Noon sunlight was just perfect.
Outside the dical Hall, four bearers slowly lifted Zhang Zhuo’s dark red official sedan chair, rging into the stream of people on Anxi Street.
A faint fragrance wafted through the dical Hall. Bai Li leaned against the counter and looked outside, asking, "I think I just saw Lord Zhang Zhuo. Why did he rush away as soon as he peeked in and saw us?"
Chen Ji gathered the chess pieces into the basket: "Lord Zhang said he had a banquet to attend at noon, so he left early."
Bai Li puzzled: "Did Lord Zhang co especially to see you? Was he hoping to be a matchmaker for the Chen family and persuade you to return ho?"
Chen Ji was equally perplexed: "No, it seed like he was actually trying to persuade not to go ho..."
Bai Li: "Ah?"
The recently wall-scaling Princely Heir, while dusting off his clothes, teased, "Maybe Lord Zhang appreciates your talent and wants to recruit you to work in the governnt office."
"Can one beco an official without taking the imperial examinations?"
The Princely Heir smiled: "Of course, with Lord Zhang’s status and background, recomnding an official position for you would be a piece of cake. He might really be wanting to invite you to take up a post. You could start as a staff mber in the governnt office for a couple of years, followed by an assignnt to govern sowhere else."
Liu Quxing said sourly: "What position could Chen Ji possibly take? He hasn’t even learned dical techniques as well as I have; at the beginning of the year, I could accurately locate all Twelve Main ridians, yet he still couldn’t rember where the Yongquan acupoint was..."
She Dengke, with his arms crossed, snickered: "You may rember the acupoints, but you forget the kindness others show you."
Liu Quxing stiffened his neck, his face red with anger: "What nonsense are you spouting?"
The Princely Heir exclaid wistfully: "It seems no one at Taiping dical Hall has a useless tongue."
anwhile, Old Yao was fiddling with his abacus beads and, without looking up from his bookkeeping, remarked indifferently: "Stop guessing already. When that Lord Zhang entered, he asked if Chen Ji had taken a fancy to any family’s daughter. I said no, this lad’s mind probably isn’t quite there yet, so he hasn’t considered such matters."
Liu Quxing’s breath caught in his throat.
Old Yao set down his writing brush, looked up, and continued: "Then, Lord Zhang started praising his own daughter, saying how gentle and sensible she is, adept at managing household affairs. Don’t you understand what Lord Zhang is getting at?"
The dical Hall suddenly fell silent.
Liu Quxing’s mouth hung open as he silently turned to look at Chen Ji, hesitant to speak.
Chen Ji looked towards Liu Quxing: "Senior Brother, what do you want to say?"
Liu Quxing gritted his teeth: "You really are asking for it!"
Chen Ji: "..."
With his master being so blunt, it wouldn’t be fitting for him to play dumb anymore: "Master, you didn’t play along with him, did you?"
Old Yao snorted with laughter: "I’m not your father, what right do I have to chi in on that? But for him to co to the dical Hall early in the morning just to take a good look at you, it’s not likely that he’s going to a banquet, but rather to the Chen Mansion."
Chen Ji frowned: "Isn’t this a bit hasty? I’ve t Lord Zhang only thrice; can he really judge my character from that?"
This ti, Old Yao was taken aback: "Isn’t three tis enough? The fact that he made a special trip to the dical Hall for this matter already shows a lot of sincerity. It looks like his daughter is quite favored."
Chen Ji suddenly realized an issue: In this era, the selection of a marriage partner wasn’t about the person but about social status.
As his master said, the fact that Zhang Zhuo personally ca to the dical Hall to see Chen Ji showed extre responsibility towards his daughter.
She Dengke muttered: "Lord Zhang has several daughters; which one is he trying to matchmake now?"
The Princely Heir leaned thoughtfully against the counter: "Lord Zhang only has two daughters; the older one is already married into the Liu Family. It must be the younger one, but..."
Chen Ji puzzled: "But what?"
Liu Quxing bluntly stated: "But, the remaining daughter is the legitimate daughter, and you are a bastard. Could it be that Lord Zhang has an illegitimate daughter too?"
The Princely Heir shook his head, "Even if Chen Ji is a bastard, he’s still a Chen family bastard. The Chen Family is illustrious and noble, generation after generation adorned with official headwear, and now the head of the family, Chen Luchi, is also honored as an Official of the court and serves as the Minister of Revenue. If Lord Zhang would propose a match for an illegitimate daughter, he could very well get kicked out of the Chen Mansion by Mr. Chen. Thus, the one Lord Zhang intends to matchmake is most likely his legitimate daughter."
