Chapter 4625 — A Visitor
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
It might not look like a lofty position, but it served as a vital springboard. Take Kang Jingming over on North Island: after a stint as steward of the Welcome Pavilion, he was now an outer-court steward of the Skypiercer Pavilion, wielding no small authority. The post had been forced on him by Xu Lingchong, true enough, but his prospects were boundless all the same.
Wei Shenjin's case was much the same. The status of an inner-court steward was nothing to boast of, yet the office commanded the inner court's purchasing power—and even a sliver of that was by no means a small business. It went without saying that the pill trade in Wei Shenjin's hands all flowed to the Heaven Pill Pavilion; by now the pavilion had built a modest reputation, fair in both quality and price, so even those who knew could find no fault with it.
That was precisely how the Heaven Pill Pavilion's business had held steady at sixty thousand spirit stones a day. The credit belonged not to any one person but to Tianchan, Xueli, Wei Shenjin, and everyone else involved—the Heaven Dao Society included.
Wei Zhao had meant to make a quick trip to Zhong Island, but now that he knew all was well there, his worry eased considerably. The pressing matter was no longer Zhong Island but replenishing the pills for Tianchan and the others. Turning to Hong Zhong, he said, "Elder Hong, I mean to devote myself to refining a batch of pills over the coming days. When they're ready, I'll trouble you to ship them over through the Hong Chamber of Commerce's channels."
"No problem at all—consider it done," Hong Zhong said cheerfully. It smacked a little of using public office for private ends, but as the chamber's vice president in substance he had every right to do it; besides, Wei Zhao was an honorary vice president of the Hong Chamber himself, and borrowing a shipping channel for a while was nothing anyone could object to.
After a few more idle words with Hong Zhong, Wei Zhao did not linger at the chamber. He had only just returned to North Island, and apart from gathering with his own people, there were still many others he had to call on in person. Shangguan Tianxia, for one.
Strictly speaking, Wei Zhao and Shangguan Tianxia, master of the Skypiercer Pavilion, had never had much dealings. Apart from that one pointedly deliberate mention of his name at the inner-court tournament long ago, their connection came down to Shangguan Lan'er—which naturally made him feel a little closer to the man than to the other grandees of the upper echelon.
Setting all that aside, Wei Zhao genuinely admired Shangguan Tianxia. What inspired awe in this peerless figure of North Island was by no means his cultivation alone; more than that, it was his bearing, the sense of vast grandeur in his every gesture. Whatever one's standpoint, standing before such a man, one could not help but submit in one's heart.
Proud as Gongyang Jun, master of the Law-Enforcement Hall, who looked down his nose at everyone with an aloof, unbridled disdain, he alone made an exception for Shangguan Tianxia—and this was likely the reason.
Most people are born ordinary; only the rarest few are born radiant. Wei Zhao was certain Shangguan Tianxia was one of the latter. The grandee might now devote himself to quiet self-cultivation, but in his youth he must have been a legendary figure forever surrounded by talk.
Early one morning, Shangguan Lan'er was practicing calligraphy under Shangguan Tianxia's eye. Calligraphy calms the mind and tempers the character—such was the task her grandfather had set her. She might skip cultivation if she liked, but every morning she must practice calligraphy for an hour, a rule not to be bent.
Lan'er did not much resist it. It was tedious, yes, but at least preferable to sitting in meditation all the time, and she seemed to have a gift for it; even Shangguan Tianxia, who seldom praised anyone, often had a good word for her brushwork.