Green Mountain
Chapter 281 - 223, Surprise

Chapter 281: 223, Surprise

A 500-mile urgent handwritten order had thrown all plans into disarray.

Zhang Zhuo looked down at the ’’Patrol Ivory Card’’ of the Spy Department in his hand, engraved with "Imperial Inspection - major issues to be reported, minor ones decided instantly."

He knew well that only Hai Dongqing was entitled to carry such an ivory card. Above that was the ’’Court Appearance Ivory Card’’ of the Twelve Signs, which allowed access to the Forbidden City and the East and West Six Palaces. It’s said that the Top Three Zodiacs had their own unique ivory cards, unseen by outsiders.

Seeing that they were in private with no outsiders around, Zhang Zhuo weighed the ivory card in his hand and sighed lightly, "Chen Ji, what I just discussed with Mr. Chen was not reckless drunken babble."

Chen Ji asked softly, "Lord Zhang, are you worried about the struggle for succession?"

Zhang Zhuo shook his head, "It’s not just about succession conflicts when it involves the Jin Party and the border army. It’s a tangled web of conflicts among the court, the border towns, Jin Party, and Donglin Party, incomprehensible to those outside. The things you can’t understand, try not to touch."

Zhang Zhuo continued in a lowered voice, "I’ve never dealt with the Crown Prince and do not know his character. Everyone says he’s good-hearted and praised by great scholars. In these times, good-heartedness is synonymous with weakness, and such a person investigating the border army’s power will only lead to harm to those around him."

After a long contemplation, Chen Ji replied softly, "Lord Zhang, I understand all that you’ve said, but I have my reasons for going."

"Well then," Zhang Zhuo admonished, "Guyuan has an acquaintance of mine; I’ll write a letter for you. If you encounter unsolvable issues, seek him out; he should be able to see you safely out of Guyuan."

Chen Ji bowed deeply with a cupped fist, "Thank you, Lord Zhang."

Suddenly, Zhang Zheng spoke up from the side, "Father, I also wish to accompany Chen Ji..."

Zhang Zhuo replied calmly, "Get lost."

Zhang Zheng: "Oh."

Zhang Xia pulled Zhang Zheng towards the post station, "Brother, stop causing trouble for father. We still need to rush back to the Imperial Capital for New Year’s Eve."

Chen Ji queried, "Second Miss Zhang, since we’ll part ways tomorrow, I should return Zaozao to you."

Without turning back, Zhang Xia waved her hand, "No need, no need, keep it for now."

Zhang Zhuo, watching the backs of his children, lamented, "If only this boy was half as sensible as Axia... Let’s go back, get some rest earlier."

Returning to his room, he found Xiao Man sitting at the square table, chin propped on her hand, dozing off.

Hearing the door open, she sleepily stood, "Young Master, you’re finally back. I’ll go call someone from the post station to bring some hot water for you to wash up."

Chen Ji smiled, "You needn’t busy yourself; I can manage. Has Su Zhou eaten?"

Rubbing her eyes, Xiao Man answered, "She’s still hiding in a box on the carriage. They say there are Spy Department agents behind the post station; she doesn’t want to take the risk. She did have her meal; I managed to send her some snacks when nobody was around."

Chen Ji hummed in acknowledgment, "Tomorrow, I shall accompany the Chen family to Guyuan, and you will follow the Zhang Family to the Imperial Capital. On the road, obey Second Miss Zhang’s arrangements and don’t act on your own."

Xiao Man suddenly widened her eyes, "Young Master, are you driving me away?"

Chen Ji explained, "It’s not about driving you away. Lord Zhang mentioned that Guyuan is a place of chaos and unrest. Keeping you from going is for your safety."

The gleam in Xiao Man’s eyes shifted, "Then you should take me with you, so you’ll have someone to look out for you."

Chen Ji nonchalantly replied, "You, a maid, what could you look out for? If you were an executive officer, I would take you along, but you’re not."

At a loss, Xiao Man argued, "Still, someone needs to take care of you."

