Chapter 16: An Academy
The old woman was extremely shocked because she knew very well that the black goat raised single-handedly by Miss Mo Yan was proud, aloof, and exceptionally fond of cleanliness—so much so that it had become a peculiar obsession, comparable only to the rare unicorns of the mortal world. Not even the wild grass by the lakeside, let alone the delicacies meticulously prepared by the noble children of the capital’s imperial families, would earn a single glance from it. Yet at this very moment, it had taken the grass from the hands of that young man it had just met and was actually eating it!
The next scene made the old woman even more astonished. After finishing those few blades of grass, the black goat did not leave. Instead, it pressed its head gently against the young man’s palm, rubbing it affectionately, looking utterly intimate and thoroughly enjoying the contact, as if it greatly relished being near him.
Why was this? The old woman furrowed her brows slightly, gripping her boxwood staff as she slowly walked toward the lakeside. Gazing at the young man crouched before the black goat, she noticed the natural, friendly aura in his ordinary features. Her heart calmed briefly, but then a strong sense of unease arose. Anyone who could make someone like her relax so completely must be treated with caution.
Chen Changsheng stood up and looked at the old woman, asking, “Grandmother, is this your goat?”
The old woman narrowed her eyes slightly and said, “Do you know who I am?”
Chen Changsheng was slightly surprised and replied, “No.”
The old woman said coldly, “Then why do you call me grandmother?”
Chen Changsheng didn’t understand. He thought, for a woman of your age, what else would I call you but grandmother? The one in the Divine General’s carriage was grandmother, the one washing dishes at the inn was grandmother, the one cooking on the boat during the journey here was grandmother. There are many grandmothers in the world—what difference could there be?
Seeing his bewildered expression, the old woman realized she had overthought things. Her wariness toward the young man was unnecessary. She couldn’t help frowning slightly, feeling even more unsettled, because she knew clearly that the vigilance she had shown in these few exchanges came entirely from her liking for the young man.
This young man was so ordinary, yet he easily made people want to get close to him. Whether it was the black goat or herself, it was the same. Why was this?
The old woman looked toward the dilapidated building, recalling the splendor of this place in years past, the bloody and eerie stories, and then the young man’s peculiarity. The unease in her heart grew stronger. Deciding not to waste any more time, she said directly, “You may call me Grandmother Ning.”
Chen Changsheng bowed respectfully and said, “Greetings, Grandmother Ning.”
Grandmother Ning said, “If you knew that I was the one who kept you from entering the Star Picking Academy, would you still think well of me?”
Early spring was still cold. The lake breeze gently blew, and the dense wild grass bent slightly, falling into silence.
Chen Changsheng straightened up and looked at the old woman, very surprised. Yesterday, Tang Thirty-Six had said at the inn that the Eastern Divine General’s Mansion couldn’t influence the Star Picking Academy; it must have been the will of some important figure in the imperial palace. According to what Grandmother Ning said… could she be that important figure?
“Carrying that marriage contract and still daring to walk around the capital, I truly don’t know if you’re foolish or bold,” Grandmother Ning said expressionlessly.
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, “Aside from the Divine General’s Mansion, no one pays me any attention.”
Grandmother Ning said, “If people knew you were the Phoenix Girl’s fiancé, countless people would come to kill you.”
Chen Changsheng said, “I’m still alive, which proves the Divine General’s Mansion wants others to know about this marriage contract even less than I do.”
Grandmother Ning glanced at him and asked, “What if the Divine General’s Mansion wants to kill you?”
Chen Changsheng was silent for a long moment before saying, “The Empress is in power; they have to consider the bigger picture.”
Grandmother Ning raised an eyebrow slightly, as if she hadn’t expected this fourteen-year-old boy to understand the real reason behind the Divine General’s Mansion’s apparent reluctance in this matter. “The longer time drags on, the greater the pressure. There will come a day when the Divine General’s Mansion is no longer willing to endure.”
“Then I’ll try to resist,” Chen Changsheng said, gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Grandmother Ning looked at the unremarkable short sword at his waist and said with slight sarcasm, “You can’t cultivate. Do you think you can rely on a short sword to fight the experts of the Eastern Divine General’s Mansion? What do you think this short sword is? A legendary divine artifact? Can it compare to Emperor Taizong’s Frost Remnant Spear? Or the Qiu Shan family’s Reverse Scale?”
Chen Changsheng said nothing.
“Even if you don’t hand over the marriage contract, you can still live,” Grandmother Ning said. “But you must not tell anyone about the marriage contract. Otherwise, even if the Demon Lord himself came, he couldn’t save your life.”
There was no threatening tone in these words, because it wasn’t a threat—just a statement of an unshakable truth: if the Demon Lord couldn’t save your life, no one in the world could, because Grandmother Ning represented the will of the Great Zhou Imperial Palace.
Chen Changsheng had to admit that, though the lack of choice was somewhat unpleasant, what Grandmother Ning said was good for him. He just didn’t understand why, when he took the exam for the Star Picking Academy two days ago, she had coldly crushed his future, yet now she had changed her mind.
