Chapter 133: True Intentions

It was also on this very afternoon that Liu Licheng arrived carrying gifts, wearing a ingratiating smile the moment they met as he explained, "I truly had matters to attend to the other day, and upon hearing..."

Zhuang Jin raised a hand to interrupt, "Take the items back with you, Magistrate Liu. I will be moving to the east district next month, and with too much miscellaneous luggage, they will not be easy to carry."

His attitude was crystal clear: cold and dismissive.

Just as he had said before, he held no resentment toward what Liu Licheng had done, but it was impossible to go back to the way things used to be. From now on, their paths would diverge.

"This..."

Liu Licheng naturally understood the implication, but he was unwilling to give up such a valuable connection. Seeking to salvage the situation, he tried to strike up a conversation, "Magistrate Zhuang, how is it that I don't see sister-in-law..."

The change in how he addressed Chen Yun told the whole story. Before, it was "young sister-in-law"; now, it had changed to "sister-in-law."

This reflected a shift in their status and the reversal of their master-servant dynamic: in the past, because of his humble background, Zhuang Jin had been treated coldly and isolated by the other district magistrates, forcing him to actively maintain these relationships; now, having broken through to the Eighth Meridian, Zhuang Jin's martial arts realm surpassed theirs, and having rendered great service, he was promoted as a role model with a boundless future. Instead, it was now Liu Licheng who needed to curry favor and seek out his alliance.

Zhuang Jin glanced at Liu Licheng and said indifferently, "Yunniang suffered from emotional distress which triggered a blood ailment, so she should not be fatigued. As for pouring tea or cooking, Magistrate Liu may make yourself at home."

Influenced by him, Chen Yun shared a somewhat similar temperament. She would not hold a grudge because of the rejection and cold bystanders from days prior, but expecting her to pour tea, cook, and extend hospitality as she once did was simply impossible.

"Rightly so! Rightly so!" Liu Licheng could feel the difference too. Today's treatment was worlds apart from the past; forget about delicate side dishes, there wasn't even a cup of tea to be had, making him feel quite awkward.

At the same time, a sense of shame stirred within him. In the past, Zhuang Jin and his wife had indeed treated him with utmost sincerity... yet on those recent days, he had looked on coldly and made excuses to refuse him, even though Zhuang Jin had given him a heads-up before setting out.

However, having reached his current position, Liu Licheng naturally possessed a thick enough skin. As if he hadn't heard Zhuang Jin's hint to leave, he forced a warm smile despite the cold reception and brought up recent events in the north district, trying to close the distance between them.

He no longer harbored hopes of restoring their relationship to what it once was; as long as they could remain ordinary acquaintances, preserve this connection, and offer each other some mutual support, that would be enough.

Had Zhuang Jin known Liu Licheng's thoughts, he probably would have laughed out of sheer anger: putting aside this recent incident and looking purely at their realms, he was already at the Eighth Meridian. After a period of laying low in the east district, he would likely reach the Ninth, Tenth, or even Eleventh Meridian soon enough. Mutual support with a mere Seventh Meridian magistrate? You certainly have a lot of nerve!

Unwilling to engage in further polite pretenses, he stated bluntly, "Now that the General Affairs Office's investigation is complete, Magistrate Liu need not force yourself, nor compel me."

"This... how did you know?!"

Startled, Liu Licheng jerked backward, blurting out the words before realizing he had essentially confessed. A sheepish smile appeared on his face as he stammered, "Well... Magistrate Zhuang, my hands were tied. It was official business arranged by the General Affairs Office..."

Although it was official business, he knew full well that what he had done was dishonorable.

Zhuang Jin said nothing more, casting a detached gaze at him.

The words dying on his lips, Liu Licheng wilted under that gaze and departed in crestfallen silence.

Watching Liu Licheng's retreating figure, Zhuang Jin recalled how, prior to the escort mission, every time the man visited, he would be treated to fine wine and good food, conversing warmly as if they were truly close friends.

Who could have guessed that one was harboring hidden motives for the General Affairs Office's investigation, while the other had sensed it and deliberately played along?

*I sensed it back then and merely played along, but wearing a mask for so long, I actually believed we were friends and connections. I even entrusted him with matters before leaving, yet the moment I left and news of potential peril arrived, it was instantly a case of people scattering and tea going cold, watched over with cold detachment.*

At that moment, Zhuang Jin thought of others: Miao Shao, who had attacked him out of nowhere for that skin-refining peak-level beast treasure in the face of immense profit; Xing Yan, who usually projected an image of caring for his juniors and offered much care, yet stabbed him in the back over the matter of the Eight Young Master's personal guards—though this time he had reached out a helping hand again, and when Zhuang Jin sought him out yesterday, a single smile wiped away past grudges, as if their relationship had returned to how it used to be; and Gao Shi, who had once held his neck stiff and stubborn, only to gradually become a stranger, lowering his head in flattery and acting as an accomplice to tyranny, before finally choosing to court death and crying out a complex, lingering 'Little Mute'...

