Chapter 685: Principles
Madam Xue was a woman of great breeding and propriety. Even though her husband's remains still lay discarded in the wilderness beyond the official road, and she was enduring boundless grief and humiliation, she did not lose her composure. Looking at this unfamiliar young man, she asked softly, "May I ask what business you have?"
Chen Changsheng stepped out from the crowd and came before her. Naturally, he had business—precisely the thing the court was now forbidding: retrieving Xue Xingchuan's body for burial.
Hearing his answer, Madam Xue was somewhat startled, then deeply moved. Yet she shook her head with a sorrowful smile.
In recent days, the capital had seemed utterly silent, but in truth, voices of dissent had arisen. However, those people—like the soldiers from the Cong Province Military Prefecture who now lay here—had been brutally suppressed.
She did not want this young man to suffer the same fate.
Before Chen Changsheng could say anything, a cold, harsh voice cut him off.
The speaker was Tian Haisheng, a Secretary of the Ministry of Justice.
He watched this young man ignore the gleaming blades and step out from the crowd, heard the ensuing conversation, and found it both ridiculous and infuriating.
He did not know who this young man was. Seeing the scholarly academy robes, he assumed this was another of those hot-headed students from the Ivy Academy Six, like the ones from two days ago.
"Some of your schoolmates have been thrown into Zhou Prison, others have received dozens of lashes and are now confined to their respective academies," he barked. "I never thought anyone would still dare to cause trouble. Are you blind?"
On both sides of the official road at this moment were cavalry from the City Gate Command and constables from the Ministry of Justice—a dark, oppressive mass of at least several hundred men.
The soldiers from the Cong Province Military Prefecture, in terms of skill, were hardly weak. But against such a formation, they couldn't stir up any trouble at all before being gravely wounded and knocked to the ground.
If an ordinary student from the Ivy Academy Six saw such a scene and still stepped forward, that would indeed be excessively hot-blooded, even reckless.
To an official like Tian Haisheng, such a student was naturally blind.
Chen Changsheng hadn't heard words like these in a very long time—not since that spring when he entered the National Academy.
Whether it was Her Holiness the Empress or the head of the Tianhai clan, or even the Demon Lord he encountered on the Cold Mountain, they might ignore him, but they wouldn't be so contemptuous. After all, his status and position were no longer what they once were.
He didn't react immediately, which made him seem somewhat dull. To Tian Haisheng, this came across as stubbornness.
Tian Haisheng disliked stubborn people, because he himself had never been stubborn in his life. So his anger grew. With a flick of his wrist—
Crack!
The whip in his hand cut through the autumn wind, lashing toward Chen Changsheng's face.
He was furious and held nothing back. Judging by the force, if the blow landed, it would leave a deep, bloody gash across Chen Changsheng's face.
And he didn't intend to stop at one lash. He was determined to whip this young student until he cried, until he rolled on the ground begging for mercy.
Seeing this, gasps erupted from the crowd. Madam Xue's face turned deathly pale. She tried to pull Chen Changsheng away, but couldn't budge him.
To the onlookers, Chen Changsheng seemed frozen with fear, just staring at the whip. What good would that do?
Suddenly, the sharp crack of the whip ceased.
A crossbow bolt, from somewhere unknown, had shot directly through the whip in Tian Haisheng's hand!
Tian Haisheng stared at the half-length whip remaining in his grip, speechless with shock. He looked into the distance.
At that moment, another crossbow bolt pierced his left eye socket. Blood spurted out!
A miserable shriek tore from his throat.
On both sides of the road outside the city gate, panicked cries erupted from the crowd. The sound of running footsteps created utter chaos.
In front of the crowd, Tian Haisheng clutched his injured eye, his face pale with pain, his body trembling. He waved the half-whip wildly, like a madman.
Chen Changsheng supported Madam Xue's arm and stepped back two paces.
The chaos didn't last long.
The deputy general of the City Gate Command barked several orders, commanding the Ministry of Justice constables to risk danger and advance. They pried the whip from Tian Haisheng's hand and prepared to treat his wound. Meanwhile, soldiers from the City Gate Command surrounded the area. Neither the curious onlookers nor the gravely wounded soldiers from the Cong Province Military Prefecture were allowed to leave.
Cavalrymen also rode out into the surrounding fields, trying to find the crossbowman as quickly as possible.
