Chapter 15: The Sovereign of the Sea of Light
The lamplight in the tangerine orchard was warmer than elsewhere in the capital, perhaps because every lantern was covered with tangerine peels.
Xu Yourong stood before the window, her hands clasped behind her back, gazing at the tangerine lanterns in the orchard, lost in thought.
Watching her silhouette, Mo Yu suddenly recalled the Holy Empress.
In those years, the Holy Empress had loved standing on the Sweet Dew Terrace, looking down at the capital from on high, also with her hands clasped behind her back.
Unease stirred in Mo Yu’s heart.
Would another Holy Empress appear in this world?
She asked, “Why did you want to see Prince Chenliu? What are you trying to do?”
Xu Yourong did not turn around. “Just catching up on old times.”
Mo Yu’s voice turned cold. “You had to catch up at the National Academy? And why did you kill Meichuan?”
“Given Tang Thirty-Six’s style, do you think he would have let Meichuan live?”
Xu Yourong said, “I’m not part of the National Academy, nor am I from the Divine Palace. I’m more suited to act.”
Mo Yu said, “You doing this could be seen as you caring deeply for Chen Changsheng, wanting to solve his troubles, or it could be seen as you trying to intensify the conflict between the old and new factions of the state religion, leaving him no room for reconciliation with the Dao Sovereign. The question is, what are you really thinking?”
Xu Yourong turned to face her and said calmly, “You told Chen Changsheng you were worried I wanted to avenge Her Majesty.”
Mo Yu said, “I don’t believe you can forget, even though you denied it to him.”
Xu Yourong smiled faintly. “In that case, isn’t it only right for me to act this way?”
Mo Yu said with slight irritation, “But you should understand that this will bring a lot of trouble to Chen Changsheng. The Ecclesiastical Council has no authority to demand an explanation from you, but they can demand one from him.”
Xu Yourong said, “That’s easy to resolve.”
“Yes, all it takes is the word ‘disrespect,’ because only you and Prince Chenliu were present.”
Mo Yu sneered at her. “But you know Chen Changsheng. You know his nature won’t allow him to do that. So what then? He’ll end up being forced to become the kind of person he least wants to be.”
Xu Yourong said, “He should learn to do that, if he wants to become the Pope.”
Mo Yu said, “What if he doesn’t want to be the Pope at all?”
Xu Yourong was silent for a moment, then said, “Then I’ll be the Holy Maiden.”
…
…
The events in the Divine Palace spread throughout the capital at lightning speed.
The purge of the Ecclesiastical Council was expected by many, but the speed at which it happened was still surprising.
Even more shocking was what followed—Archbishop Anlin’s fall from power.
The killing of White Rock Daoist in Wenshui City had already left many stunned and speechless, but there were hidden circumstances then, and both the court and the priests in the Divine Palace had remained silent. Tonight’s events, however, were witnessed by many.
Everyone thought Chen Changsheng’s first thunderbolt after returning to the capital had struck, and amidst their shock, they couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of awe.
Truly worthy of being the successor appointed by the previous Pope, truly worthy of being the Dao Sovereign’s student—faced with Chen Changsheng’s purge, neither the Ecclesiastical Council nor Archbishop Anlin offered any resistance. Beneath the calm surface of the situation, who knew how many unimaginable schemes lay hidden?
Just as people thought the night’s grand drama was about to end, another thunderbolt exploded in the capital’s night sky.
That was Chen Changsheng’s final words.
“This is where it ends”? What did that mean?
Did it mean his purge of the old state religion faction stopped here?
Did it mean Shang Xingzhou and the court’s probing of the Divine Palace had to end here?
Or… did it mean the position of Pope?
…
…
Rumors spread like the wind, and along with those thunderbolts, they quickly dispersed the snow clouds over the capital.
The full stars silently watched the mortal world, and the mortal world gained its own sea of stars.
Thousands of the most devout believers of the state religion left their homes, came before the Divine Palace, and knelt on the bitterly cold ground.
In their hands, they held candlelight—faint individually, but when thousands gathered together, it became extraordinarily bright.
An Hua knelt at the front, his face even paler than his sacrificial robes, tear stains faintly visible on it.
As more and more believers gathered, the candlelight grew, until it seemed to become a sea of light.
There were no cries of desperate pleading, but the atmosphere was so heavy that sobs could be heard from time to time.
…
…
After Archbishop Meichuan died at the National Academy, many discussions arose in the capital.
Those discussions naturally worked against Chen Changsheng.
But tonight, with those thunderbolts and the sea of light before the Divine Palace shaking the entire capital, public opinion shifted rapidly.
The common people had long forgotten what they said at dinner, and now turned their anger toward the Ecclesiastical Council behind the maple grove, the Prince of Peace’s mansion, and even the Imperial Palace.
These flames of fury, yet to break through the surface, stirred great vigilance and anger among the powerful figures living in those places.
They desperately wanted to know what had happened in the Divine Palace, to grasp every detail.
The informants within the Divine Palace and the several Star-Gathering Realm painters from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, now under court control, played a crucial role at this moment.
In the hall filled with holy light, Chen Changsheng stood at the highest point and spoke those words, their meaning crystal clear.
…
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“Throwing the table and walking away—who does that threaten?”
Tianhai Chengwu’s face twisted into a mocking sneer. “Does he think those common rabble can make the Dao Sovereign back down?”
…
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“This retreat to advance is a very shrewd move.”
Prince Xiang rubbed the fat on his belly, his face full of distress. “The court can’t very well tear down this memorial arch, can it?”
…
…
Chen Changsheng’s words meant different things to different people.
To the common folk, it was a sage growing disheartened by the treacherous times.
To the powerful, it was merely a tactic to counter Shang Xingzhou and the old faction.
And whether they mocked it or found it troublesome, the powerful all agreed it was a formidable move.
Only Xu Yourong and Tang Thirty-Six knew it wasn’t a tactic.
Because when Chen Changsheng said those words, he truly meant them.
…
…
Xu Yourong said, “Doing these things goes against your true nature and conflicts with your Dao. It must be hard on you.”
Chen Changsheng said, “If I’m unwilling to do these things myself, how can I bear to watch you do them for me?”
Xu Yourong said calmly, “Maybe we’re the kind of people who enjoy doing these things?”
Chen Changsheng said, “No one is born liking to kill, to vie for power, to scheme and deceive.”
Xu Yourong said indifferently, “When I was first born, I didn’t like playing mahjong either, but that was because I didn’t know how.”
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, “Will you be very disappointed in me?”
“Of course not, because only someone who doesn’t want to be Pope can be a good Pope.”
Xu Yourong said, “Just like your senior brother. He didn’t want to be emperor, so he became a good emperor.”
From outside the hall came Tang Thirty-Six’s exasperated voice.
“I’ll be going now,” she said to Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng said, “My senior brother is very easy to get along with.”
Xu Yourong said, “But I am not.”
Chen Changsheng was stunned.
Xu Yourong turned and walked out of the Divine Palace.
A moment later, she arrived before the Imperial City.
She was going to see the Emperor. (To be continued.)