Ze Tian Ji

Edited by: Michyrr

A cup of tea had been placed on the table. Its contents had long since cooled.

Chen Changsheng quietly sat in the chair. He clearly did not intend to speak first.

It was just like that year. It seemed like nothing had changed.

In truth, everything had changed ages ago.

That young Daoist who was entering the capital for the first time so that he could end his engagement was now the Pope.

Fortunately, just like in the past, Xu Shiji was not present, or else the mood would be even more awkward.

The curtain of beads lightly clacked as Xu Yourong walked through it.

Upon returning to the Divine General’s estate, Xu Yourong had paid little attention to him. After leaving him in the hall, she had gone to clean herself up.

This was a very casual action, just like the black hair now casually cascading behind her.

A few beads of water could be seen in her damp hair. Coupled with her spotless face, as beautiful as a flower, she presented a very moving sight.

Chen Changsheng was very pleased by his fiancée’s beauty, and he even more loved the casual way she treated him. He wanted to keep watching her like this, but this was still the Xu Estate. And besides, he had many more things he needed to do.

He stood up and said to Xu Yourong, "Then I’ll go first."

Surprised, Xu Yourong asked, "You’re not going to eat?"

This was her home and Chen Changsheng was her fiancé. She treated both very casually, so she asked this question very naturally. Only when she noticed the strange air of the reception hall did she understand his reason. She couldn’t help but smile and said, "Then you can go."

"I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow," Chen Changsheng said.

He turned and bid farewell to Madam Xu, and he did not forget to nod in greeting to Nanny Hua and Shuang’er.

There was nothing to be criticized about him, neither in courtesy nor attitude.

This sort of composure made Madam Xu and the others recall that sight from several years ago.

These last few years seemed to have effected no change on him. Both the young Daoist from the past and the Pope of the present treated the world and the people within it with the same sort of composure and indifference.

After walking out of the Divine General’s estate and walking along that unremarkable stream, one would quickly arrive at the crude arch of the stone bridge.

When Chen Changsheng walked onto this bridge, he did not, as he had done several years ago, turn around to look at the beautiful estate.

Returning to the capital after three years, he did not go to the Li Palace or the Orthodox Academy, but to the Xu Estate. It wasn’t because he wanted to do anything, but because his fiancée wanted him to accompany her back home. The reason had been that simple.

Over the years, he had played the guest twice at the Xu Estate. Did he feel proud and elated? No. Did he feel like it was all a lifetime ago? No.

He and Xu Yourong were both still very young, with long lives ahead of them. They still had many things to do, many places to go.

Compared to the future, the past was far too unimportant.

Thus, he would let it be the past. Perhaps that had always been why the past existed.

A snowflake suddenly drifted down.

Chen Changsheng opened the Yellow Paper Umbrella and vanished into the crowd.

......

......

’Let the past be the past.’ This was a simple phrase and a simple principle, but not everyone could do it.

Like Xu Shiji.

Upon returning to the estate and hearing of what had happened during the day, he gained an abnormally nasty expression. In the end, however, he did nothing.

He didn’t even break a porcelain wine cup.

Because Xu Yourong was currently resting in the rear courtyard.

All of the Divine General’s estate was as quiet as an ancient and remote mountain range.

In the last few years, Xu Shiji had already admitted to the fact that his status in the Great Zhou Dynasty was completely due to his daughter.

Whether it was with the Tianhai Divine Empress or now, nothing had changed.

This was a hard fact to accept, but he had still accepted it.

He simply had no idea how to face his daughter.

Madam Xu also could not forget those matters of the past. Downcast, she said, Back then, how could I have imagined that he would become the Pope?"

Xu Shiji sternly replied, "And what of it? In the end, he’s still Xu Shiji’s son-in-law!"

......

......

"Seeing the son-in-law depart in such an easygoing matter, it’s truly hard to know just how proud he was in his heart."

In the rear courtyard, Shuang’er was holding a bowl of blue lobster meat in front of Xu Yourong as she somewhat resentfully spoke.

Xu Yourong lightly replied, "Back then, you mentioned in your letter that he left the same way. What did he have to be proud of back then?"

Shuang’er pondered the question, then said, "The him from back then... he was too fake, or perhaps unreasonable?"

Xu Yourong raised her head and gave Shuang’er a light glance.

Shuang’er became nervous and hurriedly said, "Young Lady, I was wrong."

Xu Yourong asked, "Do you know how you were wrong?"

As Shuang’er thought about her extremely dissatisfactory evaluations of Chen Changsheng from back then and thought about the deep affection her young lady had for him, she grew more and more nervous. In a shaky voice, she said, "I was not able to see the son-in-law’s good points, and I also made many comments about him."

"Your insight truly can’t be considered good, but just how many people back then could see his good points?"

Xu Yourong suddenly recalled how, on her return to the capital, she had visited the Orthodox Academy at night and unexpectedly met Mo Yu in his room.

Then she recalled how Mo Yu was about to get married but had also demanded him to come and officiate. She couldn’t help but arch her brow and think, this counts as a person with insight.

"Just what are his good points?"

Xu Yourong lightly replied, "I love how, no matter what he encounters, even if it’s the terror of death, he never gets depressed, and he certainly won’t lose all restraint like someone that’s given up. He remains focused and dedicated, persistent and calm."

Shuang’er could not understand, but she could hear the true love in her young lady’s words, which stunned her.

Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong’s marriage was now a certainty, but even now, she still did not believe that her young lady actually loved Chen Changsheng.

Because in her view, her young lady was just like the Phoenix: innately noble, proud, and aloof. How could she love a human?

At this moment, a maid came in with a report: Xu Shiji had arrived.

The gate to the courtyard was opened and a set of footprints appeared on the snow.

The two sat across from each other, two precious tea cups placed on the table between them.

Everything was polite and courteous. They did not seem like father and daughter, but like someone receiving a guest.

Xu Shiji looked at his daughter. He wanted to speak but had no idea what to say, so he hesitated.

In the end, he only casually expressed concern about how she was eating and her quarters before leaving. Only, before leaving, he failed to conceal his anxiety.

Xu Yourong knew what her father wanted to say, or perhaps what he wanted her to say to Chen Changsheng.

When she was little, her father had this same appearance whenever he wanted to enter the palace to see the Divine Empress.

She did not want to listen, because she did not intend to say anything to Chen Changsheng.

It was the same when she was little. She had never been willing to speak with the Divine Empress about these matters.

From the moment the blood of the Heavenly Phoenix awakened and she began to cultivate, she found these matters very boring and bothersome.

Tonight, she felt annoyed, so she climbed up to the roof, put her hands behind her back, and began to observe the stars.

Dark clouds lay thick over the night sky, making it impossible to see the uncountable stars above. But they could not keep out her spiritual sense.

She observed the sea of stars, comparing them to rubbings of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths. She quietly comprehended, gradually calming her Dao heart.

In a whirl of wind and snow, a girl dressed in black landed next to Xu Yourong.

The light was rather dim, but the cinnabar birthmark between her brows was still bright and striking.

Xu Yourong stared at it and saw two eyes.

The black-clothed girl asked in annoyance, "Are you that curious?"

Xu Yourong earnestly replied, "Of course. When I was little, I went to New North Bridge for an outing one year. I really did intend to jump into the well and find you."

The black-clothed girl sneered, "Why didn’t I see you then? And you’re still alive."

Xu Yourong gazed at the snow falling down from the sky and smiled. "The Empress saved me."