Chapter 500 – I Will Gift You the Best There Is (2/2)

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.