A legitimate daughter marrying a bastard...
Liu Quxing felt even more bitter.
While pondering, Bai Li said from the side, "However, Lord Zhang Zhuo’s reputation..."
"Hmm?" Chen Ji looked towards Bai Li.
After hesitating for a long ti, Bai Li tugged gently at the sleeve of the Princely Heir, "Brother, you tell him."
The Princely Heir reluctantly spoke on his behalf, "Under Lord Zhang, if you wish to be promoted, the promotion of a County Registrar costs eight hundred taels of silver, while the promotion of a County Magistrate costs 3,000 taels, with the price set openly. The Zhang Mansion is bustling with visitors every day, crowded with people queuing outside seeking official appointnts, and it is said that there are also officials from other prefectures. However, Lord Zhang’s credit is quite good; as long as you pay, he really does get things done."
Liu Quxing perked up from the side, "I heard that Lord Zhang has taken several dozen beautiful concubines, is that true?"
The Princely Heir laughed, "It’s true. The number of officials who offer him beautiful concubines every year is countless. He never refuses any and accepts them all as given."
Liu Quxing sighed, "How many residences does that require?"
The Princely Heir said, "Lord Zhang ranks his beautiful concubines into three levels; the top three stay in his own residence, while the rest are all sent to work in the agricultural estates..."
Bai Li added from the side, "The Chen family is a beacon of integrity from the north, and has long-standing animosity with the Xu family from the south on the court..."
Chen Ji shook his head, "These court politics aren’t sothing for to worry about. I’m just not interested in this matter."
Old Yao said sarcastically, "You speak as if you have a say in this matter. It’s not up to you when it cos to parental orders and matchmakers’ proposals, is it?"
Chen Ji replied, "Lord Zhang must be coveting my cent formula. I haven’t signed the transfer contract for the formula with the Prince yet. There’s still room for change, so Lord Zhang got the idea. I just need to sign the contract with the Prince as soon as possible. Once Lord Zhang realizes there’s no chance with the cent matter, he will discard like a worn-out shoe."
Old Yao stroked his beard, "That makes sense. That man never gets up early for nothing; he’s indeed a petty person."
The Princely Heir suddenly said, "However, Lord Zhang wasn’t like this when he was younger. He passed the Scholar exam at twelve and beca the top scorer of the imperial examination at fifteen. Back then, he already had a wife, and Official Xu had soone propose a marriage to have him divorce his wife and marry the Xu family’s daughter, but he refused. He told the matchmaker, ’Without , your noble daughter remains noble. Without , my wife fears becoming nothing more than a pile of bones.’"
"At the age of nineteen, Lord Zhang’s wife passed away due to illness. Disheartened, he resigned from his official post and returned to his hotown in Huguang, Jiangling."
Bai Li asked doubtfully, "Eh, so how did he end up marrying Official Xu’s niece?"
"It’s said that after spending a year idle at ho, Lord Zhang had a change of heart and turned around to marry Official Xu’s niece, and his career took off smoothly from there."
However, at this mont, Bai Li suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Chen Ji, soone across from the dical Hall keeps staring at . I’ve seen him, and it’s not the first ti."
Chen Ji glanced over with his peripheral vision and saw a vigorous middle-aged man standing in the shadow of the stead bun shop’s awning, silently watching Bai Li.
This middle-aged man was dressed in black, with a broad back, a wasp waist, and praying mantis legs, exceptionally stalwart.
Chen Ji wanted to get a clear look at the man’s face, but his features were hidden under his broad hat, concealed in the shadow underneath.
Was he from the Spy Departnt, shadowing them? It didn’t seem likely, as a spy wouldn’t stare so openly.
He thought for a mont and asked, "Commandery Princess, how many tis have you seen him?"
Bai Li recalled, "Four or five tis. The first ti was at the tavern at the foot of Donglin Academy’s mountain. That day I followed my brother down the mountain, and he sat there alone. Due to his distinctive stature and aura, he was quite morable once seen."
"Where else have you seen him?"
"Let think, on the way back from the academy, just as we entered Luocheng City, he was standing by the roadside," Bai Li said. "At first, I was quite scared when I saw him, thinking he might be so villain from Jianghu, but I gradually got used to it. He would just watch for a while and then leave."
"Does he have any other distinguishing features?"
Bai Li pondered for a mont, then suddenly said, "I rember now, once when I passed by him, I saw a tattoo on his wrist under the rolled-up sleeve. It seed to be a tattoo of Buddha."
"Buddha?" Chen Ji frowned and looked back outside the dical Hall, only to find that there was no one under the awning of the stead bun shop anymore.
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