A Pawn's Passage

After Zhang Yuelu made her firm and forceful stance clear, the relationship between mother and daughter hit rock bottom. After all, Zhang Yuelu was her own flesh and blood and no longer just a fledgling, but a fully grown eagle. As a result, Tantai Qiong could only redirect all her pent-up anger toward Qi Xuansu, who was somewhat innocent in this.

Tantai Qiong thought, If it were not for this scoundrel seducing my daughter, none of this would have happened! The root of the problem lay with this punk.

At this point, Qi Xuansu did not yet know that he was branded a villain by his mother-in-law. But even if he did know, he would not have taken it to heart. After all, their relationship had already hit rock bottom.

It was just like when Madam Qi docked Qi Xuansu’s pay. At first, he was furious and indignant, but later on, he simply stopped caring. Although he had not interacted much with Tantai Qiong, he had already become indifferent to her biases against him.

Qi Xuansu also realized he had never once encountered the gentle, considerate, traditional, virtuous wife and loving mother type of woman that appeared so often in novels. From elders like Madam Qi, Tantai Qiong, Su Yuanyi, and Lei Xiaohuan, to peers like Zhang Yuelu, Yao Pei, Li Qingnu, and Yue Liuli, not a single one fit that mold. Every one of them was a fierce and exceptional woman who rivaled men in capability. Trying to juggle relationships among them was nothing short of suicidal.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what Qi Xuansu was doing. Even if he was not entangled with all the women he knew, just dealing with the likes of Madam Qi, Tantai Qiong, Su Yuanyi, and Zhang Yuelu was more than enough for him. Thankfully, they were not united against him. In fact, some were outright hostile toward each other. For example, Zhang Yuelu clashed with Madam Qi, and Tantai Qiong did not get along with Su Yuanyi. This allowed Qi Xuansu to form shifting alliances and carve out a little space for himself to survive.

At this point, Zhang Juqi’s role became crucial. He began mediating between his wife and daughter. Zhang Yuelu said nothing, sitting with her back to Tantai Qiong, lost in thought. Tantai Qiong took the opportunity her husband offered and left Wangyun Pavilion.

Not long after Tantai Qiong’s departure, Qi Xuansu received the news and rushed to Wangyun Pavilion under the pretense of having received an important task from Uncle Zhang Jucheng.

As soon as Qi Xuansu stepped in, he noticed that Zhang Yuyue was still there.

To be fair, Qi Xuansu did not have too bad an impression of Zhang Yuyue. Though this cousin had resorted to some shady tricks, he believed Tantai Qiong was the real mastermind. Zhang Yuyue was at most an accomplice.

Also, Zhang Juping had once said that during Qi Xuansu’s first visit, Zhang Yuyue had spoken well of him, whereas Zhang Chiyue did not. Qi Xuansu had to admit that Zhang Yuyue did have a good eye for talent. Her only problem was recognizing talent but not the person behind it, hence her fiasco with Li Minghuang.

Qi Xuansu had also noticed traces of Zhang Yuyue’s jealousy toward Zhang Yuelu back at the Little Thunder Pool. After all his years roaming Jianghu and dealing mostly with ruthless, shady people, he was not naive.

He concluded that Zhang Yuyue was weak. She feared that her cousin might suffer, yet also feared that her cousin might succeed beyond expectations. She worried that Zhang Yuelu would be deceived and hurt by a heartless man like she once was, but also dreaded the possibility that Zhang Yuelu might find her true love and perfect match.

Well, that was just human nature. There was no need to be overly harsh. As long as she had not done anything truly out of line, there was no reason to make a fuss. He just had to keep it in mind.

After all, it would be unseemly for Qi Xuansu to stoop to this woman’s level. So he decided he would just mention it to Zhang Yuelu and let her handle it.

Thus, Qi Xuansu still greeted this cousin politely.

Zhang Yuyue looked startled upon seeing Qi Xuansu and returned the greeting clumsily, without the fierce glare she had shown last time.

“Come in,” Zhang Yuelu said as she heard the noise, stepping out from the main hall onto the outer steps.

With that, she turned and led the way back into the main hall.

Qi Xuansu strode forward, and after a moment’s hesitation, Zhang Yuyue followed behind.

As soon as he entered the main hall, Qi Xuansu swaggered into the main seat and gestured toward Zhang Yuelu.

“What?” Zhang Yuelu asked, a bit confused.

Qi Xuansu cleared his throat and said righteously, “Little Zhang, get me some water.”

Zhang Yuelu was both annoyed and amused. But since she had agreed to this beforehand, she could not exactly refuse. So she got up to pour tea for Qi Xuansu. Thankfully, since there had been guests here recently, the tea had already been prepared and did not require brewing from scratch.

Unaware of their inside joke, Zhang Yuyue was stunned by the scene. In her mind, Zhang Yuelu had always been aloof. How had her proud cousin fallen so far in just over a year? Was it true that a woman would give up her sense of self after falling for a man?

Qi Xuansu took the teacup Zhang Yuelu handed over and took the opportunity to lightly graze her hand, mimicking the lecherous scoundrels in novels.

Zhang Yuelu merely glanced at him and did not take it seriously. After all, they had already shared more intimate moments, so this was nothing.

Qi Xuansu leisurely sipped his tea and signaled for “Little Zhang” to refill his cup.

“Little Zhang” dutifully poured another cup, all the while feeling a little regretful for making such a bold promise in the first place.

