Glory

At the end of the fifth lunar month, in the early summer, a procession displaying betrothal gifts appeared on Qinghe Street.

This was a custom in Lin'an. After a marriage was agreed upon between the families of the bride and groom, the groom's family would send betrothal gifts. To demonstrate the abundance and value of the gifts and their regard for the bride, they would have a team of servants carry, hold, or pull the gifts through the streets in a procession.

The same was done when a woman married. The so-called "ten-mile red dowry" referred to the lavishness of the bridal trousseau.

Of course, this was mostly a practice of wealthy and noble families. For ordinary families, even if their betrothal gifts and dowries seemed generous by their own standards, they couldn't compare to those of the affluent. Displaying them publicly would only invite ridicule from those who didn't understand the context—why bother?

"Hey, look at what's at the front!" a passerby exclaimed, pointing to the head of the procession.

Everyone turned to look, and someone cried out, "That's the ceremonial attire for an external titled lady." They turned to ask others, "Does anyone recognize it? What rank is it?"

Among the onlookers, there were those with knowledge.

An elderly man in sapphire-blue silk clothing examined it carefully and said, "Four gilded mandarin ducks holding pearl knots in their beaks, a cape with cloud and mandarin duck patterns, and a beizi with cloud and mandarin duck patterns—this is the ceremonial attire for a titled lady of the fifth rank."

Lu Guanyi was the son of a military noble. Even though he hadn't been officially designated as the heir, he was sent to the border by the Crown Prince and was granted a position equivalent to that of a marquis's heir, specifically the rank of Superior Cavalry Commandant, a fifth-rank official.

Since he was marrying Ye Yaming as his principal wife, the titled lady's attire for a fifth-rank official's wife naturally had to be included in the betrothal gifts. This was a royal favor and was placed at the forefront of the procession.

Under normal circumstances, the wife would only receive the ceremonial and everyday attire of an external titled lady after registering with the relevant authorities post-marriage. However, to show his regard and sincerity for this marriage, Lu Guanyi had specially requested the Crown Prince to obtain the attire in advance.

In the Great Jin dynasty, military officials held a slightly lower status than civil officials. This meant that while the Vice Prefect of Lin'an, the second-highest official in the city, also held the fifth rank, Lu Guanyi would still rank below him if they were to stand together.

But the common people didn't know this, and the titled lady's attire didn't distinguish between civil and military officials. Seeing this fifth-rank attire, everyone was deeply impressed.

"Could it be the Vice Prefect getting married? But that can't be—the Vice Prefect is over fifty, and his wife is still alive. She attended a banquet at my relative's house during the New Year," the man in sapphire-blue clothing added.

He didn't finish his thought. He wanted to say, "I haven't heard of any funeral at his house, so he probably isn't remarrying after his wife's death," but he didn't dare voice it. If word got back to the Vice Prefect, it would be no laughing matter.

As soon as he finished speaking, someone else exclaimed, "Look at the second betrothal gift—isn't that a hairpin and jade pendants?"

The man in sapphire-blue clothing squinted and scrutinized the second gift before nodding firmly. "Indeed, it's a hairpin and jade pendants—accessories only noble ladies can wear."

This immediately ruled out the possibility of the Vice Prefect marrying.

Everyone knew the Vice Prefect came from a humble background and had entered officialdom by passing the Presented Scholar examination.

The onlookers exchanged puzzled glances.

Noble status and a fifth-rank official—just whose marriage was this? It seemed the recipient of these betrothal gifts must be a young lady from an aristocratic or powerful family.

Lin'an had several such families, who were nobles themselves with members serving in the court. If it were a young lady from one of these families marrying, such betrothal gifts wouldn't be surprising at all.At this thought, everyone's interest waned considerably. Seeing that the betrothal gifts included manors, shops, and sets of gold and jade jewelry, they no longer found it particularly remarkable. They planned to go about their own business once the betrothal procession passed and the road cleared.

However, after the betrothal procession passed, an open carriage followed, carrying an elderly monk with graying hair and beard, accompanied by a young novice. As the procession moved slowly and the carriage was steady, the novice calmly poured tea into a cup on the table before the old monk.

This scene left everyone stunned once again.

"Whose family is this? Why would they send a monk to deliver betrothal gifts?"

The old man in sapphire-blue clothes grew agitated upon hearing this. Disregarding that the speaker was a stranger, he slapped the man's shoulder and scolded, "What monk? That is a master—Master Zhineng, Master Zhineng of Chongshan Temple." "What? Master Zhineng of Chongshan Temple?" Everyone was dumbfounded and turned to scrutinize the old monk.

Was this the legendary Master Zhineng, who was said to be of royal descent? Good heavens, they had seen Master Zhineng today—this was a story they could boast about for a year.

