Aoyama

Chapter 239 Jingchao Spy
In front of the steps of the White Tiger Hall, the Yulin Army wrapped strips of cloth soaked in tung oil around wooden sticks and set them on fire in the brazier.

Everyone walked out with a vengeance, and the crown prince led the way, but was stopped by Li Xuan: "Your Highness, if it is true as Chen Ji said, we may have to fight with the thieves of Jing Dynasty tonight. You should stay in the Dusi Mansion."

The prince laughed out loud, "General Li, how can you think of me as a coward? You and I came to Guyuan together, so we should share the joys and sorrows! How can I let you fight in the front while I hide behind? Since the founding of the Daning Dynasty, there has never been an emperor who was afraid of fighting, nor has there been a prince who was afraid of fighting."

Li Xuan was moved and said, "Your Highness, if anything happens to you, how can I explain to His Majesty?"

The prince raised his hand to stop talking: "No need to say more...Mr. Chen San, where is the thief from Jing Dynasty?"

Chen Ji bowed and replied, "It's the house with an elm tree in front of the door in Taohuaifang, Shache Street, east of the city."

Holding torches in hand, everyone mounted their horses. More than a hundred riders on white horses galloped out of the Dusi Mansion, scaring the border soldiers in front of the gate to retreat.

In front of the red-painted gate of the Dusi Mansion, torches lit up Old Wu's face, which made him look doubtful and uncertain: "Your Highness, where are you all going?"

"Don't ask about military secrets that are not your business," Li Xuan pointed at a soldier and said, "Get on your horse and lead the way for us."

Old Wu suddenly cupped his hands and said, "General Li, the soldier you selected is not good at horse riding. I am more familiar with Guyuan. How about I lead the way for you?"

Li Xuan sneered: "No need, I can take him on horseback!"

Old Wu stopped talking and turned to the border soldier and said, "Lead the way for His Highness carefully. Don't make any mistakes!"

The soldiers of the border army clasped their fists and accepted the order: "Yes!"

When the frontier soldiers mounted their horses, the imperial guards held torches and galloped away to escort the prince. The white pheasant tails and cloaks were majestic, and the long army formation was like a flawless ivory knife, piercing into the heart of Guyuan City.

At the end of the team, Chen Liqin also rode his horse and followed. When he looked at Chen Ji's back, he felt heavy-hearted, as if there was a haze covering him that had not dissipated for more than ten years.

After hesitating for a long time, Chen Liqin finally whipped his horse to catch up with Chen Ji. But just as he got to Chen Ji, Zaozao suddenly accelerated and left him behind by several body lengths.

Chen Liqin had no choice but to call out: "Chen Ji, I have something to tell you!"

Chen Ji gently patted Zaozao's back. Zaozao understood and slowed down. He glanced sideways and asked, "What does Master Chen want to say?"

Chen Liqin looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then he asked in a low and mysterious voice: "Have you seen anyone recently?"

Chen Ji frowned slightly: "What do you mean, Master Chen?"

Chen Liqin pondered for a moment: "Have you met her before?"

"Who?" Chen Ji was puzzled: "What exactly does Master Chen want to ask?"

Chen Liqin said in a deep voice: "Don't pretend. Let me ask you, where did you learn all these skills?"

Chen Ji responded calmly: "Master Chen, I learned this from my master in the clinic."

Chen Liqin emphasized: "Don't fool me. Doctor Yao has been practicing medicine in Beijing for decades. Has anyone ever heard that he is an official?"

Chen Ji remained silent.

But Chen Liqin suddenly said, "Chen Ji, have you seen your mother?"

Chen Ji was shocked and pretended to be surprised: "My aunt is still alive?! Sir Chen, what's going on? Isn't my aunt dead?"

"Don't pretend!" Chen Liqin asked again, "Did she go to Los Angeles to look for you? When did she come to look for you? What did she say? Where is she now?"

Chen Ji's mind raced. The information revealed in Chen Liqin's two sentences was extremely huge: his biological mother, Lu, was really not dead!
But since Lu was not dead, why didn't he return to his hometown in Jing Dynasty? What happened that caused Lu to fake his death and leave incognito?
Also, why does Xiaoman seem to be unaware of this?

Seeing that Chen Ji remained silent, Chen Liqin kept chattering with a frown on his face, "I told her long ago that if she wanted to leave, she should leave cleanly. Why would she come back to see you? She taught you these skills, so you think she is doing you a favor? She is only dragging you into trouble by doing this!"

Chen Ji pondered for a long time and said calmly: "Master Chen, are you confused? My aunt died a long time ago, how could she come to see me? I said that my skills were taught by my master Yao Qimen, the Imperial Physician. If I lied, I will be struck by lightning."

Chen Liqin said in a low voice: "How long are you going to lie? Remember, don't see her again, and don't show your skills to others casually, especially those she taught you. Also, don't get close to the crown prince or the princes, be careful that she will use you to cause a huge disaster!"

At this time, Chen Liqin had already determined that Chen Ji's biological mother had returned, otherwise there was no way to explain where Chen Ji's skills came from. He didn't believe that an old doctor could teach Chen Ji these things.

Chen Ji turned his head and stared at Chen Liqin, and asked directly: "Master Chen, what happened back then?"

Chen Liqin's expression changed, and he said angrily: "This is not something you should ask about. Just remember not to see her again. I will never hurt you!"

