Promise!

Chapter 112, fatal

To think that Shen Xuchen went there only to stand up for Zhuang Jin would be to underestimate him. He also intends to use this as a pretext to take down a director of the Enforcement Department and extend his reach into the Enforcement Department.

He spoke last, not just for the sake of style—as a young master of the Shen family, he couldn't just chatter on and on like a woman arguing in the street, which would only make him lose face.

There are two other reasons: if Zhao Bin were allowed to run rampant, the situation would be dangerous, and it would be more effective to show favor to Zhuang Jin. However, Zhuang Jin was a master of debate, repeatedly breaking Zhao Bin's defenses, so it didn't work. The other reason is that if Zhao Bin were allowed to run rampant and show his madness to the fullest, making others unable to stand it, then taking over the position afterward and pushing his own people up would cause the least backlash.

Zou Qingfeng knew Zhao Bin was in trouble, but he was more concerned about his young master's situation. Becoming a section chief in the Enforcement Department would offer more status, power, and lucrative opportunities, which would be ideal. However, he knew better who had brought him everything: "This old servant only wants to stay by the young master's side..."

Shen Xuchen raised his hand to stop him: "Uncle Zou, I know your loyalty, but it's better for me if you go there."

"This old servant understands, I will obey my master!"

……

With Miao Lun's matter completely resolved and no loose ends left, Zhuang Jin gave up a beast treasure that she had no need of in the first place.

Actually, saying it's a sacrifice of the beast treasure isn't accurate. The beast treasure is useless anyway, and it was going to be sold anyway. Selling it to Zou Qingfeng and establishing a connection is just fine. According to the transaction, if the opportunity to protect the guards doesn't come through, the voucher for the 'enhanced meridian-clearing pill' should still be paid for.

If the opportunity to become a bodyguard is realized, that would be even better!

Becoming a bodyguard of the Eighth Prince means staying in the Shen family headquarters, no longer having to worry about monthly duties, fighting on the front lines in the north and south of the city, adjacent to the Medicine King Gang... There's also resource allocation, such as getting a higher priority in order to reserve the Meridian-Clearing Pill based on battle merits.

Of course, Zhuang Jin has no bottlenecks and doesn't have much need for certain 'high-end resources,' so correspondingly, the benefits of being a bodyguard aren't as great as for others.

"I heard they're selecting two from dozens of candidates for the Seven Classics, and one of them has already been decided—it's all just talk, nothing's certain!"

Zhuang Jin adopted a "what I gain is my fortune, what I lose is my fate" attitude, focusing more on another point: "This promotion brought me Black Yuan Powder, a meditation technique, and movement skills. Once I return, my strength will soon experience an explosive increase."

It can be said that after a while, Miao Shao will be the one afraid of him.

Afterwards, Zhuang Jin took the war merits that were allocated as compensation by the judgment and went to find Chen Yun to receive the follow-up benefits of the Seven Classics, and chose to become a servant or a maid.

Here we must mention Chen Yun's good relationships with people in the outer courtyard. Most of the maids were willing to help, and after consulting Zhuang Jin, she chose Yu Xiaoxiao, an acquaintance. As for the servants, Chen Yun was not familiar with them, so Zhuang Jin picked one who looked pleasing to the eye, seemed clever, and was only thirteen or fourteen years old, named Min Shang.

At this moment, Qian Wende and Xing Yan rushed over. Qian Wende went to look for Xing Yan, but Xing Yan was not at the camp; he had gone to a meeting. Qian Wende then went to look for him again, waiting outside in the sun until Xing Yan came out of the meeting and told him about the matter. Only then did the two of them hurry over.

At this moment, Qian Wende's forehead was still covered in sweat, showing how dedicated he was.

No wonder, now that Zhuang Jin has broken through to the seventh level, it's like he's discovered that the person he's latched onto is incredibly powerful. How could he not give it his all? He'd rather die than let go!
The matter has been resolved, and Zhuang Jin apologized and thanked Xing Yan for making a wasted trip. This backup plan was not needed, but Qian Wende did a good job and deserved credit. There was still some left of the skinned and perfected beast meat, and he was rewarded with a few kilograms when he returned. These trivial matters need not be mentioned in detail.

……

Back at the medicinal herb field outside the city, it's only the eighth day of the eleventh month. There are still more than twenty days left in this month. I'll continue my duties at the medicinal herb field outside the city. The assignments based on the guards' ranks will be next month, so I'll naturally make the most of this time to cultivate.

During the day, that is, in the morning and afternoon, Zhuang Jin would start refining the mid-grade Black Yuan Powder and focus on his cultivation level. At night, he would practice the movement technique Swift Wind Step.

By the way, the exotic beast meat has also been upgraded. It's now made from exotic beast meat at the beginner level of the Meat Refining Realm, costing 50 battle merits per pound, which is equivalent to 50 taels of silver.

High, right? Absolutely! You rarely encounter any beasts at the Refining Flesh Realm in the medicinal fields outside the city; they're all transported from the state capital, so the cost is naturally extremely high.

However, Gao still had to buy it. Zhuang Jin believed it was necessary. On one hand, there was the pressure from Miao Lun's brother, Miao Shao, and on the other hand, there was the current situation in the city, where strength was paramount!

