Daoqi Huangcheng

Chapter 27. Balance
in the courtyard
Song Chen and the young lady embraced each other, inhaling the fragrance from her hair and collar, feeling a sense of relief after surviving a calamity.

Qingyue was a little dazed for a moment. She blushed and gently nudged her husband, who seemed to be acting strangely.

Her awkward gaze swept around her, and the guards and maids tactfully avoided her eyes and hurriedly left the courtyard, going around to the road outside.

Once outside, the servants, who had been pretending not to see anything, suddenly had a gleam in their eyes. Some of the more curious maids quietly circled back to secretly watch what was happening in the courtyard.

This was a scene that the servants were extremely happy to see.

Previously, there had been many voices saying that the He family mansion was too small to accommodate the Second Master, and that the relationship between the Second Master and the Second Madam was merely a marriage alliance, and not actually a good one. These voices terrified them.

But now, the Second Master has suddenly returned and is passionately embracing the Second Madam.

The rumor was proven wrong.

The servants whispered among themselves, which was the first time they felt at ease since the master of the house had disappeared.

"Second Master still loves Second Madam."

"Yes, hehe, Second Master rushed in, not looking at anyone, not caring about anyone, as if he and Second Madam were the only ones in the courtyard. He's such a devoted man."

The two maids covered their mouths and laughed as they walked along the wall, but unexpectedly they saw a figure flash out from around the corner.

The two maids quickly suppressed their smiles and bowed respectfully.

The approaching figure was a rather large, spirited young woman in elegant attire, yet with a baby face. She didn't exude much femininity, but rather a decisive and efficient demeanor.

This young girl was none other than Que Chan, the daughter of Madam Qianxue.

Although the character "Chan" is gentle, Que Chan gives people a rather strong feeling. Surprisingly, she is the tallest person in the Que family.

The First Madam doted on her son, but she also knew that he couldn't stand alone, so she was very strict with her daughter from the beginning, making her fight and compete for everything. Even though she couldn't cultivate, Que Chan was indeed a master at managing the family business. Otherwise, she wouldn't have caught the eye of the second young master of the merchant guild.

While the chamber of commerce certainly needs a social standing, if the second young master is unwilling to marry into the family, the chamber of commerce will not stoop so low as to beg for this marriage.

The second young master genuinely liked Que Chan, or perhaps he even admired her a little.

Everyone else is the "second child" at home, so why is it that you, a woman, are so powerful?

Originally overshadowed by his elder brother's brilliance and indulging in pleasure all day, the second young master genuinely admired Que Chan. He even borrowed money from his family to open an identical shop opposite the Que family's, intending to challenge Que Chan. However, the second young master suffered a crushing defeat. In his resentment, he was confronted by Que Chan, who coldly asked, "Can this farce end now?"

Seeing Que Chan's domineering appearance, the second young master immediately knelt down and said, "I want to marry you."

Que Chan sneered: "I won't marry, I'll only marry a man."

The second young master's eyes suddenly lit up, and he exclaimed repeatedly, "Then I'll marry you! I'll marry you!"

Thus, the second young master married into the Que family and became their "wife".

This is a win-win situation where everyone benefits.

At this moment, Que Chan looked at the two maids and said calmly, "The head of the family has disappeared, and you're still laughing?"

She was very imposing and spoke in a very calm tone, but the maid was so frightened that she hurriedly tried to explain.

One of them said, "It's Second Master who's back."

One of them said, "As soon as Second Master returned, he embraced Second Madam. We servants were genuinely happy to see the sweet relationship between Second Master and Second Madam."

Que Chan waved her hand.

The two maids then left with a sigh of relief.

Que Chan thought for a moment, then walked lightly towards the front courtyard. When she reached the gate, she paused for a moment, then took another step forward, clasped her hands in a gesture of respect, and secretly raised her eyes as she did so. She wanted to see with her own eyes the harmony between her second uncle and her aunt, which would mean that the Que family was stable.

If the trouble doesn't start from within, there's much that can be done.

Looking up, she saw her aunt, her face flushed, push her second uncle away and run out.

"Auntie."

Que Chan bowed.

Qingyue tried to put on a stern face, but felt her face turn even redder. She had never been so affectionate with a man in public before, but this man was her husband and the second master of this mansion, so she couldn't refuse.

Originally, her bottom line regarding the arranged marriage was "to sit together at night, performing official business in the dark in the most ordinary and old-fashioned way," but this absolutely did not include the affection and tenderness between the lovers in broad daylight.

She can't take it.

