The Imperial Guardsman in the cell had disheveled hair and a dirty face. Even his armor had been stripped off by the jailers, leaving him only in his sleeveless undergarment.

He looked up at Chen Ji, unsure if he had misheard, and hesitated to speak rashly.

Jin Zhu’s eyes darted around. With his hands behind his back, he squinted at Chen Ji. “Does this Chen family brat want to play the hero? Do you know where this is? This is my Imperial Prison! Saving just you was difficult enough; the agreement didn’t say anything about saving these people. Don’t make things difficult for me.”

Chen Ji cupped his hands and bowed. “Please be lenient, Master Jin Zhu. I will surely repay your kindness handsomely.”

Jin Zhu glanced around the cells, pointing at the common-born soldiers inside with a cold sneer. “In my Secret Police Imperial Prison, if they had any ability, they would have already gotten out without your help. Those who can’t get out are useless, so what’s the point of you saving them?”

After speaking, he looked at the Imperial Guardsman in the cell before him. “What’s your name, and what does your family do?”

The Imperial Guardsman nervously stood up. “My name is Lin Yanchu. My father is a tenant farmer in Fengtai County, and my ancestors served in the Ten Thousand Year Army, where one was a squad leader.”

Jin Zhu scoffed, “A tenant farmer’s son. No wonder you couldn’t get out.”

He then looked at another cell. “What’s your name, and what does your family do?”

The Imperial Guardsman in that cell, whose ten fingernails had all been ripped off by the jailers, whispered, “My name is Li Guang. My father is a dyer at Wang Ji Silk Shop in Dongcheng, and my ancestors served in the Five Armies Camp, where one was a centurion.”

Jin Zhu said disdainfully, “A fallen household.”

Li Guang lowered his head.

Jin Zhu squinted at Chen Ji. “Do you still want to save them?”

Chen Ji cupped his hands again. “Master, you know they are innocent. For common-born youths to join the Imperial Guard is already a great honor for their ancestors. Please be lenient, Master Jin Zhu, and give them a way out, considering their ancestors once served the court.”

“As if no one else has served the court?” Jin Zhu sneered twice. “However, since you’ve asked, I’ll put this debt on your head. You’ll pay it for them.”

Chen Ji agreed, “Very well.”

The Imperial Guardsmen in the cells seemed to awaken from a dream. One by one, they rushed to the iron bars and exclaimed excitedly, “Thank you, Master Jin Zhu!”

Jin Zhu impatiently waved his hand. “Why thank me? What use is the gratitude of you fallen households to me?”

The Imperial Guardsmen changed their words: “Thank you, Master Chen!”

Jin Zhu summoned the jailers, his expression one of disgust. “Give them back their armor. Remember to send them out of Taiye Pond; don’t let them wander around aimlessly inside.”

Chen Ji watched as the Imperial Guardsmen, one by one, picked up their armor and hurriedly left, fearing that Jin Zhu might change his mind.

Once everyone was gone, Jin Zhu smiled and patted Chen Ji’s shoulder. “I was worried you were too upright to cooperate with my little charade to win over people’s hearts. This is good; you’ve made progress.”

Chen Ji stood in the dim, long corridor, looking into the deep darkness and saying softly, “The road I have to travel is too long; I’m afraid I can’t go far alone.”

Jin Zhu also sighed suddenly. “Indeed… Someone, bring the files of those twenty-four Imperial Guardsmen.”

A secret agent went to Pipa Hall and brought back a ledger. Jin Zhu took it and flipped through the pages, smiling. “Take this. In today’s world, most people are ungrateful. You must not only bestow kindness but also show your power. Only by balancing kindness and might can you firmly hold them. If anyone dares to act two-faced towards you, what’s in here can put them to death.”

Chen Ji looked down at the ledger in Jin Zhu’s hand, remaining silent.

Seeing his silence, Jin Zhu casually asked, “What’s wrong? Do you think this is too despicable?”

Chen Ji smiled. “No, it’s just that if I were to reveal these things, others would naturally know that I’m secretly colluding with the Directorate of Ceremonial, which would be counterproductive.”

