My Lady Always Lacks Ambition

Watching Marquis Chang’an storm into the temple, Qin Liuxi affixed an Invisibility Concealing Talisman to himself and together with Feng Mu, descended from the tree and went over.
"Why don’t I have a talisman?" Feng Mu asked, pulling on Qin Liuxi’s sleeve.
Qin Liuxi shook him off: "Talismans aren’t free. As a thousand-year-old demon fox, if you can’t even do invisibility, you might as well go back and cultivate."
Grinding his teeth, Feng Mu thought the man was stingy, not sparing even a single talisman.
On the other hand, Master Tai Cheng, seeing that Marquis Chang’an really intended to barge in recklessly, couldn’t help but angrily say, "Marquis, this is a Daoist Temple, and the Daoist School behind it also has many good people seeking the Dao and Cultivation. If you disturb them, can you bear the consequences?"
As he spoke, he turned to the Daoist next to him and said, "Go to Duchess Dingguo’s place and stand guard. If a servant from the Duke Mansion asks, explain a bit and try not to disturb the Old Lady."
"Yes."
Marquis Chang’an smiled, his smile not reaching his eyes, and sinisterly said, "Is the Temple Master using the people of Duke Mansion to pressure me? I would like to know, with your temple’s Demon Path harming people, will there still be believers coming to offer incense and worship the gods?"
Master Tai Cheng’s expression turned cold.
"I have already given the Temple Master a chance. Just hand over Taiyang, and we can all live in peace. However, since the Temple Master is overly protective, I shall justifiably search," declared Marquis Chang’an as he strode forward.
Master Tai Cheng threw down his horsetail whisk and raised his voice, "Marquis Chang’an, you are going about this alone, disturbing the gods and Buddhas, you better not regret it later."
Hearing this threat, the soldiers, seeing the gilded statues of gods in the great hall ahead, felt somewhat uneasy.
"Oh, I am only here to capture the demon fox that harmed my son. If anything unfortunate happens because of this, wouldn’t it mean that your temple’s Daoist Skill is impure and harbors evil? Such a temple probably has no believers," Marquis Chang’an said with a cold laugh, hands behind his back.
Seeing this, Feng Mu turned to Qin Liuxi and said, "Seeing this, Marquis Chang’an isn’t stupid. He knows to label Jinhua Temple with the Demon and Evil Path. He has a bit of cleverness, how could he unknowingly raise someone else’s son for ten years?"
Qin Liuxi replied, "It’s the green hat that has awakened his senses."
Feng Mu: You win!
Eventually, Marquis Chang’an and his men entered the Daoist Temple. Upon reaching the main hall and seeing the nearly six-foot tall statue of the Grandmaster, and encountering its dignified and imposing gaze, they unconsciously lightened their footsteps, not daring to be reckless.
Ancient people, even if not entirely devout, mostly held some reverence for gods and Buddhas.
Marquis Chang’an, aware of what had happened to Jing Si, looked at all these divine elements feeling both disgusted and slightly fearful, though it did not show on his face.
"Search," Marquis Chang’an commanded his personal soldiers, "Be on the lookout for any suspicious individuals. Capture anyone suspected of being a covert Demon Path practitioner."
Master Tai Cheng became furious: "Marquis Chang’an, do not push people too far."
Advancing, Marquis Chang’an slightly bent over, his gaze fixed on the other, lips curling into a smirk, "Both the Buddhist and Taoist paths speak of karma. So, isn’t the one pushing too far the Temple Master’s junior brother? If you don’t hand him over today, he won’t be seeing his son ever again. By the way, it seems like the child is not doing well."
Master Tai Cheng remained unmoved.
Ignoring him, Marquis Chang’an only turned his back, looked up at the Grandmaster’s statue, moved forward, took three sticks of incense to light, and said, "Temple Master, you just claimed that your temple professes the Righteous Path, inheriting upright traditions. I wonder if you dare repeat in front of your Grandmaster that you show no partiality?"
Master Tai Cheng slightly stiffened, seemingly unable to meet the Grandmaster’s eyes.
