68 The Flower Blooms on the Shore Astride I (2/2)
”I hope you can support me.”
”You've carried my brother and I when we were little. You've met my mother. Could you bear to see my brother's throne be taken away from him? To watch my mother cry in the netherworld?”
The fight for the throne in Tang hinges on the Emperor's thoughts and words. While the Emperor looked weak-willed, he was extremely clear headed. He would never allow his wife and children to do anything that would harm the country or the fight to escalate beyond his control. However, he did want to see who performed better in this fight.
There was rarely any royal family like the Tang who are so transparent across time in this world. But the words that Lee Yu had said to Chao Xiaoshu by the lake today had made it seem that she had openly declared her intentions. This differed greatly from the impression people usually had of palace schemes.
Chao Xiaoshu was silent for a long time. He looked at her and said gently, ”Your Highness, you bear much resemblance to your mother. You are intelligent and beautiful. You understand that veiled attempts to find out more and to seduce me with power and money means nothing to people like me from the Jianghu world, and so you used a Jianghu speech. However, this is something that can only be decided by the Emperor. I am only a small fish in this large sea called Tang. I am not of much use even if I have jumped across this sea.”
”Uncle Chao, you're being modest. All these years, I've never seen Father trust in a man so much… Furthermore, he must feel guilty towards you for hiding such a talented scholar about to enter the Academy in the depths of the East city for so many years.”
Lee Yu looked at him determinedly. ”The most important thing is, you're in this sea called the great Tang. Even though you might have jumped out of the sea, you'll still land back into it eventually. One day, you will have to choose which direction to swim in…”
Chao Xiaoshu smiled handsomely and waved at the large lake, interrupting her before she could complete her sentence. ”I might be a small fish, but I don't like staying in a pond even if it might be as big as the sea. It is after all still a pond. If I had to choose which direction to swim in, I might end up choosing the shore.”
Lee Yu furrowed her brows. ”A fish will die of thirst on shore.”
Chao Xiaoshu smiled. ”At least the fish can breathe in sufficient air before it dies.”
”Uncle Chao, why are you so certain that the court is a pond? Can you find a bigger pond than the great Tang in the world?”
”The Jianghu world might be small, but I feel more at ease in it. Conversely, I'm certain that I rather be a small fry in the Jianghu than a big fish in court.”
Lee Yu looked at the scholar in green robes standing by the lake. She realized, in that moment, that she could not understand some people. She sighed, ”The Jianghu world is dangerous.”
Chao Xiaoshu smiled lightly and replied, ”But it is far enough. It is freedom.”
Lee Yu shook her head, ”What kind of freedom can you have?”
Chao Xiaoshu looked at the young princess somewhat pityingly and said, ”The freedom to not choose.”
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Ning Que's hands itched. It was an itch that had been cultivated for many years. It was so deep in his veins and into his bones that he cannot get rid of it but can only bear with it uncomfortably.
The imperial study was quiet. He walked from the door to the table, from the table to the shelves and from the shelves to the door. His sleeves hid his right hand and his twitching fingers. He could not stop the itch that had burst forth from deep within.
The writings by masters on the wall made him itch. The paintings laying around haphazardly made him itch. The unique scent of Chenzhou ink made him itch. The sensation of the slight wrinkles of Xuanzhou bud paper made him itch. When his gaze landed on the words the Emperor had written, the itch made his eyes water and his face scrunched. He could no longer control himself.
The only way to remedy this itch, was to write.
Messing with the writings of the Emperor in the imperial study is a dumb choice. He might be punished heavily, or might be sentenced, but the itch was terrible… As Chao Xiaoshu talked about choosing freedom by the edge of the lake, Ning Que was trying to make a painful decision.
”I'll tear it up after writing.”
Finding a good excuse, Ning Que gave a jovial shout and rushed at the writing desk like a starving man. He grinded a little ink and held up a brush, appeasing the itch and turning it into joy. With a quick wave over the paper, he wrote six words.
”The flower blooms on the shore astride.”
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