Chapter 92

Jin Yulv was dressed like a wealthy man, but with his hands in his sleeves, he looked like an old farmer, showing no signs of anything unusual until he spoke those words.

The people who heard these words had different reactions, and Chen Changsheng felt the strongest, especially the last sentence: "If I am not wrong, why shouldn't I be firm? Why shouldn't I be bold?"

When he first entered the capital, at the Dongyu Divine General's Mansion and outside the Zongci Temple, he had also said similar things.

Because of the reactions from the outside world, he had always been somewhat worried that he might be too different, or that the things he insisted on might seem too stubborn, too bitter, and very strange to others. It wasn't until he heard Jin Yulv's words that he realized there were still many people in the world like him.

This made him somewhat happy.

"Could Senior stay at the National College for a long time?"

Tianhai Shengxue stepped out from behind Fei Dian, his gaze on Jin Yulv was very cold.

Jin Yulv replied calmly, "Why not?"

Tianhai Shengxue said, "As the Chief Secretary of the Red River, doesn't Senior need to take care of the Prince's daily life and safety?"

Jin Yulv narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "You Zhou people say that the safest place is the Palace of Departure, so you moved the Prince from the Hundred Grass Garden to live there... Since that's the case, the Prince's safety is naturally your responsibility. Why should I worry?"

The Tianhai family wanted to attack the National College, and the first step was to use this excuse to move Luoluo away from the National College.

Now, Jin Yulv was using this reason to stay at the National College without being in the Palace of Departure.

Tianhai Shengxue couldn't find any other reason.

At this moment, several carriages appeared in the rain on Baihua Lane.

Tianhai Shengxue chose to come to the National College at dawn because he knew that some people in the capital would protect the National College. He wanted to take advantage of the morning rain to crush the National College before those people could react.

He didn't expect the three young men in the National College to resist so strongly, and he didn't expect Jin Yulv to appear. As time passed, the people who were secretly watching in Baihua Lane reported the situation to their respective masters, and those people naturally came over.

Several carriages arrived in the rain, clearly in a hurry.

When Prince Chenliu got out of the first carriage, even the buttons on his shirt were mismatched, showing how hurried he was.

A lean middle-aged man held an umbrella to protect him as he walked to the National College gate.

Prince Chenliu looked at the situation and immediately understood what had happened. He looked at Tianhai Shengxue and said, "Go back."

By seniority, Prince Chenliu and Tianhai Shengxue were of the same generation, and Tianhai Shengxue was even older. However, as a member of the Chen royal family, and especially because the Empress treated him more closely than the Tianhai family's nephews and grandsons, he spoke to Tianhai Shengxue without any courtesy.

Tianhai Shengxue looked at him coldly, full of ridicule, but did not oppose him.

The young people of the Tianhai family both envied and hated this member of the Chen royal family who could live in the palace for a long time. In the past few years, some had tried to harm him, but after the Empress's anger, no one dared to show any disrespect, at least not openly.

Xin Jiaoshi got out of the second carriage.

Yesterday, the whole capital knew that the Pope had summoned Princess Luoluo to the Palace of Departure for study, and the National College was already in turmoil. He was also uneasy, wondering if he had made a mistake by showing favor to Chen Changsheng and the National College when he saw the recommendation letter. So this morning, after learning about the incident at the National College, he did not rush to the scene but went to the Bishop's residence, as he was worried that he might have misunderstood the Pope's intentions again.

The Bishop smiled but said nothing, which made him extremely fearful. Could the Bishop's thoughts be different from the Pope's? Could the Bishop really be planning to overturn the case from years ago? Could he really be standing against the Pope? Could the Church really split?

Xin Jiaoshi was very afraid, but he found that he could not back down. The whole capital and the entire Palace of Departure knew that the National College's revival and its invitation to the Qingteng Feast were all his doing. Who would believe he was just an executor?

He could only stand with the National College, so he had to stand with the National College.

This kind of forced alignment often made the aligner extremely brave, as he had already put everything on the line. So Xin Jiaoshi was even more resolute than Prince Chenliu, and he scolded Tianhai Shengxue without any consideration for his face.

Tianhai Shengxue's face became paler and angrier.

But with Prince Chenliu and the Church officials present, he lost the opportunity to crush the National College.

Jin Yulv stood at the National College gate.

Most importantly, the performance of the three National College students was somewhat unexpected.

He looked at Chen Changsheng and the others, raised his eyebrows slightly, then took the reins from a soldier and shouted, "Go!"

"Go?"

The same words, different tones, representing two completely different meanings.

Tang Sanshi held his sword and asked, "Do you want to just leave?"

This morning's battle saw four of Tianhai Shengxue's guards severely injured by the National College students, and Jin Yulv had swept through them, injuring Fei Dian. Even Tianhai Shengxue himself had been shocked, while the National College side suffered no damage. It was clear that they had the upper hand.

