A Pawn's Passage

Of course, Qi Xuansu had not just arrived today. He had arrived some time ago.

Zhang Jucheng was very pleased to welcome Qi Xuansu. After learning the purpose of his visit, he became even more welcoming.

What happened with Zhang Yuyue was not merely a matter of breaking her heart. It was also a slap in Zhang Jucheng’s face. The only reason Li Minghuang had remained untouched was due to the Li family’s protection. Without the Li family behind him, Zhang Jucheng would have taught Li Minghuang a lesson long ago. A father-in-law might not lose his temper often, but once he did, he could be far more terrifying than a mother-in-law.

The more Zhang Jucheng looked at Qi Xuansu now, the more pleasing he found him. In the past, Zhang Jucheng had thought how wonderful it would have been if Qi Xuansu were his son-in-law. Now, he thought that if he had a son like Qi Xuansu, how could the Heavenly Preceptor and Zhang Yuelu ever have pushed him this far?

In a system where hereditary succession mattered, the heir was everything. Nothing was more valuable than having a capable son. After all, for the first 30 years, people respected the son because of the father. For the next 30 years, they respected the father because of the son.

Zhang Jucheng and Qi Xuansu paid their respects together at the mausoleum of the Wei Dynasty’s Emperor Taizu in Jinling Prefecture.

Although the Daoist Order had overthrown the Wei Dynasty, it had not completely repudiated the fallen dynasty. Aside from the Wei Dynasty’s final empress dowager, who was executed, most members of the imperial family, including the young emperor, were allowed to live and were merely stripped of their status and reduced to commoners.

The Wei Dynasty’s Emperor Taizu held an exalted place in history. After the Qi Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty had been weak and confined to a corner of the realm. Then the Golden Horde entered and ruled the Central Plains. For nearly 900 years, the northern territories of the Central Plains and the lands of the Western Region were entirely lost to foreign rule. It was not until the founding emperor of the Wei Dynasty that these territories were gradually recovered. It would be no exaggeration to say that he had rebuilt the Central Plains Empire.

After the founding of the Great Xuan Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong both paid homage to Wei Dynasty’s Emperor Taizu and stationed troops to protect his mausoleum.

Although the Grand Master had never personally visited the mausoleum, the local Daoist Mansions were tasked with conducting ceremonial tributes there. These ceremonies were solemn and elaborate. They were generally presided over by the Mansion Master.

This time, in addition to several Deputy Mansion Masters, the Confucian Grand Libationer also accompanied Zhang Jucheng and Qi Xuansu to pay their respects.

When the Confucian School dominated the realm, the Daoist Order and Buddhist Sect had joined forces to oppose the Confucian School and ultimately defeated it.

After the Daoist Order replaced the Confucian School as the supreme authority in the realm, it reduced both the Confucian School and the Buddhist Sect to subordinate powers. In the past, the Confucian School had taken the lead in promoting the unification of the Three Religions. Now, the Daoist Order had assumed that leading role and continued to advance this unification.

At one point, the Holy Xuan had already become the de facto leader of the Three Religions. The three Grand Libationers representing the Confucian Schools of Principle, Mind, and Qi chose to pledge allegiance to the Holy Xuan, placing them at a status equivalent to the Daoist Order’s Deputy Grand Masters.

Later, when the Buddhist Sect challenged the Daoist Order’s dominant position. The Daoist Order joined forces with the Confucian School to suppress the Buddhists. Eventually, under mounting pressure, the Buddhist Sect was forced into a truce with the Daoist Order and forced to acknowledge Daoism’s position as leader of the Three Religions.

However, the Buddhist Sect still disagreed with the Daoist Order on many matters, and friction between the two remained constant. This was especially true regarding the Ancient Immortals. Publicly, the Buddhist Sect supported the Daoist Order’s efforts to eradicate secret societies, yet behind the scenes, it supported the Ancient Immortals as a means of keeping the Daoist Order in check, forcing the Daoist Order to expend enormous amounts of time and effort dealing with them every year.

