Zhang Yuelu was not yet thirty. Tantai Qiong was not much older either, roughly the same age as Madam Qi.0

In terms of achievements, Tantai Qiong could not be compared to Madam Qi. Yet there were objective reasons for this. Madam Qi was backed by the Earthly Preceptor and the Yao family, while Tantai Qiong’s backing was but a declining Confucian family.1

The disparity in resources between the two was simply too great, so their accomplishments naturally could not be compared.0

To be fair, Tantai Qiong was by no means weak. She had risen almost entirely through her own efforts to become a third-rank Youyi Daoist. Although she was a daughter-in-law of the Zhang family, her husband, Zhang Juqi, was from a minor branch. Even Zhang Juqi himself received little in the way of resources, let alone Tantai Qiong.0

Before Xu Jiaorong became the Second Deputy Mansion Master, she had also been a third-rank Youyi Daoist, showing the considerable weight of someone in this rank.0

Tantai Qiong was also strong-willed, as could be seen when she dared to take the issue of her daughter’s last name to the Heavenly Preceptor. Before Zhang Yuelu rose to prominence, this small household...0