In the main hall of the inn, Wang Gui held up the steaming yellow millet cornbread, turning his back firmly against Chen Ji.
He pondered in his heart, if Chen Ji ca up to ask for cornbread, what excuse would he use to get rid of Chen Ji?
However, Chen Ji paid no attention to Wang Gui and went straight to the stairs on the left. With each step Chen Ji took, Wang Gui followed the sound of footsteps slowly rotating his body, keeping his back towards Chen Ji the whole ti.
At this mont, Chen Wenxiao was standing at the corner of the second-floor staircase, shouting loudly, "Wang Gui, why has it taken so long, the food isn’t ready..."
The mont he saw Chen Ji, his voice abruptly stopped, and he turned and went into the room.
Everyone was waiting for Chen Ji to go upstairs, and only when Chen Ji disappeared at the stair corner did Wang Gui finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Behind the counter, the shopkeeper in black robe looked askance at Wang Gui, "Isn’t Chen Ji also from your Chen family? Why do you all guard against him like he’s a thief?"
Wang Gui glared fiercely at the shopkeeper, "The Chen family’s affairs are none of your business! We managed to buy so food with great difficulty, even the legitimate son might not be fed enough, how could it be his turn?"
The shopkeeper sneered, "The noble Chen family, yet eager to engage in shaful misdeeds, the master is like this, and so are the dogs tied up at ho."
Wang Gui narrowed his eyes slightly, "The Chen family has a long history of being court officials, and certainly doesn’t need the comnts of so country bumpkin. If you want to stand up for him, you might as well share your own food with him. Just rember, we don’t know how long the Jing Dynasty’s siege will last; don’t end up feeding others and starving yourself."
While they were speaking, the cotton drapes were pushed open again.
Qi Zhenzhuo and a Yulin Army soldier in casual attire walked in, one carrying a light cloth bag that clearly did not hold much food.
Seeing the cornbread in Wang Gui’s hand, Qi Zhenzhuo’s eyes lit up instantly.
The young master of the Qi family stepped forward, grabbed two cornbreads from the tray without asking, stuffed one into his own mouth and the other into his colleague’s.
Chewing on the cornbread, he mumbled vaguely, "Starving us to death!"
Wang Gui was shocked and reached out to snatch the cornbread from Qi Zhenzhuo’s mouth, "What are you doing, this is the food I managed to collect from villagers’ houses!"
Qi Zhenzhuo threw his head back to avoid Wang Gui’s reaching hand, cursing as he said, "Yours and mine, we’re all in the sa boat now. Share the food if you have it! Co over, I’ll take two more, my brother-in-law hasn’t eaten since morning!"
"There’s no way!" Wang Gui, scared, turned and ran upstairs.
Qi Zhenzhuo stood there lost in thought, he looked at the half-eaten cornbread in his hand, gritted his teeth, and decided not to eat it anymore, planning to save it for Li Xuan.
The shopkeeper behind the counter sized up Qi Zhenzhuo, "Are you having trouble collecting grain, Officer?"
Qi Zhenzhuo sighed, "All the grain shops have been thoroughly searched by the border army, I could only gather so from the nooks and crannies of the civilians’ hos, and had to pay a hefty price for it. The silver I spent on this half bag of grain would have been enough for a feast in the Eight Great Hutongs!"
The shopkeeper spoke airily, "Be frugal with it, it seems we have many more days of hunger ahead."
Qi Zhenzhuo’s eyes rolled about, "Shopkeeper, you’ve been in the hall the whole ti, have you seen how much grain the Chen family bought?"
The shopkeeper smiled, "Just that little bit, and stead it all into cornbread in one go."
Qi Zhenzhuo asked again, "What about Chen Ji? Did Chen Ji bring back any grain?"
The shopkeeper glanced at him, "No."
Wang Gui carried the cornbread upstairs, knocking on the door of Tianzi Room B. Chen Wenxiao opened the door, frowned at the tray, "Is this all? Not even beef with sauce, how can I swallow this?"
Wang Gui patiently explained, "Second Young Master, this was obtained with difficulty from the hands of the villagers."
Chen Wenxiao hesitated for a mont but eventually took the tray.
Just as Wang Gui was about to enter the room, the door slamd shut in his face. Wang Gui was stunned, and as he opened his mouth wanting to say he hadn’t eaten yet, he wasn’t sure how to begin, his expression gradually turning gloomy.
Inside the room, Chen Liqin and Chen Wenzong were standing next to the window, brows deeply furrowed.
Mrs. Liang took the tray from Chen Wenxiao’s hands, "Master, Wenzong, co eat sothing."
However, Chen Liqin and Chen Wenzong didn’t imdiately co to eat but observed the movents inside Guyuan City from their elevated position.
A wildfire blazed outside Guyuan City, thick smoke billowing.
Chen Wenzong spoke gravely, "Father, Guyuan is in danger, the city’s grain reserves won’t last a month, I’m afraid not even half a month."
Chen Liqin heaved a deep sigh, "How can I worry about Guyuan City now? If we can’t buy more grain, the border army will go hungry tonight! Should the soldiers start to raise a fuss, who knows what trouble they might cause."
Chen Wenzong hesitated, "The Yulin Army has military discipline."
