A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu had returned to Jade Capital.

Many of these matters had been personally orchestrated by Qi Xuansu. He simply had not appeared openly. After all, he currently held no specific office, so it was not his place to speak on the public stage. He could only plan things from behind the scenes.

Once Li Minghuang’s new appointment was formally issued, Qi Xuansu stopped paying much attention to him. Only Li Minghuang himself knew the bitterness of his own situation. There was no need for Qi Xuansu to kick him while he was down. Others who disliked Li Minghuang would naturally do that for him, such as Li Zhuyu. After all, Qi Xuansu was clearly not the only person Li Minghuang had offended.

Qi Xuansu now needed to shift his attention to his own wedding. Although most of the preliminary preparations had already been completed, he still had to pay some attention to them, if only to show that he took the matter seriously.

The first item on his to-do list was choosing his best man.

In order to ease the tension between Qi Xuansu and Grand Sage Yan, Zhang Jucheng recommended Yan Yongzhen to Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu agreed, but he still wanted to meet Yan Yongzhen beforehand.

The fact that Zhang Jucheng had personally recommended Yan Yongzhen showed that there was surely something noteworthy about him. After all, not just anyone could catch Zhang Jucheng’s eye. Although Zhang Jucheng had misjudged Li Minghuang, that was only Li Minghuang’s character, not his ability.

The two were to meet at Qi Xuansu’s new residence, and Yan Yongzhen had informed him in advance that he would come to visit.

After Qi Xuansu returned home, he discovered that Madam Wu had indeed kept her word and managed Little Yin quite well. At the very least, Little Yin had not caused any trouble openly. Whether she had caused trouble behind everyone’s backs was another matter.

Little Yin ran up to Qi Xuansu to show off her latest accomplishment. She had even learned to recite poetry.

Fleeting light, fleeting light, let me offer you a cup of wine.

I know not the height of the heavens, nor the depth of the earth.

I see only the cold moon and warm sun, coming to sear away the span of human life.

Those who eat bears grow fat, while those who eat frogs grow thin.

Where is the Divine Lord and Taiyi?

In the eastern heavens stands the Sacred Tree, beneath it lies the Torch Dragon.

I shall sever the dragon’s feet and chew its flesh, so that morning can never return and night can never descend.

Then naturally, the old shall never die and the young shall never weep.

What need is there to swallow gold or white jade?

Who can compare with Young Master Ren, riding an emerald donkey through the clouds?

Emperor Wu’s Mausoleum is filled with lingering bones, while the First Emperor’s is filled with salted fish.

Qi Xuansu was admittedly somewhat lacking when it came to literature, but he was still familiar with this poem. It was “The Brevity of Days” by Li He. Halfway through the recitation, he already knew why Little Yin had learned it. It was surely because of the lines “sever the dragon’s feet and chew its flesh,” “eat bears and frogs,” and “swallow gold and white jade.” They were all about eating.

Thus, he decided to test Little Yin. “What does this poem mean in plain language?”

Little Yin’s eyes darted around before she replied, “Fleeting Light invited everyone to a feast but doesn’t know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is. I saw the cold moon and warm sun stir-frying human longevity, but I have to add bear meat and frog meat so the dish has just the right balance of fat and lean meat. Then Donghuang smelled the aroma and came over. Even Donghuang said it was delicious after eating it...”

Qi Xuansu was speechless for a long while. This was even more outrageous than his own literary blunder in front of Yao Pei back then.

He could not help but ask, “Why did you interpret it that way?”

Little Yin replied with complete confidence, “That guy is clearly inviting people for a drink, but he doesn’t know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is. There’s also a recipe about bear and frog. The guy is also asking about the Divine Lord and Taiyi. Taiyi is clearly Donghuang. So Donghuang smelled the food and came over...”

Qi Xuansu could not bear to listen any longer and raised a hand to stop her. “Enough, enough. You’ve mixed everything you learned together.”

