Green Mountain
Chapter 232 - 180, Blood Letter

Chapter 232: 180, Blood Letter

Chen Ji hadn’t waited for the iron door to open before he slipped into the inner prison.

He descended the narrow steps and asked nonchalantly, "This morning, did Lord Bai Long bring Prince Jing, the Princely Heir, and the Commandery Princess here?"

The prison guard following him replied, "Reporting to my lord, Prince Jing is detained in A-1 Prison Cell, and the Princely Heir and Commandery Princess are detained nearby in A-7 Prison Cell. Lord, Lord Bai Long specifically ordered that no one should converse with them without permission. Please don’t put me in a difficult position."

Chen Ji stopped on the stone steps and calmly turned back to look at the guard.

The guard lowered his head, not daring to make eye contact, and after a long pause said, "However, Lord Bai Long isn’t here at the moment, so a few words with them should be harmless."

Chen Ji continued forward.

Many people from Prince Jing Mansion were imprisoned here. Along the way, Chunhua, Chunrong, Xibing... they saw Chen Ji and screamed their innocence and pleas for help, tearing at the heart.

As he passed between the cells, a cold, damp stench assaulted his nostrils.

Upon passing A-7, Chen Ji stared in disbelief at the inside of the cell, the Princely Heir with disheveled hair, and Bai Li, draped in a white robe covered with dust, like pearls coated in grime.

How could you be locked up in a place like this?

How could you be locked up in this place?

However, Chen Ji said nothing, just calmly turned his head away and kept walking.

When the Princely Heir saw Chen Ji passing by, he frantically tried to rush to the cage’s edge but was tightly held back by Bai Li.

She bowed her head, hiding her expression under her scattered hair, and whispered softly, "Don’t go. Brother, I beg you, don’t drag him into this."

The Princely Heir turned his head and saw his sister’s tears falling one by one onto the straw on the ground. He slowly relaxed his body, desolately sitting back down, watching with wide eyes as Chen Ji passed by the door and disappeared from sight.

Chen Ji arrived at the door of A-1 Prison Cell and saw Prince Jing sitting quietly behind a desk, poring over a book.

He turned to the guard, "I would like to speak a few words with Prince Jing, is that all right?"

The guard hesitated.

Chen Ji took a ten-tael silver ingot from his sleeve, "Either take this silver ingot or wait for your death."

The guard quickly pocketed the silver and moved away to keep watch for Prince Jing and Chen Ji.

At this moment, Prince Jing saw Chen Ji arriving and smiled as he got up and came to the edge of the cage, "What brings you here?"

Chen Ji noticed the weariness in Prince Jing’s face; he looked utterly spent, "Your Highness, is it worth it?"

Prince Jing smiled wryly, responding to a different question, "Chen Ji, do you know? The Ning Dynasty is doomed."

"Oh?"

Holding a scroll in his hand, Prince Jing looked past Chen Ji towards the lengthy corridor, "In the winter of the 11th Year of Jianing, I led troops to suppress a rebellion and ultimately was besieged in Liuzhou. Everyone said they were bandits, but they were actually raised by the Yang family. If it weren’t for Ayi begging my father-in-law to mediate with the Yang family, I would have died there."

"When His Majesty first ascended the throne, he dispatched an imperial envoy to Liangjiang to inspect the salt trade, but those sent were either in cahoots with the Xu Family, the Yang family, died in a house fire, or drowned on a boat trip. The court sent thirteen envoys in two years, and seven died. Lord Hai, who was an upright man that once carried a coffin to meet His Majesty, came to Henan Province to adjust the land measurements and urged the Liu Family to return land to the people, yet he too had to leave disheartened."

"Chen Ji, do you know that the border army soldiers haven’t received their provisions for three years? How many more sets of three years can they wait? If they can no longer turn qiankun, the Ning Dynasty will fall into dire straits."

Chen Ji spoke calmly, "So, Your Highness and His Majesty conspired to take drastic measures to drag the Liu Family into the grave?"

