The Word of Heaven

Chapter 332 The Whereabouts of the Throne

The prime minister looked blank for a moment, lowered his head, and said slowly: "The past cannot be remonstrated, but the future can be pursued. This is something you can decide and change, Your Majesty."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him, suddenly laughed, and said, "I have never moved your position over the years, and I don't like to talk to you any more. Do you know why?"

The lights in Jinghai are dim, and the remaining light left on the water is very shallow. If the sound of insects could be heard, it would actually feel like a summer night.

Therefore, the atmosphere of the conversation is actually very casual, no different from casual chatting.

"Because you are a capable person, but you are always so boring when you talk. You always try to quote classics to keep yourself out of trouble."

The Emperor's voice was calm, mixed with a hint of mockery: "Of course, if I force you to change, I'm afraid that in the eyes of future generations, I will be seen as an ordinary king who only seeks flatterers."

He did not allow the prime minister to speak, and continued: "It is a pity that I am not Gu Zhuo, who has the talent of an overnight poet, nor am I as eloquent as the emperor who was stupid enough to be a captive. If I force myself to do it, I will probably leave behind only tens of millions of bad poems and bad lyrics, which will make it difficult for you to flatter me shamelessly."

When the prime minister heard these words, his expression became very complicated.

After a long silence, he sighed softly in his heart, raised his head and said seriously: "Your Majesty, there is a big event ahead."

His Majesty the Emperor made eye contact with him and suddenly asked, "What do you think of my treatment of others?"

The prime minister shook his head and said, "I am not a person of the world, so my conclusions are bound to be biased, but I always think that Your Majesty treats people too well, sometimes... even too well."

What he said was true, and this was also what he had been thinking for a long time.

No matter what Li Xuan, the former chairman of the Sky Patrol Bureau, had done, or what the Queen had done over the years, or even some of the decisions made by Qing Xiaoyue and Pei Jinge, they all deserved a miserable end.

But now these people have never suffered any of the White Emperor's wrath.

The prime minister might even have a terrible thought because of this - Your Majesty is old.

If he wasn't old, why would he be so reluctant to kill people?

"Maybe."

His Majesty the Emperor saw through the Prime Minister's thoughts and after a moment of silence, he said, "Or maybe I'm already tired of all this."

The prime minister could no longer maintain his composure, and fear appeared in his eyes.

His Majesty the Emperor stopped looking at him and his gaze fell on the lake surface which was glowing with a faint fire.

The sky over Jinghai has been dark for a long time. I forgot when it started. Maybe it was at the end of that sunny winter?

"Just do it as you wish."

His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand and said calmly: "Do what you have to do. I never doubted you in the past, and of course I believe in you now."

The prime minister was silent for a long time, then stood up and said, "I understand."

His Majesty the Emperor ordered: "The sacrifices at Baidi Mountain will proceed as usual."

According to the plan, he will leave the capital in seven days and arrive at Baidi Mountain on the first day after the beginning of spring.

Having said everything that needed to be said, the Prime Minister took his leave.

Just before leaving, he suddenly remembered something.

"Lin Wanyi hopes to meet the Queen and has come to my residence. I will put this matter on hold for now."

"They are all boring and dull old stories. Why should a little girl dwell on them? Don't let her see them."

His Majesty the Emperor refused without hesitation.

However, after a moment of silence, he added, "I'll have someone send a letter to you later, and you pass it to Lin Wanyi."

The prime minister left.

Jinghai was quiet.

His Majesty the Emperor sat in front of the lake, his eyes somewhat vacant, not knowing where they were looking.

Until Bai Langxing came behind him and asked seriously: "Why aren't you angry?"

His Majesty the Emperor came to his senses and said, "What good will being angry do?"

Bai Langxing said: "Anger can prevent those who are loyal to you from feeling sad."

His Majesty the Emperor said: "What can this change?"

Bai Langxing was stunned for a moment, then he understood and said, "You are disappointed, aren't you?"

“How can I not be disappointed?”

That was true, but when the Emperor turned around, there was no trace of regret on his face.

He casually handed over the sword book and said, "Given Gu Zhuo's personality, how could he really use the Morning and Evening Bell on Pei Jinge? If he didn't use the Morning and Evening Bell, how could Pei Jinge be captured without being able to do anything?"

Bai Langxing lowered his head, looking at the words on the paper blankly, not knowing what to say.

His body trembled violently, and because of the uncontrollable anger, he said in a cold voice: "Pei Jinge... How could Pei Jinge do this?!"

His Majesty the Emperor looked at him quietly, smiled and said: "Why can't we do this?"

