Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 964: Trouble Arises from Within

Pucha Qiucao had never hated anyone as much as she hated this woman, especially since she was merely a favored concubine of the prince, ultimately just a woman who could not stand in the light. 

Tang Kuo Bian’s current overwhelming power was merely derived from his princess wife. Once they returned to the capital, she would reveal everything that had happened on this journey to the royal family, letting the emperor and the princess know that their beloved son-in-law was keeping a woman outside. I refuse to believe that Tang Kuo Bian could still protect you then.

With this thought, Pucha Qiucao felt much better and knelt down in front of Song Qingshu, then said calmly, “Sir, please have some tea.”

Song Qingshu was feeling a headache; Daiqisi’s humiliation of Pucha Qiucao would surely not be forgotten easily by the latter. 

However, Daiqisi was inherently proud and willful. If he wanted to completely subdue her, it would not be wise to scold her while she was in high spirits. Comparatively, Daiqisi was more important; after all, Pucha Qiucao was merely the eldest daughter of the Pucha family and could not fully represent the family’s interests.

Thus, although Song Qingshu hesitated for a moment, he still accepted the tea that Pucha Qiucao offered. To ease the atmosphere, he pretended to help her up, saying, “Miss Qiucao, please rise!”

Pucha Qiucao silently stood up, biting her lip and saying nothing, maintaining a stern expression as she stood to the side. 

Daiqisi, having vented her frustrations during this time, was also satisfied and stood by without being aggressive anymore.

*****

At this moment, Yin Zhiping had invited sixteen senior disciples to a separate courtyard to discuss strategies: “This matter is of great importance, and I dare not make decisions on my own; I must listen to everyone’s opinions.”

Li Zhichang shook his head and said, “The Jin Dynasty invades our territory and harms our people; how can we accept their imperial decree?” Although the Central Plains had been ruled by the Jin Dynasty for many years, Li Zhichang still identified himself as a Song person.

Zhang Zhiguang said, “The Zhongnan Mountain should be managed by the Mongols. Our daoist temples are all within Mongolian territory. If we refuse to accept the imperial decree, the Quanzhen Sect will face great disaster.”

The Seven Disciples of Quanzhen, led by Qiu Chuji, had the highest martial arts skills, and with his fiery temper and numerous disciples, his faction was the most powerful within the Quanzhen Sect. However, where there are people, there is wulin; the third-generation disciples were not a monolithic group. Many other disciples were not close to Qiu Chuji and often surrounded Zhao Zhijing, making the two factions roughly equal in power, each holding their ground.

Now that Zhao Zhijing had been killed outside, Zhang Zhiguang, with both martial prowess and prestige second only to Zhao Zhijing, was naturally pushed forward as the new leader of this small group. They had always been at odds with Yin Zhiping, so this was a perfect opportunity for them to sing a different tune.

Of course, this did not necessarily mean that Zhang Zhiguang truly wished to accept the imperial decree; it was just that Yin Zhiping and his faction were clearly against it, and Zhang Zhiguang was the spokesperson for the faction opposing Yin Zhiping. If he agreed with them, wouldn’t he lose his capital for survival? Moreover, more importantly, if the Quanzhen Sect ultimately accepted the decree according to his viewpoint, his prestige would immediately surpass that of Yin Zhiping.

What ideological disputes and factional struggles were all just illusions; in the end, it was merely a struggle for power.

Li Zhichang said, “Brother Zhang, your words are incorrect.”

Zhang Zhiguang raised his voice, saying, “What is incorrect? I invite Brother Li to enlighten me.”

Li Zhichang said, “I dare not enlighten you. But may I ask, Brother Zhang, who is our sect’s founding master, Grandmaster Zhongyang? And who are our masters, the Seven Disciples of Quanzhen?”

Zhang Zhiguang was taken aback, saying, “The founding master and our masters are high-level figures in the Sanqing Sect.”

