by Mao Ni
Luoluo stood in front of Chen Changsheng and suffered the brunt of this terrifying Qi. She knew that she was far from being Xiao Songgong's opponent, but she always believed Chen Changsheng to be hiding his true strength, so she believed that he could resist this level of attack. However, she still grew angry.
This person dared to show off his power to Teacher!
She furiously yelled, "You damned dwarf, you think you can wield your old age to bully others!"
The hall fell silent once more, because everyone was stunned, stunned to hear these unimaginable words.
Xiao Songgong himself was also very surprised. Unexpectedly, surprisingly, someone dared to curse him?
Several disciples of the Mount Li Sword Sect stood up and coldly glared in the direction of the door.
Their leader Guan Feibai had an apathetic expression as he prepared to strike.
When the prince is shamed, the minister dies; if the teacher is humiliated, what should his disciples do?
At this most tense of moments, the archbishop opened his eyes once more, roused from his sleep.
With tired eyes, he looked at both parties primed to fight and sighed, "It's not like any of you are children. Could it be that whoever's loudest is the most reasonable? Shouldn't the first and most appropriate task be to first look at this little fellow's marriage contract?"
These words were just like his earlier ones, irrefutable.
From the moment Chen Changsheng entered the hall until now, no one suggested to look at the aforementioned marriage contract, because everybody wanted to take a stand on this matter. They simply didn't believe Chen Changsheng's words, even though they were all well aware that looking at the marriage contract was the most appropriate of tasks.
The archbishop wanted to see the marriage contract, indicating that he already prepared himself to believe Chen Changsheng.
When they thought of how he had also protected Chen Changsheng earlier, and also how the Orthodox Academy had reappeared in the world this year, and also the undercurrent in the capital over the last few months, the crowd finally confirmed that he really was the Orthodox Academy's backer!
"A person humiliates the teachers and elders of my Mount Li. Is it just being disregarded?" Guan Feibai coldly asked.
The archbishop gave a tired chuckle, saying, "First resolve the engagement. You can fight with that girl however you want. I guarantee that no one will stop you."
Prince Chen Liu knew of Luoluo's identity and naturally could not allow a conflict or dispute between her and the southern diplomatic mission to arise before his eyes. He said a few placating phrases to the southern diplomatic mission, then turned to Chen Changsheng and asked, "You said that you had a marriage contract as proof. Is that marriage contract on your person?"
"Of course it's not." Chen Changsheng explained, "Although I'm not worried about the marriage contract being destroyed as an additional copy exists in the Li Palace, I don't want to go through all that trouble."
Luoluo took the marriage contract from her sleeve and offered it to him.
Chen Changsheng handed the marriage contract to an attendant so it could be passed toward the depths of the great hall.
Everyone's gazes rested on the marriage contract, moving along with it.
"Some people, for the sake of preventing this marriage contract from seeing the light of day, did many things. Very regretfully, they did not succeed."
He gazed at Xu Shiji and Lady Mo Yu, saying, "In truth, I already said to those people that I really came to end the engagement. If those things had not happened, this marriage contract would probably be in the Xu Estate, hidden away where nobody could find it.
"It's a pity that there is no such thing as 'if'."
* * *
This marriage contract did not seem to have a single difference with the marriage contracts commonly used in the Great Zhou. The clauses were simple and their meanings were clear, but in reality, this marriage contract was very special, because it was clearly stated that only the groom's side could break the engagement, and the witness was the Pope!
Even if no copy of this marriage contract existed in the Li Palace, no person could destroy this marriage contract. This was because the marriage contract was stamped with the Pope's seal which contained his supreme might. Anyone that destroyed this marriage contract would simultaneously have to destroy the seal, and this was to commit a grave offense against the Pope.
Chen Changsheng had previously said that after Xu Shiji obtained the marriage contract, he would hide it in some place no one could find. He didn't say that it would be torn into pieces or burned into ash. In the several months after he had entered the capital, this was the primary reason the Divine General of the East's estate had never attempted to steal the marriage contract and then destroy it.
It was naturally very easy to distinguish whether this marriage contract was real or fake.
The great hall was eerily quiet. No person spoke for a very long time. The Qiushan clan head's face was ashen, and the face of every member of the southern diplomatic mission brimmed with the anger of being deceived. Even the teachers and students of the Ivy Academies had extremely nasty complexions.
The direction in which this matter had developed was contrary to everyone's desires. A tale that captivated the entire world had become a farce. The story of these immortal companions had just begun when a sudden stranger was added to the mix. It was only natural that no one was happy, everyone in the crowd aiming complicated gazes at Chen Changsheng.
Just as this youth had said, it was a pity that there was no such thing as 'if'.
If time could reverse, no one in the crowd would have been willing to hear Chen Changsheng speak. This sort of person was probably better off dead, was he not?
What to do next?
Everyone looked at each other in dismay, at wit's end.
It was clearly the Qiushan clan that had come to propose marriage, but it ended with Chen Changsheng taking out a marriage contract!
