Green Mountain
Chapter 268 - 211, General Wang

Chapter 268: 211, General Wang

"Such treacherous men deserve death by all!"

The crowd was stirred up, all pointing fingers at Chen Ji.

General Wang gave a cold smile, while Chen Liqin simply ducked into the main hall of the Zhang Mansion. Zhang Zhuo closed his eyes in deep thought, trying to find a way to break the deadlock and clear Chen Ji’s name but couldn’t think of any.

Only Xiao Man was red-faced with anger, tugging at Chen Ji’s sleeve, "My lord, say something, you’re not that kind of person."

Chen Ji remained silent.

Xiao Man angrily said to General Wang, "Don’t slander my master, I have served him for years; he is kind and definitely not the treacherous person you describe!"

General Wang calmly replied, "Appearances can be deceiving, and perhaps even the Prince thought him kind, which is why he entrusted the Blood Letter to him. Young girl, you are too young to understand people."

Xiao Man retorted after a pause, "...you’re talking nonsense!"

Meanwhile, Chen Ji’s thoughts raced, the immediate priority being to clear his own name, but how could he argue his case?

Could he reveal everything? No, once he did, his identity as a spy would be exposed, and he could no longer stay with the Chen family. Bai Long valued him for his standing in the Chen family, and without that, it would be difficult to save Bai Li.

Could he then shift the blame back onto General Wang? That too was not possible.

If he claimed that the Blood Letter had been given to the Spy Department by General Wang, others would question how a mere apprentice could know such details.

Besides, General Wang was historically loyal to Prince Jing as a general of the Thousand-Year Army; and he was just a humble apprentice in a Medical Hall—who would people believe? Moreover, since the other party came prepared, attacking from here might walk right into their trap.

He had to find another approach, something General Wang couldn’t refute.

Amidst the clamor, Chen Ji thought long and hard, and finally spoke, "General Wang, how did you come to know of this Blood Letter?"

General Wang crossed his arms, "Never mind how I came to know; first, tell us whether such a letter exists?"

Chen Ji admitted, "Indeed, there was a Blood Letter from the Prince."

General Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside the hall, Chen Liqin paced back and forth, pondering how to keep the Chen Mansion out of this affair.

Outside in the main hall, the officials grew noisy: "What’s written in the Blood Letter?"

"How can a mere lad betray Prince Jing and turn to the Eunuch Party?"

Chen Ji slowly said, "The Blood Letter does exist, but the story isn’t quite as General Wang has told."

General Wang raised an eyebrow, "Where did the Blood Letter come from?"

Chen Ji deliberated carefully so as not to misspeak and then slowly began, "That day, Prince Jing, the Princely Heir, the Commandery Princess, my master, and I were confined by the Eunuch Party in the Liu Mansion. Later, because my master had once treated the Prime Minister’s leg condition, the Eunuch Party let us go. Before leaving, the Prince handed me this Blood Letter to be sent to His Majesty in the Imperial Capital."

General Wang, caught off guard, was expecting Chen Ji to reveal everything and had prepared a rebuttal and witnesses. Yet, Chen Ji did not retaliate, instead, he crafted a new story.

He frowned and asked, "Then how did this Blood Letter end up in the hands of the Eunuch Party?"

Chen Ji explained, "It was taken from us by the Eunuch Party when my master and I were leaving."

General Wang scoffed, "How do I know if you didn’t just hand over the Blood Letter willingly for a chance at wealth and honor?"

Chen Ji calmly replied, "Because the Blood Letter couldn’t possibly serve as evidence of Prince Jing’s conspiracy, offering it would not procure wealth or honor."

Zhang Zhuo snapped back to reality, "What exactly is written in the Blood Letter?"

Just as Chen Ji was about to speak, General Wang interrupted, "Wait, do we just believe whatever he says? Currently, none of us know the content of the Blood Letter; isn’t it still just his word against nothing?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Prince wrote a poem, I have memorized most of its content; as for whether it is fabricated or can constitute a crime for Prince, that is for you to judge."