However, Zhang Yuyue could not bear to watch this any longer and glared angrily at Qi Xuansu, thinking, They aren’t even officially Daoist companions yet, and he’s in the Dazhen Mansion. How can he act so arrogantly by ordering Qing Xiao around like a servant?!

Zhang Yuyue dared not even imagine what the future might look like.

Qi Xuansu naturally noticed Zhang Yuyue’s stare and decided against asking for a third cup. He set down his teacup and said to Zhang Yuelu, who was still standing nearby with the teapot, “I’ve met with your uncle.”

Zhang Yuelu raised an eyebrow. “Which uncle?”

Qi Xuansu replied, “The Shangqing Palace Master. Yesterday, your third uncle came to see me...”

“Wait, which third uncle?” Zhang Yuelu suddenly realized that she had been so caught up in fighting with her mother these past two days that she had not been keeping an eye on Qi Xuansu. This guy had clearly been up to a lot more than just fighting her cousins.

Qi Xuansu countered, “I’ve only been to your house twice. Haven’t you kept track of which of your uncles I’ve met?”

“Oh, Uncle Zhong.” Zhang Yuelu remembered. Her family was huge, split across various branches, and the generational hierarchy was a mess. Blood brothers were ranked one way, cousins another, and the entire generation yet another. It was too complicated, so the juniors usually just used the first character of one’s courtesy name and appended “Uncle” to tell them apart.

Zhang Juping’s courtesy name was Zhong He.

Qi Xuansu said, “Uncle Zhong visited me. We chatted a lot about the family, and in the end, he told me the Palace Master wanted to meet me. I wanted to inform you, but there were guests at your place, so I didn’t dare come over.”

Zhang Yuelu nodded, then asked, “And then?”

“And we hit it off. We discussed Fenglin’s situation and reached some preliminary agreements. We think that to truly solve the issues there and put an end to the whole ’revere the king and expel the Dao’ sentiment, we need to start by addressing ideology...” Qi Xuansu began to ramble on.

“Get to the point.” Zhang Yuelu set the teapot on the table with a thud, cutting Qi Xuansu off.

This gesture suddenly made Zhang Yuyue realize that Zhang Yuelu was not being bossed around by Qi Xuansu. What happened earlier looked more like a couple role-playing.

Zhang Yuyue had read about such things in novels, where couples spiced things up with roleplay, like the female playing a constable, while the other played a bandit. But the constable accidentally got caught. It was supposed to be very entertaining.

She thought, Were these two into such quirky roleplay?

Her face flushed instantly, her ears turning red, and even her neck showed a suspicious blush.

Qi Xuansu did not say anything and only glanced at Zhang Yuyue.

His meaning was clear. He wanted to ask Zhang Yuelu whether this was something Zhang Yuyue could know about.

Zhang Yuelu paused briefly, then nodded. “Sister Yu is Uncle Cheng’s daughter, so there’s no need to keep this from her.”

Zhang Jucheng’s courtesy name was Cheng De.

Only then did Zhang Yuyue snap out of her thoughts. “My father?”

Qi Xuansu ignored her and said, “The Palace Master has agreed to support you. But he has one condition.”

Sharp as always, Zhang Yuelu immediately understood. “To ensure the main branch’s position.”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “He wants a clear and binding assurance.”

Zhang Yuelu frowned slightly and began to think.

This guarantee could not just be verbal. It had to be effective and binding to earn Zhang Jucheng’s trust.

After a moment, Zhang Yuelu’s frown eased. She turned to Zhang Yuyue and said, “Sister Yu, please help me relay a message to Uncle Cheng.”

Zhang Yuyue more or less understood that her father had spoken with Qi Xuansu and likely made some request, and now Zhang Yuelu was delivering her answer.

She hesitated briefly, then nodded. “Go ahead, Sister Lu.”

Qi Xuansu almost burst out laughing.

Sister Yu and Sister Lu sounded rather rustic and lame.

Qi Xuansu glanced sideways at Zhang Yuelu with a smirk, as if to say, “Why don’t you call me Brother Xuan?”

Zhang Yuelu shot Qi Xuansu a fierce glare, then said to Zhang Yuyue, “Please tell Uncle Cheng that Tian Yuan is not marrying into our family as a matrilocal son-in-law. After we become Daoist companions, our children—if any—will bear his last name, Qi, not Zhang. I will publicly announce this during our wedding ceremony, in front of the Heavenly Preceptor and all the guests, so that they can bear witness.”

In that instant, both Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuyue were stunned.

Naturally, Qi Xuansu was overwhelmed with emotion.

But Zhang Yuyue was completely confused. Wasn’t this about negotiations? How did it end up involving children?

Zhang Yuyue confirmed again. “That’s it?”

Zhang Yuelu nodded. “Yes, just like that.”

Looking into Zhang Yuelu’s resolute gaze, Zhang Yuyue began to understand that if their children bore the Qi name instead of the Zhang name, then naturally, they would have no claim to the Zhang family inheritance.

Zhang Yuyue looked like she wanted to say something, but she held back. In the end, she simply turned and left.

After Zhang Yuyue had left, Qi Xuansu finally spoke. “Honestly, I don’t mind what last name our children take. I don’t even know my own parents’ names, let alone my ancestral bloodline.”

Zhang Yuelu replied calmly, “If I don’t do this, how can I put their minds at ease?”