Chen Ji fell silent.

Seeing that he had not spoken for a long time, Chen Liqin softened his tone and said, "You don't know your mother. She is full of lies. Sometimes she even deceives the people closest to her and herself. Listen to my advice. Don't have anything to do with her anymore. Work hard to get a good reputation. This is the right way." At this time, the border soldier pointed to a narrow street and said, "Generals, we have arrived at Shache Street."

Chen Ji looked and saw three elm trees in Shache Street. He wondered which one the man was talking about.
He felt something was wrong: "Your Highness, the information I got earlier said that the family with an elm tree in front of the door is the one, but there are three elm trees here. I'm afraid..."

Li Xuan said in a deep voice: "It doesn't matter, just copy all three households together!"

He immediately signaled to the Yulin soldiers on the left and right. The Yulin soldiers dismounted, climbed onto the roofs one by one, and moved towards the three families.

Chen Ji did not dismount, but stood quietly at the entrance of Shache Street with a frown on his face.

The prince gathered the fox fur coat on his shoulders, turned his horse back, and came to Chen Ji: "Didn't Mr. Chen San leave last night? Why did he suddenly send a message today?"

Chen Ji explained, "Your Highness, I left yesterday to gather information for you. Guyuan is a mixed bag of people. If someone is in the open, there must be someone hiding in the dark."

The prince praised, "Mr. Chen San is worthy of being taught by Mr. Wang Daosheng. He has both literary and military strategies. I just don't know where did you get this information from?"

Chen Ji said calmly, "Your Highness, the brothels and theaters are not worth mentioning."

The prince smiled and changed the subject, asking, "Your two elder brothers both passed the imperial examination this year, why didn't you take the imperial examination?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and replied, "Your Highness, what I learned from Mr. Sui was not the classics, but military strategy. I have no intention of taking the imperial examination."

"Oh?" The prince became interested: "So, you are interested in joining the army?"

Chen Ji hummed, "Originally, you were going to resume the Ministry of War after your mourning period, but somehow it got delayed. I had no choice but to return to Beijing with my family and find a job."

The prince said with emotion, "I know something about this matter. Hu Ge Lao submitted a memorial recommending Mr. Wang to the Renshou Palace, but it was rejected by the Silijian. The internal minister said that Mr. Wang was greedy for merit and reckless when he led the border troops in his early years, and he still needs to be polished."

Chen Ji said with regret: "It's a pity that you have so much talent."

The prince looked at Chen Ji with interest and said, "Brother Chen Ji, what are your plans after returning to Beijing?"

Chen Ji bowed and said, "Your Highness, I have no plans yet."

The prince smiled ambiguously and said, "Very good."

Suddenly, Li Xuan's voice came from a distance: "Your Highness, there is no Jingchao thief as Chen Ji said, nor is there the so-called ten jars of gold juice!"

The prince was stunned for a moment, then turned his horse and walked towards Shache Street. "Are there none in the three households? Is it possible that the thieves from Jing Dynasty heard about it in advance and transported the dozen or so large vats away?"

Li Xuan led the people from three households and came over: "Your Highness, it is impossible. Even if the more than ten jars of gold juice were taken away, there would at least be some smell left in the yard. But these three households are clean, there is no trace at all, we have been deceived!"

At this time, the three families, a total of 17 people, knelt on the ground, their faces pale, "My lords, spare my life. I wonder what I have done wrong?"

The prince hurriedly said, "Everyone please stand up quickly, we made a mistake."

Qi Chenzhuo looked at Chen Ji fiercely and said, "Boy, you heard some unfounded news from the market, and you dare to tease His Highness? What crime should you be punished for?"

Chen Ji lowered his head and remained silent.

The prince suddenly said, "Please consider this and don't say anything more."

He turned to Chen Ji and smiled, "I know that Brother Chen Ji has good intentions, but he just came up empty-handed. How can this be considered a mistake? We have been investigating cases of killing innocent people for meritorious deeds these days, but we have always come up empty-handed. Brother Chen Ji is just young and a little impulsive. He just needs more experience. It won't be a problem."

However, at this moment, Chen Ji, sitting on Zao Zao's saddle, suddenly raised his head and said, "No, catch the soldier over there... Wait, where is the soldier leading the way? He just entered the yard with you, where is he now?"

The Yulin soldiers holding torches looked at each other in bewilderment. They searched the crowd for a long time, but there was no sign of the soldiers over there!

A Yulin soldier recalled: "He said he wanted to go to the toilet..."

Chen Ji said in a serious tone: "The person who gave me the news said 'a family with an elm tree', so there must be only one elm tree in Shache Street... Your Highness, this is not Shache Street!"

After saying this, he looked at the disturbed people and asked: "What street is this? Is it Shache Street?"

The people looked confused: "Sir, this is Kule Street, it's still a mile away from Shache Street."

Chen Ji stopped talking, rode his horse past a young man, leaned over, picked up the man's belt and left.

Without even turning his head, he ordered the Yulin Army, "Follow us, the border soldier pointing the way is a spy from the Jing Dynasty. He must have gone to inform the thieves from the Jing Dynasty. We must find them immediately. If we let them pollute half of the well water in Guyuan City, once the Jing Dynasty's Tiance Army arrives, everything will be over!"

(End of this chapter)