Chapter 1148: Listening to Falling Blossoms While Sending a Sword
Chen Changsheng had already bid farewell to his senior brother, and before leaving, he naturally had to come see her.
Back then, Mo Yu had been one of the most famous beauties in the capital, and now she was even more radiant and stunning, truly captivating.
He knew she wasn't deliberately trying to seduce him; it was just that it was far too hot here, and even the cooling formation in the hall seemed useless.
"This place is too small."
He said, looking around.
This was a specially partitioned room behind the main hall. Compared to the architectural standards of the imperial palace, it was indeed very small and not well-ventilated.
"Back then, before Her Majesty ruled from behind the curtain, she studied state affairs with the late Emperor for over twenty years, and she always sat in here to listen in."
Mo Yu said with a hint of mockery: "When His Majesty first entered the palace, the Daoist sat here during court sessions. Now I sit here. Do I even have the right to complain?"
Chen Changsheng smiled wryly and said, "Then there's really nothing to say."
Mo Yu raised an eyebrow and said, "Do you all think I'm very ambitious?"
For a time, Chen Changsheng had indeed thought she was very ambitious—not when the Saintess was still alive, but ten years ago.
She had always kept in touch with him. When His Majesty summoned her back to the capital, her letters showed hesitation, but only later did he realize she had already made up her mind.
But after she insisted on marrying the Prince of Louyang, Chen Changsheng began to feel that his judgment of her might not be correct.
If she were truly ambitious, she would have married someone more powerful. She could even have married the Emperor himself and become the new Empress.
"That depends on what you mean by ambition," Chen Changsheng said.
Mo Yu said, "If ambition means power, I admit I have a strong desire for it. But I only need enough power to ensure I have the right to weigh in on state affairs."
This was a bit convoluted. Chen Changsheng thought it over before understanding and asked curiously, "Why do you enjoy handling government affairs so much?"
"Because I am a female official trained by Her Majesty."
Mo Yu looked at him and said, "You Rong and I were both taught by Her Majesty. I enjoy and am capable of handling political affairs, while she is better at slaughtering in all directions."
Chen Changsheng thought of many scenes over the years and could only silently agree with that statement.
Mo Yu said, "Of course, she is more like Her Majesty than I am. Probably because she is better at killing."
More than a decade ago, in a palace not far from here, the Heavenly Sea Saintess had told her and Xu Yourong that killing was the true path.
Mo Yu knew she couldn't do it. Perhaps it was because she had seen too many bloody scenes of her clansmen being killed when she was a child.
That year on Taiping Road, she had used her sword to slash Zhou Tong until he was drenched in blood, as if she had used up all the killing intent in her body.
Chen Changsheng didn't want to continue this topic and asked, "You've been married for so many years. Is he still that afraid of you?"
He was referring to the Prince of Louyang.
Mo Yu's willow-leaf eyebrows lifted slightly as she said, "That's respect and love, not fear. Do you think everyone is like you?"
Chen Changsheng hadn't expected to get caught in the crossfire and felt a bit awkward.
Mo Yu let him off the hook and said, "He spends all day at home learning to cook now. He just learned the seventeenth way to pickle radishes and looks very happy."
Chen Changsheng saw that she also looked very happy, and he was glad too, but he also felt... some rather complicated emotions.
He glanced at the hair at her temples, looked away, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked, "Have you been sleeping well lately?"
Mo Yu's expression brightened as she said, "Very well, you know? Fat people are cool all over. It's so comfortable to hug them."
...
...
On the way to the front lines, every time Chen Changsheng thought about what had happened in the palace that day, he couldn't help but laugh at himself in self-mockery.
Such scenes appeared too often, making An Hua nervous. Fu Xinzhi and Chen Fugui, who had now become instructors at the National Academy, were also uneasy.
Chen Changsheng hadn't brought many priests from the palace; instead, he brought many students from the various Green Vine Academies.
He was traveling under the pretext of an inspection tour, while the students from the Green Vine Academies were there for frontline internships.
Not long after entering Tianliang Commandery, before reaching Xunyang City, Chen Changsheng took An Hua and left the group early.
Records from various regional temples were constantly delivered to his hands. He also saw the real situation among the people with his own eyes, saw the wounded soldiers, and then saw the grasslands.
Before entering the real battlefield, he once again recalled the last words Mo Yu had said in the palace.
