A Pawn's Passage

From Qi Xuansu’s experience dealing with Madam Qi, her words were neither to be wholly trusted nor completely doubted, as truths and falsehoods were often inseparably intertwined. So Qi Xuansu remained somewhat doubtful.

Madam Qi slipped on her pair of oversized sunglasses again and said, “Just take it as me projecting my feelings onto you. A true man should shoulder the burdens of the world and accomplish deeds for the ages. Stop being sentimental and get back to what you’re supposed to do.”

Some feelings that were held back too long often rose like floodwater, and over time they would weigh on the heart. But once spoken, it was like opening a sluice gate. Everything would flow out, relieving the built-up pressure.

Qi Xuansu nodded. “Then I’m off to make my mark in the world.”

Madam Qi turned and stepped through a doorway, while Qi Xuansu exited the Dream Meeting.

Early the next morning, Qi Xuansu went to his office as usual. Not long after, Ke Qingqing rushed in, flustered. “Superintendent, something’s happened!”

“What is it?” In front of Ke Qingqing, Qi Xuansu shed all traces of vulnerability. He was no longer the needy and confused child before Madam Qi. Instead, he assumed his resolute, calculating, and ruthless persona as a Daoist superintendent.

Ke Qingqing caught her breath. “Gao Mingyin is dead.”

Qi Xuansu shot up from behind the desk and strode straight out of the room. Ke Qingqing hurried after him.

When Qi Xuansu arrived at the prison, he was greeted by several Spirit Guards in disarray. Qi Xuansu did not rush to assign blame. He simply asked, “Where is he?”

One Spirit Guard quickly led the way, unlocking door after door until they reached Gao Mingyin’s cell. The prisoner lay flat on the stone bed with his eyes wide open, but they were lifeless and dull.

The Spirit Guard explained, “When we first sensed something was wrong, he was lying on his side facing the wall. We tapped on him but found him dead.”

Qi Xuansu stared silently at Gao Mingyin’s face for a moment, then ordered, “Go to the Arrest Office and bring me a seasoned coroner.”

Ke Qingqing reminded him. “Our prison has its own coroners.”

“I don’t trust them. Gao Mingyin died in a heavily guarded prison with no external wounds or any signs of intrusion. How can I still trust this prison?” Qi Xuansu said sternly. “Go to the Arrest Office. Since they helped us arrest Gao Mingyin, it means they’re not in the same camp as those behind him. No matter how powerful Prince Liao is, he can’t dominate the Imperial Capital. The Imperial Court has never been united in politics.”

“Understood.” Ke Qingqing responded and quickly turned to leave.

Qi Xuansu asked the guards, “Who has Gao Mingyin seen recently?”

The Spirit Guards looked at each other, hesitant to speak.

Qi Xuansu’s tone turned harsh. “Answer me.”

“It...it was Deputy Mansion Master Qian,” one Spirit Guard replied softly.

Qi Xuansu suppressed his anger. “Didn’t I tell you not to let anyone visit Gao Mingyin?”

The Spirit Guards bowed their heads. “Deputy Mansion Master Qian oversees the prison, so we couldn’t stop her when she wanted to interrogate Gao Mingyin.”

Qi Xuansu knew he could not blame the Spirit Guards for this, so he softened his tone. “Alright. I’ll report this to Deputy Mansion Master Shi. In the meantime, all of you must stay in Yuhuang Palace for the next few days. Don’t go anywhere.”

The Spirit Guards replied in unison, “Yes, Superintendent.”

Qi Xuansu waved his hand. “You may leave.”

The Spirit Guards silently let out a breath of relief and quickly retreated.

Qi Xuansu stood alone in the dark cell, recalling the last time he met Qian Xiangyun. He then summoned a subordinate nearby.

A seventh-rank Daoist priest stepped forward. “What are your orders, Superintendent?”

Qi Xuansu stared at Gao Mingyin’s body and instructed, “Report everything that has happened here to Deputy Mansion Master Shi.”

“Understood.” The Daoist priest quickly left.

Qi Xuansu fell into deep thought.

Without a doubt, Qian Xiangyun was the prime suspect, but he could not simply conclude she was the one who silenced Gao Mingyin. Even if she were guilty, he did not have the authority to deal with her since he was just a superintendent. Shi Bingyun would have to step in.

Before long, Shi Bingyun arrived, sooner than the coroner.

Ever since Qi Xuansu took over this case, Shi Bingyun had offered support and inquired about its progress. But she had never directly intervened. This was the first time she was personally involved.

As Shi Bingyun walked in, the Spirit Guards and Daoist priests bowed to her, but she did not spare them a glance and made a beeline for Gao Mingyin’s cell.

She could roughly guess how Gao Mingyin had died, but the details would still require a professional.

“Was it Qian Xiangyun?” Shi Bingyun asked.

Qi Xuansu shook his head. “There’s no direct evidence yet.”