Little Yin thought Qi Xuansu was praising her and immediately took the opportunity to continue. “The poem says to swallow gold and white jade. I asked Madam Wu what that meant, and she said that according to the Jade Scripture, those who consume gold shall live as long as gold. Those who consume jade shall live as long as jade. I want to eat some too!”

Qi Xuansu casually brushed her off. “It’s too expensive. We can’t afford it. But you can have all the salted fish from the First Emperor’s coffin if you want. Do you want some?”

Little Yin still refused to give up. “It also talks about riding an emerald donkey through the clouds. I want to ride one too!”

Qi Xuansu said, “Don’t you already have a big black horse and a big white crane? What do you need an emerald donkey for?”

Little Yin wrapped her arms around Qi Xuansu’s leg, throwing a tantrum while whining. “No! I want an emerald donkey!”

Qi Xuansu grabbed Little Yin and pulled her off his leg before saying earnestly, “All the money in our family is with Madam Qi and Qing Xiao. Begging me won’t do you any good. Go ask Old Zhang and see whether she’ll buy you an emerald donkey.”

Little Yin was also the sort who bullied the soft and feared the tough. As soon as Zhang Yuelu was mentioned, she dropped the matter entirely and changed the subject. “Old Qi, didn’t you go to Nanyang? There are lots of tigers there. Catch me a big tiger and bring it back. I want to keep it in our garden!”

Whenever Little Yin made such unreasonable demands, Qi Xuansu always fulfilled them at a steep discount. For example, a big white crane had once become a big white goose. So Qi Xuansu said, “There’s no tiger. How about a big tabby cat instead?”

“I DON’T WANT A CAT!” Little Yin shouted, unleashing a sonic attack comparable to the Buddhist Lion’s Roar or a Martial Arts Practitioner’s Blood Roar. Only someone like Qi Xuansu could withstand it. Had it been anyone else, that single shout would probably have left them bleeding from all orifices.

Qi Xuansu discovered that after Little Yin had eaten dragon meat, although she had yet to enter the Zaohua stage, her cultivation had clearly improved and become even more refined. Her progress was even more outrageous than that of Qi Xuansu and Li Changge.

However, considering that the previous two generations of Emperor Willow Spirits had both been Immortal-level beings, and that dragon meat was precious, such progress was perfectly understandable.

Qi Xuansu forcibly clamped Little Yin’s mouth shut. “I’m warning you, Qing Xiao will be coming to Jade Capital in a few days. Go ahead and act tough with me while you still can. Once she gets here, just wait and see what I’ll tell her.”

Little Yin immediately stopped acting so arrogant. Her eyes darted around, but with Qi Xuansu covering her mouth, she could only make muffled noises.

When Qi Xuansu let her go, Little Yin immediately grabbed his hand and shook it back and forth. “Then I don’t want it anymore. Don’t tell Old Zhang.”

Qi Xuansu deliberately put on a stern face. “That depends on how you behave.”

Little Yin said aggrievedly, “I can already recite poetry. What more do you want from me?”

Just then, someone came to report that Yan Yongzhen had arrived.

A residence this large could not possibly function with only a handful of people. Qi Xuansu had to abide by the Daoist Order’s rules, so apart from the Daoist believers assigned to him as attendants, he had no other manpower for such work. Some people, by contrast, relied on their wealth and had actually begun privately keeping eunuchs, paying several thousand Taiping coins a year and requiring them to undergo castration before taking up the post, with a full year’s wages paid in advance.

It was only because the Great Xuan Imperial Court no longer cared much about such matters. In the previous dynasties, anyone below the rank of prince who dared employ eunuchs could have had their entire clan exterminated for the offense.

However, the Zhang family had plenty of people. With a single order from Zhang Jucheng, a number of Daoist believers were sent over to assist. They did not sign contracts with Qi Xuansu but with the Dazhen Mansion instead. Thus, there was no restriction on their numbers. Their presence at Qi Xuansu’s residence was technically considered temporary assistance and therefore did not violate the rules. As for how long this “assistance” would last, that depended entirely on the wishes of the Zhang family or Qi Xuansu.

