There was a tearoom inside the Relay Station. Inside the hollowed-out copper incense burner lit by a minor official, a faint scent of sandalwood wafted out.
Chen Ji and Zhang Zheng sat facing each other on the soft couch. A chessboard was placed before them, and the chess match had already reached its final stages.
Amidst the curling green smoke, Chen Ji placed down a white piece. Opposite him, Zhang Zheng engaged in Hard Thinking for a long while before finally placing down a piece. Chen Ji casually placed down another piece, and then Zhang Zheng once again sank into a lengthy period of thought...
Sitting to the side, Zhang Xia cracked sunflower seeds. Watching her own biological older brother being slaughtered until not a single piece of armor remained, she completely lacked any intention of opening her mouth to help.
Zhang Zheng was so anxious he caught a fire. He continuously blinked and shot pointed glances at his younger sister. Zhang Xia asked curiously: "Brother, what's wrong with your eyes? Did sand get into them?"
Zhang Zheng instantly deflated: "You should at least give me some pointers on how to play, right? You can't just watch your own biological older brother get bullied like this, right?"
Zhang Xia brought her pure white teeth together, nimbly cracking open a sunflower seed: "A true gentleman remains silent while watching a chess match. I won't do that kind of thing."
Chen Ji raised his head to look at Zhang Zheng: "Brother Zhang, wasn't it you who came looking for me to play chess? This chess skill of yours... doesn't seem like someone who likes to play chess either."
Zhang Zheng was at a loss for words: "I..."
Zhang Xia asked Chen Ji: "What are your plans once you arrive in the Capital City? Will you live in the Chen Family's main estate, or buy a courtyard to live in yourself?"
Chen Ji pondered for a moment: "I should be living in the Chen Family's main estate."
Since Bai Long wanted him back in the Chen Family, they definitely wouldn't let him stay out of the affairs. The closer he was to the core, the better.
Zhang Xia asked again: "Will Lord Chen go to the Imperial Academy to donate money and buy an Imperial Academy Student status for you? He definitely will, right? But you don't want to study the Classics; what should you do then?"
Chen Ji smiled and teased: "Didn't Second Miss Zhang severely reprimand me as being Without Learning or Skill previously?"
Zhang Zheng hurriedly explained: "You misunderstand! My younger sister simply looks down on those without ability, but this ability doesn't necessarily refer to the Classics. Once you arrive in the Capital City, you will know; her reputation in the Capital City is huge! All the Imperial Academy Students in the Imperial Academy fear her!"
"Oh?" Chen Ji's curiosity was piqued. "Why is that?"
Taking advantage of Chen Ji's gaze being directed away from the chessboard, Zhang Zheng explained while stealthily placing several black pieces onto the board: "There is something you don't know. The Imperial Academy doesn't merely teach the Four Books and Five Classics; they also concurrently study Calligraphy, Mathematics, and Law. That Little Uncle of ours, Xu Shu, is not only the Vice Director of the Imperial Observatory, but also concurrently holds the position of Professor of Calligraphy and Mathematics at the Imperial Academy."
Zhang Zheng continued saying: "Little Uncle is lazy and slack. Unwilling to get up at the Mao hour to give lectures, he frequently calls my younger sister over to substitute for his classes every few days. At first, seeing that she was a woman, the Imperial Academy Students were unwilling by all means, and even held a sit-in protest before the Chancellor. Later, my younger sister posed a question, and it took them an entire hour before a single person could answer it. Only then did they behave honestly."
Chen Ji lowered his head, casting a glance at the extra chess pieces on the board. However, he didn't expose it, simply placing down a white piece to swallow all those extra black pieces together. Only then did he ask: "What question was it that actually took them an hour?"
At the side, Zhang Xia smiled and said: "Looking closely at a towering seven-story pagoda, the dots of red light double with each level. In total, there are three hundred and eighty-one lamps. May I ask how many lamps are at the tip of the pagoda?"
Without even lifting his head, Chen Ji said: "Three lamps."
Zhang Xia's eyes widened: "Yi, you've heard this question before?"
Chen Ji smiled: "Mhm, I've heard it before."
Pinching a sunflower seed, Zhang Xia paused it at her lips, scrutinizing Chen Ji with suspicion: "You truly heard it before? Then I'll ask you another. Now there are beasts, with six heads and four feet; and fowls, with four heads and two feet. Above, there are seventy-six heads; below, there are forty-six feet. May I ask: How many fowls and beasts are there respectively?"
Chen Ji said casually: "Eight beasts, seven fowls."
Zhang Xia was taken aback: "You've heard this one before too?"
