Green Mountain
Chapter 384 - 311. Open court, trial, witness

Chapter 384: 311. Open court, trial, witness

The rooster had not yet crowed, and the sky outside the window remained dark.

"Master!"

Chen Ji suddenly sat up on the bed, still in shock.

Only when he saw Xiao Man dozing by the bed did he suddenly realize it was just a dream. In the dream, he saw Old Yao wielding a sword at the Temple of Martial Arts on Changbai Mountain, a meteor-like sword seed piercing through his chest, dyeing the snowy peak red with blood.

The master had gone to kill Lu Yang... but that was Lu Yang.

Chen Ji only hoped that the bitter old man wouldn’t do anything foolish. It’s not like he absolutely had to ascend to the Forty-nine Heavens; wasn’t life quite good in this world?

Moreover, Lu Yang was quite old; he could hide in the Ning Dynasty, and sooner or later he would outlive him.

When Lu Yang died of old age, he would immediately go to the Temple of Martial Arts to kill his disciple. By that time, Lu Yang’s disciple would have just begun practicing the sword seed, making it easy to kill.

If he couldn’t defeat the older one, he’d defeat the younger one.

At this moment, Xiao Man, holding the Little Black Cat, groggily opened her eyes and asked, "Young Master, what’s wrong? Did you have that nightmare again?"

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "No, what time is it?"

Xiao Man replied: "Just past the fourth watch; it’s still early."

Chen Ji lifted the blanket and got out of bed, surveying the new residence.

The exquisite canopy bed was carved with images of qilin sending children, the bedding was woven with gold satin, and filled with silk cotton. On a distant desk sat the Four Treasures of the Study, and beside them was a copper stove, from which wisps of blue smoke rose gently.

This was no longer the shabby shared accommodation of the Taiping Medical Hall; he no longer needed to fetch water from a street away, no longer needed to sweep floors or shovel snow.

Chen Ji suddenly said, "Xiao Man, when I’ve finished everything I’m working on, let’s go back to live in Luocheng."

Xiao Man’s eyes lit up: "That would be nice. Sister Li Qiu is still in Luocheng; I wonder if she’s gotten married out of the mansion."

Chen Ji laughed and asked, "Do you want me to write a letter for you?"

Xiao Man lowered her head: "No, there’s nothing much to say. Sister Li Qiu said, we maids have the fate of stray cats and dogs; wherever the masters go, we follow. We shouldn’t dwell on past people and events."

"You’re not a stray cat or dog; you’re Xiao Man," Chen Ji rolled up his sleeves. "Where are the wooden buckets and shoulder pole? I’ll go fill the water vat in the side room."

Xiao Man, holding the Little Black Cat, widened her eyes: "Young Master, you don’t need to do that; there are servants in the house assigned to fetch water."

Chen Ji headed out: "It’s fine. I’ve got nothing else to do; I like fetching water... Where’s the well?"

"Who likes fetching water?" Xiao Man thought for a moment and said, "Turn right when you exit Silver Apricot Garden... Never mind, I’ll take you there."

The two walked ahead and behind, but soon encountered a servant holding a lantern rushing towards them: "Young Master!"

Chen Ji stopped: "What is it?"

The servant quickly said, "The ancestor summoned you to Wendan Hall for questioning."

Chen Ji glanced at the dark sky: "At this hour?"

The servant nodded: "Yes, the eldest master, second master, and third master have already gone."

Chen Ji turned and instructed Xiao Man, "Go find the wooden bucket and shoulder pole and place them in the courtyard. I’ll go see what’s going on."

Xiao Man said in a low voice, "No, I’ll go with you. Second Sister specifically instructed me last night to watch over you carefully. We must guard against them using some underhanded tricks."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "Your Second Sister specially reminded you of this?"

Xiao Man took a piece of paper out of her sleeve, turned her back, and handed it to Chen Ji: "Look, Second Sister wrote down all the little tricks she heard about at the Xu Family so I could be careful. Like a servant deliberately leading someone into trespassing a forbidden area; or bribing a midwife to falsely report a stillbirth—they’re so vicious, the midwife directly smothers the newborn, claiming it was born without a heartbeat. But we don’t have to worry about that one for now; when you get married, I’ll keep an eye on the midwife for you..."

Chen Ji took the paper and saw that Zhang Xia had densely written down over eighty things to be wary of, such as someone burying sorcery in the yard to frame him, someone mixing incompatible food to poison him slowly, someone altering land deeds, or someone drugging him before ancestral sacrifices, ruining the sacrificial matter...

All sorts of things, a complete mess, with each bullet pointing to bloodstained consequences.

Afraid of missing anything, Zhang Xia wrote everything down in meticulous detail.

Chen Ji handed the paper back to Xiao Man: "Keep it safe. You better go back; that way no one can plant anything in the courtyard to falsely accuse us while we’re gone."

Xiao Man was startled: "You’re right; you be careful then."

Chen Ji made a sound of acknowledgment and followed the servant deeper into Qingzheng Garden, the entire way observing intently. In the bustling Chen Mansion, he was greeted by a stream of maids and servants coming and going while the kitchen was brightly lit and filled with voices.

In the early morning, Chen Mansion didn’t seem like a grand estate but rather like a carefully rehearsed theater stage during the Lantern Festival.

Amidst the noise, Chen Ji also noticed hidden posts at every intersection, holding swords at the ready as they kept watch. As Chen Ji and the servant passed by, hidden posts gave them a scrutinizing look before averting their gaze upon recognizing him.

...

...

Chen Ji and the servant walked one before the other, passing through the secluded "Little Yingtai," remaining alert the entire way, until they saw the lights of Wendan Hall from afar without incident.

Chen Ji looked up and saw that the eight red gates of Wendan Hall were wide open.

Above Wendan Hall hung a plaque inscribed with the gilded characters "Venerable Tradition."

On the left couplet: "Though impoverished to the bone, at least one possesses a livelihood; better to starve than to stop learning."

On the right couplet: "When learning has yet to be satisfying, one must endure all kinds of tempering; literary accomplishments lead to prosperity."

It turned out the Wenyun Hall of Luocheng Chen Mansion learned from this place.

Inside, the Patriarch of the Chen Family, Chen Luchi, sat on a Taishi Chair. Chen Liqin and another unfamiliar middle-aged man sat on either side. All three wore red official gowns. The unfamiliar middle-aged man was likely the second house steward, Chen Lizhi.