A Pawn's Passage

Just as the atmosphere grew tense, Zhang Juqi appeared and smoothed things over. “Qing Xiao rarely comes home, and we have guests now, so let’s not create tension.”

Tantai Qiong suppressed the anger in her heart, adjusted her breathing, and said calmly, “Fine.”

After that, she turned and left the living room.

Zhang Juqi did not leave immediately. Instead, he said to Qi Xuansu, “She’s always had a temper. I hope you don’t take it to heart, Tian Yuan.”

Qi Xuansu did not take Tantai Qiong’s words too seriously. Instead, he was more concerned about Zhang Yuelu’s anger. Fortunately, Zhang Yuelu quickly calmed down and only glared at Qi Xuansu as if she were saying, “I’ll settle the score with you later.”

Seeing this, Qi Xuansu lightly slapped his mouth, indicating that he was sorry for talking nonsense.

It was about time that he corrected his bad habit of speaking the wrong thing at the wrong time. However, habits were hard to change, especially old habits that had been around for many years.

Zhang Juqi noticed their interaction and found it interesting. This young man was not afraid of Tantai Qiong but was scared of Zhang Yuelu. Zhang Juqi thought that his wife was aggressive and difficult to talk to. His daughter, on the other hand, was more reasonable. So it seemed that the hard approach was not effective on this young man.

In fact, the reason for this was simple. If a leader was upright, people would follow in their footsteps. If the leader was unreasonable, people would not obey their orders. It was because Zhang Yuelu was reasonable that Qi Xuansu was afraid of her.

Tantai Qiong had just met Qi Xuansu, but before getting to know him, she insulted him first. How could Qi Xuansu respect her? Zhang Yuelu, on the other hand, never looked down on Qi Xuansu based on his status. Even if Zhang Yuelue wanted to change Qi Xuansu, she did it subtly instead of forcing him to do what she wanted. That was why Qi Xuansu submitted to her.

Qi Xuansu did not have a complicated way of life. As long as no one infringed on his interests, he would always return the courtesy, even with people like Sun Yongfeng and Zhang Juping. As long as they did not poke at his sore spots, Qi Xuansu would not react. He would still maintain superficial respect for them and keep his opinions to himself.

However, Zhang Yuelu was different. She had some selfish thoughts, but she was certainly better than most people, with righteous and pure intentions. This was why many regarded her as a thorn in their sides.

Zhang Yuelu was also more upright than Qi Xuansu, who had many shady secrets. Thus, when confronted by Zhang Yuelu, especially when Zhang Yuelu was in the right and he was in the wrong, Qi Xuansu would inevitably feel guilty and lose confidence.

If Zhang Yuelu started to become unreasonable and seek personal gain, using her power to oppress others and look down on Qi Xuansu, he would no longer have such feelings for her.

In the backyard of the Zhang family’s residence, a pebbled path from the second door led to a bedroom. All the servants had avoided this area.

Tantai Qiong sat in front of her dressing table, staring blankly at the mirror. However, she was clearly straining her ears to hear if there was any movement outside.

Zhang Yuyue stood behind Tantai Qiong and complained. “Auntie, you’ve seen that boy. He’s not a good man, right? In time, he’ll be another Li Minghuang. We ought to guard against him!”

Tantai Qiong nodded. “I know he’s not a good person. If he were an honest person, he wouldn’t have reached his position, especially without anyone supporting him, let alone catch Qing Xiao’s attention.”

Zhang Yuyue could not help but feel frustrated.

It would be fine if Zhang Yuelu really wanted a useless pretty boy for leisure purposes because they would have a way to dissuade her. They were afraid of someone like Qi Xuansu, who was not as good as their ideal candidate but was still capable enough to not be deemed completely useless.

Tantai Qiong remarked, “He reminded me that he’s not our target. Even if we kill him, Qing Xiao still won’t change her mind. The key lies in Qing Xiao. If Qing Xiao can figure it out on her own, she will take the initiative to kick him out without us having to do anything.”

“Auntie, but that’s our problem. We can’t persuade Qing Xiao otherwise.” Zhang Yuyue said helplessly, “Qing Xiao is so stubborn that she won’t listen to anyone once she makes up her mind.”

Tantai Qiong muttered, “That’s not necessarily true. We just need to use some means.”

Zhang Yuyue was startled. “What means?”

Tantai Qiong fell into deep thought and did not answer Zhang Yuyue immediately.

On the other side, Zhang Juqi asked Zhang Yuelu to lead Qi Xuansu to the guest room. After all, they would only leave Shangqing Town after the New Year, and it would be impolite to ask her guest to stay in an inn.

Their other guest, Zhang Yuyue, would stay with her maiden family at the Dazhen Mansion.

Zhang Juqi was not like Dong Baijing, who obeyed his wife to a tee. Zhang Juqi still dared to make decisions in the household.

Their residence had two entrances, and the guest room was located in the front yard. Zhang Yuelu led Qi Xuansu to the guest room, which was fully furnished and very clean. However, it was slightly stuffy because no one had lived in it for many years.

Zhang Yuelu opened the window to ventilate the guest room.

