Chapter 125: Mother and Son (Part 2)
"Zhou Tong is a dog, a servant."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress looked at him with an indifferent expression. "And you are my son. Even if you are about to die, even if you are about to die by my hand, even if you only have one more day to live, as long as you live, you are a thousand times, ten thousand times more important than him. If you don't even have that understanding, what right do you have to be my son?"
Chen Changsheng remembered that in the carriage, Prince Chen Liu had said almost exactly the same thing. He didn't feel any particular emotion about it, only that the words were somewhat strange, not matching his understanding of this world. Since you are cold-bloodedly determined to kill me, why should you care whether I am worthy of being your son?
He didn't know what to say, so he fell silent again.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress reached out and touched his face.
Two years ago, such a scene had happened before. He had resisted it, had only barely gotten used to it. Now, he felt nauseated. Who was that doting, pitying gaze meant for? Why did this affectionate caress appear? Was it hypocrisy or self-spiritual comfort? Or did you just want to use this to calm your Dao heart, ensuring that after killing your own son, your state of mind would remain unaffected?
Chen Changsheng felt as if a venomous snake was slowly crawling across his face. That extreme feeling of disgust made his body tremble uncontrollably.
He couldn't endure it any longer. He wanted to pull away, but his body couldn't make any move. He wanted to take out the letter left by Su Li from his bosom, but he couldn't even move his fingertips.
"You want to kill me?" The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress looked into his eyes and asked.
For some reason, even though she sensed Chen Changsheng's intent, she wasn't angered by it. Instead, a hint of a smile appeared in her star-like eyes.
It was a smile of approval, as if she was gratified that Chen Changsheng had conceived such a treasonous thought toward his own mother.
Chen Changsheng only wanted to leave; he had no such intention. Seeing her gaze, he knew she had misunderstood something, but he didn't understand why she reacted this way after the misunderstanding.
"The cycle of heaven, the principles of ethics—they are all false. Mother killing son, father killing son—these things have happened countless times in this world. I also very much want to kill you, so I don't find it wrong that you want to kill me. On the contrary, the fact that you can disregard those hypocritical, boring moral laws and develop the intent to kill me shows that you truly are worthy of being my son."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress said to him.
Chen Changsheng looked at her seriously and asked, "You... truly want to kill me?"
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress said, "I told you, those are all false. Since that's the case, why can't I kill you?"
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then asked, "Then what is truly real?"
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress looked toward the Imperial Palace and was quiet for a long time.
She was currently in the Hundred Herbs Garden.
The Imperial Palace and the Hundred Herbs Garden were places where she had lived for countless years.
Many years ago, in the Imperial Palace, she saw a dragon horse that was difficult to tame. Emperor Taizong asked everyone how to make the dragon horse obedient.
She volunteered to step forward, and then... she was banished to the Hundred Herbs Garden.
She would never forget the look in Emperor Taizong's eyes at that time—filled with contempt and disgust.
In the Hundred Herbs Garden, she endured a bitter life that no one could imagine, and her clan suffered even more during those days. Just as she thought she would sink into despair, the late Emperor did not forget her and secretly came here. Then she understood one thing: if Emperor Taizong held such contempt and disgust for her... it meant that she must possess something that made him uneasy. What was it? Power, the potential for great power, the rare true phoenix bloodline, the faint omen revealed by the Heavenly Dao?
If anyone in this world had a deeper understanding of the Heavenly Dao, it was probably her. But even she sometimes felt a sense of weariness. Yes, not confusion, not bewilderment, but weariness. Because to reach the other shore, to enter the true realm of freedom, required an excessively long span of time.
She looked at Chen Changsheng, about to say something, when she noticed his face had turned pale, and an unnatural redness appeared at the corners of his eyes—his injuries had finally erupted at this moment. The blood, containing his divine soul, or holy light, or life force, burst through his already riddled meridians, seeping and flowing among his organs. The holy light on the surface of his body could no longer fully conceal that scent. In the early autumn night forest, the chirping of countless insects suddenly erupted.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress watched him quietly, appearing exceptionally cold.
"Such a rich life aura, it does smell good. I was right not to be mistaken."
This referred to the conclusion she had drawn earlier after extracting a wisp of aura from Chen Changsheng's body.
"So those remnants from back then really did go to the Holy Light Continent. No wonder, with Emperor Taizong's abilities, he spent two hundred years and never found them."
Chen Changsheng was in extreme pain at this moment, as if tens of thousands of small knives were scraping his bones, but hearing these words, his attention was still diverted somewhat.
He knew who she was referring to.
The so-called remnants referred to the part of the Chen Imperial Clan that had fled the capital after the Hundred Herbs Garden Incident. That part of the Chen Imperial Clan included either the Crown Prince's family or clan members close to the Crown Prince, naturally including the family of Chen Xuanba. According to the Daoist Canon records, this part of the Chen Imperial Clan numbered no less than a thousand, all highly talented and gifted.
The Heavenly Mechanism Elder said his body contained countless holy lights, which must be related to the Holy Light Continent. His senior brother said he was found by a stream, and that stream flowed from the Cloud Tomb. Xu Yourong once said that the solitary peak in the Cloud Tomb might be the path to the Holy Light Continent...
