A Pawn's Passage

Li Changge arrived at the office that had originally belonged to Qi Xuansu. There were not many documents here, and Qi Xuansu had rarely spent time in the office in the first place, so he had not bothered to conduct a second handover with Li Changge here.

Looking around the entire office, Li Changge could not spot a trace of Qi Xuansu’s personal style. Clearly, Qi Xuansu had barely changed anything and had essentially left the place as it was. Evidently, Qi Xuansu had known that he would not remain in this position for long and was not even bothered to put much thought into it.

Just then, Lu Yujue looked as though he wanted to say something but hesitated. He had a troubled expression on his face.

Li Changge noticed him from the corner of his eye and turned around. “Branch Manager Lu, is something the matter?”

Lu Yujue glanced at Shen Yubing.

Li Changge understood and instructed, “Branch Manager Shen, you and the others can go attend to your work first.”

Shen Yubing tactfully led the others out, leaving only the two of them behind.

Only then did Lu Yujue speak. “Chief Deputy, I’d like to request a leave of absence.”

Li Changge said nothing and merely looked at Lu Yujue.

Lu Yujue continued, “I know I shouldn’t be requesting leave at a time like this, but it’s about my family’s situation. I’m sure you’re already aware of it, Chief Deputy.”

Li Changge pondered for a moment before saying, “I know. Can it be dealt with later?”

Lu Yujue said, “Many people in Beichen Hall already know about it now. Chief Deputy, put yourself in my shoes. Haven’t I been humiliated enough already?”

Li Changge also found the situation difficult to handle.

For the scions of great families, reputation and dignity were everything. Once a man lost his dignity, he had lost everything. Even if he became an Omniscient Sage, people would still point fingers behind his back, saying that his wife cuckolded him and that he did not even dare do anything after noticing the affair.

For the scions of great families, being cuckolded was not the truly frightening part. What was frightening was having everyone know that he did not dare take revenge, suffering the humiliation in silence like a spineless coward.

In short, if the matter could be covered up, then one should cover it up. At worst, husband and wife could simply go their separate ways, with each doing as they pleased. If it could no longer be concealed, then one should take revenge. The worst situation was when it could neither be hidden nor avenged. That would utterly ruin a man’s reputation.

Despite the Daoist Order’s preaching of equality, there were still some gender biases. For a woman, being weak was not necessarily a bad thing. But once a man became associated with the word “weak,” all he would receive was contempt and bullying.

When a woman was betrayed by her husband, she would receive sympathy from outsiders. Others would even join her in condemning the unfaithful man because women were generally assumed to be the weaker party.

When a man was betrayed by his wife, he would only be ridiculed by others.

The reason Lu Yujue gave was perfectly reasonable. He had to deal with this matter now. Whether he chose to cover it up or seek a divorce, he had to take a stand. He could not simply bury his head in the sand and continue being a spineless coward.

By both reason and sentiment, Li Changge could not refuse him outright. All he could do was ask Lu Yujue to deal with the matter later, not leave it unresolved.

Lu Yujue’s attitude was firm. “Am I supposed to drag this out until next year? By then, everything will be too late.”

Li Changge asked again, “Why now?”

Lu Yujue said, “Because Sage Qi is also returning to Jade Capital, and I can conveniently hitch a ride on his flying ship. Surely, you don’t suspect that Sage Qi and I are plotting something together, right?”

Lu Yujue’s frankness actually dispelled some of Li Changge’s suspicions.

However, Li Changge still did not agree. He was not overly suspicious, but he simply disliked taking risks. The fact that Lu Yujue had not conspired with Qi Xuansu did not mean that Lu Yujue had given up on taking revenge against Li Minghuang. Those were two entirely separate matters.

Seeing Li Changge’s firm attitude, Lu Yujue simply made his own position clear. “If you refuse to approve my leave of absence, then I’ll have no choice but to submit my resignation. At worst, I’ll become an idle recluse. That would still be better than enduring this kind of humiliation.”

