by Mao Ni
The Divine Empress calmly gazed at an empty spot in the sky and quietly said to herself, "Today, I went to the Hundred Herb Garden to drink tea."
Right now, the only thing in that part of the night sky was the void, but twenty years before, a star of incomparable brilliance once shone there.
It was an emperor's star.
That star held a very important meaning to her, just like the Hundred Herb Garden.
Several hundred years ago, she was forced out of the palace and cultivated in seclusion within the Hundred Herb Garden, staying within for several years.
In those several years, Emperor Xian would come in through that door and meet with her.
She was a Daoist nun, and because of certain matters, she had no idea how many people of the court were spying on her in secret. She didn't even know if there were the spies of others amongst her closest attendants. Even though she dared to meet Emperor Xian, it was not easy to do anything more.
What she and Emperor Xian did in the Hundred Herb Garden the most was to drink tea, wordlessly looking at each other, communicating a thousand lines through tears[21].
Occasionally, when the night was dark and everyone asleep, when no one was by their side, the most intimate action she and Emperor Xian would express was to caress each other's face, to foolishly stare into each other's eyes.
"Tonight, I saw a youth who was very similar to you."
The Divine Empress smiled and said to the night sky.
But right after, her smile instantly faded and her voice grew extremely cold and callous. "He just so happens to also have the surname of Chen."
* * *
The autumn rain fell intermittently, not continuously as that of spring, but its gloomy cold was still rather irritating.
The autumn remained as if nothing had happened, but in reality, many events had taken place.
The Divine Empress had not given a single word of her opinion toward this crisis in the capital, but everyone who had the right to know her opinion knew of it.
Thus, the capital returned to peace and tranquility.
The southern diplomatic mission lived in the Li Palace Academy as if apart from the world.
As for the slim and graceful idol of the world that was Princess Luoluo, no more news was heard of her, other than that she was also in the Li Palace.
The Tianhai clan was gathering rare treasures all over, apparently in preparation for the marriage next year of Tianhai Shengxue and the Princess of Ping, but Tianhai Shengxue himself had returned to Snowhold Pass.
Of the students who had passed the pre-examination for the Grand Examination, some of them had been recruited by the great academies, while others assiduously prepared in their inn rooms.
The center of gravity around which the capital's life revolved and the focal point of its discussions had already shifted to the approaching Grand Examination.
As one of its past focal points, the Orthodox Academy was currently extremely peaceful.
After that bout of autumn rain, no one dared to come and make trouble for the Orthodox Academy, nor did the Orthodox Academy have any intention of repairing its gate. The broken-down academy gate was left there, a silent jeer aimed at the Tianhai clan. Perhaps this was what it meant to find problems too broken to fix and so just leave them be.
The heart of the capital remembered the magnificent sight of the Zhou under the Chens, and the number of people who loathed and detested the Tianhai clan was beyond measure. Gradually, the broken-down gate of the Orthodox Academy became a famous sight. Every day, people would come to see, thus displaying their opposition to the Tianhai clan, and even the Divine Empress.
The Orthodox Academy's gatehouse was also a part of the sight—someone who had taken part in the war against the demons, and it was a legendary figure like Jin Yulu! One couldn't even hope to see such a person in other places, but here, one could see Jin Yulu every day.
As for the youths of the Orthodox Academy… Amongst the crowd who stopped outside the Orthodox Academy's gate to look, whenever they discussed Xu Yourong's fiancé, their faces would be full of disdain and contempt. However, their voices were all very soft, and no one dared to yell a curse.
Because now, everyone in the capital knew that there were many stones in the Orthodox Academy…
The gate of the Orthodox Academy became a scenic view, but very few people dared to step within this scenic view.
Of course, there were some people who simply didn't care about these things, who could even sleep inside this scenic view.
Under the sunlight, the autumn forest outside the window was suffused with a golden light, a very beautiful scene.
Chen Changsheng drew back his gaze from the window and looked at the waterfall of black hair running down his sheets, feeling somewhat helpless. He thought to himself, Just what is going on here?
Chapter 103 – Falling in Love with Your Bed
Chen Changsheng walked up to the bed and pushed through the blankets. The distinct feel transmitted through his fingertips reminded him that he should probably change to thicker blankets… yes, because the weather was getting colder with the autumn?
Mo Yu opened her eyes, waking from her sleep. She plucked the plugs of velvet from her ears, sat up, and stretched. Yawning, she got up as if no one was around, seating herself in front of the bronze mirror to tidy her appearance. She combed her hair and then washed her face of any leftover makeup.
She once more displayed the mystical techniques of a Star Condensation expert. Several balls of water spontaneously appeared around her slender finger, glimmering in the sunlight like precious gems.
As he watched her softly place those spheres of water upon her face and carefully knead them, Chen Changsheng could not help but shake his head.
From the first time he had seen Mo Yu rise from his bed and tidy up her makeup, Chen Changsheng often recalled this matter and felt far too great a waste of life.
Yes, it was not a reckless use of things, but a waste of life.
