Chapter 688: Digging a Pit
Zhou Tong looked at the middle-aged man before him and smiled, a smile that was deep, unfathomably deep: "Are these Lady Xue's exact words?"
The middle-aged man's expression was somewhat unsettled, and he said, "My wife is quick-tempered, but I don't think she would lie out of spite."
"I thank the Vice Minister for coming to tell me this."
Zhou Tong's attitude was very sincere, his gaze very gentle.
But after Minister of Rites Wei left, his eyes quickly turned cold.
The events of that night were only a few days ago; as one of the parties involved, he naturally wouldn't forget.
Nor would his loyal subordinates forget.
To be precise, the beginning of that night was the flash of a blade in the Begonia Courtyard; he had nearly died at Chen Changsheng's hands.
If not for that blade, the subsequent development of the situation might not have changed much, but the role he played in this matter would likely be very different from now.
Xue Xingchuan was his only friend in the world.
Xue Xingchuan was the only person in the world who trusted him.
So, he poisoned him to death.
That day in the palace, he received treatment with Holy Light Technique, and with Shang Xingzhou personally taking action, his injuries had nearly healed.
He would hold an even higher position in the new dynasty, with greater power, more unshakable than ever.
To announce and prove this to the entire world, Xue Xingchuan's corpse was thrown outside the official road, not allowed to be buried.
As a result, Chen Changsheng collected Xue Xingchuan's body for burial, Lady Xue refused to leave the capital, the child called Jin Ge was to be brought back, and the Xue Mansion... was even going to hold a memorial ceremony!
Zhou Tong naturally understood what these things meant; they were slaps in his face.
That begonia tree had been reduced to splinters, the courtyard was in ruins, the above-ground buildings of the Qingli Division had all been destroyed, only the underground prison was still relatively intact.
Standing amidst the ruins, Zhou Tong looked at the pale clouds in the sky, silent, not knowing what he was thinking.
A subordinate, seeing his somewhat lonely expression, tentatively asked, "Sir..."
"My face has always been thick; otherwise, I wouldn't have survived until today."
Zhou Tong said calmly, "Dean Chen has already slapped my left cheek. If he's still interested, I can turn my head and let him slap my right cheek to his heart's content."
That subordinate said indignantly, "Why should he?"
Zhou Tong withdrew his gaze from the sky and said expressionlessly, "Because he is Dean Shang's student, His Majesty's junior brother, and the Pope's chosen successor. He has the right to slap my face."
Leaving Xue Xingchuan and those several Feather Forest Army generals' corpses exposed in the wild was an imperial decree. Who would dare to defy it?
Chen Changsheng dared. And who would dare to charge him with violating Great Zhou law or defying the imperial decree?
Why? As Zhou Tong said, if the court didn't want to split with the State Church right after overthrowing Her Holiness the Empress, they had to endure it.
If the court had to endure it, then Zhou Tong, being just a member of the court—even if a high-ranking official—had no choice.
That subordinate said angrily, "Then how long do we have to endure?"
Zhou Tong was silent for a moment, then said, "Even Her Holiness died, so everyone will die."
He wasn't talking about Chen Changsheng, but about His Holiness the Pope, who had admitted before the Mausoleum of Books that he was old and would soon die.
On the day His Holiness the Pope returns to the sea of stars, Chen Changsheng might indeed become the next Pope. But whether it was the court, Shang Xingzhou, or the collective consciousness of the State Church, they would not allow him to continue acting like a young man, even though he was still very young. This was the principle: to wear the divine crown, one must bear its weight.
Zhou Tong only needed to endure this period.
"Slapping the face isn't the same as killing someone."
There were many people in this world who wanted Zhou Tong dead.
Now, many ministers of the new dynasty, including several princes like Prince Zhongshan, wished they could eat his flesh raw, but they could do nothing.
Chen Changsheng could use many methods to express his contempt for Zhou Tong, could take turns slapping his face, but he couldn't kill him.
As had been said many times, he represented Shang Xingzhou's promise to the entire world.
The subordinate was still uneasy and asked, "What about the memorial ceremony at the Xue Mansion?"
"A memorial ceremony? To me, it looks more like digging a pit." Zhou Tong smiled, then said to his subordinates, "Whether the courtyard can be restored to its original state isn't important. But I want a begonia tree here, exactly the same as the one before. Remember to dig the tree pit deep enough, so it will survive well."
To that small courtyard on North Bingmasi Hutong, that begonia tree was very important.
Just like he was to the current world.
Both were a kind of symbol.
...
...
Rebuilding the Zhou Prison was a very troublesome project. The Ministry of Works and the Kyoto Prefecture sent many laborers and skilled craftsmen.
The project proceeded very smoothly. In just two days, the initial shape was already visible, but time was still tight. After nightfall, the laborers were still working hard.
A tree pit was dug under the courtyard wall. The pit was dug very deep; presumably, any kind of begonia tree would grow well in it.
At the deepest part of the night, the laborers and craftsmen finally went to rest.
No one noticed a figure approach the courtyard wall and then jump into the pit.
Chi chi chi, tiny sounds like a blade cutting into tofu kept ringing out.
Countless streaks of cold light flashed from the figure's fingertips, but they were clearly not any kind of weapon.
The soil on the pit walls fell in a rustling shower, just like real tofu.
Then, the figure disappeared.
...
...
The Xue Mansion held its memorial ceremony.
The mourning hall was inside the mansion, invisible from the street. Only the white streamers could be seen. Apart from that, there was no other change.
There were no sounds of weeping or music; it was truly desolate to the extreme.
No music, because no musical troupe dared to take the Xue Mansion's job.
No weeping, because there were no guests coming to pay respects. So whether sincere or not, the people inside the mansion couldn't just keep wailing by themselves.
This was a scene many had anticipated.
Xue Xingchuan's remains were collected by Chen Changsheng.
The funeral at the Xue Mansion naturally took on a different significance.
Some even thought this was a contest between the court and the State Church, between the master and disciple Shang Xingzhou and Chen Changsheng.
This funeral could reveal the prevailing winds in Kyoto City, even the entire continent.
Those who came to pay respects to Xue Xingchuan were, in a sense, also paying respects to Her Holiness the Empress.
There were certainly people who still favored the old Tianhai dynasty, but who dared to show it?
In the desolate mourning hall, the steward looked at Lady Xue and said sorrowfully, "It seems... no one else is coming."
Not to mention the court ministers or military generals, those old friends from the past—even the Li Palace had no reaction.
Only Linghai Zhiwang and Siyuan Daoren had come to pay their respects in the early morning.
These two State Church magnates had an ordinary personal relationship with Xue Xingchuan, but everyone knew that, like Xue Xingchuan, they were the most steadfast supporters of Her Holiness Tianhai.
Lady Xue looked at the empty mansion gate and said calmly, "There are always some who want to come. Even if it's inconvenient for them, we still have to wait a while."
Yes, many people in Kyoto wanted to come and pay respects to Xue Xingchuan. Given their past friendship with him, it would be unconscionable not to come.
But for various reasons, they didn't dare to come, caught in an extreme dilemma.
As Zhou Tong said, the Xue Mansion's memorial ceremony was like a pit dug for those people.
Do you jump in or not?
Time slowly passed.
The sun slowly moved.
The appointed hour had come.
The Xue Mansion was still desolate, and no one had come yet.