Chapter 1165: Authority and Responsibility
After the two Chief Superintendents left, only Qi Xuansu and Ke Qingqing remained in the office.
Qi Xuansu remained seated, unmoving, while Ke Qingqing busied herself clearing the bowls and chopsticks.
He asked, “How much more do you know about this Wu Burong?”
Without stopping her movements, Ke Qingqing replied, “I’ve heard from the other Deputy Mansion Master’s secretaries that she’s a very complicated person. Wu Burong is moody and capricious toward her subordinates, but with her superiors and colleagues, she’s extremely adept at social maneuvering, and she has ambiguous ties with quite a few Daoists who hold real power.”
Qi Xuansu said nothing, signaling for Ke Qingqing to continue.
Ke Qingqing continued, “She and Guo Yongyan—Wang Jiaohe’s secretary—were classmates at the Wanxiang Daoist Palace. It’s said they were very close, even reaching the point of discussing marriage. But Wu Burong’s parents objected. They looked down on Guo Yongyan’s orphan background, so in the end, they never became Daoist companions.”
Not all students of the Wanxiang Daoist Palace were orphans. It also recruited age-appropriate children from outside. However, before graduating and leaving the palace, all ties between the children and their families would be severed. Entry into the Wanxiang Daoist Palace was entirely voluntary and never forced. Even so, many parents still sent their children there despite the pain, hoping for a promising future. Sometimes, they even desperately sought admission and failed. After all, aside from the clan academies of great families, the Wanxiang Daoist Palace was among the most elite institutions.
Thus, situations like that of Wu Burong and Guo Yongyan were not uncommon.
Ke Qingqing went on. “They say fortunes reverse, so one should never look down on the poor. No one expected Guo Yongyan to make it big and become Wang Jiaohe’s secretary, while Wu Burong remained merely a superintendent. A huge gap opened between their statuses. Wu Burong’s parents wanted to regret their decision, but by then, Wu Burong was already married.”
Qi Xuansu finally interjected, “Wu Burong must regret it deeply. That’s why her relationship with her current Daoist companion is strained.”
“That’s right,” Ke Qingqing said. “Because of that disparity, Guo Yongyan and Wu Burong’s relationship grew close again. After all, when a man pursues a woman, it’s like crossing a mountain. But when a woman pursues a man, it’s like a veil of gauze. Even if Wu Burong couldn’t become Guo Yongyan’s Daoist companion, she hoped he could help her advance further.”
Qi Xuansu added, “A trade of power for desire.”