No Shame, No Equal Under Heaven

Struck by the true qi raging within him, blood kept spilling from Ning Chen's lips. Yet at this moment, he did not dare let his mind wander in the slightest. Forcing himself to focus, he gathered the collapsed vortex anew.

"How could this be?"

The next instant, Qing Ling's expression changed again. Frost Bloom descended throughout the room, and the temperature instantly plummeted to freezing. Vast amounts of spiritual qi surged into Ning Chen's dantian, while his entire qi sea spun madly, devouring the spiritual qi around it without cease.

"Hah!"

With a sharp cry, Qing Ling pushed her cultivation to its limit, continually channeling true qi from her right finger into Ning Chen's body to suppress the wildly out-of-control vortex of true qi in his qi sea.

About half an hour later, the pain on Ning Chen's face gradually faded. The qi sea within him returned to calm, a silver vortex slowly and peacefully revolving without end.

Only then did Qing Ling let out a breath of relief and withdraw her right hand. Her beautiful face was filled with anger. This brat had been far too reckless. Fortunately, she had arrived in time; otherwise, he would not even have known how he died.

Ning Chen opened his eyes and immediately saw Qing Ling's furious expression. His heart skipped a beat. He was frightened, yet also somewhat moved.

"Hold out your hand. Let me examine your injuries."

Seeing the blood at Ning Chen's mouth, Qing Ling worried about his wounds. She temporarily held back her anger and spoke in a low voice.

"Hehe, it's fine. I'm fine."

How could Ning Chen agree? He gave a foolish grin while frantically thinking of a solution. Under no circumstances could he let Qing Ling examine his pulse, or the matter of him being a Fake Eunuch would be impossible to conceal.

He was not worried that Qing Ling would do anything to him, but he feared Changsun would destroy him in a fit of rage.

After all, Qing Ling had already helped him conceal Mu Chengxue's matter. He could more or less tell that as long as it had nothing to do with Changsun, Qing Ling could endure anything and would not take it to heart. Even if Mu Chengxue truly was the culprit who had attempted to assassinate the Xia Emperor, she could pretend not to know.

However, once Changsun might be implicated, this young lady would not be so easy to reason with.

If a Fake Eunuch appeared beside the Empress of the current dynasty and word got out, it would become a colossal joke.

He dared guarantee that once Changsun gave the order, Qing Ling would chop him to bits without even scraps remaining.

Thus, he could only keep grinning foolishly and dodging. If this young lady tried to force the matter, then even unto death, he would not submit.

What the hell was an injury? Compared to his life, even if it were ten times worse, he would endure it.

Seeing Ning Chen's strange behavior, Qing Ling grew suspicious. Frowning, she coldly asked, "Are you hiding something from me?"

"Hehe, how could I be? Where would I get the nerve?"

As Ning Chen spoke, he kept inching toward the corner of the bed. Yet inwardly, he could not help worrying. This young lady would not really force herself on him, would she?

He could not beat her!

Fortunately, what Ning Chen feared did not happen. Qing Ling merely stared at him for a while before turning and leaving.

"Then get some proper rest. I'll come see you again tomorrow."

"Good night, Sister Qing Ling."

Ning Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly waved farewell. Yet his entire body remained tucked in the corner of the bed, unwilling to move an inch.

"Urgh."

The moment Qing Ling left, Ning Chen could no longer suppress the internal bruising in his body. With a puff, he vomited bright red blood all over the floor.

Outside the door, Qing Ling halted. She stood guard silently for a long while before finally leaving without a sound.

The bright moon moved west, and dawn broke. Ning Chen still sat on the bed, circulating his cultivation technique over and over. So absorbed was he that he forgot the time.

When he finally came to, the rising eastern sun was already dazzling. Ning Chen's heart sank. Thinking of today's literary contest, he grew even more anxious. He pushed open the door and hurried toward Heavenly Edict Hall, only to be stopped by the young eunuch guarding the gate before he had even left Weiyang Palace.

"The Empress Dowager has ordered that you are not to take a single step beyond the palace gates."

The gatekeeping eunuch was polite, but exceptionally firm. Ning Chen was frantic, yet no matter how he explained the gravity of the situation, he could not get away. For a time, he had no solution at all.

Given Changsun's cautious nature, if she encountered a difficult problem, she would certainly send someone to summon him. Since no one had come even at this hour, either the problem posed by the Zhenji Kingdom envoy had already been solved, or Qing Ling had told her that he was injured.

It was not that he would necessarily be able to solve the Zhenji Kingdom envoy's questions, nor would Changsun think so. But Changsun was cautious by nature and would never overlook any possibility. Moreover, in Changsun's mind, whenever she encountered any strange or unusual problem, he was probably the first person she thought of.

