Chapter 202 Saying farewell to the old and welcoming the new
For Taoist people, only after the Shangyuan Festival can they truly celebrate the New Year and usher in the new year.
Starting from the 16th day of the first lunar month, Daomen officially entered a state of tension before the war began.
Because of the Lantern Festival, Xiaoleichi's flying boat was delayed for one day and did not take off until the evening of the 16th day of the first lunar month and returned to Yujing.
Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu were both on board this flying boat.
For the two of them, the last time they took the flying boat from Yunjin Mountain was a bad memory, but they shouldn't have to worry too much this time.
Accompanying them were several important figures from the Zhang family, including Zhang Wuliang and Zhang Jucheng.
Zhang Wuliang is the assistant manager of the Taiping Bank. There is a large-scale war. The Taiping Money is the top priority, so Zhang Wuliang must return to Yujing.
As for Zhang Jucheng, it was to pave the way for him to start activities in advance. Many important relationship moves required him to personally come forward, such as meeting with Zhenren Donghua and Zhenren Cihang. In addition, he also
I want to see the Earth Master.
As for Li Changsheng and Li Minghuang, they went directly north to the Qizhou base camp.
After Jinque officially made the decision, the huge machine of Daomen started to operate, and countless materials were transported from various places to Qizhou, and then from Qizhou to the sea to Fenglinzhou.
At this time, most of Taiping Dao's senior officials had gathered in Qizhou, and the first pre-war meeting had been held. Li Changsheng, as one of the seven assistant managers of Taiping Bank, was mainly responsible for the allocation of Taiping money at the Qizhou base camp.
After the Shangyuan Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, high-level Taoist priests from the other two Taoists, as well as civil and military generals from the imperial court, would go to Qizhou one after another to hold the second pre-war meeting with Taiping Tao.
The Taoist sect is full of confidence in this war, so there is a tension mixed with excitement and a festive atmosphere that has just passed but has not dissipated.
In this atmosphere, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu returned to Yujing on the seventeenth day of the first lunar month.
After getting off the flying boat, everyone dispersed.
Zhang Jucheng has known Master Cihang and Master Donghua for a long time, and there is no need for anyone to introduce them. Moreover, they have already communicated with each other before coming, and they can just come directly. However, before that, Zhang Jucheng must first go to their home in Xuan.
Du's mansion, make some preparations, and also meet Zhang Yuyue's mother.
That's right, Zhang Yuelu's mother has been living in Yujing in recent years and rarely returns to the Dazhen Mansion, which makes her feel depressed. The superficial reason is that as the second deputy head of the Huasheng Hall, she must stay in Yujing. In fact,
The reason is that the relationship between the couple has ceased to exist in name only. They were just worried about the influence and did not go to the stage of breaking up. They also have a daughter, so they did not divorce and simply lived a long-term separation.
<
br> But having said that, it is reasonable for the relationship between middle-aged couples to weaken, but the real reason for the breakdown of their relationship is related to Li Minghuang. After Zhang Yuyue was abandoned by Li Minghuang, the couple had different opinions on how to deal with the matter.
Zhang Jucheng thinks that not many people know about this matter. The key is that Zhang Yuyue is still perfect and it is not easy for everyone to make a fuss in the city. Not to mention the reputation of the Zhang family, the daughter's reputation must be scrupulous, right? If it really needs to be spread,
Ninety-nine percent of the time it will be said that she started chaos and finally gave up, that is, the yellow mud fell into the crotch, and it is difficult to explain. Your daughter still has a long way to go. You don’t want her to become the second Shi Bingyun, right? So the key now is
Seal it and suppress this matter. Since you want to suppress it, you can't retaliate in a big way.
Zhang Yuyue's mother believes that there is no airtight wall in the world and cannot be suppressed. Her daughter's reputation has been ruined at the hands of this bad man, and she must take revenge and make him pay the price.
Neither the couple could convince the other. Zhang Jucheng felt that his wife was too impulsive and did not consider the consequences. Zhang Yuyue's mother thought that Zhang Jucheng was too weak. This was a trigger that caused the couple to have backlogged conflicts for decades.
All conflicts exploded.
In the end, it cannot be said that Zhang Jucheng was wrong. Nowadays, outsiders say that Zhang Yuyue has been emotionally injured. It is common for young people to become depressed because of feelings. There are no rumors of starting chaos and giving up, or getting pregnant, so Zhang Yuyue
After Jucheng met Li Minghuang, he didn't want to mention the old things again. It wasn't that he was afraid of Li Minghuang, a junior, but in the final analysis he was trying to preserve his daughter's reputation, so he endured the humiliation.
The daughter has also become the last link to maintain the relationship between husband and wife.
Zhang Wuliang went to Duzhitang to handle some affairs. People in the Taoist sect called Duzhitang the one who manages money, Shibotang the one who makes money, and Taiping Bank the one who saves money. The business dealings between the three families
most closely.
Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu also had to separate. Zhang Yuelu returned to Tiangang Hall and Qi Xuansu returned to Ziwei Hall to cancel their leave.
After canceling the leave, Qi Xuansu returned to the contract room and found that Ke Qingqing had already arrived.
The two of them had not been separated for too long, and they had not yet developed enough feelings of strangeness, so Qi Xuansu just said casually: "Coming?"
"We arrived on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, which happened to be the Shangyuan Festival in Yujing. The Earth Master personally hosted it, which was even more grand than the one in the Imperial Capital." Ke Qingqing chirped, "It's a pity that I hadn't completed my induction at that time and couldn't go to Zifu.