Chen Changsheng and Madam Xue stood on the official road, the space around them empty, with no one else.
The deputy general of the City Gate Command, mounted on his horse, looked at Chen Changsheng. He seemed about to say something but ultimately said nothing.
Chen Changsheng glanced at him, knowing the man must have recognized his identity.
But just now, Chen Changsheng had only looked at Tian Haisheng's whip, and the whip had snapped. Then Tian Haisheng's eye had been shot out by a crossbow bolt.
To people's perception, he was either a demon or an immortal.
The City Gate Command soldiers naturally thought he was a demon. When they saw him look at their commanding officer, they became intensely tense. Countless blades were drawn, iron spears leveled and ready to thrust.
The deputy general's expression was grim. He raised his hand, signaling everyone not to move.
Su Moyu finally squeezed out from the crowd. Seeing this scene, she breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "Fortunately, you didn't act rashly."
The deputy general said, "He didn't recognize Dean Chen, and he said Dean Chen was blind. So it was he who was blind. Losing his eye serves him right."
Chen Changsheng was certainly famous, but not many people had actually seen him up close—even in the capital.
But this deputy general was a subordinate of Xu Shiji, so he naturally paid close attention to Chen Changsheng and the National Academy. That was how he recognized him.
He said to Chen Changsheng, "But I must warn you: if you insist on doing this, it really will..."
Chen Changsheng asked, "Will I also be accused of treason?"
The deputy general's expression grew even more sour. He thought, even the Prince of Xiang wouldn't dare pin such a charge on the future Pope.
"This matter, this humble officer cannot decide."
...
...
The City Gate Command was responsible for the capital's security, a very important post. The one who could make decisions here was naturally a deeply experienced, high-ranking figure trusted by the court.
For example, Xu Shiji, the Divine General of the Imperial Guard, once trusted by Her Holiness Tianhai the Empress and now highly valued by the Prince of Xiang.
The crowd had been driven far away. After learning Chen Changsheng's identity, Madam Xue, somewhat dazed, was helped aside by Su Moyu to rest. Very few people remained on the official road.
This was because Xu Shiji didn't want too many people to hear his conversation with Chen Changsheng.
Three years had passed, and the relationship between him and Chen Changsheng had changed greatly.
He could no longer act as an uncle by acquaintance, nor could he use his authority as a divine general to suppress the other. If Chen Changsheng insisted, he might even have to bow to him.
For Xu Shiji, this was unacceptable.
"This is an imperial decree. Even you cannot defy it," he said sternly to Chen Changsheng. Then his tone softened slightly as he continued, "Besides, are you really that familiar with Xue Xingchuan?"
Today's matter might seem trivial, but in truth, it was a major affair for the new dynasty to establish its authority.
Xu Shiji knew he was in trouble. He didn't understand why Chen Changsheng always came looking for trouble with him. Could it be that he still harbored resentment over what happened back then and was determined to make him lose face?
He didn't want to end up in that situation, so he forcibly suppressed his anger and tried to persuade Chen Changsheng with gentle words.
In Xu Shiji's mind, and in the minds of many others, Chen Changsheng wasn't close to Xue Xingchuan. In fact, they had once been on opposing sides, vaguely hostile. Why go through all this trouble?
"I'm not familiar with Xue Xingchuan," Chen Changsheng said, looking at him. "But I heard you're quite familiar with him?"
Xu Shiji's expression turned very ugly.
Xue Xingchuan and he were both military heavyweights trusted by Her Holiness Tianhai the Empress. The former was entrusted with the Imperial Guard, while he led the City Gate Command.
Of course, he was very familiar with Xue Xingchuan. They weren't just colleagues; they had been comrades-in-arms, kindred spirits, friends.
If Chen Changsheng wasn't familiar with Xue Xingchuan and had no obligation or responsibility to collect his remains, then what about him?
Chen Changsheng hadn't thought that far. He was just speaking according to what was in his heart, and it left Xu Shiji with nothing to say.
After a long silence, Xu Shiji took a deep breath and said, "This is an imperial decree."
Chen Changsheng said, "But it's not reasonable."
Xu Shiji barked coldly, "An imperial decree is the greatest reason under heaven and earth!"
Chen Changsheng shook his head and said, "When you're hungry, you eat. When you're tired, you sleep. When you're sick, you take medicine. When a person dies, they should be buried. Those are the greatest reasons."