After the hour of Chen, the Zhang Mansion suddenly beca busy.
Lady Zhang stood at the Zhang family's gate greeting guests, barely getting a chance to return inside to rest; Chen Ji and Zhang Xia helped receive New Year gifts and prepare return gifts, so busy their feet scarcely touched the ground.
Officials from the Six Ministries, the Ministry of Communication, the Six Departnts, the Five Cities Military Departnt, the Master's Mansion, the Hanlin Academy—every governnt office in the Imperial Capital one could think of sent people over.
Even the Monk Record Office and the Taoist Record Bureau were no exception.
Only around Noon did the guests slowly thin out.
Chen Ji leaned against the doorfra of the ceremonial gate, watching Lady Zhang's back as she chatted with soone in the distance, and let out a long breath: "Word must have gotten out that Prince Fu ca to the Zhangs, so the officials in the Imperial Capital rushed over to make up their New Year gifts to our family. They're afraid even one day's delay would be too late."
Zhang Xia leaned against the other side of the ceremonial gate and gave a soft "mm": "Among the thirty-four emperors of the Ning Dynasty, there has never been a disabled person ascending the throne. The Crown Prince's leg is crippled, so he has no chance at the throne. By contrast, Prince Fu has been diligently governing in the South; he is the Empress's legitimate son, and he has the Hu Family backing him…"
She turned to look at Chen Ji: "After Prince Fu returned to the capital, instead of entering the palace first thing, he ca to our house. It's hard not to let people's imaginations run wild. Pity they don't know Prince Fu didn't co to the Zhangs to offer New Year's greetings—he ca to see you."
Zhang Xia then looked at her own mother's back: "Mother can finally be a bit happier now. Only two Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel ca this morning; she didn't say anything, but she was certainly not pleased. Now the gate is crowded like a marketplace—though it's a bit tiring, this is exactly the respectability she wants."
Just then, Lady Zhang turned back from the gate. Seeing Chen Ji and Zhang Xia leaning against the doorfra, she slowly put away her smile and said calmly, "The old tailor from Liu Ji will co this afternoon; both of you go get asured. Nuanchun, go to the storeroom this afternoon and find that bolt of dark kesi, cut half of it to make a new robe for our son-in-law. He looks sharper in black than in gray."
Nuanchun hurriedly agreed.
Zhang Xia watched her mother enter the mansion and teased, "There isn't much kesi in the household to begin with, and there's only that one bolt of dark-colored one, with hidden patterns of immortal cranes and auspicious clouds. My mother originally kept it for when Father got promoted to First Rank so she could make his formal everyday robe. Now she's actually willing to take it out for you."
Chen Ji smiled and said, "It's so valuable—then I'd better switch to so ordinary cloth instead."
"Don't reject her goodwill," Zhang Xia straightened up, whistled once, and called over Zaozao: "I've arranged to play polo with soone this afternoon…"
Chen Ji was puzzled: "The snow hasn't lted yet, and you're still going to play polo?"
Zhang Xia explained casually, "We made the appointnt long ago; none of us expected it would snow these past few days."
Chen Ji said blandly, "Who are you eting?"
Zhang Xia replied as if nothing were unusual, "Even if I told you, you wouldn't know them."
Chen Ji smiled: "Anyone who can play polo with you must be a fairly close friend. Sooner or later, I ought to et them."
Zhang Xia thought for a mont: "Zheng Zeyi and Zheng Xi, the siblings from the Xingyang Zheng Family; Yang Shu, Yangyang's fifth younger sister; Li Tuan and Li Yuan, the two sisters from the Longxi Li Family. I t all of them in the Imperial Academy in my earlier years."
Chen Ji seed thoughtful: "Why don't I go with you? I've never played polo before."
Zhang Xia gave him a sidelong look: "Do you still rember the three rules we set in Luocheng City?"
Chen Ji was taken aback, then smiled: "I rember. That day you rode Zaozao to my door, dressed all in red, wearing a red jade hairpin, and you told that in the future, wherever you wanted to go and whatever you wanted to do, I was not to interfere."
Zhang Xia's lips curved up: "Good that you rember. Wherever you want to go and whatever you want to do, I don't interfere either."
Just then, Chen Ji stretched out a hand in front of Zhang Xia.
