Chapter 170: Hello Chang’an
"IF YOU LIKE THE TRANSLATIONS, CONSIDER SUPPORTING US ON PATREON ads free with exclusive updates."
**Chapter 170: I Only Seek the Truth**
"Since the great victory in spring and my return to the capital, has General Cui... perhaps had any premonitions?"
Cui Jing was slightly startled. "Might I ask, Your Majesty, what kind of premonition you refer to?"
The emperor gazed at the Tiannv statue, which showed no emotion on its face. His voice, though still calm, carried an undercurrent that could stir waves in everyone's heart.
"I've been wondering... might my son, Chongyue, have returned?"
Wu Jue's eyes widened in shock. "Your Majesty..."
Ming Luo's eyes also trembled. Though she had sensed her aunt's thoughts during this time, hearing the words spoken out loud still caused her to lose her composure.
But she didn’t hide her shock—such matters should leave anyone shocked, and shock was the most natural response.
As she processed her own surprise, she instinctively observed Cui Jing’s reaction.
The usually calm youth appeared the most composed, but even he wasn’t entirely unchanged. There seemed to be a subtle shift in him, an unspoken emotion gathering silently around him, causing him to lift his gaze to the white jade statue in the pool.
The emperor continued, "The formation was set up back then because Master Wu Jue glimpsed a sliver of fate... Though it was just a gamble on a one-in-a-million possibility, such fate, no matter how improbable, still required the right timing, location, and people. The timing was that sliver of fate, the location was this Great Cloud Temple and this tower, and the people... that was where you came in, General Cui."
"At first, I couldn’t understand why the one with this fate would be you, someone who had no prior connection to Chongyue. But over the years, I have gradually come to understand. If it weren’t for you back then, the Xuanzhe Army would have long been extinct. You’ve been in charge of the Xuanzhe Army all these years and brought back the stone for Chongyue’s statue... Your paths have intertwined with hers in ways I can’t even describe. Perhaps, this is the fate guiding us all along."
Ming Luo’s mind began to swirl with doubt.
It was true that Cui Jing had found the stone for the statue used in the resurrection formation, but what did his command of the Xuanzhe Army have to do with Princess Chongyue? The Xuanzhe Army was founded by the late crown prince. Could it be that, since the two siblings were twins, the emperor thought that the princess’s connection to the army was due to their blood relationship?
Instinctively, Ming Luo felt that the emperor's words weren’t as simple as they appeared, but for the moment, she couldn’t think of any other explanations.
Finally, the emperor turned to Cui Jing and said, "Therefore, I am wondering, if Chongyue has truly returned, you, as the one with this fate, might sense something."
Cui Jing silently stared at the jade statue, seemingly trying to feel something in silence.
Yes, now he finally understood why he was the one with this fate.
Aside from that snowstorm years ago, he had no other interactions with her. He was never the one closest to her. Back then, he didn’t have the right to stand by her side, let alone approach her and understand her.
But as he carried her legacy with the Xuanzhe Army and the Wan Yue bow, and walked the path she once walked, guarding what she had guarded, all these experiences had slowly woven a mysterious connection between them.
Perhaps, it was this invisible thread that had connected them across the river of time and life.
Through all this, driven by the admiration and longing from that snowy night, he had unknowingly built the bridge of connection, crossing both life and death.
Thus, when he faced her soul, he found the “intuition of a clever person” that Wei Shuyi had spoken of.
It was this "intuition" that had guided him step by step toward the truth.
She had crossed the river of life and death and was walking cautiously and uncertainly towards him. As the one with this fate, he was fortunate enough to be the one to welcome her home.
Without a doubt, this would be the most honorable identity of his life.
He gazed quietly at the statue, and after a moment, he spoke seriously in response to the emperor’s question.
“Perhaps... Cui Jing is too dull and has yet to sense anything.”
The emperor did not show disappointment upon hearing this, nor did she say more, simply withdrawing her gaze from the young man.
At this moment, Wu Jue, reflecting on the situation, said, "Though General Cui has this fate, it doesn’t necessarily mean he will have a definite premonition... And the connection of blood between Holy Emperor and Princess Chongyue might be the real guiding force."
At the end of his words, Wu Jue, who was typically careless, now looked almost solemnly at the emperor. "I wonder, Your Majesty, where does Holy Emperor's premonition lie?"
