The ghost officer counted the money for Zhao Zhongyu, collected an expensive handling fee and tax according to proportion, then turned over the entire warehouse of items to him.
Inside were not only money, silk bundles, various objects, and the five sacrificial animals, but also various memorial texts.
The ghost butler ran up and down for him, helping him buy a mansion and hire a group of ghosts to move everything to the new mansion – naturally, all paid for by Zhao Zhongyu.
He had money now!
Zhao Zhongyu felt it very novel: “So the underworld’s currency all comes from the mortal realm? Do ghosts also take the mortal realm as their foundation?”
The ghost butler said: “This is now. The ghost officers say that in the past, few ghosts stayed in the underworld. They were either reincarnating or suffering punishment in hell, so few ghosts spent money – only ghost officers needed currency from mortal realm offerings and worship.”
“But the ghost officers’ currency was issued by Yanluo Hall, and newly arrived ghosts more or less had some offerings they could spare for ghost officers, so money and goods weren’t so important in the underworld then.”
Zhao Zhongyu understood.
His new mansion was not far from Zhao Changyu’s. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to buy farther away, but all the good houses and large houses were in this area – he had no choice.
During this period, quite a few new ghosts entered the city, mostly Zhao Zhongyu’s acquaintances. In comparison, they were poor.
Though their backgrounds in the mortal realm weren’t bad, they didn’t have Zhao Zhongyu’s fame. Their families’ fates were also unknown, so offerings and worship weren’t much – they couldn’t afford large mansions.
Seeing his former colleagues in such destitution, plus they had all died one after the other, Zhao Zhongyu’s heart softened. Like his brother, he took them in to live in his mansion.
During this time Zhao Changyu had already inquired from new ghosts about events in the mortal realm. The new ghosts he found included captured Jin officials, Jin army soldiers who died in battle, innocent common people caught in the chaos, and even imperial relatives and nobles.
He calculated the time and felt his younger brother should have adjusted to his new identity, so he sent a ghost to summon him for a talk.
Zhao Zhongyu didn’t want to go. He directly told the ghost butler who came to invite him: “We’re already dead. With death the way ends. Mortal realm affairs have nothing more to do with us. What’s there to discuss?”
The ghost butler lowered his head: “The Great Master says, before reincarnation and being reborn as a new person, you were a Zhao clan person in life and a Zhao clan ghost in death. Moreover…”
He raised his head: “Don’t you know that ghost souls in the underworld can give dreams to living relatives and can protect living family members?”
Zhao Zhongyu: …He didn’t know that – no one told him!
Zhao Zhongyu gathered his energy and still went silently.
Zhao Changyu had once again taken control of Zhao Zhongyu.
If Zhao Zhongyu could truly not care about the Zhao clan or family members, how could he have so calmly gone to his death?
He chose to die – first for the world’s common people, second wasn’t it for the Zhao Family Army, for the Zhao clan, for his family?
Once he and the Emperor died, the Zhao Family Army would no longer be threatened and could counterattack freely.
Hmph, the Zhao clan wasn’t his alone. Zhao Hanzhang was even more so Zhao Changyu’s granddaughter. He didn’t believe elder brother didn’t care.
Thinking this way, Zhao Zhongyu wasn’t anxious anymore and slowly went to see Zhao Changyu.
As soon as they met, Zhao Changyu said: “Sanniang has subdued Shi Lei. The Jie tribe’s great army has pledged allegiance to her.”
The words he’d been muttering along the way were instantly thrown behind him. Zhao Zhongyu said excitedly: “With Shi Lei’s allegiance, won’t Hanzhang’s expulsion of the Xiongnu and recovery of lost territory be just around the corner?”
Zhao Changyu nodded: “So tell me – will Sanniang establish herself as Emperor?”
Zhao Zhongyu’s body stiffened. He quietly examined Zhao Zhongyu, wanting to confirm whether he was angry, but couldn’t read anything from his face.
