Aoyama

Chapter 176 Blood Must Be Cold
Shengyu Dan is the life's work of a medical official and the most precious treasure of Daoting.

Even in the Taoist temples of Huangshan and Laojun Mountain, there are only two medicine officials who can refine this pill.

Now, the extremely precious Shengyu Pill was lying quietly on the ground. Everyone looked at it, and the heat in the eyes of Jinzhu, Yunyang, Jiaotu, and Mengji could not be hidden, but no one dared to pick it up.

Their eyes turned to Prince Jing again, only to see Prince Jing standing silently in the ancestral hall, looking down at Concubine Jing's body for a long time without saying a word.

Jie Fanwei, Qiansuijun, and everyone else waited quietly. Only the whistling of the cold wind was left. The huge Liu family mansion was obviously full of people, but it looked like an empty ruin.

A massive rebellion ended in failure, leaving only a mess.

In silence, Bai Long bent down and picked up the blood-stained Shengyu Pill, wiped it with his sleeve and put it back into the box: "Your Highness, this Shengyu Pill..."

Prince Jing ignored him and whispered, "Since entering the officialdom, Elder Liu has served as Minister of Rites and Minister of Personnel. When Your Majesty ascended the throne, the people of the capital were in a panic and the princes were ready to make a move. It was he and his father who rectified the chaos and helped Your Majesty ascend the throne. Although he made mistakes in his life, he also made contributions. He and his daughter were buried with honor... and that Master Liu."

Feng Daban bowed and agreed: "Yes."

Prince Jing turned around and asked, "Where is Lingyun? Why didn't I see her?"

Feng Daban replied: "It should have been sent away by Lord Liu. Do you need me to bring it back?"

Prince Jing sighed and said, "Let her be."

He stepped out of the ancestral hall and walked towards the door: "Let's go back to the palace."

After walking a few steps, Bai Long blocked his way and said in a gentle voice: "Your Highness, the Liu family's elephant armor camp and tiger armor cavalry have not been pacified yet. For your safety, please stay in the Liu family mansion for the time being and don't return to Luocheng yet."

Prince Jing stopped and stared quietly at the mask with gilded dragon pattern. Bai Long did not retreat or give in, and kept looking at him.

The atmosphere outside the ancestral hall suddenly became tense. Jiaotu pursed her lips slightly and took a small step back towards Yunyang.

Prince Jing looked at the Jie Fan Guards in front of the ancestral hall, and saw that they were wearing straw raincoats and bamboo hats, with their faces hidden in the shadows of the hats and their expressions invisible.

He looked at the Qiansui Army soldiers who were wearing armor and red tassels on their heads, and saw that the soldiers of the Qiansui Army slowly put their hands on the hilts of their swords, and they were on the verge of a showdown with Jie Fanwei.

Prince Jing suddenly smiled. He turned around to look at Elder Liu who was still on the beam and said in a vicissitudes of life, "Okay, let's follow Lord Bailong's advice and stay in the Liu family mansion first. Thousand-year-old soldiers, listen to my order. Go and help put down the rebellion now. Don't let the Elephant Armor Battalion and the Tiger Armor Cavalry cause trouble again."

The general of the Qiansui Army hesitated.

Prince Jing smiled and said, "I can't order you around anymore? Why don't you go quickly?"

The general of the Qiansui Army clasped his hands together and said, "I will obey your orders."

After saying that, he led the Qiansui Army and turned away. In an instant, half of the Liu family mansion was empty.

Bai Long smiled and said, "Your Highness is very righteous, and I admire you. The Minister of Internal Affairs has instructed that the evidence of the Liu family's crimes must be nailed down, leaving those civil officials speechless. So there are still many written confessions that need your help to fill in, which is also a good opportunity to sort out the whole thread of the matter and bring all those who participated in the treason to justice."

Prince Jing laughed and said, "I am tired today. Let's talk about it tomorrow. Lord Bailong is busy now. I will go back and rest now."

The Crown Prince and Bai Li were still looking for Chen Ji in the crowd and wanted to say something, but were pulled away by Prince Jing.

