Green Mountain
Chapter 280 - 222, urgent rush for 500 miles

Chapter 280: 222, urgent rush for 500 miles

At the Inn, a tea room was available, with a minor official lighting fragrant incense. The subtle scent of sandalwood drifted from a hollowed-out copper stove.

Chen Ji and Zhang Zheng sat opposite each other on a plush couch, with a chessboard set between them. The game was nearing its end.

Amidst the swirling smoke, Chen Ji placed a white piece on the board. Zhang Zheng, deep in thought for a while, finally made his move. Chen Ji casually played another piece, and then Zhang Zheng fell into a long contemplation again...

Zhang Xia sat nearby, cracking melon seeds, watching her own brother getting utterly defeated but showing no intention of helping.

Zhang Zheng was getting frustrated, continuously winking and giving eye signals to his sister. Zhang Xia curiously asked, "Brother, what’s wrong with your eyes? Did you get sand in them?"

Zhang Zheng immediately felt deflated. "Could you at least give me some pointers on what to do? You can’t just watch your own brother get bullied like this, right?"

Zhang Xia snapped the melon seeds precisely with her teeth and said, "A true gentleman never speaks while watching a game of chess; I would never do such a thing."

Chen Ji looked up at Zhang Zheng. "Brother Zhang, wasn’t it you who wanted to play chess with me? Your skills... they don’t seem like those of someone who enjoys chess."

Zhang Zheng was at a loss for words. "I..."

Zhang Xia then asked Chen Ji, "What are your plans once you’re in the Imperial Capital? Will you be staying in the Chen family mansion or getting your own place?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment. "I should be staying at the Chen family mansion."

Bai Long sending him back to the Chen family undoubtedly meant he wasn’t to be left out; it was better the closer he was to the core.

Zhang Xia further questioned, "Will Mr. Chen enroll you as a student at the Imperial Academy? He must, though you have no interest in studying the classics. What will you do then?"

Chen Ji chuckled and teased, "Didn’t Second Miss Zhang scold me earlier for being uneducated?"

Zhang Zheng quickly explained, "You misunderstand. My sister just looks down on those without competence, but that competence doesn’t necessarily relate to classical knowledge. Once you are in the Imperial Capital, you will understand. She has quite a reputation there; even the students of the Imperial Academy fear her."

"Oh?" Chen Ji became curious. "Why is that?"

As Chen Ji’s eye shifted from the chessboard, Zhang Zheng, while explaining, sneakily placed a few black pieces on the board. "You might not know, but the Imperial Academy teaches not only the Four Books and Five Classics but also Book and Mathematics along with the law codes. Our uncle, Xu Shu, is not only the Deputy Director of the Observatory, but he also holds the position of Doctor of Book and Mathematics at the Imperial Academy."

Zhang Zheng continued, "Uncle Xu is lazy and hates getting up at dawn to teach, so every now and then, he calls my sister to substitute for him. Initially, the students were very reluctant to accept a female teacher, even staging a sit-in protest to the Sacrificial Officer. But then my sister posed a problem which took them an hour to solve, and that shut them up."

Chen Ji glanced at the chessboard, noticing the illegally added pieces but chose not to expose them and instead placed a white piece that captured the irregular black pieces. He then asked, "What was the problem that took them an hour to solve?"

From the side, Zhang Xia spoke with a laugh, "Looking up at the towering seven-story pagoda, the red lights multiply in brightness. With a total of three hundred eighty-one lanterns, guess how many lanterns are on the top tip of the pagoda?"

Without looking up, Chen Ji replied, "Three lanterns."

Zhang Xia’s eyes widened. "Eh, you’ve heard this riddle before?"

Chen Ji smiled. "Yes, I’ve heard it before."

Zhang Xia, holding a melon seed paused by her mouth, suspiciously scrutinized Chen Ji. "Really? Then let me ask you another: Today there exists a beast with six heads and four legs, a bird with four heads and two legs. Together there are seventy-six heads and forty-six feet. Question: How many birds and beasts are there respectively?"

Chen Ji replied offhand, "Eight beasts, seven birds."

Zhang Xia was taken aback. "You’ve heard this one too?"

Chen Ji laughed heartily. "Heard it before as well."

He changed the subject. "So, was Second Miss Zhang revered at the Imperial Academy solely because of her ’Book and Mathematics’?"

Zhang Zheng laughed heartily. "That and her sharp tongue. Some of the students there had been failing their scholar exams for many years, full of frustration and prone to venting when drunk. One of them drunk on horse piss went to provoke my sister, blaming his failures on the presence of a woman in the academy, cursing outside her schoolhouse."

Cheng Ji, without changing his expression, asked, "Then what?"

Zhang Zheng said, "Then my sister posed him a problem."

Chen Ji was perplexed. "What problem?"

Zhang Zheng picked up his teacup and drained it. "My sister asked him: ’Your mother and ten rabbits are locked in a cage, why are there only forty feet?’ The student could not figure it out, noting that ten rabbits already have forty feet, so why, including his own mother, were there still only forty feet?"

Zhang Zheng set down his teacup. "My sister told him, it’s because you have no mother."

Chen Ji looked astonished at Zhang Xia, impressed by her strong attack.

Zhang Xia coughed lightly, slightly embarrassed, lowering her head to sip tea as a cover.

At that moment, a clamor arose from a nearby hall, where officials were merrily drinking and toasting each other.

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Xia, "Over there is?"

Zhang Xia poured the melon seed shells from the palm of his left hand into a dish and patted his palm, "The gentry of Mengjin County have come together to pay respects to my father. He’s drinking with them right now."

Chen Ji curiously asked, "Lord Zhang is about to be promoted to Left Assistant Minister of Personnel. Does he still need to socialize with gentry from a small county?"

