A Pawn's Passage

Many among the Zhang family were gnashing their teeth in anger, wishing they could pull Zhang Yuelu down and replace her themselves.

It was bad enough that Zhang Yuelu received such treatment, but even that outsider was elevated merely by association with her. This was a tremendous honor, and they had no grounds to oppose it.

When Zhang Yuelu was not yet a formidable figure, the Heavenly Preceptor had treated her coldly, not because he feared the main branch of the Zhang family, but because he was protecting her, ensuring fair treatment across the board.

Since the Heavenly Preceptor had shown no partiality, the main branch of the Zhang family had no excuse to complain. They could not publicly raise the issue of minor branches overtaking them without violating Daoist ideals of equality. So they resorted to covert methods, like sending Zhang Yuelu to Beichen Hall, which was led by their long-time rival.

But now, Zhang Yuelu had proven herself and grown powerful, becoming the youngest third-rank Youyi Daoist master and the Deputy Tiangang Hall Master. She had also made significant contributions in the recent Wuxing Mountain mission.

While Qi Xuansu was directly promoted to a third-rank Deputy Hall Master, Zhang Yuelu’s ranking in Tiangang Hall rose from the Eighth Deputy to the Sixth Deputy, with seven superintendents under her command.

However, due to the Heavenly Preceptor and Earthly Preceptor’s handover, the Fenglin war, and the upcoming Shangyuan Festival, her responsibilities had not yet been fully assigned, just like Qi Xuansu.

To the Zhang family, such a position might not seem impressive. But the key point was Zhang Yuelu’s age. How could a Deputy Hall Master in her twenties be compared to one in their seventies?

The former had the potential to contend for the position of Grand Master, while the latter might as well prepare for retirement.

Under such circumstances, the Heavenly Preceptor could rightfully show his favor toward Zhang Yuelu. After all, she was his grandniece.

If someone in the main branch of the Zhang family had been on par with Zhang Yuelu, even just slightly inferior like Qi Xuansu, then there would have been grounds for argument.

The main branch of the Zhang family could have politically maneuvered the situation to suppress Zhang Yuelu. But the main branch had no such figure, leaving them frustrated and unable to express their discontent openly.

The crux of the matter was their own lack of talent, so how could they accuse the Heavenly Preceptor of favoritism?

To keep balance, there had to be both yin and yang. But with only one side present, there was no balance to speak of.

Thus, with each step Zhang Yuelu took and each success she achieved, the Heavenly Preceptor naturally drew closer to her. It might seem opportunistic, but it was inevitable.

Someone of the Heavenly Preceptor’s stature would not need to curry favor with a junior like Zhang Yuelu. In fact, when he personally named her after a constellation, he had already shown his stance. If he did not favor her, would he have bothered?

Later, he chose restraint and compromise in response to certain voices, not out of fear or weakness, but in pursuit of unity, stability, and balance within the Zhengyi Sect.

If the Heavenly Preceptor were to personally suppress dissenting voices, it would inevitably lead to internal friction and the further weakening of the Zhengyi Sect.

Moreover, the Heavenly Preceptor’s foundation lay within the Zhang family. Striking his own kin too harshly would be tantamount to injuring himself by severing his own arm. Though he might appear formidable at the moment, it would harm the greater situation and make the Quanzhen Sect and the Taiping Sect mock them.

Taking such a step would also imply that the Heavenly Preceptor lacked control, thereby undermining his prestige.

But such forbearance could not last forever. The key lay in Zhang Yuelu’s performance.

If Zhang Yuelu proved incompetent, the Heavenly Preceptor would abandon her, aligning naturally with the dissenting voices. There would be no need for continued tolerance.

But if Zhang Yuelu lived up to his expectations, her accomplishments would become the pivot upon which the Heavenly Preceptor would cease his compromise.

If Zhang Yuelu could become an Omniscient Sage by the age of forty, then the Heavenly Preceptor would have no fear that she could not take charge of the Zhang family after his passing.

Qi Xuansu gradually came to understand this reasoning and was deeply inspired. If one day, he were to take charge of a domain, he too would need to shift his thinking—not to crush opposition with force, but to learn unity and balance.

All the complexities of human nature played out across the multifaceted Zhang family members, wanting to smile yet unable to, forced to greet the Heavenly Preceptor without looking envious. Their expressions were truly laughable and pitiful all at once.

Standing above, Qi Xuansu took it all in, feeling a surge of emotion.

Zhang Yuelu’s parents—Zhang Juqi and Tantai Qiong—were a separate matter.

Zhang Juqi always appeared graceful. Though his cultivation level was not high, his skill in maintaining composure was exceptional.

Tantai Qiong, however, was conflicted. She was pleased that her daughter had gained the Heavenly Preceptor’s favor. This was a signal that the Heavenly Preceptor had begun to plan for his legacy, and her daughter was clearly a critical part of that plan.

What displeased her was that Qi Xuansu had returned, having also received the Heavenly Preceptor’s attention, stealing the limelight from her daughter.

