On Anxi Street, Chen Ji walked ho alone, carrying a shoulder pole from which hung two wooden buckets full of water; the buckets swung up and down but didn’t spill a drop.
He pondered the information provided by Jin Zhu, feeling a heavy haze hanging over Luocheng City, suffocatingly oppressive.
If the Liu Family really rebelled, the first thing they would probably do was to sacrifice the "Eunuch Party" of the Ritual Supervision, and he, a re little spy under the Ritual Supervision, would surely be the primary target.
This ti, many would die.
Just as he returned to the dical Hall, he saw Princess Bai Li dressed in clean clothes, sitting atop the wall and smiling as she waved at him, "Chen Ji, Chen Ji, help with the ladder."
Chen Ji bent down to place the shoulder pole on the ground and moved the ladder over to her.
As Bai Li descended the ladder, she curiously asked, "Did you help clean the tiles on this wall? There’s not a speck of dust."
Chen Ji steadied the ladder and grunted in affirmation, "I saw your white clothes rubbing against the dirt when you climbed the wall, so I wiped it clean."
Lowering her head to glance at her clean trousers, Bai Li looked up with a smile and said, "Thank you!"
When the Princely Heir’s head appeared over the wall, Chen Ji curiously asked, "I haven’t seen the little monk for a long ti, where is he?"
The Princely Heir boasted, "Father said him staying in Luocheng would lead him to pick up bad habits, so he sent him to the Imperial Capital’s Imperial Observatory to study under Deputy Director Xu Shu."
Chen Ji said helplessly, "What exactly are you proud of, my lord... Why have the Princely Heir and Princess arrived so early?"
The Princely Heir slid down the ladder, "We ca to learn your Sword Skill, Chen Ji, will you teach ?"
As the words fell, Prince Jing appeared, looking feeble as he parted the curtain, "He’s just a little apprentice, what use is there learning from him?"
Chen Ji was puzzled, Prince Jing had seed fine when they went to the theatre yesterday, yet this morning he harbored a strong sense of resentnt and hatred towards him.
Strange, where did this resentnt co from?
At that mont, Bai Li widened her eyes, "Father, why would you say that about Chen Ji?"
Prince Jing also widened his eyes, "I just felt like saying it, is there a problem?"
Bai Li wondered, "Father, why have you suddenly taken a dislike to Chen Ji? You were praising him before."
Prince Jing replied irritably, "That was then, this is now. Today my children co not to visit first, but to chat with him instead. Seems like you’ve forgotten, your father is still ill!"
Bai Li hurriedly moved a bamboo chair from inside the house and sheepishly helped Prince Jing to sit, "Father, we ca early in the morning to visit you."
Prince Jing leisurely said, "You know who you ca to see..."
Bai Li quickly covered Prince Jing’s mouth with her clean palm, lowering her voice, "Father, please don’t say that, I obviously ca to see you."
She sneaked a glance at Chen Ji, who apparently hadn’t heard their earlier conversation and curiously asked Prince Jing, "My lord, Xu Shu is the Deputy Director of the Imperial Observatory, who is the Director?"
Bai Li explained, "I know, the young Director of the Imperial Observatory is Hu Junyan, the junior master from the Laojun Mountain Dao Court."
"That na sounds familiar," Chen Ji tried to recall, "Wait... soone told before, in the winter of Jianing Eighth Year, Official Hu’s eldest grandson was abducted by the Beggar Guild during the Lantern Festival but was later retrieved by the Hu Family, is it him?"
Bai Li, massaging Prince Jing’s shoulders beside the bamboo chair, replied, "Yes, that’s him, mother ntioned that back then it caused a huge commotion. After he was retrieved by the Hu Family, the Master of Laojun Mountain Dao Court, Cen Yunzi personally went to the Imperial Capital to take him as a disciple, turning Hu Junyan into a mber of the Daoist Sect. Hence, Hu Junyan is a junior master to Cen Yunzi and a junior to Daoist Master Zhang Li."
Chen Ji suddenly wondered why Cen Yunzi had abruptly decided to take in a disciple, transforming Hu Junyan into a junior master at the Dao Court.
Could it be that sothing undisclosed happened when the Beggar Guild abducted him? Or perhaps, like Xu Shu, he ca from the Forty-nine Heavens?
Chen Ji curiously asked, "How old is he?"
Bai Li counted on her fingers before answering, "Twenty-seven?"
Chen Ji remarked, "Twenty-seven and already a Standard Fourth Rank Director of the Imperial Observatory."
Bai Li laughed, "You could achieve that too."
Prince Jing shifted positions, curling his lip, "Him? In his dreams!"
Chen Ji listened silently, not retaliating.
While they were talking, a respectful voice from a guard ca from the front of the dical Hall, "Princess Consort Jing, Feng Daban has instructed that aside from the dical Hall’s Imperial Physician and apprentices, no outsiders are allowed to co and go at will."
A crisp slap resounded.
Nanny Chunrong glared fiercely, "Calling my Lady an outsider? Who taught you to act like this, move aside."
Princess Jing consoled gently from the side, "Chunrong, they are just following orders, don’t bla them. But still, I would appreciate it if the generals would step aside, I am after all the Prince’s concubine. How could you possibly block my way?"
In the yard, hearing Princess Jing’s voice, Prince Jing quickly got up and returned to the main house. Before entering, he instructed Chen Ji, "Hold her back for a mont, I don’t feel like seeing anyone today."
Chen Ji hesitated, "Princess Jing is quite forceful, I’m afraid I might not be able to stop her."
