Chapter 726: Sailing with the Current
The imperial edict was read, and the scene remained silent, as still as death.
People’s gazes fell upon the snowy ground, resting on Zhou Tong’s severed head and body. Their emotions were shocked and complicated to the extreme. Calling this man steeped in evil was not an overstatement. He was certainly guilty, but no one had expected the court to declare him so.
Then, people looked toward the young man and woman sitting side by side in the snow.
The Great Zhou Black Riders’ hands on their reins were stiff, unsure what to do next—charge or lower their leveled iron spears? The Secret Guards and officials from the Ministry of Justice were pale as ghosts, looking as if they had lost a parent. The assassins from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion and the strongmen of the military all turned their gazes to Xiao De, wanting to know what was happening.
Changes in the situation were always so sudden, so sudden that even those caught in the midst of it felt caught off guard.
Even Chen Changsheng and Mo Yu hadn’t reacted at first, only vaguely understanding something after the young eunuch left.
If they had known this would happen, why had they gone through all that trouble? Many people at this moment might have felt such emotions, but they did not.
“Only idiots would think that way.” Mo Yu tucked some stray strands of hair behind her ear, looking at the crowd still surrounding them with a mocking smile. “If Zhou Tong were still alive, he’d remain a high minister of the dynasty. Only because we killed him can he be flayed, his bones boiled into soup.”
“This is indeed Master’s usual way of doing things.”
Chen Changsheng felt the night’s snowy wind biting cold. Gazing toward the imperial palace, he fell silent for a moment before continuing, “When I was young, Senior Brother and I thought he was just a poor Daoist. Because he was so poor, his views on the world were rather extreme, and his actions overly stingy. Now I understand—this should be called ‘exhausting everything.’”
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Snow and wind shrouded the imperial palace. The heated floor in the side hall burned hot, warm as spring. On the low table lay some imperial decrees from past years.
“I didn’t expect your junior brother could actually kill Zhou Tong. His performance exceeded my imagination, and I am very satisfied. I am even more satisfied with the method he and Mo Yu used to kill Zhou Tong. The more brutal and unyielding their means, the more shocking this story will be, and thus remembered by more people—including Zhou Tong’s evil.”
Shang Xingzhou looked at the young emperor behind the low table and said, “Although Zhou Tong betrayed your mother and served me, no one can deny that for many years past, he was your mother’s spokesperson. So his evil is your mother’s evil. The more Chen Changsheng exposes Zhou Tong’s evil, the worse your mother’s image becomes. As the leader who wove the conspiracy and overthrew your mother’s rule, the negative evaluations on me will decrease. At the same time, the higher your junior brother’s prestige, the higher mine. No matter how you look at it, tonight’s affair benefits me—I only needed to issue that decree in time.”
Yu Ren thought of the books in the old temple at Xining Town, the fish in the stream, the beasts in the mountains, and remained silent.
Shang Xingzhou continued, “This approach might seem a bit petty, but it’s not stinginess—it’s just making the best use of everything.”
Yu Ren raised his head and gestured a few signs, asking, Was everyone in the capital being used by you from the very beginning?
“It wasn’t like that at first. Of course I wanted to protect Zhou Tong, and I did plan to do something tonight.”
Shang Xingzhou explained patiently, “But in this process, things changed, so I had to change accordingly.”
For cultivators, change was the unchanging law beneath the stars. All things in the world were constantly changing, and the situation was no different. Even within just a few hours, many changes could occur—like a river thawing in spring. If handled improperly, even the hardest iron bridge could be swept away.
Shang Xingzhou didn’t specify what those changes were.
Perhaps it was that Chen Changsheng’s cultivation level had exceeded everyone’s expectations, lasting an entire day, his swords cutting through the hard ground frozen by the winter wind, exposing Zhou Prison beneath the starlight. Perhaps it was that the Li Palace remained quiet throughout, the snow and clouds drifting in that sky like docile sheep, never meaning to cross the fence. Of course, the most likely reason was that Wang Po had broken his arm on the Luo River, broken through his realm, and killed Iron Tree.
