Chapter 4: The Radiant Prince
The person who arrived was the Prince of Chenliu, the only representative of the Chen imperial clan in the capital, and also the only younger generation that Her Holiness the Saintess could accept.
The Prince of Chenliu had always enjoyed an excellent reputation in the capital. He was considered gentle as jade yet full of boldness. In the past, this young commandery prince had once ignored public opinion and twice helped Chen Changsheng and the National Academy. Chen Changsheng had a very good impression of him, but for some reason, Tang Thirty-Six disliked him intensely.
The Prince of Chenliu performed a junior's salute to His Eminence the Bishop, then looked at Chen Changsheng and said with a smile, "Do you think this meeting came too early?"
Melissa did not pay attention to the hidden meaning in these words and said directly, "The State Church wants to ask Her Holiness to clarify her stance as soon as possible. The people of the Tianhai family naturally won't agree. Tianhai Shengxue is a wise man, but not everyone in his family shares his wisdom. Even if they do, it will be shattered by the throne that seems within reach. After all, not everyone can resist that kind of temptation."
The Prince of Chenliu said solemnly, "As a member of the Chen imperial clan, I and my brothers among the commanderies shall act with upright intent and straight conduct."
Both of these remarks were directed at Chen Changsheng.
"The State Church has always stood behind the imperial clan, ever since the time of the founding emperor," Melissa continued. "It is still the same now. But because of Zhuang Huanyu's death, the Heavenly Dao Academy may have some issues. Among the six chief bishops, two have not yet come around, because His Holiness the Pope turned too quickly."
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, if that's the case, then what about the bloody incident at the National Academy more than a decade ago? Why had His Holiness the Pope supported Her Holiness the Saintess for so many years? He understood that this was an analysis of the current situation for his benefit, but he still didn't understand what he could do, or what was the point of the Bishop arranging for him to meet the Prince of Chenliu.
Melissa's next sentence revealed the answer, but it was also a new riddle—for both Chen Changsheng and the Prince of Chenliu who heard it.
"Please, Your Highness, remember in the future what Chen Changsheng once sacrificed."
Upon hearing this, the Prince of Chenliu fell into thought but gained nothing from it.
Chen Changsheng gained nothing from his thoughts, so he thought of other things and asked, "What about Zhexiu?"
His Holiness the Pope had said Zhexiu would be released soon, but he was still very anxious—Zhexiu was still in the great prison, and that was the Zhou Prison.
He couldn't imagine what terrible torments that young wolf tribe boy had suffered during these days.
Melissa said, "If the imperial court still doesn't release him, in a few days, I will personally make a trip."
The Prince of Chenliu looked at him apologetically and said, "The day after Zhexiu was imprisoned, I sent my name card over... but as you know, my words as a prince don't carry much weight in front of Lord Zhou Tong."
Standing among the row of maple trees full of spring vitality, Chen Changsheng looked toward the direction of the infamous Zhou Prison, then toward the direction of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, and finally toward the Imperial Palace and the Papal Palace, and sighed.
He was not an ordinary youth, but he was still a youth after all. Some things in this world were too complicated and too heavy for him, hard to bear, even making it difficult for him to breathe. Compared to the capital, he felt that the storms of Xunyang City were more refreshing and direct. He would rather stand with that iron blade and simply do things, even if those things were not simple at all.
Under the humble gazes of the priests, he left the Ecclesiastical Office. Instead of returning to the National Academy, he went to the market to buy a lot of food, then went to Beixin Bridge. Taking advantage of a flash of the setting sun, his figure turned illusory, and he jumped into that dry well.
In the underground space, the bone-chilling cold still pervaded, but the Black Dragon was asleep. Its mountain-like massive body lay quietly on the ground, and that iron chain was still rusted into the stone wall.
Chen Changsheng took out the meat, wrapped in lotus leaves, and arranged them in front of the Black Dragon. Finally, he untied the Ruyi from his waist and placed it on the ground.
The Black Dragon's separated soul was still sleeping within the Ruyi, and it was unknown when it would wake up.
After doing all this, he thought for a moment, wrote some words on the frost-covered ground, and then left.
Coming out of the pond, drenched all over, he changed into the prepared dry clothes. In the imperial palace courtyard, he saw the Black Sheep again. He smiled broadly, bent his knees, crouched down, hugged it, and showed affection, completely ignoring the Black Sheep's slightly raised head and reluctant expression.
A gust of wind rose, the chill still present, but it was driven back dozens of feet away. The lotus leaves on the frost regained their fresh green, and the fresh meat once again emitted warmth.
Tianhai Saintess stood with her hands behind her back, looking down at the line of words Chen Changsheng had just left on the frost, a mocking smile curling at the corner of her lips.
She didn't even glance at it. With a slight movement of her divine sense, that jade Ruyi returned to her waist.
The Black Dragon's separated soul then awakened, transforming into a clear, cold intent, and through the red mole between its brows, returned to the dragon body. The dragon's eyes slowly opened, snow and ice fell rustling, and the mountain-like dragon body shrank at an unimaginable speed, finally turning into that little girl in black clothes. Only the coldness between her brows had been greatly diluted by that cinnabar mole.