……

……

Before the scattered bodies of the Liu family were cleared away, Jie Fanwei had already dispersed to the Liu family mansion to search the house and count the property.

Jie Fanwei pulled out the table in the ancestral hall where the tributes were placed. Four accountants sat in front of the table and set out four abacuses.

One accountant was responsible for counting the confiscated house deeds, one was responsible for counting the gold, silver and copper coins, one was responsible for counting the Liu family's land accounts, and one was responsible for counting the pawn deeds of the slaves.

The abacus beads made a crackling sound in front of the Liu Family Ancestral Hall, and a huge whale fell down and disintegrated in the lively sound.

In the alley opposite the ancestral hall, Yunyang and Jiaotu came up to Chen Ji with a smile on their faces: "Young man, long time no see."

Chen Ji was originally watching Prince Jing leave solemnly, but upon hearing this, he immediately turned around and said with a smile, "I felt sorry when the two adults were thrown into prison before, but now that I see that the two are safe and sound, I feel relieved."

Yun Yang smiled and asked, "Are you really relieved?"

"Yeah, I'm relieved."

Yun Yang slowly stopped smiling and said, "Let me ask you, when the coffin was opened for autopsy, were you the one who informed the Liu family?"

Chen Ji was stunned: "Master Yunyang, why do you say that? I didn't know you two were going to open the coffin for an autopsy."

Jiaotu tapped his shoulder with her slender white fingers and said with a sweet smile, "But you are the only one who knows that we went to check the Liu family's ancestral tomb. If it wasn't you who reported it, then you should find the person who reported it to me. Otherwise, hmph."

Chen Ji said helplessly: "What does this have to do with me?"

Yun Yang smiled and said, "That's not up to you."

At this moment, a chubby figure squeezed in between the three people, and pulled Chen Ji behind him with a fake smile: "You two capsized in the ditch, so don't blame the newcomer. Originally, the Minister of Internal Affairs ordered me to secretly trip you up and reveal your flaws so that the Liu family would be paralyzed and careless, but I didn't expect that you two would be thrown into prison without knowing it, which saved me a lot of trouble."

Yun Yang looked at Jin Zhu, and his handsome face slowly frowned: "Jin Zhu, do you want to protect him?"

Jin Zhu said cheerfully, "There is no question of whether to protect or not. We are all working for the Internal Minister, so we should be of the same blood. He also had a part in the successful overthrow of the Liu family this time. Now the Internal Minister has given him a way to practice cultivation. Maybe one day he will become a high official. I'm afraid the two of you..."

Jiaotu interrupted with his eyes wide open: "Fatty, are you threatening us? Be careful or I'll stab you. Do you still remember that when you were bullied in Wunian Mountain, I helped you?"

Jin Zhu curled his lips: "What bullshit are you talking about? Aren't you the one who bullies me the most?!"

Jiaotu tilted his head, looking past Jinzhu's fat head and looking at Chenji behind him: "Young man, do you want to continue to work with us in the future? We were very happy to cooperate with you before."

Yun Yang also chimed in, "Among the top three zodiac signs in the Secret Service, Lord Sick Tiger is nowhere to be found, and Lord Tianma likes to be alone. In terms of ability and authority, Lord Bailong must be the leader. Working with us means working with Lord Bailong, and you will have a bright future."

Jin Zhu's expression changed: "You want to poach people right in front of me? Is there any law?"

Jiaotu smiled and said, "We were the ones who brought him into the Secret Service in the first place."

The Golden Pig ignored her and turned to look at the Pegasus dressed in white standing on the roof in the distance. He waved, "Pegasus, look over here, Yunyang and Jiaotu want to talk to you!"

Yunyang glanced at Tianma, and without waiting for him to catch up, he turned to Chen Ji and said meaningfully: "From now on, we will be colleagues. There will definitely be opportunities for cooperation. Jiaotu, let's go."

After saying that, he pulled the reluctant Jiaotu to stand behind Bailong.

Jin Zhu lowered his voice and said to Chen Ji, "There are many factions in the Silijian. These two have been working for Bai Long and are lawless! From now on, just follow me and Tianma, and we will be able to keep you safe. When the time comes, we will find a chance to kill one of them, and you will be the new zodiac sign!"