Shi Bingyun sneered. “They truly have far-reaching hands that extend into the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion. This won’t do.”

Qi Xuansu dismissed the subordinates and said in a low voice, “I heard the Divine Central Guards, Green Phoenix Guards, and Xuanhui Court have had a lot of movements lately.”

Shi Bingyun did not ask where Qi Xuansu had heard it from and simply replied, “The Capital Garrison has been split. The Divine Armory no longer handles the Imperial Capital’s defense, so the Divine Central Guards call the shots. By tradition, the Director of the Capital Garrison is a civil official selected from among the nobles or the royal family. Currently, the Director of the Capital Garrison is none other than Prince Liao.”

Qi Xuansu clicked his tongue. “Does the Emperor trust his brother that much?”

“They’re many years apart, so their relationship is more like father and son. The Emperor raised Prince Liao, so naturally, their bond is unlike that of ordinary brothers.” Shi Bingyun had ties with an Imperial Prince, so she was well aware of many insider stories.

Qi Xuansu had more questions. “What about the Empress Dowager?”

Shi Bingyun, naturally understanding his doubt, explained, “It’s said the Empress Dowager was 18 when she gave birth to the current emperor and 37 when she bore Prince Liao. That’s nearly a 20-year gap, which is essentially a generational difference.”

Qi Xuansu suddenly recalled that the current emperor had ascended the throne at the age of 20, which meant that Prince Liao had just been born, still swaddled in infancy. Thus, there was never a question of sibling rivalry over the throne.

He sighed. “The late emperor was no ordinary man.”

The moral standards of the Daoist Order were too high. Qi Xuansu’s relationship with Zhang Yuelu was still being evaluated by the elders. At best, no one opposed them, but they were still far from marriage. Getting married by 30 would already be an achievement for him. Yet outside the Daoist community, it was rare for people to live to 70. Teens could already marry. By his and Zhang Yuelu’s age, the common folk had already raised several children, some even becoming grandparents.

But such was life. For the common folk, reaching 60 was considered an achievement, so 20 was a third of their life. It would take over a decade to raise a child, and with high infant mortality, early marriage and childbirth were necessary. Regardless of gender, if one was not married by 20, they would be punished and forcibly matched.

In the Daoist community, living to 100 was quite common as long as nothing went wrong. At 20, one would have only gone through one-fifth of their lifespan. It was just the beginning, so there was no rush to decide on a lifelong matter that could span decades. In fact, anyone who married a teenage girl would be punished instead.

This disparity was evident in many areas. Among ordinary people, many women often said they did not have support, and it was the truth. Men truly were the pillars of the household. Without an adult man to hold the home together, it was common for widows to be kicked out of their houses and have their inheritance taken. Human trafficking was a huge business, and widowed women without brothers or grown sons were vulnerable. They would either be lured away by hired vagrants or outright abducted while out at the market.

But things were different in the Daoist community, where everything depended on one’s cultivation level. Technically, Shi Bingyun and Bai Yingqiong were widows, yet no one dared lay a finger on them.

Since the realities were different, the standards of morality were naturally different too.

This reminded Qi Xuansu of something he studied in the Upper Palace. There was no such thing as an eternal moral code. It was inevitable for moral standards to change with the times.

In chaotic times, most people would not live past 50. If someone like Qi Xuansu waited until 30 to marry, he would be risking extinction of his bloodline. Thus, early marriage was a necessity, and morality had to make way for practicality. That was why the ancestors often married and had children in their teens. For later generations to use their own context-based moral standards to criticize the values and actions of their ancestors and believe themselves morally superior was both ignorant and arrogant.

Qi Xuansu had no intention of judging the royal family by Daoist standards. He was merely reflecting. Pulling his drifting thoughts back, he said, “So even without Gao Mingyin’s incident, we would end up clashing with Prince Liao eventually.”

Shi Bingyun remarked, “From what I know, Prince Liao has a good relationship with Li Tianzhen.”

Qi Xuansu’s gaze turned somber. “Li Tianzhen again. I’ve been hearing that name ever since I joined the Tiangang Hall. Even in Jinling Prefecture, he was pulling strings behind the scenes. Now here in the capital, it’s him again. Why is this man haunting me like a ghost?”

Shi Bingyun laughed. “He’s not haunting you. The Li family’s network of power is just vast and omnipresent.”

Qi Xuansu said self-deprecatingly, “Deputy Mansion Master, do you think that I’m doomed?”

Shi Bingyun replied, “You could also be the one to trap Li Tianzhen. It all depends on your capabilities.”

Roughly half an hour later, the coroner from the Arrest Office finally arrived.

Shi Bingyun cast one final glance at the corpse. “After the autopsy, have a Diviner retrace the earth’s energy, then write up the final findings and deliver a copy to my desk.”

With that, she turned and walked out. Without even looking back, she instructed the superintendent of the prison, “When you see Deputy Mansion Master Qian, tell her to come see me.”