"Since the formation here was damaged by a thunderstorm in early spring, causing cracks in the Tiannv statue, I’ve frequently dreamed of Chongyue," the emperor said. "At that time, Master Wu Jue said that this omen could be neither a blessing nor a curse. But now, it seems that fate had already given us a sign then..."
The emperor’s voice remained steady throughout. "I now have a guess: perhaps the omen lies in the young woman of the Chang family."
Ming Luo’s expression changed drastically, but she quickly regained her composure.
"Your Majesty means... that girl, Suining?" Wu Jue’s face showed extreme shock. "How... how could that be?"
He said, "Holy Emperor should know that this secret art points to a person with a blood connection to Princess Chongyue. Yet, that girl isn’t of royal blood, nor does she carry the Ming surname—how could it be her?"
Ming Luo’s fingers dug into her palm.
Yes, she was also aware of this crucial point. She had even wondered if this was the reason her aunt had kept her by her side all these years. When her aunt had returned to the Ming family years ago and met her as a child, her aunt's gaze seemed to see another person in her.
In that moment, she was not surprised but overwhelmed with a sense of immense relief, knowing she had succeeded.
Because she had overheard her biological mother, Chang, shi laughing with a servant about her appearance—remarking how she resembled Princess Chongyue as a child, despite the vast difference in status between the two.
At the time, she had not felt humiliated. On the contrary, it was as if, standing at the bottom of a dark abyss, she had suddenly grabbed onto a vine.
Her only thought was to hold on, to climb, and to rise up.
All these years, her aunt might have often thought that traces of Princess Chongyue might appear in her, even if just a hint...
Ming Luo had sensed it too, and so she tried to emulate that shadow, but she knew deep down she could never truly become Chongyue. The secret in the Dayun Temple had always seemed like an absurd delusion to her.
But now, her aunt seemed to have transferred this obsession and delusion to another person...
The sound of the water flowing in the jade pool seemed to echo in her ears, and Ming Luo felt as though she were submerged in the cold waters of the pool.
She tightened the mental tension in her mind, awaiting the emperor’s response.
Yes, Master Wu Jue had said that the potential for this fate could only appear in someone with the Li or Ming bloodline. How could it possibly be Suining?
Even though she had asked Yu Gong, her aunt had secretly investigated Suining’s background. The girl’s origins were indeed from a poor family, orphaned during the war.
"That’s why, even though she’s unusual compared to other women, and her handwriting bears traces of Chongyue’s style, I never thought of her before," the emperor continued. "Until the national diviner told me that her fate was unpredictable and had an inexplicable connection to mine..."
From that moment, the emperor had begun to entertain a certain suspicion.
And once that suspicion arose, when she looked at the young girl, she could indeed sense a certain resemblance to Princess Chongyue.
Wu Jue nodded. "I see now..."
So, the meddlesome old man, the national diviner, had been the one to start this all.
Cui Jing now finally understood.
Unlike him, the emperor had become suspicious because of the national diviner’s words.
It seemed that the national diviner did indeed have some true skills.
"Since this secret art is full of uncertainties and has no precedents to follow, everything is possible, not necessarily only in the Li or Ming bloodlines," the emperor said. "I’ve already asked the national diviner to try and divine the truth, but so far, there have been no results."
Wu Jue nodded again.
Oh, that old man wasn’t as impressive as he thought.
"Nothing is certain yet. Right now, this is just a guess," the emperor said. "Moreover, when I had people look into the girl’s experiences in Hezhou in February, we found no particularly useful clues."
"That is why I’ve asked General Cui and Master Wu Jue to come here today, to hear your opinions on this matter."
The emperor was fully aware that Cui Jing was interested in the girl, and Master Wu Jue saw her as a close younger disciple. Neither of them were the ideal individuals to discuss this matter in detail.
But since Wu Jue had set up the formation and Cui Jing was the one with the fate at the heart of it all, before everything was settled, she could avoid anyone else, but not these two.
The emperor thought that perhaps, this was the very design of fate.
At this moment, Wu Jue pondered and said, "Miss Chang grew up before me, and I’ve never sensed anything particularly unusual about her..."
He carefully added, "If it is indeed Princess Chongyue returning, it would naturally be a joyous occasion... But if that’s the case, why wouldn’t she recognize her old companions?"
As the conversation continued, Wu Jue glanced at the emperor. "Though I dare not speak plainly with old acquaintances, I believe she will seek you out, Your Majesty."
The implication was clear: which child, having miraculously returned from the brink of death, would not search for their mother?