I can only watch the lights in Taiqing City. I just completed my induction this morning. Mr. Lei looks scary, but he is very nice and kind. I heard that Mr. Lei
Is it true that she is the sister-in-law of the real person in charge?"
Qi Xuansu said: "It's true. Master Lei was my former boss and he took good care of me. If something happens when I'm away, you should go ask Master Lei for instructions. Also, Yujing is not like a place, so be careful in your words and deeds."
"
"Yes." Ke Qingqing said seriously.
Regarding this point, she was deeply touched. In the past, in the Imperial Palace, she could count the number of Taoist priests at the real level on two hands. But in Ziweitang, she had seen thirteen real Taoist priests in the past two days.
There are so many people, including two Shenzhi Zhenren who are on the same level as the head master, not to mention other third-grade Youyi Taoist priests. As for the fourth-grade wine-offering Taoist priests, they are even more numerous. On the contrary, she, a sixth-grade deacon, has become
She was a strange person. However, many people knew that she was Qi Xuansu's secretary, so they were very polite to her and even took the initiative to make friends with her. At first, she was a little flattered, but later she understood that they were not here for her, but for her.
Because Qi Xuansu behind her was so polite.
Qi Xuansu did not forget to care about his subordinates: "Has the accommodation been arranged?"
"Temporarily arranged in Chunyangfang." Ke Qingqing replied.
Qi Xuansu said: "Zhongbafang, that's not bad."
Ke Qingqing asked: "Master...Deputy Hall Master, is there anything else you want to explain?"
Qi Xuansu sat behind the desk and said: "There is nothing to explain, everything will continue as usual. By the way, I may go to Fenglinzhou. Master Lei will not go. If you want to ask for leave, go to see Master Lei."
Ke Qingqing nodded in agreement, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart, if Vice Hall Master Qi had not been promoted quickly, he would not have a moment to spare. He had just returned from the Imperial Capital and had to go to Fenglin Continent again.
…
In Tiangang Hall, Zhang Yuelu met the real person Cihang.
Master Cihang stepped back and said straight to the point: "I have met Yao Qi."
Zhang Yuelu was stunned for a moment, then he understood and asked: "So how was the conversation between Master and Qiniang?"
"Speaking of it, we are old acquaintances. We have known each other for a long time." Master Cihang did not answer directly. "In those years when Qiniang was a Taoist priest, she was always one step behind us. It was not because of her incompetence, but because of her relationship with the Taoist sect.
She was out of place, so she was not the material to be a Taoist priest, so one day, Qiniang left without saying goodbye. In name, she said she was going to become a wandering Taoist priest, but in fact, she was going to live in the world. Once she entered the world, she was really allowed to live in the world.
After becoming famous, she first became the owner of Qibaofang, and now she has become a high-ranking member of the Qingping Society. It is not an exaggeration to say that she is a giant in the world. However, she has also been infected with many habits of the world, and her character has become even worse."
Zhang Yuelu already understood something when he heard this.
No result
However, Master Cihang continued: "So our meeting this time was not pleasant. Qiniang was very resistant, but she was not opposed, she just had objections. In the end, we could only make concessions, such as letting Qi Tianyuan leave the Qingping Association.
Let things take their own course. I will no longer force him to quit, and Qiniang will no longer force him to stay. It all depends on his own wishes."
Zhang Yuelu said nothing.
Based on her settlement with Qi Xuansu, Qi Xuansu had always wanted to withdraw from the Qingping Society. To put it bluntly, he was afraid of being discovered. But now that he has confessed, not only does she know about it, but Tianshi, Donghua Master, and Cihang Master also know about it. It seems that they are not aware of it.
Without doing anything to him, this guy's courage inevitably grew again.
The key is that she is also related to Ziguang Society. Qi Xuansu always has a strange mentality of equality. If you have Ziguang Society, I will also have it. If you have Ziguang Society, then I will have Qingping Society. This is called equality, otherwise it is double.
Standard, I'm afraid it's not that simple to get him to voluntarily withdraw from the Qingping Association.
Zhang Yuelu had no position to force Qi Xuansu. Although she did not join the Ziguang Society, she did receive favors from the Ziguang Society. She could not just allow the state officials to set fires but not the people to light lamps.
In terms of depth of understanding of Qi Xuansu, I'm afraid no one can compare with Qiniang. Maybe Qiniang saw this clearly and dared to retreat like this.
…
Qi Xuansu walked out of the city carrying a jar of wine, a few cooked dishes, a small bundle of ordinary incense sticks, and a stack of paper money.
Outside the city, the wind and snow were still howling, and the ice was bone-chilling.
Qi Xuansu braved the wind and snow to go to the cemetery under the name of Requiem Secretary and found his master's grave.
The tombstone in front of the grave simply says "Qi Haoran's Tomb" without any inscription. The font is elegant and is Qiniang's handwriting.
Qi Xuansu first placed the cooked food in front of the grave, then placed the jar of wine in the middle, lit the incense, and the incense head flickered on and off. He did not speak for a long time.
At this moment, there was a sound of banging the smoke pot.
Qi Xuansu looked back in shock.
He saw Qiniang leaning on a tombstone and knocking off the ashes from the pot.
At this moment, Qi Xuansu suddenly felt the warmth of home.
My father was asleep and my mother was smoking tobacco out of boredom.
And he is a man who returns home on a snowy night.
"Qiniang." Qi Xuansu felt that he had a lot to say but didn't know where to start.
Qiniang casually put the cigarette stick on her waist and said: "If you encounter any danger when you go to Fenglinzhou this time, you can't expect me to fall from the sky. I only have one sentence, go well and come back well."