Chapter 1253: Drinking Tea
With Qi Xuansu absent, Chen Jianchou found himself with a bit of free time.
Today, someone had invited Chen Jianchou out for tea.
This was a Lingnan custom that had spread to the Nanyang region.
Since Chen Jianchou had long been accustomed to serving as a secretary, he disliked arriving late or arriving exactly on time. Instead, he preferred to arrive early to scout ahead for his superior.
So even though someone else had invited him for tea, Chen Jianchou arrived an entire hour early.
The teahouse was located in the northwest district of Lion City, a place of mixed crowds and characters. Chen Jianchou did not hurry to the private room on the second floor. Instead, he casually found a seat in the ground-floor hall, ordered a cup of bland tea, and drank it slowly.
The present-day Chen Jianchou was no longer who he once was. In the eyes of others, he was now an important figure—secretary to Chief Deputy Qi and godson of Second Deputy Xu, someone with influence on both sides. He even had connections with Great Sage Lan due to the investigation into the Ancient Immortals. To outsiders, this made him seem extraordinarily well-connected.
When Qi Xuansu was absent, Chen Jianchou carried himself with composure and dignity. But when he was by Qi Xuansu’s side, he remained as quiet and reserved as ever, with little overt presence.
This was not unusual. Qi Xuansu behaved one way before Sage Donghua and Madam Qi and another way before his subordinates at the Daoist Mansion.
Before his subordinates, he seemed stern, making him less approachable. But before elders, he had to maintain the proper position of a junior and avoid overstepping.
Such were traditional Eastern relationships, a cage from which no one could escape.
Chen Jianchou’s thoughts were somewhat mixed. Though outsiders might not know about the accusation report filed against Qi Xuansu, he did. As someone close to Qi Xuansu, he would share in his superior’s rise and downfall. Wang Jiaohe, Wang Jiaoying, and Zheng Jiaohe were precedents. None of their secretaries had escaped unscathed.