The downfall of the Qian family due to their lending of usury was a cause for great celebration among the villagers.

But for the powerful elite, it was a chilling wake-up call!

No one expected that the lowly commoners, whom they looked down upon, could pull off such a crazy act, directly biting a government official down to the bone.

Although he was just a minor official of the fifth rank, the implications behind this were enormous.

The elites imagined for a moment: if this group of commoners had targeted them instead, what would their fate be?

After countless scenarios played out in their minds, the elites were horrified to discover that their outcome might very well be the same as the Qian family’s—death!

As the ancient saying goes: “The ruler is the boat, and the people are the water; the water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it.”

The commoners may be poor and lowly, but they are not to be trifled with. Once pushed to their limits, no matter how noble your status, you can be pulled down from your pedestal.

“Quick, go tell the manager in charge of the usury to stop the lending! And tell those debt collectors to take it easy; don’t push those lowly commoners too hard…”

Once they realized the gravity of the situation, the officials and elites hurriedly instructed one another.

They feared that if the news spread, other commoners might get inspired by this incident, start playing tricks, refuse to pay their debts, and cause a ruckus at the government office.

Before they figured out a way to handle this, it seemed that the business of usury could no longer continue.

The thought of losing a significant source of income made the elites feel frustrated and angry.

They wanted to vent their anger on the few villages that caused the trouble, but how could they punish thousands of commoners?

So they had no choice but to let it go.

Their gaze turned to Xie Wenyuan, the one who had stirred up the trouble, and they began to blame and scrutinize him.

Let’s not even mention that this scholar was innocent and just happened to expose the matter; if the Qian family’s incident had nothing to do with him, they would be slapping their own faces!

How could a bunch of illiterate peasants suddenly know that usury was illegal?

And how did they figure out how to exploit the loopholes for profit?

If no one pointed it out to them, no one would believe it. Yet, while Xie Wenyuan wasn’t the only educated person in those villages, he was certainly the smartest.

This matter was undoubtedly closely related to him!

In an instant, Xie Wenyuan’s name appeared in the eyes of all the elites, stirring up feelings of anger, disdain, admiration, curiosity, and interest.

And the one who was most interested was none other than the current Crown Prince.

…

The day after the Qian family’s incident ended.

After class at the private school, Xie Wenyuan went to a wonton stall on the street for dinner.

Since most of the students at their private school did not stay overnight, the kitchen only prepared lunch. The boarding students had to sort out their own dinner.

In the past, Xie Wenyuan would usually eat with his classmates.

But today, he anticipated that someone would come looking for him, so he went out alone.

Sure enough, he was not mistaken.

Before he even reached the wonton stall, he was stopped by a middle-aged man with a small mustache.

This middle-aged man was no stranger to Xie Wenyuan; he was Zhang Changming, one of the most trusted strategists by the Crown Prince in his previous life.

Zhang Changming was a capable person and was fiercely loyal to the Crown Prince.

However, his fate wasn’t much better than the Xie family’s; he too was discarded after being used, and he died more unjustly than Xie Wenyuan’s cousin.

His cousin was ultimately killed due to political disagreements with the Crown Prince after he ascended the throne, as well as his high reputation among the people, overshadowing the ruler.

Zhang Changming, on the other hand, was purely wronged!

The reason the Crown Prince wanted him dead after taking power was entirely because the Empress had killed his entire family to ensure his loyalty to her son, then appeared as a savior.

Using the favor of saving his life and helping him take revenge, she firmly tied Zhang Changming to the Crown Prince’s ship.

Thus, after the deed was done, Zhang Changming naturally could no longer live.

It was tragic that Zhang Changming was so loyal to the Crown Prince, only to realize in the end that he had helped his enemy!

Xie Wenyuan always felt he wasn’t a good person, but compared to the Crown Prince and the Empress, he thought he was still too kind; at least he had principles in his wickedness.

He used people only when they exposed their flaws.

But the Empress and her son relied entirely on “creating” opportunities, truly heartless!

Although he guessed that the Crown Prince would come to recruit him, he didn’t expect that Zhang Changming would be sent over.

In that case, he couldn’t be blamed for stealing the spotlight.

Seeing Zhang Changming, Xie Wenyuan was genuinely delighted; this was a useful talent!

He didn’t refuse the invitation and readily followed him into an inconspicuous little teahouse.

After sitting down in a private room, without waiting for Zhang Changming to speak, Xie Wenyuan took the initiative to take control of the conversation. While brewing tea, he smiled and said, “I’ve long heard of Zhang Xiansheng’s great name; seeing you today, you truly are a refined scholar.”

Zhang Changming: …

Wait a minute, shouldn’t that be something the person recruiting him should say?

Why did he get his lines stolen?

Even though Zhang Changming had seen a lot, he was momentarily taken aback before he reacted and complimented back with a smile.

“You flatter me, young friend. How can I bear the title of scholar? But you, young friend, are so young yet so strategic; with just a few words, you made a fifth-rank official resign, shaking the upper echelons. That is truly unparalleled!”

