Chapter 1002: Welcome and Farewell
Sage Donghua was not so cold-hearted as to forbid Qi Xuansu from seeing Zhang Yuelu one last time before deploying him for an overseas assignment.
Had the two already become Daoist partners, Sage Donghua would have been obliged to symbolically seek Zhang Yuelu’s opinion before sending Qi Xuansu off to Poluo.
As April drew to a close, less than three months remained before Sage Qingwei’s scheduled return. Within those months, the Daoist forces in Fenglin would withdraw in stages back to Jade Capital. Zhang Yuelu was among the first to return.
Naturally, Qi Xuansu went to welcome her.
In fact, many disciples of the Zhengyi Sect also came to greet Zhang Yuelu. This was a reception far grander than anything she had received in the past.
Among them was Dong Baijing, Zhang Yuyue’s husband.
Dong Baijing had originally served as a fourth-rank superintendent in the Wuzhou Daoist Mansion. When Zhang Jucheng was promoted to Jiangnan Mansion Master, a chain of personnel changes followed. As a son-in-law of the Zhang family, Dong Baijing was transferred from Wuzhou to Jade Capital and promoted to the third rank, serving as a Golden Tower Council Administrator.
A Golden Tower Council Administrator was akin to an Imperial Cabinet Scholar. The Grand Scholars of the Imperial Cabinet could not handle everything personally, as cabinet affairs were vast and intricate. Thus, they appointed Imperial Cabinet Scholars to assist in administrative affairs.
The same principle applied within the Daoist hierarchy. Golden Tower Council Administrators were appointed to alleviate the administrative work for the high-ranking Omniscient Sages and Deputy Grand Masters, since these important figures usually had multiple roles. For instance, Sage Donghua was the Chief Omniscient Sage of the Golden Tower Council, the Ziwei Hall Master, and the second-in-command of the Quanzhen Sect, serving as a de facto aide to the Earthly Preceptor. So naturally, he could not devote his energy to menial administrative tasks. Hence, Golden Tower Council Administrators were mostly filled by fourth-rank or third-rank Daoists, assisting the Omniscient Sages in clerical and policy work.
The importance of such a post needed no elaboration.
In the past, Dong Baijing had little ambition. He was content with a peaceful life in the Wuzhou Daoist Mansion. But after being publicly humiliated by Li Minghuang, his outlook changed. He knew he could not rely on Qi Xuansu’s help forever. At some point, he had to fight for his own future.
As the Zhang family’s son-in-law, Dong Baijing came to welcome Zhang Yuelu, who was the eighth-generation leader of the Zhengyi Sect jointly appointed by the Heavenly Preceptor and Sage Cihang.