Chapter 173: Hello Chang’an
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**Chapter 173: Can We Still Be Friends?**
Chang Suining raised her eyes and looked ahead.
Outside the tower courtyard, in addition to the usual two martial monks, there was now a row of imperial guards stationed.
Looking further inside, she saw the Emperor, dressed in imperial robes, standing before the three-legged bronze incense burner at the front of the tower, holding the green incense as he respectfully worshipped the gods and spirits of heaven and earth. After three bows, he slowly placed the incense into the burner.
Cui Jing and Wu Jue stood by his side.
Cui Jing turned his head and looked at her. Their eyes met, and at that moment, it was impossible for her not to speculate.
She had never been sure whom Cui Jing was loyal to. It was widely rumored among the gentry that he was an ally of the Empress, but while she disagreed with that view, she wasn’t certain of his true thoughts or allegiances.
However, at this moment, she could be certain of one thing: if there were indeed a secret hidden within the Celestial Tower, Cui Jing must be one of those who knew about it, sharing the secret with Ming Luo.
And if her intuition was correct—that the secret within the tower was somehow related to Li Shang—then she and Cui Jing might be enemies, given the uncertainty of their relationship to it.
Cui Jing had helped her a great deal, and along the way, she had come to see him as a trustworthy friend. But the friend she saw him as was the Chang Suining who was not yet revealed to be Li Shang.
If Cui Jing learned that she was Li Shang, would they still be able to remain friends?
The answer to this question could not be based on emotions, but would have to be determined by the truth.
Now, she was about to try and uncover that truth.
Seeing Ming Luo turn and slowly look at her, Chang Suining stepped forward and crossed into the formation.
In that moment, it seemed as though she could hear the wind slicing through the air around her, as though it were a blade cutting through her body.
Her lashes trembled slightly, but her expression remained unchanged.
The embroidered shoes of the girl pressed upon the colorful ground painting as she walked forward.
Ming Luo watched as the girl stepped on the ground painting and felt a pang of irony. How could someone without any sense of reverence be the Princess Chongyue?
The wind blew, causing the golden bells hanging from the eaves of the tower to ring with a crisp sound.
The Emperor stood still, watching the girl in her sandalwood-colored cloak walking toward him. For a brief moment, many old memories flashed before her eyes.
The girl reached him and bowed her head in greeting, "This daughter pays her respects to Your Majesty."
At the same time, another voice echoed in her mind—*The son pays his respects to the Empress Mother.*
Though the face before him bore no resemblance to the girl in his memories, the lingering thought made her feel as though the two faces had somehow merged.
A ripple appeared in the Emperor’s eyes.
Yellowed bamboo leaves fell, and the light smoke rising from the bronze burner shifted direction, suddenly scattering under the wind's force.
After a moment, the Emperor spoke in a low voice, "There is no need for such formalities."
The sound of her voice was faint and distant to Chang Suining's ears, but she did not show any sign of surprise. She stood up, her demeanor unchanged.
It was inappropriate to glance around in front of the Emperor, so she lowered her gaze and stood quietly.
Yet, even though her senses were dulled, Chang Suining could still feel the Emperor’s gaze on her—sharp and probing, as if the imperial eyes were invisible blades that would pierce her, exposing her for who she truly was.
The Emperor, unable to discern anything unusual about the girl, said, "Come with me."
"Yes."
As the Emperor turned to leave, a eunuch hurried into the courtyard and requested an audience.
After receiving permission, the eunuch entered and bowed to the Emperor.
"Your Majesty," the eunuch said with a nervous expression, "a group of refugees has gathered outside the temple, numbering over a hundred. They are crying and begging to see the holy Emperor. They claim they haven’t eaten for a long time and are asking Holy Emperor to save their lives…"
The eunuch looked uneasy, fearing he might be violating some taboo.
During a prayer session, a group of sickly, emaciated refugees seeking help from the Emperor was certainly an inauspicious sign.
"Where do these refugees come from?" the Emperor asked with a frown. "From Daozhou?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, from Daozhou," the eunuch replied.
Chang Suining had heard of the drought in Daozhou during the spring. The drought had spread over a large area, leaving the entire region without harvest and causing wells and springs to dry up. The people could barely find drinking water.
Though relief measures had been implemented, they had little effect. The refugees, with no food or water, fled north along the Huai River, causing unrest between soldiers and civilians in various states along the way...