“Someone wants you to live, to be undisturbed, but my young lady dislikes seeing so-called variables. So she didn’t want you to have a future or any possibilities. Originally, this was quite a troublesome matter…”
Grandmother Ning looked at the cold, dilapidated buildings of the National Academy and suddenly smiled, saying, “I didn’t expect you to jump into this dry well yourself, which has solved my problem.”
Chen Changsheng was completely absorbed by the latter part of this speech, so he missed the first six words.
Future? Possibilities? Dry well? Trouble?
He suddenly felt a strong sense of unease. Based on Grandmother Ning’s reasoning, walking into the National Academy might have been a grave mistake.
Without hesitation, he said, “I haven’t decided to enter the National Academy yet.”
Grandmother Ning looked at him and said, “You must enter the National Academy.”
“Why?”
“You walked here yourself, so this is your own choice.”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“Sorry, I’m not Madam Xu.”
Grandmother Ning looked at him expressionlessly and said, “I don’t mind killing you.”
Chen Changsheng was silent for a long time. He knew he couldn’t refuse, but he was still somewhat dissatisfied.
“I haven’t taken the exam yet, and I don’t even have an admission notice.”
“The National Academy has no dean, not even teachers, so naturally there are no exams. But it can still enroll students.”
Grandmother Ning took a thin piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to him, saying, “This is a letter of recommendation personally written by His Holiness the Pope. It allows you to enter any academy.”
Before Chen Changsheng could say anything, she said expressionlessly, “But you can only enter the National Academy.”
Chen Changsheng took the paper, looking at the scrawled signature on it and the extremely intricate, magnificent seal stamped over it, not knowing what to say.
He hadn’t expected to have the chance to see the Pope’s handwriting in his lifetime. He supposed he should be excited, but the current situation made it impossible. Judging by the color and density of the signature and seal ink, it hadn’t been signed recently. The academy name on the recommendation letter, however, had just been filled in, likely in Grandmother Ning’s own handwriting.
“One: Don’t tell anyone about the marriage contract. Two: You will live. Three: No one will block your future anymore.”
Grandmother Ning looked at him expressionlessly and said, “Deal.”
Having said this, she turned and walked out of the National Academy. The deep wild grass by the lakeside couldn’t even snag the hem of her plain-colored skirt.
Given her status, personally coming to talk to a fourteen-year-old boy was truly astonishing and extremely dull.
Everything she had said earlier was true. If a person died, what did the marriage contract matter? Although she thought the young man was decent, how many decent young men died in the capital every year? If not for the letter last night, he might have died today. If he was smart, he should guess who had let him live and know what to do.
For everyone, this was the best choice. Only for him, perhaps it wasn’t. But who cared?
Thinking this, Grandmother Ning walked farther and farther away.
The black goat followed her, but before entering the corridor wall, it turned back to look at Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng stood by the lake, holding the paper in his hand, silent for a long time.
Even now, he still didn’t know who Grandmother Ning was, but he had been forced into a transaction.
He didn’t know the truth behind this transaction, but he vaguely understood that if he accepted it, it would benefit everyone. He understood even better than others that, in their eyes, this choice could only be disadvantageous to him. But in truth, the benefit he wanted had already been obtained the moment he took that paper.
So he wasn’t angry, just a little bitter.
His purpose in coming to the capital had never been the marriage contract, nor that woman named Xu Yourong. He had no connection to names like the Divine General’s Mansion or the Imperial Palace, which had once seemed as distant as the heavens. He didn’t want to be connected to them either. He only wanted to study, cultivate, then take the Grand Examination and get first place.
Before the Grand Examination was the preparatory exam, held next month. He couldn’t cultivate, hadn’t even succeeded in marrow cleansing, so he definitely couldn’t pass. Without the qualification to take the Grand Examination, how could he get first place? To do that, he had to get into any one of the six academies on the list.
Those six academies were the oldest and best in the capital, their gates covered in many ivy vines, so they were often called the Six Ivy Academies. Only students from the Six Ivy Academies were exempt from the preparatory exam and could directly take the Grand Examination.
Now, he had finally become a student of one of the Six Ivy Academies. It seemed his wish had been fulfilled, but… the ivy vines at the gate of this academy were a bit too abundant.
This was the path his master and senior brother had designed for him before he left Xining Town.
But clearly, they hadn’t expected that the National Academy, which had written so many magnificent chapters in history, had fallen into such disrepair.
Chen Changsheng stood by the lake, looking at the academy that was still cold and gloomy as a graveyard even under the bright sunlight, and couldn’t help doubting his own future.
After a long time, he woke up in the spring breeze. He performed five extremely deep and long breaths, expelling the last traces of discomfort and bitterness from his chest and abdomen. He folded the thin paper and put it into his bosom, then followed the faint old path visible among the wild grass by the lake, walking deeper into the academy.