Zhang Xia explained, "The saying goes, ’imperial power does not extend beyond the county level.’ People in the nine counties of Luocheng have intricate relationships. If my father does not get close to these gentry, he can’t even collect the autumn grain. These county gentry live even more luxuriously than the landlords in the Imperial Capital and Jinling. They are the real ’local emperors.’"

The belief in the Ning Dynasty was that unless one became an official, only those without prospects needed to venture far from home to endure hardship.

During their conversation, hurried hoofbeats suddenly approached from outside the posthouse.

As the sound drew nearer, they saw a soldier on horseback loudly shouting, "Urgent delivery over 500 miles!"

Chen Ji and others got up and walked outside, joined by Zhang Zhuo and others who were mingling, as they put down their wine cups and hurriedly went out to greet them.

In the posthouse, urgent levels were classified as 400 miles, 500 miles, and 600 miles. Unless it involved a military affair, these levels were strictly forbidden.

The soldier carrying a bamboo tube sealed with lacquer jumped down from the horse, "Where is the Governor of Mengjin Inn?"

A middle-aged Governor with a drooping mustache stepped forward, "I am he!"

The soldier took off the bamboo tube from his back and pulled an envelope from his chest, "Inside this is a Ministry of War fire ticket. Prepare me a meal and a top-quality horse, I will return to report after eating!"

The Governor took the bamboo tube, and noticed that it was burnt with black characters: "Luocheng Magistrate Chen Liqin initiates, he who opens this shall be dealt with by law!"

Zhang Zhuo reacted with surprise, "It’s actually for Mr. Chen... Young man, who issued this 500-mile urgent order?"

The soldier glanced at him arrogantly, "The Crown Prince!"

No wonder the soldier was so imperious, ignoring even the Governor, as he was acting on orders from the Crown Prince.

Zhang Zhuo handed the bamboo tube to Chen Liqin, "Open it and see."

Chen Liqin exhaled a breath tainted with the smell of alcohol, removed the lacquer, and spilled out a letter sealed with a red stamp. After reading it, he frowned, lost in thought for a long duration.

Zhang Zhuo wondered, "What did the Crown Prince say to make you so worried?"

Chen Liqin looked at him, "The Crown Prince ordered me not to return to the Imperial Capital, but to go directly to Guyuan to meet him."

Zhang Zhuo reacted instinctively, "That’s not advisable!"

"Hmm?" Chen Liqin was puzzled, "What do you mean, Lord Zhang?"

Zhang Zhuo pulled Chen Liqin aside and, fueled by the flush of alcohol, confessed, "Mr. Chen, I’m only speaking so candidly because we’ve been partners for three years. If you think it’s wrong, just consider it drunken nonsense. Guyuan is one of the Nine Border regions, already notorious for its mixed bag of characters. In recent years, the Jin Party’s soldiers have repeatedly defied the court, skimming grain, taking credit for others’ achievements—these incidents continue unabated, just suppressed by the Cabinet. The Crown Prince’s visit to Guyuan isn’t simple; don’t get involved in this mess; be careful not to risk your life and livelihood!"

Chen Liqin hesitated, "But I am an official of the East Palace, a Junior Scholar at the Master’s Mansion. How could I refuse?"

Zhang Zhuo cursed, "Aren’t you still to report to the Ministry of Personnel? And by law and ancestral tradition, before assuming office, you need to fast for three days at the City God Temple and perform sacrifices to the gods. Use this as your excuse!"

Chen Liqin shook his head, "As an official of the East Palace, my duty is to robustly support the Crown Prince. If I do not heed his 500-mile urgent summons, how could I face myself in the Eastern Palace in future? How would the Crown Prince ever trust me?"

Zhang Zhuo stared, his eyes widening, "Must you really be this devoted follower? Don’t let the pie falling from the sky stun you. If he doesn’t trust you, the worst he can do is replace you. At least that wouldn’t cost you your life!"

Chen Liqin’s expression turned stern, "No need for further words, Lord Zhang. I am not like you; I don’t constantly seek to preserve my safety. A ruler’s right is to command, and a subject’s duty is to obey—even to death. The Crown Prince needs me now; how could I not go? I, Chen Liqin, am not one to covet life and fear death."

Zhang Zhuo laughed bitterly, "Fine, fine, go and deliver yourself to death. I’ll take your family with me and escort them to the Imperial Capital."

Chen Liqin’s face grew darker, "Lord Zhang, do not alarm others with your words. The Crown Prince is in Guyuan, within the jurisdiction of our Ning Dynasty, commanding over 200,000 soldiers. What danger could there be?"

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Zhuo stated, "I don’t care about the others, but Chen Ji must come with me."

Chen Liqin angrily left, flinging his sleeves, "Absurd!"

Zhang Zhuo watched Chen Liqin’s retreating figure, and sighed before turning to the gentry, bowing, "It seems we can’t continue drinking. Please return home, gentlemen."

After the others had taken their leave, he turned to Chen Ji, "Don’t worry about Mr. Chen. He’s going to his Guyuan, and we’re headed for the Imperial Capital. When we get there, you’ll spend New Year’s Day at Zhang Mansion. On Lantern Festival, each of you will receive 600 taels of silver as New Year’s money. Visit the City God Temple, enjoy the lantern festival, drink flower wine—as a young man, just have fun and forget these grand national concerns."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment before he pulled a Spy Department waist tag from his sleeve, "Lord Zhang, with this tag, I should be able to move unhindered."

Zhang Zhuo tried to persuade him further but was stopped by Chen Ji, "I appreciate your kindness. Please take Xiao Man with you and let her stay temporarily at Zhang Mansion... I must accompany the Chen family to Guyuan."