Moreover, on the snowy Peace Avenue, the lights in the prince’s mansions went out one by one.
“Do you know why your master is called Shang Xingzhou?”
Shang Xingzhou suddenly asked.
Yu Ren knew that Shang Xingzhou was not his master’s true name; at least six hundred years ago, he was called Ji Daoren.
The appearance, or acquisition, of this name must mean something.
“Before His Majesty returned to the sea of stars, he never forgot that saying: ‘Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it.’”
Shang Xingzhou’s gaze fell somewhere in the hall, as if returning to centuries past.
Everyone on the continent knew this famous saying, and Yu Ren was no exception. He also knew that the “His Majesty” in this saying referred not to his father, but to his grandfather.
“That night, His Majesty said to me, ‘Walking in the world is like sailing a boat on the ocean. You must be cautious and careful, not go against the current, or you’ll capsize.’”
Shang Xingzhou said calmly, “Since everyone wanted Zhou Tong dead, since this was the will of the people, of course I had to comply.”
The word “comply” was very important to the three master and disciples of the old temple at Xining Town—this was the Dao they cultivated.
Only tonight did Yu Ren realize that it originated from the saying, “Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it.”
Shang Xingzhou continued, “Of course, sailing with the current doesn’t mean submission. The boat only hopes the water will be calm, with not too many waves, not too much resistance.”
Yu Ren gestured, “But in the end, the boat must still revere the existence of water.”
“The Duke of Wei said, ‘Resentment lies not in size; what is fearsome is the people. Carrying or overturning the boat—this should be deeply heeded.’ How can one not fear?” Shang Xingzhou looked into his eyes and said, “But positions are relative. Since you are the boat, you cannot overly consider the water’s feelings.”
Yu Ren gestured, “In the end, you still consider it, or else you wouldn’t have changed your mind.”
“In everyone’s eyes, I have done my best, only to be stopped by you and them.”
Shang Xingzhou’s gaze fell on his waist, where a jade pendant offered by the head of the Qiushan family hung.
“You young people are all risking your lives—you, Mo Yu, Wang Po, and even more so, your junior brother.”
“I raised your junior brother for seventeen years. How could I bear to kill him? I could only watch helplessly as he killed Zhou Tong.”
“No matter who questions me about tonight’s events, I can face them with a clear conscience.”
Yu Ren could no longer distinguish which of these words were true and which were false, but he understood.
Zhou Tong was the ugliest, filthiest stain on the new dynasty. Chen Changsheng was the deepest, hardest splinter to pull from his master’s heart.
No matter who died, his master didn’t care, as long as he didn’t have to do it himself.
Today’s several thrilling battles and pursuits in the capital might even shake the entire human world, but they had always been under his master’s control.
No matter how things changed, he would always end up the victor.
If Wang Po had been killed by Iron Tree on the Luo River, this victory might have been called perfect.
“This was not a situation I designed. I cannot control everything, after all—I am not a god, nor am I Emperor Taizong.”
Shang Xingzhou denied Yu Ren’s thoughts and said, “Today is more like a lesson. If Your Majesty wishes to become a great person like Emperor Taizong, leading humanity into an infinitely bright future, you must learn to sail with the current. No matter how much you despise those stupid, idiotic commoners who watch executions and cheer, you must still convince yourself to truly believe they are the real ocean. Learn how to lead them, how to deceive them, how to use their strength to break through the waves and move forward.”
Yu Ren couldn’t fully understand this. At this moment, he wasn’t very concerned about it either. He only cared about one thing.
He gestured, “Master, do you really not like Junior Brother?”
Shang Xingzhou thought for a moment, then smiled and said, “Yes, I don’t like him. I want him dead. Or rather, I wish he had never lived.”
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(Happy New Year!)