In a sense, Qi Xuansu, whom she had once looked down on, had delivered a heavy slap to her face. Standing beside the Heavenly Preceptor, he did not need to say a word to demonstrate how blind she was in her judgment of people. That was something Tantai Qiong could not tolerate.

At some point, a trend had taken hold within the Daoist community. Marital equality and respect between spouses had given way to women ruling over men.

Female Daoists had become increasingly controlling. The slightest dissatisfaction would spark a loud quarrel, inciting fury in wives, who were determined to mold their husbands into their ideal men without a hint of defiance.

They wanted to control their husbands’ habits, preferences, and even thoughts, something that religions across time and cultures had rarely managed to achieve.

Daoist men gradually turned submissive. Whether right or wrong, all they did was lower their heads and admit fault.

Some men even took pride in this, imagining themselves to be generous and tolerant, and equating fear of their wives with affection.

This trend made it seem like all the Daoist women were goddesses who could knock out a hundred men with a single punch.

This was why, when Zhang Yuelu discovered the fish talisman, Qi Xuansu deflected by appearing submissive. At the time, he had indeed been caught red-handed, and he could not win in a fight against Zhang Yuelu. So he had no choice but to yield. But it was not something he willingly accepted. Deep down, he disliked being constrained by Zhang Yuelu, which was why she said he was not at all the obedient type and that he should stop pretending.

The Daoist Order prided itself on civility and often mocked the Imperial Court for being barbaric. In turn, the court officials mocked the Daoist men as nothing but turtles, some even wearing green hats[1].

However, this trend was mostly among the lower ranks of the Daoist Order. High-ranking Daoist men with power naturally did not fear their wives. They were not only unafraid, but they even kept mistresses, surrounding themselves with beauties and living in indulgence, like court officials. Such were the perks of power.

Yet the middle and upper levels were still somewhat influenced, like Tantai Qiong.

She was used to controlling everything within the household, so she refused to admit she was ever wrong and would not take advice from others.

Thus, Tantai Qiong would never admit she had misjudged someone. Instead, she would blame Qi Xuansu for being cunning.

More critically, she had keenly sensed that Qi Xuansu was not a man who could be easily controlled.

To put it bluntly, Qi Xuansu was a tough nut to crack. The first time they met, he was still a sixth-rank Daoist, yet he showed no fear or humility when meeting his future mother-in-law. He even dared to contradict and challenge her.

Now that Qi Xuansu was already a third-rank Deputy Hall Master with a promising future, he certainly would not hold Tantai Qiong in high regard. He might not even consider her his true mother-in-law. After all, he had another more formidable mother-in-law in Jade Capital—Sage Cihang, Su Yuanyi.

Tantai Qiong thought, That cunning leech has already latched onto Yuelu’s leg, so he’ll probably climb further and cling to Su Yuanyi’s leg too!

Such was the reality of the world.

If a mother-in-law had many sons-in-law, she would naturally become critical, judging who was more capable and who was not. Deep down, she had her own measure and would naturally favor the competent ones.

Sons-in-law usually had no say in the matter, but once they did, they too would lean toward the mother-in-law with greater power and influence. One could well imagine the bitterness festering in Tantai Qiong’s heart.

At that moment, Zhang Yuyue felt utterly lost.

She was not as stubborn as Tantai Qiong and had quickly come to accept a simple fact—she and Tantai Qiong combined were no match for Zhang Yuelu.

There was a reason why Zhang Yuelu could rise in the ranks while they could not.

Back then, they had tried every means to stop her, but Zhang Yuelu had seemed bewitched, resolutely refusing to let go of that man.

Looking back now, time has proven everything. Zhang Yuelu’s judgment was leagues ahead of theirs. They had been the ones blind to the seemingly ordinary stone, while Zhang Yuelu had spotted the hidden gem in a rock with a single glance.

Zhang Yuyue could not help but wonder if it was her fault for having poor judgment, ending up with someone like Li Minghuang, only to get hurt so badly.

But then another thought surfaced in her mind.

Perhaps Zhang Yuelu had simply been too lucky. After all, she was a natural-born Banished Immortal, so she would have better privileges, like becoming Sage Cihang’s disciple. Then she took part in the first major Jiangnan case, making great contributions with Sage Cihang’s help and catching the attention of the Earthly Preceptor, from which point her meteoric rise began.

Now, the Heavenly Preceptor treated Zhang Yuelu as though she were his granddaughter, not grandniece. Even the man Zhang Yuelu casually chose turned out to be someone with limitless prospects. Why did Zhang Yuelu have to be so blessed?

Zhang Yuyue could not help but glance toward Qi Xuansu, who was standing beside the Heavenly Preceptor. Would he be another Li Minghuang?

Now that the Heavenly Preceptor had personally stepped in, this matter could not be taken lightly or reversed on a whim. Of course, Qi Xuansu would not turn out to be another Li Minghuang, and Zhang Yuelu would not end up ruined even if he did.

Zhang Yuyue began to wonder why the Heavenly Preceptor did not support her back then. She was also his grandniece, not to mention from the main branch of the Zhang family.

At that thought, Zhang Yuyue found herself overcome by a surge of uncontrollable jealousy.

1. A popular saying for someone whose partner has an extramarital affair. ☜