Leading Zaozao by the reins, Zhang Xia asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
Chen Ji said righteously, "That day you also said that as long as I didn't go to brothels or Gambling Houses, you'd give Silver to spend every month."
Zhang Xia's eyes widened: "How do you rember it so clearly?"
Chen Ji smiled: "You said it, so you must follow through. Hand over the Silver."
Zhang Xia reluctantly took a string of Buddhist Treasure Tongbao from her sleeve and stuffed it into Chen Ji's hand: "This is the 600 taels of Silver Mother gave just a few days ago."
Chen Ji put it on his wrist: "A woman of her word—I'm impressed."
Zhang Xia rolled her eyes, swung herself into the saddle, and left through the side gate of the Zhang Mansion.
Chen Ji watched silently. As soon as Zhang Xia's figure disappeared from sight, he imdiately went out through the side gate in pursuit.
He stood outside the side gate, listening to the direction of the receding hoofbeats… they were heading south.
There were only four polo grounds in the Imperial Capital: one at the Heavenly Master Temple grassland, one at the Inner Grass Field, one at the Central Mansion Grassland, and one at the Mingzhi Square Grassland, all in the Inner City East.
But after leaving the Zhang Mansion, Zhang Xia did not head east; she went south instead.
Sothing was wrong.
This was not the way to a polo ground.
...
...
Chen Ji did not follow too closely.
Zhang Xia's horse was fast, but Zaozao was tall and big, and the horseshoes nailed to its hooves were a size larger than those of ordinary horses, making its tracks especially easy to distinguish in the snow.
Chen Ji followed the hoofprints through the tunnel of Xuanwu Gate; just as he stepped out, he drew back a step, retreating into the shadow inside the gate tunnel.
He saw Zaozao tied in front of Li's Donkey at Burnt Shop, but Zhang Xia herself was nowhere to be seen.
Chen Ji waited in silence, until he saw Zhang Xia erge holding a donkey at burnt bun.
Strange.
From a distance, Chen Ji sized up this donkey at bun shop. Could it really be that good?
This ti, the mont Zhang Xia stepped out the door she drove Zaozao into a gallop, continuing south.
Chen Ji waited a mont longer, then followed the hoofprints for two streets. But just then, a carriage carved with hibiscus flowers ca head-on and happened to roll right over Zaozao's hoofprints.
The carriage was very fast, the driver extrely overbearing. He saw Chen Ji from far off and still didn't swerve, only shouted loudly, "Out of the way!"
Chen Ji turned his body sideways, and the carriage sped past him.
When the carriage left, he frowned and pushed forward again, tracking ahead all the way to Luoma Market Street. But in the Outer City, carriages and horses flowed endlessly; the snow on the ground had long been churned into slush, and Zaozao's hoofprints could no longer be picked out.
Standing on the main street of Luoma Market, Chen Ji repeatedly looked east and west. Ox carts and pedestrians kept passing him by, but that sweep of red clothing was nowhere to be seen.
He'd lost her.
Chen Ji stood in place, thinking.
If it were him wanting to shake off soone trailing him after a heavy snow, he would certainly choose to co this way too.
But this place wouldn't be Zhang Xia's destination. Once she shook off the tail, she would definitely circle back to where she'd originally ant to go… Where would that be?
At that thought, Chen Ji imdiately returned through Xuanwu Gate to the inner city, heading straight for the outside of Taiye Pond.
He stood in Shibei Alley opposite Taiye Pond, found a noodle shop from which he could see Taiye Pond, chose a seat by the window and sat down. "Waiter, a bowl of plain noodles."
The shop's waiter acknowledged him, "Guest, please wait a mont."
Chen Ji rubbed his chopsticks between his hands, watching Taiye Pond as he did so.
In the noodle shop, soone was speaking with great relish: "Don't be fooled by how arrogant that Marquis Wu Xiang, Chen Ji, used to be. Now that he's fallen, he can only be a live-in son-in-law in the Zhang Family, and even his child has to take the Zhang surna."
The middle-aged man opposite him snorted, "That's why they say, in this world, what goes around cos around. Just you watch, he won't last long in the Zhang Family."
From a corner soone suddenly joined in, "I'm not so sure about that."
