Chapter 490: Observing the Sword
Seeing that it was indeed Miss Mo Yu who had arrived, the new students of the National Teaching Academy were extremely nervous and excited. Those standing at the back kept tiptoeing, trying to get a clearer look at this legendary figure, while the youths at the very front of the crowd were so stunned by her peerless beauty that they dared not lift their heads, only staring at their own toes.
The students were well aware that His Holiness the Pope and Her Majesty the Holy Empress were no longer as close as in years past, and that the National Teaching Academy was the frontline of the confrontation between the two great powers. Yet they still couldn't suppress their excitement. After all, Mo Yu was the most famous beauty of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the most renowned talented woman, and a figure of immense power and influence. Even the Princess of Peace could not compare to her in the hearts of the people. Only Xu Yourong, who had gone to cultivate at the Saintess Peak many years ago, could be mentioned in the same breath.
As for the old man who had accompanied Mo Yu to the National Teaching Academy, his robes bore the emblem of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, suggesting he was likely a steward or honored elder of that organization.
But why would someone from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion come to the National Teaching Academy? And why would Miss Mo Yu accompany him?
The students' doubts found no answers, because soon Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six arrived on the scene.
Tang Thirty-Six had gone to bed rather late the previous night. He had thought that with the battles finally coming to a temporary halt, he could sleep in during the cool morning hours. Who would have guessed he'd have to get up again? Already in a bad mood, he saw the students gazing at Mo Yu as if spellbound and found it utterly embarrassing. Irritated, he snapped, "What are you staring at? Never seen a beautiful woman before?"
A beautiful woman might please the eye, but she couldn't replace the academy's rules. And the rules of the National Teaching Academy were now whatever Tang Thirty-Six said. The students, helpless, shook their heads and dispersed, though the speed at which they left was infuriatingly slow.
Chen Changsheng knew that Mo Yu's temperament was not as calm and serene as she appeared before him. The formidable Miss Mo, who managed state affairs on behalf of the Holy Empress, was renowned for her coldness and toughness. Hearing Tang Thirty-Six's casual remarks, he worried that Mo Yu might take offense and use it as a pretext to cause trouble. He turned to look, but to his surprise, Mo Yu showed no displeasure at all. Instead, she smiled faintly.
"I thought you'd be angry," he said, glancing at the old man from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion and speaking to Mo Yu in a low voice.
Mo Yu rolled her eyes at him and said, "What's there to be angry about being called a beauty? You've never called me that before."
Her voice was also very low, and he was confident that neither Tang Thirty-Six nor the old man from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion had heard their exchange.
Since she was nominally here on behalf of the imperial court to inspect the National Teaching Academy, an inspection had to be conducted. Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six accompanied her on a casual stroll around the academy, chatting idly.
"Does your second sister still like doing tin foil puzzles?" Mo Yu asked Tang Thirty-Six.
Tang Thirty-Six replied, "She stopped playing with them much when I left last year. Now she likes building wooden houses... about this big."
He gestured with his hands. "The house doesn't look very large, but to keep it stable, she needed a special table. And to fit that table, the family had to build her a whole new wing."
Mo Yu smiled and said, "That's just your family for you."
Tang Thirty-Six said, "If our house were even half the size of the imperial palace, it wouldn't be such a hassle."
Mo Yu laughed. "It's not like I've never been to Wenshui. If you connected your ancestral home with those few estates by the creek, half the imperial palace... even the imperial palace itself wouldn't be that big."
Chen Changsheng couldn't tell if there was any hidden meaning in this exchange. He was simply surprised. He hadn't noticed any interaction between Mo Yu and Tang Thirty-Six during the Ivy Banquet back then, but now he learned they were old acquaintances. Truly, power and nobility were hard to separate.
"I knew his second sister when we were children," Mo Yu said, guessing what he was thinking. She smiled and continued, "But the last time I accompanied Her Majesty to Wenshui, he was only three years old, like a little mud monkey. Who would have thought he'd turn out so impressive now?"
Even Chen Changsheng, who was somewhat slow in such matters, caught a hint of meaning this time.
Tang Thirty-Six naturally understood even more clearly, but he pretended not to.
Mo Yu was no second-generation wastrel like Bie Tianxin. She was the formidable Miss Mo, and the Holy Empress behind her was far more terrifying than Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi combined.
A scion of a noble family like Tang Thirty-Six knew exactly when to be arrogant and when to keep a low profile.
Chen Changsheng found his behavior a bit hard to get used to, because even now, he had no real concept of Mo Yu's status in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Of course, that wasn't his fault. It was just that Mo Yu never acted like herself in front of him.
When they reached the lakeside of the detached garden, the place was quiet and secluded. The walls also blocked the burning gazes of the young scholars in the distance.
Only then did Mo Yu formally introduce the man. "This is the Grand Steward of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion."
Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six bowed to the Grand Steward with the courtesy of juniors.
One was the heir to the National Church, the other the heir to the Tang family of Wenshui. But they were still young. More importantly, this man was the Grand Steward of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, not some ordinary local manager. No one dared to underestimate the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, and Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six had a very good impression of the Pavilion and the old man of the Heavenly Mechanism. They hadn't forgotten how, during the Qingyun Ranking Exchange, the old man had commented on and expressed expectations for the members of the National Teaching Academy.
The Grand Steward did not dare to be negligent either. He returned the greeting solemnly, then looked at Young Master Tang Thirty-Six and said with a smile, "I've been very pleased working with Young Master Tang recently. I hope we can continue to cooperate in the future."
This naturally referred to the business of betting on the matches when the Ivy Academy students challenged the National Teaching Academy.
Tang Thirty-Six said modestly, "Not at all, not at all. The main thing is that Chen Changsheng cooperated well."
The Grand Steward laughed heartily and turned to Chen Changsheng. "Those four swords of Dean Chen's kept the honored elders of the Pavilion talking with relish for days. They all say your sword cultivation is truly unfathomable."
Chen Changsheng was not a businessman after all, and he didn't have the thick skin of Tang Thirty-Six or this Grand Steward. He felt a bit awkward at the words.
Mo Yu glanced at him but said nothing, yet he felt her gaze carried a strong hint of mockery.
The Grand Steward's purpose for coming had been made very clear yesterday when the Church Administration Office relayed the message from the palace. Xuan Yuan Po had already sent the students out of the library in advance, clearing the space.
Chen Changsheng unfastened the short sword and handed it to the Grand Steward with both hands.
After taking the sword, the Grand Steward did not immediately draw it.
His gaze fell upon the scabbard, and he did not look away for a long time.
Chen Changsheng's heart immediately tightened with tension.
Although both his master and His Holiness the Pope had said that no one could forcibly open the scabbard, thinking of the thousands of peerless famous swords inside, the hidden wealth he hadn't even told Tang Thirty-Six about, and more importantly, the phantom of that black stone tablet, he couldn't help but feel nervous.