Immortal Travel of Longevity

Chen Changsheng did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Lord Ji, your path has truly been incredibly rocky."

Ji Xingsheng said, "What happened next was even more bizarre."

"In the beginning, I served merely as a principal under the Ministry of Revenue's Director of Public Expenditure. It was a junior eighth-rank position, considered one of the lowest official ranks within the ministry."

"Naturally, I didn't despise the role. I simply put my heart into the work."

"Who could have expected that barely a year later, Prime Minister Wen would fall from power? His faction was swept up in the aftermath. At the time, several officials in the Ministry of Revenue had been closely tied to the prime minister. His Majesty wanted to make an example of them, so disaster struck the ministry. Of the four directors—Revenue, Expenditure, Treasury, and Granary—three fell. Because my record was clean, I wasn't implicated. In fact, I was promoted because of it! I went straight from a junior eighth-rank principal to the Director of Public Expenditure, reaching the Junior Fifth Rank!"

"After that..."

Ji Xingsheng opened his mouth, pausing for a moment. "The Ministry of Revenue was in turmoil for quite a while before it finally settled down. I thought that, at my age, being a director was the absolute peak I could reach."

"Then came a coincidence."

"One day, while reviewing the accounts, the emperor discovered some discrepancies in certain areas. As the Director of Public Expenditure, I was summoned to the Imperial Court."

"It was the Crown Prince!"

Ji Xingsheng took a deep breath. "Even speaking of it today, I still feel utterly astounded. Never in my life could I have imagined that the person sitting on that throne would actually be the former Crown Prince of Jingshi!"

"That is certainly surprising," Chen Changsheng said.

"How could it not be!"

Ji Xingsheng said, "What difference is there between that and a dead man suddenly coming back to life?"

Chen Changsheng said, "That isn't something you should say aloud."

Ji Xingsheng waved his hand. "I would only say it in private."

"But still, it was astonishing..."

Ji Xingsheng let out a breath and said, "Later, after finishing my report, I left the great hall. When I returned, I thought about it for days on end, unable to eat or sleep."

Chen Changsheng asked, "Why lose sleep over it? Shouldn't you have been hoping His Majesty would recognize you and then promote you?"

Ji Xingsheng looked left and right, then lowered his voice. "Mister Chen, I was an official of the previous dynasty! An official of the previous dynasty coming to take this dynasty's Palace Examination, passing it, and becoming an official again—what would His Majesty think of that!"

"I could have very well lost my life!"

Chen Changsheng really couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into laughter.

"Haha, Lord Ji, you..."

"Keep your voice down, Mister Chen, keep your voice down..."

Chen Changsheng reined in his smile. This was simply too amusing to him.

"Forgive my lack of manners." Chen Changsheng coughed lightly, then asked, "It is no wonder you were afraid, Lord Ji. But speaking of which, at the time, did you never think about restoring Jing?"

"Naturally, I thought about it."

Ji Xingsheng said, "The Jing people were being abused and slaughtered. How could I ever swallow such injustice? So, while I was living in the wilderness, I frequently paid attention to national affairs and gathered quite a bit of information."

"But in the end, I discovered that the possibility of restoring Jing was not great! One could even say it was entirely impossible!"

Ji Xingsheng had an incredibly sharp eye.

It was true that restoring Jing was impossible.

If not for the painting Mister Zhulan had left in Qingshan City back then, the Rebel Army might have already fallen. They would have had no strength to resist at all.

Even the most brilliant tactician would have been completely helpless.

Ji Xingsheng said, "To be honest, it was only because I saw no hope in restoring Jing that I went to the Spring Metropolitan Examination. I believed that the transformation of the Jing people could never rely on martial force. Since that path was blocked, I had to find another. I thought about entering the officialdom once more to carve out a path for the Jing people for the time being. If the Jing people ever had a chance in the future, I could also coordinate with them from the inside."

"If not for that, who would be willing to acknowledge a thief as their father?"

"So that was it..."