*The complexity of human hearts and human nature is not black-and-white; it is hard to judge simply by terms of good and evil.*

*Living in this world, people always wear masks, taking turns stepping onto this realistic grand stage to perform... Until the very last moment, you never truly know whether what you see is the truth, or someone's disguised mask—which layer of the mask, even? And whether what lies beneath is human or demon?*

*They say the trickery of beasts is limited, but the deceit of human hearts far surpasses it!*

Zhuang Jin sighed and shook his head slightly. If this were some mad romance novel, this would be the moment to say: I can't tell them apart, I really can't tell them apart!

*Under such circumstances, one can only be cautious, walking on thin ice and advancing step by step to avoid being harmed by others. At the same time, one must anchor their heart, holding fast to the bottom line of human decency so as not to degenerate into a vicious ghost and actively harm others.*

With these thoughts, upon hearing the crisp clatter of pots and pans beginning to sound from the kitchen, his expression softened bit by bit. Seeing his brother-in-law, Chen Honggan, hurrying over from outside, a genuine smile appeared on his face as he went to welcome him.

...

At lunch that day.

"Look at all this chicken, duck, fish, and meat! Brother-in-law, now that you're back, I can finally eat some real meat."

Chen Honggan helped carry the dishes to the table, and once seated, he complained to Zhuang Jin, "You wouldn't know, Brother-in-law, ever since you left in the middle of the month, I've come over three or five times, and every single time Sister Shu served me nothing but vegetarian food, treating me like a pet rabbit!"

"Watch your tongue!" In front of Chen Honggan, Chen Yun was far from the gentle and virtuous wife Zhuang Jin knew. Putting on the dignity of an elder sister, she immediately made him lower his head and shut his mouth.

Hearing this and calculating the time, Zhuang Jin realized that must have been before the news of the ambush arrived. He understood that Chen Yun's vegetarian diet had been to pray for his safety, and his heart welled with deep emotion. "Yunniang, now that I've returned safely, can you break your fast?"

Hidden amusement in her eyes, Chen Yun nodded gently.

Lifting his gaze to look at the harmonious couple, Chen Honggan smiled as well.

He had mentioned it on purpose; whatever Sister Shu had done had to be made known to his brother-in-law to deepen their affection and prompt his brother-in-law to treat Sister Shu even better.

Zhuang Jin understood this as well. Chen Honggan's little scheme stemmed from good intentions, and rather than feeling annoyed, he felt a measure of gratitude.

It was at that exact moment that inspiration struck his heart, and he attained an enlightenment of his true mind: *A person cannot become a machine for power; one must understand why they pursue power. Only thus can their resolve remain unwavering, and only thus will they not be consumed by power and reduced to its slave.*

Back when he first transmigrated, he was just a beggar, bowing and scraping for a bite to eat, enduring the cold gazes of others. A single tael of silver took months to save, and passing by a pleasure house at night... Back then, Zhuang Jin pursued power to obtain what he desired: dignity, wealth, beauty, and the standing to live as a true human being.

Later, after breaking through to the Fourth Meridian, he barely achieved that goal. Then he married Chen Yun, and it was precisely upon meeting Chen Yun that at that crucial crossroads, Zhuang Jin did not lose himself, indulge, or abandon restraint; instead, he maintained self-discipline ever since.

This recent ordeal allowed Zhuang Jin to see his inner self clearly: *What the future holds, I do not know, but at least for the present stage, I pursue power in order to protect what I wish to guard.*

With that single thought, his mind felt crystalline and transparent, and his resolve grew ever firmer.

During the meal, Chen Yun brought up Chen Honggan's marriage prospects—at his age, Chen Honggan was of an age to take a wife. The prospective match was the younger sister of one of his good friends, someone whose background they knew well. Having earned some money through business recently, he was slightly better off financially and could finally consider the matter.

After the meal, Zhuang Jin took out five hundred taels in banknotes and pushed them across the table to Chen Honggan, "This is a small token of affection from your sister and me, Honggan. Take it!"

"Brother-in-law, this... if it were five taels, or even fifty taels, I would shamelessly accept it, but five hundred taels is simply too much... I absolutely cannot!" It wasn't that Chen Honggan didn't need the money, but he worried that accepting it would force Sister Shu to bear the consequences behind the scenes, making things difficult and harming the couple's relationship.

"I know your concerns, but rest assured, just take it! When we were getting married, you poured out all your savings and accepted help from friends to prepare Yunniang's dowry... And just recently, you were the one who came over to look after things, exerting both mind and labor. We are family, so I won't stand on ceremony or thank you... Therefore, don't speak of us as two separate households now either..."

Zhuang Jin had always upheld the principle of "trading sincerity for sincerity," and he would never treat anyone who had treated him well unfairly. This time, those who had stood by his side, such as Xue Yandao and Duan Tao, were all rewarded; even someone like Qian Wende had received two or three hundred taels of silver. There was no reason for him to shortchange his own brother-in-law, especially when the latter's marriage was imminent and he was financially strapped.

Nor was he short of this sum; he had over twenty thousand merits in his account, along with one or two thousand taels of silver—plus the enhanced meridian-clearing pill from Zou Qingfeng and the silver Ping Yongfeng insisted on repaying. This amount was nothing to him, and he was certainly not putting on a false front of wealth.

Seeing Chen Yun nod, Chen Honggan finally accepted the banknotes. Not being the type like Qian Wende who could say smooth-sounding words, he simply drank three cups of wine in succession, engraving this deep friendship in his heart.