Zhang Zhuo waved his hand, "Bring ink and paper!"

Zhang Zheng hurriedly ran into the room and came back with Zhang Xia carrying a desk from the study.

Zhang Zhuo pointed at the Xuan paper on the table, "Write it down."

Chen Ji picked up the brush and wrote on the Xuan paper, "Drunk, I pick up a lantern to watch the swords; in a dream, I return to blow the horn through the camps. Eight hundred li under my command like roasting fish, fifty strings turning over the sound beyond the frontier, on the autumn battlefield where soldiers are inspected."

A scholar said with uncertainty, "Is this a ’Broken Formation’? It does fit the mindset when the Prince used to lead troops, it’s something ordinary young men could hardly compose."

"And such an ugly script, devoid of style and without any method, hardly looks like it could be from someone capable of composing poetry."

Chen Ji remained impassive and did not respond.

The next moment, someone else said, "Quick, what is the following line of the ’Broken Formation’?"

Chen Ji continued to write, "Ended the world’s affairs for the king, won fame before and after, pity for the white hairs that have grown."

Zhang Zhuo sighed, "What a line ’pity for the white hairs that have grown.’ The poem at first glance shows the bold ambition of leading troops, but on closer look reveals the pain and regret upon awakening. This is a poem Prince wrote to express his feelings to Your Majesty, probably to recount the hardships of quelling disturbances back then, hoping to evoke Your Majesty’s compassion and be shown leniency."

General Wang spoke somberly from the side, "How do you know this wasn’t written by Chen Ji?"

Zhang Zhuo scoffed, "General Wang, being a martial artist, you probably don’t grasp the high quality of this poetry or taste its vicissitudes. It couldn’t possibly come from the hand of a young man."

A scholar chimed in, "The literary grace of this poem is beyond us. General Wang, please don’t doubt anymore; surely it was written by the Prince, only he could have felt such emotions."

"The scope and breadth of this poem, surely it was written by the Prince."

General Wang was confused.

He looked at the poem, then at Chen Ji, but could only suppress his doubts.

If he said, "Wrong, the content of the Blood Letter clearly states that the Thousand-Year Army is to break into the prison," Chen Ji would ask him how he knew, and he could not explain, since he had said he had never seen the Blood Letter.

Now with the content of this Blood Letter, General Wang could only accept it!

"Wrong, wrong," General Wang bellowed, looking towards Chen Ji, "Have you ever written poetry? What if you have a great mastery of poetry, capable of writing such verses?"

Chen Ji lowered his eyes, "Replying to General Wang, I have never written poetry, I know nothing about it."

Many scholars looked at each other, "This apprentice from the Medical Hall called Chen Ji, if he had the literary talent of ’Broken Formation,’ he should be well known throughout the poetry circles by now, but none of us have ever heard of him."

Zhang Zhuo laughed heartily, "This Chen Ji, I know him. He is the Third Young Master of Chen Mansion. In earlier years, it was said he gambled excessively and disliked studying, which is why Mr. Chen sent him to Taiping Medical Hall. You probably have all heard about his reputation. If he had such literary talent, would Mr. Chen not have brought him out to sit for the imperial examinations? At the very least, he would have been a scholar."

Someone’s eyes brightened, "I have indeed heard about this. Given that, it’s certain that he didn’t write the ’Broken Formation’."

Chen Wenzong stepped forward and bowed, "I urge General Wang not to falsely accuse my brother anymore."

"Wait," someone called out loudly.

Chen Ji frowned, "What is it?"

The man asked, "How come this ’Broken Formation’ is missing a verse?"

Chen Ji replied softly, "I forgot."

The scholar became anxious, "How can you forget such important poetry?"

Chen Ji explained, "It all happened so suddenly, being able to remember most of it was already fortunate. The missing verse, I really can’t recall."