Green Mountain
Chapter 267 - 211, General Wang

Chapter 267: 211, General Wang

Outside Zhang Mansion, in Cuiyun Lane, twenty tables were set out, bearing dishes such as roast chicken, braised pork knuckle, red-braised big carp and sliced meat soup, which were served incessantly. The neighbors merely needed to sit down to eat, and after finishing at one table they would leave, making room for another group of people; this was the origin of the "flowing banquet."

Inside Zhang Mansion, distinguished guests were arranged in eight courtyards, each equipped with a long, low table that could seat eighteen people, the dishes and desserts spread out resplendently.

Before the main banquet began, the invited high-ranking officials and nobility gathered together, each in turn offering congratulations to Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin.

Chen Ji and Xiao Man stood idly in a corner. Xiao Man asked in a low voice, "Young Master, how did you become acquainted with Second Miss Zhang? It seems you have a very good relationship. According to the rumors, Second Miss Zhang is quite fierce and never shows a pleasant face to outsiders."

Unmoved, Chen Ji replied, "Where do all these questions come from? You never used to like prying into matters this much."

Xiao Man widened her eyes, "Young Master, have you forgotten? Xiao Man loves to catch up on the Zhang Family’s long tales and the Li Family’s short stories."

Chen Ji: "...That’s not a good habit, though."

Xiao Man pouted, "Aunt loved to listen to the Zhang Family’s long tales and the Li Family’s short stories too. I remember when I was a child, accompanying her to the Jingjiao Manor to check accounts, when she heard a group of old ladies gossiping at the village entrance, she had someone move a chair so she could listen all afternoon."

Chen Ji wondered, "What did they talk about?"

Xiao Man recalled, "They first talked about two old widowers in the village sneaking around together at midnight, then about a wife in the village who was bought from Tongzhou, and also about a family lacking a son, fretting that the family line might end. Aunt was quite energized listening to them."

Chen Ji gaped, speechless for a moment. His own mother was quite different from what he had imagined.

Just then, a servant outside chanted again, "General Wang of the Thousand-year Army has arrived!"

Chen Ji narrowed his eyes slightly as he turned to look outside and pulled Xiao Man back into the crowd.

Xiao Man glanced at him puzzledly but remained silent.

As the announcement echoed, General Wang stepped forward on a red carpet. Today, he was not clad in armor; instead, wearing a black robe with a gold crown on his head and thick soled soot-black boots.

Behind General Wang followed several soldiers, all donned in armor.

Chen Ji thought quietly, Jianghu rogues committing offenses with martial arts? The other party was on high alert—had there been recent assassination attempts against him by Jianghu figures?

Yes, Chen Ji recalled loudly condemning actions in the army camp; although he had ultimately fled, his words had still reached the ears and lodged in the minds of the Thousand-year Army soldiers.

As the saying goes, good news stays within walls while bad news travels far and wide. Despite the strict discipline of the Thousand-year Army, General Wang’s betrayal of Prince Jing likely had quietly begun to spread among the people.

Certainly, in the Jianghu, there would be righteous individuals loyal to Prince Jing seeking vengeance on his behalf.

During these thoughts, Chen Ji pulled Xiao Man away, preferring not to face the man.

However, just as Zhang Zhuo was about to lead General Wang inside, the general paused beside Chen Ji, stepped back, and said, looking at Chen Ji’s back, "Turn around."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, then turned to face him directly, "General Wang, it has been a long time."

General Wang said in a deep voice, "You dare to appear before me."

Chen Ji was slightly startled, not expecting the other to preemptively strike.

After a moment’s thought, he smiled, "What is General Wang talking about? Why wouldn’t I dare to appear before you?"

General Wang said solemnly, "The Prince treated you generously, and the Princely Heir and Commandery Princess even regarded you as a close friend and trusted confidant. Yet what did you do? If it hadn’t been for you providing evidence to the Eunuch Party, how would the Prince have been framed by the Eunuch Party, and how would he have died unjustly in prison?"

At this, the Zhang Mansion suddenly fell silent, with the officials who were previously exchanging pleasantries now turning to look this way.

Among the crowd, Chen Liqin also looked at Chen Ji, never having expected him to be involved in a conspiracy against Prince Jing Mansion. But after a moment of thought, he chose to remain silent.

Meanwhile, Zhang Zhuo reined in his smile, his expression unreadable as he interjected, "General Wang, he is a guest invited by my Zhang Mansion. What does he have to do with the case involving Prince Jing?"

General Wang snorted coldly, "Let him speak for himself!"

Chen Ji frowned slightly under the scrutiny of the crowd.

Clearly, General Wang, worried about being targeted by righteous Jianghu figures, aimed to seize the initiative publicly and splatter all the accusations onto him.

But strangely, having pledged allegiance to Bai Long, did the other not realize he needed to keep his identity as a spy hidden while infiltrating Chen Mansion? How could he dare reveal such secrets in public?

Wait, the other was not an intimate of Bai Long and was not privy to everything. In General Wang’s eyes, he was merely a Taiping Medical Hall apprentice who had once attempted to save Prince Jing; the other even did not know he was also a spy from the Spy Department.

Realizing this, Chen Ji casually said, "Why does General Wang say I betrayed the Prince? What evidence did I give the Eunuch Party?"

General Wang sneered, "I am not fully informed of the specifics, but a reliable source told me that the Prince trusted you, hence tasked you with personally delivering a Blood Letter to me. Yet, you ungratefully handed the Blood Letter over to the Eunuch Party!"

A bystander gasped, "The Prince’s Blood Letter!? Why have we never heard of this?"

"What was written in the blood letter? Did it contain any incriminating evidence against the Prince?"

"The Prince lived his life for the country and its people, yet to think it was a scoundrel who betrayed him!"