Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

After Mo Yu finished laying out the food, she scooped out a bowl of rice for herself and sat down across from Xu Yourong.

The two glanced each other in the eye and smiled.

Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six would have found this strange atmosphere unbearable, but they had long been used to it.

Just like it had been many years ago, when the Empress ate, she was very strict, forbidding anyone from speaking. They could only communicate with their eyes.

Xu Yourong and Mo Yu didn't know how many times they had communicated with their eyes. A tacit understanding had formed between them long ago and it was very easy for them to see what the other person was thinking.

It was just that their communications often talked about things like 'today, this dish was quite tasty, that dish wasn't tasty'; 'the Empress's mood seems rather good today, she's already eaten three chopsticks of swallow tongue'; 'the Empress said last night that she was going to deprive the Prime Minister of his position, it seems that it's going to come true, or why else would her mood be so melancholy that she can't even drink down her favorite jade soup?' But today, they were communicating with each other over another matter.

Mo Yu blinked her eyes at Xu Yourong, asking just what she thought about Chen Changsheng and that engagement.

Xu Yourong drooped her eyelashes as if she didn't notice, but the fingers holding her chopstick moved forward a little.

Mo Yu noticed this detail and began to sympathize with Chen Changsheng.

She clearly recalled that when Xu Yourong was small, whenever she was unhappy, she would subconsciously tighten her grip on her chopsticks. The tighter she gripped, the more her finger would move. There was one year when she saw little Xu Yourong grip her chopsticks like this. On the afternoon of that day, the palace where the Princess of Ping lived gained a dozen or so non-poisonous snakes, and that very night, the Princess of Ping's face was painted like that of an actor in an opera…

……

……

The eunuchs and maids guarded the palace hall from a distance. They were not at all surprised by the scene within the hall and their expressions were unchanging.

There weren't many people worthy to eat together with the Divine Empress, and Xu Yourong was one of them.

This had nothing to do with her current status of Holy Maiden of the south. Ever since she was small, the Empress would often welcome her into the palace and then have a meal together. Back then, besides Xu Yourong, there was also Mo Yu, the Princess of Ping, and Prince Chen Liu. Later on, after Prince Chen Liu turned sixteen, he very rarely stayed overnight in the palace, and the occasions where he shared a meal with the Empress also decreased. As for the Princess of Ping…apparently, she had gone tonight out of the city to West Mountain Temple to burn incense. Anyone could see that this was because the Princess did not wish to see the Xu Yourong that she had envied and admired for so many years and had thus escaped.

After lunch, Mo Yu remained in the palace to organize files. The Divine Empress stood up and said to Xu Yourong, "Come with me."

Xu Yourong followed her as they went straight to the highest point in the capital.

Standing on the Dew Platform, seeing the streets and markets of the capital and the distant Mausoleum of Books, Xu Yourong recalled those scenes when she used to play here in her childhood, and a heartfelt smile appeared on her face.

"This is the first time you've smiled today."

The Divine Empress, her hands held behind her, stood at the edge of the Dew Platform, not having turned her head.

Xu Yourong restrained her smile and walked behind her. She slowly said, "The pressure came too suddenly and I don't know how to respond."

She was naturally speaking about succeeding to the position of Holy Maiden.

The Divine Empress declared, "The so-called Holy Maiden is merely a sacred idol. With your comprehension and ability, what's so difficult about it?"

Xu Yourong knew that this had always been the opinion of the Divine Empress with regards towards the position of Holy Maiden. Powerless to change it, she chuckled and said nothing.

"I actually do have some idea of where this pressure of yours is coming from." The Divine Empress turned around and stared at her. Remembering the scenes from the Garden of Zhou she had seen at the pool in the cold palace, she gave a faint smile. "The word that inflicts the most suffering is 'love'. If you can avoid it, you should avoid it."

Xu Yourong was a little startled. She felt that the Empress had seen something, but…that matter shouldn't have been known by anyone. Even he…didn’t know, right?

The Divine Empress did not continue on this subject. Her gaze looked past Xu Yourong's shoulder and rested on those distant mountain peaks in the south that were gradually being covered in snow. She asked, "Before she left, did she leave any message for me?"

Xu Yourong calmly replied, "Master said that she hoped Empress would not concern herself too much with matters of state and to live a few more days for yourself."

The Divine Empress was rather displeased with these words. Her voice a little chilly, she declared, "Truly a fool."

As it involved her own master, although Xu Yourong felt rather helpless, she still had to say a few words in defense.

The Divine Empress reminisced, "I recall that back then, the Chief Princess of the Great Western Continent was exceedingly excellent, so much so that her own younger brother dreaded and feared her. At the end, that piece of trash would even faint straight away upon glancing at her. Ultimately, though, she could do nothing. It was also because of the attitude of her parents that she grew discouraged and married off to the distant White Emperor City…it seems to me that your master is just as much a fool as she was."

Xu Yourong quietly thought, if the Chief Princess became Queen of the Great Western Continent, then compared to her current position as Empress of White Emperor City, just which life would be happier? Besides herself, who could say for sure?

"For a woman to survive in this world is not easy. For them to possess their own place is even harder. To be like us and stand at the peak of the world, that is an incredibly difficult challenge. Putting aside that idiot Wuqiong Bi, your master's talent, perception, and intelligence are one in ten thousand. I originally thought that she would be different from the rest of those silly women, but the result? Such a smart woman, why can't she overcome the temptation of love?"

The Divine Empress's expression turned abnormally cold. "What does it mean to live out one's days? For what reason should women just live out their days?"