Besides, he is not lacking in battle merits. This time, including the battle merits he received as compensation for Miao Lun's transfer, his account has once again broken the three thousand mark. With cultivation resources and exotic beast meat, it is enough to support him for two months.

Meat from exotic beasts at the Refined Flesh Realm is expensive and naturally has remarkable effects, directly accelerating Zhuang Jin's cultivation of the Seven Scriptures by 50-60%.

—Flesh Refining, Flesh Refining, as the name suggests, at this level, the alien power of the beasts mainly permeates their flesh and blood, which is incomparable to the beasts at the Skin Refining level. Therefore, the effect of strengthening blood and qi is extremely terrifying. Zhuang Jin estimated his progress. With sufficient cultivation resources and a supply of beast meat at the Flesh Refining level, he could probably complete the accumulation of the Seven Meridians level in about two months. He could also practice the Swift Wind Step for an hour every night and be able to enter the basics by the end of this month.

Knowing there were enemies outside, Chen Yun took care of all the trivial matters so that Zhuang Jin could concentrate on cultivation. Having a maid and a servant helped share many things, which indeed made things much easier for her.

Thus, the two seemed to return to the days after their marriage, in the medicinal fields outside the city in June or July. One of them took on the trivial tasks and ensured logistics, while the other disciplined himself and cultivated diligently... Just as news of Zhuang Jin's breakthrough to the seventh meridian spread and caused a huge sensation outside the city, Zhuang Jin was holed up in the medicinal fields outside the city, making rapid progress at a speed that outsiders could not imagine, a thousand miles a day!
……

Time flies, and more than half a month has passed in the blink of an eye. It's now November 29th.

This day was the final day for Eighth Prince Shen Xuchen to decide on his personal guards.

One of them had already been chosen, and another was selected from dozens of people through three rounds of screening. Finally, only three people remained on the list. One of them was Zhuang Jin, and the other was Zhuang Jin's former boss, Xing Yan!
— Xing Yan, as a veteran of the Seventh Rank Examination, is in his early thirties, in the prime of his life, and has performed exceptionally well in the north of the city, earning him high praise. Moreover, he is generous, considerate of his subordinates, and cares for younger generations, cultivating a wide network of good relationships. It is no surprise that he is included on the list.

Of the three, Shen Xuchen was most fond of Zhuang Jin. However, there were some strange things about Zhuang Jin, such as the fact that he could complete the accumulation of the Six Classics and break through the bottleneck in less than two months. At this moment, he was waiting for a detailed investigation.

At this moment, Zou Qingfeng hurriedly came in: "Young Master, here are the things you wanted. They were just delivered from the General Affairs Department."

"Ok!"

Shen Xuchen nodded slightly, flipped the book open, and found more detailed information about Zhuang Jin, including her past deeds and evaluations from acquaintances.

As always, he repaid kindness a hundredfold... Ping Yongfeng sent lotus flowers... A character who knows how to repay kindness is vividly portrayed on the page.

Information also includes that of his subordinates such as Lin Hong, Bi Kai, and Qian Wende.

Shen Xuchen was not one tolerating any flaws. When he saw Qian Wende, he paused slightly, but did not think it was inappropriate. On the contrary, he thought Zhuang Jin was a man of good manners.

He glanced at the screen quickly, nodding repeatedly, until he saw Xing Yan's evaluation.

Xing Yan, Zhuang Jin's former superior, naturally had his evaluation, which was full of praise: exceptionally talented, knows how to conduct himself appropriately, understands interpersonal relationships, and can maintain good relationships with colleagues... listing his achievements... highlighting his skillful maneuvering, turning the tide on August 15th and September 17th... calm and composed, remaining unperturbed in the face of major events...

Everything was fine until the last sentence: "Being too protective of oneself may mean hiding one's talents." This sentence made Shen Xuchen narrow his eyes. He suddenly understood the reason for some of the unusual information he had seen in Zhuang Jin's file.

Nobody's a fool!
— Clearly, Xing Yan had already guessed that Zhuang Jin had been hiding his cultivation level and martial arts skills under Xing Yan's command in the north of the city during August and September. However, it's the same principle as "one cannot be a good father-in-law if one is not deaf and dumb." Sometimes, when you are in a position of power, you have to learn to play dumb. As long as you don't break the big rules and it brings you benefits, other minor issues can be tolerated and ignored.

At this time, Xing Yan's evaluation of Zhuang Jin was also quite interesting. He didn't say a word about certain things, but he said something in a way.

After reading Xing Yan's evaluation, Shen Xuchen looked at Zhuang Jin objectively. Everything about her was good: grateful, socially adept, tactful, and knew when to advance and retreat...

However, they are overly cautious and self-conscious!

To be honest, this isn't even a flaw. If it were a friend, it would be completely harmless, even a plus. But he's choosing a personal guard. In extreme situations, like needing to shield someone from harm or cover the rear, Zhuang Jin's personality...

"A flawless gem has a minor imperfection, but that imperfection is fatal!" Shen Xuchen sighed softly, immediately placing Zhuang Jin at the bottom of the three-person list in his mind.

Just then, Zou Qingfeng, who had just gone out, came back in: "Young Master, the Chief of the General Affairs Department sent someone over and handed you a note."

"oh?!"

Shen Xuchen opened the document and his gaze immediately sharpened. After putting it down, he removed Zhuang Jin's information from his personal guard list.

……

(End of this chapter)