Yu Shu passed the first assessment and returned to the Kunling Bureau. Except for Jing Chen, there was already a group of subordinates waiting to congratulate her.
They had heard about the twists and turns of today's assessment from Xie Lan, who came back first. They knew that the new Taicheng Department Shaoqing deliberately made things difficult for Yu Shu. They were full of righteous indignation and said that Shui Yun's dismissal was great.
Yu Shu smiled modestly. In fact, she was worried about Xue Rui. She didn't know where the people she sent to chase him were now.
Not long after, the Grand Secretary sent someone to send a box. It turned out to be the two crystal bracelets that Shui Yun left in Taixi Tower. It was received together with the message from the Grand Secretary.
"The Grand Secretary said that this thing is for you to deal with. Whether you want to return it to Miss Shui Yun or refund the money to her, it's up to you."
Yu Shu smiled. When the person left, she took out a white crystal bracelet and left a topaz bracelet in the box. She called Xie Lan in and handed it to him.
"I didn't expect Lord Xie to be a sentimental person. Today, thanks to you for speaking up for me. This is a little gratitude. Please don't refuse it."
When Xie Lan saw what was in the box, he was immediately flattered. He shook his head in surprise and said, "Lord, you can't. This thing is too valuable. I don't deserve it. Besides, I was just telling the truth today. I didn't help you."
According to the sky-high price of seven thousand taels of silver for Shui Yun, this one was three thousand five hundred taels of silver. Xie Lan couldn't afford it even if he lost ten years of salary. Although he knew it was a good thing, he was embarrassed to accept it.
Yu Shu didn't care about him. She forced it into his hand and sent him out. She put down the curtain and turned around to give the other bracelet to Wen Shao 'an.
Wen Shao 'an didn't give in to her. He just said worriedly, "Didn't the person just say that the Grand Secretary asked you to return it or refund the money? You gave it to us. Are you going to return thousands of taels of silver to them?"
Yu Shu sat down on a chair and leisurely held a cup of tea to moisten her throat. Hearing that, she snorted and said, "I can say that you are a straightforward person with few thoughts. Since you have given the Great Suggestion to me, you will not care how I deal with it."
She could only blame Shui Yun for having bad intentions. She had spent ten times the price to buy these two strings of crystals just for today. She was heartless and unjust. She was stupid to return the money to her.
After all, Wen Shaoan had been with Yu Shu for a long time. He knew that she would occasionally be stubborn, so he didn't say anything unpleasant. He sighed and said,
"That Shui Yun really shot herself in the foot. She tried every possible way to ruin your future, but in the end, she made herself lose face."
Yu Shu looked up at him and asked, "Tell me, why did she fail to scheme against me and instead suffered a great loss?"
Wen Shaoan had discussed it with a group of people in the Kunling Bureau before. At this time, he took it for granted and said, "As the saying goes, a straight body is not afraid of a crooked shadow. You have not done anything against your conscience, so you are naturally not afraid of her slandering you."
Yu Shu shook her head and wanted to teach him a lesson. "You're only right. I didn't do anything against my conscience, so I'm confident. But if I wasn't prepared at all, I might have been the one to suffer losses today because of her scheming against me."
Wen Shaoan looked curious. He moved a step in front of her and looked like he was obediently listening to her.
Since Yu Shu had accepted this little brother, she felt that it was her responsibility to enlighten him. So she became patient and lowered her voice to tell him, "Shui Yun and I have an old grudge.
You saw that as soon as she came to the Celestial Commissioner, she couldn't wait to find trouble with me. I guessed that she was up to no good. I heard from the Right Commander that she asked for this position. You said that she was a cultivator who didn't belong to the secular world. She sought power for no reason. There was no doubt that she wanted to go against me. I was on guard against her at that time. I guessed that she was staring at me every day. She probably wanted to do something bad in my evaluation. "
One should not have the intention to harm others, but one should always be on guard against others. People who had no grievances with you might have evil thoughts for the sake of benefits, let alone people who had a grudge against you.
In life, you should either live with your tail between your legs and never make things difficult for others, or you should press forward and kill those who stand in your way.
"She wanted to harm me. I couldn't just be on guard against her. I had to make sure that she would never return. Then I had to be ahead of her and uproot her. Do you still remember that on the first day she came to the Kunling Bureau, I beat two gatekeepers? I took advantage of the disgust of the Celestial Commissioner towards her. I didn't have to worry that no one would oppose her taking an important position. I could take advantage of it.
"As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy. Only then can you win a hundred battles. Shui Yun was arrogant. She thought that she was the direct disciple of Mount Longhu and looked down on outsiders like us. I wanted to use this as a dagger to catch her unprepared.
"I had the Six Trigrams Divination. I predicted in advance who would participate in this evaluation. The adjutant of the Astronomy Bureau, Cui Xiuyi, owed me a lot of money. I lured him with benefits but didn't make things difficult for him. I asked him to use his strength at the last moment to force her to show her true colors."
"In the end, there was no suspense. Shui Yun lost the first opportunity. She tried to fight against many people alone. She only cared about the front and not the back. I was on guard against her, but she didn't guard against me. Tell me, how could she fight against me?"
Yu Shu talked eloquently. Wen Shao 'an only understood half of it. Although he didn't feel enlightened, he did benefit from it.
"Shao 'an, you want to return to your hometown in glory and fight for your mother. I can help you, but you need to have the ability to climb up. It's not enough to just have the intention. You have to know what you are doing. Don't waste your time. I hope I didn't choose the wrong person."
After pouring another cup of tea to quench her thirst, Yu Shu stood up and straightened her cuffs. She said to Wen Shao 'an, who was in a daze, "I have passed the evaluation. According to the rules, I can rest today. If there is anything urgent in the bureau, you can stay here. I'm leaving."
Wen Shao 'an was a good person. He learned to endure humiliation. He had perseverance and willpower. He was also obedient enough. Yu Shu observed him for a period of time and found that in the long run, he would only become a pawn who followed the orders of his superiors. In the final analysis, he lacked his own ideas.
How could a person who had no backbone and only listened to what others said without thinking?
Yu Shu opened the curtain and went out. She put Wen Shao 'an's matter behind her and left the Celestial Commissioner quickly. She got on the sedan chair and went to the Princess Mansion.
Don't get me wrong. She didn't go to give money to Shui Yun. She went to talk to Jing Chen.
Yesterday, Jing Chen came suddenly. She was not prepared at all. She hurriedly sent him away. After one night, she felt that something was wrong. The portrait had been handed over to the palace. She had no clue what the emperor's plan was. As a last resort, she could only persuade Jing Chen to go to the palace to inquire about the news.
Otherwise, she would be in the dark. When the supervisor of the Xue Mansion was recognized and the whole Xue family was implicated, she only heard the news. By then, it would be too late.
As for whether the Xue family really wanted to rebel, she had to wait until Xue Rui came back to make a long-term plan.
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