Combining this information, the original appearance of this matter gradually emerged.
He was indeed the hope, or the means, for the Chen Imperial Clan to reclaim the throne.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress felt the increasingly strong scent in the autumn forest, and her brow furrowed deeper. The bright star at the deepest part of her pupils trembled slightly, and the light grew somewhat dim. At the same time, her face showed emotions like coldness and disgust—not entirely opposite, but emotions that shouldn't appear simultaneously.
The next moment, she closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, those emotions had vanished without a trace, leaving only calm and indifference.
She lightly flicked her sleeve, and an indescribable pressure instantly enveloped the entire autumn forest. Several beams of clear light scattered from her sleeve and fell upon Chen Changsheng.
That aura, enough to make all living beings in the world infatuated, desirous, even mad, was temporarily sealed off by these beams of clear light.
The insects in the Hundred Herbs Garden, which had been frantically chirping, gradually stopped, somewhat bewildered. The autumn forest returned to silence.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress looked at Chen Changsheng's expression and said with a hint of mockery, "Now do you realize you've been used by others?"
Chen Changsheng was silent for a long time. With difficulty, he raised his right hand, trembling from the pain, holding the empty teacup, and said, "I have never seen those people."
The "those people" he referred to were naturally the remnants hidden behind the night, the descendants of the Chen Imperial Clan who had left this continent many years ago.
"Some people don't need to be seen to know how despicable, vile, and shameless they are, because their bloodline stinks."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress clasped her hands behind her back, looking toward the distant east under the night sky, and said without emotion, "Father killing his own son, younger brother killing his elder brother—such things have happened too many times in this family. I still remember when Emperor Taizong was on the throne, Crown Prince Chengqian was executed. Prince Wei of Wei entered the palace to see Emperor Taizong. As soon as they met, he threw himself into Emperor Taizong's arms, crying out, 'From today on, I am truly Your Majesty's son. I have a son. When I die, I will surely kill him for Your Majesty and pass the throne to the Prince of Jin, whom you favor.'"
At this point, she turned to look at Chen Changsheng and said, "Hearing this, what do you think?"
Chen Changsheng's body was still trembling, from pain and also from emotion. He said, "I think... it's very disgusting and very cold."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress smiled faintly and said, "At that time, everyone who heard those words felt the same as you. However... our Emperor Taizong didn't seem to think so. He felt gratified and even said, 'Who doesn't love their own son? Seeing Prince Wei like this, I feel great pity for him.'"
Chen Changsheng thought, Emperor Taizong was called a wise ruler through the ages. How could he be deceived by such childish and absurd words?
"Emperor Taizong certainly wasn't deceived. He just truly admired Prince Wei's shamelessness—having just killed his own elder brother, he couldn't wait to burrow into his father's arms to suckle. That's not something just anyone can do. They say a son resembles his father. Emperor Taizong had done the same thing back then. How could he have the face to criticize Prince Wei?"
When the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress mentioned Emperor Taizong, her words became somewhat harsh, even crude.
Chen Changsheng looked up at her and said, "Why are you telling me this? Earlier, when you thought I wanted to kill you, you felt gratified. Is it the same principle?"
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress said, "I just want to tell you that the Chen Imperial Clan, whether Emperor Taizong's line or those remnants, are all hypocritical and disgusting things."
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, "My body also flows with the blood of the Chen clan. So I must also be hypocritical and disgusting?"
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress said, "You can understand my meaning that way."
Chen Changsheng looked into her eyes and said, "In the end, you just want to kill me. You're just finding reasons or excuses for it."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress looked at him with a hint of sarcasm and said, "When I want to kill someone, when have I ever needed reasons or excuses?"
Chen Changsheng said, "But I am different."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress raised an eyebrow and said, "Where is your difference?"
Chen Changsheng said, "I am your son, after all. If you, like Emperor Taizong, care about how future history books will write about you, then you have to offer some explanation."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress said, "As a woman sitting on the throne, I never harbored any illusions about a good evaluation from future generations. Do I look like someone who cares about gossip?"
Chen Changsheng thought of her ruthless methods in handling state affairs after ascending the throne, and indeed, that was true. But there were still other issues to resolve.
He said, "Everyone must explain their choices. Even if you don't care what the world thinks, you still have to convince yourself."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress looked at him quietly and said, "Perhaps that's true."
Chen Changsheng said, "Since you've said your piece, what are you waiting for? Kill me, or eat me, complete the reversal of fate, fulfill all the karmic ties, and help you reign for eternity."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress said, "That makes sense. You were originally a piece of flesh that fell from my belly. For me to eat you back into my belly is truly a matter of natural justice."
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(To avoid disturbing everyone's reading, I've held back from chatting with you all. But let me say this now: I'm writing with great care, even if the quantity isn't much. Actually, I've been stockpiling drafts for the terrifying October schedule. There might be a... book signing in early October. Yes, the kind I swore I'd never do... the legendary... book signing.)