Chapter 85 – Destroying the Academy (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The events of the Ivy Festival were enough for many people to ponder on for a very long time, enough for the people of the Orthodox Academy to hold their heads high for a very long time. However, in a rather short amount of time, the grave consequences incurred by these events would reach Hundred Flowers Lane, and would the great banyan tree on the lake sh.o.r.e be able to stand against those storms?
The most important matter was not the Orthodox Academy"s victory over the Mount Li Sword Sect. Those two matches had been very fair and no one could say anything about them. The problem was the matter that had caused these two matches: Chen Changsheng had taken out the marriage contract before the world, proving that he was Xu Yourong"s fiancé.
Before the southern diplomatic mission came to make the marriage proposal, they must have already reached a consensus with the Great Zhou Imperial Court. The partic.i.p.ants, Xu Yourong, and even Qiushan Jun, might not have even known, but the Divine Empress knew. The confluence of the north and south had been a top priority since the founding of the Great Zhou, and especially so after the Divine Empress took the reins of power. This engagement was meant to be the most important symbol of this major event.
But it had been broken by Chen Changsheng.
The reappearance of the Orthodox Academy before the people of the academy had already been regarded by many as an enormous disrespect, or perhaps challenge, to the Divine Empress. Perhaps at that time, the Divine Empress simply did not know about such a minor concern. Now that Chen Changsheng had broken the engagement, the Orthodox Academy was sure to enter her gaze once more.
The Divine Empress was a.s.suredly very angry, so the consequences would a.s.suredly be very grave.
This was the trouble Chen Changsheng spoke of, a very great trouble.
"Don"t look at me—no one can hold such a ma.s.sive trouble as this," Tang Thirty-Six said without hesitation.
Chen Changsheng noted, "Given your tone back in the Imperial Palace, I thought you weren"t afraid of the Tianhai clan."
Tang Thirty-Six looked into his eyes, clearly enunciating each word. "Are the Empress and the Tianhai clan the same thing?"
Chen Changsheng was somewhat confused. "Is that not the case?"
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him like he was an idiot.
He had already lost count of the number of times he had looked at Chen Changsheng like he was an idiot.
Of course, he was well aware that Chen Changsheng was not an idiot. A person that could compete with Gou Hanshi in knowledge could only be a genius, not an idiot.
But there were times when Chen Changsheng was truly very childish. He clearly knew countless obscure bits of knowledge and annotations in the Daoist Canon, yet he had no understanding of the political situation in the Imperial Court and major events of the world. Moreover, he treated this as a very proper and expected matter. He was so naively pure that he seemed very much like an idiot.
"…This is a very complex question. If a professor of the Li Palace Academy were to explain it clearly, he would have to write a very long essay."
Tang Thirty-Six continued, "You only need to know that although the Divine Empress has the surname Tianhai, she is still the ruler of the Chen Imperial Court."
Chen Changsheng couldn"t understand. After thinking about this, he said, "It truly is very complicated."
"Teacher, you don"t have to worry too much."
Luoluo explained, "I"ve met the Empress quite a few times. The Empress is a very gentle person, and also…she really won"t care about matters like this."
Tang Thirty-Six thought to himself, perhaps the Empress might not care, but if Lord Zhou Tong or some important figures of the Tianhai clan believed that the Empress cared, the Orthodox Academy would be drowned in calamity. Chen Changsheng, on the other hand, was thinking, since the Divine Empress is able to rule over the Great Zhou as a woman, how can she be a gentle person? As much of a fool as I am on this aspect, even I don"t think so. Luoluo really does have the temperament of a young girl…
Suddenly, he came to his senses. To be able to often meet the Divine Empress…that"s right, the girl sitting by their side was no ordinary girl!
The Orthodox Academy had the White Emperor"s daughter, so what troubles did they need to be afraid of?
"Even if there was ma.s.sive trouble, Princess Luoluo would be able to resist it."
Tang Thirty-Six looked at her, his eyes seeming to be ablaze.
Luoluo felt somewhat uncomfortable and shifted behind Chen Changsheng.
The most concerning matter was that the Orthodox Academy might face a storm-tossed future, and even a ma.s.sive trouble, but when they thought of Luoluo"s ident.i.ty, all these worries went away.
Countless stars twinkled in the pitch-black sky, seeming like rivers, mountains or plains. There were also some stars that seemed to connect into strokes, writing out words.
"Then what we need to consider next is the problem of the Grand Examination."
Tang Thirty-Six warned, "Tonight we"re happy, but we absolutely can"t let those southerners retrieve their dignity in the Grand Examination."
Chen Changsheng fell silent as he recalled the words Gou Hanshi had left behind. Pleasant surprises? Yes, if he partic.i.p.ated in the Grand Examination, he had to shock the world once more. If he was still unable to succeed in Purification, he would not be able to partic.i.p.ate in the martial test and the matches. Even if he got a full score on the literary test, what meaning would there be in that?
And this was not even considering the fact that his goal was first rank of the first banner.
Luoluo answered, "I have no problems."
The girl"s expression was calm, her tone casual and natural, imbued with power and self-confidence.
"Your Highness will naturally have no problems, but I do."
Tang Thirty-Six continued, "It"s still a few months from the Grand Examination. If I continue putting in all my effort, I might have a chance to beat Qi Jian even without this guy"s help, but the other members of the Divine Kingdom"s Seven Laws…I"m no match for them."
He also spoke very calmly and naturally, because this was a fact.
"This guy has the biggest problem."
He turned to Chen Changsheng and sighed, "He should clearly be a guy with astonishing talent, but because he can"t cultivate, he"s only trash in the Grand Examination. It"s too sad."
These words were filled with sorrow and anger for Chen Changsheng"s misfortune.
