Green Mountain
Chapter 62 - 58, Kill Si Cao

Chapter 62: 58, Kill Si Cao

The dimly lit apprentice dormitory was lit by only two oil residue lamps.

There lay Chen Ji on the communal bed, dressed in clean clothes with white bandages wrapped around his chest and thigh, while the scent of Chinese medicine pervaded the entire dormitory.

Such a strong odor of medicinal herbs felt like the presence of a dying breath.

But Chen Ji could not afford to think of such things, having been unconscious for a day and a night, which was time enough for too many events to occur.

Before he lost consciousness, Jin Zhu and the Ning Dynasty Secret Spy Department he led had already found a witness and were checking the direction of Wu Hongbiao’s escape.

Now that Chen Ji had not been captured, there were two possibilities: either the Spy Department was slow in its search, as there were few pedestrians on a rainy night and no new witnesses had been found, or Wu Hongbiao had already been taken to the inner prison but had not yet incriminated Chen Ji.

If it were the former, Chen Ji still had a chance to redeem himself but if it were the latter, Chen Ji surely couldn’t storm into the inner prison to rescue someone or silence them, right?

Moreover, even if Wu Hongbiao hadn’t been captured.

Chen Ji was seriously injured, Wu Hongbiao was also seriously injured, Chen Ji had someone to treat his injuries, Wu Hongbiao had no one.

Let alone medical treatment, the man was hiding in the back courtyard of a cloth shop without even a bite to eat...

While musing, Princess Bai Li turned around, threw a washcloth into the basin in the room, wrung it out, and placed it on Chen Ji’s forehead, replacing the previous one.

She even washed the towel again, lifted Chen Ji’s arm, and wiped under his armpits to cool him down.

"Um, Commandery Princess, what are you doing?" Chen Ji asked in surprise.

"You still have a fever," Princess Bai Li glared at She Dengke and Liu Quxing: "Two grown men, can’t even handle a small task. Your master told them to apply a wet towel to cool you down, and they barely wring the towel out before slapping it on your face. They don’t even bother changing the bandages over your wounds."

She Dengke and Liu Quxing embarrassingly lowered their heads: "That’s how we’ve always done it."

Bai Li said: "You still can’t be so careless, that’s not how you take care of a patient!"

The Princely Heir sighed emotionally: "Bai Li, that doesn’t mean you should be the one doing these things..."

Bai Li also glared at him: "At Donglin Academy, the masters wouldn’t let us bring manservants, and when you were sick wasn’t I the one who looked after you?"

"But in the end, Chen Ji is an outsider," the Princely Heir said anxiously, "if this gets out, how are you going to get married?"

"Get married?" Princess Bai Li raised her eyebrows: "I will stay by my father and mother’s side, why should I get married? What I don’t get is, since last year you all have been talking about getting married, why must I get married?"

Liang Gou’er solemnly added: "Because everyone should get their own retribution..."

Princely Heir: "..."

Bai Li: "..."

Liang Mao’er quickly covered his mouth and dragged him out to the yard: "Brother, shut up."

Chen Ji lay in bed, watching Bai Li, dressed in white, gallivanting with her brother down Hongyi Lane or the Gambling House in the middle of the night, mingling with the people of Jianghu, and standing tall as if she was a heroine, unshackled by the constraints of the world and unyielding in her actions.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere in the room, She Dengke hurriedly said: "I’ll go make something for Chen Ji to eat, are you hungry too? I’ll make more so everyone can eat together."

Liang Gou’er rushed back into the room raising his hand: "Cured meat, I saw some in the kitchen."

Liang Mao’er also timidly added: "I’ll have some pickled vegetables, and a little bit of porridge is fine for me."

The Princely Heir thoughtfully requested: "Tofu, pan-fried tofu."

Chen Ji: "Hey, wait a second... doesn’t anyone care about what I want to eat?"

She Dengke laughed and explained: "Chen Ji, I’m going to make you some porridge and steamed egg custard. Master said that after being unconscious for so long, you can’t eat anything else."

After She Dengke went off to cook, Chen Ji looked around in confusion: "Princely Heir, Commandery Princess, what brings you here?"

The Princely Heir chuckled and explained: "We were actually planning to go out and have some fun tonight, but when we climbed over the wall and didn’t see you, only Liu Quxing and She Dengke running back and forth with a basin, we no longer felt the need to save ourselves some money for the toll. However, Bai Li insisted on leaving your toll fee, so we inquired about your whereabouts and that’s when we learned of your injury. Bai Li then said no to going out and decided to stay in case she could be of any help."

Turning her head, Bai Li looked at Chen Ji with concern and asked: "Chen Ji, what kind of villain wounded you like this? The audacity of these thieves daring to commit violence within Luocheng City... I thought Luocheng was peaceful."

She Dengke spoke in a muffled voice: "Commandery Princess, Luocheng is not peaceful at night, especially the West Market, where human traffickers mingle, and are quite ferocious. Please do not venture there."

Bai Li frowned: "When father returns, I must inform him so that he can ensure Luocheng is clear and bright!"

The Princely Heir laughed and said to everyone: "My sister, she has a heart for justice, she can’t stand to see us do anything unjust since we were children. We once stole two watermelons and got a whole day’s sermon from her, had to go back and leave twenty Copper Coins."

Bai Li rolled her eyes: "They worked hard for months to grow those watermelons, is it right to steal them? Stop talking nonsense. Chen Ji, do you remember what the person who hurt you looked like, where he is? I will have General Wang arrest him!"

Liang Mao’er also quickly added: "No need for General Wang, my brother can do it, we’ll catch him and slice him with one cut!"

Chen Ji lay in bed smiling and shaking his head: "Thank you all, thank you Commandery Princess, the one who injured me has been brought to justice."

Princess Bai Li nodded: "That’s good."

At this moment, the small apprentice dormitory was filled to brim with people, making it seem unusually crowded as everyone chattered in disorder.

However, the backyard of Taiping Medical Hall had never gathered so many people before, nor had so many shown concern for Chen Ji. This chaotic atmosphere surprisingly gave him a sense of... warmth.