At this moment, Qingyue's heart was pounding. When she heard Que Chan call her, she felt as if she were in a fog, her heart pounding. She responded and forced herself to remain calm, saying, "Your second uncle just came back. Please entertain him. I have other things to do, so I'll be going now."

After saying that, she ran away.

She hurried around the corner, her back pressed against the clean white wall, her head resting against the drafty latticed window, patting her chest and panting heavily. But this wasn't the heartbeat of lovers; rather, it was the anger, confusion, and complex emotions of one party breaking the fundamental rules of "arranged marriage" and trying to gain more.

Once things calmed down, Qingyue couldn't help but wonder, "Why did he suddenly come back, and why did he suddenly hug me in public and humiliate me?"

But after the thought crossed her mind, she still had no answer. Then, thinking about family matters and the Wei family affairs, she put this little matter concerning her husband out of her mind.

Qingyue regained her composure and hurriedly walked out of the courtyard.

Recently, there has been an unsettling atmosphere in the capital, and the workload of the Imperial Guard has suddenly increased.

She rarely had time to go home and try to find He'er, but her husband interrupted her, wasting so much of her time.

Now, she has to go back to work.

"Second Uncle." Que Chan bowed respectfully.

Unlike her good-for-nothing brother, she was well aware of her second uncle's role in the entire He family.

Song Chen looked at his niece, who was only three years younger than him but the same height.

Que Chan took two steps closer and said, "Second Uncle, I would like to ask you, what do you think the He family should do now?"

Song Chen frowned slightly.

Where to go?

The imperial city was in complete chaos, with bright white and dark everywhere, and if you dug deep enough, you would find a bottomless abyss.

Where to go?

He closed his eyes and uttered, "Those who advance die, those who retreat live, and your mother's surname isn't Que either."

Que Chan's heroic face showed a hint of surprise.

Song Chen said, "It's just my foolish opinion."

Que Chan said repeatedly, "No, Second Uncle," but then hesitated and said, "However, my family's General is still fighting in the north. Just today, I heard from my aunt that there are good news of successes. The General may be able to expand the territory and make unparalleled achievements before returning."

Song Chen was also unsure.

He's not an omniscient and omnipotent god.

He simply felt that there were too many undercurrents and dangers around him. Even if he wasn't in the center of the vortex, just being grazed by its edge would lead to the destruction of his family and the loss of his life. Therefore, it was better to retreat than to advance.

But then again, General Que holds a high position and wields great power. How could he be so arrogant as to know what moves others are making or what strategies they are employing?

If this family could have taken advantage of the opportunity to rise to prominence, but because of his words, they can only watch helplessly as other branches of the family prosper and rise to great heights, what kind of situation is that?

He is not a chess player, not even a chess piece.

Song Chen waved his hand and said, "Chan'er, your second uncle is just a cultivator. You should act according to the circumstances."

Facing her second uncle, who was three years older than her, Que Chan showed no embarrassment whatsoever. Instead, she respectfully said, "Chan'er understands. No matter what decision Chan'er makes, she will always remember what her second uncle said today."

My second uncle might be right. In just one year, my father died tragically, and my brother disappeared. It was definitely worse to go forward than to retreat. But who could accept that?

Second Uncle, please focus on your cultivation; you need not worry about family matters. I'll take my leave now.

After saying that, she slowly retreated.

Song Chen also turned around and strolled towards the cultivation chamber deep inside the Que Mansion.

The secluded chamber, crafted from deep black mountain stone, exudes a tranquil and profound seclusion, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the world, with an empty stone lotus platform at its center.

Song Chen reached into his storage bag.

Besides the spirit stone he initially obtained from the Que Mansion, there was also a water spirit stone in the bag. This was a benefit he had obtained in the Crane Demon Secret Realm, which He Bai had given him one day to "increase trust value".

At this moment, he no longer possessed the power of the "Marrow-Eating Crane Demon," but he had gained some wood spirit energy from cultivating the "Ancient Tree Evergreen Technique." The metal and wood elements, lacking the neutralizing effect of water, were rubbing against each other.

Over time, the metal energy will gradually devour the wood energy, and the wood energy will in turn deplete the metal energy, which will cause his power to decrease rather than increase.

Now, he will use this water-elemental spirit stone to cultivate the "Yellow Springs Scripture" in order to quickly restore the balance of power within his body.

Aside from the mysterious "Yellow Springs Scripture," the main gains were the "Ancient Tree Evergreen Secret," the "Wooden Puppet Secret Record," and the two ready-made straw puppets.

With his current wood elemental energy, he can still use the "Wooden Puppet Manual" to barely control the straw puppet.

(End of this chapter)