Green Mountain
Chapter 275 - 217, Return to Beijing

Chapter 275: 217, Return to Beijing

At 3 AM, Su Zhou lay on the bed, deeply asleep.

Xiao Man touched her forehead and whispered, "Master, her forehead is a bit hot. Do you have any good ideas?"

Chen Ji responded, "There are no good ideas, we can only use a cloth to dampen it with water to cool her down."

Xiao Man took a white cloth, re-wet it, and placed it on Su Zhou’s forehead. Without changing her expression, she reached into Su Zhou’s hair to feel around but did not touch the remaining Lamp Copper Coin.

She sulkily sat back on the small stool beside the charcoal basin, staring blankly at the flickering light inside.

Xiao Man had originally wanted to take this opportunity, while Su Zhou was sleeping, to exact a small revenge for being held captive by her, but the idea lost its appeal realizing that Su Zhou was completely unaware.

Revenge should let the enemy know to be satisfying.

Chen Ji sat on a small stool next to her, with Wu Yun curled up into a ball on his lap, having fallen asleep early.

Tonight had started with an attempt on General Wang’s life, followed by evading the Spy Department’s search. Now, it was a rare moment of peaceful respite.

Xiao Man picked up the iron tongs to stir the charcoal and asked, "Master, shall I make a bed on the floor for you to rest a bit?"

Chen Ji, holding Wu Yun, calmly said, "No need. I’m worried that someone might come to search Chen Mansion again tonight. I can’t sleep."

"Oh," Xiao Man noted, her eyes darting about, "Master, I heard from a brother of the Military Department earlier tonight that an executive officer attempted to assassinate General Wang?"

Chen Ji hummed in response.

Xiao Man sneakily observed him, "Do you want to become an executive officer?"

Chen Ji’s gaze shifted slightly as he replied nonchalantly, "I hear that executive officers are very mysterious and powerful, but I doubt I’d have the chance to become one."

Xiao Man lowered her voice, "There’s a chance."

Chen Ji turned his head toward her, "Oh?"

Xiao Man’s mouth pointed toward Su Zhou on the bed, "Master, the assassin is right here, isn’t she? She must be an executive officer. If we tie her up and force her to surrender the Cultivation Path..."

Chen Ji was speechless.

Xiao Man was young but she truly had a thick face and a black heart, without any martial morals!

No wonder, having been sold to a human trafficker since she was a child, she had to fight for every meal.

After arriving at Chen Mansion, she served by Aunt’s side for a while, but the Aunt also left soon after, and she became a rootless weed once more. Being a third-class maid must have been tough, with no one to teach her right from wrong, she developed her own philosophy for survival.

Wild grass that grows ruthlessly on a cliff can only survive by continuously driving its roots into the fissures of rocks to draw the limited nourishment.

Then Xiao Man continued to tempt, "I heard that after practicing the Official Gateway, as long as you are not injured, one can ward off diseases, extend one’s life. There are a lot of benefits. Moreover, once you become an executive officer, you’ll stand tall, and no one in Chen Mansion would dare to bully you again."

Chen Ji shook his head, "She is a friend of Prince Jing, and I am also a friend of Prince Jing. Although her actions are somewhat extreme, I cannot take advantage at this time when she is vulnerable."

Xiao Man hung her head, "Alright... we’ll think of other ways to get you an Official Gateway."

Chen Ji casually asked, "You seem to know a lot about executive officers?"

Xiao Man panicked for a moment, "Ah? No, no, it’s just something I overheard at a teahouse from a storytelling master, that’s all..."

Chen Ji had two guesses in mind: the first, that his mother Mrs. Lu, having bought Xiao Man and seeing her pitiable background, took pity and decided to teach her the Mandala Seal of the Jing Dynasty to cultivate her as a confidant, considering Xiao Man was also clever.

However, Mrs. Lu, after teaching Xiao Man the Official Gateway, either died or fled for some reason and didn’t get to teach her much else. As a result, aside from having the Official Gateway, Xiao Man seemed like an outsider to everything else.