Prince Jing explained with a smile, "The Liu Family, a family of outsiders, the Jin Party’s Hu Family, the Xu Faction’s Xu Family and Yang family, your Donglin, Chen family, and the Qi Faction’s Imperial Censors fight incessantly. But once it comes to imperial power, they suddenly unify against a common enemy, making it impossible to move against them. Without these extreme measures, the Liu Family cannot be eliminated..."

Chen Ji interrupted Prince Jing, earnestly and sincerely said, "Your Highness, I don’t understand what you all are trying to do, nor do I care. I just feel that the Princely Heir and Bai Li should not die with you; they are innocent. Your Highness, they are your children, please consider a way out for them."

Prince Jing fell silent in the cell, then slowly said, "His Majesty once promised me he would let Yunxi inherit the title of Prince Jing."

Chen Ji suddenly laughed, grabbing the iron bars of the cage, staring intently at Prince Jing, "Your Highness, are you such a trusting person? Do you believe it yourself? You are not one to surrender so easily, yet you allowed yourself to be imprisoned so simply. You have already entrusted them to me, knowing this day would come! Who are you still plotting against now? Your Highness, don’t wait any longer; if you wait further, Bai Li will die with you!"

Prince Jing scrutinized Chen Ji, biting his finger to write a blood letter on the book, "Take this letter to the Thousand-year Army and give it to General Wang, with the secret command ’Mountains and Rivers are Safe.’ He will lead soldiers to raid the prison. From now on, would you be willing to take Bai Li to Jianghu, to live incognito and protect her?"

After speaking, he tore the page from the book and handed it over.

Chen Ji reached out, but Prince Jing withdrew his hand, "You haven’t answered me yet."

Chen Ji took a deep breath, "I am willing."

He took the page from Prince Jing’s hands and stuffed it into his chest, turning to walk out.

Prince Jing suddenly said from behind, "Chen Ji, I’m sorry."

Chen Ji paused and looked back, "Your Highness, what are you referring to?"

Prince Jing just smiled without replying, waving his hand for him to hurry.

Chen Ji, touching his chest, felt the weight of the blood letter inside as if it weighed a thousand pounds. If he wanted to save the Princely Heir and the Commandery Princess, it was not something he could accomplish alone; the help of the Thousand-year Army was essential.

In the dim corridor of the inner prison, he passed by A-7 Prison Cell again, stopping his steps and silently looking inside.

Bai Li initially had her head bowed; hearing the lingering footsteps, she ultimately couldn’t resist raising her head to meet Chen Ji’s gaze.

Chen Ji shifted his gaze slightly, "Don’t be afraid, everything will definitely be alright."

Before Bai Li could respond, a squeaky noise came from the iron gate ahead, and the muffled voice of Bai Long, who was wearing a mask, transmitted, "At noon, go to Yingxian Building and order a table of food to bring here. Although Prince Jing is imprisoned here, he is still a prestigious vassal prince of the Ning Dynasty. Do not neglect his diet and daily care..."

Chen Ji hurriedly left from in front of Bai Li’s prison cell door.

In the narrow corridor, Bai Long and Yun Yang approached him face to face, Chen Ji had nowhere to escape.

Bai Long sized him up, "Are you here to visit Prince Jing and the Commandery Princess?"

Chen Ji remained silent.

Bai Long said with interest, "There’s no need to worry. Visiting a good friend is only natural, and if you had decided not to come, I would have found it strange. Our dynasty’s laws also state that ’Relatives conceal each other’s faults without considersing punishment.’"

Chen Ji spoke softly, "Lord Bai Long is magnanimous, I admire that."

Bai Long changed the topic, "However, young man, you should understand that first, you and they are only friends, not relatives; second, the crime of rebellion does not fall under the law of concealing faults among relatives; if you cover up for a rebellion, regardless of whether you’re relatives or friends, the consequences are the same for all."

Chen Ji quickly bowed with a fist, "I understand."

Bai Long laughed, "In the Spy Department, one must understand that emotions are separate from duties. You are a clever man, and I believe you can distinguish them clearly. Consort Yun is still at large, if you all fail to find her, none will have good days ahead. Go on."

Chen Ji bowed fist, "I understand."