Never in his life had Ning Chen hated anyone so much. Today, he had finally met one. The young eunuch before him would not yield to soft words or hard threats, impervious to oil and salt, blades and spears. No matter what Ning Chen said, he simply refused to let him out.

Why were all the people in Changsun's palace such oddballs?

Ning Chen was furious. For the first time, he felt the urge to hit someone.

Naturally, he put that urge into action!

"Ah, Empress Dowager!"

Ning Chen suddenly cried out in alarm. In the instant the young eunuch instinctively turned around, a fist as large as a casserole smashed into his back. Then... there was no then.

"Little brat, trying to fight your grandpa? You're still too green."

Ning Chen swaggered over the young eunuch's body, then raced for Heavenly Edict Hall as though his life depended on it. As he ran, he despised himself. Whenever Changsun summoned him, he hid faster than anyone. Now that Changsun was not looking for him, he was foolishly worrying about this and that.

Behind Heavenly Edict Hall, Ning Chen came panting and wheezing. Looking at the rows of Imperial Guards, he was troubled again. How was he supposed to get in?

"Little Eunuch Ning Chen?" Just then, the nearest commander of the Imperial Guards recognized Ning Chen and called out to him.

Confusion flashed through Ning Chen's eyes. He did not have many acquaintances in the palace.

"Could it be that you do not remember, little eunuch? I am Ling Xiao, the one who escorted you out of the palace that day," the Imperial Guard commander reminded him.

Ning Chen examined him carefully before recognizing him. He had nearly forgotten that he actually had such an acquaintance. Back then, in order to leave the palace, he had fooled this fellow badly. He had not expected to run into him again today.

"So it's General Ling. Your armor has changed, so I nearly failed to recognize you. Congratulations, General," Ning Chen said hastily after noticing that Ling Xiao's position had changed.

Ling Xiao was in excellent spirits and laughed. "It is all thanks to you, little eunuch. Could it be that you have business with the Empress Dowager? Shall I go announce you?"

At those words, Ning Chen nodded sharply. He had been worrying about how to get inside.

"Please wait a moment, little eunuch."

Ling Xiao gave a hearty laugh, then turned and headed into the hall.

While waiting, Ning Chen had nothing to do and looked around. He could not help clicking his tongue. The imperial palace was decorated far too luxuriously. The Xia Emperor and Changsun were truly extravagant.

"Little eunuch, Her Majesty has summoned you."

Before long, Ling Xiao returned. Then he lowered his voice and said, "Be careful with your words in a moment. The Empress Dowager does not seem to be in a very good mood."

Ning Chen nodded and shot him a look. Brother, you're a good man.

Ling Xiao understood and quietly returned a look. It's nothing.

Ning Chen slipped into Heavenly Edict Hall from the rear and found Changsun's place at a glance. But when he saw her expression, his heart skipped a beat. This was not merely a bad mood—it was clearly an extremely bad one.

Yet he had already come this far. There was no reason to retreat. He could only steel himself and sneak behind Changsun, carefully signaling Qing Ling beside her to ask what had happened.

Qing Ling gently shook her head, signaling that this was not the place for questions.

Receiving the signal, Ning Chen quietly raised his head and glanced at the Xia Emperor on the dragon throne, then at the assembled ministers. Finally, he saw the Zhenji Kingdom envoy's hateful, arrogant, smug face and roughly understood what was going on.

Great Xia had suffered a loss. It was about to lose, and its face could no longer be saved.

"Has any one of my ministers thought of an answer?"

With a grim face, the Xia Emperor asked once more.

Ning Chen lowered his head and looked at the black writing on the white paper atop Changsun's table. Amid his surprise, other emotions could not help arising within him.

It seemed Great Xia's Confucian ministers truly had considerable ability. The paper recorded the literary contest questions. Whether poetry, lyrics, prose, music, or chess and cards, Great Xia's Confucian ministers had answered every one of them.

Only three of the five couplets remained unanswered. At first glance, they did not seem difficult, yet upon careful consideration, they left everyone temporarily at a loss.

It was not that they could not be matched. Rather, the person posing a couplet inherently held every advantage. With a time limit imposed, the difficulty naturally piled upon difficulty.

On the white paper, only three questions remained:

First question: A tiny plot becomes a temple; beside temple, words become poem; the poem says: Tomorrow I shall send the monk back to the ancient temple.

Second question: Qian has eight trigrams, Kun has eight trigrams; eight times eight makes sixty-four trigrams, and in every trigram, Qian and Kun have already been settled.