Jin Zhu sighed lightly. “Have it your way…”

He pulled an exquisite sandalwood box from his sleeve. After much deliberation and obvious reluctance, he finally, and mysteriously, pressed it into Chen Ji’s hand. “You must cultivate diligently! In this capital city, sometimes even a Path-Seeking Realm expert can’t exert their full power. No matter how formidable a Grand Official is, they can’t withstand a volley from the Divine Mechanism Battalion. Ballistas and trebuchets can also shred an official.”

Jin Zhu then changed the subject. “But with your talent, if one day you truly reach the Divine Path Realm, even if you were to ask the Emperor and the Grand Secretary directly for a princess, what could they do? By then, the whole world would give you nine-tenths of the respect.”

Chen Ji asked curiously, “Why nine-tenths? What about the remaining one-tenth?”

Jin Zhu smiled. “One must always leave a little dignity for others.”

Chen Ji lowered his head and opened the sandalwood box, only to find a small, bright green jade ring lying inside.

Jin Zhu quickly closed the box. “Don’t look at it here. I confiscated this from the Minister of Works’ home a few days ago, and it was hard to avoid the Jie Fan Guard’s search. Damn it, Lin Chaoqing is the most troublesome old man in the Jie Fan Guard. Why did Wu Xiu transfer him back to the capital!”

Chen Ji held the box in his hand. He had only heard before that bright green jade seemed to aid cultivation but had never used it himself. “Master, why didn’t you give this jade to Tian Ma?”

Jin Zhu sighed. “His cultivation has reached a bottleneck. If he can comprehend it himself, he can cross the chasm. If not, the jade will be useless.”

Chen Ji asked curiously, “What’s the difference between bright green jade and ginseng?”

Jin Zhu smiled. “A small bright green jade ring can have the effect of twenty old ginseng roots, but its price is that of a hundred old ginseng roots. Do you know why?”

Chen Ji shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Jin Zhu laughed. “If an official wants to absorb old ginseng, they must first slice it and boil it into water to drink over ten or more days—it’s too slow. Bright green jade, however, isn’t limited by this; it can instantly transform into a realm. It is precisely because of this item that officials from aristocratic families can cultivate faster than others. If Li Xuan, that Imperial Guardsman, hadn’t been funded with Qi family jade, how could he have reached the Path-Seeking Realm at thirty?”

“I see,” Chen Ji said, putting the sandalwood box into his embrace, though he had no intention of using it himself. Trading this item for ginseng would yield greater value.

Jin Zhu reminded him, “After you get out, be careful of the Chen family’s Second Branch.”

Chen Ji looked up. “What happened to Chen Wenren?”

Jin Zhu rolled up the ledger and tucked it into his wide sleeve. “Chen Lizhi, from the Chen family’s Second Branch, went to see Wu Xiu, who then stepped forward to protect Chen Wenren.”

Chen Ji was puzzled. “His dereliction of duty was clear. How could he be protected?”

Jin Zhu chuckled. “The Chen family handed over a Taihang mountain bandit who had been long wanted by the court to confess and be executed. They explained that Chen Wenren coincidentally discovered the bandit’s whereabouts that afternoon, and his delay was due to capturing him. Now, Chen Wenren is not only innocent but has also become a hero for suppressing bandits. Lad, this is how aristocratic families operate. When fighting them, you must have a plan to deliver a fatal blow, otherwise, they will always rise from the ashes.”

Chen Ji nodded. “I see. It seems Chen Wenren will be reinstated to his official position.”

Jin Zhu lowered his voice. “Li Xuan cut down Zhao Zhuofan, the Second Branch’s maternal relative. Since they couldn’t get to Li Xuan, they naturally took their anger out on you. Chen Lizhi, the head of the Second Branch, is a cunning and vicious individual, and his two sons, Chen Wende and Chen Wenren, are no easy targets either. The Chen family’s First Branch has no heirs now, so the Second Branch might take over the Chen family someday. If that happens, your life will become difficult.”

Currently, the head of the Chen family, Chen Luchi, is from the First Branch. He has only one son, Chen Lizun, who, however, has no children.