With Lu Yujue having gone this far, there was nothing Li Changge could do.

Qi Xuansu had managed to keep the matter under control not because he commanded greater authority than Li Changge, but because he had promised to help Lu Yujue take revenge and asked him to endure it for the time being. That was why Lu Yujue had held himself back.

But Li Changge stood on the side of the Li family and could make no such promise, so naturally, Lu Yujue was no longer willing to endure it.

Li Changge sighed. “Very well. I’ll approve your leave. I hope you’ll settle your affairs quickly and return soon. Don’t act impulsively.”

Lu Yujue gave Li Changge a long, meaningful look. “Thank you for your understanding, Chief Deputy.”

The next day, Lu Yujue appeared aboard Qi Xuansu’s flying ship.

Qi Xuansu was not surprised, as they had agreed upon this beforehand.

Besides Qi Xuansu and Deputy Hall Master Xu, Madam Wu was also aboard the flying ship. With Madam Wu there to escort and protect them, Qi Xuansu no longer had to worry about another flying ship incident.

Qi Xuansu had already thought it through. Once he became the Wanxiang Daoist Palace Master, Lu Yujue could serve as one of his Deputy Palace Masters. As it happened, Qi Xuansu had previously gotten rid of one of them, and that vacancy was still open.

The Wanxiang Daoist Palace was Great Sage Shi’s domain. Great Sage Shi thought highly of Qi Xuansu and was somewhat indulgent toward him, simply because Qi Xuansu was one of their own.

Factional divisions had already permeated every corner of the Daoist Order.

Meanwhile, after the incident in Nanyang, Zhang Yuelu had sent Little Yin to Jade Capital to prevent her from becoming entangled in the matter again.

Thus, Little Yin moved into Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu’s new home and immediately became the little tyrant of the household, because there was simply no one around who could control her. Old Qi, Old Zhang, and Madam Qi were away. Even Old Lin had remained in Nanyang.

There were indeed quite a few people left behind in Taishang Place, including members of the Zhang family and the elderly couple who had served Zhang Yuelu for many years. But how could any of them possibly control a little tyrant like Little Yin?

Little Yin had never been an obedient child. Some timid young ladies might even find themselves bossed around by their own servants, but Little Yin couldn’t care less about any of that.

After all, through everything she had seen and heard around her, Little Yin had long since understood where authority came from, and that power answered only to the source from which it was derived.

As a result, Qi Xuansu’s household staff suffered greatly. It was common to see Little Yin racing ahead while a whole group of people chased after her, crying out, “Little Ancestor!”

Within a few days, these people came to accept reality. This “Little Ancestor” simply could not be controlled. They could only let her do whatever she pleased.

That was how Little Yin ventured out of the house and began roaming through the streets and alleys.

However, Taishang Place was notoriously quiet and deserted. Many important figures in the Daoist Order owned residences here, but they rarely lived in those homes. They were usually posted elsewhere, residing in the regional Daoist Mansions or Daoist Palaces.

Little Yin would often wander around for ages without seeing a single soul, leaving her terribly bored and lonely.

Coincidentally, there was another person in Taishang Place who was equally lonely—Princess Chiying.

Princess Chiying had grown up in the Imperial Capital, and members of the royal family rarely had many friends to begin with. Even the few friends she did have were all back in the Imperial Capital.

After Princess Chiying was betrothed to Li Changge, she followed him to Jade Capital. Although she lived in Xuanyuan Place, where people from the Imperial Court tended to reside, most of them joined the Daoist Order. Lei Xiaohuan was an example. She had once lived in Xuanyuan Place until she married Pei Xiaolou and moved away. Ultimately, there was still some distance between them and Princess Chiying.

Princess Chiying felt very lonely. Although Jade Capital bustled with people, she felt like a solitary stranger in a foreign land, unable to fit in with those around her.

