Chen Ping'an merely stood silently atop the city wall, as if patiently waiting for dawn.
Song Yunjian, whose Daoist name was Ying Ning, was happy to "use public office for private gain" and take a few more looks at the scenery around the capital. To a wondrous being like Song Yunjian, a false Ascension Realm cultivator, day and night made no difference to his sight; his vision knew no bounds.
A group of visitors arrived on this side of the wall, and Song Yunjian silently bowed to them.
Chen Ping'an came back to himself and asked with a smile, "Why has Your Majesty come?"
Emperor Song He said, "To see you."
Chen Ping'an joked, "Afraid I'd walk off the job?"
Song He reached out and stroked the city wall. Its surface felt rough beneath his fingertips, yet carried a trace of summer night's coolness. "I fear Great Li's tomorrow is full of uncertainty, but at the same time, when I imagine the court without National Teacher Chen, I somehow feel relieved. Those two thoughts have been fighting each other all along. In the end, the former won. So when I learned that National Teacher Chen had returned safely to the capital, I was happy."
Cui Chan had been both Great Li's previous National Teacher and Emperor Song He's teacher. Song He understood Cui Chan's temperament very well. Chen Ping'an was the sole candidate to succeed him; there had never been any substitute. Once Chen Ping'an ceased to be Great Li's National Teacher, the Great Li Dynasty would truly become a dynasty belonging to the Great Li Song Clan alone. Such a thing was indeed an temptation, neither too small nor too great.
A thought arose in Song Yunjian's heart. If there truly were no National Teacher Chen, then this Great