Chapter 97: The Autumn Rain Academy Bloodbath
Just then, a figure stirred slightly. The young deputy general leaped onto the wall, raised a hand to stop him, and said in a low voice, “That’s enough. If someone really dies, it won’t end well for anyone when it’s traced back. That guy was huge—do you really think no one remembers him?”
Tang Thirty-Six spread his hands and tossed the stone shard back beside the plum bushes inside the courtyard wall. “Thanks,” he said.
If not for this young deputy general and the Imperial Guard today, he naturally wouldn’t have let the National Academy and Chen Changsheng continue to be humiliated. But no matter what, he couldn’t have handled it as satisfyingly as this, without worrying about any aftermath.
The young deputy general’s expression was wooden. “No need for thanks. I just hope you remember what you said.”
Tang Thirty-Six’s expression shifted slightly. “I said a lot of things today.”
The young deputy general patted his shoulder and said earnestly, “That remark of yours mentioned my sister and insulted my family. You’ll have to give an account for that, won’t you?”
Tang Thirty-Six didn’t hesitate. “I’m focused on cultivating and breaking through realms. I’ve decided not to think about matters between men and women until I’m fifty.”
The young deputy general’s face changed color, and he roared in fury, “To hell with that! What about my sister then?”
Tang Thirty-Six smiled ingratiatingly. “Isn’t my grandmother your grandmother too? That doesn’t seem right, does it, cousin?”
The front of the National Academy was now empty, leaving only scattered stones, a few traces of blood, and several plum branches. They must have been mixed in with the stones when Chen Changsheng had hurriedly moved them earlier, sending them all to the top of the wall.
Watching the Imperial Guard forming up in the alley to leave, he said, “So that’s how it is.”
Tang Thirty-Six sighed helplessly. “You don’t know—my cousin is terrifying.”
Just then, Xue Xingchuan walked out of the tavern, mounted his Red Cloud Qilin, and prepared to depart. Judging by his expression, he was fairly satisfied with the outcome.
As the second-ranked divine general on the continent, Xue Xingchuan was extremely strict with his subordinates. There was no way he didn’t know the background of an important officer like the young deputy general, including his family ties with Tang Thirty-Six. Yet he still let the deputy general handle the matter, making his stance clear.
The alley emptied. Xuan Yuan Po had slipped back at some point. The three youths thanked Jin Yulu and walked back into the National Academy.
Chen Changsheng was puzzled. “Why did Divine General Xue help the National Academy?”
Tang Thirty-Six said, “Gathering so many people to cause trouble in such a short time—though your ability to attract hatred is strong, someone must have stirred them up.”
Chen Changsheng asked, “Who could it be?”
Tang Thirty-Six said, “Who else could it be?”
Even Xuan Yuan Po knew: it had to be the Tianhai family, who had tried to crush the National Academy that morning but failed.
Chen Changsheng grew even more confused. “Divine General Xue must be one of the people Her Holiness the Saintess trusts most, or he wouldn’t be in charge of the Imperial Guard.”
“I told you before, Her Holiness the Saintess and the Tianhai family are not the same thing.”
“Why?”
“To put it simply, she’s a daughter-in-law of the Chen family. Her surname may be Tianhai, but her son’s surname is Chen, her grandson’s surname is Chen, and for a thousand generations, her descendants will bear the surname Chen. Legend has it that His Holiness the Pope once told Her Holiness the Saintess that he had never heard of a nephew visiting his aunt’s grave.”
“But the rumors say Her Holiness the Saintess has no blood…”
“Shut up.” Tang Thirty-Six looked straight ahead and said, “Some things can’t be said. Don’t say them.”
Chen Changsheng thought it over, then stopped dwelling on it. “Thank you,” he said.
He was thanking him for what had happened earlier.
Tang Thirty-Six said, “You’re welcome.”
Apart from the two or three people in the National Academy and the demon race, who leaned toward them because of Luoluo, no one on the entire continent wanted to see Xu Yourong marry Chen Changsheng. Many ministers had also expressed their concerns and opposition. Their opinions naturally weren’t driven by envy or jealousy, but by the broader strategy against the demon race and the trend of north-south unification—from the founding emperor to the current ruling Saintess, north-south unification and true human unity had always been the most important and top-priority national policy of the Great Zhou.
At today’s court session, fierce arguments erupted over Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong’s engagement. The ministers leaning toward the old imperial family were pleased to see it, but faced with the national righteousness wielded by the new faction, they had to retreat step by step. In the end, the court reached a consensus: the engagement should be reconsidered.
—Of course, their opinions didn’t really matter, because the engagement was a private family matter. No matter how powerful these ministers were, they couldn’t interfere; they could only express their stance. As long as His Holiness the Pope’s seal remained on the marriage contract and Her Holiness the Saintess sat silently behind the beaded curtain, no one could annul the marriage.
Soon after, the bloodbath in front of the National Academy spread throughout the capital. Some professors slammed their desks in fury, some ministers sneered and accused Xue Xingchuan of unfair handling, and even commoners began to demonstrate, gathering before the Ecclesiastical Office and demanding that His Eminence the Bishop expel Chen Changsheng from the academy and drive him out of the capital.
For a time, everyone in the capital focused on the Ecclesiastical Office. People were eager to see how His Eminence the Bishop, who always seemed half-asleep, would handle such a thorny situation, with the intentions of Her Holiness the Saintess and His Holiness the Pope so hard to fathom.
To everyone’s surprise, the Bishop didn’t bother with the attitudes of Her Holiness or His Holiness. He didn’t drag things out as people expected. Instead, he used the simplest and most brutal method to disperse the crowd in front of the Ecclesiastical Office.
The Bishop directly ordered the Church guards to charge on horseback. Dust rose before the Ecclesiastical Office, screams rang out endlessly. No one knew how many were left with broken bones or bleeding, scattering in all directions—just like the scene in front of the National Academy, only bloodier and more terrifying.
Everyone watching the commotion at the Ecclesiastical Office was stunned into silence. Only then did they realize how tough the Bishop really was. Some saw more in this incident—without consulting the Pope, he could mobilize so many Church guards. The Bishop was far more powerful than people imagined.
According to later statistics, in the two consecutive bloodbaths in front of the National Academy and the Ecclesiastical Office, three people died, over three hundred were injured, and more than seventy were seriously wounded. Compared to the casualty numbers, the scenes were even more brutal and bloody, with far-reaching—or rather, dire—consequences.
That day, an autumn rain fell. So in later records, this incident was called the Autumn Rain Academy Bloodbath.
Behind this Autumn Rain Academy Bloodbath, many saw the faint shadow of the Tianhai family.
In the western part of the capital, there was a secluded manor. That was the Tianhai family’s main residence.
A middle-aged man sat on a bamboo chair by the forest, looking toward the direction of the Ecclesiastical Office. “See,” he said, “some old folks just couldn’t hold back anymore.”
Xu Shiji stood at his side, frowning slightly, lost in thought.
(Rare—finished so early today. I really hope I can keep this up.)