Zhou Tong looked at the middle-aged man in front of him and smiled, his smile somewhat deep and unfathomable. "Were these Madam Xue's original words?"
The middle-aged man's expression was rather uneasy. "My wife has an impatient personality, but I presume that she would not lie in a fit of pique."
"Thank you, Lord Assistant Minister, for coming to say these words to me."
Zhou Tong's attitude was very sincere, his eyes very warm.
But after Assistant Minister Wei of the Bureau of Rites left, his eyes very quickly turned cold.
The events of that night had occurred only a few days ago. As the person involved, he naturally would not forget them.
Naturally, his loyal subordinates wouldn't forget it either.
To be more precise, the beginning of that night was that blade glow in the Crabapple Courtyard. He had almost died at Chen Changsheng's hand.
If not for that blade, perhaps the situation would not have developed too differently, but the role he would have played in this matter would probably have been different.
Xue Xingchuan was his only friend in the world.
Xue Xingchuan was the only person in the world who trusted him.
Thus, he had been poisoned to death.
On that day in the Imperial Palace, he had received the treatment of the Sacred Light technique and Shang Xingzhou's personal treatment, so his injuries were almost completely healed.
He would have an even higher status in the new dynasty, even greater authority, even more unshakable.
To declare and prove this to the entire world, Xue Xingchuan's corpse had been thrown on the official road and not allowed to be buried.
In the end, Chen Changsheng was taking care of Xue Xingchuan's corpse, Madam Xue was not prepared to leave the capital, that child called Brother Jin was about to be brought back, and the Xue Estate … actually still wanted to hold a funeral!
Zhou Tong naturally understood what these matters meant. This was a slap to his face.
The crabapple tree had already been reduced to splinters, the courtyard in ruins, and the buildings of the Department for Purging Officials above ground had all been destroyed. Only the underground prison was still relatively intact.
Zhou Tong stood in the ruins, silently gazing at the faint clouds in the sky, his thoughts inscrutable.
A subordinate saw his rather lonely expression and probingly asked, "Milord …"
"My face has always been very thick, or else I would not have lived until today."
Zhou Tong indifferently said, "Principal Chen has already slapped the left side of my face. If he's still interested, I can turn my head and let him slap the right side of my face until he's happy."
The subordinate said unwillingly, "Why?"
Zhou Tong drew back his gaze from the sky and expressionlessly said, "Just because he is Principal Shang's student, His Majesty's junior brother, and the Pope's chosen successor, he has the right to slap my face."
Exposing the corpses of Xue Xingchuan and the other officers of the Imperial Guard to the wilderness was a decree of the Imperial Court. Who would dare defy it?
If Chen Chang Sheng dared, who would dare to use the crime of disobeying the laws of the Zhou Dynasty or defying the edict to punish him?
Why? Just as Zhou Tong had said, if the Imperial Court did not want to split with the Orthodoxy right after overthrowing the Divine Empress, it could only endure.
Even the Imperial Court had to endure it, not to mention that Zhou Tong was just a member of the Imperial Court, even if he was a high-ranking official.
The subordinate said angrily, "Then how long do we have to endure it?"
Zhou Tong was silent for a while, then said, "If even the Empress will die, then everyone will die."
He was not speaking of Chen Changsheng, but the Pope who had admitted in front of the Mausoleum of Books that he was old and about to die.
On the day the Pope returned to the sea of stars, perhaps Chen Changsheng really would become the next Pope, but whether it was the Imperial Court, Shang Xingzhou, or the collective will of the Orthodoxy, none of them would permit him to act like a young man, even though he was still very young. This was the principle that if one wanted to wear the Divine Crown, one had to bear its weight.
Zhou Tong only needed to endure this period of time.
"It's just slapping the face, not killing."
There were many people in the world that wanted Zhou Tong dead.
Currently, many ministers of the new court, including the Prince of Zhongshan and several other princes, wanted nothing more than to eat his flesh raw, yet they could do nothing.
Chen Changsheng could use many methods to express his disdain for Zhou Tong, could use many different methods to slap his face, but he could not kill him.
Just as he had said many times, he represented Shang Xingzhou's promise to the entire world.
The subordinate was still somewhat uneasy, asking, "Then the Xue Estate is holding a sacrifice?"
"Holding a sacrifice? In my opinion, that's more like digging a hole. " Zhou Tong chuckled, then said to his subordinates, "It's not important whether or not the courtyard can be restored to its original state, but I want this place to have a crabapple tree. It has to be exactly the same as the crabapple tree from before. Remember to dig the hole a little deeper, that way it'll be easier to live."
To this small courtyard in the alley of the Northern Military Department, that crabapple tree was very important.
Just like he was to the current world.
Both were symbols of some sort.
… …
… …
Rebuilding Zhou Prison was a very troublesome project. The Ministry of Works and the capital government had sent over many laborers and outstanding craftsmen.
The project proceeded very smoothly. In just two days, it had already begun to take shape, but time was still very tight. Even after nightfall, the laborers were still hard at work.
A hole had been dug under the courtyard wall. The hole was very deep, so any kind of crabapple tree could grow very well in it.
At the deepest point of the night, the laborers and craftsmen finally went to rest.
No one noticed a figure arrive at the wall and then jump into the hole.
Swish swish swish! The tiny sound of a blade cutting into tofu rang out.
Countless cold glints flashed from the figure's fingertips, but they were clearly not weapons.
The earth on the wall of the hole rustled and fell off like real tofu.
And then, the figure vanished.
… …
… …
The Xue Estate held a funeral.
The mourning hall was within the estate. It was impossible to see it on the street, only a white pan. Besides this, there was no other change.
There wasn't even the sound of weeping or music. It was truly desolate to the extreme.
There was no music because no musicians dared to accept the work of the Xue Estate.
There was no weeping because no guests had come to pay their respects. Thus, whether sincere or not, the people of the estate could not continue to mourn.
This was a scene that many people had already anticipated.
Xue Xingchuan's remains had been collected by Chen Changsheng.
The funeral of the Xue Estate naturally had a different meaning.
Some people even believed that this was a contest between the Imperial Court and the Orthodoxy, between Shang Xingzhou and Chen Changsheng, master and disciple.
This funeral could clearly see the direction of the wind in the capital, and even the entire continent.
From a certain perspective, the people who had come to pay their respects to Xue Xingchuan were also paying their respects to the Divine Empress.
There were assuredly people who were loyal to the old Tianhai Dynasty, but who dared to show it?
In the desolate mourning hall, the housekeeper gazed at Madam Xue and sadly said, "It seems … that no one will come."
Let alone the ministers of the court, the generals of the army, and those old friends, not even the Li Palace had responded.
Only Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan had come early in the morning to pay their respects.
These two Prefects of the Orthodoxy actually had an ordinary personal relationship with Xue Xingchuan, but everyone knew that they were the same as Xue Xingchuan, both of them firm supporters of the Tianhai Divine Empress.
Madam Xue gazed at the empty gate of the estate and calmly said, "There will always be some people who want to come. Even if it's inconvenient for them to come, we still have to wait."
Yes, many people in the capital wanted to pay their respects to Xue Xingchuan. Given the friendship they had with Xue Xingchuan, it would be inexcusable for them not to come.
But for various reasons, they did not dare to come, putting them in an extremely difficult position.
Just as Zhou Tong had said, the Xue Estate holding a funeral was like digging a pit for these people.
Would they jump or not?
Time slowly passed.
The sun slowly moved.
The hour had arrived.
The Xue Estate was still deserted. No one had come.
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