The final question, which looked simplest but was actually the hardest, contained only seven numbers: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Though the Confucian ministers of the court were learned enough to fill five cartloads and possessed eight or nine dou of talent, couplets were originally an unconventional field. They flourished among common scholars, romantic men of letters, gifted youths, and beautiful ladies, while great scholars rarely dabbled in them. To neatly answer two of the five unmatched couplets in so short a time was already no easy feat.

Ning Chen cast a disdainful glance at the Zhenji Kingdom envoy. This fellow was utterly shameless. You had prepared these questions for half a lifetime, then demanded that Great Xia's great scholars answer them within the time it took to burn one stick of incense. Truly, when a man had no shame, none under heaven could match him.

"Xia Emperor, it appears your ministers cannot provide the answers."

The Zhenji Kingdom envoy burst into laughter, making no effort to conceal his arrogance. "A thousand years ago, The Master was born in my Zhenji Kingdom. He later taught by word and example, passing down the orthodox tradition of Confucianism. Only in his later years did he come to Great Xia, yet the world mistakenly believed The Master to be a man of the Xia Dynasty. Thinking on it now, it is truly laughable."

"Fuck."

Ning Chen could not help swearing. Since when had The Master become a man of the Zhenji Kingdom? Why not say Great Xia had belonged to you a thousand years ago as well?

Hearing the Zhenji Kingdom envoy's shameless words, Great Xia's Confucian ministers grew so enraged that their faces turned red. Curses rose everywhere. The Master was the faith of Confucianism; how could they allow anyone to trample upon him so lightly?

"What an insult to refinement!"

The Zhenji Kingdom envoy laughed arrogantly, finally savoring revenge for yesterday's humiliation. It was indescribably satisfying.

"Empress Dowager."

Ning Chen could no longer endure it. He said quietly, "Let me do it."

This time, Changsun was the one taken by surprise. Looking at Ning Chen's solemn expression, hesitation flashed through her beautiful eyes.

Yet with the incense stick nearly burned out, Changsun thought no further. Rising to her feet, she looked toward the Xia Emperor on the dragon throne, gave a slight bow, and respectfully said:

"Your Majesty, this consort recommends someone."

"Granted!" The Xia Emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke.

"Ning Chen." Changsun looked back at Ning Chen. Her expression was more solemn than ever as she said gravely, "Do not disgrace Great Xia's dignity."

By vouching for him before the Xia Emperor and all the ministers, even as the Empress, she bore immense pressure. If Ning Chen failed, what they lost would be far more than a single contest.

Ning Chen understood the seriousness of the situation, and he understood even more clearly the pressure Changsun bore.

He was not acting on impulse. It was simply that time truly did not permit him to make further arrangements. Having him answer was the fastest choice.

More importantly, Changsun had shown him kindness, and he could not repay kindness with ingratitude.

Stepping forth calmly, Ning Chen no longer concealed his edge. He stood tall in the center of the great hall. A graceful palace maid immediately brought brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, placing them before the writing desk that had long been set up in the hall.

At Changsun's signal, Qing Ling stepped forward to grind the ink. Within Heavenly Edict Hall, red sleeves added fragrance to the ink; for a moment, there was boundless elegance.

Ning Chen raised his brush and wrote in running script. With a sweep of his hand, the first matching couplet appeared upon the paper in an instant.

A tiny plot becomes a temple; beside temple, words become poem; the poem says: Tomorrow I shall send the monk back to the ancient temple.

Two trees become a forest; beneath forest, a sign becomes prohibition; the prohibition says: Axes may enter the mountain forest in due season.

"Excellent!"

Several Confucian ministers at court slapped the table and rose to their feet, excitement appearing on their faces as they lavished praise upon it.

The parallelism was precise, and the imagery exceptional. This little eunuch had stunned them once again.

Not far away, the Zhenji Kingdom envoy's sleeve stirred, and he furrowed his brow.

After the brief astonishment, Ning Chen's brush did not stop. The second matching couplet appeared before everyone once more.

Qian has eight trigrams, Kun has eight trigrams; eight times eight makes sixty-four trigrams, and in every trigram, Qian and Kun have already been settled.

The luan has nine cries, the phoenix has nine cries; nine times nine makes eighty-one cries, and with every cry, luan and phoenix sing in harmony.

"Heh."

This time, all the great scholars smiled. This couplet could not be called breathtaking, but it was indeed cleverly matched. It even took the chance to flatter Changsun and the Xia Emperor a little. Both luan and phoenix were auspicious creatures, carrying beautiful meanings. It could also be called an excellent match.

A faint smile crossed the Xia Emperor's lips. Though the Son of Heaven was the True Dragon ordained by heaven, and comparing him to a luan or phoenix was slightly inappropriate, for the sake of this fine couplet, lowering himself half a rank was well worth it.