Qi Xuansu coughed lightly. “I’m sorry for what happened just now.”

Zhang Yuelu cast a sidelong glance at him. “Don’t blame me for being rude next time.”

“It won’t happen again,” Qi Xuansu immediately added.

Zhang Yuelu stopped dwelling on the matter and sighed. “Tian Yuan, sorry to trouble you. I didn’t expect my mother to go so overboard.”

“How much have you heard?” Qi Xuansu asked.

Zhang Yuelu replied, “I was there when she explained the reason I might have chosen you. I didn’t mean to just stand by and watch. I just thought it’ll be better for you to face these things sooner rather than later, unless we stop our relationship.”

Qi Xuansu blinked. “Of course. But what relationship exactly?”

Zhang Yuelu said without changing her expression, “As friends, of course. What else can it be?”

“That’s what I thought.” Qi Xuansu smiled.

Zhang Yuelu laughed and muttered, “Idiot.”

Qi Xuansu said, “I read novels in which a poor boy successfully marries a rich girl. There are two main reasons why they succeed. One reason is that the man was ambitious, winning the first prize in the government exam and returning home as a high-ranking court official.

“The second reason is that the woman insists on marrying that man, swearing to never marry anyone else and to wait until the day the man returns as a court official. But then again, a woman’s prime is precisely the time when a man has nothing. Even the 20-year-old Holy Xuan cannot compare with his 70-year-old self.”

Zhang Yuelu nodded. “That’s true. The 20-year-old Holy Xuan could only be regarded as a young talent. He was not so influential back then. The 70-year-old Holy Xuan suppressed the Buddhist Sect at the cost of giving up his dreams of uniting the three major Daoist sects. Instead, he negotiated peace between the Buddhist Sect and the Daoist Order.”

She looked at Qi Xuansu and blinked. “Oh, are you talking about us? I don’t mind waiting, since I’ve even considered becoming a Daoist nun. You are indeed the most powerless now, but I believe that the 70-year-old Qi Xuansu will definitely be better than the 20-year-old Qi Xuansu. Perhaps when you are 70, you’ll even be the Grand Master.”

Qi Xuansu shook his head. “Don’t make fun of me. I will be satisfied if I can be an ordinary Sage. It’s better if you become the Grand Master while I assist you.”

“You make it sound like the title of Grand Master is already within our reach! If word of this spreads, people will be laughing at us for daydreaming.” Zhang Yuelu laughed at herself.

Qi Xuansu thought of something. “By the way, where is my luggage?”

When the two of them left Jade Capital, Qi Xuansu packed his luggage and gave it to Zhang Yuelu for safekeeping in her magical receptacle.

Zhang Yuelu only remembered it now and took out his luggage from the magical receptacle, handing it back to him.

Qi Xuansu took the luggage, dug out a palm-sized wooden box, and gave it to Zhang Yuelu.

Zhang Yuelu subconsciously took the box and asked, “What is this?”

Qi Xuansu said shyly, “Your gift.”

Zhang Yuelu opened the box and saw many stones the size of hawthorns inside it.

Qi Xuansu smiled sheepishly. “I picked these up on Kunlun Mountain. My master said that there should be jade inside. Although they might not be worth much, you can find a craftsman to remove the outer layer of stone and grind them into jade beads.”

Kunlun was famous for its jade production. People could even pick up jade on the riverside, indicating the abundance of the mineral. For hundreds of years, jade collectors earned a living by picking up rocks.

However, this has been banned ever since the Daoist Order set up its base in Kunlun Mountain. Most of the jade collectors became Daoist believers and had other means of making a living. However, the Daoist Order did not prohibit people from picking up rocks for fun. Only large-scale mining was banned.

Some jade had a smooth outer layer, like the ones the Qi Xuansu picked up, because it had been eroded by the river.

Zhang Yuelu reached out to pick up a smooth stone and rubbed it gently. She chuckled. “I didn’t know you had such leisurely hobbies.”

Qi Xuansu muttered, “I picked these a long time ago. There is an abundance outside Jade Capital, but I hope you don’t dislike them.”

“How could I dislike it?” Zhang Yuelu closed the box and said sincerely, “You picked these stones one by one. I like them very much. Thank you.”

Qi Xuansu waved his hand. “No need for thanks. After all, it’s not valuable.”

Zhang Yuelu held the box with both hands. For some reason, she suddenly had a bad premonition that she could not shake off.

Qi Xuansu asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine.” Zhang Yuelu also found it strange. People in the Daoist Order had premonitions, especially those who had practiced Purple Star Astrology before. They could even see glimpses of the future at times. It was said that Buddhists who practiced the Psychic Method could also foresee the future in dreams.

At this moment, Zhang Juqi came to the window and said, “I ordered some food from the Taiping Inn in town and asked them to send it over.”

Qi Xuansu hurriedly said, “Thank you, Uncle.”

Zhang Yuelu also had a smile on her face as she said, “Thanks for everything, Dad.”

Zhang Juqi smiled, turned, and left.

Unlike Tantai Qiong, Zhang Juqi did not want his daughter to be so ambitious. He just hoped that his daughter could live happily.