And this mother was none other than the current empress, with enough power to protect the child who harbored such a world-shattering secret.
The emperor fell silent for a moment, simply staring at the jade statue.
Indeed, which child would not miss their mother, or fail to recognize her?
But no one else knew what had transpired fifteen years ago, when her daughter, before the marriage alliance, bid her farewell. The moment they parted, the empress had clearly felt that she had lost her daughter forever.
This loss had little to do with life or death.
Her daughter, Ah Shang, had always been different from other children. She was exceptionally healthy, rarely fell ill, and never cried. When she knelt to bid farewell, she did not weep but calmly knelt down and left with a quiet composure.
But after that kneel, the empress had felt it—the moment she lost her daughter.
That loss went beyond death.
So while other daughters, upon returning, would naturally seek out their mothers, her Ah Shang might have long ceased seeing her as the mother she could trust.
She, too, had never been a mother worth trusting, and even now, she had yet to learn how to be a true mother.
There were unspoken gaps between them, understood only by the two of them, and the empress had no intention of revealing them to anyone. She quietly speculated, "Chongyue was always cautious, so it is possible she wouldn’t immediately recognize herself. Moreover, this secret art does not specify the full details of the soul’s return. People have three souls and seven spirits, so she might have only regained one part of her soul, or even if she has returned fully, she may have forgotten her past life... Perhaps the Chang girl herself is unaware of what has happened to her."
Wu Jue nodded. "Amitabha, what Holy Emperor says makes sense. This secret art has no precedents, and as Holy Emperor mentioned, anything is possible. Even I cannot fully comprehend its details."
"Whatever the possibility, as long as there is even a fragment of Princess Chongyue’s soul within her, she will be my Chongyue," the emperor said slowly, with an unshakable tone.
She gazed at the crack in the neck of the jade statue, her voice fading to a whisper as if speaking to herself. "I promised her that I would bring her back to Da Sheng in three years, yet when those three years passed, I broke my promise..."
"My daughter killed the northern chieftain by herself, and when she refused to be used as a hostage, she took her own life with a sword... As a mother and as an emperor, I owe her so much."
"I need to know now whether it is truly Chongyue who has returned, and whether I have a chance to make up for my failures..." The emperor turned to Wu Jue. "Master Wu, do you have a way to confirm this?"
Wu Jue pondered deeply. "Please allow me to think for a moment..."
The emperor nodded and then looked toward Cui Jing, who had been silent at the side.
"Rest assured, General Cui," she said gently. "If the Chang girl holds Princess Chongyue’s soul, I will make it right and treat her well. If it turns out that I’ve been mistaken, I have no reason to blame an innocent young girl. All I want now is the truth."
The implication was clear: no matter what the truth turned out to be, there would be no harm to Chang Suining.
Cui Jing nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty, I understand your intent."
He naturally believed that a mother, who had gone to such lengths to revive her daughter, would not harbor malice toward her. Yet, human hearts are complicated, and the emperor’s heart, even more so...
The emperor’s words were directed at him, but they were also a form of reassurance for Master Wu Jue, allowing him to feel safe in revealing a feasible method, knowing that the girl would not suffer harm. This would allow the emperor to explore and verify the situation.
Indeed, after a brief pause, Wu Jue spoke up.
"I recall there is a method recorded in the ancient texts of the secret art that might indirectly confirm this..." Wu Jue said. "It is worth a try."
The emperor’s expression shifted slightly. "What method?"
Wu Jue’s face grew serious. "The formation within this tower was created for the soul’s return of Princess Chongyue. If this formation is indeed activated, and the Chang girl truly carries the princess’s soul, then if she enters this formation, there will be a mutual response between her and the formation."
Cui Jing’s heart sank, and a vivid image flashed in his mind.
After returning from Hezhou, he had seen Chang Suining visit the Dayun Temple. At that time, as he emerged from the tower, he saw her sitting not far from it, her face pale and clearly unwell...
Later, when she passed by him, she had almost brushed against him... Looking back now, it seemed she had been deliberately avoiding something.
Could it have been... this?
The emperor looked intently at Wu Jue. "So, if the Chang girl enters the formation, we can confirm it?"
Wu Jue clasped his hands together. "Yes, Your Majesty, that is correct."
Good night, everyone~
(End of chapter)
►►CLICK HERE FOR ADVANCE CHAPTERS◄◄
Comments
Post a Comment