Chapter 287 - 282: The Woman with a Spirit Root

"I bid the Celestial Master good day." Du Sumin curtsied gracefully. She made no effort to strike a seductive pose, yet her charm was undeniable: a unique blend of a maiden’s purity and a young wife’s allure, a noble yet delicate bearing, all amplified by her status as a Commandery Princess. It was a combination that was enough to make men stare, unable to look away.

Du Youqian, however, found her unremarkable. He glanced at her briefly before looking away. "There’s no need for such formalities. Sit."

"Thank you, Celestial Master." Du Sumin sat before Du Youqian, her posture prim and her hands folded in her lap.

"What brings you here?" Du Youqian asked, getting straight to the point. He had no desire to exchange pleasantries.

"Recently, Lord Jie, the Chief of the Examination and Merit Department in the Ministry of Personnel, was imprisoned for his crimes. After a trial, he was sentenced to execution after the autumn, and his wife and daughter were forced into the Music Bureau."

Du Youqian gave a noncommittal grunt. He had already seen Du Sumin’s purpose with his Divine Sense. "Jie Wenyuan’s daughter is a close friend of yours, and you want to plead her case?" he said. "Take my token. Present it to the Music Bureau tomorrow and have them send her to the Celestial Master’s Mansion. After some time passes, we can simply report that she died of a sudden illness. She won’t be able to live the life of a young mistress anymore. You can either keep her by your side as a Maid, or give her some money and let her go make her own way in the world."

Du Sumin was initially frightened by the Celestial Master’s seemingly prophetic abilities, but by now, she was completely used to it.

’He’s the Celestial Master, after all. He’s supposed to be capable of things others are not. Otherwise, how could he hold a position second only to the emperor, yet above all others?’

’Besides, from what her sister said, even the Immortal Sect backing the Wu Kingdom had to defer to his every command.’

’It was easy to imagine that this Celestial Master was, in fact, a powerful Immortal who had descended to the mortal realm.’

’It was nothing to be surprised about anymore.’

"I thank the Celestial Master."

Du Sumin accepted Du Youqian’s waist token. After bowing in thanks, she took delicate steps, backing out of the room.

"Wait," Du Youqian called out to her.

Du Sumin stopped and looked up at him, puzzled.

After a moment of thought, Du Youqian asked, "You’re thirty this year, aren’t you?"

The color drained from Du Sumin’s face, but she quickly forced a smile and bowed again. "Yes. I am old now and my beauty has faded. I can no longer make the Celestial Master’s bed, warm his feet, or attend to you at night. But I can still perform menial tasks like sweeping and cleaning. I will learn as quickly as I can."

Du Youqian asked her, "Why do you insist on staying? Don’t you want a family and children of your own? I could put out the word that I’ve grown tired of you and intend to let you leave and marry, so I can find a new concubine. Even if only to curry favor with me, or for Prince Rui’s sake, there would be nobles and scholars willing to marry you and make you their principal wife."

Du Sumin said softly, "I am very happy here. I beg the Celestial Master to show me mercy and not send me away."

"Are you happy? I don’t think so."

"You are not a fish; how could you know a fish’s happiness?"

Du Youqian found it amusing that she’d use that line on him.

But on second thought, he realized her perspective wasn’t wrong.

Based on his occasional glimpses into her Emotions, he knew she was often unbearably lonely and forlorn.

But there were also many times when, like a little girl, she joyfully embraced new experiences—things she could never have obtained in Prince Rui’s Mansion, or in any family she might have married into.

Who else would have let a woman like her play at being a local magistrate, even providing an advisor to assist her and prevent any mistakes?

Even among Princesses and Commandery Princesses, who would have the privilege of receiving Swordsmanship instruction from an Innate Grandmaster?

Recently, she even had the whim to compile a set of historical annals, just to experience being a Hanlin Scholar. Du Youqian had arranged for numerous scholars not currently in office to assist her, the Imperial Palace’s Library Pavilion was opened for her, and all the prominent Noble Families with vast libraries vied to present her with their rarest ancient texts.

Perhaps she was the only one who truly understood what she had gained and lost.

Du Youqian nodded. "I’ve told you this before, and I will remind you again: I will not marry you, and I will never summon you to my bed. As for why, I won’t tell you. However, you can continue to enjoy your current privileges even when you are eighty years old."

What he left unsaid was that sometimes, when he looked at Du Sumin, he was reminded of his most beloved granddaughter from his first life, a life in which he had been a powerful court minister.

Although the two looked nothing alike, their temperaments and personalities were inexplicably similar in many ways.

Because of this, his fondness extended to Du Sumin. It wasn’t much, but a sliver of compassion existed.

"Thank you, Celestial Master!" Du Sumin bowed, pleasantly surprised.

Her greatest fear had been that once she grew old and her beauty faded, she would be driven from the Celestial Master’s Mansion, left with no prospects for the rest of her life.

But with the Celestial Master’s personal promise, her most dreaded nightmare would not come to pass.

’As for whether the Celestial Master would still be in power when she turned eighty...’