The members of the southern diplomatic mission subconsciously turned to a certain place.
Gou Hanshi was sitting there.
The southerners all looked to him because everyone knew that his intellect was without peer. Although there was an elder of Mount Li, a martial aunt of Holy Maiden Peak, and even the head of the Qiushan clan present, they were all used to putting their hopes of resolving this situation on this person's shoulders.
In these many events that had occurred one after the other, his expression had still remained calm. He had examined Chen Changsheng with interested eyes, sizing him up, yet there was no wariness or anger.
He did not speak once.
Guan Feibai looked to him and said, "Senior Brother?"
Gou Hanshi stood up and smiled at Chen Changsheng, gentle and amiable.
"Everyone says that a marriage is based on the orders of the parents and the words of the matchmaker. The marriage contract in your hands is the latter, while our side is the former, but…"
Just when everyone believed this Mount Li genius renowned for his intellect was going to engage in serious debate with Chen Changsheng, he suddenly changed the subject, his expression growing solemn as he said, "None of this is actually important, because the people to be engaged are not the parents, nor the people who wrote the marriage contract, but the two people themselves. Everyone knows that my senior brother and Junior Sister Xu are childhood sweethearts, their love more solid than gold. Even if the marriage contract in your hands is real, does that mean my junior sister has to marry you?"
At these words, everyone in the hall nodded their heads.
Xu Yourong was the most beautiful pearl of the Great Zhou. If some random person came up with a marriage contract, she would have to be married to that man?
Wasn't this casting pearls before swine?
Even the Pope would not agree to this sort of matter, would he?
Even if the marriage contract was real, if she wanted to marry Qiushan Jun, could
any other person still be able to forcefully obstruct her?
In truth, this argument was utterly baseless, but when spoken by Gou Hanshi, it seemed very reasonable, because everyone in the hall required this sort of reason.
Gou Hanshi gently said to Chen Changsheng, "If you truly care about Junior Sister Xu, shouldn't you respect her view? As a man, this is the sort of bearing you should have."
These words seemed gentle and sincere, but in reality, they were quite frightening.
Chen Changsheng gazed back in silence.
The entire hall was awaiting his reply.
Just then, from the night sky outside the hall came a clear cry.
A White Crane gracefully flew down.
Chapter 67 – The White Crane as Proof (II)
Gou Hanshi was truly worthy of being one of the leaders of the Mount Li Sword Sect's young generation, truly worthy of being the Second Law that Qiushan Jun relied on for his intellect. He had kept quiet all this time, but when he finally spoke, he made it very difficult for the other party to respond. This was because his words hovered between reasonable and unreasonable, yet they seemed quite sensible.
Chen Changsheng was silent for a few moments. He had just prepared his response, but when he was about to open his mouth, preparing to continue no matter what tribulations this world sent against him, he and everyone else heard the cry of a crane from outside the hall.
The cries of a crane were normally called crane calls.
This crane call was clear and unyielding.
A White Crane flew out of the darkness, its entire body as white as snow. It lightly drifted down to the floor of the great hall, its slender neck slightly turning, its expression proud and indifferent.
Quite a few people present recognized this crane. For example, when Xu Shiji saw it, the look on his face grew even more unsightly. When the disciples and the martial aunt from Holy Maiden Peak saw it, they felt rather nervous. When Gou Hanshi and the disciples of Mount Li saw it, they recalled that they had seen this White Crane several times outside their eldest brother's cottage.
Chen Changsheng also recognized the White Crane, but he had not seen it for several years. When he saw it now, he felt rather complex.
This White Crane came from the south, bringing Xu Yourong's letter.
* * *
Mo Yu finished reading the letter, then gazed at the crowd within the hall. She was met by only silence. She gave a soft sigh, then declared, "Let's just end it here for tonight."
The hall buzzed with the constant and rather annoying sound of discussion. Everyone was quite astonished, mystified as to the contents of the letter. Why did Lady Mo Yu want to directly declare the end of the Ivy Festival? With a gloomy expression, Xiao Songgong asked, "Are the contents of this letter inconvenient to divulge?"
Mo Yu lightly raised her brows. She naturally supported the marriage proposal of the southern diplomatic mission, but upon hearing the words of this Mount Li elder, she couldn't help but grow a little angry. She thought to herself, I just wanted to leave you all a little face by ending the Ivy Festival early, but since none of you can tell good from bad, forget about it.
She offered the letter to Prince Chen Liu then ceased to concern herself with this matter.
When Prince Chen Liu saw the letter, the expression on his face became rather brilliant.
Then he began to read the letter to the crowd, which had been one of the writer's requests in the first place.
The contents of this letter were very simple, only ten or so lines, but the meaning they wanted to convey was crystal-clear.
Contrary to the expectations of everyone in the hall, although this letter came from the south, it was not from Holy Maiden Peak. Xu Yourong was not at Holy Maiden Peak, as several weeks ago, she had gone to the Southern Sea to cultivate. If one calculated time, it was right before the southern diplomatic mission had left.
