451 The Small Ones Beneath the Crimson Official's Gown

Today, the capital was exceptionally bustling. Not too long after early morning, the battle took place before the gates ofthe Orthodox Academy and Chen Changsheng surpassed cultivation levels to obtainvictory over Zhou Ziheng. This matter was already enough to astound the world. But no one could have imagined that he would go on to do something that waseven more world-shaking. He brought the remaining two students of the Orthodox Academy, boarded acarriage, and rushed into the Zhou Prison. It was said that he was currentlywithin, in stalemate with that frightening Lord Zhou Tong. The Orthodox Academy wanted a person. Zhou Tong would not release him. After learning this news, the populace of the capital rushed over to see theexcitement, but it was a different sort of excitement compared to the battlefrom this morning. There was far too much evil around Zhou Prison and its imagewas far too gruesome in the eyes of the populace, so the crowd did not dare gettoo close. So when the five hundred cavalry of the Orthodoxy roared through the street,there were no accidental injuries. Soon after, a chief eunuch from the Imperial Palace arrived, the Vice Ministerarrived, and Mao Qiuyu came to the scene. Lastly, the county prince's carriagehurried over to the scene. No one entered Zhou Prison or even the alley which contained it. Prince Chen Liu descended from his carriage and glanced at the five hundredOrthodoxy cavalry. He almost imperceptibly creased his brow, then gave a bittersmile to Mao Qiuyu, saying, "This matter has made too much of a ruckus." Today's matter truly had caused too much of a ruckus. Everyone knew that theOrthodoxy's new rule concerning the All-School Martial Exhibition was nothingmore than the Imperial Court—or to be more precise, the Tianhai Clan and thetwo archbishops that were loyal to the Divine Empress—pressuring the OrthodoxAcademy. But no one had imagined that the Orthodox Academy's response to thiswould be so intense and so swift. Right after obtaining victory in their firstbattle, they had gone without the slightest delay to Zhou Prison to demand aperson's release! The once-principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy, Mao Qiuyu, now the Sacred HallArchbishop of the Hall of Illustrious Persons, stood amongst the ranks of theSix Prefects. His appearance assuredly signified the attitude of the Li Palace. The problemwas that even such a powerful figure as he stood outside the alley, not goingin. Everyone knew that the relationship between the Divine Empress and the LiPalace had undergone a great change within the past year. They were graduallygrowing apart, but they still maintained peace on the surface. Since these two Saints were presently maintaining their silence, no one wantedor dared to make this situation even more fraught with tension and make itspiral out of control. No one was willing to bear the frightening consequencesof such an act. Until the Orthodox Academy's carriage entered this alley. If today, some mishap really did happen in that small courtyard, then thecapital, the continent, and even the entire human world would be plunged into agreat mishap. Within the courtyard, Tang Thirty-Six looked at Zhou Tong very seriously, evensincerely. "Your Excellency, I must speak the truth to you. Chen Changsheng,his life…is truly very good, and could be said to be precious beyonddescription. I do not know how the Divine Empress sees it, but in the eyes ofHis Holiness, Your Excellency's life is inevitably not as precious as ChenChangsheng's life. If he were to really die today in Zhou Prison, do youbelieve His Holiness would spare Your Excellency? And how would the Empressview your Excellency?" "Precious beyond description?" Zhou Tong narrowed his eyes at Chen Changsheng,seeming to ruminate over something. Tang Thirty-Six continued, "And Your Excellency perhaps does not understandhim. At times, he really can be very stubborn, very foolish. He really could dosomething like exchanging his life for Zhexiu's." "No matter how you say it, it's still threatening me." Zhou Tong was deeplyemotional. "Is it maybe because there have been less stories about me in thecapital lately so that no one is afraid of me anymore?" Tang Thirty-Six smiled. "Your Excellency can think what he wants." Zhou Tong coldly yelled, "Can you bear the consequences of this matter?" Chen Changsheng replied, "It was not me that wanted to become