Disciple He Ji grieves over widespread slander. Mencius consoles him that such gossip harms nothing, citing two Book of Songs verses: even Confucius and King Wen endured petty men’s resentment yet retained their noble reputations.
Zixia stresses trust as the foundation of governance and advice. A gentleman wins people’s trust before assigning labor and gains a ruler’s trust before offering remonstrance; without trust, his efforts will be misread as oppression or slander.
Han Feizi tells Lu Dan bribed attendants to gain favor, then fled, knowing trust from hearsay is fragile.
The Zhen bird (a mythical poisonous bird)) met a venomous snake on the road and advanced to peck at it.