Chen Ji looked strange: "Do you really want to kill one of them?"

The Golden Pig asked as a matter of course: "How else can you become a Chinese zodiac animal? We can both die together!"

Chen Ji asked curiously, "There isn't even a single vacant seat?"

The Golden Pig shook his head: "No."

Chen Ji asked: "The top three are Bailong, Tianma, and Binghu. Lord Bailong has Jiaotu and Yunyang under his command. Who else is under Lord Tianma?"

The Golden Pig lowered his voice and said, "I am the only one in the Pegasus faction right now, but you don't have to worry. Once you become a zodiac sign, our momentum will grow."

Chen Ji looked strange: "Then the remaining zodiac signs are all Lord Binghu's people?"

"No, no, no," the Golden Pig counted on his fingers, "Prisoner Rat is in charge of the inner prison. He hides in the stinking inner prison every day and doesn't recognize his relatives. Corpse Dog leads a group of people who go alone and specialize in helping the Minister of the Interior to dig graves. Mountain Ox is the Minister of the Interior's personal bodyguard. He sits in the Jiefan Tower every day and never goes out. Dream Chicken is more cunning. He will do things for whoever pays him. And there are Black Snake and Treasure Monkey. These two are the people of Master Wu Xiu."

Chen Ji had heard the name 'Wu Xiu' many times. He asked in confusion: "Who is Master Wu Xiu?"

Jin Zhu reminded: "Lord Wu Xiu is the eunuch who holds the pen beside His Majesty. If you go to the capital in the future, don't mess with him. He is the one who holds grudges the most."

After that, he added: "But remember that no matter who we follow, in the end we are all working for the Minister. As long as you remember this, you won't make a big mistake."

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Has Lord Bailong been by Lord Internal Minister's side all these years?"

Jin Zhu recalled: "He is here half of the time. But when the Minister of Internal Affairs has something extremely important, he will be given priority to handle it. He is also a mysterious person. You have to be careful of him. He is thick-skinned and extremely vicious. Half of the cases of family confiscations and exterminations by the Secret Service in recent years were caused by him... Why are you asking this?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment: "Master Jinzhu, where is Mr. Feng now?"

When Jin Zhu heard the name Mr. Feng, he said angrily, "How would I know that? I only found out that he is one of ours in Longwangtun. He is obviously one of ours, but I don't know where the hatred came from. He beat me so hard! If I meet him in the office in the future, I will definitely trip him up!"

Chen Ji lowered his head and remained silent.

The Golden Pig asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"

Chen Ji said softly: "Thank you, Master Jinzhu, for clearing up my doubts."

"What are you thanking me for?" Jin Zhu patted his shoulder cheerfully, "When I was being dragged away by that old man surnamed Feng, you were willing to draw your sword for me, so you are one of us now."

Chen Ji shook his head: "I ended up doing nothing."

The Golden Pig turned his head and looked at the long and deep bloody road in the Liu family mansion, and said with emotion: "In this evil world, no one can decide for themselves. It is enough to have that heart."

At this point, Jin Zhu smiled and said, "However, next time if it's you who's being dragged behind a horse, if I don't draw my sword for you, you can just think that I drew my sword for you in my heart, and don't blame me."

Chen Ji didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He couldn't tell whether Jin Zhu was telling the truth or lying. He could only agree: "Okay." Jin Zhu asked: "You have been running around these days. Do you need to take a rest?"

Chen Ji shook his head and said, "Master, lend me a horse and a badge of the Secret Service. My master and two brothers are still in the city. I have to go back to find them."

……

……

In the early morning at sunrise, Chen Ji rode his horse at full speed on the official road. The bustling crowds and ox carts that used to come to the market were nowhere to be seen.

The south gate of Luo City was no longer tightly closed. The troops of the Bingmasi had disappeared, and were replaced by unfamiliar military flags. The bloodstains on the stone pavement inside the city gate had not yet been cleaned up.

Along the way, all the wine shops, grain and oil shops, noodle stalls, and clothing shops had their doors tightly closed, creating a desolate scene, just like a frontier military town outside the desert.

