Chapter 29: Quite the Elaborate Game

Xuexiang carefully tidied her premium-fabric Daoist robe, pulling up the sleeves that hung past her fingertips. She lifted her hand and caught a whiff of the garment; it was saturated with a warm, fragrant scent, identical to the Princess’s own, which made her want to bury her face in it.

Although the Great Wei Dynasty was home to three competing schools of thought, the Imperial City of Huangtian leaned heavily toward Taoism. This was because the Emperor, Yong’an, claimed to be a disciple of the Grand Preceptor Xu Fu, the head of the Heavenly Mandate Dao. To curry favor with the Emperor, high-ranking officials and nobles would host scriptural debates and adopted wearing Daoist robes as the latest fashion. This particular robe had been commissioned by the Princess on a whim, but after wearing it only a few times, she had grown bored of it and bestowed it upon Xuexiang.

Xuexiang was only fifteen,