Chapter 429 – Darkness (1/2)
Chapter 429 - Darkness
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The crown prince was the natural successor to the position of emperor. If the Great Zhou had a crown prince, there would simply have been no need for the conflict between the Orthodoxy and the Divine Empress to evolve to its current degree and the state of the continent would be much more stable—in fact, the Great Zhou really did have a crown prince once. He was the son of Emperor Xian and the Divine Empress, and he was precisely Crown Prince Zhaoming.
Lamentably, the successive crown princes of the Great Zhou never met a good end. After Emperor Taizu founded the country, his crown prince died a tragic death in the rebellion in the Hundred Herb Garden. The crown prince that had been meticulously raised and educated by Emperor Taizong was also ultimately involved in some indescribable conspiracy and killed. This Crown Prince Zhaoming also met a rather unfortunate end, but one could also say that it was relatively fortunate, because he died when he was very small, rather than being cut down in a similar tragedy.
Not long after Emperor Xian died, Crown Prince Zhaoming died of illness in his infancy.
But no one believed it. Of course no one believed it. How could the union of the blood of the Imperial clan and the Divine Empress produce a son that died so young?
With regards to the reason for the death of Crown Prince Zhaoming, there were countless theories.
There was one theory that was the most broadly spread—back then when the Chen Imperial clan joined hands with the conservative faction of the Orthodoxy to drive the Divine Empress from the emperor's seat, in that soul-shaking battle where the Divine Empress and the Pope obtained the final victory, several hundred princes and nobles of the Chen Imperial clan were either killed or banished. In addition, the teachers and students of the Orthodox Academy were killed or wounded until there was almost no one left, leaving only the frosted grass and the broken wells and collapsed walls. However, the Divine Empress had also paid an enormous price—in that rebellion, Crown Prince Zhaoming was poisoned to death by the Divine Empress's enemies.
There was also another theory that spread far and wide, but it was impossible to hear it in the teahouses and the inns. Only in the dark night was it uneasily circulated. That theory was even more cruel, even more callous.
There were some people who surreptitiously insisted that several hundred years ago when the Divine Empress was expelled from the Imperial Palace by Emperor Taizong and lived out her miserable days in the Hundred Herb Garden, she had gotten to know the Pope and the then-Principal of the Orthodox Academy. From them, she learned the secret to defying the heavens and changing fate. She swore an oath to the starry sky that it would be better in this life if her bloodline was to be ended, and from this defied the heavens and changed fate. Crown Prince Zhaoming's death was the curse from her defiance of the heavens and the changing of her fate, or perhaps it could be said to be the wrath of heaven…it was also possible that it was an action she had done herself to complete the process of changing her fate!
In those dark rumors, those people narrating seemed to have personally witnessed that dreadful and bloody scene in the Imperial Palace, describing everything in vivid detail—how the Divine Empress's hand had passed through the swaddling clothes, reaching for that wailing infant. Her beautiful and dignified face showed no expression, but a single tear flowed down from the corner of her eye, and then the crying sounds gradually grew quiet. In the darkness, the palace was so peaceful it could cause the heart to beat in fear.
If this was the wrath of heaven invited by the Divine Empress going against the heavens and changing her fate, leading her to be without descendants and to live alone on this world until her death, then the Heavenly Dao and the sea of stars were truly too unfeeling and terrifying. If the Divine Empress had personally killed off her only son so that she could complete the process of changing her fate just so that she could live on this continent isolated and without anyone else, then she was truly too unfeeling and frightening.
No matter the theory, Crown Prince Zhaoming was already dead, dead for a callous and terrifying reason, dead in a very unfortunate and pitiable manner. Afterwards, there was no one who dared to bring up this topic, including the Chen Imperial clan and the Orthodoxy. Only that crazy Lord Hu of the Imperial Board of Astronomy, even after Zhou Tong had plucked out all of his fingernails, continued to declare to the world with his blood-filled mouth that Crown Prince Zhaoming…was not dead. And then, right as Zhou Tong was prepared to rip out Lord Hu's tongue as well, the Divine Empress bestowed her mercy and allowed Lord Hu to return to his home to recuperate.
In the view of many, this was not mercy, it was a guilty conscience, or perhaps a sort of self-consolation. Just what went on in the Imperial Palace in that year? Just how did Crown Prince Zhaoming die? Why would the Empress have a guilty conscience? Thus, that cruel and horrifying theory spread more and more. Of course, it still only did so in the dark night.
At night, the Imperial Palace was very peaceful, but this night at the beginning of summer was actually endlessly cold.
The chief eunuch lowered his head, not even daring to glance at the Divine Empress.
The quiet courtyard, in a flash, transformed into a frigid snowy plain. There was no sign of any snowflakes, but the surface of the pool was gradually forming a layer of ice.
With a single thought, a Saint could move heaven and earth. If they were in a rage, the waves would rage and the sea would be in turmoil. If their mood was dark, the curtain of the night would fall over the sky. If their emotions were both downcast and extremely melancholy, there would naturally be wind and snow for days on end.
Just as the chief eunuch felt like his sea of consciousness would freeze and snap, the Divine Empress's voice finally rang out once more. Her voice was very calm and very indifferent, just like the water of the pool under the sheet of ice. ”All the world's people are my sons. The Prince of Xiang (相) and the Prince of Xiang (象) are also my sons. Zhaoming's death has never been important.” (TN: The two Princes of Xiang have different Chinese characters for their names. The first one uses '相' while the second uses '象')
It had never been important, so it had also not been important in the past.
The chief eunuch lowered his head even more, as if it was almost about to touch the cold surface of the ground. He slowly began to retreat backwards into the darkness.
From outside the garden slowly ambled a black goat, its fur as glossy black as jade. It had walked out of the darkness as if it carried a piece of the darkness with it.
Was everything obscured by the darkness true? Then what about darkness itself?
The Divine Empress gazed expressionlessly at the goat and asked, ”And what about you? Why are you willing to be so close to him? Just who is he?”
Tonight was Chen Changsheng's first night in the Orthodox Academy after his return. Just like all those previous nights, after eating dinner and strolling around the lake, he very naturally walked into the library. Luoluo had returned to the Li Palace and Tang Thirty-Six was still in the Mausoleum of Books. Xuanyuan Po was hitting trees and Zhexiu was still in Zhou Prison. He didn't know what else to do, so he decided to just continue cultivating.