Chapter 608 – How to Spend the Rest of My Life? (1/2)
Chapter 608 – How to Spend the Rest of My Life?
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.