Aoyama

Chapter 243 Secret Passage
Beside the window frame, Chen Ji looked solemn.

Xiaoman and Zhang Zheng were still arguing, and Zhang Xia couldn't persuade them to stop, so he just stood up and walked away.

She came to Chen Ji and asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Miss Zhang Er, after Jing Chao conquered the city, is it possible to massacre the entire city?"

Zhang Xia was silent for a moment. "Emperor Jing Yuanzong once led an expedition to Guyuan in person. He was ambushed in Longshan and shot by an arrow. The arrow was poisoned. Jing Chao asked the monks of Kujue Temple to treat him, but it was useless. He died two months later. Before he died, he left a will, 'If God blesses my son, you must take all the land of Guyuan, search and kill the survivors, build a Jingguan, and let their bones cover the fields and leave a thousand miles of barren land.'"

Chen Ji's heart sank, and even Xiaoman and Zhang Zheng stopped arguing and looked at Zhang Xia nervously.

Xiaoman looked at Chen Ji worriedly: "Sir, Guyuan has not been lost for hundreds of years, so we should be able to defend it this time, right?"

Chen Ji did not answer, and he could not answer.

What happened in Los Angeles seemed to have happened a long time ago, but Prince Jing’s death was like a butterfly flapping its wings on the other side of the ocean, stirring up a storm in an unknown place.

Guyuan had never been breached before, but now no one dares to be sure.

Xiaoman asked in a low voice: "If Jingchao really massacres the city, how many people can survive in Guyuan?"

Zhang Xia stood by the window and looked back at her: "One in a hundred."

Xiaoman asked again: "Is there any way to survive?"

Zhang Xia recalled: "If the official surrenders, he can live, but he must be tattooed with the word 'surrender' on his face. This will stop the official from thinking of returning to the Ning Dynasty."

Xiaoman wondered: "Who would be willing to surrender to them if they humiliate the officials like this?"

Zhang Zheng sneered and said, "It's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death."

Xiaoman glared at him and said, "If the Jing Dynasty breaks into the city, you will definitely be the first to surrender! It's a pity that you are not an official, so they don't want you!"

Zhang Zheng raised his eyebrows: "I'd rather die than surrender!"

Xiaoman sneered: "Do you have the guts to die rather than surrender?"

Zhang Zheng said cheerfully, "If I surrender, my father, who is obsessed with power, will definitely be dismissed from his post by His Majesty, investigated, and executed for quarreling. I can't let him down."

Xiao Man ignored him and turned to ask Zhang Xia: "Jing Chao tattooed the official's face. Isn't he afraid that the official will take revenge later?"

Zhang Xia sighed, "In fact, the tattooed officers are more brutal than the Jing Dynasty when it comes to killing their own people. There was a tattooed surrendered general in the Tiance Army of the Jing Dynasty who killed many Ning Dynasty people. He disappeared after the battle at Quwu Mountain in the 25th year of Jianing."

Xiaoman lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking about.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Chen Ji smiled and said, "Maybe it's just a false alarm. Go to bed early. We still have work to do tomorrow. Xiaoman, you will guard the rest of the night."

"Oh……"

It's quiet at night.

Xiaoman, who was keeping watch by the window, looked around quietly. Chen Ji and Zhang Zheng were sleeping on the floor in the outer room, while Zhang Xia was sleeping alone on the floor in the inner room, with a curtain hanging in the middle.

When she turned her head, she was suddenly startled to see Wuyun lying on the windowsill with his hands in his pockets, staring at her coldly.

Xiaoman suddenly felt something strange. As Wuyun breathed, the rhythm of his body rose and fell, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, as if following some kind of rhythm, and the hand in his pocket seemed to be hiding a knife.

She shook her head, wondering what she was thinking. It was just a raccoon.

Xiaoman tiptoed out of the door, being careful not to make any noise.

She walked down the stairs and saw a candle burning on the counter. The shopkeeper was taking notes with a brush.

When the shopkeeper saw her coming down, he asked curiously, "Sir, do you want hot water? Just go to the backyard room and find Xiaowu."

However, Xiaoman suddenly turned over his palm and showed a copper coin: "Have you seen this, shopkeeper?"

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Since we are colleagues, why didn't you say anything when I asked you 'do copper coins or silver'?"

Xiaoman came to the other side of the counter and whispered, "Others don't know my identity."

The shopkeeper said, "It seems that the other three guests have nothing to do with my 'Light'. Sir, since you have come to my Light Inn and paid with your copper coins, what do you want?"

Xiaoman asked mysteriously, "Does your inn have a secret passage out of Guyuan?"

The shopkeeper hesitated.

Xiaoman asked calmly, "You even hid it from your colleagues? Come to the Denghuo Inn with copper coins and I will grant your request!"

The shopkeeper smiled and put down the brush in his hand: "Of course there are. There are two secret passages in my Longmen Inn. If you bring silver to buy the way, you will be free; if you bring copper coins, you can pass through without any obstruction."

"Where does it lead?"

"Jingchao, Xijing Road, Fengshengzhou."

"Is this the only way?"

"Only this one."

Xiaoman suddenly breathed a sigh of relief: "How do you calculate the toll?"