Chen Liqin scoffed coldly, "The Yulin Army may have discipline, but when people are desperately hungry, they’ll do anything. I fear they will rob the civilians for food and be caught and punished by the border army. The Yulin Army is brought up by His Highness; if their reputation is tarnished, so is His Highness’s. If it cos to that, the stability of the Crown Prince’s position would be in question."
Chen Wenzong’s pupils shrank: "With a formidable enemy at our gates, why has it co to this?"
"You are still young, not understanding the perilous nature of court politics," Chen Liqin slowly explained. "Hu Junxian is Prince Fu’s uncle. Although Prince Fu seems harmless to both humans and animals, and claims no stake in worldly disputes, who really knows what he does in secret? I have not seen even a shadow of the Jing Dynasty Heavenly Strategy Army, and the city walls are in quietude. I even suspect that the entire affair was fabricated by the border army, only to cause the Yulin Army to make a mistake, all for the sake of seizing the position of legitimate heir!"
Chen Liqin continued, "Think about it, the Governor’s Mansion, the granary, and the armory are always heavily guarded. How could the thieves of the Jing Dynasty start a fire? It must be a case of the border army guarding their own theft!"
Chen Wenzong murmured, "But why would they go through such lengths, causing such a commotion, just to fra the Crown Prince? If the Yulin Army doesn’t make a mistake, do they intend to keep the entire city’s populace starving indefinitely?"
Chen Liqin shook his head. Seeing his legitimate eldest son was still unconvinced, he could only patiently say, "The struggle for succession is a battle for the very empire itself. Compared to the dragon throne, what are the lives of a city’s populace?"
Chen Wenzong anxiously said, "Then what should we do? Father, let’s go find so grain!"
Chen Liqin furrowed his brow: "Where to find it? We have looked everywhere we should!"
Chen Wenzong’s eyes suddenly lit up: "Let’s ask Chen Ji, he’s full of ideas, perhaps he will have a way."
Beside them, Chen Wenxiao, chewing on stead bun, sneered: "Brother, you’re treating him as if he were an Immortal. If five hundred Yulin Army soldiers can’t find food, how could he? If he can, from now on, I’ll walk on my hands every ti I see him."
Chen Wenzong said coldly: "You have the leisure to make sarcastic remarks, better to think about how to alleviate the worries of His Highness and Father!"
Mrs. Liang pulled his arm to sit at the table, smoothing over the tension: "Wenzong, you should eat sothing quickly, you haven’t eaten all day."
Chen Wenzong picked up a stead bun, hesitating for a mont: "Mother, have you sent any food to Chen Ji?"
Chen Wenxiao gave a contemptuous smile: "Didn’t you say he was all-powerful? Why would he need us to send him food? Brother, isn’t that a contradiction?"
However, in the next instant, Chen Wenzong stood up, pocketed four buns and headed out: "I’m going to see him."
Mrs. Liang beca anxious: "What are you doing? I... I’ve already arranged for Wang Gui to send him four buns, just eat yours!"
Chen Wenzong was suspicious: "Really?"
Mrs. Liang said indignantly: "Could it be that you even doubt your own mother? That would be against filial piety!"
Chen Wenzong hurriedly explained: "I do not doubt Mother... As long as Mother has arranged it, that’s good."
...
...
In front of Tianzi Room C, Chen Ji tapped the door gently with his knuckles: "It’s ."
With a creak, Xiao Man opened the door.
Inside the room, Chen Ji saw Zhang Zheng pacing back and forth, anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
He surveyed the interior and frowned, asking, "Where is Second Miss Zhang?"
Zhang Zheng stepped forward and said hurriedly: "After you left with Old Wu, my sister insisted she must see where those two n from Luocheng went to, and insisted on following them. I disagreed, but she slipped away when I was not paying attention with Xiao Man, and I have no idea where she went!"
Chen Ji thought this was bad, turning around to find people.
But he had barely stepped out of the door when he saw Zhang Xia coming up the stairs, curiously asking: "Where are you going?"
Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought you ended up in the hands of those people from Luocheng."
Zhang Xia smiled: "I’m not that foolish, they didn’t even notice . Co on, let’s go inside and talk."
Chen Ji looked around the corridor before closing the door: "Where did you follow them to?"
Zhang Xia leaned against the window, speaking softly: "I didn’t dare to follow too closely, and I don’t know who else they t along the way, but they eventually went to Taohuai Square and entered the house of a Landlord Li."
She continued: "I quietly asked so children, and one of them said Landlord Li is in business and quite wealthy. He gives out benefits to the neighbors every holiday, and every child gets a share, they are a very kind family."
Chen Ji pondered for a mont: "What business does Landlord Li’s family do?"
Zhang Xia thought it over: "I didn’t ask about that... Wait, there was a heavy sll of sulfur on that street, could they be in the sulfur business?"
Chen Ji suddenly realized: "Sulfur!"
Zhang Xia asked in confusion: "Isn’t sulfur just a dicinal ingredient? Why such a big reaction?"
Chen Ji remained silent.
Only he knew that sulfur is one of the main ingredients used in making firearms, but he couldn’t let others know that he had the recipe for firearms!
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