Doudou

It was the third month of spring, and life was brimming everywhere.

From time to time, the mountains and forests rang with the crisp calls of birds.

The spring sun spilled across the grass, carrying a soft, fuzzy warmth.

Unlike the world outside, the Finance Hall felt somewhat damp and muggy, though it was not particularly stifling.

Qin Jianghe glanced at Fang Mancang, then immediately lowered his head and continued with the work in his hands. As he did so, he asked, “Brother Man Cang, how are things on that end?”

As he sorted through the account books, Fang Mancang replied, “The news from the imperial family is that everything is going quite smoothly. Although most sects remain somewhat suspicious of our supply channels, none of them have refused. Several major sects with deep foundations have already tentatively placed a few small orders with the imperial family.”

At that, a hint of a smile appeared in Qin Jianghe’s eyes, though his hands never paused.

“As long as they haven’t refused, that’s good enough. Once some time passes and they come to our country to learn enough about us, accepting our goods will only be a matter of time.”

After several years of development, Lingxian Sect had completely stabilized its business dealings with the cultivation world, the imperial family of Pusi Kingdom, and the three major sects. Every major and minor matter had been arranged according to clear procedures. Aside from the current shortage of manpower, which forced the Finance Hall and Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to shoulder multiple responsibilities, there were essentially no major problems left.

Even that shortcoming would soon be alleviated once new disciples were recruited and trained for a while.

For that reason, Qin Jianghe had already begun making preparations to expand the business in the mortal world beyond Pusi Kingdom.

Lin Yan held a registration ledger in one hand and a brush in the other. With a soft sigh, she said, “I only hope next month’s recruitment goes smoothly. We need more capable people who can write, calculate, and handle business.”

Jiang Youdi sighed along with her. “You can say that again. Whenever the shipping or receiving dates approach, I go ten days to half a month without seeing my daughter.”

He had turned twenty-two that year. He had married five years earlier, but for some unknown reason, he and his wife had never had a child. Fortunately, they were still young and neither of them was particularly fixated on having children.

Jiang Youdi had never expected that, after his entire family followed his younger brother into Lingxian Sect, his wife would become pregnant the following year.

Their little daughter was now over a year old. Since she was still young, they feared that giving her a formal name too soon might make her difficult to raise, so they had given her the nickname “Doudou” for the time being.

Perhaps because the little girl had grown up in the spiritually rich environment of Lingxian Sect, she did not look like the dark, thin, scruffy children commonly found in the countryside. Instead, she was fair, tender, and adorable. Jiang Youdi’s mother said that Doudou looked eight-tenths like Jiang Youfu when he had been a child.

The moment Doudou was mentioned, everyone in the Finance Hall brightened.

Girls of Lin Yan’s age, especially, had an overflowing fondness for children as adorable as a carved jade doll. She immediately felt reinvigorated.

“Next month’s matters can wait until next month. Let’s finish this work quickly, then take Doudou to the medicinal garden to play!”

Qin Jianghe nodded as well. “I heard that Elder Liao’s grapes ripened a few days ago. We can take Doudou there to taste them.”

The four of them unconsciously sped up their work.

Doudou was the first child born in Lingxian Sect. She had come into the world amid everyone’s anticipation and grown up under their care. It could be said that she was the cherished darling of all the sect’s several dozen members.

Even Liao Pantu, a cultivator who was over five hundred years old, could not help but wear a kindly expression whenever he faced the baby.

There was no mystery behind it. When Doudou had been born, everyone who had been in the sect and was not away on a mission had gathered outside Jiang Youdi’s house to watch.

Then, amid a loud, vigorous cry, they had held their first meeting with the newborn Doudou.

Just as the four of them were bent over their work, Qin Jianghe suddenly received a voice transmission through a communication talisman.

Lingxian Sect was still small, and everyone knew one another well, so they had not yet established any system for classifying information. Major matters were generally shared at meetings, while minor matters spread through casual conversations over tea and meals.

Thus, Qin Jianghe directly activated the voice transmission.

A clear, youthful male voice came from the talisman. Everyone recognized it immediately as Sun Yigao’s.

“Jianghe, the academy plans to purchase more books this year. I wonder whether the Finance Hall currently has enough funds to spare. If so, you and I can discuss it in detail tonight. If not, then forget it.”

That little private school at the foot of the mountain had already been upgraded into an academy the previous year.

The main reason was that Sun Yigao had sent his students to take the examination for the rank of licentiate at the lowest level—known as the Child Student examination—the year before.

He had not done so because he wanted them to gain fame and status too early. Rather, he had noticed that some of his students were quite introverted, while a few of the girls and students from Xiushui Village had even developed a serious inferiority complex.

They had not had much contact with books in the past, and they possessed an instinctive fear of studying. Although they were now learning to read, they firmly believed they could never compare with others. This mindset became especially apparent when they faced students from well-established families.

Over the past two or three years, Sun Yigao had done his best to guide them through both words and deeds. However, many psychological barriers were difficult to overcome without personally experiencing the challenge and breaking through it themselves.

Therefore, once Sun Yigao was certain that his students had reached a sufficient level to participate in the Child Student examination, he had sent every one of them to take the examination that year.

The examination was, after all, entirely different from the small tests they took every day at the private school among a handful of classmates.

It was extremely important for these students to immerse themselves in the crowds of examinees from an entire county or prefecture and personally experience the fact that their current knowledge was enough to earn them a place, at the very least, among the students of a county or prefecture.

If they feared they were inferior, then they had to recognize their own worth.

For this matter, Sun Yigao had even personally approached the imperial court of Pusi Kingdom, requesting that women not be barred from participating in the civil examinations.

The court had agreed without much resistance. After giving its approval, it had swiftly revised and established a series of procedures for women to take the examinations.

For example, female attendants had to be assigned to conduct the searches during the examinations. The inspection process for the civil examinations in Pusi Kingdom was notoriously strict—it was practically a blessing if they did not strip you naked.

Although the imperial family had a supplier-and-sales relationship with Lingxian Sect, the imperial family and the imperial court could not be treated as one and the same.

Even so, the court’s response had still been remarkably swift.

Of course it had. Qin Jianghe was a Golden Core elder of Lingxian Sect personally negotiating with the court. If a Golden Core elder from any of the other three major sects came in person, that elder’s presence would represent the attitude of the entire sect. How could the court not agree immediately?

Once the matter was finalized and announced throughout the kingdom, the examination registration offices began receiving large numbers of female scholars within only a few days. The sheer number had far exceeded the court’s expectations.

As a result, a great many palace maids from the imperial harem of Pusi Kingdom were reassigned and placed on standby. During that period, Li Zhouxuan’s daily care was handled entirely by eunuchs, while the few palace maids who remained were all assigned to the Empress Dowager.