Those sparkling clear balls of water had been condensed using her true essence. True essence was transformed from starlight that had been drawn in through meditation. Meditation required time, and time was life.
To cultivate to such a level and use one's abilities to wash the makeup off one's face was naturally a waste of one's life.
Seeing the disapproving look of the youth in the mirror, Mo Yu knew what he was thinking. "Only the water condensed from the air is the purest, and only by not handling it with any tools can it not be polluted, making it the supreme item with which to clean one's face."
Chen Changsheng said nothing.
Mo Yu took a tissue from the drawer and lightly dabbed the water on her face, thinking to herself, Speaking with a man about these things is truly like a chicken speaking to a duck.
Immediately, she found the description to be inappropriate.
Then she thought, Why do I need to explain this to him?
"The peace that the Orthodox Academy has experienced these past few days will last until the Grand Examination."
She rose and expressionlessly gazed at Chen Changsheng. "You should well understand what level of benevolence and mercy this gesture signifies, so all of you should behave yourselves."
Chen Changsheng fell into thought, but said nothing.
"I hear… that in the Grand Examination, you intend to take first rank of the first banner?" Mo Yu asked with interest.
Chen Changsheng was somewhat perturbed at this question.
His most important goal in coming from Xining to the capital was to take first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination. However, if this matter were to be spoken of, it would incite more jeers and discussion than his engagement with Xu Yourong, so he had only spoken of it to the two people that he deeply trusted.
Luoluo and Tang Thirty-Six knew, and the Black Dragon also knew.
Where had Mo Yu heard it from?
He thought of a possibility, but he was unclear on whether
he had mentioned it in his conversation with Shuang'er in the Divine General of the East's estate.
He did not want to announce his goal to the world, but since he was being asked, he would not deny it. Lying and concealing had never been a part of his style of dealing with things.
"Yes, I want to see if I have a chance," he said to Mo Yu.
Mo Yu's expression gradually turned cold, because Chen Changsheng had spoken these words with such a calm expression that she actually felt like she could not tease him. She slightly frowned and said, "Although I don't like you, I know that you're no egotistical or ignorant imbecile."
Chen Changsheng replied, "I just want to try."
"A few days ago, did you meet anyone?"
Mo Yu suddenly asked. When she asked if he had met anyone, she didn't have a specific description in mind, or even a name, but she was very sure that if Chen Changsheng met that person, he would absolutely remember, and he would also know just who she was asking about.
The matter of Chen Changsheng wanting to take first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination had been told to her by the Divine Empress.
The peace and safety of the Orthodox Academy had also been bestowed by the Divine Empress.
She had not once understood why the Empress's stance had changed on that night and wanted to try and see if she could find any hidden connection.
Chen Changsheng was somewhat startled, thinking, In the past few days, I've been cultivating and reading in the Orthodox Academy. I didn't even step out of the gate, so just when could I have met…
He suddenly thought of the silent middle-aged woman sitting across from him and drinking tea in the Hundred Herb Garden, and became slightly apprehensive. Was Mo Yu inquiring about the middle-aged woman? What did she want to do? With the grand authority Mo Yu held within the palace, he was worried that she would cause trouble for the middle-aged woman.
"Who?" He did not admit nor reject, but asked another question.
This was a very clever way of responding, and Mo Yu really did not think too much about it. She stared at Chen Changsheng's clean appearance and recalled the emotions the Divine Empress revealed when speaking about this youth, and felt more and more that something fishy was going on.
Her thoughts slightly shifted and she looked at Chen Changsheng with a smile. Her normally indifferent and arrogant eyes instantly gained a captivating charm as she softly asked, "I've slept on your bed twice now. I don't know if I left any scent. When you went to sleep, did you smell anything?"
Her smiling eyes narrowed, thus making the charm a sliver. Her voice also became a little hoarse, yet it was very pleasant to hear.
Chen Changsheng retreated two steps to keep his distance, then replied, "I didn't."
Mo Yu stepped forward with him, opening her eyes wide. Walking very close to him, she very seriously asked, "Why?"
She did not seem to deliberately be doing anything, yet her eyes were very bright and seemed very prone to flustering men.
"Because right after you left, I changed the bedding."
Chen Changsheng continued, "In a little while, when you leave, I'll change the bedding again."
The room became very quiet. The golden autumn forest outside the window swayed in the breeze as if mocking her grasshopper-like posture as unsightly.
Mo Yu's body became very stiff. After a moment, she slowly straightened herself and stared into his eyes as she asked, "Why?"
Chen Changsheng earnestly replied, "A problem of hygiene."
Mo Yu's breathing became rough as she coldly asked, "You think I'm not clean?"
Chen Changsheng seriously answered, "I know that an obsession with cleanliness isn't a good habit, but every time you sleep, you never take off your outer garments… This is truly not acceptable."
* * *
Mo Yu forcefully suppressed the urge to annihilate this entire house and grind Chen Changsheng's bones into ashes. She clomped to the door and then suddenly stopped. Thinking of what Chen Changsheng had said, she turned around and inclined her head, asking, "You dislike my clothes being dirty or my body being dirty?"