The Daoist Order’s official position was to treat the Three Religions as one. Officially, in the eyes of the Daoist Order, the Confucian School and the Buddhist Sect were both good friends, not outsiders.

Thus, there was no such thing as “colluding” with the Buddhist Sect, unless the Buddhists were plotting something treacherous.

Now, the Confucian Grand Libationer could no longer be compared to the Daoist Order’s Three Deputy Grand Masters. But their status was roughly equivalent to that of a Virtuous Great Sage.

Thus, this ceremony was led by the Grand Libationer, with Qi Xuansu and Zhang Jucheng accompanying him.

In fact, their respective status could be seen at a glance. After the ceremony, while they were admiring the mountain scenery, the Grand Libationer stood in the center with his hands clasped behind his back. Zhang Jucheng and Qi Xuansu stood to his left and right, their arms hanging naturally at their sides. Everyone else stood with their hands folded together in front of their lower abdomen.

Hands behind the back meant one rank higher. Hands hanging at the sides showed some deference, while hands folded in front meant one rank lower.

Like the Daoist Order, the Confucian School was likewise divided into three factions. Among them, the School of Principle and the School of Mind had once been prominent schools at the height of their influence, much like the Zhengyi Sect and Quanzhen Sect of the Daoist Order.

The School of Qi was much like the Taiping Sect. It had once come close to complete destruction. Only after the Schools of Principle and Mind suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Daoist Order did the School of Qi seize the opportunity to rise, becoming the third great school alongside the Schools of Principle and Mind.

The founding patriarch of the School of Principle was the Sage of Principle, while the founding patriarch of the School of Mind was the Sage of Mind. The origins of the School of Qi could be traced back to the Second Sage. The “Qi” in the School of Qi came from the concept of righteous qi proposed by the Second Sage, though it was figures such as Master Hengqu who truly developed and brought the School of Qi to prominence.

The School of Qi held that the world consisted of two parts—things that could be seen and things that could not be seen. However, both were composed of qi.

Qi existed in two states—condensation and dispersion. Dispersion did not mean that it ceased to exist; it merely became invisible to the naked eye. The School of Qi used the term “great void” to describe the dispersed state of qi, which was its original and primordial state. Qi was the collective term encompassing both the great void and all tangible things.

The Schools of Qi, Principle, and Mind shared the same roots and origins, yet each had its own disagreements with the others.

The School of Qi rejected the Sage of Principle’s view that principle and qi were two separate things. Instead, the School of Qi held that there is nothing but qi throughout heaven and earth. It regarded qi as the foundation of all things, while principle was the pattern and order governing the transformations of qi.

This gave rise to two entirely different schools of thought.

This Grand Libationer was from the School of Qi, named after the great void—Zhang Taixu. He hailed from Wuzhou and had always maintained close relations with the Zhengyi Sect.

Although he was not from the same family as the Daoist Shangqing Zhangs, sharing the same last name and hometown made it all too easy for the two sides to claim some sort of connection.

Within Jiangnan, Wuzhou had always been one of its core territories and possessed a flourishing scholarly tradition. During the Wei Dynasty, half of the Imperial Court’s successful imperial examination scholars and Grand Secretaries hailed from Wuzhou. Of Jiangnan’s Four Great Academies, three were located in Wuzhou.

Strictly speaking, Jinling Prefecture belonged to what was traditionally known as Jiangdong.

The Zhang family of the Zhengyi Sect was known as the foremost family of the South and had long maintained close relations with the local Confucian scholars of Wuzhou, just as the Taiping Sect maintained close ties with the Confucian forces within Qizhou.

Back during the Deposed Heavenly Preceptor’s rebellion, the Confucians had also been drawn into the battle, which showed just how closely connected the Zhengyi Sect was with the Confucian School. The Quanzhen Sect alone was an exception, having almost no dealings with the Confucian School whatsoever.

Zhang Jucheng and Zhang Taixu had not just met today either. The two had a fairly close relationship. In truth, as the struggle among the Three Daoist Sects grew increasingly intense, Qi Xuansu was not the only one making preparations in advance. Others had also begun courting allies. Beneath the surface, alliances were being forged and factions drawn together as hidden currents surged.

