockery, because this was just a very calm and objective explanation.
However, Eunuch Lin was somewhat unable to adapt. He felt like his chest was being stifled.
This was a fact. Although somewhat meaningless, it was still a fact. It was he who had Su Moyu open the gate to the Orthodox Academy.
It had nothing to do with Eunuch Lin, nor did it have much to do with the imperial edict. It was just that he wanted to speak.
Just like that youth in the Plum Garden Inn had said three years ago, Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were both very difficult to speak to.
The room returned to silence, until Eunuch Lin spoke again.
"Yes, but in the end, you still opened your mouth to speak." He looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "Just like how not everyone will live and die with the Orthodox Academy in the end.
"The Orthodox Academy is not Star Seizer Academy. It doesn't have overly strict rules, nor does it have any moral standards. This is just a place of study, so what right does it have to demand these things?"
Chen Changsheng felt no hatred towards those teachers and students that had left the Orthodox Academy, nor did he feel the need to explain things to this old eunuch.
"And then?" he asked as he looked out the window at the autumn scenery.
This was a repetition, and also a reinforcement. More importantly, this was the answer he wanted to know.
"Once the Divine Empress' Phoenix body is taken back, it will naturally be a grand funeral, no … it will naturally be a state funeral." Eunuch Lin expressionlessly said, "Although in my view, the Demon Empress' bones should be ground to dust and thrown into a stinking ditch, she is still Emperor Xian's first wife, His Majesty's birth mother. With her status, there is no need for you to worry about these problems."
Chen Changsheng continued to calmly look out the window at the autumn scenery. "I've already buried her."
The library fell silent once more. For a very long time, not a single sound could be heard.
Since she had already been buried, there was naturally a tomb. If there was a tomb, it naturally could not be excavated. Even an imperial edict would be meaningless.
Because there was a moral code, a moral code, and the deceased was the most important.
"Since the tombs in the Garden of Zhou can be opened, there is no tomb that cannot be opened."
Eunuch Lin slightly narrowed his eyes and said to him, "Perhaps you can directly tell me where her tomb is."
She was buried in the depths of the Hundred Herb Garden.
Chen Changsheng silently thought, not answering.
In the past few years, he had met the Tianhai Divine Empress several times, and they had all been in the Hundred Herb Garden.
He had never asked the Divine Empress why she liked to drink tea in the Hundred Herb Garden, or what that small stone table, that metal teapot, and that black tea and white tea meant to her.
But in the Hundred Herb Garden, she had touched his face, seen his eyes, and he had seen reminiscence in them. He knew that she liked this place the most, because this was where she had spent the most beautiful period of her life.
Thus, he had buried her in the Hundred Herb Garden.
"Principal Chen, are you going to defy the decree?"
Eunuch Lin's eyes narrowed even more, revealing a sharp edge, his tone abnormally unyielding.
This was the first time he had used the title of principal to refer to Chen Changsheng. It was very solemn, his expression abnormally earnest.
Chen Changsheng looked out the window at the autumn scenery, saying nothing.
Only now did he realize that an autumn without rain was actually not very interesting.
Without rain falling on the red or yellow leaves, the dust rising from the courtyard walls scattered the sunlight. It was no longer clear and beautiful, but rather sticky and unpleasant.
He did not like this sort of autumn.
"Whether it was Zhu Luo or Guan Xingke, after death, they both turned into dust and streams of light, returning to the sea of stars, not leaving a single trace in the human world. The Empress's cultivation far surpassed these two Storms. If she was willing, she could have turned into a speck of star dust on the verge of death, but she did not. Do you understand why? "
Eunuch Lin entered the building and stood on the pitch-black yet bright floor.
The high threshold was right behind him.
He looked at Chen Changsheng and continued, "Because the Empress knew that you valued your emotions and knew that you would assuredly take her remains and leave. Thus, she left behind so many troubles."
As he spoke, his tone became rather solemn, heavy, and his expression very solemn and serious.
Chen Changsheng understood what he meant, knew that the vast majority of people in the world also thought this way, but he did not believe it.
For a person like the Tianhai Divine Empress, before returning to the sea of stars, how could she be in the mood to care about these minor matters?
Alas, no one would believe this.
"The Demon Empress died on the peak of the Mausoleum of Books. You have performed a meritorious service, let alone the fact that you are His Majesty's junior brother."
Eunuch Lin's voice grew harsher and harsher. "But everyone saw that she saved you on the peak of the Mausoleum of Books, and they also saw that you carried her away."
Chen Changsheng continued to look out the window at the autumn scenery, saying nothing.
Eunuch Lin continued, "In the eyes of others, you are currently nothing. Ignoring you or killing you are both very simple matters. Even Principal Shang believes that keeping you alive is useless, that keeping you alive is useless, but … I do not believe this. So today, I came to the Orthodox Academy to issue a decree, because I want to give you a chance."
Chen Changsheng blinked his eyes as if he wanted to completely crush the autumn outside the window.
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