Chapter 143: Cousin-in-Law

Qi Xuansu's actions did not escape Zhang Yuelu's notice.

Zhang Yuelu glanced at him: "Why are you touching your neck?"

Qi Xuansu coughed lightly: "I suddenly felt a little cold in my neck."

"I haven't done anything wrong, why is my neck cold?" Zhang Yuelu said.

Qi Xuansu said unhappily: "I was scared."

Zhang Yuelu cleared his throat and stopped joking with Qi Xuansu: "Anyway, that's probably the situation. My cousin has been prejudiced against men since then. Please bear with me."

Qi Xuansu hesitated: "You just said that my cousin got married, so my cousin's husband..."

Zhang Yuelu said: "My cousin's husband is a good man."

"Uh..." Qi Xuansu seemed to understand something, "I see, no wonder Qi Niang said that good people deserve to be pointed at by muskets."

"Who is Qi Niang?" It was the first time Zhang Yuelu heard this name.

Qi Xuansu hesitated for a moment and said seriously: "My savior, I always treat her as an elder like my master."

Zhang Yuelu looked at Qi Xuansu deeply: "Your bad habits and all kinds of weird ideas, are they all taught to you by this Qi Niang?"

Qi Xuansu's expression rarely became serious, and he did not respond to show his attitude.

Zhang Yuelu glanced at Qi Xuansu's expression and said nothing more.

There was a moment of silence between the two.

Finally, Zhang Yuelu took the initiative to break the silence: "Let's go into the city."

Qi Xuansu returned to his usual appearance and said: "Okay."

There were black-clothed men responsible for checking the pass at the city gate, but the two had the Taoist certificate, so they naturally had a smooth journey.

The two entered the city. The county town was not small, but there was nothing special about it.

There was only one thing, Zhang Yuelu didn't know the specific address of the cousin. After all, when the cousin left Yujing, she had not yet married. Later, she got married without a big ceremony, and was very low-key. Zhang Yuelu also learned about it through letters. As for the occasional correspondence, Zhang Yuelu would send the letters to Shangqing County, and then have someone else forward them.

So Zhang Yuelu only knew that her cousin married in Fenning County, but she didn't know where she lived exactly.

There was no other way, the two could only ask around. They thought that a noble lady of the Zhang family would not be too wronged even if she encountered a change of heart. The house should be large and not difficult to find.

…

Zhang Yuyue was leaning on the couch reading a storybook. A truly excellent work is definitely not comparable to "Legend of Taiping Inn". Although it is a fairy-tale shell, it talks about the world and people's hearts. It has been well received from Yujing to Dijing.

But Zhang Yuyue's mind was not on this book. She read a few pages but didn't read a single word. Later, she simply threw the storybook in her hand away, supported her head with her hand, and was in a trance.

Counting on her fingers, she has been away from Yujing for more than three years. Although she still retains the rank of a fourth-grade Taoist priest, she no longer has any position, and naturally has no nominal power.

But it was only in name. Not to mention that her great-uncle was the Heavenly Master of this generation. Because he had no children, he always treated these nieces and nephews as his own. Her father and brother were not ordinary people. Even if she did nothing, she could still maintain a rich life and be free and easy. Otherwise, she would not have given a house in Taishangfang to her cousin.

Although her father was very angry about her leaving Yujing without permission, and was even more dissatisfied with her entanglement with that person, thinking that she was ruining the family reputation, he wanted to expel her from the house several times, but her brother who could already support the family still insisted and often took care of her. In addition, her husband was also very good to her. Although he was not a big shot in Yujing City, he was already a powerful figure in the local Daofu.

What else was she dissatisfied with? What could she not let go?

All the roads were walked by themselves.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yuyue couldn't help but sigh.

Somehow, she suddenly remembered her cousin who came from a small clan. She had no outstanding family background, but was personally named by the Heavenly Master, and then she also went to Yujing. When she first met her cousin, she was still a seventh-rank Taoist priest, but when she left Yujing, she was already a fifth-rank Taoist priest.

Recently, she heard some news that this cousin first accumulated merits and was promoted to a fourth-rank priest, and then was promoted to the deputy head of Tiangang Hall. If nothing goes wrong, then a real person position has been obtained in advance, which can be said to have a promising future.

If she didn't leave Yujing, then she should have been promoted to a third-rank Taoist priest.

She couldn't help asking herself, was it worth it for a man at the beginning?

...

"Of course it's not worth it." Zhang Yuelu said, "I said, if it were me, I would definitely kill that person, but I wouldn't make a mistake."

Qi Xuansu touched his neck again and asked, "You keep talking about 'that person', who is 'that person'?"

At this time, the two had already found out where Zhang Yuyue lived, which was located in the north of the city. On the way there, they talked about Zhang Yuyue again. Qi Xuansu asked Zhang Yuelu about his opinion on this matter and got a murderous answer.

Qi Xuansu always felt that Zhang Yuelu had something to say, but it was not easy to ask directly.

Zhang Yuelu replied, "'That person' is called Li Minghuang, and he is now also in Tiangang Hall, ranking third among the nine deputy hall masters. He didn't have this name before, but later he worshipped a foster father named Li and became the adopted son of the Li family."

