Green Mountain
Chapter 368 - 304. Substitute

Chapter 368: 304. Substitute

Qi Zhenzhuo found a set of silver armor and helped Chen Ji put it on.

While fastening the armor for Chen Ji, he whispered, "Master, wouldn’t it be fun to watch Chen Wenren’s embarrassment, why bother supporting them... I have a feeling this silver armor doesn’t suit you."

Chen Ji was taken aback, "Doesn’t suit me?"

Qi Zhenzhuo frowned and scrutinized, "I can’t pinpoint what’s odd, it just feels mismatched with this silver armor."

Li Xuan heard this and instantly saw through it, "Chen Ji is not suited for such ostentatious Yulin Army armor, this armor is too dazzling for him; he suits black armor better."

Qi Zhenzhuo clicked his tongue, "Seems like you’re right. Brother-in-law, how could you tell at a glance?"

Li Xuan was silent for a moment, "Because I’ve seen him wear the black armor of the Heavenly Strategy Army’s Divine Archer."

Qi Zhenzhuo was puzzled, "I’ve seen it too, he wore that black armor after the battle."

Li Xuan shook his head and spoke softly, "Not after the battle."

He recalled that night of the decisive battle in Guyuan, where Chen Ji stood in the dark with a hard bow in his hand, calm but as if hiding a raging storm.

The most formidable hawk doesn’t appear in its prey’s vision.

The three of them went out.

Zhao Zhuofan was anxiously shouting on the school grounds, "Who will go to the Eight Great Hutongs now to deliver a message for Commander Chen? There’s a hefty reward of two hundred taels of silver!"

No one responded on the school grounds.

"Is no one willing to earn two hundred taels of silver for running an errand?" Zhao Zhuofan grabbed a Yulin Army soldier and instructed, "You go!"

The Yulin Army soldier stepped back, breaking free from Zhao Zhuofan’s grip, "It’s certainly too late now. Even riding a swift horse to the Eight Great Hutongs and back would take an hour, and it would surely delay the evening’s main event. When the Ritual Supervision questions this, sir, you might have the Chen family to back you up, but I would certainly be dismissed and investigated."

Zhao Zhuofan shouted angrily, then turned to another Yulin Army soldier who was just feeding a horse, "I’ll give you five hundred taels of silver, you go!"

But the Yulin Army soldier also didn’t respond.

Zhao Zhuofan, exasperated, "Your old mother is gravely ill and waiting for silver to treat her, and your wife hesitates to buy even a box of rouge. With this silver, you could have everything!"

Qi Zhenzhuo mocked from the side, "Five hundred taels of silver is just two years of salary for him. Liang Dongcheng was hard to pick into the Yulin Army, why would he jeopardize his legitimate duty for your little money? According to our Great Ming Law, what’s the penalty for deserting duty..."

Zhao Zhuofan glared at him, "You!"

This was not the time to quarrel with Qi Zhenzhuo, he turned towards other humble soldiers, "Who is willing to earn this five hundred taels of silver? No, eight hundred taels!"

No one responded.

Qi Zhenzhuo teased, "Young Master Zhao, relying on the Chen family, why are you only willing to spend eight hundred taels of silver to send someone away? If you give five thousand taels, I’ll run for you."

Zhao Zhuofan ignored him, just looking at those humble soldiers, sneering, "Alright, alright, normally I treat you well, no shortage of military rations. Once this is over, you don’t need to stay in my garrison anymore!"

A Yulin Army soldier, hearing this, gritted his teeth and took a step forward, "Fifteen hundred taels, I’ll go deliver the message for the commander."

Zhao Zhuofan thought for two seconds, "Alright!"

The Yulin Army soldier mounted his horse and left, heading for the Eight Great Hutongs.

As he went out, a little eunuch outside the door held up a handwritten order from the Prime Minister, "Yulin Army, hear orders. Immediately wait outside the Imperial Palace Gate. If not seen within thirty minutes, forty lashes, and dismissed!"

Zhao Zhuofan grumbled angrily, "Rush, rush, like rushing a life!"

Chen Ji suddenly remembered what Zhang Xia said, that rules are made to eat people.

He turned to ask Qi Zhenzhuo, "How many in the Yulin Army come from humble backgrounds?"