"The people of the capital haven't had meat for two months. This year, only three ships of cotton have arrived in Luling Prefecture. If you lose at the front, then this winter there will be countless refugees, and you'll see countless frozen corpses on the road. This is a national war. If we fight with the full strength of the nation, we must win. Otherwise, if we lose, the nation will fall."
Yes, this was a national war. Both sides would inevitably invest all their strength and spare no expense to achieve final victory.
But there were some things Chen Changsheng still couldn't figure out. He had discussed them with Gou Hanshi many times, but they hadn't reached a convincing conclusion.
Whether in the first or second phase of the war, the methods used by the demon race were too violent. Even for a national war, they seemed excessive.
Logically, no one would choose a scorched-earth approach at the very beginning of a war. Even if the demon race was relatively weaker, why were they so lacking in confidence? And this approach had no chance of changing humanity's resolve. So, besides making the demon race lose faster, what other meaning did it have?
...
...
Those within the situation find it hard to see the whole picture, even the Demon Lord or the Demon Marshal.
Outsiders, due to their perspective, can more easily see certain problems. For example, the sense of wrongness that Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi felt had long been noticed by Shang Xingzhou.
A group was traveling from Hanshan to Lishan, stopping for one night in Luoyang.
The next morning, Shang Xingzhou left Luoyang. No one knew about this. He only brought a small Daoist priest who looked like he was carved from ice and jade.
The old temple in Xining Town had become a key protected site for the government over a decade ago, but what soldier could stop him?
He took the little Daoist into the old temple, was silent for a while in front of the long-vacated room, told the little Daoist to continue reciting the Western Canon under the tree, and then left the temple to arrive at the stream.
The stream water was still as clear as it had been back then. Falling blossoms drifted with the current, becoming even more vivid as they passed before him.
A monk appeared by the stream.
He still looked as he had over a decade ago, with a handsome face and an ageless appearance, wearing a black monk's robe covered in cracks and dust.
Shang Xingzhou said to him, "Your Highness, I want to know some things."
This monk was the son of the Prince of Chu. By seniority, he was Yu Ren's uncle on his father's side. If he were still at court, he would naturally be a prince.
If the Hundred Herb Garden Incident hadn't happened back then, he might have become the emperor now.
Of course, Shang Xingzhou would never admit that.
The monk said, "Please speak."
Shang Xingzhou said, "What exactly does the Holy Light Continent want to do?"
The monk remained silent.
Shang Xingzhou said calmly, "In the end, you are one of us."
The compassion in the monk's eyes turned entirely into desolation as he said, "Just a wandering son with no home to return to."
Shang Xingzhou suddenly said, "The Heavenly Sea severely wounded your soul, preventing you from returning. Thinking back now, it may not have been a bad thing."
This statement was clearly suspicious of some conspiracy between him and the Holy Light Continent.
The monk said, "Imperial ambitions and grand schemes all end in emptiness."
Shang Xingzhou said, "We must still consider future generations. No matter what, in the end, it is the bloodline of the Chen clan."
The monk was silent for a long time before saying, "Is this your promise?"
"If I die, my students will bring you back."
Shang Xingzhou thought of something, was silent for a moment, and then said, "If they refuse, I will have this student bring you back."
The monk looked at the little Daoist under the big tree, showed a satisfied expression, and said, "What do you want me to do?"
Shang Xingzhou said, "I want you to help me send a message and an object across."
The monk said, "The Holy Light Continent is too far away. That will take a long time."
Shang Xingzhou said, "Just a casual move."
The monk said, "What message?"
Shang Xingzhou said, "Tell Su Li that something has happened."
The monk said, "I really don't know what will happen on the Holy Light Continent."
Shang Xingzhou said, "I don't know what will happen either, but I think he should know that something is happening here."
The monk was silent for a moment, then said, "The object?"
Shang Xingzhou handed over a sword.
The sword was wrapped very well in cloth, with a ring cast from molten bronze in the middle.
The monk took the sword, his fingers holding the bronze ring, careful not to touch any other part of the sword.
"A fine sword."
The monk's gaze fell on the bronze ring as he said with emotion, "Such a treasure, and you melted it to send a sword across the void. Truly extravagant."
The Sky Covering Sword was, of course, a fine sword.
The bronze was a fragment of the Heavenly Mirror.
(Sanqi Chinese)