Bai Langxing was stunned.

His Majesty the Emperor said calmly: "If you can't even do what you want to do, what's the point of practicing?"

Bai Langxing didn't know what to say.

His Majesty the Emperor said: "What a country needs is order, and the opposite of order in human affairs is the word "cultivation". However, cultivation is the thing that a country cannot give up the most. This is a fundamental contradiction that all saints and sages throughout the ages have been unable to resolve."

Bai Langxing subconsciously asked: "Is there really no way to solve it?"

His Majesty the Emperor was silent for a while, then said, "There is only one way."

"any solution?"

"Let this world change, and practice no longer exist."

Bai Langxing opened his eyes wide and wondered how this was possible?

His Majesty the Emperor reached out his hand, touched his head, and said gently: "I told you once before, and I'll tell you again tonight. You don't have much time left."

Bai Langxing still couldn't understand, because the time referred to in the words meant that he was about to become the new emperor of Qin.

Yes, the White Emperor, who was in the prime of his life, had already begun to think about leaving.

"I will teach you as much as I can and give you a good situation so that you don't have to be as anxious as I was back then."

His Majesty the Emperor said: "Then, the rest is all your business."

Hearing this, Bai Langxing felt extremely complicated.

After he had finished his conversation with Gu Zhuo on the day of the summer festival, he stood up to confront the queen with resentment in his heart, causing the person he hated most in his life to be banished to the cold palace. He thought that a miserable ending would be waiting for him, but he never expected that the returning emperor would give him a reaction completely different from what he expected.

That is where the throne of the Qin Dynasty belongs.

Yes, from that day on he became the de facto crown prince and began to follow the White Emperor.

In the sacrifice ceremony that will take place soon, the White Emperor will personally announce this decision to the world.

It all seemed like a dream, and I was still stunned even after waking up for a long time.

"I know."

Bai Langxing looked at his father, at the graying hair on his temples, and said in a serious voice, "Please rest assured, I will never let you down."

……

……

In the afternoon of the next day, Lin Wanyi received a handwritten letter from the Emperor from the Prime Minister.

The letter was opened on the spot, and the black words left on the white paper were no different from the bedding that had been hidden for a long time under the sun.

All the dirty and private matters related to the Queen that had been concealed for a long time in the past were written down by His Majesty the Emperor in this letter.

Lin Wanyi finished reading the letter in silence, feeling extremely complicated.

Both the White Emperor's frankness and her mother's indescribable past were beyond her expectations - she was like swallowing a bowl of extremely bitter medicine inadvertently. If there were no outsiders around, perhaps she would have cried at this moment because of the bitterness.
After leaving the Prime Minister's residence, a light rain suddenly began to fall on the street.

Lin Wanyi held up an umbrella and went to the old residence of the Lin family on a whim, only to find that the gate had been abandoned.

In a few years, I guess weeds will grow densely behind the door and jump into the sight of passers-by, right?
The mansions next door are bustling with activity, and the newcomers have long forgotten the blood shed by the old ones.

She thought, if she died, it would be exactly the same here, right?

Is this a life-and-death intention?
Lin Wanyi didn't know. She just felt that from today on, there was no way back in her life, and she didn't know where to go.

……

……

The sun is shining brightly above Xuandu.

Yu Sheng has a cold and aloof personality and never minds the same things day after day.

Since Gu Zhuo came down the mountain, she maintained an extremely regular life. She made tea and read books in the early morning, took a walk around Xuandu in the afternoon, went back to the library and lay down on a bamboo chair to take a nap, woke up an hour before dusk, continued to read the unfinished texts, and had a simple meal after nightfall.

Lin Qianshui was initially panicked, but was gradually influenced by the calmness and peace, and was able to calm down.

One day, while taking a walk, Yu Sheng glanced outside the mountain and saw a faint green.

Then she knew that spring was coming.

Lin Qianshui followed Yu Sheng's gaze and looked at the tender leaf, and suddenly asked, "How long will this kind of life last?"

"Not for long."

Yu Sheng said softly, thinking that it would be at the latest on the day he solved the second problem.

Lin Qianshui liked this answer very much, and her heart and spring feelings sprouted together.

So she thought of a question and asked seriously, "What are you going to do with Wan Yi?"

Yu Sheng said without hesitation: "Whatever he likes."

Lin Qianshui was stunned.

This was an answer she had never expected.

Why doesn’t it matter?

Yu Sheng knew what she was thinking and said lightly, "I was born in the imperial family and have seen similar things before. No matter how many reasons there were, I killed him with my own hands after all."