"Exactly."

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng nodded without suspicion. Instead, he continued to ask, "So His Majesty didn't recognize you later on either, is that right?"

Ji Xingsheng said, "Naturally, he recognized me. For His Majesty, investigating someone is exceptionally easy."

"Then how did His Majesty deal with you?"

"In truth, it was exactly as you guessed, Mister Chen. Not only did His Majesty not punish me, but he also promoted me, making me the Vice Minister of Revenue."

"And why was that?"

Ji Xingsheng said, "I actually didn't understand it myself. It wasn't until I saw certain things unfold over these past years that I managed to guess a little."

"What things?"

"There are more and more Jing people in the Imperial Court."

Ji Xingsheng said, "Perhaps from the moment His Majesty saw my name on the Palace Examination roster, he had already recognized me. But whether that is actually the case, who could say for sure?"

The implications of this could easily be imagined.

From the moment Yan Ruchu ascended the throne, he had begun setting certain things in motion.

He had never forgotten that he was the Crown Prince of Great Jing, and that the blood of the House of Yan flowed through his veins. Over these few years, the Imperial Court had weathered countless events, each with a hidden shadow behind it. Imperceptibly, the old officials left behind by the Grand Ancestor of Xiang had been replaced one by one. Slowly, the voices of the Jing people grew louder and more numerous within the court...

His ultimate goal was that, one day...

He would replace the word Xiang!

"Boiling a frog in warm water... a fine scheme," Chen Changsheng remarked.

Ji Xingsheng said, "I have yet to understand the meaning of your words, Mister Chen."

Chen Changsheng said, "This Chen thought there was nothing Lord Ji didn't dare to say."

After all, he had even spoken of dead men coming back to life.

Ji Xingsheng said, "What other choice do I have? I can only play the fool."

Chen Changsheng nodded, saying, "As you should."

Some things couldn't be said publicly, but could be discussed in private. Yet some things couldn't be said at all, which meant they absolutely must never be spoken!

The two of them did not continue this topic any further.

Soon after, Chen Changsheng asked, "Then, is your current position as the Minister of Revenue also due to His Majesty?"

Ji Xingsheng, however, looked at Chen Changsheng and shook his head. "Before becoming the minister, perhaps my promotions were a result of good fortune. But becoming the minister was not."

He took a sip of tea and continued.

"With the nation reclaimed, and the Jing people gradually rising in power, I felt the burden on my shoulders lighten considerably. Coupled with my advanced age, I had no desire to fight for the position of minister anymore."

"I originally thought I could spend the rest of my life in such peace."

"But later, I witnessed with my own eyes how the former minister was blinded by gold and silver. I saw his corruption, how he twisted black into white, and how he lined his pockets with the common people's money."

"I had no intention of getting involved, but that minister wanted my life. I either had to join him in his filth, or die a sudden death in broad daylight."

Ji Xingsheng turned his head back, saying calmly, "Left with no other choice, I could only make him give up his position."

Within that simple sentence lay an untold amount of the officialdom's darkness.

Was Ji Xingsheng truly an honest man?

He understood the inner workings of this officialdom better than anyone.

The methods involved were largely things that could never see the light of day.

Chen Changsheng did not pry into the details, pondering for a long while.

A gentle breeze brushed past his face, carrying a hint of coolness.

Then, Chen Changsheng suddenly asked an entirely unrelated question.

"This Chen has a doubt."

"Please ask, Mister Chen."

"When you burned down that cabin in the wilderness back then, was it truly just a moment of impulse, Lord Ji?"

Ji Xingsheng froze for a moment, but merely smiled and gave no answer.

Whether it was true or false, only he himself knew.

But what exactly did this have to do with burning down a house?

Naturally, there was a connection.

Because only by wiping everything clean could he suddenly become one of the Xiang People!

Yet even this still couldn't prove anything.

Words could always be false. What outsider could ever see it clearly?

Chen Changsheng was just a bit curious, that was all.

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