Chen Luming was from the Second Branch. He once served as the Minister of Revenue but was assassinated by Lu Jin from the Jing Dynasty. His son, Chen Lizhi, inherited the family business. He has two legitimate sons, one legitimate daughter, and a concubine’s son, Chen Yu.

Chen Lumin was from the Third Branch. He passed away due to illness in his early years, leaving behind the lineage of Chen Liqin.

Chen Ji pondered for a moment. “Thank you for the warning, Master. I will be careful.”

Jin Zhu waved his hand. “Go now. There are people waiting for you outside Taiye Pond. They’ve been at the gate for a long time.”

It was evening when Chen Ji left the Imperial Prison.

The setting sun, carried by a warm breeze, enveloped his face. He instinctively raised a hand to block the gentle distant light, his eyes stinging.

Chen Ji rubbed his cheeks, crossed the White Jade Bridge, and walked south.

Outside Taiye Pond, Xiao Man and Zhang Zheng were squatting together, whispering about something.

Zhang Xia stood in the shadow of a nearby red wall with gray tiles, resting with her eyes closed. Unusually, she had changed out of her fiery red dress and into a white archery tunic embroidered with intertwined lotus patterns, its cuffs tightly bound with white cloth strips. She wore loose white riding breeches that were only tightened below the knee.

She looked less feminine and more heroic.

Zhang Xia was not chatting with anyone; her lips were subtly moving as if she were silently reciting something.

Hearing footsteps, Xiao Man quickly looked up and exclaimed with delight, “Young Master, you’re finally out!”

Zhang Zheng rushed forward, pulling Chen Ji and examining him from head to toe. “Are you hurt? They didn’t torture you, did they? Aren’t you from the Secret Police? Why did they keep you until the very end?”

Chen Ji smiled. “I was delayed… How did the court deal with the Goryeo delegation?”

Xiao Man grumbled softly, “Young Master, why are you still thinking about the Goryeo delegation at a time like this? They made you stay in that terrible Imperial Prison for a day and a night… For court matters, you should ask Second Sister.”

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Xia, but she was still silently reciting something.

Zhang Zheng chuckled merrily. “Ever since you gave her the cultivation method, she’s been practicing day and night, unwilling to say an extra word. Earlier, she could silently recite it twice in the time it takes an incense stick to burn, but now she’s extremely proficient and can do it four times.”

Chen Ji mused to himself that he could only recite it once per incense stick, and even then, three out of ten times he would make a mistake, rendering all effort futile.

He calculated Zhang Xia’s cultivation speed. “If Second Sister recites at this speed, four hours a day, she could complete ten thousand recitations in just over seventy days… I wonder if ten thousand recitations is the threshold for the Innate Realm?”

Zhang Zheng laughed. “She recites for more than four hours a day, doesn’t she? Besides eating and sleeping, she probably practices for eight hours, never getting tired of it.”

At this moment, Xiao Man, seeing that Zhang Xia hadn’t finished reciting, shouted, “Young Master, don’t mind Second Sister for now. Hurry, come cross the brazier!”

Chen Ji turned his head and saw a copper brazier nearby, full of straw.

Xiao Man took out a fire stick, squatted beside the brazier, and blew on the straw to ignite it. When the flames were at their strongest, Zhang Zheng pulled Chen Ji to step over the brazier.

Under the setting sun, Xiao Man clapped her hands and laughed. “May the City God bless us, drive away evil and misfortune, and make bad luck go away quickly!”

Chen Ji smiled. “Why did you even bring a brazier?”

Xiao Man’s eyes widened. “What kind of talk is that, Young Master? Only criminals from the lowest classes are met by no one upon release. You have a family, and siblings, so of course you must be greeted with a brazier.”

Chen Ji was momentarily stunned.

Zhang Zheng pulled him towards Qipan Street. “Come on, come on! After crossing the brazier, we need to welcome you back. Let’s go to Li Ji on Qipan Street for a bowl of hot pig trotters and vermicelli. They call that ‘washing your feet and coming ashore’.”

Xiao Man glared at him. “Can’t you speak properly? My young master was wrongly accused. What ‘washing your feet’ and ‘coming ashore’? We should eat pearl cabbage and tofu soup—to symbolize purity!”

