Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 849 – In the Name of Convenience

The blind zither player left the room, carrying his zither on his back.

An Lin had also recognized who he was. Her face slightly pale, she slightly gave a junior’s bow.

Linghai Zhiwang had still not shaken off the first shock before being shocked once more.

The Longevity Sect was the ancestral hall of the Orthodoxy’s southern faction. As archbishops of the Orthodoxy, he and An Lin naturally had a deeper understanding of the Longevity Sect than Chen Changsheng.

They knew that this blind zither player was once a Grand Elder of the Longevity Sect.

When Su Li charged into the Longevity Sect with only his sword, the cold pool overflowed with rivers of blood and countless people died.

The several elders that had managed to survive had only been unremarkable second-generation elders. The first-generation elders that could truly represent the Longevity Sect’s power had been almost completely slaughtered. Later investigation revealed that two of their strongest elders had only escaped this tribulation because they had been in secluded cultivation. However, in the end, even they vanished.

Who could have expected that this Grand Elder of the Longevity Sect would come to the Tang clan?

……

……

“Minister Wei was the Minister of Justice for the previous government. After being wronged, he now manages the Torture Hall of my clan,” the Tang Old Master explained to Chen Changsheng. “When he was minister, Zhou Tong had just begun to make a name for himself with that case involving the Mutuo clan. Following the Empress’s will, he took Minister Wei as his teacher. All the methods that Zhou Tong used later were all learned from him, but the two had different philosophies, and Minister Wei deeply disliked him. Even though Zhou Tong had the Divine Empress’s support, he still ended up being dealt with very cruelly by Minister Wei. This persisted until Emperor Xian became blind and the entire court fell under the Empress’s control, upon which the situation was reversed.”

Chen Changsheng asked, “What happened?”

“Minister Wei can be counted as the first genuine prisoner of Zhou Prison.”

The Tang Old Master did go into too much detail, continuing, “I requested Su Li to rescue him from the capital, and Minister Wei has remained in Wenshui City ever since.”

After few moments of silence, Chen Changsheng asked, “And the other person?”

The Tang Old Master replied, “When Su Li went to the Longevity Sect, he left behind two lives for my sake.”

Chen Changsheng roughly understood.

Those two surviving elders were both in Wenshui City.

One was the blind zither player while the other was the old Guardian currently in the ancestral hall.

“These matters resulted in my owing a favor to Su Li. He had me promise to fulfill one of his requests, and so today, I have returned his favor.”

The Tang Old Master glanced at the old umbrella and said, “It was precisely the two hours you requested.”

Chen Changsheng recalled that senior who he had not met in a very long time and began to somewhat miss him.

The Tang Old Master finally said, “This favor was brought about by the three of them, and now it is returned by those three. Every sip and every bite seems preordained. It appears that there really is such a thing as destiny.”

These words were an explanation for today’s events, and also a method for whiling away the time.

The Tang Old Master and Chen Changsheng were waiting for someone.

The most important person.

The Tang Second Master.

……

……

The Tang Second Master patted the snow off his shoulder and smiled at the Tang Old Master. “How much did Father win in today’s mahjong game?”

His expression was very natural, his voice very calm, the same as when he usually returned to the old estate. He was still that intelligent second son who was very skilled at amusing his father.

But today, it was not just the Tang Old Master in the old estate. There was also Chen Changsheng and other people.

“I truly did have an agreement with the Longevity Sect to kill Chen Changsheng.”

The Tang Second Master calmly said, “Scheming to assassinate the Pope sounds like a monstrous crime, but I don’t think it to be wrong.”

Yes, once this matter was known, there would certainly be punishment, but from the viewpoint of the Tang clan, it was not wrong.

However, what was being discussed today in the snow-covered old estate was not punishment, but right and wrong.

This ‘right and wrong’ was not the common people’s vision of right and wrong, but the vision of the Tang Old Master.

In truth, it was not just the Second Master and the Longevity Sect, but many other factions, including the Qiushan clan, that dearly wished for Chen Changsheng’s death. So what?

Outside the room, Linghai Zhiwang and An Lin turned very grave.

Because it was obvious that the Tang Old Master agreed with this view. Attempting to kill Chen Changsheng was not much of a big deal, although it was now rather troublesome to deal with.

Then what of the poisoning of the Tang First Master?

The Tang Old Master similarly did not care.

As he had said to Chen Changsheng before the two hours, to that generation of elders that had been deeply influenced by Emperor Taizong, as long as the Tang Second Master did not lead the Tang clan to ruin, and perhaps was even able to advance its status, then he could kill not only his elder brother, but even his own father.

Chen Changsheng asked, “Then can you explain the matter of the Demon Lord switching places with Chusu and appearing in the Mount Song Army headquarters? And what is your relationship with Xuelao City?”

The room suddenly fell silent. The snowstorm outside seemed to rage even more furiously, vexing the mind.

The Tang Old Master asked, “After making such a ruckus in these two hours, did Little Tang not turn anything up?”

The old estate’s steward brought back the reply.

He had a rather uneasy expression, as if surprised at the reply from the ancestral hall.

“Young Master said at the very beginning that if he wanted to prove that Second Master was colluding… with the demons, it would be very simple. Only one sentence would be needed.”

“Oh? I’m very curious to hear just what sentence can prove that my son is working with the demons.”

The Tang Old Master expressionlessly said.

The steward raised his head to glance at the Old Master. He hesitated for a while, then said, “Young Master said that proof was not necessary, only one’s discretion. If Old Master is willing to believe that Second Master is innocent, then he is innocent, but if Old Master is not willing to believe in Second Master, then you naturally know that he is not innocent.”

The room became even quieter. Nobody spoke for a very long time.

No one understood his grandfather more than Tang Thirty-Six.

No evidence was needed, and no action was needed on his or Chen Changsheng’s part. Everything was in the grasp of the Tang Old Master.

The only person that could make the final decision was him, so what meaning was there in doing anything else?

Tang Second Master quietly smiled, because he also had a deep understanding of his father.

“Then why did he do all these things?” the Tang Old Master asked.

The steward said in a trembling voice, “Young Master said that he couldn’t stand the sight of those elders, and that he might as well clean up those dirty things in the other houses that should have been cleaned up. In addition… he wanted to burn Second Master’s most beloved Tong Cottage to make his heart ache.”

Hearing this and recalling that cottage that was now irrecoverable scorched earth, the Tang Second Master twitched, no longer able to maintain his smile.

“Should I believe in you?” the Tang Old Master asked his son.

The Tang Second Master calmly replied, “Of course.”

The Tang Old Master looked into his eyes and asked, “Then what was going on with the Mount Song Army headquarters?”

The Tang Second Master smiled and replied, “I never made a single agreement with Xuelao City, nor did I meet with anyone. It was just that Black Robe found me through the Longevity Sect. I knew what they wanted to do, and it was convenient for me to facilitate them. Of course, I just thought that they wanted to kill Chen Changsheng. I had no idea that their true goal was the Demon Lord.”

Everyone present could hear that he was not lying or attempting to conceal anything.

If everything he said was true, would the crime of colluding with the demons still be able to stand?

Regardless of what other people might think, to the people in the room, it still stood, because…

Zhexiu said, “Convenience is no good.”

‘You made things convenient for the demons, which makes me feel very inconvenienced.’

The room fell silent once more.