“Seeing how calm you are about my arrival today, it seems the matter of usury was indeed something you orchestrated to lure my master?”

Zhang Changming was a smart man, and Xie Wenyuan didn’t hide it, showing an attitude of already being aware of everything, which was quite obvious.

Such proactive individuals who attracted the Crown Prince’s attention to join him were not uncommon.

Xie Wenyuan did not refute but nodded and smiled, “I, Xie, was fishing, but I wasn’t fishing for your master; I was fishing for you, Zhang Xiansheng.”

In truth, he had staged this grand play to attract the Crown Prince, but now that Zhang Changming had appeared, the plan had to change to recruit this talent.

“What do you mean by that?”

Zhang Changming sat up straight, puzzled.

Xie Wenyuan didn’t explain immediately but instead asked, “Do you want to know who the real enemy is that wiped out your entire family?”

Bang—

The smile on the face of the person opposite him instantly vanished, and he stood up in a panic, knocking over his stool.

Zhang Changming’s eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at Xie Wenyuan and questioned, “What do you mean?”

It was understandable that he lost his composure over a single sentence.

Zhang Changming’s background was actually quite similar to his; he was also a poor farmer’s son with exceptional talent. He had passed the highest imperial examination at a young age and was favored by the Emperor, quickly rising through the ranks.

He was destined to be a high-ranking official!

But because he shone too brightly, he was targeted by the Empress to become a pawn, and his entire family was killed by bandits. He himself was disfigured while resisting and could no longer serve in the court.

In the end, he had to retreat to the shadows, becoming the little Crown Prince’s teacher and strategist.

Zhang Changming had a very close relationship with his family; his parents and wife were all brutally murdered, leaving him heartbroken. The only thought that kept him alive over the years was to take revenge for his family.

He was a person of deep feelings and loyalty.

Xie Wenyuan took a sip of tea before casually saying, “The real person who killed your family was not the Second Prince’s mother, the Shuguifei, but the current Empress and Guo Shoufu. They valued your talent, but when you were young, you were too rigid, only thinking about benefiting the country and the people, unwilling to participate in the struggle for the throne.”

“They had no choice but to use cruel means to force you to take sides, and they pinned the blame on Shuguifei. All these years, you’ve been helping your enemies, hating the wrong target…”

“What evidence do you have?”

Zhang Changming didn’t rush to refute but instead pressed for proof.

He was already middle-aged and no longer the hot-headed youth he once was. Without solid evidence, he naturally wouldn’t easily believe the instigation of a stranger.

Of course, he remained skeptical of what was said.

He was fiercely loyal to the Empress and the Crown Prince, but that was as long as it didn’t involve family grievances. Once family was involved, he wouldn’t easily trust anyone.

“I have no evidence, but you can investigate for yourself. I believe with your intelligence, Zhang Xiansheng, as long as you know the right direction, you should be able to uncover the truth.”

“Zhang Xiansheng, the truth is only the most credible when discovered by oneself, isn’t it?”

Xie Wenyuan shook his head.

Zhang Changming didn’t refute but scrutinized him, “Why are you telling me all this? What do you want?”

There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world; someone giving him such important information clearly couldn’t be purely kind-hearted.

Xie Wenyuan smiled and didn’t beat around the bush, saying directly, “It’s nothing much; I just want to be friends with you, Zhang Xiansheng. In the future, when I work under the Crown Prince, I hope you can help me with some backdoor connections and give me a heads-up on any news.”

“After all, the position of the Crown Prince’s confidant is hard to compete for, and I’ll need you to speak well of me.”

Zhang Changming pondered, “Who is your master?”

“It doesn’t matter who my master is; what matters is that we share the same goal. As long as we can take revenge for our families, why does it matter if you know too much?”

“Three days’ time; I hope you can give me a clear answer in three days. Otherwise, the news of you knowing the truth might just reach the Crown Prince’s ears.”

“There are countless talents in the world; if they cannot be loyal, they are just useless stones. Please think it over, Zhang Xiansheng. I’ll take my leave for now.”

Xie Wenyuan smiled, stood up, and left.

He didn’t need Zhang Changming’s loyalty; he only needed him to oppose the Crown Prince.

So there was no need to treat him with excessive respect; they were merely in a cooperative relationship.

Regardless of Zhang Changming falling into deep thought behind him.

After leaving the little teahouse, Xie Wenyuan patted his belly, which was half-full of tea, looked around, and sat down at a noodle stall, ordering a bowl of clear soup noodles, leisurely starting his dinner.

After finishing his meal and paying, Xie Wenyuan casually leaned closer to the stall owner and whispered, “Tell your master that I, a humble person, have a big gift for him; Zhang Changming will soon betray his master.”

After saying that, he walked away with a smile.

He was a treacherous minister, after all, and treacherous ministers are best at playing both sides and stepping on multiple boats.

So how could he only pledge allegiance to one person?

Excellent talents should serve multiple roles; the more masters he recognized, the better!