"I can't really say for sure, but you have to know—I harbor no ill intent toward you," Instructor Qu said.
Lu Chang'sheng nodded slightly.
Instructor Qu was probably aligned with one of the family clan factions, or perhaps even a scion of such a house; that faction rooted its power in bloodlines, contending with the throne itself.
The Great Yuan's old ills ran deep—the aristocratic clans had long since sunk their roots, now grown so mighty they gave even royal authority pause.
The droughts and floods in recent years had merely ignited the tension simmering between the two camps.
Of the Thirty-Six Mansions of the Great Yuan, power in some rested almost entirely with the clans; in others, the court still held sway—yet in many, as in Black Mountain Prefecture, family and magistrate stood almost as equals, poised in perpetual rivalry.
Instructor Qu had served at Jixia Academy for years, yet lacked Dean Hong Yuan's capabilities—so he had little choice but to weather the storm.