Chen Changsheng could not resolve this problem so he naturally could not respond.
He stood up and said, "I"m going to sleep."
"You"ve changed the topic too crudely," Tang Thirty-Six angrily replied.
Chen Changsheng defended, "I"m really going to sleep."
"On such a fine night, to celebrate our victory in the Ivy Festival, to welcome a genius into the Orthodox Academy, shouldn"t we get drunk?"
Tang Thirty-Six looked at the cup of roasted barley that gave off a slightly burnt aroma and then said, "Drink a little wine and then sleep."
"Drinking wine isn"t good for your health."
Chen Changsheng turned and walked out of the library.
Luoluo had always followed his lead, so she got up and left as well.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at Xuanyuan Po and raised the cup of roasted barley tea. "Do you know where the wine is?"
Xuanyuan Po honestly replied, "I"ve searched for quite a few days…there"s no wine here."
Tang Thirty-Six rolled his eyes slightly and prepared to ask something else.
Xuanyuan Po promptly added, "There"s no rice wine in the kitchen, or even fermented rice."
Drinking wine was not good for one"s health, fatty meat was not good for one"s health, and excessive happiness or sadness were not good for one"s health. Sleeping and rising early were good for one"s health, fish was good for one"s health, vegetables were good for one"s health, and green peppers were also good for one"s health. Chen Changsheng had always strictly acted according to what was good and not good for his health.
He had lived out many years with this sort of routine. He had only ever renounced this sort of lifestyle for a very brief amount of time.
That period was not too long ago when he was below the abandoned garden in the Imperial Palace, in front of the Black Frost Dragon. He thought that he was about to die and felt somewhat regretful that he had never indulged himself even once in his life. Consequently, he decided to indulge himself in his final moments, shouting and yelling at the Black Dragon with a face full of tears, incidentally also reviewing his life that had just begun only a few years ago.
It turned out that he didn"t die, so now he felt that his display back then had been rather embarra.s.sing. He then returned to his old habits, once more living by those standards. Of course, just how much of his refusing Tang Thirty-Six"s proposal and going to sleep had to do with wine being bad for his health, and how much it had to do with his inability to confront his problem, not even he knew.
To hide in his little house and live in his own little world? (TN: A line from the poem "Self-Ridicule" by Lu Xun.)
He lay on the bed and looked through the window as the night sky gradually turned blue, watched the gradually dimming stars and the dense forest under the starlight. He discovered that he couldn"t sleep.
He was very rarely struck with insomnia and, for a moment, he was at a loss. He didn"t know what one should do when unable to sleep. Should he open his eyes or close them? Should he occupy his mind with thoughts, or think of nothing at all and count sheep?
One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, four sheep…
On the mountainside covered in white sheep, a black goat suddenly appeared.
He recalled the Black Goat that had led him from deep in the palace to Weiyang Palace, thought of the Black Dragon that had allowed him to leave, and felt that the events of tonight had been far too strange.
He did not think of that middle-aged woman by the pool who had nearly been struck by a flower pot.
Then he thought of Qi Jian and of Gou Hanshi. There was no pride, only admiration.
He truly admired those disciples of the Mount Li Sword Sect, especially Gou Hanshi.
Gou Hanshi was well-versed in the Daoist Canon and possessed a deep level of cultivation, so why couldn"t he do it?
Just like Tang Thirty-Six said, during the Grand Examination, what could he do?
He opened his eyes.
The faint starlight fell through the window and fell upon his palm.
He flipped his palm back and forth, watching the starlight fall upon it and gradually disperse, and couldn"t help but sigh.
The song of morning birds came through the window.
This made him remember the White Crane that had returned from the south.
This caused his mind to gradually become calm and serene.
Thus, he gradually fell asleep.
In the early morning, Chen Changsheng awoke.
He looked out the window at the color of the sky and realized that it was still early, although much later than when he usually woke. However, he had slept too late last night and also had a minor bout of insomnia. As a result, he was severely lacking in sleep and was suffering an unbearable drowsiness.
He still got out of bed, not because of the iron laws of his life, but because the noise from outside his window was far too loud.
He had been roused from his sleep by this noise.
He was not at all used to this feeling of drowsiness and found it quite difficult to bear. After using cold water to wash his face and rinse his mouth, he rubbed his eyes and walked out of the house with a yawn.
Tang Thirty-Six and Xuanyuan Po had also been roused awake by the noises from beyond the gate. They had even worse appearances than he did, as they had gone to sleep even later.
"I haven"t even brushed my teeth!"
Tang Thirty-Six listened to the noise outside the academy, his expression gloomy.
"How can it be so noisy this early in the morning?"
Chen Changsheng asked in confusion.
Xuanyuan Po pondered this question, then replied, "Because we beat the Mount Li Sword Sect last night, so a lot of people came today to apply for our academy?"
Chen Changsheng was a little taken aback, thinking to himself, that might really be a possibility.
Tang Thirty-Six jeered, "You think everyone in the capital is as simple-minded as you, a naive idiot like him? Just like I said yesterday, this fellow Chen Changsheng here in one go offended the Divine Empress, the Qiushan clan, the Mount Li Sword Sect, and the Divine General of the East"s estate, and he didn"t make His Holiness the Pope happy either…a ghostly place like this, which parents would dare send their children here for lessons? That"s sending them to their deaths."
The noise outside the Orthodox Academy got louder and louder, but it was hard to tell what it was.
A shapeless pressure accompanied those shouts and began to settle over the school.
Chen Changsheng turned to glance at the newly-built door in the academy wall, still tightly shut, and he had a rather strange feeling.
Logically speaking, even if Luoluo couldn"t get out of bed, the Hundred Herb Garden should have already sent over breakfast.
He suddenly felt a rather ominous feeling.