Chapter 64 – Questioning the World (1/2)
There were tons of people kneeling on the floor in the side palace. They were like the surface of a calm ocean. As the middle-aged woman walked by, the ocean was split and it induced a wave. A servant leader coughed two times and the other servants on the floor kneeling all stood up hastily and left the palace without a sound.
That servant leader had wrinkles all over his face which represented his old age. He carefully lifted that middle-aged woman’s hand and said quietly and respectfully, “Even if that youngster’s background has some problems, why is the Queen so bothered?”
That middle-aged woman was the Divine Queen. Hearing the question of the servant, she said without expression, “If he’s just an ordinary person, then obviously I don’t need to bother with him.”
The servant leader knew that “ordinary” meant if the youngster could xiuxing or not. He thought deeply for a moment and said, “I checked that recommendation letter. There is no problem with it. The Pope gifted it to Lady Mo Yu and Princess Ping Guo back in the day…….from messages of Palace Li, the Pope has nothing to do with this. The youngster was dragged into this trouble by accident. Although his marriage vow with Palace Xu (General’s Mansion) was surprising, I can’t really see anything special about him.”
The Divine Queen stopped walking and glanced at the darkness behind the side palace. She was silent for a moment and asked, “Have you ever seen a person not afraid of death?”
The servant leader knew this question of the Divine Queen contained a deeper meaning so he started thinking seriously.
People all say the heroes of this world treated life and death lightly, but only the people who experienced countless times of struggle between life and death understand that their fearlessness was a result of their unbreakable will which overcame the fear. Their fear of death always existed in their hearts.
This servant leader lived in the Zhou Palace for several hundred years and had a great influence in the politics. Twenty years ago, after the last emperor passed away, all of the royal family disagreed with the Divine Queen ascending the throne and tried to rebel. The Queen easily put down the rebellion. It wasn’t only due to the strong and clear support from the Pope, but also because this servant leader played a major role.
He was a character who experience countless departure between life and death. He’s more than sure that no one was not afraid of death. Even a great man like the First Emperor was still not calm in his death bed. He stared at the stars in the night sky and the only expression in his eyes were fear and sadness.
He was beside the emperor that time. He saw that view clearly.
“No one is not afraid of death,” he answered.
“Then in the precise moment earlier, that youngster was actually not afraid of death. He’s not a normal person.” The Divine Queen thought back to the words the youngster said in front of the Black Mighty Dragon, “I always thought only the child from Family of Qiu Shan could pair with that girl, but now…….I’m not quite sure.”
The leader servant was a little shocked, he thought to himself, will the Queen change her attitude about this entire event?
The side palace fell into a silence again.
The night wind blew through the flower pot outside of the hallway lightly. The stems in the pot shook slightly and the squirrels ran faster on the tree branches far away in the woods.
“Tonight’s the night of Qi Xi. It will be lively outside the palace. I’m thinking about going out to see the view.”
“Queen…..I thought you were going to wait in the palace for the result of the Ivy Festival?”
“Waiting for what? Which student of what academy is the best? I’m not interested.”
The leader servant was confused, “Don’t you want to know if this proposal will be successful or not?”
The Divine Queen said, “Whether the General’s Mansion will marry with the Family of Qiu Shan or complete its promise of taking Chen Chang Sheng for its son-in-law is not something they can decide.”
The servant leader bowed and said, “Everything in the world follows the will of the Queen.”
The Divine Queen said calmly, “You are wrong again. This event is not something I can decide either.”
The leader servant was a little shocked, he thought, who else besides you could decide the result of this marriage?
“The person who is going to marry is You Rong. Then whoever she will marry to should depend on her attitude.”
The Divine Queen said, “That girl has her own thoughts. No matter what other people do is meaningless. It’s will all be a joke.”
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There is a street outside of the south of royal palace. It’s a little from other places which were filled with lamps and lights of Qi Xi. This place was isolated and quiet. Perhaps it’s close to the royal palace. Perhaps a lot of ice was transported out of this place, and the streets were filled with leftover cold water. No one was willing to set up their shops here.
This place is named Bridge Bei Xin but there are no bridges here. Or more precisely, that bridge made out of green stone is fake. River Luo circled around the royal palace but went around this place. Not a single water drop was beneath this bridge.
Not too far from the Bridge Bei Xin was a well. The temperature inside the well was freezing, as if the inside wasn’t water but rather unmeltable ice. It’s already deep into the night and the light of the royal palace couldn’t get to here. The willow branches were like brushes filled with ink as they dipped lightly around the well.
The Divine Queen stood inside the well and in her hand held a Nightly Pearls she picked up in the Platform of Dew. She opened her hand above the well and the Nightly Pearl lit up the walls of well and fell rapidly. Gradually, it was devoured by the darkness of the well.
A while passed and a sound was heard from the bottom of the well. Perhaps due to the well’s height, the sound wasn’t loud, but rather it was like the echo of water hitting the walls of the well. She knew that it was not the sound of hitting water but an angry roar of the black dragon.
The black dragon was furious because it felt that humans have deceived it again. She promised to give a Nightly Pearl, but that youngster took one. Therefore she should give it two Nightly Pearls instead of one. Even if it couldn’t challenge her, she shouldn’t bully it like this!
The Divine Queen was a little unhappy. “You brute, that Nightly Pearl was his. Did your elder dragon not teach you math when you were young?”
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Chen Chang Sheng’s skill of mathematics was good. Or more precisely, he was good with anything related with knowledge. But his sense of direction wasn’t the best. After leaving his previous location and entering the royal palace. He quickly realized that he was lost.
The stars were above him and lamps were in front of him. He knew where the north was and therefore knew where the south was. He could even faintly see the lamp lights emitted from the Wei Yang Palace. However, there are tons of trees in the royal palace and the roads were twisting and turning everywhere. He was afraid to encounter any guards and so, he didn’t walk on the main roads. Now he was confused of where to go to get to his destination.
Next moment, a light noise was heard from a garden.
A black goat walked out of the darkness of night silently as if it was a part of the darkness.
Back in the Tradition Academy, Chen Chang Sheng saw it. Earlier outside of Wei Yang Palace, Chen Chang Sheng encountered it as well. For some mysterious reason, he was sure that this black goat was friendly to him. He thought for a moment and said, “You…..want to help me?”
That black goat looked quietly at him for one peek and turned around and walked into the night.