Chapter 23: What a Fine Pair
Xu Yourong quietly gazed at the Divine Path for a very long time.
The wind and snow came and went in bursts, but no one appeared.
The little black dragon, having somehow produced a crystal ox elbow that it was gnawing on, mumbled indistinctly, "Unless it's the very end, who would dare come to kill you?"
Xu Yourong smiled faintly, turned, and walked out of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum.
The little black dragon thrust its hand into the wind and snow, and the grease stains on it were instantly frozen into powder by the extreme cold, then blown away, leaving it perfectly clean.
It called out to Xu Yourong's retreating figure, "What exactly do you want Wang Po to do?"
Xu Yourong still didn't answer that question.
The little black dragon suddenly thought of a possibility, and its vertical pupils contracted slightly.
It chased after Xu Yourong, shouting repeatedly.
"You want him to charge the Divine Path?"
"Shang Xingzhou will definitely step in to stop him personally!"
"That would cause a huge disaster!"
……
……
The news that Mao Qiuyu had broken through to the Divine realm quickly spread across the entire continent, shaking it to its core.
The Li Palace requested a honorific title for him in the shortest possible time.
According to old customs, the next step was to arrange his domain.
Back in the day, each of the Eight Winds and Rains had their own domains. For instance, Bie Yanghong and Wu Qiongbi had the West Mausoleum's Longevity Pavilion, while the Star Gazer had the Star-Shattering Reef in the South Sea. Cao Yunping's domain was Mount Langya, which the Heavenly Sea Saintess had gifted to the Heavenly Mechanism Elder, though few knew that the price the Heavenly Mechanism Elder paid was merely to come to the capital and take a single look at Chen Changsheng.
Mao Qiuyu's choice of domain was somewhat unexpected, yet within reason.
He chose Cold Mountain.
Cold Mountain was far to the north of the continent, extremely distant from the capital, yet very close to the snowfields ruled by the demons.
More importantly, it was once the location of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.
The Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion now belonged to the Great Zhou court, but the structures around Cold Mountain's Heavenly Lake and the traces left by the Heavenly Mechanism Elder still remained.
With this choice, Mao Qiuyu made his stance clear, marking another show of strength by the Li Palace following the Pine Mountain Military Prefecture.
The Great Zhou court had no reaction, maintaining silence and raising no objections.
Shang Xingzhou was still at the Changchun Temple in Luoyang, while the Emperor remained deep within the palace, rarely leaving his hall and even more rarely seeing visitors.
That night, when Xu Yourong entered the imperial palace, it sparked countless speculations, guesses, and unease. But for now, it seemed the storm had yet to arrive.
As the world breathed a quiet sigh of relief, many were also left puzzled. Countless gazes turned toward a quiet courtyard in the capital, fixed on the orange-red lanterns there.
The wedding of Prince Louyang and Mo Yu was about to take place. Chen Changsheng would personally preside over it, and Xu Yourong, as the bride's only friend, would naturally attend as well.
……
……
This highly anticipated wedding was not held in the prince's mansion but in the Orange Grove.
From early morning, the grove was bustling with activity, the sounds of congratulations and teasing never ceasing.
Compared to the front courtyard, the rear residence was much quieter.
Linghai Zhiwang, along with dozens of bishops, stood around the snowy grove, completely isolating it from the front courtyard.
Chen Changsheng stood in a snow pavilion, listening to the commotion ahead, and shook his head. "I didn't expect they'd live here after marriage. I thought she would move to the Taiping Path."
Xu Yourong withdrew her gaze from the winter plum blossoms and said, "She doesn't want to be neighbors with those princes, and the Taiping Path left a bad impression on her."
Both the capital and Luoyang had been bitterly cold this year, but as time passed, winter was nearing its end.
The few winter plum trees outside the pavilion displayed a dazzling, almost demonic red, which might not be visible in a few more days.
Chen Changsheng looked at those plum trees, thinking of the scene three years ago when Mo Yu and Zhexiu had executed Zhou Tong by slicing on the Taiping Path, and couldn't help but sigh.
Snow and ice on the plum branches rustled down, stirred by a sudden gust of wind in the rear garden.
Amid the wind and snow, Mo Yu appeared.
Her makeup today was heavy but not vulgar—only strikingly beautiful, like those blood-red plum blossoms.
Before Chen Changsheng could offer his congratulations, a fragrant breeze swept over him.
Mo Yu embraced him.
Chen Changsheng was startled and tried to push her away, but seeing the weariness in her eyes that even heavy makeup couldn't conceal, he felt a pang of reluctance.
Mo Yu buried her face in his neck, taking a deep breath, and said, "So comforting. What a pity I'll never smell this again."
Xu Yourong raised an eyebrow slightly and turned away.
Mo Yu looked at her with mockery and said, "Out of sight, out of mind. If you're really not angry, why turn around?"
"Yourong is fine. Yourong isn't angry."
Xu Yourong gazed at the winter plum before her and said to herself.
Then she turned back, smiled radiantly at Mo Yu, and said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Mo Yu sneered at her. "Keep pretending."
No one knew Xu Yourong better than she did.
She knew how peculiar Xu Yourong's temperament was, completely different from how she appeared on the surface.
Xu Yourong shot Chen Changsheng a glare and walked out of the grove.
Chen Changsheng's arms had been held out the whole time, avoiding contact with Mo Yu's body, looking utterly innocent.
Seeing Xu Yourong leave, Mo Yu finally let go.
Now only the two of them remained under the snow pavilion.
The atmosphere was somewhat ambiguous, naturally awkward too, especially for Chen Changsheng.
Whether Mo Yu had deliberately driven Xu Yourong away, or Xu Yourong had intentionally given them a moment alone, he wasn't sure.
Suddenly, a wave of noise came from the front courtyard, and Chen Changsheng quickly said, "The prince seems to have quite good connections."
"Connections depend mainly on whether you pose a threat to others. That's why my connections have never been good."
Mo Yu said, "His brothers and even his nephews have never thought much of him. But... princes like Zhongshan and Luling are somewhat fond of him, since the Chen family only produced one oddball like him—someone truly uninterested in power and glory, without a shred of ambition, and with a laughably timid nature."
Prince Louyang's spineless character was well-known, but Chen Changsheng didn't feel it was appropriate to comment.
Mo Yu suddenly looked at him seriously and asked, "Do you know what Prince Chenliu said at the Changchun Temple?"
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng finally confirmed that she had deliberately driven Xu Yourong away earlier.
"Prince Chenliu said she's gone mad."
Mo Yu stared into his eyes. "I trust his judgment."
Chen Changsheng was taken aback. "I don't understand what you mean."
"Since she was very young, Prince Chenliu, Pingguo, and I have known her. Only we know what she's really like. She's not the ethereal saintess her followers imagine, nor the pure, icy snow maiden. She knows exactly what she wants and is utterly indifferent to this world. And you understand what that implies."
"You've said this to me before. I don't think she's the same kind of person as the Saintess."
"After everything she's done recently, can't that make you more alert?"
"Because I've never felt her indifference."
Mo Yu thought it over and had to admit, "She is indeed different with you."
Chen Changsheng said earnestly, "Then what do I have to worry about?"
Mo Yu said with slight irritation, "Today is my wedding day. Can you not show off in front of me?"
Chen Changsheng was puzzled. "What are we showing off?"
"Tang Thirty-Six was right."
Mo Yu said bitterly, "You two really are a fine pair of..."
Chen Changsheng said, "A golden boy and jade girl?"
Mo Yu sneered, "Figure it out yourself."
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(Sanqi Chinese)