That was until she happened to notice the carefree little girl who had barged into Jade Capital and stirred up a whirlwind throughout Taishang Place. Her name seemed to be Qi Xiaoyin.

Whenever Princess Chiying was bored, she liked to stand alone atop the watchtower, staring from afar as the little girl dashed in and out with boundless energy, leaving an entire group of people utterly helpless.

This scene made Princess Chiying chuckle to herself. The things that little girl was doing were precisely what she herself wished to do but never dared to.

Imperial etiquette, imperial dignity, and imperial rules were all shackles that bound her.

People often mentioned Li Changge and Qi Xuansu in the same breath, so naturally, comparisons between Princess Chiying and Zhang Yuelu were unavoidable as well.

Princess Chiying was very curious. Just how did Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu get along with each other?

Li Changge was always coming and going in a hurry, with an endless stream of matters demanding his attention every day. But Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu were equally busy.

At least she herself was not busy, so she could accommodate Li Changge’s schedule. Whenever Li Changge found some free time, they could always manage to see each other.

But things were different for Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu. When one of them was free, the other might be busy. So how did they manage their relationship?

There were also rumors that Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu shared an exceptionally close relationship and were practically a match made in heaven.

At first, Princess Chiying had doubts about those rumors. But after trouble broke out in Nanyang, Qi Xuansu immediately wanted to rush back, which seemed to prove that the rumors were not unfounded.

Princess Chiying was not the kind of forceful princess who sought to interfere in political affairs. On the contrary, she still possessed a certain naivety.

This was not surprising.

Those at the bottom of society had to be cunning because without cunning, survival became difficult. They simply could not afford to be naive. As such, these families did not raise naive children, much less preserve a child’s pure and innocent heart. The pressures and cruelty of life would force them to grow up.

Only families wealthy enough could afford to raise children who remained innocent and sheltered from the ways of the world.

Those born into the royal family tended to fall into one of two extremes. Some became extraordinarily precocious, learning from everything they saw and heard around them to manipulate power and understand the ways of the world from a very young age. Others became extraordinarily naive, knowing nothing of hardship or the treachery of the human heart.

Princess Chiying was the Emperor’s favorite daughter. The Emperor had protected her so well that she had managed to retain a measure of innocence even now.

This was different from Zhang Yuelu. It was precisely because no one had protected Zhang Yuelu that she had become the way she was.

Therefore, Princess Chiying did not think too deeply about it. She simply saw the affection between Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu, which was why she had said to Li Changge that Sage Qi knew how to cherish his Daoist companion.

Li Changge clearly did not see things that way and thought little of Princess Chiying’s view. Had the two of them not known each other since childhood, he might even have scoffed at her.

This also meant that, much of the time, Li Changge and Princess Chiying had nothing to say to each other.

When two people were not on the same wavelength in their thinking, what more was there to say?

Not everyone could be like Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu, sharing the same ideals and walking side by side along the same path. ℯℯ𝑙.

Huangfu Ji had once said that he envied Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu. Perhaps Li Changge did as well.

This only made Princess Chiying feel even lonelier.

This was how Princess Chiying found herself watching that little girl every day. It became her only comfort during those lonely days.

At first, she merely watched from afar atop the watchtower. Later, she began watching from closer by, waiting along a path the little girl was certain to pass.

Finally, she mustered up the courage to stop the little girl and ask if they could be friends.

The little girl tilted her head and looked at her for a while before nodding in agreement.

So, she invited the little girl to her home. But the little girl could never sit still and always wanted to take her outside to play.

Eventually, the two girls secretly slipped out of Taishang Place, visiting Taiqing Square and the Lower Eight Neighborhoods. They even ventured beyond Jade Capital, traveling to Yuzhu Peak and the Starry Sea.

Princess Chiying did not dare tell Li Changge about any of this. It was a secret that belonged to her alone.

In a corner of the world unknown to either Qi Xuansu or Li Changge, two people whose paths should never have crossed became the unlikeliest of friends.