Chapter 841: Autumn Mountain, Ah…
Old Master Tang gazed at him quietly for a very long time, as if looking at a strange rock that was impossible to find anything beautiful about.
Autumn Mountain smiled and said, "Is this request very strange?"
Old Master Tang replied, "It is indeed very strange, because the one standing outside the gate is Chen Changsheng, not Xu Yourong."
Autumn Mountain said, "I think Chen Changsheng's request makes a lot of sense."
Old Master Tang asked, "Why?"
Autumn Mountain chuckled and said, "Your second son poisoned your eldest son."
Old Master Tang sneered, "And you know this?"
Autumn Mountain said, "I didn't see it, and my junior sister didn't see it either, but he is Chen Changsheng, Shang Xingzhou's student. If I don't believe him, who else would I believe?"
Old Master Tang's eyes were still narrowed, his gaze as deep as the ancient well in the courtyard, growing colder with the falling snow.
The voice that came from between his lips was equally cold, enough to make one's hair stand on end.
"Even if it's true, so what? Emperor Taizong killed all his own brothers and still forged a prosperous era, becoming a wise ruler for the ages."
Old Master Tang said expressionlessly, "Even if my second son poisoned me to death, as long as the family legacy remains intact, he'd still be a good one."
Hearing this, Autumn Mountain gradually withdrew his smile and stared quietly into Old Master Tang's eyes.
"But your second son colluded with the demons."
From the moment he entered the Tang family's old residence and began speaking with Old Master Tang, Autumn Mountain's tone had always seemed casual and natural, like a well-behaved and adorable junior.
Many of his sentences ended with the sound "ah."
Disrespectful ah.
Making a fool of myself ah.
Pretty good ah.
Makes sense ah.
The young men and women of Jiangnan had a pleasant accent when they spoke, full of lilting sounds.
But when he spoke this sentence, he still ended it with "ah," yet the feeling was completely different this time.
The wind and snow in the north were too fierce; to pass a military order far, one had to shout loudly for comrades to hear.
Run ah!
Charge ah!
Kill ah!
Come save someone ah!
Autumn Mountain didn't speak this sentence—he shouted it.
"Your second son colluded with the demons ah."
His expression was very serious, his will very firm, his voice like steel and iron, bright and clear, able to pierce through the wind and snow, letting both living and dead comrades hear.
No matter how fierce today's wind and snow were, they could not drown out his voice. Everyone around the old residence heard it.
It was believed that before long, the entire Wenshui City would hear it, and then the entire continent would hear it.
...
...
The old residence was eerily quiet, deathly still, the falling snow also silent.
Old Master Tang narrowed his eyes, looking at Autumn Mountain, silent for a long time, then suddenly said, "Does it feel good?"
Autumn Mountain had already calmed down and said, "Not a bad feeling."
Old Master Tang said, "Was it necessary to go this far?"
Autumn Mountain replied, "Some things, if you don't find a way to shout them out, might never be heard by anyone."
Old Master Tang said, "Do you think the entire world must believe your words?"
Autumn Mountain said, "I spent twenty years guarding my reputation. Thinking back now, it might have been just so that the world would believe me once."
Old Master Tang said nothing.
When it came to the word "reputation," no one could match Autumn Mountain.
Many things and many people over the years had long proven this.
On Li Mountain, neither Su Li nor the sect leader had as much sway as he did.
In the Tiannan region, even Wang Po couldn't inspire as much trust as Autumn Mountain, because Wang Po was, after all, from Tianliang County.
Autumn Mountain said, "Back then, the grand-uncle master had no money, so this yellow paper umbrella stayed in Wenshui. Later, after that incident, you promised the grand-uncle master that whenever you saw this umbrella, you would grant him one request. Chen Changsheng doesn't know about this, but I do."
Old Master Tang's gaze fell on the old umbrella in his hand.
"This umbrella is still somewhat different from the one back then."
"Yes, it's missing something."
Autumn Mountain reached out and drew a sword from the scabbard at his waist.
This sword was as clear as autumn water, clearly extraordinary.
Seeing this sword, Old Master Tang's pupils contracted slightly. Even for a figure of his stature, it was somewhat surprising.
"He actually didn't take this sword away?"
"The grand-uncle master left the sword to me and the umbrella to Chen Changsheng. Now that both of us have come, it's as if he himself has come."
Autumn Mountain inserted the sword into the handle of the old umbrella.
There was no sound, as if the sword had always been part of the umbrella.
Seeing the umbrella was like seeing the man.
...
...
When Chen Changsheng re-entered the old residence, he found that Luobu had already left, but the umbrella was still there.
Looking at the old umbrella, he was silent for a moment, thinking that indeed, it was better than Su Li's predecessor—he hadn't taken the umbrella away.
"You want one hour in Wenshui City. I'll give it to you."
Old Master Tang looked at him expressionlessly and said, "But you cannot use the State Church's people; you can only use the Tang family's people."
Because of that agreement from years past, he had granted Chen Changsheng's request, but it was clear he would never allow the State Church's priests to search through the courtyards of the Tang family's various branches, nor would he permit the State Church's cavalry to charge recklessly through Wenshui City. This was the Tang family's bottom line.
The problem was that neither Chen Changsheng nor any other big figure in the State Church understood the specific circumstances of the Tang family's branches. Even if, under Old Master Tang's orders, the Tang family's forces nominally obeyed their commands, how could they ensure that the Tang family's people were truly willing to put in the effort?
In short, using the Tang family to investigate the Tang family's affairs—no matter how you looked at it, it was absurd, even laughable.
But Old Master Tang would absolutely not make any further concessions.
Chen Changsheng said, "You don't need to give me that one hour in Wenshui City."
Old Master Tang said, "Then who should I give it to?"
Chen Changsheng said, "I have a friend."
Old Master Tang's eyes narrowed.
Chen Changsheng looked at him and said, "You once gave him twenty years. Now you won't even give him one hour?"
...
...
The Tang family's ancestral hall was old, as old as the old residence, even older than the imperial palace in the capital.
Whether it was the white walls, repainted every three years, or the black eaves, meticulously repaired every seven years, no matter how new they looked, they could not completely hide the ancient, weathered aura seeping from between the brick joints and eaves.
Many memorial tablets were placed in the ancestral hall, many incense candles were lit on the altar, and there was a cushion in front.
That cushion was also very old.
Perhaps because of the environment, the young man sitting on the cushion also had an added sense of weariness on his face.
The stubble on his face was uneven, looking messy; his hair was even messier, and his clothes were somewhat dirty. He could be described as disheveled and unkempt.
His eyes had once been very bright, even sharp and piercing, but now they had completely returned to lifelessness.
His lips were still as thin, but the former sharpness and forthrightness had all returned to silence.
After being locked in here, he hadn't spoken a single word for half a year.
In the empty and quiet ancestral hall, his figure was so lonely.