Zhang Zheng thought for a moment. “Then let’s go to ‘Pian Yi Fang’!”

At this moment, a sudden voice spoke from nearby. “Jiao Tu led a search of the Guild Hall and found inksticks made from strychnine in the Goryeo Crown Prince’s luggage. Both human testimony and physical evidence are complete. The court has now ordered the Goryeo delegation not to leave the Guild Hall by even half a step. The Grand Secretaries are discussing how to deal with them; daring to scheme against the Celestial Dynasty with death warrants will surely result in severe punishment… However, the matter of sending aid to Goryeo also seems to be on the agenda. After all, our dynasty needs Goryeo to restrain the Jing Dynasty from the side, and we cannot truly watch them lose their country.”

Chen Ji, Xiao Man, and Zhang Zheng turned to look. It was Zhang Xia, who had finished her recitation and answered Chen Ji’s initial question.

Zhang Zheng laughed heartily. “At a time like this, don’t worry about those pesky Goryeo delegates; they brought it upon themselves. Come on, let’s go to Pian Yi Fang for pearl cabbage and tofu soup.”

Zhang Xia suddenly said, “Don’t go to Pian Yi Fang. Let’s eat at the Chen family’s home.”

Zhang Zheng was puzzled. “Why go to the Chen family?”

Zhang Xia stated firmly, “Just go to the Chen family.”

Under the night sky, the four walked through Fuyou Street and knocked on the Chen Residence’s side gate, but they waited a long time without a response.

Zhang Xia raised her hand and pointed at the door crack; a wisp of invisible sword qi passed through, cutting the door bolt right from the crack.

Xiao Man’s eyes widened. “Second Sister has only been cultivating for a few days?”

Zhang Xia casually explained, “Currently, the sword qi recovers a bit slowly, so I can only use it once a day. Perhaps it will improve when I reach the Innate Realm.”

She pushed the door open, only to see a servant boy sitting on a nearby chair inside, looking at Chen Ji and the others in bewilderment. “You… how can you just force your way in?”

Zhang Xia walked directly into Qin Zheng Garden, her voice filled with killing intent. “Chen family members are returning to their own home, yet the servant guards the door and refuses to open it. Xiao Man, slap him.”

Xiao Man chimed, “Aye!”

She stepped forward swiftly, grabbing the servant boy’s collar with her left hand and slapping him repeatedly with her right, making him dizzy.

Zhang Xia walked further along the pebble path, saying without looking back, “Xiao Man, which courtyard do you live in?”

Xiao Man released the servant boy and happily bounced ahead, leading the way for Zhang Xia.

Chen Ji and Zhang Zheng exchanged glances, seeing Zhang Xia’s murderous demeanor… This didn’t look like they were here for dinner.

Upon reaching the Ginkgo Courtyard, where Chen Ji resided, Zhang Xia sat on a stone chair facing the courtyard gate.

Chen Ji asked, puzzled, “Are you…”

Zhang Xia calmly replied, “Waiting for someone.”

Half an incense stick later, noisy footsteps were heard from outside the gate.

With a crash, someone kicked open the courtyard gate and angrily shouted, “Get out, all of you…”

The person who kicked the door open was an elderly female servant dressed in gray cloth. She looked up, saw Zhang Xia in the courtyard, and her imposing demeanor suddenly faltered. “Who are you?”

Zhang Xia sat on the stone chair and said coldly, “And who are you? As a Chen family servant, how dare you kick open your master’s door?”

The elderly servant instinctively looked behind her, revealing a composed woman standing there.

The woman wore an apricot-yellow silk jacket with a diagonally fastened front, and on her head was a hairnet woven with gold and silver threads, covering a false bun, into which a vibrant green jade hairpin was inserted.

She slowly strolled into the courtyard. Two servants carried an embroidered stool and placed it in the yard, and only then did she gracefully sit down and speak. “Second Miss Zhang, I met you at Grand Secretary Xu’s birthday banquet, but I was unaware of your visit to my Chen Residence today. Do you have a calling card?”

Chen Ji cupped his hands. “I invited them. No calling card is needed.”

