Pei Mao went to the Ministry of War office, while Zhao Duanyin returned to the Ministry of Rites.
In the old government office, Pei Mao looked at the seal on the desk, tapped his fingers against the tabletop, and smiled. "Success is won, and worry follows."
Zhao Duanyin was about to step down. He had told neither of the two Old Attendant Officials, nor had he summoned his subordinate officials to give them instructions. Instead, he called in a few young men, offered them encouragement, and shared some of what he had learned about scholarship and holding office.
Li Baozhen did not head straight for Mingdi Ferry and return to the Weaving Bureau in Yuzhou. Instead, he visited the bustling Biansu Ferry. Earlier, in that hall where every pillar and floor tile was built of "power," National Teacher Chen had deliberately revealed a heavenly secret to him through a private message. He had told the second young master of the Li family of Fulu Street about their maidservant Zhu Lu's "former life." She had once been an Ascension Realm Dao Official in Azure Sky World. In a clash of magic with another, she had nearly sent all of Youzhou sinking into the earth. She had been reincarnated in Pearl Cave Heaven because she bore a sentence for her crimes and needed to redeem herself through meritorious deeds. Like Sect Master Lu of White Jade Capital, she had been there to protect the Dao; one simply operated in the open and the other in secret. The words had ended, but their implications were endless. Li Baozhen was clever enough to let his imagination run wild. What if he had not always treated Zhu Lu as a Chess Piece? What if he had felt even a trace of genuine affection for her,