Marquis Chang’an held the incense before his chest and bowed three times. He then inserted the incense into the incense burner and said, "Your temple has produced a disciple who dares to harm others with evil magic, Grandmaster. If you could open your eyes, you wouldn’t blame me for barging into your temple, since I’m here to cleanse it for you."
Qin Liuxi secretly gave a thumbs-up.
In this confrontation, Marquis Chang’an won completely.
"With such intelligence, what took him so long?" Feng Xu muttered, and suddenly felt uneasy. He looked up and it seemed as if divine light was shooting towards him, making his illusion technique fluctuate.
With this movement, Master Tai Cheng seemed to feel something, and sharply turned to look in his direction, his expression solemn.
Qin Liuxi quickly pasted a talisman on Feng Xu’s body, formed a spell with her hands, and the two of them silently slipped out of the hall.
Master Tai Cheng had already opened his Heavenly Eye. There was nothing else in the hall, making him frown. He had just felt another spirit fluctuating; was it an illusion caused by being angered by Marquis Chang’an, or did something slip away?
Outside the temple, Feng Xu said, "This Jinhua Temple has some tricks; the Grandmaster actually showed divine light."
"They are from the Zhengyi Sect, they couldn’t be lacking in substance. This Jinhua Temple Master’s cultivation has already reached Foundation Establishment," said Qin Liuxi.
Feng Xu was unimpressed: "So what if it’s Foundation Establishment, he’s still not a match for you. If it weren’t for his Grandmaster showing divine light, he probably wouldn’t have even noticed us sneaking in. By the way, do you think Marquis Chang’an will get to Taiyang?"
Qin Liuxi shook her head: "If he does, Master Tai Cheng’s face would be soundly slapped."
"Will Marquis Chang’an let this go then?"
"How could he? He may not have Daoist skills to confront Master Tai Cheng directly, but he has authority. What if he sets up a blockade at the foot of this mountain, using the excuse of capturing the Demon Path who harmed the Marquis Mansion’s young master to stop devotees from offering incense? What would happen to Jinhua Temple’s reputation?" Qin Liuxi said, "Spread a rumor for a few days in the city, and Jinhua Temple’s good name would be smeared as if covered in dung."
Feng Xu: "This temple master really shot himself in the foot, he’s destroying his own great wall."
"It’s not entirely so; it’s not wrong to protect your own. The problem is he claims to be of the Righteous Path, yet his own junior disciple engaged in evil magic, essentially slapping his own face. He dares not take action because he feels guilty, while Marquis Chang’an holds all the moral high ground." Qin Liuxi said, "Everyone knows why his young master fell ill, and each is well aware, so he dared to speak those words to the Heavenly Master’s Grandmaster, because what he said was true."
All in all, Master Tai Cheng dared not do anything because he was at fault; listening to Marquis Chang’an’s mocking and ironic words, did Master Taiyang dare to swear to his Grandmaster that he had not used Forbidden Techniques?
He dared not!
One dare not, and it’s as if a massive boulder has pinned him down, left to simply endure this humiliation.
"With a Dao Heart that’s not firm, Master Tai Cheng’s cultivation will likely not progress any further." Qin Liuxi spoke with a hint of regret; this was dragging down by Daoist Taiyang.
Sure enough, Marquis Chang’an returned disappointed, yet he showed no signs of annoyance, and said to Master Tai Cheng, "He won’t come out, I can wait, but I don’t know if you, the temple master, can wait without feeling ashamed towards your Righteous Grandmaster."
He laughed heartily as he left the temple, ordering his men to guard the mountain gate and search for the Demon Path, forbidding devotees from offering incense.
Master Tai Cheng, meanwhile, was so shaken by his words that his fingers trembled. He took several sticks of incense to offer to the Grandmaster.
As soon as the incense was inserted, it extinguished all at once.
The extinguished incense was not accepted; the Grandmaster was displeased with him.
Master Tai Cheng tried to appear calm, but eventually, his face turned pale, and his knees weakened, falling onto the cushion.