The woman smiled, her expression haughty. “When did a concubine’s son of my Chen family gain the right to invite outsiders as guests? I don’t recall such a rule.”

Zhang Xia calmly stated, “Second Madam, in the twenty-first year of Xuande, Qi Yan, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, was born of a concubine. Emperor Xuande once praised him for his diligence in governance, saying, ‘Law and reason are inseparable from human nature. If a legitimate son is unworthy while a concubine’s son is virtuous, the family’s inheritance should be entrusted to the concubine’s son to preserve the clan.'”

Wang Shi, the “Second Madam,” also cited classics, saying, “Emperor Ning Shenzong wished to enthrone the concubine’s son born to his favored Consort Zheng as Crown Prince, but was advised by Grand Secretary Qi Yan, ‘The ancestral law dictates that the legitimate eldest son be established. The eldest imperial son should hold the position of heir apparent. Though the Consort is virtuous, order must not be disrupted.’ This was said by Grand Secretary Qi Yan himself, so he must have known the difference between legitimate and concubine-born children.”

Zhang Zheng and Xiao Man’s expressions became serious; this was a tough opponent.

Zhang Xia’s expression remained unchanged. “My Great Ning Code states that legitimate and concubine-born sons, when dividing family property and land, regardless of whether born to wife, concubine, or servant, shall all share equally according to the number of sons.”

Wang Shi smiled again. “The Household Laws of the Great Ning Code also state, ‘A concubine’s son who usurps a noble title shall receive eighty strokes of the rod and be stripped of the title. Only if the legitimate wife is fifty or older and has no son, may the eldest concubine’s son be established.'”

One spoke of inheriting family property, the other of inheriting noble titles.

Both were masters of rules, countering each other’s arguments without either gaining an advantage. If they continued to debate, they might not reach a conclusion even by morning.

Wang Shi said gently, “Second Miss Zhang, why involve yourself in this muddy water?”

Zhang Xia calmly replied, “Second Madam, the late emperor was the concubine-born son of a vassal prince.”

Wang Shi’s expression changed.

She picked up her handkerchief and dabbed the corners of her mouth. “I had long heard that Second Miss Zhang was exceptionally intelligent, and seeing you today confirms it. However, please tell me, what sense does it make that my son Chen Wenren, who was delayed in capturing bandits, was unjustly given a hundred lashes? And what sense does it make that Chen Ji, a concubine’s son of the Chen family, helps an outsider from the Qi family instead of his own elder brother? The bond between brothers is natural; isn’t Chen Ji’s action contrary to human nature and morality?”

Zhang Xia said seriously, “The Taihang mountain bandit Chen Feng once gathered five hundred bandits, controlled official roads, burned, killed, and plundered, committing all kinds of evil. Later, he was surrounded and suppressed by the Ten Thousand Year Army, changed his name, and quietly entered the capital in the twenty-seventh year of Jianing, hiding in Nianzi Alley. Second Madam, may I ask who gave him the thirteen hundred taels of silver to purchase his residence? Also, after he came to the capital, who arranged his household registration?”

Wang Shi subconsciously clutched the handkerchief in her hand, but her expression remained nonchalant. “How would I know that?”

Zhang Xia continued, “In the winter of the twenty-ninth year of Jianing, Chen Feng secretly met a man surnamed Wang outside the City God Temple. That very night, he snuck into the residence of Steward Zhou in Dongcheng and killed fourteen members of the Zhou family. Madam, would you like to know whom he met?”

Wang Shi’s expression changed again. She stood up and walked away. “Second Miss Zhang, backed by the Xu family, you are indeed impressive.”

The servants and elderly female attendants exchanged glances. They had arrived with an imposing air but left in a hasty retreat.

Xiao Man said, stunned, “They just left?”

Zhang Xia explained, “She’s in a hurry to send people to silence witnesses.”

Zhang Zheng watched their retreating figures, then turned to Zhang Xia. “So you anticipated that the Chen family’s Second Branch would make trouble for Chen Ji, which is why you insisted on coming to the Chen family for dinner?”

“I’m hungry from Xiao Man cooking,” Zhang Xia said, closing her eyes. Her lips then began to move as she silently recited scriptures.