Li Zhichang said, “They are all great men who stand tall and upright, caring for the country and its people. Each one has fought bloodily against the Jin soldiers.”

Zhang Zhiguang naturally could not deny this: “Yes, Grandmaster Zhongyang and the Seven Disciples of Quanzhen are renowned in the wulin; who does not admire them?”

Li Zhichang said, “Think of our sect’s previous True Immortals, each unafraid of the strong, determined to save the people from fire and water. Even if the Quanzhen Sect faces true disaster, what do we have to fear? One must know that while the head may be severed, the will must not be humiliated!”

These words were filled with righteousness, and Yin Zhiping and the more than ten senior disciples were all moved.

Zhang Zhiguang sneered, saying, “Is it only Brother Li who is not afraid of death? Are others merely afraid of life and death? The founding master faced great difficulties in establishing our sect. How much effort did he and the seven masters put in for our current scale? If we mishandle this handover, we could destroy the illustrious Quanzhen Sect in one fell swoop. What face do we have to meet the founding master in the underworld? How will we explain ourselves when the five masters return?”

This reasoning was sound, and several Daoists echoed in agreement.

Zhang Zhiguang continued, “As the saying goes, there are no eternal friends, nor are there eternal enemies. The Jin people are indeed our sect’s mortal enemies, but the situation is no longer what it once was. The Mongols are currently at their peak, having occupied areas of the Song such as Sichuan and Xiangyang, while the Jin Dynasty has been at peace with the Song in recent years, objectively blocking much of the Mongolian military might from reaching the Song. Accepting the Jin Dynasty’s imperial decree is, to some extent, also helping the Song!”

This argument was even more reasonable, and even several Daoists who had always been neutral began to waver.

Wang Zhitian, another disciple of Qiu Chuji, saw the situation was not good and hurriedly said, “Although the Jin Dynasty appears to have ceased hostilities with the Song, their wolfish ambition for the Song’s territory has never died. Moreover, if the Mongolian army presses tightly in the future, and if the Jin Dynasty cannot support it and instead turns south to seize Song territory to make up for losses, wouldn’t the Song’s throne be in imminent danger? You and I are both subjects of the Song; how can we accept the imperial decree from an enemy nation?”

He turned to Yin Zhiping and said, “Master, if you accept the imperial decree, you will be a great traitor, a historical sinner of our sect. Even if I, Wang Zhitian, were to spill my blood on the ground, I cannot let this go.”

At this point, his tone was already fierce.

Zhang Zhiguang suddenly stood up, slammed his palm on the table, and shouted, “Brother Wang, do you want to resort to violence? How dare you be so disrespectful to the True Immortal Master?”

Wang Zhitian replied sternly, “We are merely discussing reason. If it comes to violence, are we afraid of you?”

This situation was quite amusing; the faction opposing Yin Zhiping was standing up for him, and anyone unaware of the situation would surely confuse the positions of both sides.

Seeing both sides firmly holding their ground, neither willing to back down, the atmosphere was tense, and it seemed they were about to throw punches and draw swords. An elderly Daoist with graying hair repeatedly shook his hands and said, “Brothers, let’s speak calmly; there is no need to be so agitated.”

Wang Zhitian asked, “What do you think we should do, Brother?”

The Daoist replied, “In my opinion, um, um… as monks, we should be compassionate. If we can save one more commoner, that is one more contribution to the virtue of life bestowed by heaven… um, um… if we accept the Jin Emperor’s imperial decree, we can do our best to persuade the Jin officials and soldiers to refrain from excessive killing, which does not violate the teachings of our founding master, and we can also use the Jin’s power to deal with the Mongols, giving the Song a chance to recuperate.”

Several other Daoists echoed, “Yes! Yes!” They had always been neutral, adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, and truly did not wish to see Chongyang Palace suffer from war. Moreover, Zhang Zhiguang’s earlier arguments were reasonable, causing them to subconsciously lean towards accepting the imperial decree.