Chapter 673: A Friend
"What opportunity?"
"To abandon those pointless, illusory obsessions, to give no one a reason to kill you, so you can remain at the National Teaching Academy, stay in the capital, and help His Majesty. That is the opportunity."
"I don't understand."
"That night, the Demon Empress was right. Those princes are no pushovers, and the Tianhai family won't stay docile forever. Whether His Majesty can firmly sit on the throne has always been a question."
"Don't you trust the teacher?"
"Principal Shang's loyalty needs no proof, but I wouldn't mind if His Majesty received more help."
Chen Changsheng roughly understood what Old Eunuch Lin meant.
Perhaps this really was an opportunity for him and the National Teaching Academy, but he said nothing.
Old Eunuch Lin said, "Accept the decree. Hand over Tianhai's remains, show the world your stance, and stay by His Majesty's side."
Chen Changsheng was silent for a long time before asking, "Why should I do this?"
Old Eunuch Lin replied, "Because His Majesty needs your help."
Chen Changsheng fell silent even longer, then said, "Why should I help him?"
Old Eunuch Lin's expression gradually turned cold. "Only thus can you live up to the bond of schoolmates and the duty of lord and subject."
"The bond of schoolmates... of course, that exists."
Chen Changsheng stood up, his right hand resting on the windowsill. He gazed at the increasingly desolate autumn scenery outside, speaking somewhat woodenly. "But what exactly is the duty of lord and subject?"
Old Eunuch Lin stared at him sharply. "As a subject of the Great Zhou, do you dare not consider yourself a vassal?"
"Even if I were willing to be a vassal, has my senior brother ever wanted to be a monarch?"
He shook his head and continued, "Besides, my senior brother only knows how to govern people—he doesn't know how to govern a nation."
Old Eunuch Lin thought he understood something. His voice turned exceptionally cold as he looked at Chen Changsheng. "The Demon Empress is not your mother. You are merely a pawn. You'd better wake up. Don't think that just because she saved you on the summit of the Mausoleum of Books, she holds deep affection for you, or that you should guard her tomb and fulfill filial piety."
Chen Changsheng said, "On a chessboard, the pieces are divided into black and red. If I were Her Majesty's pawn, how could I become your pawn?"
The whole world knew he was a pawn—or a fruit—painstakingly cultivated by the anti-Tianhai faction for many years.
Although Tianhai Holy Empress hadn't killed him or devoured him, this fruit of his had ultimately succeeded in delivering poison into her body.
This was probably what they called fate, or perhaps the Heavenly Dao—elusive and unconquerable to this day.
Since he was his master's pawn, he naturally wasn't the Holy Empress's pawn, so there was no need to overthink it.
This was something he had only figured out after three days.
"So you think she was a good person, and you're saddened by her departure, so you refuse to accept the decree? Or do you think too many people died in the capital these past three days, violating your principles? Don't forget, she was never a virtuous or benevolent woman. If she had won this time, even more people would have died in the capital."
Old Eunuch Lin spoke with a stern expression.
"The Holy Empress was certainly not a good person. When she saved me on the summit of the Mausoleum of Books, it was only because she wanted to save me at that moment."
Chen Changsheng's gaze shifted upward from the window, landing on the faintly visible mountain tombs in the distance. After a quiet moment, he continued, "I won't deceive myself into thinking that represented mother-son affection or any great kindness... but in the end, she saved me, and at that moment, I could feel that her goodwill was genuine."
As he spoke these words, he was both calm and desolate—two emotions rarely seen together in a young person.
After a long time, he withdrew his gaze and looked down, saying, "You should know very well that I won't trust anyone anymore."
Anyone who had experienced what he had would no longer have any trust in this world.
"You can trust me, as many others do." Old Eunuch Lin looked at his back and said.
Back in Xining Town, Chen Changsheng naturally hadn't heard the legends about this old eunuch, but after arriving in the capital, no matter how reclusive he was, he had heard the stories about this man.
In the eyes of the world, Old Eunuch Lin was the most loyal and righteous hero, the most faithful and unmatched patriot, the most honorable gentleman who could not be wronged.
Back when Emperor Taizong couldn't decide on an heir and the imperial palace was fraught with danger, as the milk brother of the late emperor, he resolutely castrated himself and entered the palace as a eunuch to protect the late emperor's safety. Later, when the late emperor fell gravely ill and the Holy Empress ruled the court, he endured humiliation for the sake of the Great Zhou dynasty and the common people, living in the palace until the late emperor's death before leaving.
Old Eunuch Lin had done many such things. His life was a legend, nearly perfect.
Today, he had come to the National Teaching Academy with the imperial decree. He wanted to win over Chen Changsheng for the Great Zhou, for the common people, for His Majesty.
To win over Chen Changsheng, Old Eunuch Lin's first task was to convince him that there were things in this world worth trusting and fighting for.
