Chapter 738: All Ready
When Qi Xuansu returned to the Yuhuang Palace, it was already past midnight.
Today was December 20th in the 42nd year of the Jiushi Era. The five-person delegation from the Golden Tower Council had arrived in the Imperial Capital on November 7th. In the blink of an eye, a month and a half had flown by.
The next day would be the day the Imperial Capital’s government offices closed, signifying the beginning of the New Year holiday. Thus, many matters had to be rushed to completion before the break. The Ministry of Revenue had to finalize each state’s tax tallies, while the Censorate would conduct annual performance evaluations of government officials to be distributed to the ministries on January 16th. At dawn on that day, the Chief and Deputy Ministers of the Six Ministries, as well as the censors, would all gather at the Censorate’s main hall. The twenty-odd days between now and then were the officials’ vacation time.
After today, the entire capital would shift into holiday mode, and the undercurrents that had been surging for months would finally reach their peak.
Most notably, the atmosphere within the Yuhuang Palace held not a trace of festive cheer. Instead, it had become increasingly tense.
Although Daoists did not place importance on the New Year, local Daoist mansions would typically organize festive celebrations to cater to the general populace. This was the first time ever that the tensions ran high, so much so that even the dullest people could sense something was wrong.
The source of this tension was, of course, the top leadership of the Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion, more specifically, the Mansion Master Li Ruoshui and the Second Deputy Mansion Master Shi Bingyun.
Ever since the last incident where Qi Xuansu was suspended, the two had shed all pretenses, with no need to maintain a superficial courtesy. Their escalating conflict surprised no one.
By convention, Mansion Masters were Omniscient Sages, so to maintain the tripartite balance of local Daoist mansions, the Second Deputy had to be carefully chosen. It was typically someone of exalted status, strong background, and formidable strength, not yet an official Omniscient Sage, but equivalent to one, such as Li Tianlan of the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion.
The Imperial Capital Daoist Mansion was no different. Shi Bingyun had nearly become the Sage Cihang in her time. She lacked nothing in terms of status, background, and cultivation. However, she was bold and unconventional, bordering on reckless, which was why she still had not become an Omniscient Sage after so many years. While the Imperial Capital was nominally the Li family’s home turf, Shi Bingyun had the backing of her lover, Prince Jin. Moreover, the various powerhouses within the Li family often quarreled among themselves. Though they would not openly sabotage each other, they would not sincerely assist each other either. So overall, the two sides were balanced.
With the two leaders locking horns, their two factions also showed animosity toward the other side. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, just waiting for the final spark to explode. In contrast, Chief Deputy Zhou Jiaoxian stayed out of it, and his faction largely maintained neutrality.