Qi Zhenzhuo shook his head, "Not many, the selection for the Yulin Army is extremely strict, requiring three clean generations of ancestors; only about twenty-five or twenty-six from humble families in the Yulin Army, the rest mostly have backgrounds."

Chen Ji was deep in thought.

...

...

Two hundred Yulin Army soldiers with their hands on the long swords at their waists passed through Chengtian Gate and lined up in front of the Imperial Palace Gate.

Zhao Zhuofan paced back and forth in front of the Imperial Palace Gate, anxiously looking towards the direction of Chengtian Gate.

At this moment, Chen Ji saw a familiar figure walking out from the right side of the Imperial Palace Gate. The person was dressed in white, wearing a dragon pattern mask, with hands casually behind the back, silently scrutinizing the Yulin Army.

Bai Long.

Chen Ji carefully scrutinized the other person, pondering which Bai Long this could be that he had seen before.

Was it the one from Luocheng City?

Or the one within the palace walls? Or perhaps none of them.

After a long time, Bai Long gazed at Zhao Zhuofan, "The Imperial Guard pacing back and forth in front of the Imperial Palace Gate, what kind of protocol is this?"

Zhao Zhuofan was intimidated by the mysterious aura and was unwilling to look directly.

Bai Long scrutinized the Yulin Army without a ripple, "There are five hundred and thirty-eight Yulin Army soldiers registered, yet now here are not even three hundred and sixty, very well."

As soon as the words fell, a drum sounded in the watchtower on the Imperial Palace Gate, and Bai Long immediately said, "Line up to welcome at Chengtian Gate!"

The Yulin Army divided into two lines and marched neatly towards Chengtian Gate to welcome.

Chen Ji whispered, "Aren’t we welcoming at the Imperial Palace Gate?"

Qi Zhenzhuo chuckled, "That Korea is a vassal state of our Ning Dynasty, why should the suzerain state wait for him? He dismounts outside Chengtian Gate and walks to the Imperial Palace Gate."

Upon arriving in front of Chengtian Gate, they saw on East Chang’an Avenue, officials from Honglu Temple and over thirty envoys surrounding a sedan chair, slowly approaching. Around it, there were spies in civilian clothes moving back and forth, guarding on all sides.

After setting down the palanquin, the Korean Crown Prince inside did not get out, and Bai Long did not urge him.

He just stood with his hands clasped behind his back, quietly looking outside the gate, as if waiting for another guest from afar.

Chen Ji was somewhat puzzled, what was Bai Long waiting for?

After about thirty minutes, he was slightly taken aback as another group of Honglu Temple officials and envoys appeared on West Chang’an Street, escorting an identical palanquin.

Even the number of envoys was exactly the same.

When the palanquin was lowered, Jin Zhu, wearing a bamboo hat, emerged from the side of the road, approached Bai Long, and saluted, "My lord, I have successfully completed the mission and delivered them safely."

Bai Long casually asked, "Nothing happened?"

Jin Zhu affirmed, "Nothing happened."

Bai Long smiled, "Then please ask the Princely Heir to come out."

The Korean envoys simultaneously lifted the covers of the two palanquins. The person emerging from the left was dressed in a red silk robe embroidered with patterns of reeds and algae, wearing a five-ribbed crown, holding an ivory ritual baton, and girded with a jade belt, all in the style of a Ning Dynasty vassal.

The person emerging from the right was dressed identically to the Korean Crown Prince, also in a red silk robe and wearing a five-ribbed crown.

Both had the same height and build, with their faces covered by thin veils.

A doppelganger!

Bai Long asked the young man on the right, "Princely Heir, are you well? You may remove your veil now."

The Korean Crown Prince took off his veil and humbly saluted, "Reporting to my lord, I am unharmed."

This Princely Heir spoke fluent Ning Dynasty official language.

At this point, Bai Long explained casually, "For the sake of absolute security, we went to this trouble. I hope the Princely Heir will forgive us."

The Korean Crown Prince quickly replied, "No harm done, no harm done. The Jing Dynasty assassins have attempted on my life several times. You are concerned for my safety, and I am grateful."

