A Pawn's Passage

While Qi Xuansu was diligently training in the Demonic Blade at the Upper Palace’s Gen Garden, Zhang Yuelu soared through the clouds and returned to her home in Yunjin Mountain.

Since she had been away from home for half a year, it was time to visit her parents.

By now, news of Zhang Yuelu’s promotion to the third rank had already reached Yunjin Mountain. Compared to her last return, the Zhang family’s attitude toward her had shifted drastically. Even her elders in the Ju generation, regardless of how reluctant they were, had to acknowledge her as an equal in public.

In fact, a third-rank Youyi Daoist master might not seem particularly impressive in a family brimming with Sages. But considering Zhang Yuelu’s age, everyone could see the boundless potential in her future. If she had been born into the main branch of the Zhang family, her path to becoming the next Heavenly Preceptor would have already been set in stone.

This also left several influential figures of the Zhang family’s main branch deeply dissatisfied with their own children—especially Zhang Yuyue. They regarded her as a disgrace because she threw away her future over some worthless man.

Zhang Yuyue was perceptive enough to avoid returning to Yunjin Mountain altogether. Instead, she hid away in her own little nest. After all, these esteemed elders would not abandon their dignity just to show up at her door and scold her.

Speaking of men, Tantai Qiong’s attitude had undergone quite a shift. Without a doubt, Yan Mingchen was no longer worthy of her daughter.

Fortunately, Zhang Yuelu had been resolute enough to avoid an engagement, sparing them the trouble of arranging a formal annulment. If Yan Mingchen could not let it go and decided to vent his frustration with a melodramatic line about how the tides might turn 30 years from now, that would be quite a headache.

With her daughter’s current status, marrying into another family was absolutely out of the question. Tantai Qiong would need to bring in a matrilocal son-in-law instead. That way, any future children would bear the Zhang name, paving the way for Zhang Yuelu to inherit the position of Heavenly Preceptor despite being a woman. After all, the ancestral rules only required the heir to carry the Zhang name; they never specified a gender.

However, selecting a suitable son-in-law was proving to be a challenge. The Daoist community was full of talented young men, but few would willingly agree to a matrilocal marriage because the title carried a certain stigma.

Since ancient times, noble families followed the tradition that women should marry up. The idea was that within the same social class, daughters should be married into families slightly more prestigious than their own, while sons should take wives from slightly lower-standing families.

For instance, within the aristocracy, if a family held the rank of Duke, it was best for their daughter to marry into a Prince’s household, while their sons should seek brides from the ranks of Marquises or Earls. Simply put, women married up, and men married down.

However, taking in a matrilocal son-in-law meant that the woman would be marrying down. The son-in-law would become part of the wife’s family, with his children carrying the wife’s last name and recorded in her family’s ancestral registry. They would pay homage to her ancestors during festivals, and he would ultimately be buried in her family’s cemetery.

Therefore, society often looked down on matrilocal sons-in-law. Even the Imperial Court forbade them from holding official positions. The reason was simple. When an official attained a high rank, his wife would be granted noble titles. His parents and ancestors would also be posthumously honored. Yet, there had never been a precedent for honoring a father-in-law or mother-in-law. This created a dilemma—whose ancestors did the matrilocal son-in-law belong to?

Without a precedent, it could cause major disputes, so the policy was straightforward. Matrilocal sons-in-law were barred from officialdom.

Even if one did not pursue an official career in the Imperial Court, one could not escape the reputation of living off a woman. Under such circumstances, which man would willingly allow others to gossip behind their back?

Any man with even a shred of ambition would refuse to become a matrilocal son-in-law, let alone the outstanding young talents of the Daoist Order.

However, there was one advantage within the Daoist community. There were plenty of orphans with unknown lineage concentrated in the Wanxiang Daoist Palace and the Quanzhen Sect.

Thus, Tantai Qiong suddenly thought of Qi Xuansu. She sighed to herself, thinking that if he had not died, he would have been a decent candidate for a matrilocal son-in-law. At the very least, her daughter liked him.

Tantai Qiong was not necessarily insistent on opposing her daughter’s choices. She would not mind following her daughter’s wishes if the overall direction was favorable.

Upon Zhang Yuelu’s return, her parents naturally inquired about her recent well-being. She did not hide anything from them and gave them a brief recount of her experiences.

It was then that Tantai Qiong learned that Qi Xuansu had not died. Instead, he had turned misfortune into fortune and had somehow managed to forge connections with several Quanzhen Sect Sages. He was even promoted to the fourth rank and a Superintendent of Ziwei Hall. Thus, he was currently training at the Upper Palace of the Wanxiang Daoist Palace.

In just half a year, Qi Xuansu had risen three ranks—a speed that surpassed even Zhang Yuelu’s promotions.

As Tantai Qiong marveled at his rapid ascent, a thought occurred to her. This boy is not qualified to marry my daughter under normal circumstances. But he’s an exceedingly suitable candidate for a matrilocal son-in-law!

First, Qi Xuansu was an orphan from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace with no known ancestry, hence eliminating many familial concerns. Second, her daughter liked him. Third, she understood what it meant for someone under 30 to achieve the fourth rank—he would be an immense asset to her daughter.

