A Pawn's Passage

Poluo had long been dominated by the Quanzhen Sect, which was dominated by the Yao family. Thus, it was impossible for the Yao family not to have a foundation in Poluo.

In truth, the Yao family’s influence in Poluo was considerable. Though they might not bear the Yao name, they were connected to the Yao family in countless ways.

They might not care much about Qi Xuansu. After all, his identity as a Yao family member was questionable at best. The Yao family placed great importance on bloodline, especially given their Great Witch lineage.

But they cared about Yao Pei, who was widely acknowledged as the heir of the Yao family.

Now that the Yao family’s young lady had arrived in Poluo, all these factions rushed to pay their respects.

Yao Pei did not shut her doors. She patiently received them all because she would need the support of these families to aid her investigation.

In this world, it was nearly impossible to draw a perfect line between official and private matters.

These Yao-affiliated powers had been rooted in Nanyang for many years. Though the Wang family appeared dominant, the Yao faction could not be underestimated. They were well-informed about many matters in Poluo, including Du Fuzhou and Sun Yaozhen.

According to them, Du Fuzhou was rather pitiful. His mother, Du Yuhua, was excessively domineering, so much so that even his father could not stand it. Du Fuzhou himself grew into a silent, taciturn man, someone easily overlooked in daily interactions.

Du Fuzhou and Sun Yaozhen’s marriage was also arranged entirely by Du Yuhua. Their relationship was not horrible, since Du Fuzhou was not the type to quarrel. He was like a lump of clay, pliant and dull.

This made Yao Pei feel troubled. A man like this—whose own pillow partner may not know his thoughts—would be even harder for outsiders to read or exploit. Finding a weakness would be extremely difficult.

Thus, Yao Pei had no choice but to redirect her attention toward Sun Yaozhen.