Xu Yourong remembered a matter from just before and softly said, "Martial Uncle Su said that the Empress would definitely speak this way. Even the wording is almost identical."

The Divine Empress perked her brows. "Oh? What did that little, little Su say?"

In the present world, amongst the experts that had stepped into the Divine Domain, Su Li and the Holy Maiden of the south were half a generation later than the Pope and the Divine Empress. Coupled with their complex attitudes towards Su Li, the Saints, with the exception of the Holy Maiden, would always address him as little, little Su. It was like only this way could they reveal their anger towards Su Li.

Because in their view, Su Li was an annoyance.

"Martial Uncle Su wanted me to say to the Empress…" Xu Yourong glanced at her, then continued, "To live a solitary life is no good. What need is there to force yourself to do it?"

Hearing these words of Su Li, the Divine Empress fell silent for a very long time. Suddenly, she began to laugh, her laugh brimming with openness and scorn.

"Empress, you also shouldn't blame Master. For her to persuade Martial Uncle Su to travel with her around the world is already not easy."

Last year at the beginning of autumn, both the Great Zhou Dynasty and the various powers of the south began to make their preparations as if the confluence of the north and south was inevitable. At the time, many people, including such important figures as Xue Xingchuan who were involved in executing this matter, were puzzled as to why the Saints were pushing this matter when Su Li was still clearly at Mount Li. Yet not one pondered Su Li's attitude.

As it turned out, it had been because the Holy Maiden had persuaded Su Li to travel away with her from the grudges and quarrels of the secular world and to no longer care about these things.

The Divine Empress had said that the Holy Maiden of the south had failed to overcome the temptation of love. In truth, Su Li had also failed to overcome it.

The word 'love' had served as a restraint, as the prerequisite for the confluence of north and south.

The Divine Empress felt quite strongly on this matter, so her words were extremely tough and derisive. "The finest years of your master's life were spent pent up in Holy Maiden Peak, while he was outside, eating, drinking and being merry. For so many years, he lived such a free and happy life, finding a Demon Princess for a lover and even having a daughter. Nothing was delayed for him, and finally, after he got tired of playing around, he turned his head back to find her again, and then went once more to watch the sunset in the twilight! Tell me, how beautiful is that! Everyone says that ruling the country is like playing Go, but even if it is, I wouldn't take such an exchange with my enemy. It just isn't worth it."

In this world, the number of people of the same sex as her that she could communicate with in the spiritual world was just two. Just like that, there was now one less, and it was even because of a man, the reason that she found the most impossible to accept.

Xu Yourong did not respond because it was her elder that was being discussed, and also because…there were truthfully times when she felt the same.

"She just left like this, leaving a little girl like you behind. Could she not be worried?"

The Divine Empress gazed at Xu Yourong and arched her brows. "Ultimately, isn't it up to me to be concerned? Truly, one turns stupid after getting with a man. In comparison, there's no one smarter than me."

Xu Yourong smiled. "In any case, I was also taught by the Empress. It's also fine if the Empress teaches me for a few more years."

"Not teach, exchange."

The Divine Empress nodded her head at her. This was a sign of respect.

Xu Yourong was shocked, but quickly calmed down and returned the nod.

She was not a Saint, but she was already the Holy Maiden of the south.

From this moment on, she and the Empress conversed on equal levels, even if only on the surface.

"Since you're the Holy Maiden of the south, you must think for the sake of the southerners, as this is your true foundation, even if…you must oppose me in the future."

"I understand."

"Just as I said in the beginning, men cannot stand seeing us standing so high above. As a result, all the Holy Maidens before your master would basically rarely leave South Stream Temple. On the surface, they studied the Heavenly Tome Monoliths and forgot worldly affairs. In reality, they all clearly understood that to guarantee their continued existence was good, but that they also couldn't let their existence grow too strong. If you don't wish to become a sacred idol, you cannot act this way."

"Then how should I act?"

"Men do not like to see us standing so high above, so we must stand high above, and we have to step on them until they can't even speak or even dare to respond."

The Divine Empress expressionlessly declared.

Xu Yourong knew that these seemingly crude and simple words were the Empress's will, a warning concerning her future life as Holy Maiden, but…it was even more a demand for the battle that was soon to come.

She could not lose to Chen Changsheng.

……

……

Chen Changsheng sat by the Orthodox Academy lake, in a daze.

The White Crane stood next to him, also in a daze.

Tiny snowflakes flew down from the sky and fell upon the White Crane, increasing its sacred aura. They fell upon his body, making it seem like his hair had gone white from worry.

"What should I do?" Depressed, he looked to the White Crane and asked, "If I really can't avoid it, if I really have to fight her, how should I fight?"

The White Crane slightly tilted its head and looked at him. It was like it was saying, "You should be asking this of her, not me."

He thought it over for a very long time. Ultimately, he softly whispered to himself, "If it's really no good, then I should just lose to her?"

……

……

In the shower of snow, Xu Yourong walked amongst the streets of the capital, an umbrella in her hand.

There was no South Stream Temple disciple at her side, nor was there any priest of the Li Palace or bodyguard from the Imperial Palace. She walked alone.

For some reason, even though she had not changed her appearance, elegant and beautiful as a fairy, she attracted the gaze of no one and no one realized her identity.

The people in the food stalls by the streets, the workers eating noodles on their doorsteps—it was like none of them could see her under the umbrella.

Perhaps it was because of the strange fringe of the umbrella in her hand. The umbrella was rather old and covered in dust. It was the Yellow Paper Umbrella.