Green Mountain
Chapter 380 - 309, legitimate and illegitimate

He looked up at Chen Ji, unsure if he heard correctly, and for a moment didn’t dare to speak rashly.

Jin Zhu rolled his eyes, crossing his hands behind his back, and glanced at Chen Ji: "The Chen family boy wants to play hero? Do you know what this place is? This is my Inner Court Imperial Prison! Rescuing you alone is not easy; the agreement didn’t say to rescue these people. Don’t make it difficult for me."

Chen Ji cupped his hands and said, "I ask Lord Jin Zhu to be lenient. I will certainly repay you handsomely."

Jin Zhu surveyed the surrounding cells, pointing at each humble soldier inside and sneered: "In my Spy Department Imperial Prison, if you have the ability, you’d have already gotten out without needing your help; those who can’t get out have no skills. What use is there in saving them?"

Having said that, he looked at the Yulin Army in the cell before him: "What’s your name? What does your family do?"

The Yulin Army, anxious and uneasy, stood up: "My name is Lin Yanchu. My father is a tenant in Fengtai County, and my ancestors once served in the Longevity Army as a Squad Leader."

Jin Zhu sneered: "A tenant’s child, no wonder you couldn’t get out."

He then looked into another cell: "What’s your name? What does your family do?"

The Yulin Army in the cell, whose ten nails had been ripped off by the prison guards, said in a low voice: "My name is Li Guang. My father is a dyer at East City Wang’s Silk Workshop, and my ancestors served in the Five Armies Camp as a leader of the Common Households."

Jin Zhu said disdainfully: "A fallen family."

Li Guang lowered his head.

Jin Zhu angled his gaze at Chen Ji: "Still want to save them?"

Chen Ji cupped his hands again: "You also know they are wronged. Young men from humble backgrounds being able to enter the Yulin Army already bring honor to their family. I ask Lord Jin Zhu to be lenient, considering their ancestors once served the court, to give them a way out."

"Who hasn’t served the court?" Jin Zhu sneered twice: "But since you’ve asked, I’ll put this debt on your head, and you’ll pay it back for them."

Chen Ji agreed: "Alright."

The Yulin Army in the cell, as if waking from a dream, each went to the iron bars excitedly and said: "Thank you, Lord Jin Zhu!"

Jin Zhu impatiently waved his hand: "Why thank me? What use is the gratitude of you fallen families to me?"

The Yulin Army corrected themselves: "Thank you, Mr. Chen!"

Jin Zhu called the prison guards with a look of disdain: "Return their armor. Make sure to get them out of Taiye Pond, don’t let them wander aimlessly in Taiye Pond."

Chen Ji watched each Yulin Army member hurriedly pick up their armor and leave, fearing Jin Zhu would regret it.

Once Jin Zhu saw everyone had left, he patted Chen Ji’s shoulder with a smile: "I was worried you’d be too straightforward and unwilling to cooperate with me in acting and buying people’s hearts. Well done, you’ve improved."

Chen Ji stood in the dim and long corridor, looking into the dark depths and said softly: "The road I want to travel is too long; I’m afraid I won’t get far alone."

Jin Zhu also suddenly sighed: "Who says otherwise... someone, bring the dossiers of the twenty-four Yulin Army just now."

A spy went to the Pipa Hall to retrieve a ledger, which he took and flipped through page by page, smiling: "Take it away. In these times, most are ungrateful, you can’t just show kindness without force, balancing kindness and force is the way to keep them firmly in hand. If anyone dares to be two-faced with you, the things in here will put them to death."

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

Seeing him not speak, Jin Zhu said nonchalantly: "What, do you think doing this is too despicable?"

Chen Ji smiled: "No, it’s just that once these things are brought out, others will naturally know I’m colluding with the Ritual Supervision, backfiring."

Jin Zhu sighed lightly: "Whatever you say..."

He took out an exquisite sandalwood box from his sleeve, hesitated again and again, eventually with reluctance, mysteriously stuffing it into Chen Ji’s hand: "You must cultivate well! In this Imperial Capital, sometimes even in the Seeking Dao Realm, you might not be able to exert strength; no matter how powerful the Grand Official is, they can’t withstand a volley from the Divine Machine Camp, and ballistae can shoot a hole in an Executive Officer."

Jin Zhu changed his tone: "But with your talent, if one day you truly reach the Divine Realm, even if you directly ask His Majesty and the Prime Minister for the Commandery Princess, what can they do? By then, the whole world will give you ninety percent face."

Chen Ji was curious: "Why ninety percent? What about the other ten percent?"

Jin Zhu smiled: "You have to leave a bit of face for others."

Chen Ji lowered his head to open the sandalwood box, only to see a small sun-green ring inside.

Jin Zhu hurriedly closed the box: "Don’t look at it here. This is what I recently confiscated from the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works’ house, barely avoiding the Jiefan Guard’s search. Damn, among the Jiefan Guard, that old fellow Lin Chaoqing is the hardest to deal with, why did Wu Xiu transfer him back to the Imperial Capital!"

Chen Ji held the box in his hands. He had only heard that Yang Green Jade apparently aids cultivation but had never used it himself: "My Lord, why not give this jade to the Heavenly Horse?"

Jin Zhu clicked his tongue: "He’s now at a bottleneck; if he can comprehend, he can cross the abyss. If not, the jade is useless."

Chen Ji was curious: "What’s the difference between Yang Green Jade and ginseng?"

Jin Zhu smiled cheerfully: "A small sun-green jade ring can match the effects of twenty old ginseng, but its price is that of a hundred old ginseng. Do you know why?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "I don’t know."

Jin Zhu laughed: "If an Executive Officer wants to absorb old ginseng, they must first slice it and boil it into water over more than ten days, it’s too slow. Yang Green Jade is not restricted this way, it can transform into realm in an instant. It’s precisely because of this that family officials from great and noble families can cultivate faster than others. If it weren’t for the Qi family jade sponsoring him, how could the Yulin Army’s Li Xuan possibly reach the Seeking Dao Realm by the age of thirty?"