A Pawn's Passage

With the frequent exchange between the East and the West, a wave of Western learning gradually emerged over the past hundred years. This Western learning included ideas and habits from the Western Continent.

Auctions were one of the things brought over from the West. The rules were simple. The price of the auctioned items was not fixed, and the item would be awarded to the highest bidder. There must be more than two bidders in this auction for a competitive environment.

In fact, the East also had similar biddings in the past, but they were not systematic. After the maritime merchants introduced this set of bidding rules from the West, it became widespread. The black market, led by the Seven Treasure Pavilion, was particularly fond of bidding for items. Qi Xuansu once participated in it when he was traveling around the world, but because he did not have much money, he did not win any bids.

There was a saying that correcting deviations required extreme measures. Back in the Jin Dynasty, the emperor did not want the regional governors of the previous Qi Dynasty to hold too much power. Thus, they consistently suppressed the generals.

Learning from the mistakes of the civil servant’s factionalism and the eunuch’s interference in politics in the previous dynasty, the Great Xuan Dynasty paid more attention to the balance between civil and military officials. This was to ensure that the civil officials did not oppress the military officials. Military officials could rise the ranks and even become ministers. The Great Xuan Dynasty also abolished the 24 bureaus of the Inner Court, which were headed by the Ministry of Rites.

The same was true for Daoism. Before Daoism, Confucianism dominated the world. Having observed Confucianism’s period of stagnation, resistance to change, and reluctance to accept new ideas, Daoism paid more attention to promoting and employing young talents as well as various innovations and reforms.

As a result, Daoists were very receptive to fresh ideas. Additionally, given that the Daoist community consisted of the largest merchant group, Western learning had spread to the Daoist Order.

There were also auctions within the Daoist Order, which were usually hosted by the Shibo Hall. These bids were mainly for precious goods that were only available in small quantities but were in high demand.

Huasheng Hall and Tianji Hall would occasionally host auctions to promote their own products. Even Beichen Hall and Tiangang Hall held auctions occasionally to sell the properties of convicted criminals and confiscated items.

However, Ziwei Hall and Ciji Hall never hosted such auctions. That was because the Ziwei Hall was not allowed to sell Daoist crowns or certifications, nor could the Ciji Hall sell ceremonial rites.

Such auctions were mostly attended by high-ranking Daoist priests. Sometimes, people from the Imperial Court and the Confucian School were invited to attend as well.

On December 10th, Zhengyi Sect and Quanzhen Sect jointly held an auction in Shangqing Palace. The specifications for this auction were much lower than usual. The Heavenly Preceptor, Zhang Jucheng, and Qi Jiaozheng would not attend.

This auction was held as a networking event, and the proceeds would be donated to the families of the Spirit Guards who died in the Western Region war. This would be in addition to the pension allocated by Duzhi Hall that would already be paid to the families.

Thus, the threshold for attending this auction was also lowered. Zhang Yuelu received the invitation. To be fair, with Zhang Yuelu’s reputation and status, it was normal for her to receive an invitation. On the contrary, it would be strange if she did not receive one. After all, Zhang Yuelu was the best example of the cordial relationship between the Zhengyi Sect and the Quanzhen Sect.

Zhang Yuelu was from the Zhang family, but she was promoted by the Earthly Preceptor from the Quanzhen Sect. That was why Zhang Yuelu would be encouraged to attend such events to promote the harmony of the two sects, like a mascot of sorts.

In addition, Tantai Qiong, Zhang Juqi, Zhang Yuyue, and Dong Baijing, who had just arrived at Yunjin Mountain, also received invitations.

Originally, Qi Xuansu thought that he would not be invited, so he was prepared to face the awkwardness of being left out. However, to everyone’s surprise, Qi Xuansu also received an invitation. What was even more surprising was that his invitation was not from the Zhengyi Sect but from a Sage of the Quanzhen Sect. That Sage even specifically named Qi Xuansu.

This puzzled Tantai Qiong. She thought, Does Qi Xuansu have some kind of relationship with Qi Jiaozheng’s family? Perhaps there’s a story behind his birth, such as an abandoned child left behind by the Qi family...

Qi Jiaozheng always had a good relationship with Zhang Jucheng. Although the Heavenly Preceptor was the patriarch of the Zhang family, Zhang Jucheng was the de facto head of the family, attending to the many family affairs. If Qi Jiaozheng came forward to propose marriage between the two families, Zhang Jucheng would most likely agree.

For this reason, Tantai Qiong used her contacts to inquire about Qi Xuansu’s relationship with Qi Jiaozheng and found nothing. It was another Sage from the Quanzhen Sect who invited Qi Xuansu. This Sage also did not hold an office in the Shuzhou Daoist Mansion.

Besides this, Tantai Qiong also heard the news that Qi Xuansu was injured by Zhao Fu’an, the Chief Military Officer of Shuzhong, in Baidi City. However, Zhao Fu’an was ambushed the moment he left Baidi City. Someone witnessed the intense fight between Zhao Fu’an and another person. But in the end, Zhao Fu’an was defeated and left with a broken arm.

Afterward, the Shuzhou Daoist Mansion and the Governor of Shuzhou turned a blind eye to this, as if the fight had never happened.