Chen Ji laughed 'haha': "I've heard it too."
He changed the topic: "And so back then, Second Miss Zhang relied on 'Calligraphy and Mathematics' to become unrivaled in the Imperial Academy?"
Zhang Zheng laughed cheerfully: "She also relied on her sharp and eloquent tongue! Those Imperial Academy Students are people who haven't passed the Juren exams for many years, depressed and frustrated at their lack of success. After drinking a bit of horse piss, they love to spew feces and curse people! One of them got drunk and went looking for my younger sister to provoke trouble, saying the fact that he failed to become a Juren was entirely caused by having a woman in the Imperial Academy! He pointed at my sister's study dormitory and spewed a torrent of abuse!"
Chen Ji's expression didn't change: "And then?"
Zhang Zheng said: "And then my sister posed a question to him."
Chen Ji was puzzled: "What question?"
Zhang Zheng picked up the teacup at hand, drinking the tea in one gulp: "My sister asked him: 'Your mother and ten rabbits are locked in a cage. Why are there only forty feet?' That Imperial Academy Student was Puzzling over it, saying ten rabbits inherently had forty feet, ah! Why would adding his own mother still equal only forty feet?"
Zhang Zheng put down the teacup: "My sister answered him: Because you have no mother!"
Chen Ji looked at Zhang Xia in astonishment. What strong attack power!
Zhang Xia coughed lightly. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she lowered her head to drink tea to cover it up.
At this time, a burst of clamor and noise transmitted over from the main hall not far away. The officials were pushing cups and trading glasses there, drinking merrily and joyfully.
Chen Ji looked at Zhang Xia: "Over there is?"
Pouring the sunflower seed shells from her left palm onto a plate, Zhang Xia clapped her hands clean: "The local gentry and prominent families of Mengjin County Seat came together to pay respects to my father. My father is currently drinking with them."
Chen Ji asked curiously: "Lord Zhang is about to be promoted and transferred to become the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel; he still needs to socialize with the local gentry in a small county seat?"
At the side, Zhang Xia explained: "As the saying goes, 'Imperial Power does not reach the county level'. The human relations and connections within these nine counties of Luo City are intricate and complex. If he doesn't draw close and become intimate with these local gentry, Father wouldn't even be able to collect the Autumn Grain Taxes! The local gentry in these large counties live even more comfortably and nourished than the squires in the Capital City and Jinling! They are the true local emperors!"
When the mother is weak, the sons become merchants; when the father is strong, the sons become Vice Ministers; when the ancestors are prosperous, one stays in their native place; when the family is poor, one wanders to foreign lands. In the minds of the people of the Ning Dynasty, unless going out to become an official, only those without prospects needed to wander to foreign lands to suffer hardships.
While they conversed, the urgent clatter of horse hooves transmitted over from outside the Relay Station.
Once it drew near, a soldier was seen shouting loudly from horseback: "Five Hundred Li Express!"
Chen Ji and the others stood up and walked outside. Even Zhang Zhuo and the others, who were engaged in Goblets and Chips Crossing, put down their wine cups and hurriedly went out to welcome it.
The emergency levels within the Relay Stations were divided into Four Hundred Li Express, Five Hundred Li Express, and Six Hundred Li Express. Unless it pertained to crucial military matters, these three levels were absolutely not allowed to be used!
That soldier carried a Bamboo Tube sealed with fire wax on his back. Arriving before them, he jumped off the horse: "Where is the Postmaster of Mengjin Relay Station?!"
A middle-aged Postmaster with a drooping beard stepped forward: "This humble one is!"
The soldier untied the Bamboo Tube from his back, and then pulled out an envelope from his robes: "Inside is a Ministry of War Fire Ticket! Prepare a meal and a top-tier fine steed for me! Once I finish eating, I must return to report!"
Taking the Bamboo Tube, the Postmaster saw black characters branded onto it with a Branding Iron: 'To be Opened by Luo City Vice Prefect Chen Liqin. Those who open it privately will be punished according to the law!'
Zhang Zhuo was astonished: "It's actually for Lord Chen... This young brother, who issued this Five Hundred Li Express?"
The soldier cast a sidelong glance at him, saying arrogantly: "The Crown Prince!"
No wonder this soldier was so arrogant and overbearing, not even placing the Postmaster in his eyes. So it turned out he had come upon the orders of the Crown Prince!
Zhang Zhuo handed the Bamboo Tube to Chen Liqin: "Open it and take a look."
Exhaling a breath smelling of alcohol, Chen Liqin broke the fire wax seal, pouring out a letter stamped with a red Official Seal from inside. After reading it, he frowned for a long time, remaining silent.