When Chen Ji arrived at the gate of Prince Jing's mansion, there were more than ten Jiefan guards guarding it.

He jumped off his horse, holding the reins and walked forward. Jie Fanwei drew his sword and shouted coldly, "Stop!"

Chen Ji took out a badge from his pocket and said, "A spy from the Secret Service, looking for Doctor Yao from Taiping Clinic."

A Jiefanwei looked at him from under his bamboo hat and said, "Dr. Yao and Master Chen have already left the palace. You should go back to the clinic and look for them."

Chen Ji thanked him and returned to Taiping Clinic, but the door was tightly closed.

He frowned and pushed open the door: "Master, I'm back!"

No one answered.

Chen Ji led the warhorse through the main hall to the backyard. The yard was deserted, with only the red cloth strips on the apricot tree adding a touch of warmth... Could it be that Jie Fanwei was deceiving him?
He shouted loudly: "Master, Master, are you at home?"

The next moment, he saw a fire burning under the kitchen stove and a pot of porridge cooking on it, and he slowly breathed a sigh of relief. The master and others were indeed released, but he didn't know where they went.

Chen Ji thought for a moment, tied the reins of his warhorse to the apricot tree, turned around and took off his clothes in front of the water tank.

He poured buckets of ice-cold water over his head to wash away the dust on his body. He finally stopped when his skin turned red.

Just as he was returning to his bedroom to change into dry clothes, he heard old man Yao's disgusted voice outside the door: "I'm just going to be out for a while, and you've made the yard wet. Are you a shrimp soldier or crab general in Luo River? Why do you like to take cold showers so much?"

Chen Ji heard a familiar harsh voice in the house and started laughing.

He buttoned up his collar and walked out the door: "Master, where are Senior Brother She and Senior Brother Liu?"

Old Man Yao said disdainfully, "The two cowards cried and screamed for their parents after being placed under house arrest, so I let them go home to rest. As for the dark cloud, it has been missing for several days."

Chen Ji explained: "It helped me find someone."

Old Man Yao glanced at him and said, "If you see it, call it home to have a look."

Chen Ji hummed and looked towards the kitchen: "Master, have you cooked my meal?"

Old Man Yao sneered: "Short-lived ghosts don't need to eat, it's a waste of food."

Chen Ji was startled: "Master, what do you mean by this?"

Old man Yao stood under the apricot tree with his hands behind his back, looking up at the red cloth on the tree: "You are a very smart kid, but you are not smart enough."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "What do you mean?"

Old Man Yao said, "In the eyes of the smartest people in the world, there are only interests, no emotions. Look at those dignitaries in the court, who hasn't practiced self-preservation to perfection? You won't live long if you play with your life like this. Boy, your heart is in turmoil after you have concerns. You shouldn't have mixed with the soldiers in Cuiyun Lane, and you shouldn't have risked saving people under Mr. Feng's nose after you arrived at Prince Jing's Mansion."

Chen Ji then realized that Old Man Yao knew everything, and he didn't know where Uncle Crow was hiding and watching him, but he could see his every move clearly.

He said stubbornly: "But I can't really kill you, can I?"

Old Man Yao sneered, "Mr. Feng obviously saw that there was something wrong with your identity, so he ordered us to be killed. Zhang Zhuo is backed by the Xu family, and I am just an imperial physician who has nothing to do with him. Why would he kill us? If it were normal, you should have figured this out a long time ago, but you didn't yesterday."

Chen Ji stopped talking.

Old man Yao continued to ridicule, "When you saw the golden pig being dragged, you couldn't help but take action, not caring about your own state; when you saw someone trying to kill the white carp, you lost even the most basic composure. If the Pegasus hadn't just happened to kill you, would you still be breathing and talking to me now?"

The courtyard fell silent, and neither the master nor the disciple spoke any more.

After a long time.

Old Man Yao glanced at Chen Ji and finally sighed, "Boy, I won't say more because you are still young. But I will only remind you once, if you want to succeed, your heart can be warm, but your blood must be cold."

Chen Ji hummed: "Thank you, Master. I'll remember it."