Chen Changsheng didn't know how to answer. At the moment, from his angle, her tilted head and curious question was actually rather cute, even somewhat similar to Luoluo. How was she in any way like the mighty and prestigious Lady Mo Yu who had the mind of a snake or scorpion?
Mo Yu looked at him and gave a sweet smile, charmingly asking, "Since it's this way, then in the future, if I take off my outer clothes, at worst even taking off my inner clothes, and wrap your blankets around my naked body, will you still change your bedding?"
Chen Changsheng had never encountered such a sight before. He gaped, at a loss on how to answer.
Mo Yu somewhat bashfully lowered her head as she said, "If this still isn't okay… then I'll take a bath first, washing my skin white and clean, and then it should be okay, right?"
Chen Changsheng's mouth dropped even further. He could only make a single syllable—and this was certainly not the Dragon language taught to him by Daoist Ji.
"Ah?"
"Shy?" Mo Yu covered her lips with her hand as she asked, a hint of satisfaction flashing across her eyes.
"I'd still rather not."
Chen Changsheng came to his senses and said to her with heartfelt sincerity, "After all, men and women are different, and you have your chambers in the palace, your mansion in the Little Orange Garden, so why do you insist on sleeping at the Orthodox Academy? Why do you insist on sleeping in my bed? If this were made known to anyone else, then my lady's reputation…"
Mo Yu had no time to listen to his lectures. Fluttering her lashes, she softly asked, "Could you not be moved?"
Chen Changsheng pondered this question, then, scratching his head, answered, "I very rarely think about matters of men and women, and also… I really don't understand it much."
Mo Yu's eyes overflowed with cheer as she offered, "If you don't understand… I can teach you."
Chen Changsheng took another two steps back, reaching the window. He sternly rebuked, "My lady, I am engaged."
His room was not very high up, only on the second floor, so it would be very easy for him to jump down.
"I'll stop teasing you, child."
Mo Yu giggled and then said, "Now that I think about it, you and that wild girl Xu Yourong really are alike. As long as it's needed, you'll take out the engagement at any time to use it as a shield. But, what if you weren't Xu Yourong's fiancé?"
Chen Changsheng shook his head. "I wouldn't."
He didn't even need to think before giving an answer, thus making it very hurtful.
Mo Yu was somewhat angry, asking, "Why?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "Because you are ill."
Enraged, Mo Yu shouted back, "You're the one that's ill!"
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, I really am ill, but there is no use in telling others. He earnestly said to her, "I'm saying that you really are ill. Your worries weigh heavily on your mind, and you sweat at night and suffer from insomnia. I think that whether in the palace or the Little Orange Garden, you find it very difficult to sleep, thus you walk around everywhere in the early morning."
Mo Yu slightly arched her brows as she stared at him in silence, thinking, Just how does he know?
In the past year, she had been suffering from night sweats and insomnia, unable to sleep throughout the night. During the day, she had to accompany the Divine Empress and read over memorials, so she simply didn't have the leisure to close her eyes. She could only endure, day after day, and even a Star Condensation expert like her was quickly reaching the end of her tether.
She carried soundproof velvet earplugs and had a sachet of spirit-pacifying incense tied to her waist all for the sake of being able to sleep.
But none of it had been of any use. All this changed several days ago when the Tianhai clan was attacking the Orthodox Academy. As the person directing things behind the curtain, she had come to the Orthodox Academy to see th
e excitement and also to exercise control over the situation. While thinking about how to force Chen Changsheng to annul the engagement, she had unknowingly fallen asleep on his bed.
She did not understand why.
Besides being clean, there was nothing special about Chen Changsheng's bed, so why did it make her sleep so sweetly? The bedding had a plain design and was made with the most ordinary of materials, so why did she smell an indistinct scent that was able to make her feel incomparably at ease?
Mo Yu could not understand why, so she thought the experiences of that day had just been a fluke. However, in the past few days, her insomnia had been getting worse and worse, especially after the Divine Empress went to the Hundred Herb Garden. She had too many things to think about and found it impossible to sleep. Today, she finally found it too much to bear and so had come here.
She told herself she was only coming to the Orthodox Academy today to warn Chen Changsheng while also inquiring into the Empress's connection with this matter. But the moment she saw Chen Changsheng's bed, she knew that she had only been thinking of sleeping in his bed this entire time.
"My worries weigh heavily on my mind?" Mo Yu asked him, her expression rather grave, a hint of ice in the depths of her eyes.
Chapter 104 – Thinking of a Person
"Yes, your worries weigh heavily on your mind."
Besides insomnia and anxiety, Chen Changsheng mentioned several other symptoms that completely matched her situation. At the end, he also seemed to mention something about disharmony.
"Enough!"
Mo Yu's face was slightly red as she said, "I admit that everything you said is correct. Just tell me how to treat it."
Chen Changsheng was somewhat baffled. He asked, "Even if the imperial physicians can't immediately cure your illness, there should be no problem with temporarily alleviating it. Did you not go see them?"