Chen Ji felt a chill in his heart. Has the rivalry between the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department and the Ning Dynasty Secret Spy Department reached such heights within the capital territory?

Yet this is right under the Imperial City.

Bai Long looked at the two people and said with a smile, "Princely Heir, according to diplomatic protocol, we need to verify the ’Great Matter Declaration’ once more."

The Korean Crown Prince took out a delicately bound memorial from his sleeve, tied with a red string.

He handed the memorial to Bai Long with both hands, "This is a request for aid against Jing, handwritten by my father. Please have a look. This time, we have brought three hundred ginseng roots, three hundred mink furs, twenty high-quality breeding horses, three hundred taels of gold, eight hundred taels of silver, and sixteen sets of gold and silver utensils, all listed within."

Bai Long untied the red string, carefully reviewed the document, then handed it to the Honglu Temple official, "The horses should be sent to the Ministry of Imperial Stables, the ginseng to the Imperial Pharmacy, and the gold and silver to the Imperial Treasury."

The Honglu Temple official accepted the memorial politely, "Understood."

Bai Long turned to the Korean Crown Prince again, "According to Volume 15 of the Daning Law concerning customs, the Princely Heir may not enter or leave Huitong Hall without the company of Honglu Temple officials or our Spy Department. You may not privately make maps or converse with the citizens of our dynasty. Your daily provisions are three pints of rice and one pound of meat, half for your attendants. Do you have any objections?"

The Korean Crown Prince bowed and saluted, "No objections."

The Honglu Temple official bowed and asked, "Lord Bai Long, may we enter the palace now?"

Bai Long calmly replied, "The eight hundred drums at Que Pavilion have not finished sounding yet, wait."

With that, he said no more, standing quietly with his hands behind his back.

In the distance, from the tower at the Imperial Palace Gate, the majestic drumbeat of Que Pavilion continued.

The Honglu Temple official was taken aback. According to Ning Dynasty protocol, one should wait for the drums to stop before entering the palace, but previously, no one had taken this ritual seriously and would enter while the drums were still playing.

But this Bai Long would not deviate even a sliver from the ritual.

Not until the drumbeat ceased.

Only then did Bai Long smile and say to the Korean Crown Prince, "Princely Heir, isn’t it delightful to have friends come from afar? Please!"

The Yulin Army formed a queue to open the way, leading the Korean Crown Prince through the Imperial Palace Gate towards Jianji Hall.

The Korean Crown Prince gazed up at the Imperial Palace Gate, his expression solemn.

Though called a gate, the Imperial Palace Gate is actually a city gate.

Outer city, inner city, imperial city, one after another, the Imperial Palace Gate stands as the most significant ’city gate’ in the capital territory.

The Imperial Palace Gate with its grand red tower seemed cloaked by an enormous red official robe of the Cabinet Minister, commanding this place. Anyone approaching the Imperial Palace Gate for the first time becomes awestruck by its solemn majesty, instinctively feeling reverence.

After the Korean Crown Prince entered the Imperial Palace Gate, Bai Long heard hurried footsteps behind him.

Turned out it was Chen Wenren leading a group of Yulin Army hurrying over, dripping with sweat.

Chen Wenren reached Bai Long, breathless, and delivered a salute, "My apologies for arriving late."

Bai Long responded indifferently, "According to Article 9 of Volume 2 of the Daning Law, any official who leaves their post without reason shall be caned forty times. Those guarding the palace or warehouses, eighty lashes, and dismissed from office."

Chen Wenren’s expression changed.

Bai Long waved to Jin Zhu, "Our Spy Department holds jurisdiction over the supervision of all officials. Major matters are judged by the holy judgment, minor matters are decided immediately. Take him away for eighty lashes and hand him over to the Ministry of War afterward for further handling."

The spy agents swarmed forward, dragging Chen Wenren and his Yulin Army out of the Imperial Palace Gate.

Chen Wenren roared in anger, "Eunuch Party, how dare you touch me! My Chen family has been of noble heritage for generations, eating from ceremonial vessels. How dare you, an Eunuch Party, touch me?"

Bai Long turned and walked into the deep shadow of the Imperial Palace Gate, "One hundred lashes."

Chen Ji looked back, realizing that the Bai Long present was entirely different from Mr. Feng.