Tantai Qiong was even more confounded. Qi Xuansu was obviously an ordinary orphan from the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. Why would someone suddenly stand up for him? Was that fight a coincidence? Or was a Sage backing Qi Xuansu?

Although Tantai Qiong and her daughter did not see eye-to-eye, she had never doubted her daughter’s intelligence. There could be an inside story about why Qi Xuansu could catch her daughter’s attention. However, Tantai Qiong was wrong about one thing. She made the mistake of judging others by her own standards.

One might say that Zhang Yuelu was inexperienced and naive. But it was this idealist mindset Zhang Yuelu had that troubled Qi Xuansu the most. Tantai Qiong used her own utilitarian mindset to interpret Zhang Yuelu’s thoughts, which naturally led to a completely different conclusion.

If Zhang Yuelu cared about one’s family background, she would have chosen Li Tianzhen because not many people had backgrounds stronger than the Li family.

Qi Xuansu himself was also shocked to receive the invitation. He could not figure out who had invited him. Could it be Daoist Ji? Or could it be the Tiangang Hall Master? These were the only two Sages who were aware of his menial existence.

However, these two Sages had no reason to specifically invite Qi Xuansu to this auction. It would only make sense if Qi Xuansu was among the group of invitees, such as the deacons of Tiangang Hall. But solely inviting Qi Xuansu by name was baffling.

Finally, Zhang Yuelu broke the silence. “You’ll know if you go. The Sage probably invited you to meet you.”

Thus, Qi Xuansu went to Shangqing Palace with Zhang Yuelu. This was the first time Qi Xuansu had seen what it was like to be in the upper echelons of the Daoist Order. The auction was hosted at the Shangqing Palace. The threshold for this event was lower compared to the night banquet of the Laba Festival at the Dazhen Mansion. But compared to other ordinary events, the standard was still quite high.

Many second-rank Taiyi Daoist masters and even more third-rank Youyi Daoist masters were in attendance. The main venue for this auction was the assembly hall of Shangqing Palace, which had a similar layout to the Golden Tower in Jade Capital.

The layout of the Golden Tower was simple, but it was much larger than this hall. There was a simple rosewood chair with armrests in the middle of a pedestal, which was meant for the Grand Master. A huge three-legged copper incense burner was placed behind the seat. The cover of the incense burner was engraved with trigrams.

In the center of the north wall directly above the copper incense burner was a plain, framed sign with four words: Peace in the World.

The Grand Master’s chair faced south, and there were 12 seats in each of the three directions: east, south, and west. In total, there were 36 seats, corresponding to the 36 Omniscient Sages. At the top of each of the 12 seats was another chair for the three Deputy Grand Masters respectively.

The seats of the other Virtuous Great Sages were distributed on the left and right sides below the Grand Master’s pedestal. Behind the 36 seats for the Omniscient Sages were about 108 more seats for ordinary Sages observing the meetings. The chairs were all neatly arranged, with less spacing in between compared to the Omniscient Sage’s section.

The assembly hall of Shangqing Palace was similar, except that the seats for the three Deputy Grand Masters were removed and replaced with a whole row of seats for twelve people. The remaining seats were also not deliberately divided into three sections.

However, when Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu arrived, the door to the assembly hall was still closed. Those who arrived early were lingering outside the assembly hall. The big shots were always the last to arrive, so they would not need to wait.

Normally, wearing the formal attire of a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master at Zhang Yuelu’s age was something to be proud of. But at Zhang Yuelu’s request, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were both dressed in casual Daoist robes instead of their formal Daoist attire. This was so that Qi Xuansu would not stick out like a sore thumb as a seventh-rank priest amidst all the high-ranking priests present.

There was a saying that one’s clothes made the man. Zhang Yuelu was dressed in a simple white dress, which was different from her usual style. She looked dignified, elegant, and gentle, different from her usual cool and tough appearance when she was in Tiangang Hall.

Zhang Yuelu bought a set of clothes for Qi Xuansu. He was wearing a moon-white robe with gold trimming and patterns, square-tipped boots with white soles, a jade-inlaid belt, and a white jade crown. He looked elegant and noble, like a scion. His usual ruggedness was nowhere to be seen at the moment.

When they stood side by side, they perfectly matched each other. Many people also noticed the young couple because most of the guests recognized the prodigy, Zhang Yuelu. However, none of them knew who Qi Xuansu was, and they could not help but feel curious about the young man next to Zhang Yuelu. Thus, everyone speculated about Qi Xuansu’s identity.

Some people suspected that Qi Xuansu was from the Yan family and that he and Zhang Yuelu were already betrothed. This time, he came to Yunjin Mountain for their wedding ceremony.

Others said that Qi Xuansu was a young master of the Qi family from the Quanzhen Sect. This visit to Dazhen Mansion was for a marriage alliance to strengthen the bond between the Zhengyi Sect and Quanzhen Sect. After all, it was not a secret that Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu were close friends in Jade Capital.

Tantai Qiong and Zhang Juqi arrived a little later, along with Zhang Yuyue and Dong Baijing. Those who did not know better would think that they were a family of four instead, and that Zhang Yuelu was from the main branch of the Zhang family.