He lowered his head and hurried past Bai Long, but Yun Yang suddenly grabbed his arm, "Hold on."

Chen Ji slowly turned his head, "What orders do you have, Lord Yunyang?"

Yun Yang said with a smile, "I heard that you have already received the West Wind Promotion handwritten order. Let me offer my congratulations ahead of time."

Chen Ji was startled, "Thank you, Lord Yunyang, I’ll be leaving to attend to it now."

He wrestled away from Yun Yang’s grip and headed straight for the outer area of the inner prison. Not until he had left the inner prison and breathed the fresh air did he finally relax deeply.

Chen Ji, holding the blood letter, spurred his horse vigorously. The Thousand-year Army’s camp was eighty li south of Luocheng City, and by the time he arrived in front of the camp, his battle horse was sweating profusely and foaming at the mouth.

Time was of the essence.

Someone on the camp’s watchtower shouted loudly, "Stop, another step and we’ll shoot with arrows!"

Chen Ji reined in his horse. The fatigued horse paced back and forth in front of the camp’s gate, and he yelled, "Mountains and Rivers are Safe! I need to see General Wang urgently!"

Upon hearing "Mountains and Rivers are Safe," the soldier immediately raised a black flag and started waving it towards the depths of the camp.

Moments later, the camp gates were pulled open, General Wang hurriedly came alone. He looked at Chen Ji’s horse, frowning, "It’s you, where have you come from, and why have you driven the horse so hard?"

Chen Ji dismounted, took out the blood letter from his chest, and handed it to the General, "This is a blood letter written by the Prince, please open it, General."

General Wang took the letter, unfolded it, and his expression changed, "The Prince has been locked in the inner prison by the Eunuch Party?"

"Yes."

General Wang frowned for a long time, then looked at Chen Ji, "Currently, the Southern Gate of Luocheng City is heavily guarded, and we need to change into civilians’ clothes and enter the city in batches posing as tenants. Young man, you go back first. Wait for us in front of Tuoluo Temple’s gate at midnight tonight to lead us to the inner prison!"

Chen Ji stared at General Wang, "No, I will go with the Thousand-year Army. If I don’t see the Thousand-year Army leave with my own eyes, I won’t be at peace."

General Wang thought for a moment, "Very well, you can rest in the Central Army Camp for a while. I will order the troops now."

Chen Ji shook his head, "I’ll wait here, I’m not going anywhere."

"You certainly are cautious, young man," General Wang sighed, and had no choice but to loudly summon his soldiers. Within thirty minutes, footsteps thundered across the Thousand-year Army’s camp like rolling thunder. Thousands of soldiers crisscrossed the parade ground, forming an imposing military formation.

Only at this moment did Chen Ji finally feel somewhat relieved.

He moved to the side to avoid occupying a spot in the military formation, but in the moment he turned his head, General Wang had already disappeared.

Chen Ji was stunned, grabbed an officer, "Where is General Wang?"

The officer frowned, "General Wang has his own matters to attend to, who are you, and why are you here in the Thousand-year Army’s camp?"

Chen Ji angrily asked, "Do you know why General Wang summoned you all?"

The officer replied, "The flag order is simply for us to carry out routine drills, it didn’t specify what for."

Chen Ji’s heart sank bit by bit, he turned around and saw General Wang’s back as he rode out of the camp on a fast horse!

No wonder Bai Long had not searched him previously; it turned out that the opposition simply did not care. Even if Prince Jing really did send some message to the outside world, that message would still end up back in Bai Long’s hands.

Chen Ji shouted angrily while grabbing the officer, "Prince Jing is currently incarcerated in the inner prison, and I brought his blood letter asking for General Wang’s help, but now General Wang has run off alone!"

The officer was somewhat surprised, "The Prince’s blood letter? Where is the blood letter?"

"It’s naturally in General Wang’s hands!" Chen Ji shouted grimly, "Now that he’s taken the blood letter, I don’t know where he’s heading, but you all must follow me to Luocheng immediately."

The officer slowly calmed down and moved back, "Someone grab him, this man is a remnant of the Liu Family!"

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