Chen Ji's chopsticks paused for a mont, but he didn't turn his head.
The one speaking was an old man in a gray cotton jacket, hair gone white, with a bowl of plain noodles and a small dish of pickled radish in front of him.
Leisurely, he picked up a slice of radish. "Do you know how many families haven't had to sell their sons and daughters after Li's Pawnshop went under?"
The young man was unimpressed. "Even if he did that one thing right, it doesn't change the fact that he's of the Eunuch Party. Colluding with the Poison Minister, colluding with Wu Xiu, helping the Eunuch Party fra loyal officials—those are facts nailed into the board, aren't they? The Three Judicial Departnts all passed judgnt."
The old man finally raised his head and gave him a look. "Young man, who are these 'loyal officials' you're talking about?"
The young man replied with certainty, "Obviously Qing Wentao and Prince Jing."
The old man picked up another slice of pickled radish. "Prince Jing has been cleared, and General Qing Wentao has been cleared as well. But the day Prince Jing was exonerated, who was it that stood up in the Ministry of Justice's main hall to confess? It was Wu Xiu of the Eunuch Party. Wu Xiu used his own life to overturn the unjust case against Prince Jing and General Wentao. Chen Ji had his title stripped because he once raided the inner prison in Luocheng City—the very inner prison where Prince Guan Jingwang was held. If he was framing Prince Jing, what would he be raiding the prison for… wouldn't you say so?"
The young man and the middle-aged man exchanged a look. The middle-aged man smacked his lips. "That… does sound a bit reasonable."
The young man looked toward Chen Ji. "Hey, young fellow, what do you think?"
Chen Ji smiled and shook his head. "I don't know."
The waiter brought over the noodles. Chen Ji lowered his head and ate, as if it were not himself they were discussing in the noodle shop, as if all those past events had already turned the page once he and Zhang Xia were married.
From ti to ti, Chen Ji looked up at Taiye Pond. Spies were constantly going in and out; he even saw Jiao Tu and Yun Yang enter, stay for about ten minutes, then hurry back out.
Chen Ji also saw Xuan Snake lead more than twenty Spies out of Taiye Pond and leave in a rush.
Soon after, he saw Prisoner bring the twenty-four wolf cubs taken from Wunian Mountain, escorting a dozen-odd people into Taiye Pond.
Strange.
What had happened in the Imperial Capital today, that the Eagle House Office and inner prison in Taiye Pond were so unusually busy?
He waited all the way until the evening. Until the noodle shop had emptied out, Chen Ji still hadn't seen any sign of Zhang Xia.
Nor had he seen Bai Long.
He tossed ten Copper Coins onto the table to pay for his noodles and was just about to get up and leave when he saw Bai Long and Treasure Monkey step in from outside, patting the wind and snow from their clothes.
Chen Ji froze for a mont, then sat back down on the bench. "Lord Bai Long, Lord Treasure Monkey, you've co for noodles too? I'm afraid it's not too convenient for you two to eat with those masks on."
From beneath Treasure Monkey's mask ca a woman's gentle voice. "We're not here to eat, Mr. Chen. We ca here specifically to look for you."
Chen Ji pushed the noodle bowl aside, speaking carelessly, "How did you know I'd be here?"
From beneath Treasure Monkey's comical wooden monkey mask ca a hoarse, mocking voice. "This spot just happens to be perfect for monitoring the movents of the Spy Departnt. Did Mr. Chen think just anyone could open a noodle shop here? This was originally a window reserved for the Military Intelligence Departnt. We never thought we'd end up waiting here for you."
Chen Ji turned to look at the Shopkeeper and the waiter, only to see both of them politely clasp their fists to him.
He smiled. "What do you two want with ?"
Bai Long sat down across from him, pulled a morning paper from his sleeve, and tossed it on the table. "A shipnt of Firearms headed for the Divine Machine Camp has gone missing. The Spy Departnt is out arresting people, but hasn't caught anyone yet. Take a look at the paper—the last page, the top advertisent."
Chen Ji picked up the paper and flipped to the last page, using the Reverse Cut Technique to decipher the ssage hidden in the advertisent: "Heavenly Branch of the Military Intelligence Departnt wishes everyone a Happy New Year."
He arched his brows and looked up at Bai Long. "So brazen?"
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