He could only answer carefully: “Probably not. Sanniang was taught propriety from youth. We Zhao clan are loyal and steadfast…”
Zhao Changyu lifted his eyelids to glance at him, saying lightly: “We’re already dead. Our reputations remain in the mortal realm. Here in the underworld, there’s no need to speak of loyalty to sovereign and love of country. Here, there’s not only the Wei Emperor but also Han dynasty emperors. Though I don’t know where the First Emperor is, some kings from before Qin have also not reincarnated, remaining either as ghost immortals or stranded in the underworld. If all the emperors of all dynasties were put together, who isn’t a traitorous minister or rebel subject?”
Since they were all traitorous ministers and rebel subjects, there was no need to distinguish degrees.
Zhao Zhongyu choked, his heart stirring. He couldn’t help probing: “Elder brother took in so many ghost friends in your mansion – is it because?”
Zhao Changyu’s face showed mockery: “You think I’m like you with a great outpouring of kindness, taking in any ghost who comes to the door?”
Zhao Zhongyu was once again choked speechless.
Only then did Zhao Changyu explain: “King Yanluo disdains explaining the underworld’s existence to us, but the underworld’s ghosts, ghost officers, money and wealth all come from the mortal realm. Even the merit and mindpower that ghost immortals and ghost officers cultivate require reliance on the mortal realm’s incense and worship. From this we can see the underworld depends on the mortal realm.”
“The two are so closely connected – it’s impossible for only the mortal realm to affect the underworld. The underworld must also be able to influence the mortal realm, only the Underworld Bureau doesn’t publish the rules, so we don’t know the specifics.” Zhao Changyu pondered: “These years I’ve been trying to pass information to living relatives. So far I can give dreams to Zhao Song and Madam Wang. After you came down, I discovered I could also give dreams to Erlang and Zhao Ming.”
Zhao Zhongyu’s eyes widened as something occurred to him. He said in surprise: “I, I once dreamed of elder brother…”
Zhao Changyu nodded lightly: “I tried several times to give Sanniang dreams but found it didn’t work. At that time I could only give you, Zhao Song, and Madam Wang dreams.”
“Besides this, the better I do in the underworld, the more good deeds I do, the more innocent ghosts I protect, the more smoothly relatives in the mortal realm conduct their affairs.” Zhao Changyu glanced at Zhao Zhongyu. He believed Zhao Zhongyu could so smoothly achieve the position of Minister also benefited from his influence.
If not for him working diligently in the underworld, spending great sums to ensure newly deceased Zhao clan members lived well and acted virtuously, and helping so many ghosts, building merit for them, how could he have been so smooth?
However, thinking of his recent bad temper, Zhao Changyu didn’t speak these words aloud, instead saying: “Do you think I took in those people casually?”
Zhao Zhongyu asked: “What’s different about them?”
“They have no great karmic obstacles, but their clans were nearly exterminated in these years of war, with only scattered clan members surviving.” Zhao Changyu said: “Didn’t Sanniang create a recruitment examination? I know what she wants to do. The Han dynasty’s recommendation system was finally monopolized by aristocratic families, leaving virtuous people among the common folk with no way to advance, so Boss Cao established the Nine Ranks system, wanting to select officials through great, medium, and minor evaluators.”
“For the next fifty years it was relatively fair, but after a hundred years, by our Jin era, the evaluators became the same as the recommendation system. Whether a person could enter office and what rank of office after entering was determined and fixed from the beginning.” Zhao Changyu said in a deep voice: “When talent is evaluated at fifth rank, he can only serve as a fifth rank official, cannot reach first rank. Aristocratic families allied with each other, trading benefits, recommending each other, setting high ranks for their family’s children. The higher the aristocratic family, regardless of talent or virtue, all could be set at high ranks. Those from lower families even had to think of every means just to attend the evaluation banquet. The social climate deteriorated thus, politics collapsed thus, and the people suffered accordingly.”