Just at this moment, the wooden door of the clinic was pushed open with a creaky sound, and someone came in uninvited.

Chen Ji turned around and looked, his pupils suddenly contracted.

I saw a masked white dragon walking towards me, with blood spots still on his clothes.

Chen Ji asked calmly, "Master Bailong, what do you want me to do?"

Bai Long casually brought a chair to sit in the courtyard, then looked up and explained: "I passed by Taiping Medical Clinic and came in to rest. Don't be nervous, sit down and chat."

Old Man Yao walked away: "You guys chat, I still have to cook."

Bai Long watched Old Man Yao go into the kitchen, then turned to look at Chen Ji and said, "I heard from Yun Yang that you don't want to work under me? Do you know how many people in the Imperial Household Department want to work under me, but I look down on them?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and replied, "Master Bailong, it's not that I don't want to, but I'm already serving under Master Jinzhu."

Bai Long lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised his head and asked, "What if the golden pig dies?"

Chen Ji was shocked: "Why did Lord Bailong kill each other?"

Bai Long laughed loudly: "Golden Pig has been saying bad things about me behind my back all day long. I have wanted to kill him for a long time."

Chen Ji frowned.

Bai Long said with great interest: "Forget it, why do you take a joke so seriously? I'm not kidding you. I came here specially to find you."

"Ok?"

Bai Long asked in a serious tone, "Someone from the Liu family informed me that Prince Jing had intended to turn his fake play into real before he encircled and suppressed the Liu family. He sent Concubine Yun to secretly contact the head of the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Department to discuss important matters, but later the Military Intelligence Department's forces in Luocheng were completely encircled and suppressed, so he gave up the idea of ​​treason and had no choice but to continue to act according to my plan."

Bai Long asked in a deep voice: "Do you know that Prince Jing wants to make a fake play into a real one?"

Chen Ji's heart suddenly tightened.

Wasn't it a conspiracy between the Secret Service and Prince Jing that Concubine Yun was in league with the Military Intelligence Department? If not, did Prince Jing really want to take advantage of the situation to rebel?
No, no, no, no!

The Secret Service wants to take advantage of the organization to trap Prince Jing!
From the very beginning, this plan was not just to kill the Liu family, but to kill two birds with one stone!
Bai Long asked calmly, "Why don't you speak?"

Chen Ji said nonchalantly: "Lord Bailong, how could Prince Jing let me know about such an important matter? Why not capture Concubine Yun and ask her."

Bai Long smiled and said, "Yun Fei is a smart person. She hid herself as soon as she saw the situation was not right. My people searched for her all night but couldn't find her hiding place."

Chen Ji said with regret: "What a pity! If we catch her, we can force her to tell the truth."

Bai Long said, "Now that this key witness is gone, I want to ask you, you have close contacts with the prince and the princess, have you ever heard a single word from them?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "No."

Bai Long asked again: "If I threaten Bai Li's life, can I force Yun Fei out?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "I don't know."

Bai Long's tone gradually became sharper: "You don't know, or don't want to answer? Young man, you must understand that you are a member of my Secret Service. If you cover up the crime of treason, you will be sentenced to death."

Chen Ji said calmly: "Lord Bailong, I have no connection with Concubine Yun, so I naturally cannot answer the questions you asked. Otherwise, I will help you capture Concubine Yun right now. As long as she is captured, the truth will naturally come out."

Bai Long stared at him for a long time under the mask, then chuckled and stood up: "It's okay, you should have a good rest. Maybe you can remember some clues when you are refreshed. Let's go."

After saying that, Bai Long slowly disappeared outside the clinic with his hands behind his back. He came suddenly and left suddenly.

Chen Ji stood up and looked across the corridor at the deserted Anxi Street outside the door. He looked back at the apricot tree and walked out.

Old Man Yao came out of the kitchen holding a ceramic bowl and said in a dull tone, "Why are you in such a hurry to go out? Aren't you going to eat?"

"Well, I'm not home for dinner."

Old Man Yao sneered: "Remember what I just told you?"

Chen Ji took a deep breath, and then said calmly: "Remember, your heart can be warm, but your blood must be cold."

(End of this chapter)