Chen Ji firmly stated, "You will accompany the Zhang Family and look after Su Zhou and escort her to the Imperial Capital."

Reluctantly, Xiao Man acquiesced, "Young Master, when you get to Guyuan, remember to visit Aunt’s grave and weed it a bit. If possible, perhaps you can see for yourself whether what Nanny Li said is true."

Taken aback, Chen Ji pondered: Mrs. Lu’s grave was in Guyuan?

His thoughts raced. Guyuan was a place of chaos bridging Ningjing and Jing Dynasty. Since there was an inn that could transport people to Jing Dynasty, there surely were means to smuggle people from Jing into Ningjing. Potentially, Lu Jin and the Lu siblings had entered Ningjing from here, forged their household registration, and transformed into people from Guyuan. Following the Ning tradition of ’fallen leaves returning to the roots,’ it was after Mrs. Lu’s death that she was sent back to Guyuan to be buried by Chen Liqin.

Recalling previous mentions of an ’empty coffin,’ Chen Ji felt a stir of suspicion. Maybe Mrs. Lu had never died but had instead seized the chance to escape in Guyuan and return to Jing Dynasty?

But if this were so, why was Si Caogui unaware of her being alive?

Chen Ji intended to inquire about the exact location of the grave but held back, as he was supposed to know this detail himself. Asking might raise Xiao Man’s suspicions right away.

Chen Ji casually remarked, "Pity she trusted the wrong people, dying without being buried in the Chen family grounds."

Xiao Man sighed, "Exactly. But knowing Aunt’s character, she wouldn’t want to be buried with those pedantic Confucians from the Chen family. If they were buried together, things would really be lively, Aunt would probably point at their Chen family ancestors’ noses and scold them daily from below..."

Reverently, Wu Yun added, "Fiercely!"

...

...

The next morning in the warm post station guest room, Xiao Man sat on a small stool, dozing off, drool reaching to her knees.

Chen Ji gently got up, careful not to wake her.

He went straight to the stable in the courtyard, led out Zaozao, and began grooming it with a coarse-toothed comb. Pleased, Zaozao nuzzled Chen Ji’s shoulder with its head.

A voice came from not far away, "Third brother, you’re up early."

Turning his head, Chen Ji saw Wen Wenzong, clad in a white fox fur coat, standing on the post station’s steps, looking like a noble son from a storyteller’s tale.

Chen Ji bowed, "Big brother."

Chen Wenzong’s eyes contained a hint of a smile, "You call father Mr. Chen, yet you are still willing to call me brother."

Chen Ji chuckled, "Brother, your character is precious, worthy of the title ’brother’."

Chen Wenzong hesitated for a moment, "Actually father is..."

Before finishing his sentence, Chen Ji had already led Zaozao to the front door of the post station.

Outside the post station, the escort masters had woken up early before dawn, each holding a bowl of mutton soup squatting at the entrance. Accompanied by hot flatbread, they alternated a bite of bread with a sip of soup, warming themselves up before standing to harness the oxen and horses and pulling the carts out of the yard.

The clerk at the post station pointed to the ground and cursed, "Pick up the cow dung and horse dung from the ground, or next time, you won’t even have a cowshed to stay in!"

Liang, the escort leader, quickly apologized with a smile, "I’ll pick it up right away!"

Chen Wenzong watching the backs of the escort masters felt emotional, "The escort masters huddle together early in the morning to drink hot soup and eat flatbread, such a commonplace life scene, so vivid and lively. Watching them eat, it really whets my appetite. At home, even with luxurious food, I never feel this hungry. Third brother, would you like a bowl of mutton soup too?"

Chen Ji, while grooming Zaozao, teased, "Brother, after spending a night in the cowshed, the escort masters need something warm like the mutton soup to warm even the tips of their toes. And that soup only has two thin slices of mutton. If they heard what you just said, they would probably love to switch with you and eat the luxurious food under ornate rafters."

