Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 500 – I Will Gift You the Best There Is

The distance between the Li Palace and the Imperial Palace was not at all great.

It was just that with Chen Changsheng’s current status, to enter the Li Palace was quite easy while entering the Imperial Palace was rather troublesome. This was especially the case given that he had not sent out advance notice. Ultimately, he still managed to startle Xue Xingchuan.

“What business does Principal Chen have in the palace so late at night?”

“I want to go and see Luoluo.”

Xue Xingchuan had asked very casually and Chen Changsheng had responded even more casually. Thus, the heavily-guarded Imperial Palace opened its gates.

Chen Changsheng followed a eunuch into the depths of the palace. Only after some time had passed did he come to his senses and grow puzzled as to why he had been so easy-going with Xue Xingchuan. He didn’t know that it was because of that time when Xue Xingchuan had stood on the other side of the secret door in the walls of the palace waiting for the Divine Empress’s return. At that time, Xue Xingchuan believed that the Divine Empress had gone especially to see this youth.

Similarly, as Xue Xingchuan watched Chen Changsheng’s back, he was very confused as to why this youth could be so calm and natural in front of him. He was a Divine General of the Divine Empress, and his younger brother’s left arm had been severed by Chen Changsheng’s sword in the wilderness. Yet after Chen Changsheng had returned to the capital, they had met several times, yet Chen Changsheng had never showed any sign of wariness, much less apology.

Luoluo’s life in the Imperial Palace was rather excellent. Although the walls of the palace still cut off the hustle and bustle of the secular world, when compared to the Green Leaf World, at least this place’s sky and sun were all real. She was just rather bored. So when she learned that Chen Changsheng had come to see her, she became very happy. In the quiet garden, the teacher and student talked for a very long time, speaking of nothing but joyous things.

The topics of conversation centered around the great banyan tree and the lake, discussing how the quality of the Orthodox Academy’s meals had improved by leaps and bounds, how the amount of food Xuanyuan Po was eating was growing ever more absurd, how the dark circles under Tang Thirty-Six’s eyes were getting ever more severe, how unsightly Su Moyu’s complexion was upon receiving a letter from his aunt, and how Zhexiu’s face was still the same as ever, like that of a dead person.

Chen Changsheng also talked about the ten-odd students amongst the new students of the Orthodox Academy whose talent was relatively exceptional. He talked about how if their luck was good, they should be able to pass the preparatory examination, and maybe even get into the lower ranks of the three banners of the Grand Examination.

Luoluo was quite happy listening to all of this, but she spoke much less than she had in the past. She spent the majority of the time with her bright eyes wide open, fixed on Chen Changsheng.

Thinking of his encounter with Shuang’er back at the Xu Estate, Chen Changsheng believed it to simply be a natural change in girls as they grew up, so he didn’t pay it much regard.

Time swiftly passed as they talked, so much so that the two failed to realize that it was already deep into the night. Finally, Guardian Li, who had been ensconced in a thicket the entire time, felt this all to be somewhat improper and coughed twice. Chen Changsheng recalled his primary purpose for coming to visit Luoluo tonight. Taking her hands, he walked her to the wall and used his own body to obstruct any prying eyes, then felt for a certain object and stuffed it in Luoluo’s hands.

Luoluo was rather shocked. Looking at the stone pearl in her palm, she was quite perplexed as to why her teacher had given her this object.

“I’m not certain whether it will be good or bad for your cultivation if I tell you the truth of the matter, so I won’t talk about it for the moment, but in short…this is a very good item.”

Chen Changsheng stared at her and said, “You absolutely cannot lose it. Whenever you’re not busy, you should hold it in your hands to feel it. It’s best to not let anyone else see.”

Luoluo solemnly replied, “I absolutely won’t lose a present that Teacher has given me.”

As Jin Yulu sent Chen Changsheng off, he looked at him as if wanting to say something.

Chen Changsheng was rather puzzled, asking, “Uncle Jin, what’s wrong?”

Jin Yulu internally sighed, ultimately deciding to not speak what was on his mind. Instead, he asked, “What were you and Her Highness up to in the corner of the wall?”

Chen Changsheng replied, “It was nothing. I was gifting her a little toy.”

In the past, Jin Yulu had firmly refused to take up any official position in White Emperor City, electing instead to farm for a living. However, from the pattern of copper coins woven into his silk gown, one could know his nature. He asked with deep interest, “Is it valuable? Is it something from the Tang clan?”

In his view, Chen Changsheng was incredibly poor. In the past, he had relied completely on Princess Luoluo and Tang Thirty-Six for support, so it was simply impossible for him get his hands on anything good. Thus, the gift was probably something transferred from the Tang clan.

Chen Changsheng shook his head, “It’s something I picked up in the past. It’s not worth anything.”

The moment he heard that it was picked up and wasn’t even worth anything, Jin Yulu instantly lost interest, and when he recalled what was going to happen in the future, he couldn’t help but get angry.

“Her Highness has given you so many fine things. Have you never thought about repaying?”

Chen Changsheng being the sort of person that he was, it was impossible for him to understand what these words signified. He very earnestly replied, “This item is the best item on my person.”

……

……

By the time he returned the Orthodox Academy, it was already very late into the night.

Chen Changsheng would usually have long been asleep by this point, but tonight he was not.

He first went to the Hundred Herb Garden, then to the library, then finally returned to his room.

Standing by the window and gazing at the numerous stars within the lake, he recalled that piece of the night sky partitioned off by four walls of black eaves in the Li Palace.

Going to Lingyan Pavilion had been part of his master’s plan, and the box that Wang Zhice had hidden in the wall had also been told to him by his master. However, the mechanism to open the box had never been touched before, indicating that no one else had ever opened it. This signified that his master probably did not know of the contents of Wang Zhice’s notebook, nor of the name that Wang Zhice had mentioned within it: Daoist Ji.

Through Wang Zhice’s notebook, one could see that Daoist Ji was already exceptionally famous in the era of Taizong, able to enter and exit the Imperial Palace and estates of dukes and ministers as he pleased. So just when had he taken up the office of Principal of the Orthodox Academy, and just how had he been so easily able to switch between these two identities?

Chen Changsheng’s gaze rested upon the book by his hand. This book was a record of the major events of the Orthodox Academy. Previously, he had been able to find in this book the date when his master took up the position of Principal of the Orthodox Academy, as well as other major events around that period, yet he still failed to comprehend just how his master had been able to hide his two identities from the world. Crucially, how had he been able to hide it from the Pope? After all, they were fellow disciples. Moreover, it was said that in the coup at the Orthodox Academy, his master had died at the hands of the Pope…was there some ulterior motive in all this?

There were still many things in this entire affair that he found utterly perplexing. For example, the Pope had turned far too suddenly, such that he even broke apart from those pupils that he had personally raised, Daoist Siyuan and Linghai Zhiwang. But why? He had once asked the Pope, and the answer he had obtained was an exceptionally forceful reason. However, it had not been able to completely dispel his doubts.

Could the livelihood of the common people of the world really affect the choices of Saints?

He thought over this for a long time, but he still could not understand. In addition, this matter involved his master and senior brother, so he couldn’t communicate his concerns to Tang Thirty-Six and Luoluo. He somewhat helplessly shook his head, then placed that book in the deepest parts of his bookshelf. Using the starlight spilling down from the night sky, he calmed his heart and steadied his mind. He closed his eyes and began to meditate. His spiritual sense moved and fell upon the black pillar.

The cold wind gusting against him instantly cleared his mind. He appeared in the Garden of Zhou, still standing at the summit of the mausoleum.