’The Celestial Master was an Immortal Master. Holding power for a few hundred years should be a simple matter for him, shouldn’t it?’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Little Sister Jie, the daughter of the disgraced official, was brought to the Celestial Master’s Mansion, Du Youqian paid it no mind.

He didn’t even spare her a glance.

He merely, out of habit, extended his Divine Sense to investigate.

After all, the vast Celestial Master’s Mansion was entirely within the range of his Divine Sense.

This investigation, however, led him to discover something interesting.

"Heh, interesting."

Soon, the servants and maids in the Celestial Master’s Mansion began to whisper amongst themselves, saying that Little Sister Jie was a peerless beauty, in no way inferior to Princess Qing He.

They also said that Little Sister Jie was multi-talented and possessed an ethereal air, but of course, Du Youqian had no interest in such things.

Later, Du Sumin came to report that Little Sister Jie, worried about her ability to survive in the outside world, had chosen to remain in the Celestial Master’s Mansion as her personal Maid. Du Youqian paid it no mind.

This was only to be expected.

How could a delicate woman, accustomed to a life of luxury, possibly survive in the cruel world outside?

Without a good man to depend on, the final destination for a beautiful, single woman was often the brothels.

This was a limitation of the era.

Because they couldn’t compete with men in any other line of work.

Was she supposed to haul sacks on the docks like a man? Toil in the fields? Brave the elements as a traveling merchant?

As for making a living doing laundry or needlework for others?

’Best not to read too many novels.’

’For someone like Little Sister Jie, so "multi-talented" and with an "ethereal air," could she truly lower herself to do such labor?’

’Staying in the Celestial Master’s Mansion, even as a Maid, was the better option. After all, the living conditions for a Maid here were better than those of a young lady from many prominent families.’

"However, this Little Sister Jie is only sixteen. There’s quite an age gap between you. How did you two meet?"

Du Youqian asked casually.

"Little Sister Jie is quite a talented poet; her verses are filled with Spirituality," Du Sumin explained. "She has won first prize multiple times at the poetry gatherings I host, so we have met privately on a few occasions."

"I see." Du Youqian let the matter drop.

He had only asked on a whim; he wasn’t genuinely interested.

The only reason he paid any attention to Little Sister Jie was because his Divine Sense investigation revealed that she actually possessed a Spirit Root, and one of a decent Grade at that.

Even better than Lin Sha’s or Fang Hua’s.

But he couldn’t take every person he met with a Spirit Root under his wing. The chance at immortality was simply too precious.

There were plenty among the Du family who had Spirit Roots, but he hadn’t helped most of them, only offering some minor assistance to Du Suxin.

Let alone an outsider.

He wouldn’t waste his time and energy taking on a disciple unless they truly caught his fancy, or if he deemed them worthy of cultivation after a period of observation.

A few months later, a maid came to report that Princess Qing He had rehearsed a dance and wished to perform it for the Celestial Master.

How could anything in the Celestial Master’s Mansion escape Du Youqian’s notice?

He had long since known that Du Sumin and Little Sister Jie were rehearsing a dance together.

Moreover, he also knew that Du Sumin was actually trying to push Little Sister Jie into the spotlight.

Du Sumin was an intelligent woman, but her perspective was limited by her era.

She believed the reason the Celestial Master had never summoned her to his bed was that he was unimpressed with her looks.

In her eyes, however, Little Sister Jie’s beauty and temperament were nothing short of divine.

If she could succeed in sending Little Sister Jie to the Celestial Master’s bed, her own future position would become more secure.

As it happened, Du Youqian also wanted to observe this Little Sister Jie up close to see if she was promising material.

Why do Cultivators take on disciples?

Some do it for the sake of their Inheritance.

Others do it to have a backup plan.

If they lose hope of attaining the Great Dao and become trapped in Reincarnation, they hope that a Great Power will one day emerge from their line of disciples who can then provide them Guiding back to the Dao.

Du Youqian, of course, had no fear of being trapped in Reincarnation.

But he didn’t mind taking on a suitable disciple either.

He still didn’t have enough people he could trust. If he could cultivate another trustworthy individual with Core Formation Combat Power within the next century, many of his plans would be much easier to execute.

"Let them come," Du Youqian said.

The maid went to deliver the message. Princess Qing He and Little Sister Jie exchanged a look of dismay, realizing then that their little scheme had not escaped the Celestial Master’s notice.

’Otherwise, why would he have said "Let *them* come," instead of "Let *her* come"?’

’Then again, it was naive to think they could hide anything from the Celestial Master within his own mansion.’

"Little Sister, you must perform your best," Qing He urged anxiously. "I’ve been in the Celestial Master’s Mansion for ten years, and this is only the second time he has permitted me to dance for him. The Celestial Master is not one to indulge in beautiful women. Whether you can seize this hard-won opportunity depends entirely on you. If you can catch his eye, you can escape your status as a servant and become his companion. Even without a formal title, no prince, noble, or official at court would dare look down on you. And in the future, there might even be a chance to clear your father’s name."

"Yes, Sister. I will do as you say," Little Sister Jie whispered.