The refugees who managed to survive the long journey to the capital had no doubt endured countless hardships along the way.
The Emperor’s tone carried a hint of compassion. "For them to make it here from Daozhou is no easy feat. General Cui, please take care of settling these people for me."
As the Emperor, she could not personally see the refugees. Those who had managed to survive the journey to the capital were likely not ordinary people. Though they were referred to as disaster victims, they were probably no different from bandits. Only the Xuanzhe Army could calm them and prevent them from causing further unrest.
Cui Jing acknowledged her command, and before leaving, he glanced at Chang Suining, giving her a slight nod.
Chang Suining returned the gesture, her response no different than usual.
But she could sense something unusual in Cui Jing’s eyes, though she could not pinpoint its meaning.
Once Cui Jing left the tower courtyard, Cui Yuanxiang, who had been standing nearby, approached him.
Cui Jing turned around and gave one last look at the girl walking into the tower.
The Master Wu Jue’s thumb ring and the slightly altered formation tools could only alleviate her suffering to a small extent. She must be enduring great pain now. He could hardly imagine what she was going through at this moment.
"General, those refugees…"
"Proceed with the original plan," Cui Jing responded briskly, drawing the sword at his waist and gripping it tightly.
As soon as Chang Suining entered the tower, she realized that the sensation she had felt outside was nothing compared to what awaited her inside.
It felt as though invisible forces were twisting her internal organs, as if her soul might leave her body at any moment, but another force held it tightly in place.
The pain intensified with every step she took forward, as if invisible barriers were obstructing her progress, and countless voices in her body urged her to stop.
Yet the girl’s expression remained unchanged as she continued forward.
Master Wu Jue, watching from a distance, secretly wiped his brow in concern, deeply worried for her. There was little more he could do at this point, and he had no idea how long she could endure. He could only hope that things would proceed smoothly from here on.
Once inside the tower, Chang Suining silently observed the layout of the formation.
The array was far more complicated than she had imagined, unlike any military formation she had seen before.
Following the principle that "all changes still adhere to the same foundation," she carefully noted the arrangement of the formation. As she studied it, she began to sense something odd.
Though the formation tools were intricate, upon closer inspection, she noticed a flaw. The tools were arranged in a hierarchy of importance, with the truly essential components conspicuously absent.
These key components, the "heart" of the formation, were critical to its activation or destruction.
Was this a deliberate choice, to protect the formation from being easily broken? Had the formation’s heart been hidden in a concealed location?
As she pondered this, she followed the Emperor toward the Jade Pool.
The Emperor’s ethereal voice rang in Chang Suining’s ears.
"Lady Chang, do you know why I summoned you to Dayun Temple?"
"To pray for the soldiers who rebelled and for my father’s soul," Chang Suining’s voice felt faint even to her own ears.
Her sense of touch, hearing, and awareness had dulled significantly. She had to concentrate deeply to make out the Emperor’s words.
"Yes, but not entirely," the Emperor responded, turning slightly to face her. "The truth is, I have a question I want to ask you."
Chang Suining remained composed. "I don’t know what Your Majesty refers to."
"Lady Chang, you have many extraordinary qualities. I once intended to offer you a position as an attendant in the imperial court, but you declined." The Emperor’s tone lacked pressure, yet the words carried a weight that was hard to ignore.
"Later, both Li Lu and General Cui expressed interest in marrying you, but you rejected them as well. I am curious—if you have no interest in a position offered by me, nor in the good marriages and fine young men that most women desire, what is it that you truly seek?"
These were things her father, Li Shang, would do. What most women desperately sought, her father would never give a second glance.
Ming Luo’s gaze never left Chang Suining.
At this moment, the girl’s face betrayed no signs of hesitation or anxiety, even under the Emperor’s probing gaze.
"I know my heart is not settled yet," Chang Suining replied calmly. "I fear I might cause trouble in the palace, which is why I have not accepted the position. As for marriage, in my opinion, a good match is one built on mutual affection. Only when both hearts are aligned can it be called a good marriage."
She paused before adding, "As for what I want... right now, I just want to be my father's daughter, living in the Chang household with the father and brothers who love me. That would be enough."
The Emperor smiled slightly at her words. "To think you would have such thoughts. You are still young."
Chang Suining responded, "Father has said that I don’t need to grow up. I can stay by his side forever, doing what I like."
Her innocent and carefree words seemed to momentarily cause the Emperor to lose her composure.