But Tang Sanshi was still unwilling to let it go—Prince Chenliu frowned slightly, looking at the young man from the Wen Shui Tang family, remembering his rude behavior in the Weiyang Palace the night before, and disliking his rash actions and lack of consideration for the bigger picture.

"We need an explanation."

The autumn rain gradually stopped, and Chen Changsheng took two steps forward, pointing to the ruined gate behind him.

Why did Tianhai Shengxue come to smash the National College gate, even thinking of destroying it? He wanted to avenge his cousin Tianhai Yar, although they were not close, Tianhai Yar was still a member of the Tianhai family, and he had been reduced to a cripple by the National College.

But that was a fair duel at the Qingteng Feast. If he lost, he lost. How could there be a reason for revenge? Moreover, if he wanted revenge, he should have targeted Luoluo, not the National College.

There was also a deeper hidden motive: to solve some of the Empress's troubles, a reason that could not be made public.

As for the last reason, it could not be mentioned.

Chen Changsheng knew that the other side had no reason, so he asked for an explanation.

Tianhai Shengxue's expression was somewhat unpleasant.

Fei Dian sighed, looking at the decreasing rain, and pointed to the water in the alley, saying, "The rain made the road slippery, the carriage was destroyed, and people died. Is this explanation enough?"

The carriage that crashed into the National College was the best, with the best horses. Even in the snowy streets of the capital, let alone the icy pass of Yongxue, it would not have been destroyed due to slipping.

This explanation was naturally unreasonable, but precisely because it was unreasonable, it was a sign of submission.

Neither Chen Changsheng nor Tang Sanshi could say anything.

"I will come back."

Tianhai Shengxue mounted his horse and looked at Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng thought for a moment and said, "If you come to apply to the National College, I won't accept you."

Tianhai Shengxue laughed in anger, said nothing more, and left.

Fei Qu looked at Jin Yulv and shook his head, saying, "You are not Zhou Dufu, you can't change anything."

Jin Yulv, with his hands in his sleeves, ignored him and did not respond.

The morning rain finally stopped, and the people around Baihua Lane gradually dispersed.

From dawn to now, the events at the National College gate had been seen by many people.

On the surface, this was a conflict between Tianhai Shengxue and the National College, but in reality, everyone knew it was a struggle between the new forces of the Zhou Dynasty and the old royal family, and between the Pope and the old faction of the Church. However, the forces supporting the National College were clearly much weaker.

The opponent only sent Tianhai Shengxue, who had just returned from the snowy pass, and on this side, Prince Chenliu and the Church officials had to be present to protect the National College. You could say this showed the importance of the National College to Prince Chenliu and the Church, but the reality was that the National College had no other notable figures to rely on.

Prince Chenliu greeted the three National College students.

Chen Changsheng returned the greeting but did not thank him, saying, "In the palace, Your Highness once said that this was a matter between the great figures, and people like me were being dragged into it, so I won't thank you."

"Thanking is indeed unnecessary," Prince Chenliu smiled and said, "But... after the Qingteng Feast, the whole continent knows that you are Xu Yourong's fiancé. You are no longer an ordinary young man, and you are no longer being dragged into it, so I have no reason to feel guilty."

Chen Changsheng was silent, then remembered the impact of the exposed engagement.

Many people did not want him to marry Xu Yourong, and the Tianhai family certainly did not.

The events of this morning might also have been due to this reason.

"If there's anything, let me know."

Prince Chenliu said this without deliberately trying to be friendly and left calmly.

The lean middle-aged man looked at Chen Changsheng, held the umbrella, and followed.

Xin Jiaoshi came over, said a few words, and together with Tang Sanshi, harshly criticized the arrogance of the Tianhai family, then left.

Only then did Xuan Yuanpo finally put down the door panel he had been holding.

Holding the heavy door panel for so long, even with his demon race's special physique, he felt very tired.

"I'll go bury this horse. When will we repair the gate?" he asked.

Chen Changsheng looked at the ruined gate and shook his head, "We won't repair it."

Tang Sanshi said, "If we wanted the Tianhai family to repair the gate, we should have forced them to admit defeat earlier."

"What if they really admitted defeat and repaired it?"

Chen Changsheng said, "The gate being broken like this is fine."

Xuan Yuanpo scratched his head, looking at the scattered stones and wood, thinking, "What's good about this?"

"You've made progress."

Jin Yulv smiled and said, "You know how to seek the greatest benefit."

The broken gate of the National College would make the people of the capital feel that the Tianhai family was arrogant and unreasonable every day.

Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment and said, "Senior, I don't like this kind of progress."

"Neither do I."

Jin Yulv patted his shoulder and comforted him, "But what can we do? There are too many unreasonable people in the world. Unless you want to be like me and hide in the mountains to farm, some changes must be accepted."

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