Deep into the night.
From deep within the Chen Estate, sounds of uproarious laughter, music being played, and the singing of songstresses could still be heard.
Chen Liqin's direct-line officials didn't wait for the banquet three days later. They arrived in a continuous stream, bringing their manservants and carrying gifts, nearly trampling flat the threshold of the Chen Estate.
However, the liveliness of the Chen Estate had nothing to do with Mingquan Courtyard.
At this very moment, Chen Ji lay on the alcove bed in Mingquan Courtyard, staring blankly at the bed curtains overhead. Lying on her back beside him, Wu Yun stared blankly together with him.
On the bed, three layers of bedding were laid out. At the very bottom was a palm-fiber mattress woven from palm leaves to prevent dampness; the second layer was a freshly fluffed cotton mattress; and the third layer was a silk bedsheet.
The bed was soft, who knew how many times better than the communal bed in the apprentice dormitory. There was no foot stench here, no snoring sounds; yet strangely enough, Chen Ji couldn't fall asleep.
He kept feeling that there were still many things to do before leaving Luo City, but for a time, he couldn't sort out the clues to make sense of them.
Wu Yun stared with wide, perfectly round eyes. "Chen Ji, if you really can't sleep, why don't you secretly sneak back to the medical clinic to sleep, and come back when the sky turns bright?"
Chen Ji was amused. "It's not that I absolutely must sleep in the medical clinic; it's just that having arrived at a new home, I can't fall asleep."
Moreover, those who snored, kicked off their blankets, and randomly kicked their legs were also no longer at the medical clinic.
Chen Ji asked, "Wu Yun, once we rescue the Commandery Princess, let's go out to sea together, alright? We'll also take a boat all the way from Qiming to the Lüshun Port, heading to the Jing Dynasty."
Flipping over and sitting up, Wu Yun meowed curiously, "Are we going to find your maternal uncle?"
Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "We won't find him; we won't find anyone. Let's go deep into the grand mountains and become hunters, building a simple hut on the mountain to live in. Once that time comes, in winter I'll take you to catch hibernating blind bears and silly roe deers; in summer I'll take you to catch frogs and cicadas; in late autumn we'll pick all the pears and make frozen pears to eat... Then we'll head further north to see the auroras and ride dog sleds."
He was so deeply immersed in the beautiful hometown Wu Hongbiao had woven that even Wu Yun felt some yearning.
Chen Ji thought to himself: as a Practitioner of the Pre-Heaven Realm now, wouldn't he be able to walk sideways in the grand mountains? Dealing with animals was vastly superior to dealing with humans.
Wu Yun asked curiously, "But if you hide in the grand mountains, the Mountain Lord Pathway won't have any Ice Flow. If you don't reach the Path-Seeking Realm before the age of thirty-six, you won't be able to attain longevity."
Chen Ji's tone was relaxed. "What's the point of living so long? Master said it himself: Longevity Brings Humiliation."
Wu Yun remained silent for a moment. "But I saw Master being quite happy every day."
Chen Ji was puzzled. "Was he happy? The few of us in the medical clinic annoyed him half to death every day."
Wu Yun said casually, "He only said that with his mouth. When Master watched you all playing around and causing a ruckus in the courtyard through the cracks of the windows in the main room, he smiled very happily."
"Is that so..."
While speaking, knocking sounds came from outside Mingquan Courtyard.
Throwing off the blankets, Chen Ji got out of bed. Draping a large cloak over his shoulders, he walked into the courtyard. "Who is it?"
Chen Liqin said gently, "It's me."
Chen Ji pushed open the door latch.
The moment he opened the doors, the pungent smell of alcohol hit his nose. He saw Chen Liqin's dark, tanned cheeks flushed with a red-purple hue, his drunkenness written all over his face.
Chen Ji asked in confusion, "Why has Lord Chen come deep into the night?"
Chen Liqin had already grown accustomed to hearing the words 'Lord Chen', his brows not even furrowing slightly. "Why latch the doors of your courtyard when living in your own home? Rest assured, our Chen Estate's domestic servants patrol during the night; they won't let any evildoers in."
Chen Ji smiled, not answering.
Chen Liqin suddenly realized that the people Chen Ji was guarding against were not evildoers outside the Chen Estate, but evildoers inside the Chen Estate.
He was speechless for a while, then said softly, "Won't you invite me in to sit for a bit?"
Chen Ji stepped sideways. "Lord Chen, please."
Entering the courtyard, Chen Liqin looked around. "Are you satisfied with this place?"
Chen Ji smiled. "Naturally, I am satisfied."
The two stood in the courtyard. Suddenly, they looked at each other speechlessly, the atmosphere bizarrely quiet.
A long time later, Chen Liqin coughed lightly. "Once we arrive in the Capital City, the estate will still leave a separate courtyard for you. Rest assured, it won't be any worse than Wenzong and Wenxiao's."
Chen Ji clasped his hands in thanks. "Many thanks, Lord Chen."
