Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

"I don't know."

Chen Changsheng had no means of admitting or denying that he was Zhaoming because even now, he was still incapable of confirming his background.

At the moment, the only matter he could be sure of was that he was a member of the Chen Imperial clan. In other words, Prince Chen Liu in front of him was his brother.

To turn from friends into brothers, this sort of feeling was rather strange.

Perhaps because Prince Chen Liu had sensed his current mood, he changed the subject by saying, "Crown Prince Zhaoming's health was poor since the moment he was born. I was still very young back then and was living in the Imperial Palace the entire time, but I never had the opportunity to see him."

Chen Changsheng thought to himself, if I really am Crown Prince Zhaoming and my sun wheel was destroyed while I was in the Divine Empress's stomach, it's only natural that my health not be very good.

"If you really are Crown Prince Zhaoming, what will you do?"

Prince Chen Liu's voice suddenly became much lighter, but the gaze he aimed at Chen Changsheng seemed to blaze, brimming with hope and longing.

Chen Changsheng did not know how to answer this question. It was at this very moment that he suddenly understood that the most important aspect of Crown Prince Zhaoming's identity was…he was the legitimate successor to the position of Emperor of the Great Zhou.

"No matter what the Divine Empress has done in these years, how many elders of the imperial clan she has killed, there is one matter that is impossible to deny: she is Emperor Xian's wife. Crown Prince Zhaoming is her son and also Emperor Xian's son. If the imperial throne of the Great Zhou is empty, no person has more right than Crown Prince Zhaoming to sit upon it."

Prince Chen Liu looked into his eyes and solemnly proclaimed.

Because Chen Changsheng had not admitted that he was Crown Prince Zhaoming, his words did not speak of 'you', but of 'Crown Prince Zhaoming'.

But the intentions within had been made as clear as day. Anyone could understand.

(TN: 'Clear as day' in this case uses the words 昭昭若明, playing on Zhaoming, which is written as 昭明.)

The Divine Empress had reigned for two-hundred-some years and ran the Imperial Court with an iron fist. The several major incidents in the last ten-odd years, as well as Zhou Tong's methods, had suppressed the Chen Imperial clan into an extremely miserable state. At present, no trace of the Chen Imperial clan's influence in the capital could be found, at least on the surface. Prince Chen Liu, this sole scion, was the sole strand of face the Divine Empress left for the Imperial clan, a small comfort to the common people. It was also a symbol, as Prince Chen Liu was just like some lonely ghost, utterly devoid of power.

However, the Chen Imperial clan that had once charged out of Tianliang County to possess the world, and produced individual after individual of heaven-shaking talent like Chen Xuanba, the previous Crown Prince, and Emperor Taizong, had far more resources than imagined by the common people. It was utterly impossible for them to be so easily eliminated from the capital. They undoubtedly had many resources hidden away in the capital. Perhaps this strength was concealed in the Orthodoxy or in the Imperial Court, and it could even be in the Imperial Palace. And in the provinces and counties outside the capital, the strength of the Imperial clan was actually relatively intact, with even a possibility of shaking the Imperial Court.

Take Tianliang County, for instance. If the Great Zhou truly did become unsettled, then whether official or commoner, all the people of that county would firmly stand on the side of the Chen Imperial clan.

The Chen Imperial clan had several hundred descendants scattered amongst the provinces and counties, each having their own faction. Of these factions, the strongest was the one belonging to the Prince of Xiang.

The Prince of Xiang was Prince Chen Liu's father.

It was unknown whether Prince Chen Liu had received the Prince of Xiang's approval to speak these words to Chen Changsheng, but he had the right to represent the Prince of Xiang's stance.

If Chen Changsheng truly was Crown Prince Zhaoming and truly wished to ascend to the imperial throne, obtaining the support of the Prince of Xiang's faction was extremely important.

However, Chen Changsheng did not have much of a reaction.

Prince Chen Liu's eyes revealed regret and confusion.

Who would not want the imperial throne of the Great Zhou?

Chen Changsheng did not want it, at least not now. Right now, he was simply not in the mood to contemplate these so-called grand affairs.

'The only important events in life are birth and death' was the reasoning.

Prince Chen Liu could not remain at the Orthodox Academy for much longer. Given the rumor that Chen Changsheng was Crown Prince Zhaoming, this meeting was already taboo.

The Divine Empress's people were assuredly keeping watch over this place. The imperial edict from just now was proof of this.

He looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "Do not stand on the Empress's side just because of Yourong, and don't rush to make a decision. Watch more, think more, about just what my Great Zhou Dynasty requires the most."

Chen Changsheng looked at his handsome face, looked at the unswerving determination about it. He thought of those rumors he had heard upon entering the capital, that the Empress thought very highly of Prince Chen Liu, and was somewhat confused.

Prince Chen Liu seemed to know what he was thinking and explained, "The Empress has treated me well, but she is mistaken."

Chen Changsheng did not ask a question like 'just who determines what's right and wrong', because he knew that every person had made their own conclusion on the state of the dynasty in these past years, every person had their own pair of eyes.

"The Empress's mistake does not lie in her use of Zhou Tong, does not lie in her use of Cheng Jun, nor does it lie in her use of the so-called Eight Tigers."

(TN: 'The Eight Tigers' seems to refer to a group of eight powerful eunuchs that controlled the imperial court during the reign of Emperor Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty.)