Zhang Zhuo was puzzled: "What did the Crown Prince say to make you worry so much?!"
Chen Liqin looked at him: "The Crown Prince ordered me not to return to the Capital City, but to proceed directly to Guyuan to rendezvous with him."
Zhang Zhuo subconsciously said: "You cannot!"
"Mhm?" Chen Liqin was confused and uncomprehending: "What does Lord Zhang mean by this?"
Pulling Chen Liqin to the side, Zhang Zhuo borrowed his liquid courage to say: "Lord Chen, it's out of consideration that we've been partners for three years that I'm telling you this. If you feel it's incorrect, then just treat it as my drunken ravings! Guyuan is one of the Nine Border Garrisons; it is inherently a Mixed Bag! Over these years, the Jin Faction's Border Army has frequently rebelled against and disobeyed the Imperial Court! Matters like embezzling rations and pay, and killing civilians to claim military merit emerge frequently in an endless stream; it's just that they were all suppressed by the Grand Secretariat! For the Crown Prince to go to Guyuan at this time, it is definitely not simple! Do not go wade in these muddy waters! Beware of losing your family and your life!"
Chen Liqin hesitated: "But I am an official of the Eastern Palace, the Junior Supervisor of the Household in the Supervisorate of Instruction! How can I decline?"
Muttering curses, Zhang Zhuo said: "Aren't you still completely un-mustered at the Ministry of Personnel?! Furthermore, according to the laws and ancestral regulations, before you take up your post, you must first go to the City God Temple to fast for three days and offer sacrifices to all the gods! You can use this reason to make excuses and decline!"
Chen Liqin shook his head: "Since I am already an official of the Eastern Palace, naturally I must exert my utmost efforts to assist and aid the Crown Prince! If I don't even go for a Five Hundred Li Express from the Crown Prince, how will I conduct myself in the Eastern Palace in the future? How will the Crown Prince trust me?!"
Zhang Zhuo's eyes widened: "Must you absolutely be this 'meritorious official who assisted the dragon'?! Do not let yourself be knocked dizzy by a meat pie falling from the sky! If he doesn't trust you, at worst you'll just be replaced! When that time comes, you'll simply be an official in a different position; you won't go so far as to lose your life!"
Chen Liqin's face stiffened: "Lord Zhang needs not say more! I am unlike you! I do not harbor so many thoughts of protecting myself and acting worldly wise! The sovereign is the sovereign, the minister is the minister, the father is the father, the son is the son! When the sovereign wants the minister to die, the minister has no choice but to die! The Crown Prince is currently precisely in a time of needing manpower; how can I not go?! I, Chen Liqin, am not a person who greedily clings to life and fears death!"
Zhang Zhuo was angered into laughter: "Good! Good! Good! You just go throw your life away! Your wife, children, old and young will leave together with me! I will escort them to the Capital City!"
Chen Liqin's face grew increasingly dark: "Lord Zhang, do not make alarmist and exaggerating talk! The Crown Prince is in Guyuan; that place is still under the jurisdiction of our Ning Dynasty! With over two hundred thousand troops deployed there, what danger is there to speak of?!"
Zhang Zhuo pondered for a moment: "I don't care about the others, but Chen Ji must leave with me!"
Chen Liqin flung his sleeves in anger and strode away: "Absurd!"
Watching the back of Chen Liqin's departing figure, Zhang Zhuo let out a sigh. Cupping his hands toward the local gentry, he said: "It seems we can no longer continue drinking! Everyone, please return."
The crowd took their leave. He then looked at Chen Ji: "You don't need to pay attention to Lord Chen! He goes to his Guyuan, we go to our Capital City! When the time comes, you can spend New Year's Day in the Zhang Estate. When the Lantern Festival arrives, I'll issue six hundred taels of silver to each of you as New Year's money! You can stroll through the City God Temple, admire the lantern festivals, drink flower wine; play however you want! Youngsters, ah, it's good to just play and make merry; there's no need to worry about those major affairs of the country and family!"
Chen Ji fell silent for a moment. Retrieving his Secret Spy Division Waist Plaque from his sleeve, he said: "Lord Zhang, relying on this Waist Plaque, it shouldn't be a problem."
Zhang Zhuo still wanted to persuade him, but was stopped by Chen Ji's words: "I know of your good intentions. I must trouble you to help take Xiaoman along, leading her to go to the Capital City first and temporarily reside in the Zhang Estate... I must follow the Chen Family to Guyuan."
(End of this chapter)