After these words were spoken, Chen Liqin temporarily didn't know what to say. Chen Ji also wasn't in a hurry to open his mouth, just waiting quietly like this.
After a long time passed again, Chen Liqin sighed. "Today, in front of outsiders, I couldn't just directly lift the cover off our family scandals and show them. The Chen Family's face and reputation is not mine alone. As members of the Chen Family, you and I ought to naturally properly maintain it, not disgracing the Chen Family's lintel. Letting outsiders know about our family scandals won't cause anyone to truly worry; they will only view our Chen Family as a laughingstock."
Chen Ji uttered an "Mhm."
With his hands behind his back, Chen Liqin stood before the wintersweet tree. "I know you have eaten much bitterness and suffered many grievances these past years. Rest assured, in the days to come, I will absolutely not let you suffer such unjustified wrongs again."
Chen Ji clasped his hands in thanks. "As long as Lord Chen knows of my innocence, it is fine."
At this time, turning around, Chen Liqin pulled a piece of paper deed from his sleeve and handed it to Chen Ji.
Chen Ji was confused. "This is?"
Chen Liqin said, "The Secret Spy Division confiscated and seized the properties of Prince Jing's Estate and the Liu Family, and some unimportant industries and properties were sold off on the spot. This piece in your hand is the Land Deed to the Taiping Medical Clinic. I know you lived there for two years and have emotional attachments to that place, so I simply entrusted someone to buy it back. I was thinking, although we are heading to the Capital City, this can at least be considered leaving behind a memento and something to remember in Luo City..."
Chen Ji's expression moved. He hurriedly unfolded the Land Deed, only to see five large characters written at the very top: "Divided Acreage Household Return Ticket."
"Respectfully following orders from the thirty-third sector, sixth division, this Prefecture explicitly declares the measurement of farmlands and mountain ponds, Number Twelve, Anxi Street..."
Chen Ji carefully folded the Land Deed and tucked it into his sleeve. Then, overlapping his hands, he bowed deeply. "Many thanks, Lord Chen. You have put much thought into this."
With a complex expression, Chen Liqin looked at Chen Ji. When he sent over greenhouse cucumbers valued at a thousand coins, Chen Ji hadn't been moved. When he said he would arrange for him to study at Donglin Academy and pave the way for his Imperial Examinations, Chen Ji also hadn't been moved.
Only at this moment did he finally feel Chen Ji's heartfelt gratitude from the bottom of his lungs.
For a time, Chen Liqin felt somewhat constrained and uncomfortable. He helped Chen Ji up. "What are you doing? For the duration of our father-son relationship, doing this small matter for you is only proper and expected..."
Before Chen Liqin could finish speaking, Chen Ji returned to the room, dressed properly, picked up Wu Yun in his arms, and strode out toward the outside of the courtyard with large, vigorous steps: "Lord Chen, I need to go out for a trip."
"Where are you going..." Looking at Chen Ji's back, Chen Liqin raised his hand, ultimately slowly lowering it.
...
...
Liu Family Alley.
From a dilapidated household, a man's heavy roars could be heard: "Back then, your old man said not to study medicine, not to study medicine, yet you, this brat, insisted on studying it, saying it could earn money for your old man! Your old man spent so much silver to smooth over relations and send you to study, yet before a single copper coin of profit was earned, the medical clinic was gone! Now that all the silver your old man spent has been thrown into the water, tell me, how should this debt be settled?!"
In the room, a weak oil dreg lamp burned on the table.
The black bricks on the ground were missing corners, and the vermilion Eight Immortals table had peeling paint.
Panting heavily, a man in his thirties sat in a chair. His obese body trembled slightly as he spewed heavy breaths reeking of alcohol.
Holding his head low, Liu Quxing knelt in front of the main room's doors. Kneeling at the side, his mother looked as if she was about to weep at any moment. "Master, the medical clinic being gone is also something that couldn't be helped; it has nothing to do with Xing Xing!"
"Nothing to do with him?" The man sneered. "Just because you say it has nothing to do with him means it has nothing to do with him?"
Liu Quxing said in a low voice, "Then tell me, what should be done?"
The man narrowed his eyes. "That day at the Secret Spy Division's government office, was the person speaking with you a high-ranking official? I saw him; he used to be an apprentice at your medical clinic too, right?"
Liu Quxing gave an "Mhm."
The man asked again, "I heard he is someone from the Chen Family?"
Liu Quxing gave another "Mhm."
The man said, "Since he was willing to extend a helping hand that day, it shows you still have camaraderie as fellow students. Tomorrow, go seek him out and have him arrange a position/errand for you. Once you are working in the Directorate of Ceremonial, won't you be able to manipulate and control whichever high officials and noble lords in Luo City you please?"
Liu Quxing said stubbornly, "I won't go. There is no camaraderie or friendship between him and me."
The man grabbed the wine bowl from the table and smashed it over. Tipping his head to dodge, Liu Quxing avoided it. With a 'pa' sound, the wine bowl shattered into pieces in the small courtyard behind him.