The second guess was that Xiao Man herself was a member of the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department, her Gateway being taught by them, and she was planted by his uncle beside him. Her current feigned naivety was all an act.

After much consideration, Chen Ji felt that the probability of the first guess was higher, and that of the second was lower.

However, he did not need the Official Gateway. Including the Mountain Lord, sword seed, and ’Shrouding Cloud’ given by the Prime Minister, Chen Ji already possessed three Cultivation Paths.

While he was pondering all this, he was brought back to reality by a commotion from the courtyard. Picking up Wu Yun, he opened the door to see what was happening, only to find that Dongzhi, the top maid of Mrs. Liang, was waking up all the maids in Qunfang Garden.

Chen Ji looked at the sky; it wasn’t even dawn yet, not even the roosters were crowing.

Holding Wu Yun, he curiously asked while standing in front of Mingquan Garden, "Miss Dongzhi, what’s happening?"

Dongzhi curtsied, "To report to the Third Young Master, the Lord and Lady have just instructed us to pack the family’s valuables promptly. We are leaving Luocheng City as soon as it’s light."

Chen Ji inquired, "Are we traveling to the Imperial Capital with the Zhang Family?"

Dongzhi smiled and explained, "To report to the Third Young Master, the Chen family will leave on its own, not accompanying anyone. By the way, you should also get your things ready. The carriages are already waiting outside the mansion; the Lord and Lady are in the first carriage, the First Young Master in the second, the Second Young Master in the third, and you and Xiao Man are in the fourth."

After saying that, she stopped paying attention to Chen Ji, turned around, and shouted loudly, "Everybody up, Li Qiu, you lead people to boil water and cook, the rest follow me to Wenyun Hall to pack things. Be attentive at work today, if anyone damages anything in Wenyun Hall, even selling all of you wouldn’t cover the cost!"

...

...

At 3 AM, the roosters crowed.

In Chen Mansion, maids fluttered to and fro like swallows and orioles, registering and loading items to be taken away onto horse-drawn carts and ox carts outside Cuiyun Lane.

The doors of Zhang Mansion were tightly shut, eerily still as if there was no hurry to leave Luocheng City.

In the thin morning mist, Chen Ji and Xiao Man carried a large wooden chest across Chen Mansion and stuffed it into a carriage. A servant came forward to help but was politely refused.

Dongzhi saw this and quickly intervened, "Third Young Master, it would be better to put the chest in the ox cart at the back; it needn’t take up space in the horse carriage. There are oilcloth canopies on the ox carts, so there’s no need to fear about the snow or rain."

Chen Ji emerged from the carriage, dusting off his hands, and explained with a smile, "It’s not easy to save up belongings; having them close by feels more secure."

Dongzhi turned to go back to the mansion, her smile fading as she muttered under her breath, "Huh, they’ve never seen the world, you’d think there were countless treasures in there."

After breakfast, the Chen family hurriedly crammed into the horse carriages, departing in a rush as if fleeing disaster. They didn’t linger, Chen Liqin and Mrs. Liang didn’t even take one last look at Chen Mansion; only the maids were left weeping in a group.

For the maids of Chen Mansion, some were to return to the Imperial Capital with them, while others stayed behind to look after the Luocheng City property, thus parting ways. For people of this era, the distance between Luocheng City and the Imperial Capital meant a lifetime apart.

In front of Chen Ji’s carriage, Li Qiu wiped her tears with a handkerchief while urging Xiao Man, "Once you’re back at the big Chen household, don’t be so foolishly stubborn anymore. Reign in your bad temper, sometimes it’s better to endure."

Xiao Man’s eyes also reddened, "Mhm, I know Sister Li Qiu, but I can’t help it."

Li Qiu laughed in spite of her frustration, tapping Xiao Man’s forehead with her finger, "You little minx, you never listen to me. There will come a day when you find yourself at a disadvantage, and when they demote you to a third-class maid, without me there, see what you’ll do."