……

……

During the long winter after the last summer festival, Pei Jinge traveled around the southeast unknown to anyone, following the traces left by Yingxu, eager to find out the biggest secret of the Tianming Sect.

Later she discovered, rather ironically, that the secret had been with her all along.

In short, at that time, Pei Jinge purchased a number of houses for the convenience of work out of professional habit.

The best house among them was located outside the capital of Qi State, at the highest point of the Green Mountain, and was adjacent to a Buddhist temple.

Pei Jinge's arrangements were extremely thorough, and the presence of himself and Gu Zhuo did not cause any commotion, as if they had already lived here for several years.

During this process, she even sent Gu Zhuo's handwritten letter to Wang Jingshuo through an unknown secret intelligence channel.

She is such a person who cannot sit still. She can't help but find something to do for herself so that she can feel at ease.

If it weren't for the purpose of keeping a low profile, I'm afraid there would be a steady stream of intelligence coming in every day for me to review.

Naturally, Gu Zhuo would have no objection to this.

Listening to the morning bell and the evening drum, he took good care of his injuries while thinking about the second of the three questions.

——All living beings.

Pei Jinge would occasionally ask, but always kept silent, just like when she and Gu Zhuo were together on Baidi Mountain.

Until one day, Gu Zhuo remembered something.

"Why can you use folding snow?"

“…Is this even worth asking?”

"Zhexue is my sword, no one else should be able to hold it in their hands."

"Am I a stranger to you?"

"This sentence is a bit too absurd."

Pei Jinge looked disdainful and ignored it.

The tougher the person, the more fake it is. How could Gu Zhuo not understand that Pei Jinge seemed indifferent to his path of cultivation, but in fact, he cared about him to the extreme and used it as a mirror.

Of course he didn't mind this fact, he just found it very interesting and laughed.

Pei Jinge was very bothered by his smile and said expressionlessly, "Are you very proud?"

Gu Zhuo smiled and said nothing.

Pei Jinge was a little annoyed and said in a slightly cold voice: "I should have let those two idiots die earlier."

Gu Zhuo couldn't deny this fact, so he quickly put away his smile and thanked him sincerely.

"Your injury is almost healed."

Pei Jinge said expressionlessly: "We will part ways after spring comes."

Gu Zhuo asked seriously: "What are you going to do?"

Pei Jinge stopped talking.

Yes, that's the biggest problem.

Gu Zhuo looked at her and said, "If you can't make up your mind to kill me, then don't stand on the side of Daqin. It will only make things complicated and boring, and there is no other meaning at all."

Pei Jinge was a very proud person and said, "I just want to kill you without any regrets."

Gu Zhuo said: "No, you like me."

Pei Jinge burst out laughing when he heard this and said, "It seems you forgot that I told you at Baidi Mountain that I don't like you at all."

This seemingly powerful sentence collapsed at the first touch.

“I’ve had someone I liked.”

Gu Zhuo looked into her eyes and said calmly, "I will only say that I don't like someone when I like her."

Pei Jinge was silent.

This seems to be the case.

For some reason, there was a sudden noise coming from the temple in the distance.

It seemed that the noise was not just caused by the Southern Qi royal family's worship of Buddha.

Listening to those voices, Pei Jinge's mood calmed down for some reason, and he said to Gu Zhuo: "At least I didn't break my promise completely. I may have a good impression of you because you do meet my aesthetic standards, but I still don't love you. This is the fact."

Gu Zhuo looked over there, his eyes became a little strange, and said, "I agree."

Pei Jinge looked at his face and asked seriously, "Can you disfigure yourself?"

"…Do you like my appearance?"

"How could I be such a superficial woman, but I cannot deny that if your face was covered with pockmarks and pits, I would never have met you in person in Wangjing back then."

Gu Zhuo was speechless.

There was one more thing Pei Jinge didn't say.

——I am so beautiful, how can I fall in love with someone who is ordinary-looking?
This sentence is too narcissistic, so of course she is unwilling to say it, in order to keep her dignity.

A sigh sounded.

Gu Zhuo stood up, walked outside, and asked, "Do you want to go take a look?"

Pei Jinge understood that he was going to watch the Southern Qi royal family worship Buddha, and was very puzzled, so he said, "What's so good about that?"

Gu Zhuo said: "Of course."

Pei Jinge frowned slightly and asked, "What is it?"

Gu Zhuo did not hide anything and gave the reason very straightforwardly.

"Isn't the Buddha worthy of your attention?"

(End of this chapter)