191 The Little Things That Happened Now and Those Years Ago (2/2)
”I know what you're worried about.”
The emperor looked at him and said, ”I'm sending Xia Hou there personally not because I think highly of the soldiers or the edict from the Divine Hall, or even the youngsters from the various countries. It is because… I want to see Xia Hou in person.”
Li Qingshan understood what the emperor meant. He shook his head and sighed. ”General Xia Hou is world renowned. If he were to visit northern Yan personally, he would be placed as the general of the Union army. Your Majesty is wise indeed.”
The emperor thought of something suddenly. He raised his head and asked Li Qingshan, ”The students who entered the Academy last year. Is it time for them to cultivate at the frontier?”
Li Qingshan replied, ”They have always left in autumn.”
”It is now the end of summer. It wouldn't hurt to go a little early. Where were they supposed to go originally?”
”To the south under General Xu Shi, to fight with the Southern Zhaoshan tribe.”
The emperor shook his head. ”They have already surrendered in spring. I did not allow Xu to return because I thought the humid air there would be beneficial to his lung ailment. It is peaceful there, what would the students learn there? Send my imperial edict to the Academy tomorrow, and have the students cultivate somewhere else.”
Li Qingshan could guess what the emperor had in mind. He asked, ”To North Yan? In the Wilderness?”
”That's right.”
The emperor said, ”Since the West-Hill Divine Kingdom had already sent an edict and all the young ones from various countries are headed there to show off their powers, why should we stop our young ones from going? We have had rumors saying that we don't have any talented young ones from the Tang Empire recently and are not as strong as before. I want to show the world our great talents.”
Li Qingshan hesitated before saying seriously, ”Your Majesty, there's indeed no exceptional talent from this batch of students, especially not one from the Tang Empire. Wang Ying is decent, but he is too young.”
”Isn't there Ning Que?”
The Emperor said it as if it was a matter of fact.
Li Qingshan replied, ”Your Majesty, Ning Que has entered the Second floor and no longer needs to go to the frontier to cultivate.”
”He is still a student from this batch even though he has entered the Second floor. Let him lead the team.” His Majesty said.
Li Qingshan saw that the emperor was determined and tried to counsel him. ”Let's not talk about how we are taking this too seriously if we send someone from the Second floor. Ning Que's talisman skills are ordinary and his talent for cultivation is ordinary as well. He is the weakest student in all history of the Second floor. How can a student in the No Doubts state beat all the young talents from all over the world? What will we tell the Headmaster if something were to happen in the Wilderness?”
The emperor smiled, ”Only polished jade will shine. You've seen Ning Que's military records and you know what he is like. If he can't survive on the battlefield, who else will?”
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The Daming Palace was enshrouded in starlight and enveloped in wind from the north. The emperor leaned against the railings, a serious expression on his face. All previous trace of carefreeness present during the discussion earlier had disappeared.
The palace maids and eunuchs have long left and it was silent. Only the empress stood by him silently, her brows furrowed with worry.
”Do you mean there's really an underworld? If so, where is it? Is the Headmaster traveling around the world to find it? It is rumored that the Desolate Man returned to the south because the darkness in the extreme north has become longer. Will there be a day when darkness stays forever?”
Should the darkness stay, the country will fall. This statement was made by an astrologer years ago. Many inferred from the statement that women in the palace will bring the fall of the country and thought that the empress was the woman in the prediction. Some thought it was the much beloved Fourth Princess, leading to several tumults.
After the incident, the empress secluded herself in the depth of the palace and no longer said anything about matters of the country. Princess Lee Yu married herself off to the grasslands because of the matter. It was no small issue indeed. The empress's expression changed slightly when she heard the emperor mentioning the prediction.
After a long silence, she said in a low voice. ”Who would have thought that Mr. Ke would enter the mountains with just a sword? Master's death on the battlefield was too sudden and there were many secret manuals that were not passed on in time. However, we have never heard of a place like the Underworld in our sect.”