The mother beside Liu Quxing hurriedly hugged her son tightly. "Master, if Xing Xing doesn't want to go, then don't make him go. There are plenty of ways to earn money. Didn't we give all the dividends from the Preparation Bureau to you previously? That silver is enough for our family to spend for many years."
The man sneered self-mockingly. "Mentioning the silver just makes me angry! I was doing perfectly fine in the gambling house, yet you insisted on seeking out bad luck for me, causing me to lose all my silver. You, this wretched woman, are a jinx! Ever since I married you, not a single thing has gone smoothly!"
The woman knelt blankly in place. "It's all gone? Master, you lost all five hundred taels of silver in gambling?! We clearly agreed back then: if Xing Xing couldn't become an imperial physician, this sum of money would be left for him to open a medical clinic. How could you lose all the silver?!"
Standing up, the man kicked the woman in the face, sending her tumbling to the ground. "Is it your turn to question your old man?!"
Having endured silently this entire time, Liu Quxing abruptly raised his head, straightening his back. "You are not allowed to hit my mother!"
The man froze for a moment, then slapped Liu Quxing across the face. "Rebelling against the heavens, are we?! Sending you to study a bit of medicine actually made your wings grow hard?"
Slapped so hard his face turned to the side, Liu Quxing turned his face back around. "You are not allowed to hit my mother!"
The man laughed fiercely and savagely. "Who knows how that old undying fart in the medical clinic taught you, to actually teach you to disobey and rebel against your own father!"
Standing up, Liu Quxing said with a ferocious expression, "You are not allowed to curse my Master!"
The man delivered another slap across Liu Quxing's face. "Is this how that old undying fart taught you to behave as a human being?"
Turning his head back, Liu Quxing enunciated each word clearly: "I said: you are not allowed to hit my mother again, and you are not allowed to curse my Master again."
Extremely angry, the man laughed. "What's wrong with me cursing him?!"
Hesitating for a moment, Liu Quxing turned and exited the room, returning from the kitchen holding a kitchen knife.
Holding up the kitchen knife, his entire body trembling, he said, "Try hitting my mother one more time! Try cursing my Master one more sentence!"
The man tore open the lapels of the clothes on his chest, exposing his fat, obese belly. "Are you actually capable of hacking me to death?! Come on, hack your own father..."
Before his voice could fall, the man dodged to the side.
With a 'duo' sound, the kitchen knife chopped into the Eight Immortals table behind him.
The man was still in shock, his soul unsettled. If he hadn't dodged just now, that strike of the knife might very well have laid his stomach bare and spilled his guts. Turning his head to look at Liu Quxing, he saw an expression of ruthless ferocity on the other party's face that he had never seen before.
Pulling the kitchen knife out from the table's surface, Liu Quxing said intimidatingly, "Divorce my mother. Write the divorce papers right now. If you don't write them, then none of us will live to see tomorrow!"
The man took a step back. "These past years, the mother and son of you have eaten my food, drank my drinks..."
Lifting the kitchen knife, Liu Quxing took a step forward. "Wasn't five hundred taels of silver enough to repay you?! My mother and I don't owe you anything anymore! Are you going to write it or not?! If you don't write it, I'll hack you to death right now!"
The man's body shivered. "I'll write it! I want to see where you'll go to drink the northwest wind after leaving me. This house is mine; both of you roll out of my house tonight!"
With a cold sneer, Liu Quxing stared at the man as he wrote down the divorce papers. "Press your handprint!"
Cursing and swearing, the man muttered, "There's no inkpad at home."
Opening a cut on his own palm, Liu Quxing spread his palm and offered it in front of the man. "Press it using my blood!"
The man's body trembled. "You brat, you must have been possessed by some filthy thing! I see you won't live much longer; tomorrow I'll have Grandpa City God come and collect you!"
Seeing the man press his handprint, Liu Quxing tore a piece from the hem of his clothes and wrapped the wound on his hand. Snatching the divorce paper, he pulled his mother and walked outside.
Pushing open the doors, Liu Quxing stood at the doorway, completely lost... Where should they go?
However, right at this moment, his mother said in a low voice, "Xing Xing, what is this on the ground?"
Looking down, Liu Quxing saw someone had used two silver ingots to weigh down a piece of white paper on the bluestone paved road of the small alley in front of the doors.
Bending down to pick up the silver, he picked up the piece of white paper and examined it. "This is... This is the Land Deed to the Taiping Medical Clinic!"
The woman let out an 'ah' sound. Looking back at the man behind her, she lowered her voice and said, "How could the medical clinic's Land Deed be here?"
Liu Quxing didn't answer. Anxiously scanning both ends of the alley, he saw a thin, gaunt back figure just reaching the very end of the small alley, turning the corner and vanishing into the dark night without looking back.
He broke into a mad sprint to give chase, but upon exiting the alley, that figure was nowhere to be seen in the dark night.
Suddenly squatting on the ground, Liu Quxing started wailing and crying loudly: "Don't leave, all of you come back!"
(End of this chapter)