Chen Wenzong was momentarily stunned, then sincerely said, "I stand corrected... Third brother, you have been out and about for these two years, experiencing much hardship, right? Good thing you are back home."

Chen Ji glanced at him, "Not really."

At that moment, Chen Liqin and Mrs. Liang had already led Chen Wenxiao into the carriage, avoiding another meeting with Zhang Zhuo.

Chen Ji, standing at the door, called Zaozao over and from his pouch, he grabbed a handful of soybeans and fed them to her. Wu Yun crawled out from Chen Ji’s arms and nestled on Zaozao’s head, which Zaozao did not mind.

As the Chen family’s carriages set off, Chen Ji didn’t hurry to mount his horse and begin his journey.

He whispered to Zaozao, "Let’s wait a bit longer, wait for your mistress to say goodbye to you before we leave. Otherwise, she won’t see you for over a month and will surely miss you."

Chen Ji knew that Second Miss Zhang treated Zaozao as a friend, so he was sure she would come to say goodbye.

However, as he waited and watched the Chen family’s carriages go further away, he still did not see her arrive.

"Not good!" Chen Ji thought suddenly and swung himself onto his horse, chasing after the Chen family’s carriages.

Reaching the side of the Chen family’s carriages, he signaled Zaozao to check around, but there was no sign of Zhang Xia or Zhang Zheng among the dozen or so carriages.

Chen Ji called out to a maid named Han Lu on one of the ox carts, "Open the carriage box, see if someone is hidden inside."

Han Lu was puzzled, "What are you talking about, Third Young Master? The boxes have all our belongings, how could someone be hidden there?"

Chen Ji insisted, "Just take a look."

Han Lu did as told, but as she lifted the lid just a crack, a hand reached out from inside and shut the lid again...

Chen Ji was puzzled.

Han Lu screamed, "What is that?!"

Before they could open the box again, they heard the sound of horse hooves from a nearby alley.

Chen Ji turned his head and saw Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng riding up.

He asked with suspicion, "What are you two doing..."

Zhang Zheng carelessly said, "After staying in Luocheng City for two years, mother forbade us siblings from traveling far, and we were almost suffocating. She normally doesn’t mind our elder brother and sister, why always us? So, I sneaked out with my sister, got two good horses from the post station, and am following you to Guyuan to see what it’s like."

Chen Ji frowned, "This is not appropriate."

Zhang Zheng laughed, "You are not our mother, you can’t really control us, brother and sister!"

Chen Ji knew Zhang Zheng was right, he indeed had no reason to restrict them, so he gave up, "Second Miss Zhang, since you are out here, let’s switch horses then, I’ll give Zaozao back to you."

Zhang Xia heartily said, "No need, I see that Zaozao likes you quite a lot, so I’ll lend her to you for now, you need her more than I do."

Chen Ji thanked her, and then remembered the hand from the box...

Since Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia were here, who was in the box?

Chen Ji calmly said to the box, "Come out on your own!"

The box slowly opened, revealing Xiao Man holding the lid with her right hand and squatting inside, smiling brightly, "My lord, is it a surprise?"

Chen Ji replied irritably, "Why didn’t you listen to my instructions?"

Xiao Man, seeing his displeasure, frantically explained, "But, you really need someone to take care of you on the road. What kind of young master goes without a maid? Isn’t a young master without a maid still a young master?"

Chen Ji thought anxiously. Xiao Man had secretly followed, now a definite fact, but what about Su Zhou? Su Zhou insisted on hiding in the Chen family’s convoy, just to observe if Chen Ji was betraying Prince Jing Mansion. Now that both he and Xiao Man had left...

Wouldn’t that leave Su Zhou alone in the carriage?

At this moment, the coachman was driving Chen Ji’s carriage, trailing behind the Zhang family’s procession.

Inside the shaky carriage, a faint voice from a wooden box asked, "Can I come out now? It’s very stuffy inside."

"Can I come out now?"

"Can someone answer?"

"Speak up, stupid girl!"