Xiao Man crouched where the coachman sat, tears falling freely, "Sister Li Qiu, please take good care of yourself here in Luocheng City. When you’re of age next year, find yourself a good family to marry into. After you’re married, you must write me a letter..."

Li Qiu cried and asked, "Oh, you’ll be sending me a dowry?"

Xiao Man shook her head while wiping her tears, "No, I’ll just send congratulations."

Li Qiu couldn’t help but laugh through her tears, "I spoilt you for nothing!"

From the first carriage, Chen Liqin’s calm voice emerged, "How much longer will you cry? Let’s set off."

His servant by his side quickly waved his arms, "We’re setting off now."

The coachman sat askew on one side of the carriage, whipped the reins, and the horse carriage started moving slowly.

Li Qiu ran forward a few steps, stuffing a cloth bundle into Xiao Man’s arms, "Once you’re in the Imperial Capital, don’t fret over the people and things in Luocheng City. Live your life well!"

"I will!"

As the carriage rocked unsteadily, Xiao Man looked back, her eyes teary as she watched the increasingly distant gate of Chen Mansion and the maids standing still. Tears continued to flow uncontrollably.

After a while, she climbed back into the carriage, sitting in a daze, "Young Master, are we just leaving like this?"

Chen Ji squeezed next to the wooden chest, holding Wu Yun in his arms, "Was Li Qiu good to you?"

Light from outside the window filtered through the curtains, gently casting upon Xiao Man’s face, "In this grand estate, what does ’good’ really mean? If you mean the kind of ’good’ that saves one’s life, then definitely not. Sometimes, when Wang Gui made things difficult for me, right when it was time to eat, he’d suddenly send me to fetch water or sweep the floor. By the time I finished and went back, only the tough rice crusts were left in the pot. At times like these, Sister Li Qiu would secretly save a bowl of rice for me. That counted as very kind."

Chen Ji hummed in acknowledgment, "Take a look at what she gave you."

Xiao Man unwrapped the bundle, only to find East Market’s Liu Ji’s soap beans, Nansheng’s rouge cream, and East Exile’s stone eyebrow pencil inside...

Chen Ji instinctively covered Wu Yun’s ears. The next moment, Xiao Man sat in the carriage, sobbing unrestrainedly like an unbearably upset child.

Suddenly, a commotion interrupted the crying.

A maid dashed out of Chen Mansion, crying out and chasing the carriage, close on the heels of Chen Wenxiao’s carriage, "Second Young Master, aren’t you taking me with you? You said you would take me to the Imperial Capital, I’ve carried your child!"

Chen Wenxiao panic-stricken, ordered his servant, "What are you waiting for? Take her away!"

The servant pulled the maid away, gradually vanishing into the icy mist behind them.

In total, eight Chen family carriages, and twenty-two ox carts carrying valuables and inmates, departed with eighteen maids and more than forty male servants. Wang Gui sat silent on the last ox cart, having lost his housekeeper status, he could not even sit in a horse carriage.

After traveling for about half an hour, the convoy reached the North City Gate.

Then, a shout suddenly came from outside, "Mr. Chen! Haha, Mr. Chen is leaving, why not let me know, that I might await you here!"

Chen Liqin recognized the familiar voice and inwardly cursed his luck.

He lifted the carriage curtain to look and saw Zhang Zhuo, his wife Mrs. Xu, Zhang Xia, and Zhang Zheng sitting in front of a tea house near the city gate, enjoying tofu pudding and golden-fried dough sticks.

Beneath the city gate, the Zhang Family’s numerous carriages formed a long line, a sight to behold. Not only were there clusters of maids and servants, but they had also hired the escort of Liang’s Escort Agency from Luocheng City.

Zhang Zhuo emerged from the tea house, wiping his mouth and chuckling, "Mr. Chen, I’ve been waiting here for a long time. Let’s return to the Imperial Capital together!"