Such as the eternal continuation of the Great Zhou dynasty, the bright future of humanity, the supreme glory of the Chen imperial clan, and His Majesty's throne.
The room was very quiet.
"I don't trust you."
Without any consideration or hesitation, Chen Changsheng's answer was direct and firm.
Concepts like righteousness and loyalty seemed to have no effect on him.
Old Eunuch Lin narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Because earlier, you threatened us with the lives of our loved ones."
Old Eunuch Lin replied expressionlessly, "I used the lives of their loved ones to open the gates of the National Teaching Academy. There was no slaughter, no death. Isn't that the best outcome?"
Chen Changsheng asked, "So the process and means don't matter, as long as the goal is achieved?"
"Yes, as long as you don't forget your original intention in the process."
Old Eunuch Lin said with a proud expression. "I have proven with my entire life that I have done so."
Chen Changsheng said nothing more and asked, "If I insist on not accepting the decree, what will happen?"
"Before I left the palace, Principal Shang told me that this academy is too small. If it were destroyed, rebuilding it shouldn't be too much trouble."
Old Eunuch Lin's voice became somewhat ethereal, like celestial music or the weeping of ghosts from the underworld.
"So, this is the original intention?"
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry. A friend of mine has left."
Old Eunuch Lin said, "Even if that friend of yours were here, what could he change?"
Chen Changsheng shook his head. "He couldn't change anything, of course. It's just that I'm not good with words. If he were here, he might be able to explain things clearly for me."
Old Eunuch Lin asked, "If that friend of yours were here, what would he say?"
Chen Changsheng was silent for a long time, imagining what that guy might say if he encountered this situation.
After a moment, he turned around and looked into Old Eunuch Lin's eyes.
"Over the years, the Chen princes have acted tyrannically in the provinces, oppressing the people. Did you ever say anything?"
"The Holy Empress used villains like Zhou Tong and Cheng Jun—she was certainly not a good person. Now you're using Zhou Tong too, and you'll even promote him. So what kind of good people are you?"
"That year, to satisfy your delusional thrill of martyrdom, you castrated yourself and entered the palace. Did you ever think about how your parents felt? How His Majesty felt?"
Old Eunuch Lin's expression turned fierce. He shouted, "His Majesty and I—"
Before he could finish, Chen Changsheng continued, "His Majesty regards you as a brother, but you insist on acting as a vassal or servant, making His Majesty even more lonely and heartbroken. Where is the bond of friendship?"
Old Eunuch Lin was furious. "We are lord and subject, so naturally—"
Chen Changsheng still didn't let him finish. Calmly and firmly, he went on.
"Regardless of how you view your relationship with the late emperor, it will never be the same as my relationship with my senior brother."
"Senior brother certainly doesn't want to be a monarch, so naturally I cannot call myself a vassal."
"Besides, I am the future Pope, not a subject."
...
...
Old Eunuch Lin was so angry he laughed, sneering at him. "You still think you're the future Pope? How ridiculous."
"If that friend of mine were still here, he would definitely say... 'That's not something you're qualified to ask. Who do you think you are?'"
Chen Changsheng's voice remained calm, without any trace of mockery, like a mechanical repetition or imitation.
Including when he mentioned "qualified" and "who do you think you are."
He was learning the way that friend spoke.
This way of speaking, combined with his utterly opposite calmness, had an unimaginable lethality.
Just as that friend had said three years ago at the Plum Garden Inn.
Old Eunuch Lin's breathing grew heavier.
Now in this world, there were too many people holding their breath. Outside the National Teaching Academy, the heavy-armored cavalry prepared to charge, and the warhorses, clad in heavy armor, also breathed heavily.
The next moment, perhaps because he had passed the peak of his anger, Old Eunuch Lin grew much calmer.
He looked at Chen Changsheng expressionlessly. "I value you because of your position in the national religion and the slight reputation you've earned over these three years, not because of who you are. Do you think that with just you kids, you can reverse the tide of the world and withstand the raging waves of the Heavenly Dao? No. Many innocent people will die because of your foolish decisions."
Chen Changsheng said, "And the blood of those innocents won't stain your hands. You'll always remain clean, won't you?"
Old Eunuch Lin said proudly, "That's because I have righteousness on my side."
Chen Changsheng remembered three years ago at the Ivy Banquet, when people demanded that Xu Yourong marry Qiushan Jun and that he dissolve his engagement, all in the name of righteousness.
He said, "I was wrong."
Old Eunuch Lin said coldly, "It's too late to realize your mistake."
Chen Changsheng shook his head. "I mean, if that friend of mine were here, he wouldn't have said as much as I just did."
Old Eunuch Lin raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
Chen Changsheng said, "He would probably only say four words."
Old Eunuch Lin's pupils contracted. "What four words?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Go fuck yourself."