The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Pan Yun: "But I don't want to get into this trouble. Besides, my master is a good person. Although he has a lot of bad karma, he loves me. He is also the mountain god and my senior brother. If I leave, he will be so heartbroken. Sigh... There is no one reliable in the sect. My senior nephew earns money and the whole sect spends it. If I also leave the sect, he will really become a beast of burden and spend his whole life making money for the sect."

Zhang Zijin: "Isn't he like that now?"

“Of course not now,” Pan Yun said. “He’s doing it because he likes it now.”

"What's the difference? Aren't they both just making money for Sanqingshan?"

"Of course there's a difference. For the former, he has to make money; the burden of the whole mountain rests on his shoulders. For the latter, it doesn't matter; as long as he can support himself, it's fine. If he can't, it's okay. I can be his support when he comes back."

That's the difference!
Zhang Zijin glanced at her, knowing that further persuasion would be useless.

If she stays in Sanqing Mountain for the sake of benefits, then he can snatch her away with even greater advantages;

But she stayed in Sanqingshan because of a sense of responsibility.

In this world, only responsibility is something that cannot be taken away.

A person's responsibility to their country is loyalty; their responsibility to their parents is filial piety; their responsibility to being human is benevolence; and their responsibility to their friends is righteousness.

How can loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness be taken away by profit?
Pan Yun pushed the array diagram in front of him, her eyes full of seduction: "Senior, what are you doing?"

Zhang Zijin was somewhat tempted, but unwilling to give in, so he glanced at her and said, "If you can regrow your white hair within a quarter of an hour, I'll do it."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow. What's so difficult about that?
In just two days, stubble had sprouted on her head at a rapid pace, and black buds had also appeared on her eyebrows. She was just too lazy to do it, but that didn't mean she couldn't.

Pan Yun sat cross-legged with her eyes slightly closed. Her body was filled with energy, and she was steaming with heat. In a short while, her eyebrows, which she had drawn with eyebrow pencil, grew out, and the Taoist scarf on her head was pushed aside by her hair and fell to the ground. Her hair grew past her shoulders at a speed visible to the naked eye before slowly stopping.

Pan Yun opened her eyes and looked at Zhang Zijin triumphantly.

Zhang Zijin glanced down at the array diagram on the table, nodded, and said, "I will study it. You may leave."

Pan Jun said in a cheeky tone, "Senior, there is a lot of information in the Ministry of Works. Although the officials and craftsmen there are not familiar with formations, they are highly skilled and always have ingenious ideas. Why don't you go there often? Perhaps you can get some inspiration."

Zhang Zijin sneered and pointed to the door, saying, "Get out!"

"Okay." Pan Jun got up and left.

Zhang Zijin snorted. Including the time he spent guarding the Nanjing Imperial Palace, he had spent more than seventy years in the Zhu family's palace and was very familiar with these emperors and court officials.

He was willing to believe Pan Yun because they were the same kind of people. He knew that she, like him, focused on cultivation, but there were things she would do and things she would not do.

He didn't trust those officials, and he certainly didn't trust the emperor.

Pan Yun was willing to deal with the emperor and form an alliance, but he wouldn't allow himself to be in the same dangerous situation as her.

He was able to survive seven dynasties without falling from power, not because he was smarter than those officials, but because he kept his promise to protect the palace and the emperor from being disturbed by strange people, demons and monsters, and never interfered in politics.

He was willing to study spiritual communication for the sake of the development of Taoism, but this was limited to his communication with Pan Yun; he would never contact court officials.

Both sides only made a brief, tentative remark, but they both knew what was going on.

Pan Yun walked out of the room in circles, stood in the courtyard for a moment and thought about it, then decided to go see Xue Shao before leaving.

At the end of last year, Xue Shao returned to the capital after completing his inspection tour of Jiangnan. The emperor, remembering his great contributions, promoted him to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. His uncle, Xue Xuan, was also promoted from Acting Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to Minister of the Court of Judicial Review for solving numerous extraordinary cases. However, three months ago, Xue Shao advised Pan Yun to undergo a tribulation on Coal Hill, hoping to use divine intervention to change the fate of the nation. The emperor was astonished by his extraordinary abilities and appointed him concurrently as a member of the Hanlin Academy, requiring him to give lectures to the emperor every ten days in addition to his regular duties.

Taoist teachings, as well as courses on health preservation and cultivation.

Even though Xue Shao had hinted more than once that the emperor was the Son of Heaven and had no talent for cultivation, the emperor still insisted.

However, he lacked Pan Yun's tough methods and sharp demeanor. As a result, within three months, Xue Shao replaced Pan Yun as the villain in the eyes of the officials. Even Xue Xuan couldn't help but say to him, "Why don't you resign?"

Xue Shao: "...Does Uncle also think I'm a treacherous official?"

Xue Xuan: "I believe you are not, and you would not do it, but His Majesty has developed new ambitions. He dares not show them in front of the Grand Preceptor, so he can only turn to you and the Celestial Master's Mansion. If this continues, I'm afraid there will be another upheaval in the court."

Xue Shao: "I believe that the relationship between the ruler and his ministers is like managing water; it is better to dredge than to block. Since Your Majesty is interested in this, you can learn more about it in your spare time. The more you understand, the clearer you will be."

Xue Xuan: "Human desires are hard to control, let alone an emperor who possesses the world. Be careful not to awaken people's minds but instead arouse their endless desires."

Xue Xuan couldn't help but worry: "The situation is great now. Since the Grand Preceptor can suppress the Emperor, then let's continue like this. You should resign. Once you're away from the Emperor, no matter how tempted he is, he won't dare to summon people from the Celestial Master's Mansion to ask questions under the Grand Preceptor's nose for a while."

Xue Shao's identity was too convenient for the emperor.

After a moment of silence, Xue Shao slowly shook his head in refusal.

Xue Xuan stared at him intently for a moment, then asked, "You seem to care about her quite a bit."

Xue Shao: "She has done her best for the country, the people, the emperor, and even for all the officials. I have received her kindness, so how can I do nothing while she is falling into difficulties?"

Xue Xuan stopped stopping him.

Xue Shao is right. Not only the country, the people, and the emperor benefited from her favor, but all the officials also benefited from her favor.

Because of her, the imperial court has been paying salaries in full for eight consecutive months. From the capital to the provinces, everyone has received the full amount of money. They have even paid back three months' worth of salaries, making up for all the back pay that the court had accumulated.

Xue Xuan was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and he had direct contact with officials at all levels, so he knew them better than anyone else.

With the exception of a very few officials, the rest of the officials were grateful to her, especially the middle and lower-ranking officials, who regarded the Grand Preceptor almost as the emperor.

After all, previous emperors owed them their salaries, but Pan Jun was thinking about how to pay them their wages and even improved their treatment.

Even though she only said a few words, a lot of money in the national treasury is now thanks to her.

After Pan Yun survived her tribulation, the last remaining voices in the court who cared about her disappeared, and she became the national advisor recognized by the world from the bottom of their hearts.

After three months, Xue Shao became another favorite of the emperor. He not only served as a member of the Hanlin Academy, but the emperor also frequently asked him about matters concerning the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department after learning that he was also good at planning national assets.

Xue Shao gave very good advice.

When Pan Yun appeared at his home, he had just received an official document that he had been transferred from the Censorate to the Ministry of Revenue, and was promoted to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

However, the Ministry of Revenue controlled the nation's treasury. The shift from the Censorate, representing the upright officials, to the Ministry of Revenue, the purse-bearer, was not merely a change of allegiance, but a significant increase in power. (End of Chapter)