As Prince Chen Liu spoke of those famously treacherous officials, his expression was solemn. "…The Empress's mistake does not lie in her using people wrongly, or using the wrong people, but when she thought of using these people, intentionally using these people, she did not care about anyone's death, only about her own power and position. She placed all her energy on the Imperial Court and killed countless people that she thought her enemy, but she forgot where the true enemies of my Great Zhou Dynasty are."

The Great Zhou was the legitimate dynasty of the human world, representing the fundamental benefit of all humanity. Its enemy was naturally in the north: the demons.

"Look at the state of this country in the past two hundred years. The Great Zhou Empire is at its peak, yet we have not advanced one inch in the north, and have even lost battles. For country and people, we suffer in the blizzards, yet people are still occasionally snatched away by the demons to serve as their army provisions. Why does such a situation exist? Because the Empress's thoughts are not there."

Prince Chen Liu stared into his eyes and said in a low voice, "No matter how high her cultivation, how awesome her power, or how extraordinary her trickery, she is still a woman—her insight and manner are inherently lacking. It is impossible for her to lead us to victory in this way, so she has no right to continue sitting upon the imperial throne."

The sun gradually moved west. It was not yet twilight, yet the sky gave a feeling of red warmth.

Chen Changsheng walked back through the curtains. Under the uneasy and hesitant gazes of the South Stream Temple disciples, he climbed the great banyan tree. Standing on a branch, he looked into the distance.

The capital was enveloped in the early autumn sun. Black eaves and white walls could be seen everywhere, people weaving through the street, endless streams of horses and carriages. It was bustling to the extreme, safe and joyous.

The people living here would find it very difficult to imagine the pressure the human armies had to bear in the snowy plains to the north, what sort of bleak lives the people up there lived.

These people currently living had probably long forgotten that one thousand years ago, the vanguard of the Demon Army had besieged Luoyang for three entire months, that the frontline was only four hundred li from the capital.

He silently pondered Prince Chen Liu's words for a very long time, then he ceased thinking about them and began contemplating his own concerns.

The great banyan tree stood by the lake, and the lake was within the Orthodox Academy. Here was a lush lawn of grass.

He had lived here for a bit more than two years. When he first entered this place, the name of the Orthodox Academy was completely covered in ivy and this place was a forgotten garden of the past.

He had encountered the Black Goat here and also that nanny from the Imperial Palace. Later on, in the palace, he had caught a passing glance of that nanny and had almost forgotten what she looked like.

That bamboo carriage pulled by the Black Goat was not the nanny's, but Mo Yu's.

It had been a long time since he had seen Mo Yu, a long time since he had smelled her scent on his bed or seen a hair that she had left behind. Perhaps Xu Yourong was the reason?

The Orthodox Academy back then had only him.

On the other side of that wall was the Hundred Herb Garden. A girl once jumped over that wall, and thus, the Orthodox Academy came to have another person.

Then, Xuanyuan Po came, Tang Thirty-Six came. Even later on, Zhexiu and Su Moyu also came. After enrolling new students last autumn, this place became bustling beyond compare.

When he thought of that period at the beginning with just him and Luoluo at this place, he fell under the illusion that it was a lifetime ago.

Xuanyuan Po had already left, presumably madly rushing in the direction of the Red River. After Luoluo found out, she would presumably be grief-stricken.

After thinking about it, Chen Changsheng was somewhat comforted. He then realized that as it turned out, it was impossible for him to be at peace with himself, that he still very much cared about these things.

Tragedy was perhaps taking shreds of beauty for other people to see. Sorrow was to let people see beauty yet make it impossible to approach, ultimately forcing them to turn and depart, thus vanishing from sight.

Seeing the capital under the autumn sun and thinking about how he would soon have to depart this beautiful world, he properly began to feel sorrow.

As he looked into the distance, he suddenly gave two shouts. There was no specific meaning behind these shouts, just that he wanted to shout to prove that he existed.

The disciples of South Stream Temple and the students of the Orthodox Academy looked up at the great banyan tree, at him whose body seemed to melt into the sunlight, and were deeply confused. Upon hearing his shouts, they were shocked. The South Stream Temple disciples thought, how could the Holy Maiden like this sort of person? The Orthodox Academy students thought, it turns out that the principal was this sort of person.

Tang Thirty-Six, Zhexiu, and Su Moyu looked at that place, their expressions grave, their hearts heavy.

……

……

If you were to know that only several dozen days remained of your life, how would you pass your time? Compile all those things you wanted to do but never did into a wishlist and then sell your home and fields and go off to achieve these things? Or would you hide away in some dark corner of your room, your face bathed in tears every day? Or would you disregard all morals and laws, indulging in your deepest desires and evil thoughts?

As Chen Changsheng stood on the great banyan tree in the Orthodox Academy and considered this question, in the jail the Department for Purging Officials in the depths of the alley of the Northern Military Department, the once-imperial physician Doctor Zheng Sun and the once-official of the Ministry of Rites Lord Yang Xiushen were also confronting this question. But they did not have the energy to ponder how to pass these days, only how to lessen these days as much as possible.

Ever since they were secretly imprisoned in the Zhou Prison, they had wanted to die. The sooner the better, because here, life truly was inferior to death.

A sharp metal wire pierced into Yang Xiushen's left ear and then protruded out from his right, carrying along with it something similar to brain matter. But there was not much blood. In the torture of these past few days, he had lost too much blood, and perhaps his hot blood had gradually dissipated as well.