Principal of theOrthodox Academy, so I don't believe I need to bear the consequences.” The meaning of these words was exceptionally clear. He was the Principal of the Orthodox Academy and Zhexiu was a student on theregisters of the Orthodox Academy. Zhexiu had been imprisoned in Zhou Prisonfor too long, so it was only natural that he rescue Zhexiu from this prison. Asfor the deeper implications hidden behind this matter, he really couldn'tcomprehend them, nor did he want to comprehend them. Thus, he only needed tobear the consequences that a principal shielding his student should bear. Asfor whatever serious consequences this matter would attract, it should be thejoint responsibility of that person that made him Principal of the OrthodoxAcademy and the person that ordered Zhou Tong to imprison Zhexiu. In other words, if a storm really was stirred up in this small courtyard andthe relationship between the Li Palace and the Imperial Court became like thatof fire and water, then even if the world fell into complete chaos, the demonsseized the chance to invade, the populace became destitute and homeless, andall of humanity became enslaved for tens of thousands of years…it was the faultof the Pope and the Divine Empress. The courtyard once more became incomparably silent. Zhou Tong had not imagined that Chen Changsheng would have this sort ofintention. He narrowed his eyes and the temperature suddenly dropped. A layerof frost suddenly formed over the petals on the ground. Tang Thirty-Six and Xuanyuan Po gazed at Chen Changsheng, wanting to sigh withadmiration. The Li Palace, the Great Hall of Light. Countless sculptures of sages, some solemn, some hallowed, emitted a faintradiance as they gazed at the sky above the hall. The Pope was also gazing at the sky, his expression calm. It was as if he hadnot just heard about what Chen Changsheng had done and said. "How can a person like Chen Changsheng, who is ignorant of the generalsituation, who cannot grasp the bigger picture, inherit the Orthodoxy?" The speaker was Daoist Siyuan, master of the Hall of Subjugation. He stood atthe side of Linghai Zhiwang, master of the Hall of Heavenly Judgment. As the youngest of the Six Prefects and simultaneously the most powerful ofthe Sacred Hall Archbishops, they were still reverential to the Pope, but theyspoke very directly. Perhaps it was also because they were only a step from the Divine Domain andcould already see the back of the Pope. At present, the entire continent believed that these two archbishops continuedto support the Divine Empress and were unwilling to stand at the side of thePope because they had an unquenchable hostility and distrust for the ChenImperial clan. However, no one had imagined that, besides this, the moreimportant reason was that the Pope had decided to entrust the future of theOrthodoxy to this young person called Chen Changsheng. The two Sacred Hall Archbishops could disregard the authority of the secularworld, but it was impossible for them to not care about the inheritance of thedivine. Linghai Zhiwang expressionlessly said, "It was written very clearly by theHoly Maiden in her letter, that matter really has a hope of success. Thissignifies that the pressure placed on Mount Li was reasonable. Zhou Tong hasachieved some merit on this matter." The Pope said nothing, as serene as ever. Daoist Siyuan sighed, saying, "Your Holiness should be keenly aware, ourpositions on the ownership of the Divine Staff or the emperor's throne are notbecause we oppose Your Holiness. Our unease comes from the fact that YourHoliness and the Empress still have at least several decades’ worth of lifeessence. What need is there for Your Holiness to make a decision so quickly?" This decision was still about ownership. The ownership of the Divine Staff and the emperor's throne. Linghai Zhiwang's face was still emotionless, but his voice was like thedeepest depths of the ocean, containing an unimaginable might. "As for ZhouTong, just kill him. All of his crimes are his own to bear. He should have beenkeenly aware long ago just what his mission is." Just a moment ago, he had said that Zhou Tong had achieved great merit. Now, he was saying that if a problem occurred in that small courtyard, it wasfine to just kill Zhou Tong. In the next moment, a worried and panicked voice came from outside the GreatHall of Light. Something had occurred in the Northern Military Department alley that exceededeveryone's expectations.