"See? Men are all fickle and heartless," Tianhai Saintess said to her with a mocking tone.
The black-clad girl saw those words, was silent for a moment, then said, "He didn't know when I would wake up. He had things to do, so naturally he left first. Besides, he doesn't even know I'm a girl..."
"You are a female dragon," Tianhai Saintess said calmly. "What meaning would it have to let him know that fact?"
The black-clad girl was very angry, and the murderous aura between her brows greatly increased. The temperature in the underground space dropped sharply.
Tianhai Saintess didn't mind. The area dozens of feet around her remained warm as spring, and the ground at her feet even sprouted tiny specks of green.
Above the well, the world was already early summer. At dusk, there was a hint of summer heat. The ice shop in the distance was doing good business, but this place was very quiet, because many guards were scattered around, and also because of the two terrifying snow mastiffs under the tree on the grass. Mo Yu held a rope in her hand, waiting quietly.
When Her Holiness the Saintess's figure reappeared, she immediately walked over and said, "Earlier, the Prince of Chenliu also went to the Ecclesiastical Office."
The Saintess glanced at her and asked, "What do you want to say?"
Mo Yu said, "I can't understand. Even if Chen Changsheng is Ji Daoren's student, how is he worth such attention from the State Church? Could this... be some kind of smokescreen?"
This lack of understanding was a question she, as a minister and advisor, had to raise immediately. But perhaps she herself didn't realize that this would also make Her Holiness less wary of Chen Changsheng.
The Saintess said, "The people of the State Church love to be mysterious. Why bother with them?"
After saying this, she walked toward the imperial city. The two snow mastiffs silently left the tree and followed behind her.
Looking at Her Holiness's back, Mo Yu smiled bitterly, thinking to herself, if it really wasn't worth bothering with, then why did Her Holiness follow as soon as Chen Changsheng came to see the Black Dragon?
Her lack of understanding was because she didn't know about the agreement between the Saintess and the Black Dragon, nor about the existence of that jade Ruyi.
Returning to the imperial palace, looking at the pond before her, thinking that Chen Changsheng must have come out from here earlier, the Saintess recalled another night even earlier—the scene of Chen Changsheng emerging from the pond for the first time. That young man, disregarding the danger of being deep in the palace, had rushed over when he saw a flowerpot knocked over by a startled squirrel about to hit a woman.
A mocking smile once again appeared on the Saintess's face, but it felt more like an elder teasing a junior.
With a slight movement of her divine sense, the jade Ruyi left her sash on its own and floated above the pond. The pond water stirred violently, as if boiling, producing a lot of mist.
A beam of light shot out from the jade Ruyi, landing on the water mist. The images gradually became clear—they were scenes seen by the Black Dragon after it followed Chen Changsheng out of the capital. Later, when its soul slept within the Ruyi, and the Ruyi was tied to Chen Changsheng's waist or wrist, it also recorded the images.
Watching those images, the Saintess grew quieter and quieter. Her smile did not disappear, but the mocking quality diminished, leaving behind a certain interest.
The images flipped rapidly, turning into flowing light, countless times faster than normal time. Only a sage like her could see them clearly.
When the golden phoenix wings illuminated the night sky and the image of the white-clad girl severely injured appeared, the Saintess's brows lifted, expressing concern for the first time.
Xu Yourong was her most beloved junior. Although she had disguised herself, how could it fool her eyes?
In the following images, Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng met but did not recognize each other. She smiled without speaking, probably finding it very amusing.
Finally, she saw on the images the never-setting sun at the edge of the grasslands, the frenzy of the demonic beasts, Xu Yourong's refusal to leave, Chen Changsheng's refusal to abandon her, and that person's tomb.
The smile on her face gradually faded. She stood quietly, watching the Zhou Mausoleum in the images, silent.
No one knew how long passed. The images dimmed, and everything vanished.
She gently waved her hand, making the images return to the place where Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng first met, which was also where the misunderstanding began.
That place was the reed island by the lake. The two met but did not recognize each other.
The Ruyi could not record Xu Yourong's inner thoughts, but the Saintess knew very well what she was thinking at that time, and why from then on she never connected the unconscious guy with Chen Changsheng, the other party in the marriage contract. No matter who looked at him, Chen Changsheng didn't seem like a fifteen-year-old youth. He was too calm and steady, even in unconsciousness. At that time, Xu Yourong took one look at him and felt he was around twenty years old. So how could he possibly be Chen Changsheng?
The Saintess stood by the pond for a long time, lost in thought.
Suddenly, she looked at Xu Yourong in the image and said, "So you also thought he didn't seem like a fifteen-year-old youth."
The night wind brushed the grass. A eunuch chief had somehow arrived outside the hall.
She asked, "How is it?"
The eunuch chief reported in a low voice, "The case has no new leads. Lord Zhou Tong found nothing in Xining Town... but that mad Lord Hu from the Imperial Observatory still insists... that the Radiant Prince is not dead."
He had followed Her Holiness the Saintess for centuries and had experienced countless major events, yet when mentioning the words of that mad Lord Hu, his voice still trembled uncontrollably.
The Saintess looked at the place in the night sky where a certain star should have been, and for a long time, she did not speak.
(The chapter title was decided together with the leadership. Slightly commendable.)