Madam Xue was a very cultured and courteous woman. Even though her husband's corpse had been tossed onto the plains outside the official road and she was currently enduring endless grief and humiliation, she still did not lose her manners. Looking at this young man that she did not recognize, she softly asked, "May I ask what is the matter?"
Chen Changsheng walked out of the crowd and came to stand in front of her. There was naturally something he needed to do, something that the Imperial Court currently forbade people from doing: collect Xue Xingchuan's corpse.
Madam Xue was somewhat shocked at his answer, and then she became very moved. But she shook her head, a sad smile on her face.
In the last few days, the capital had seemed absolutely silent, but in reality, there had still been voices crying out for injustice. However, those people were just like these soldiers from the Cong Province Army, cruelly suppressed.
She did not want this young man to experience the same thing.
Before Chen Changsheng had time to say anything, he was interrupted by a cold and harsh voice.
The speaker was the Administrator of the Ministry of Justice, Tianhai Sheng.
He watched as this young man walked out of the crowd, ignoring the cold swords and sabers. When he heard the following conversation, he found it very laughable. Of course, he was also very angry.
He did not know who this young man was, but when he saw the scholarly uniform he wore, he believed that he was the same type of person as those hot-blooded students of the Six Ivies from two days ago.
"Some of your schoolmates have been sent to Zhou Prison, others have been whipped several dozen times, and they are all imprisoned in their respective schools."
He harshly yelled, "I didn't think that there would still be someone who would dare to make trouble. Are you blind?"
At this moment, both sides of the official road were lined with cavalry from the City Gate Department and bailiffs from the Ministry of Justice, a dense mass of at least several hundred people.
Those soldiers from the Cong Province Army were naturally not weak in their own ranks, but before this array, they were unable to raise a single wave before collapsing with heavy injuries.
If an ordinary student of the Six Ivies were to stand out upon seeing this sight, they would truly be too hot-blooded, perhaps even reckless.
In the view of an official like Tianhai Sheng, this sort of student was naturally blind.
It had been a very long time since Chen Changsheng had heard such words, not since that spring when he entered the Orthodox Academy.
Whether it was the Divine Empress or the head of the Tianhai clan, or even the Demon Lord he had encountered in Mount Han, they would perhaps ignore him, but they would not treat him with such contempt. After all, his status was no longer the same.
He didn't react in time, and as a result, he seemed a bit wooden. In Tianhai Sheng's eyes, he seemed a bit stubborn.
Tianhai Sheng did not like stubborn people, because he had never been stubborn in his life, so he became angrier and angrier. He flicked his wrist.
With a snap, the whip in his hand broke through the autumn wind and fell towards Chen Chang Sheng's face.
He was angry and didn't have any intention of holding back. Looking at the strength of his attack, if it landed, an extremely deep wound would probably appear on Chen Chang Sheng's face.
Moreover, he wasn't going to whip this young student once. He was going to whip this young student until he cried and rolled on the ground begging for mercy.
Cries of alarm rose from the crowd at this sight. Madam Xue's face was snow-white. She wanted to pull Chen Changsheng away, but she was unable to do so.
In the eyes of the crowd, Chen Chang Sheng was scared silly and only knew how to look at the whip. What was the use of this?
Suddenly, the crisp sound of the whip disappeared.
A crossbow bolt that had come out of nowhere had severed the whip in Tianhai Sheng's hand!
Tianhai Sheng looked at the remaining half of the whip in his hand, speechless and shocked as he gazed into the distance.
At this moment, another crossbow bolt shot into his left eye socket, causing blood to spurt out!
A howl of pain came from his mouth.
The two sides of the official road outside the city gate were filled with the panicked shouts of the crowd and the sound of running footsteps. The scene was in utter chaos.
At the front of the crowd, Tianhai Sheng covered his injured eye, his face pale from pain. His entire body trembled as he waved the broken whip in his hand like a madman.
Chen Changsheng held Madam Xue's arm and retreated two steps.
The chaos did not last for long.
The deputy general of the City Gate Department harshly shouted, ordering the bailiffs of the Ministry of Justice to brave the danger and snatch the whip from Tianhai Sheng's hand, preparing to treat his injury. At the same time, the soldiers of the City Gate Department surrounded the scene. Whether it was the crowd watching the spectacle or the heavily injured soldiers of the Cong Province Army, not a single one of them was allowed to leave.
More cavalry rode into the surroundings, attempting to find the crossbowman as quickly as possible.
