Dual Cultivation God Returns-Chapter 991: This is also one of the things...
"First, to further discuss it, it’s important to establish what that letter is and what it isn’t. It is an account of what happened, but it isn’t anything more than that", Wu Long opened the conversation as they remained alone in the room.
"Meaning... that it can be wrong?", Wei Yuanjie instantly understood what he meant.
"The general gist of events known by others is probably accurately described, which is why I found the letter interesting, but the details, which include implications you are worried about - that the Empress was involved in her own son’s death to gain power - should not, in my opinion, be taken at face value without scrutiny, especially since her involvement is implied through circumstances, not witnessed directly or even directly alleged", Wu Long nodded.
"But will Father take that into consideration?", the prince frowned with worry.
"I am not talking about the Emperor. This distinction is important for you at this moment. Or rather, it is an important experience on how to deal with sensitive information that can alter your course of actions, this conversation is for now and for the benefit of your future", Wu Long shook his head, " The initial problem was that the moment you read it you assumed it to be true without questioning it. Your first impulse to bury the letter is predicated on fear born from that assumption"
"Oh...", Wei Yuanjie suddenly became aware of his own hasty judgement, and then awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, "But it was written so... conclusively..."
"Of course it was. People often tend to write and speak in a way that obscures the fact that what they’re saying comes from a subjective view, it’s quite natural - see? I just did it", Wu Long chuckled, "What I just said comes from my lived experience and knowledge. It is natural for me to say it as evident truth because it is what I believe to be true"
"And there are probably people who do it on purpose...", Wei Yuanjie nodded, understanding.
"Exactly. You have to consider the source and circumstances of any information when you receive it, because that determines how you react. What’s written in that letter are statements made by one person heavily involved in the incident, influenced by different actors and motivations, as well as located smack in the middle of the situational chaos where vision can be limited - not irrefutable facts"
"And so, in addition to not being able to distinguish what he might have intentionally said wrong, it is also hard for us to assess how reliable his own perception of things is even if he believes what he said is true", the prince instantly picked up what Wu Long wanted him to see when analyzing information.
The latter smiled with satisfaction, adding, "There is also a lot of information missing that is important in regards to how we should handle the information that is included. You know better than most, that the Imperial Palace is not a place where things are straightforward. More often than not, the truth is hidden under multiple layers of deceptions, schemes and intrigues. But you can’t just assume everything in the letter is wrong because you wish it to be wrong. So to get to the bottom of things, we have to start from gathering more information in light of what we have just learned, as difficult as it is with the secrecy around the subject"
"I see", Wei Yuanjie sighed.
"Now that we’ve dealt with that, let’s discuss contingencies"
"Contingencies?", Wei Yuanjie raised his eyebrows.
"That is the second part", Wu Long nodded, "Once you realistically see the letter for what it is, you are not controlled by it. Your mind is not shaped by it and you can see more clearly. So you can begin processing the situation, as in understanding how you feel about it, what your own thoughts are. And then you can determine your priorities for each outcome, or rather for the undesired outcome in this particular case since the entire argument becomes unnecessary if we learn that the implied allegations are false"
"So... you’re saying that I have to understand what my thoughts are ’if’ this accusation was true, and what I do in that case?"
"Yes to the first - you have to prepare your mind ahead, no to the second yet", Wu Long replied, "It is not about what you do - that is a plan of action and is a later step you’re not ready for before you finish this one, because you still don’t know what you want to achieve - it’s about what are your priorities. What is your desired outcome if the information turns out to be true"
"I see", Wei Yuanjie nodded with a heavy sigh, and then after a longer pause to think, spoke again, "I want to protect my Mother in case it’s false accusations of course... as for if it’s true... I want to confront her about it... I don’t think I can decide on what I really want to do after without doing that first... I don’t think this shouldn’t have consequences for her if it’s true. Even if I confront her, there should be consequences... but the severity of those consequences... I... I don’t know..."
"Good", Wu Long nodded, surprising the prince, and seeing the latter’s surprise smiled, "I told you, Yuanjie, I am your friend. I’ll support your decision on this one as much as I can. It may not be complete, but this is enough to proceed further"
"Doesn’t this go against... your morals... or something?", the prince hesitated a bit but asked.
"If this situation did concern me or especially my loved ones, I would’ve weighed in on the decision more. But I don’t have personal stakes in this matter, it entirely concerns you, so you get to decide", Wu Long lightly explained, "Besides, I did say ’as much as I can’, didn’t I? If I see you going in a direction I believe to be wrong, I will offer advice, and we can discuss it then. I can also offer counsel if you’re unsure and want to ask me anytime"
"But, don’t you have stakes in the succession battle? This information...", Wei Yuanjie didn’t finish.
Wu Long smiled again, "I may have interests in the battle of succession, but they’re just that, interests - their importance is limited to gains, which is quite far below things I consider truly important in life, namely my family, those who depend on me, and yes, friends. I have ways to achieve my goals without this information, but even if I didn’t it wouldn’t matter as much compared to how important this is for you"
"So this is... what being friends means...", Wei Yuanjie muttered.
"Some say that a duty of a true friend is to always be on your friend’s side, and some say a true friend will stop their friend from making a mistake even by force. I tend to be somewhere in between - you know I’m wary of absolutes. In this case, what I wanted to avoid was you going against your own conscience or eroding a sense of right and wrong you clearly have, which I value", Wu Long chuckled, "And so, this is where we come to the third step, the one you wanted to go to before, a plan of action"
He then explained further, "The second problem, in my opinion, with your response to the letter was that you only saw one option to deal with it. That problem rose up because the first two things we discussed were not set in place"
"I didn’t consider the issue of the veracity of information in the letter, and I didn’t clearly think through my priorities in case the accusation is true"
"Yes, the first raised the sense of need for urgent response, the combination with the second obscured other options in favor of the most basic one. In other words, it was an instinctive reactionary response. Now that you know that there is a chance the accusation is false which gives you mental stability to think more clearly, and your desired outcome for the other case is set - to confront your Mother about the accusation before deciding further, therefore having a say in the consequences - it gives you the ability to identify all options to achieve that desired outcome. The one you instinctively came up with, to bury the letter, is certainly one of the options. But it is neither the only one capable of getting you where you want, nor is it a pretty one"
"If I chose that, I’d... have had to silence Changsun Yong, as well as to condemn his Sect’s chance of being cleared of infamy and false accusations", Wei Yuanjie heavily sighed.
"Yes. The good news is that you have other options, some that don’t go against your own conscience", Wu Long nodded, "There is time to think, so you can choose to try and come up with those options yourself first. Of course, I will help sort through them later and make suggestions. Or we can brainstorm this together from the start" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"I... want to try doing it myself first"
"Good. Let’s wrap up here then. Remember to ask for help if you need it - you’re not alone. I’ll try to be around, but you can always contact Butler Bang to reach me if I’m not. You can also ask for Duan Feng’s advice if you want and decide to trust him, he is a smart man with a similarly clear moral compass as yours, just not a talkative one so it’s not always apparent", Wu Long stood up, and after encouragingly tapping Wei Yuanjie’s shoulder proceeded to the exit.
"Thank you, Wu Long", Wei Yuanjie’s voice stopped him before the door.
"This is also one of the things that friends are for", he chuckled, half turning his head, and then left the room.