It was well-known that not only ordinary people like them, but even those from prestigious and wealthy families found it extremely difficult to get an audience with Master Zhineng when visiting Chongshan Temple.

The old man in sapphire-blue clothes muttered to himself, "Who could this be? To actually have the influence to invite Master Zhineng to deliver betrothal gifts."

His words snapped everyone back to reality.

Indeed. Not to mention Master Zhineng's esteemed status, which made him nearly impossible for ordinary people to engage. Simply considering his identity as a monastic, he would rarely undertake such tasks for anyone.

Whose family could possess such immense prestige and capability?

"Let's go, let's go and see. We'll find out soon enough by following the betrothal procession to see which family it's headed to," someone suggested.

"Right, right."

Those without urgent matters were now bursting with curiosity and decided to follow along.

The old man in sapphire-blue clothes actually had prior plans—he was supposed to meet a friend for tea at Gathering Fragrance Pavilion. But now, he abandoned his tea plans and instructed his attendant, "Go to the teahouse and inform Old Master Ye that I have urgent matters today. I will invite him for tea tomorrow to apologize."

The attendant acknowledged the order. Once the betrothal procession passed and the road was clear, the master and servant parted ways. The old man in sapphire-blue clothes, accompanied by his page and manor guards, followed the betrothal procession forward, while the attendant headed in the opposite direction toward the teahouse.

The crowd trailed the betrothal procession at a snail's pace until it finally halted in front of a residence.

The road was actually quite wide, easily accommodating three carriages side by side. The betrothal procession occupied the center, leaving enough space on both sides for pedestrians. However, both sides were crowded with onlookers, causing congestion.

The old man in sapphire-blue clothes and his group had assumed that as the betrothal procession moved forward, fewer bystanders would follow, allowing them to push to the front for a better view.

Unexpectedly, many others shared their curiosity. They struggled considerably before finally squeezing to the forefront of the procession. By the time his page and manor guards had shielded him to the front, the old man's clothes were crumpled.

Once they reached the front, everyone looked up and froze in unison.

Above the gate, two large characters were inscribed: Ye Residence.

Just as there are distinctions between terms like "Madam" and "Mrs.," or "Young Master" and "Heir," "Mansion" and "Residence" also carry different connotations. The former signifies an official status, indicating that someone in the family holds a government position; the latter refers to ordinary commoners.How could the daughter of an ordinary commoner family manage to have Master Zhineng intervene and be betrothed as the official wife to a fifth-rank official with noble status? Was she an immortal maiden descending to the mortal realm, or did she possess the allure of a fox demon?

Those unfamiliar with Ye Jia collectively had question marks hanging over their heads.

"Brother Shen!"

"Hmm!"

As Shen Changqing walked along the road, he would occasionally encounter acquaintances, and they would greet each other or exchange nods.

But regardless of who it was.

Everyone's face bore no extra expression, as if they were indifferent to everything.

Regarding this.

Shen Changqing had already grown accustomed to it.

Because this was the Demon Suppression Division, an institution responsible for maintaining the stability of Great Qin. Its primary duty was to slay demons, monsters, and supernatural beings, though it also handled some other side tasks.

It could be said.

That every person in the Demon Suppression Division had their hands stained with a great deal of blood.

When one had witnessed life and death too often, they would become indifferent to many things.

When Shen Changqing first arrived in this world, he found it somewhat uncomfortable, but over time, he grew used to it.

The Demon Suppression Division was vast.

Those who could remain in the Demon Suppression Division were either highly skilled experts or individuals with the potential to become experts.

Shen Changqing belonged to the latter category.

Within the Demon Suppression Division, there were two main roles: the Garrison Envoy and the Demon Subduing Envoy.

Anyone who entered the Demon Suppression Division started from the lowest rank of Demon Subduing Envoy.

They would then advance step by step, with the ultimate goal of becoming a Garrison Envoy.

Shen Changqing's predecessor was a probationary Demon Subduing Envoy in the Demon Suppression Division, the lowest rank among the Demon Subduing Envoys.

Possessing the memories of his predecessor.

He was also very familiar with the environment of the Demon Suppression Division.

It didn't take long for Shen Changqing to stop in front of a pavilion.

Unlike other solemn and murderous places in the Demon Suppression Division, this pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens, exuding an unusual tranquility amidst the blood-soaked atmosphere of the division.

At this moment, the pavilion's door was wide open, with people occasionally entering and exiting.

Shen Changqing hesitated only for a moment before stepping inside.

Upon entering the pavilion.

The environment abruptly changed.

The scent of ink mixed with a faint smell of blood wafted toward him, causing him to instinctively frown, but he quickly relaxed.

The bloody smell that clung to every person in the Demon Suppression Division was almost impossible to wash off completely.