Where there was a policy, there was always a countermeasure.

Qi Xuansu stopped bickering with Little Yin and said, “Let him in.”

In front of Little Yin, Qi Xuansu was easygoing, so she was not afraid of him in the slightest.

But in front of outsiders, Qi Xuansu once again became the formidable Sage Qi who inspired fear in others. After all, just as Li Minghuang had said, no small number of people had fallen at Qi Xuansu’s hands. Very few would regard him as a gentle or amiable person.

Soon after, Yan Yongzhen was led into the main hall.

He was a young man around the same age as Chen Jianchou. However, unlike Chen Jianchou, Yan Yongzhen carried the unmistakable air of a scion from a prestigious family. Though Chen Jianchou was technically from the royal family of the Yu Kingdom, his branch of the family had long since declined.

Still, Yan Yongzhen was neither as overbearing as Li Tianzhen nor as aloof as Shen Yubing. Instead, he carried himself with respectful humility.

Qi Xuansu was rather satisfied with this.

While Qi Xuansu was observing Yan Yongzhen, Yan Yongzhen was also secretly studying Qi Xuansu. Due to the difference in their status, Yan Yongzhen could not openly size Qi Xuansu up the way Qi Xuansu was doing to him. He could only steal discreet glances.

Before coming here, Yan Yongzhen had done a great deal of homework on Qi Xuansu. He had even carefully gone through Qi Xuansu’s experiences at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace.

Now that Yan Yongzhen had finally met Qi Xuansu in person, he judged that this renowned Sage Qi was probably a northerner. He was not the delicate, scholarly type of elegant young gentleman. He was of medium build and carried a distinctly Martial Arts Practitioner physique. As for his looks, beauty was in the eye of the beholder, and everyone had their own standards, but Qi Xuansu was certainly not ugly. With sharp brows and bright, striking eyes, he could certainly be considered handsome. Otherwise, Yue Liuli would never have taken a liking to him back then, much less Zhang Yuelu later on.

Even someone as particular as Madam Tantai, who had once fallen out rather unpleasantly with Qi Xuansu, had only looked down on his poor family background. She had never complained about his appearance.

What truly mattered was his aura. It was entirely different from the aristocratic refinement cultivated from childhood. Instead, he had the composure and confidence forged through life-and-death situations. He was calm and courteous, yet beneath that courtesy lay the authority of one accustomed to wielding power, as well as a streak of fierce ruthlessness born of the rough world hidden beneath the surface.

There was barely any aristocratic qualities about Qi Xuansu. After all, it took three generations for a family to truly learn the manners of wealth and refinement. Yet the aura of a man in power was already gradually eclipsing his ordinary origins. This just further showed how formidable he had become.

Overall, Yan Yongzhen had a very favorable impression of Qi Xuansu, though he was also somewhat afraid of the latter. That was because based on the information Yan Yongzhen had gathered, Qi Xuansu had been ruthless and unsparing in his pursuit of power. To say that everything he had done was perfectly open and aboveboard would not necessarily be true either. After all, for someone to reach such heights at his age, it was impossible for his hands to remain completely clean.

Though Sage Qi might have another side to him, like a dutiful son, a gentle husband, or a loving father, none of that had anything to do with Yan Yongzhen.

If there were no unexpected developments, Sage Qi would become his superior.

At this thought, Yan Yongzhen could not help but feel somewhat apprehensive.

Qi Xuansu invited Yan Yongzhen to sit and talk. “Gui Zhen, there’s no need to be so formal.”

Gui Zhen was Yan Yongzhen’s courtesy name.

Qi Xuansu had also reviewed Yan Yongzhen’s file beforehand. By taking the initiative to address him by his courtesy name, he was deliberately seeking to make their relationship closer.

Yan Yongzhen was somewhat overwhelmed by this honor, but he still waited until Qi Xuansu had taken his seat before slowly sitting down himself.