Prince Jing coldly commanded, "Stop her anyway."
Once inside, he pressed his ear against the window, silently listening to the noise outside.
While listening, he whispered to Old Yao, "What do you think, will your apprentice also get slapped?"
Old Yao slowly retorted, "Does Prince hope he gets slapped or not?"
Prince Jing thought for a mont and said with a smile, "I rather hope he does."
As his voice fell, Chen Ji was heard outside the room saying, "My lady, my master is currently administering acupuncture to the Prince; it will be done shortly, please wait a mont."
Prince Jing’s face imdiately darkened.
He slowly turned to Old Yao, only to see Old Yao had silently taken out a set of silver needles, signaling him to lie on the bed.
Reluctantly, Prince Jing lay down and, while letting Old Yao administer the needles, he lowered his voice to complain, "Why does this kid hold such a grudge?"
Old Yao chuckled and said, "Isn’t Prince the sa?"
A mont later, Old Yao lifted the curtain and said to the outside, "Princess Consort Jing, please co in."
Chen Ji leaned by the window, silently eavesdropping on the conversation inside the room. However, the voices were too soft; they could only catch intermittent bits of Princess Consort Jing saying, "Official Liu and Daoist Master Cen Yunzi are old acquaintances; they once together... as long as Prince is willing to help the Liu Family, the Liu Family will definitely secure the Life Feather Pill for the Prince..."
Less than thirty minutes later, Princess Consort Jing hurried away with reddened eyes.
Silence lingered in the room for a long ti, like a chess player holding a piece, sitting before a complex board, deep in thought.
Suddenly, Prince Jing said softly, "It’s ti."
The next mont, he said calmly in the room, "Chen Ji, co in."
Chen Ji glanced at the Princely Heir and Bai Li in the courtyard before lifting the curtain and entering, only to see Prince Jing sitting up from the bed, his face stern as he pulled out the silver needles one by one, "I need to step out for a while, co with ."
Chen Ji was taken aback. "Your Highness wants to go out during the day? What if Consort Yun and Feng Daban co to visit you?"
"Don’t worry; they are currently too busy to care about ."
...
...
Luocheng, East Market, Anle Street.
This was the liveliest place in Luocheng at noon, with tea houses and wine taverns densely packed along the long street.
The idle gentlen of the city liked to sit in tea houses, order a pot of tea, so sunflower seeds or aniseed beans, and listen to storytellers from day till night.
At the entrance of the Fulou Tea House, Prince Jing stood with his hands behind his back, glanced up to confirm the signboard, then stepped over the threshold and led Chen Ji to a corner seat.
A young waiter with a white towel draped over his shoulder was sweeping up discarded seed shells. Seeing the two guests, he smiled as he approached, "What kind of tea would the gentlen like?"
Prince Jing casually ordered, "A pot of Maojian tea, a plate of sunflower seeds, a plate of aniseed beans, a plate of preserved fruits, and a plate of pickled sour fruit. Oh, and what’s today’s story about?
The waiter smiled broadly, "Sir, just now Mr. Zhou told a story about Confucius becoming a sage, which was an old story told anew and very exciting. Next, he’s going to tell a contemporary story, supposedly a new tale about a scripture debate at Lu Hun Manor, involving our Prince Jing."
Prince Jing’s eyes sparkled, "That sounds interesting, I must listen!"
Once the waiter had left, Chen Ji, sitting by the octagonal table, couldn’t help asking, "Your Highness, the serious matter you ntioned, isn’t just listening to a storyteller in the tea house, is it?"
Prince Jing countered, "Who said only matters of nation and ho are serious matters? Isn’t listening to a storyteller also a serious matter?"
Chen Ji curiously asked, "Then what is considered a serious matter?"
Prince Jing tapped his finger on the table, "Being happy is the serious matter!"
No wonder Chen Ji was puzzled; this vassal prince, who had authority just yesterday, had taken him to a play, and today, to a tea house to listen to a storyteller, seemingly unconcerned as turmoil and war were about to engulf Henan Province.
Chen Ji thought deeply and finally said in a low voice, "Your Highness, about the Liu Family’s rebellious plan, do you really intend to ignore it?"
Prince Jing, watching the storyteller’s stage, slowly said, "Young man, when I was twenty-one and was titled prince, I wore a black official robe embroidered with a four-clawed golden dragon, standing second only to one and above tens of thousands."
"That year, I was commanded in tis of peril to assist His Majesty in worry, to eliminate corrupt officials, to secure the imperial throne, to unite factions, and to split the north and south civil servants. I woke up at the third watch every day to handle governnt affairs, worrying about floods, droughts, bandit disasters, not daring to make a single mistake or waste a single mont, only focusing on unifying the lands to ensure that one day my na would resound through this realm."
"Now, at forty-five, His Majesty no longer needs . Only now do I rember that I had always heard about how interesting the stories in the tea houses were, but never had the ti to sit down and listen."
"What do you think? In one’s lifeti, what really is the serious matter?"
Chen Ji remained silent, not knowing why these words－so many words－were being spoken to him in particular today.
At that mont, Prince Jing looked across the table and calmly said, "The house on Tongji Street yesterday does not belong to Landlord Lin; he rents it from , the deed is with ."
"This Fulou Tea House is also mine; half the properties on Anle Street are mine."
"Thirty-one shops in the capital, twelve hundred acres of fertile land outside the capital... nobody knows these properties are owned by the Prince’s Mansion, they aren’t even listed in the mansion’s books, and I’ll leave them all to Bai Li."
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