Qi Xuansu suddenly realized, "No wonder he dared to part ways with Zhang Jiamingzhu, it turns out that he has a new backer."

Zhang Yuelu said: "Li Minghuang is not in Yujing City now, but went to the Western Regions Dao Mansion, leading the spiritual officials to fight against the Shamanism. Since you are in Tiangang Hall, you will see him sooner or later."

Qi Xuansu asked again: "What about the cousin's husband?"

Zhang Yuelu thought for a while and replied: "The cousin's husband's surname is Dong. If we put aside his family background, this cousin's husband is actually on par with my cousin. He is also a fourth-rank Taoist priest, but he works in the local Dao Mansion. But if you count his family background, the gap between the two sides is a bit big, after all..."

Qi Xuansu said: "After all, men with similar family backgrounds don't want to be pointed at behind their backs."

Zhang Yuelu glared at him: "It's okay to say this kind of thing in front of me, but don't say it in front of others."

"Of course." Qi Xuansu said, "I'm not a child who doesn't know the importance of things."

As they spoke, the two had arrived in front of a rather lavish mansion.

Zhang Yuelu went forward and knocked on the door. An elderly doorman came out. Seeing that it was a strange couple, he was a little unsure about their purpose. However, after Zhang Yuelu reported his identity, the doorman hurriedly asked the two to sit in the doorman for a while, and then he went in to report.

Not long after, the housekeeper came out and respectfully led the two to the main hall, served them fragrant tea, and asked them to wait for a while. The lady was dressing up.

Qi Xuansu looked at the surrounding environment. Judging from the decorations, it was not luxurious, but it was definitely not simple. It had the meaning of a scholarly family.

About two cups of tea, suddenly a pleasant female voice came from outside, and the voice came before the person: "Qingxiao is here?"

Then a woman dressed as a woman walked into the main hall, her skirt swaying, her rings and pendants jingling, bright and beautiful, with a graceful figure, as if she was a beauty in a painting of ladies.

"Cousin." Zhang Yuelu stood up to greet her.

Qi Xuansu also stood up and looked at the woman inconspicuously.

This is a mature woman with great charm and elegant temperament, but standing next to Zhang Yuelu, it is obvious that she is much older than Zhang Yuelu. Zhang Yuelu has a sharp and vigorous spirit, while this woman has a sense of decadence.

"Qingxiao, it's really you, how come you have time to come here?" Zhang Yuyue was still quite surprised by Zhang Yuelu's visit.

Zhang Yuelu said truthfully: "My mother gave me an ultimatum, insisting that I go home for the New Year, so I came to visit you on the way. The last time I saw you was in Yujing. I haven't seen you for three years, and my cousin has lost a lot of weight."

"It's been three years since we last met." Zhang Yuyue sighed, "It feels like a lifetime ago. I'm a landlord in Fenning County, and you're the deputy head of Yujing. It's really two different worlds."

Zhang Yuelu said: "If you want to go back to Yujing, it's not difficult."

Zhang Yuyue smiled, without commenting, and turned her gaze to Qi Xuansu on the side, asking: "Who is this?"

Qi Xuansu stepped forward and saluted: "I'm Qi Xuansu, meet Master Zhang."

Zhang Yuelu smiled and added: "My friend, sister, just call him 'Tianyuan'."

Zhang Yuyue's expression changed slightly. Although she was smiling, she was a little cold, and the meaning of dislike was obvious.

Qi Xuansu couldn't help thinking in his heart: "It's really a case of killing a whole boat with one stick."

Zhang Yuelu said softly: "Sister."

Zhang Yuyue looked Qi Xuansu up and down for a while, and then slowly said: "Qi... Daoist friend, please be polite."

Qi Xuansu stood up and gave Zhang Yuelu a look, asking her what to do next.

Zhang Yuelu pretended not to see it and began to reminisce with Zhang Yuyue.

Qi Xuansu was a little upset, but she couldn't get angry. After the incident in Baidi City, Zhang Yuelu said that she didn't want Qi Xuansu to see her mother now. It was Qi Xuansu herself who didn't agree to give up halfway, so now it can't be blamed on Zhang Yuelu, it can only be said that she deserved it.

The two women chatted, and Qi Xuansu had to sit awkwardly beside them and listen to the content of their conversation.

The two didn't talk about anything else, they mainly reminisced about the past and cherished the past.

About half an hour later, a man still wearing Taoist formal clothes hurried over.

Zhang Yuelu and Zhang Yuyue both stood up to greet him, thinking that this man must be his cousin's husband.

Qi Xuansu also stood up to look at him. The man was much older than Qi Xuansu, but unlike Qi Xuansu's murderous aura, the man was bookish and gentle, and he looked like a person who had been in the study for a long time.

Zhang Yuelu was not as unkind as he was in Yujing, and said very kindly: "Cousin's husband."

Qi Xuansu also followed up with a sentence: "Hello, cousin's husband."

In an instant, the atmosphere in the hall was completely frozen.