The emperor turned around and looked at her tenderly, ”Your people have returned South. Do you not wish to visit?”
The empress shook her head. She said, ”A thousand years ago, the Divine Hall had sent someone to spread their teachings to the Desolate Man, leading to the birth of a different branch of cultivation. However, it was thought to be of the devil by those from the Divine Hall and from then on, the Devil's Doctrine was inseparable from the Desolate Man. Since we have left them so many years ago, they are no longer my people.”
She stopped there suddenly and looked at the emperor calmly. ”You've decided to have Xia Hou lead the army of North Yan. Are you suspicious of him?”
The Emperor looked at the mountain shrouded in the darkness of the night and said after a long moment of silence. ”Indeed.”
The empress looked at his side profile and suppressed the sadness in her heart. Her voice wavered as she said, ”Many years ago, I took on the orders of my master from the Devil's Doctrine to head south. I used all my powers to seduce you in order to kill you. I failed in my task, and yet, you did not kill me, but married me instead and made me empress.”
The emperor thought of the incident that happened many years ago. He said, ”Only my parents and Qing Shan knew of your identity then. If not for the Headmaster, it would have been hard for us to be together. However, even if the Headmaster didn't say anything, I would still marry you despite my parents' objections because you are the woman I want to marry.”
The empress said sadly, ”That's why I do not understand. You are so gracious and loving towards me. Why are you so suspicious of Xia Hou? He has battled for our empire for years. Has that not won your trust? Do you think he will return to the Devil's Doctrine once more and bring soldiers back with him to the Desolate Man settlement?”
The emperor turned and looked into her eyes. ”You're wrong. I have never worried that Xia Hou would return to the Devil's Doctrine or bring our soldiers to the Desolate Man settlement. He knows very well that any General who tries to rebel will be met with death. He lost the chance to return to the Devil's Doctrine the moment he killed Murong Linshuang to prove his dedication to West-Hill. No matter the person who cultivated for twenty-three years or others from the Doctrine. The first thing one has to do is to kill them should they appear on the Central Plains. Do not forget that Murong Linshuang was the favorite disciple of that person.”
The empress asked, her voice shaking. ”Why else are you suspicious of him then?”
The emperor replied with a straight face. ”I am suspicious of his relationship with the West-Hill”
The empress smiled bitterly and self mockingly. ”You know why this is so.”
”Why? Because he knew that the West-Hill Divine Kingdom had always been suspicious of him? Because he knew that they have always been suspicious of his relationship with you? Will they find any evidence linking you with the previous saintess of the Devil's Doctrine?
The emperor shook his head. ”The Emperors of the Tang Empire would study with the Headmaster in the Academy for some time. The duration of their study depends on the speed of their improvement. I do not know if I should praise myself or feel regret. My time with the Headmaster was not long. But I remember something he said very clearly. ”
”There are many strong and brave people in this world. They will come to many compromises after the first and in the end, it will become a distorted emotional state. It will turn from compromises to active cooperation. They will turn from victims to the people executing punishment. And they will not even understand why this is so.”
”The West-Hill have been trying to guess your true identity over the years. They've tried hard and Xia Hou has tried even harder to hide it. He's tried his best to curry favor with them and arranged for incidents to happen in the city while I was away. He had allowed for the villages on the Yan border to be sacrificed along with those searching for clues. He even killed his most beloved woman. In my opinion, these actions are one too many. So what if the West-Hill Divine Palace knew that you were the previous saintess of the Devil's Doctrine?
The emperor patted the bar before him lightly while staring at the sky littered with stars. He sighed, ”If Xia Hou didn't do all those things for you, I would have killed him years ago. I thought that he would understand that as the years went by, but it seemed that nothing has changed.”
”He has separated himself from the Devil's Doctrine years ago, but it is a pity that there are still demons in his heart. This demon is the lover he killed. It is the identity he received after betraying his sect. And you… the sister he thinks is many times more important than his own life. ”