The shopkeeper picked up a bamboo stick, picked up the wick to make it brighter, and then said slowly: "Two copper coins per person."

Xiaoman hesitated. She only had two copper coins, but four people wanted to leave.

The shopkeeper put down the bamboo stick and asked with a smile, "When do you plan to leave, sir?"

Xiaoman was silent for a moment and asked, "I only have two copper coins. One copper coin can be exchanged for 200 taels of silver. Can I spend 1,200 taels and buy three more people to leave Guyuan through the secret passage?" "There is no such rule." The shopkeeper looked at Xiaoman suspiciously, "Are you a member of my Denghuo? How come you don't even know these rules? Where did you get these copper coins?"

Xiaoman hurriedly said, "Why are you asking about this... Can I give the lamp copper coins to others?"

The shopkeeper said meaningfully, "Sir, how can other people's lives be as important as your own? You are willing to spend two copper coins to buy someone else's life, but are you worth these two copper coins in the eyes of others? In this world of martial arts, if you don't work for yourself, you will be punished by heaven and earth."

Xiaoman was slightly startled: "That's right."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "You can leave the secret passage at any time, but you must remember not to tell anyone else about this, otherwise the lights will not allow you to stay."

"I know the rules!"

After that, Xiaoman ran upstairs with her clothes in her hands. Only after she entered the house did she lean against the closed door and let out a long sigh of relief.

After a while, she calmed down, tiptoed to the closet, and quietly fumbled for Chen Ji's clothes. The next moment, she took out two strings of Buddhist Tongbao from the closet, which were all Chen Ji's belongings.

She bit her lower lip as if struggling. She first looked at the Buddhist coin in her hand, then looked at Chen Ji who was sleeping on the floor. It was unknown what she was hesitating about.

Finally, Xiaoman sighed softly and stuffed the Buddhist Tongbao back into Chen Ji's sleeve.

……

……

early morning.

The nights in Guyuan are restless, with singers and dancers in gorgeous clothes and the noise of the crowd; but the mornings are quiet, as if the morning mist has blocked the sounds coming from afar.

In Room No. 1 of Tianzi, the residual warmth of the charcoal fire is still there.

Chen Ji sat up from the floor and turned to look at Xiaoman who was standing guard by the window.

At this time, Xiaoman's face was full of worry, and he was mumbling something.

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia who were still sleeping, and asked in a low voice: "Xiao Man, what are you mumbling about?"

Xiaoman was startled by his voice: "Ah, Master, are you awake? I, I, I...I didn't mumble anything."

Chen Ji looked at her suspiciously: "Why are you so nervous if I'm not worried?"

Xiaoman quickly stood up straight, stiffened his neck and said, "I'm not panicking."

Chen Ji smiled and didn't expose it.

Xiaoman pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment: "Sir, are you going to sell the news of the Jing Dynasty siege today?"

Chen Ji hummed.

Xiaoman looked straight at Chen Ji and asked, "Can you give me one thousand taels of silver? No, no, no, five hundred taels will be enough."

She quietly looked at Chen Ji's expression, and seeing that he was unmoved, she changed her words and said, "At worst, four hundred taels will do."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "Why do you need so much silver?"

Xiaoman whispered, "It's okay, just think that I was dizzy and said something wrong."

After that, she lowered her head and walked out: "I'll go find the waiter to get hot water for you to wash up, young master, please wait a moment."

Chen Ji called her: "Xiao Man."

Xiaoman turned around in confusion: "Huh?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment, then took out a string of Buddhist coins from his sleeve: "This is 1,100 taels of silver."

Xiaoman was stunned: "Sir, you dare to give me so much money, aren't you afraid that I will run away?"

Chen Ji stood up and said casually while sorting out his clothes: "Guyuan City is sealed off, where else can you run to?"

Xiaoman looked at the Buddhist Tongbao in Chen Ji's hand, his eyes uncertain: "What if I really run away?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and replied, "I promised you before that I would get your indenture back from my wife when we got to the capital, and I would prepare a dowry for you. If you want to run away, this can be considered as the dowry I prepared for you in advance."

Xiaoman laughed so hard that her tiger teeth could no longer be hidden, but she still complained in a low voice: "Sir, even if you are going to prepare a dowry for me, you don't have to give me so much. Other families can give a maid a dowry of fifty taels of silver, which is considered to be the most generous and wealthy. Sir, you are giving more than a thousand taels. You really don't know how to live, and you are a spendthrift!"

Chen Ji pretended to take back the Buddhist Tongbao: "Forget it."

"Yes, yes, yes," Xiaoman reached out and snatched the Buddhist Tongbao, turned around and took out her light green double-breasted jacket from the closet and put it on.

Chen Ji asked curiously, "Are you going out?"

"Ah."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "Where are you going?"

"You will know later," Xiao Man said mysteriously, "Sir, don't sell the news before I come back. You must wait until I come back before selling it!"

After saying that, she walked out the door without looking back.

But just as the door closed, Xiaoman opened it again and poked her head out: "Sir, you must wait for me to come back. Keep your word!"

Chen Ji said unhappily, "Go and do your thing."

(End of this chapter)