It was like an old duck paddling through the water—perfectly calm and motionless on the surface, while its two webbed feet churned furiously beneath.

Zhang Jucheng had not come merely to pay his respects. His main purpose was to use this opportunity to introduce the School of Qi’s Grand Libationer to Qi Xuansu.

Zhang Taixu knew of Qi Xuansu. By this point, the days of the Three Daoist Prodigies were long gone. Some had begun speaking instead of the Twin Peaks of the Daoist Order, a title that could refer either to Sage Donghua and Sage Qingwei or to Qi Xuansu and Li Changge. Some even asserted that the Daoist Order’s past had rested in the hands of three people, while its future would rest in the hands of these four.

The Confucian Grand Libationers, the upper echelons of the Buddhist Sect and the Imperial Court, and perhaps even the highest levels of the Holy Court probably knew exactly who Qi Xuansu was. They not only knew of his existence but regarded him with particular importance. They might even have assembled dedicated groups to study records of Qi Xuansu’s past in order to discern his style of conduct and his true intentions.

Qi Xuansu had not known much about Zhang Taixu in the past, but he had done his homework beforehand this time, so the two had a very pleasant conversation.

The change in Zhang Jucheng’s attitude carried tremendous significance. For great and powerful families, unless their wealth could rival that of an entire nation, money was ultimately little more than superficial wealth. No great clan ever perished simply because it ran out of money. What truly mattered was its network of connections. That was real wealth. By sharing these connections with Qi Xuansu, Zhang Jucheng was showing that he now genuinely regarded Qi Xuansu as one of his own.

This could also be considered a way of returning a favor in kind. The Zhang family would have to rely on Qi Xuansu when dealing with the Li family in the future, and Qi Xuansu had also taken good care of members of the Zhang family. If nothing else, what Qi Xuansu had done for Zhang Wuyue was enough to earn the Zhang family’s goodwill. Regardless of whether they belonged to the main branch or a minor branch, whenever the Li family was involved, the Zhangs would first unite against the common enemy. The struggle between the Zhang and Li families had lasted for so many years that it seemed etched into their very bones, becoming almost instinctive.

With the matter involving Li Minghuang added on top of that, Zhang Jucheng had no reason to keep anything hidden from Qi Xuansu.

With Zhang Jucheng acting as the intermediary, Qi Xuansu became acquainted with Zhang Taixu. As for how he would deepen that relationship and take it further in the future, that was up to Qi Xuansu himself.

In the end, Zhang Taixu took his leave first.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Jucheng stayed behind.

The two no longer discussed official business but Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu’s wedding.

Although Zhang Jucheng was not Zhang Yuelu’s biological father, as the prospective patriarch of the Zhang family, it was perfectly reasonable for him to involve himself in such matters. So long as the Heavenly Preceptor did not intervene, Zhang Jucheng was the one who had the final say. Even Zhang Juqi, Zhang Yuelu’s biological father, had to defer to him.

On Qi Xuansu’s side, he simply made the decisions himself. Sage Donghua was too busy to concern himself with such matters, while Madam Qi had the time but could not be bothered.

After learning that Qi Xuansu had yet to decide on his groomsmen, Zhang Jucheng recommended someone to him—Yan Yongzhen.

Half declining and half joking, Qi Xuansu said, “Back then, Qing Xiao’s mother nearly betrothed her to Yan Mingchen. Wouldn’t this be a little awkward?”

Zhang Jucheng waved his hand. “The Yan family not only enjoys close relations with the Zhang family but is also closely connected with Sage Cihang’s Su family. They carry considerable weight within the Zhengyi Sect. So they are still people we need to unite with. Besides, Yan Yongzhen and Yan Mingchen are not on the same side. Li Wugou and Li Tianqing are from the same family but don’t belong to the same camp.”

Qi Xuansu immediately understood. After giving it a little thought, he readily agreed to let Yan Yongzhen become his best man.

Zhang Yuelu’s maid of honor would be someone from Sage Cihang’s side—Zhang Yuelu’s junior sister, Xiao Yueru.