Chen Changsheng and Madam Xue stood on the official road. Their surroundings were completely empty, not a single person present.
The deputy general of the City Gate Department rode on his horse and looked at Chen Changsheng. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.
Chen Changsheng glanced at him and knew that he had probably recognized who he was.
But just a moment ago, he had only glanced at Tianhai Sheng's whip before it had snapped. Soon after, Tianhai Sheng's eye had been blinded by the crossbow bolt.
In the eyes of the crowd, he was a demon, or perhaps an immortal.
The soldiers of the City Gate Department naturally believed him to be a demon. When they saw him looking at their commander, they instantly became extremely nervous. Countless swords and sabers unsheathed, spears raised and ready to stab.
The deputy general of the City Gate Department had a nasty complexion. He raised his hand to indicate that no one should move.
Su Moyu finally squeezed out of the crowd. Seeing this sight, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Fortunately, you didn't act blindly without thinking."
The deputy general of the City Gate Department replied, "He doesn't recognize Principal Chen and even says that Principal Chen is blind. Then he's blind, and his blindness serves him right."
Chen Changsheng was naturally famous, but not many people had actually seen him up close, not even in the capital.
But this deputy general was Xu Shiji's subordinate, so he naturally paid a great deal of attention to Chen Changsheng and the Orthodox Academy, allowing him to recognize Chen Changsheng.
He said to Chen Changsheng, "But I must warn Sir, if Sir insists on doing this, it really will …"
Chen Changsheng asked, "Will I also be accused of plotting rebellion?"
The deputy general's complexion turned even nastier. He thought to himself, not even the Prince of Xiang would dare to place such a crime on the future Pope.
"This lowly officer cannot make the decision on this matter."
… …
… …
The City Gate Department was responsible for the security of the capital and was very important. Those who could make decisions here were naturally important figures deeply trusted by the Imperial Court and extremely experienced.
For example, the Divine General of the Eastern Fleet, Xu Shiji, who had once been deeply trusted by the Tianhai Divine Empress and was now highly regarded by the Prince of Xiang.
The crowd had already been driven far away. Upon learning of Chen Changsheng's identity, the somewhat absent-minded Madam Xue was helped to the side by Su Moyu to rest. There were very few people on the official road.
This was because Xu Shiji did not want his conversation with Chen Changsheng to be heard by too many people.
Three years had passed, and his relationship with Chen Changsheng had undergone a massive transformation.
He could no longer use his status as uncle, nor could he use the dignity of a Divine General to suppress Chen Changsheng. If Chen Changsheng insisted, he would even need to bow to him.
To Xu Shiji, this was a matter that he could not accept.
"This is the decree of the palace. Not even you can defy it."
He sternly said to Chen Changsheng, and then his expression softened as he continued, "In addition, are you very familiar with Xue Xingchuan?"
Today's matter seemed like a minor matter, but in reality, it was an important matter for the new dynasty to establish its might.
Xu Shiji knew that he had encountered trouble, but he did not understand why Chen Changsheng would always come to make trouble for him. Could it be that Chen Changsheng still held a grudge for what happened back then and insisted on making him lose all face?
He did not want to fall into that sort of situation, so he forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart and attempted to use gentle words to persuade Chen Changsheng.
In the view of Xu Shiji and many others, Chen Changsheng and Xue Xingchuan were not familiar with each other. In the past, they even had their own camps and were secretly enemies. There was no need for this battle.
"I am not familiar with Xue Xingchuan." Chen Changsheng looked at him and said, "But I hear that Sir is very familiar with him?"
Xu Shiji's complexion was extremely unsightly.
Xue Xingchuan and he were both the Tianhai Divine Empress's most trusted high officials of the military. The former was entrusted with the Imperial Guard while he was in charge of the City Gate Department.
He was naturally very familiar with Xue Xingchuan. Not only were they colleagues, they had once been comrades, they were also comrades, friends.
If Chen Changsheng was not familiar with Xue Xingchuan and did not have the duty and responsibility to bury Xue Xingchuan's body, then what about Xu Shiji?
Chen Changsheng did not think so much. He only spoke according to the thoughts in his heart, leaving Xu Shiji speechless.
After a very long time, he took a deep breath and said, "This is a decree."
Chen Changsheng replied, "But it is unreasonable."
Xu Shiji coldly yelled, "A decree is the greatest principle of the world!"
Chen Changsheng shook his head and said, "If you're hungry, you have to eat. If you're tired, you have to sleep. If you're sick, you have to take medicine. If you're dead, you have to be buried. These are the greatest principles."
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