Thus, Tantai Qiong subtly broached the topic, only to be met with Zhang Yuelu’s immediate impatience.

From Zhang Yuelu’s perspective, Qi Xuansu’s success had little to do with her. His rise was due to the support of Pei Xuanzhi and Pei Xiaolou, as well as his own relentless efforts. Qi Xuansu’s promotions to the sixth and fifth ranks were earned through life-and-death struggles, and his advancement to the fourth rank was the result of their joint effort in slaying Sikong Cuo. It was not something she had handed to him.

Yet, many idle gossipers were already spreading rumors, claiming that he had only reached the fourth rank because of her, branding him as a kept man riding on her coattails. If he were to actually become a matrilocal son-in-law, that would only confirm the rumors.

The worst part was that Qi Xuansu had not actually gained any benefits from the Zhang family, yet he was expected to carry this reputation for nothing. Were they just going to take advantage of him like that?

Putting herself in Qi Xuansu’s shoes, Zhang Yuelu knew she would not tolerate such treatment, so naturally, she did not want Qi Xuansu to endure it either.

Using someone else’s goodwill to seize benefits was the behavior of a complete scoundrel—something she despised and would never do.

However, Zhang Yuelu did not explicitly state her reasoning and simply rejected the idea outright. After all, the kind of emotional manipulation that a child forgets their parents after getting married was not exclusive to Madam Qi.

Qi Xuansu had no idea about Tantai Qiong’s plans, but even if he did, he would not agree to them. His own opinion was secondary. The key issue was that Madam Qi would never allow it because she never did business at a loss.

If Qi Xuansu were to become a matrilocal husband, that would mean Madam Qi was handing over all her efforts to raise Qi Xuansu to the Zhang family for free. Madam Qi might accept that Qi Xuansu would not take her last name because his master Qi Haoran came first. But Madam Qi came before Zhang Yuelu, so why should Qi Xuansu become Zhang Xuansu? Madam Qi would not allow the Zhang family to take advantage of her.

What else could Qi Xuansu do but follow Madam Qi’s lead?

Zhang Yuelu stayed home for three days. Her father, Zhang Juqi, was easygoing. Just as always, the father-daughter relationship remained stable. However, the dynamic between mother and daughter was quite amusing.

On the first day, they were like a perfect picture of a loving reunion. Tantai Qiong showed motherly kindness, and Zhang Yuelu filial devotion. By the second day, tensions flared, and they began exchanging cold glares. By the third day, they could hardly stand the sight of each other, leaving Zhang Juqi stuck awkwardly in the middle.

Then, on June 15th, Zhang Yuelu boarded a flying ship and left Yunjin Mountain for Jade Capital.

Jade Capital was covered in eternal snow; no matter the season, it remained a vast expanse of white, living up to its name as the White Jade Capital in the sky.

After disembarking, Zhang Yuelu noticed a large gathering of young female Daoists chattering excitedly near the city gate.

Curious, Zhang Yuelu gestured at a patrolling Spirit Guard and asked, “What’s going on?”

The Spirit Guard did not recognize Zhang Yuelu but noticed the Deputy Tiangang Hall Master badge hanging from her waist, so he quickly deduced her identity.

He replied respectfully, “Deputy Hall Master Zhang, the scholars from the Confucian School are arriving shortly.”

“So what if the Confucians are coming? Why are they acting so…crazy?” Zhang Yuelu gestured toward the excitable group of women.

The Spirit Guard hesitated, surprised that Deputy Hall Master Zhang was unaware of the situation. But then, he quickly realized that someone like Zhang Yuelu, who spent her days exterminating cultists and solving cases, would not bother with trivial gossip.

Thus, he explained, “Among the Confucian delegates this time is someone with a renowned reputation who bears the last name Qin.”

Zhang Yuelu frowned in confusion. “A member of the royal family?”

The Spirit Guard hesitated for a moment before responding, “Deputy Hall Master Zhang, you must have heard of the Ruyi Leaderboard, which placed two of our Daoist prodigies in the top two spots. His Grace was ranked third.”

Zhang Yuelu vaguely recalled something about it. She had been ranked fifth. It seemed the Spirit Guard had been hesitant to mention it out of concern for her reaction.

She then asked, “And what’s so special about this Qin guy?”

Seeing that Zhang Yuelu showed no displeasure, the Spirit Guard continued, “Although he is of royal descent, he does not follow the Daoist path. Instead, he became the disciple of a Confucian Great Master. This time, he has come to Jade Capital as a Confucian delegate to participate in the Three Religions Assembly.

“That alone isn’t noteworthy. The key point is that he is said to be exceptionally handsome. I’ve heard some female Daoists refer to him as the most handsome man in the world. That’s why these women specifically came here just to catch a glimpse of his beauty.”

“Beauty, huh?” Zhang Yuelu chuckled. She had never been interested in lofty philosophical debates, nor was she fond of men skilled in flowery speech. What she appreciated were men willing to take a leap of death for her. With that thought, she bid farewell to the Spirit Guard and chose a different route back into the city.