"It is a blessing not to have to grow up," said the Emperor. "My children grew up when they were very young."
"This is also my failure as a mother," the Emperor continued, her gaze falling on the statue of the Heavenly Maiden. "I gave birth to them but failed to give them a peaceful life..." She looked at the statue again. "When I finally had the ability to make amends, my children were no longer here. Perhaps this is the punishment Heaven has given me."
Chang Suining lowered her eyes and said nothing.
Her body, which had been torn apart by pain, felt a momentary numbness when she heard these words.
She could not tell whether the guilt in Ming Hou’s words was real or feigned—perhaps with age and having achieved everything, she truly felt guilty, or perhaps this was just a means to test her. After all, she had already experienced such tactics before.
In the past, her mother had seemed calm, cold, and ruthless, never showing any kindness or soft words toward her.
She had thought her mother was accustomed to this until, just before the marriage alliance, her mother had held her hand and, with a tenderness that even contained a plea, said, "Ah Shang, help your mother just this once."
Her mother even trembled as she touched her face, tears of guilt in her eyes as she promised to bring her back home.
At that moment, she realized that her mother could indeed be affectionate toward her.
She had stared at her for a long time, realizing that the affection seemed genuine, not something feigned. It was a sincere emotion to the fullest extent, leaving her with no way to reject it.
At that time, she had wanted to ask—did her mother know what she would experience after marrying into the northern barbarians?
But she never asked.
Her mother was not an ordinary woman nor an ignorant concubine unaware of the nation's affairs. She would not have been unaware of the true meaning behind the marriage alliance.
It was precisely because her mother knew the truth that she had called her "Ah Shang" and had felt guilty. But this guilt would not stop her mother from asking her to endure that hellish fate.
She had knelt not because she thought her mother was wrong—on the contrary, even without her mother’s plea, she had already decided to go through with the marriage.
At that time, the Da Sheng Dynasty was no longer able to continue fighting; the soldiers were exhausted, and the country’s strength had waned. Seeking peace was the only way to survive.
What the country needed was no longer generals for the battlefield, but a princess to marry.
So, she would go.
She could go, and she should go. She only felt that a mother should not treat her child in such a manner.
But it was fine. Ever since she could remember, her ambitious mother had only given her endless demands and expectations. She had always been repaying the debt of her upbringing, but it seemed like no matter what she did, she could never repay it. This marriage, something she was already going to do, was a way to put an end to it. It was also a way to be opportunistic.
Since then, when she thought of "mother," it became easier for her because she no longer had to carry the burden of maternal love.
From the moment she obeyed Ming Hou’s arrangement and pretended to be Ah Xiao, she had used her life to break free from the prison of family ties. Having paid such a price, she would never allow herself to return to that stifling mother-daughter relationship.
Moreover, there were still unresolved mysteries. She had not yet discovered who had tried to kill her in her previous life. Even for self-preservation, she could not allow herself to be exposed now.
As for whether Ming Hou's guilt was genuine or not, she no longer cared.
"Lady Chang, have you read the *Da Yun Sutra*? Have you heard of the legend of the Heavenly Maiden saving the world?" The Emperor asked.
"I have heard of it," Chang Suining replied.
"Another person who saved the world with their own body was my Chong Yue..." The Emperor said, "You must have heard many stories about Chong Yue, the Princess. Do you think there is a similarity between her and the Heavenly Maiden statue?"
Without thinking, Chang Suining lifted her gaze toward the statue of the Heavenly Maiden.
In that instant, her fingers under her cloak trembled.
This statue...
Her gaze fixed on the statue’s lifelike face, and the noticeable crack around its neck.
So, the Heavenly Maiden in the tower wasn’t the one from the *Da Yun Sutra*, but... her?!
As her eyes "met" those of the statue, she felt as though her entire body had been frozen in place, and countless questions swirled in her mind.
Noticing Ming Hou’s gaze shifting toward her, Chang Suining quickly concealed the shock in her eyes. "I have never seen Princess Chong Yue in person, so I cannot compare her with this statue. I dare not answer."
The Emperor did not speak, only quietly observed Chang Suining, as if determined to find the answer in her expression.
Chang Suining lowered her head, trying her best to control every part of her body, not allowing any sign of abnormality to show.
She didn’t know how long it had been, but finally, the Emperor spoke again.
"Good night, everyone. See you tomorrow."
(End of this chapter)
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