Peace of Mind

"I have to be greedy; only by being greedy can I put the emperor at ease?"

"That's right!"

Why would emperors favor greedy people?

"Because he can control things, this also leads to a entanglement between them. If you are an incorruptible official, he can't kill you even if he wants to find a pretext. You can contradict him if you want, and you can quit if you want. Who would like that!"

"Wouldn't that make him a traitor?"

"Anyway, if you want long-term stability, you can't be a completely honest official; you have to have some leverage over the emperor!"

Greed needs to be measured, and this measure depends on the emperor's mind.

This greed needs to be tolerated by the emperor; it cannot go too far, otherwise the emperor will punish it.

Li Shaojun did not hold an official position, but he had met many people through his interactions with various places, and his understanding of the world differed from that of Zhang Xuezhou.

His suggestion was genuinely sincere.

Zhang Xuezhou came down from the Jade Emperor Peak, after all, Li Shaojun thought that the other party was most likely a spy sent by the Immortal Court.

Moreover, Zhang Xuezhou is eloquent, while the opponent's current weakness is a lack of experience.

If Zhang Xuezhou wanted to integrate into the Great Han Dynasty, he couldn't simply become a paragon of virtue, let alone a corrupt official.

That's just how unreasonable the rules of the world are; it's not a matter of Zhang Xuezhou wanting to be as incorruptible as he pleases.

Li Shaojun didn't want to meet someone from the Immortal Court who would die within a few years, or who would wander outside the court and be unable to complete the Immortal Court's missions, causing the other party's value in the Immortal Court to drop significantly.

As long as Zhang Xuezhou is doing well, Li Shaojun feels that he will be doing well too.

As long as Zhang Xuezhou becomes an official in the imperial court and holds a certain position, the leverage he has over him will continue to be effective, allowing him to continuously obtain what he needs, and he may even be able to intercept the rewards that this guy receives in the Immortal Court.

Li Shaojun offered his suggestion with a friendly expression, but in his heart, he had already set his sights on Zhang Xuezhou jumping in.

"What you said makes perfect sense, I've learned a lot!"

Li Shaojun did not offer Zhang Xuezhou any suitable positions in the imperial court, but he did teach him the principles of being an official.

This made it instantly clear to him, given his knowledge of pseudo-psychology.

Ultimately, this is a matter of human nature, and even more so, a matter of manipulating the human nature of emperors.

Being too incorruptible will only make the emperor suspicious of one's motives. If one wants to live well, it is indeed necessary to occasionally give the emperor some minor incriminating evidence.

As long as it doesn't cause any serious harm, everything will remain under tacit understanding.

If not enlightened, even Zhang Xuezhou would find it difficult to understand, and would instead follow his own rules of conduct, making it as if he were trapped in a besieged city, unable to escape, and even constantly searching for the reason why the emperor did not value such an honest and upright person as himself.

"So you're saying we'll be embezzling some money in the future?" Rong Tianding asked doubtfully. "It makes me feel like I can't fit in unless I do something bad!"

"That's the gist of it!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, and Rong Tianding was there saying, "This kind of thing is really strange."

Only when there is demand will an emperor feel comfortable entrusting his subordinates with their tasks.

For example, the Immortal Court trusts those who seek longevity very much. As long as they have the golden elixir of longevity in their hands, these people cannot escape their grasp.

But the Immortal Court has a real headache dealing with people who lack the need.

For example, Nezha, as far as Zhang Xuezhou knows.

This is also one of the real reasons why Nezha is unpopular.

Nezha, who has no demands, acts on a whim, and his "do it or don't" attitude makes him difficult to entrust with important tasks, let alone share any real benefits.

Zhang Xuezhou was quick-witted and even found comparative examples.

They discussed for a while the difference between being an official and being a person, and only stopped whispering when Jin Chang emerged from the shadows again.

"How was it?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"Found it," Jin Chang nodded.

"That's amazing! How did you find so many masked people?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise.

Zhang Xuezhou prided himself on his good eyesight; he had even spotted Jin Chang and Lei Bei early on, but he hadn't seen Zhang Cigong. Zhang Xuezhou was surprised that Jin Chang found Zhang Cigong just fifteen minutes later.

"It's nothing. I called Zhang Xuezhou's name in everyone's ear, and only he responded," Jin Chang said calmly.

"I..."

Zhang Xuezhou was also glad that he had started his own business and was now operating under the name Dongfang Shuo. If he had continued to use the name Zhang Xuezhou, he would probably have been swindled to death by Jin Chang.

He kicked the slightly surprised Li Shaojun and muttered that Jin Chang was unreliable and that he would likely get into all sorts of trouble in the future.

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm here," Jin Chang said with a faint smile.

Jin Chang did have other ways to accomplish this. Calling him by name was convenient, and Jin Chang also hoped that Zhang Xuezhou would be more obedient and rely on him more.

Only when Zhang Xuezhou constantly needs him can he feel comfortable letting the other party do things for him.

If it weren't for his current health issues, he might even have taken action to kill some chivalrous figures, leaving behind the words, "Remember, the killer is Zhang Xuezhou."

This kind of framing is very low-level, but it is often the most effective. It is easy for some reckless people to believe it, and even spread rumors to confirm it, making it extremely difficult to defend or prove.

"Then you have to protect me!"

Zhang Xuezhou replied with a hint of annoyance, which greatly pleased Jin Chang.

"You all say there's a key to the secret vault, but what if Young Master Su Fei doesn't have the key?" Li Shaojun interrupted.

"Trying to open it without a key?" Jin Chang said dismissively. "It might cause a collapse somewhere, or it might trigger a burst of fire from a trap. Who knows!"

"It seems it's still a matter of who charges first dies first!"

Li Shaojun nodded, indicating that he was aware of the situation.

Even the most seasoned and experienced swordsmen and knights-errant find it hard to resist the temptation of readily available treasure, and their patience, which they have accumulated beforehand, will inevitably vanish upon seeing the entrance to the secret vault.

Even if it weren't for Zhang Xuezhou and the others, Li Shaojun would have sneaked over to check the situation.

The group whispered among themselves, and after waiting for less than a quarter of an hour, a loud bang was heard, and the ancestral hall that Su Fei had previously pointed out shook several times.

The loud noise was mixed with the sound of crossbow bolts being fired.

"Su Fei, you're getting us into trouble!"

Angry shouts and curses rang out, and several people defended Su Fei and cursed back, with sounds of heads being reaped also heard.

"Are our keys still useful?" Rong Tianding asked in a low voice.

"They triggered a mechanism, not a lock-picking tool," Jin Chang replied casually. "Once these guys get tired of picking locks, it'll be our turn!"

"You are truly farsighted," Zhang Xuezhou praised.

"Do you fawn over everyone you meet?" Li Shaojun asked in a low voice.

How dare you talk to me like that! Can't I even speak the truth?

Zhang Xuezhou felt that if he didn't change his attitude, Jin Chang would think there was something wrong with him. After all, Jin Chang was already putting pressure on him. If Zhang Xuezhou didn't show his Qi Ingestion clearly, Jin Chang might do something even more provocative to remind him.

Jin Chang was clearly very satisfied with Zhang Xuezhou's change of attitude. He was even more at ease letting Zhang Xuezhou go to Wenying Pavilion to recite the classics without worrying about Zhang Xuezhou holding anything back.