The tone of Xu Yourong's letter was calm and indifferent. She indicated her extreme respect for all parties involved in this matter, and she also gave her thanks to her teachers and elders who had come to the capital to make this marriage proposal, because this signified how much her teachers and elders cared for and were concerned for her. However, she held a different view toward this matter.
As the first half of this letter came to an end, she had not brought up any sort of matter, but many people within the hall knew the matter which she wanted to bring up. She had no idea that the southern diplomatic mission was coming to the capital to propose. In other words, before the southern sect took on this task, they had not asked for her opinion.
The looks on many people's faces became rather unsightly while some seemed relieved of a great burden. In brief, there were all sorts of wondrous expressions.
Yes, a marriage ultimately rested upon the order of the parents, the words of the matchmaker, and the approval of the heavens and earth, the sovereign, the parents, and the teachers. It had little to do with the marriage partners themselves and in the engagements of ordinary people, there truly was no need to obtain the approval of the bride. But Xu Yourong was not an ordinary person, especially given the fact that someone had just said certain things.
The gazes the crowd turned to Gou Hanshi were somewhat complex.
Tang Thirty-Six jeered, "So this is your so-called respect."
Gou Hanshi had earlier said that Chen Changsheng should respect Xu Yourong's view to have the bearing of a man.
Yet the southern sects had never even asked Xu Yourong for her opinion before sending people to the capital to propose. Was this respect?
Gou Hanshi was silent. He had not known that Junior Sister Xu was actually unaware of the situation. He was very confused over what the elders of Holy Maiden Peak were thinking, and he was even more confused over why Junior Sister Xu had sent the White Crane to deliver this letter. Could it be that she… really did not wish to marry his senior brother?
No, it shouldn't be this way.
He wanted to know what was written in the second half of the letter.
Many people thought the same, all of them looking toward the thin sheet of paper in Prince Chen Liu's hands.
In the second half of this letter, Xu Yourong did not express any rage or hate. Just as was mentioned before, for her teachers, elders, and family members to arrange a marriage for her could always be understood as out of concern and love.
She was the reincarnation of the true Phoenix, the sole candidate to be the next Holy Maiden of the south, and possessed a talent and potential envied and revered by countless people. She could possess even more freedom, was worthy of even more respect, thus Gou Hanshi's words, thus when her letter ever so faintly hinted that she did not approve of this marriage proposal, the crowd within the hall reacted in such a way. However, before she truly matured, she was first of all the young lady of the Divine General of the East's estate, the disciple of Holy Maiden Peak.
She could mention her opinion of the plans made by her family and teachers, but before the common people, she had to present a calm and deferential stance. Only this way could she be the perfect and flawless woman in the eyes of the common people. Of course, that the common people all thought her to be a perfect match with Qiushan Jun was perhaps also because she was so calm.
Yet the second half of this letter directly told everyone that they were all mistaken.
Xu Yourong clearly wrote in her letter that only the friendship of fellow disciples, the affection of brother and sister, existed between her and Qiushan Jun.
She respected her senior brother, but she had never thought about being with him.
She also wrote in her letter that she did not know if this letter would arrive in time, but regardless of whether it did, in brief…
She would not marry him.
* * *
It was a very simple ten or so lines, a very clear meaning, but it was lacking a bit in reasoning.
Everyone in the hall stared in shock at the letter in Prince Chen Liu's hands, incapable of
speech.
Why? Just what was the reason for all this? How could she speak so calmly, so certainly?
This marriage was a marriage alliance between the southern sects and the Great Zhou Dynasty, the combined will of the Divine Empress, the Pope, the Holy Maiden of the south, and the Mount Li Sword Sect. In the face of this terrifying will, even if she was Xu Yourong, what reason did she have to reject it?
Xu Yourong used the final sentence of this letter to give an explanation to the entire world.
This explanation was very simple, yet irrefutable.
It was very similar to the explanation given for why Chen Changsheng opposed her engagement with Qiushan Jun.
"Because I already have an engagement. I have a fiancé called Chen Changsheng."
* * *
The hall was absolutely silent.
Earlier, no one had believed Chen Changsheng's words. Even when it was proved that his marriage contract was real, no one had sincerely acknowledged this matter, until the White Crane brought the letter, brought Xu Yourong's stance. This letter seemed to deliver a slap to everyone's faces.
Previously, when Mo Yu had been reading the letter, she was silently thinking, This stubborn girl, just what does she want to do?
Luoluo's eyes twinkled with stars as she sighed in praise, "She really is Xu Yourong… so cool."
Chen Changsheng slightly lowered his head, looking at his reflection in the golden bricks of the hall. When Prince Chen Liu had been reading the letter to the entire crowd, his expression had gradually grown calmer as the letter was read, his mind more relaxed, yet in the end, he was still left with a tinge of indescribable confusion.
You clearly don't want to marry, yet tonight you wrote this sort of letter. Just why did you do all this?