Aoyama

Chapter 302: Serving in the Palace
Wumen, Duanmen, and Chengtianmen.

Only after passing through the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Altar of Land and Grain and exiting the Chengtian Gate did we truly leave the palace. Without knowing the gazes of the Fanwei and Yulin Army, we walked more briskly.

Chen Ji held Zaozao's hand, and Xiaoman held Wuyun.

Under the night sky, the two walked westward along the wide Chang'an Avenue. The moonlight shone on the road. The capital was far from being as prosperous as Chen Ji had imagined. There were no crowds of people, and no bright lights.

"Why is it so deserted?" Chen Ji turned around and looked at Chang'an Avenue behind him, which seemed to have no end.

Xiaoman smiled and said, "Sir, if you want to have fun, you have to go to East City. The Eight Great Hutongs and Dazhalan don't sleep at night. All the people living here are officials and nobles. Who dares to have fun here?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "How about we move to Dongcheng in the future?"

Xiaoman said quickly, "No, no, I'd rather have a bed in West City than a room in East City. Who would give up their place in West City and go to East City? There are actors, old men, flower-armed people, vagrants, and swindlers all over there. They are all low-class people."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Where do you think is the best place for us to live?"

Xiaoman raised her head and thought for a while: "If you become a high-ranking official in the future, we can buy a house on Qipan Street. It is closest to Wumen and convenient for attending court. Many officials in the Ministry of Personnel have rented houses there. If you enter the cabinet, you will have to live on Fuyou Street or Xuanwumen Street."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Is it so clear?"

Xiaoman explained, "Of course. Our Chen, Qi, and Hu families are all on Fuyou Street, while the Xu, Yang, and Zhang families are on Xuanwumen Street. Xuanwumen Street is full of officials from the south. They are very elegant and hold literary gatherings every day. They look down on Fuyou Street, saying that it is lifeless; Fuyou Street also looks down on them, saying that they are frivolous."

Chen Ji stroked Zaozao's back hair and said, "Xiao Man, I probably won't be able to be a high-ranking official. Maybe I will really move to East City someday."

Xiaoman's eyes widened: "How could it be, the young master is so capable, he will become a high official sooner or later."

Chen Ji shook his head: "It's hard to be a high official... Just now, I was discussing with Lord Zhang who was the winner and loser in today's court meeting. I was confused and felt awe for the capital. I think I am only suitable to be a pawn, not a chess player."

Xiaoman asked curiously: "What winners and losers? Who is the winner?"

Chen Ji explained: "The Hu family, the Chen family, the Xu family, the Qi family, your majesty, and Wu Xiu are all winners."

Xiaoman asked curiously again: "Then who is the loser?"

Chen Ji was silent for a long time: "The people of Guyuan are the biggest losers."

Xiaoman was confused and couldn't understand what her master was thinking.

Chen Ji smiled and changed the subject: "Have elder brother and second sister returned to Zhang's residence?"

Xiaoman immediately gloated over the misfortune: "As soon as we arrived in the capital, Madam Zhang picked them up at the city gate. Madam Zhang cried like a tearful person, complaining that they shouldn't have secretly run to Guyuan, and said that she would use family rules when they returned. Zhang Zheng and the second sister were as obedient as quails, it seems that they will be beaten together."

Chen Ji looked at her and said, "Why don't you call him Big Brother?"

Xiao Man lowered her head and muttered, "He is so careless every day, how can he act like a big brother? I won't call him big brother... Oh, my dear, my second sister said that you went to the palace to see the emperor today to see the stars in the sky. Did you see them?"

Chen Ji said softly: "I saw it."

Xiaoman rolled her eyes and said, "Is it Princess Baili?"

Chen Ji hummed.

Xiaoman hesitated and asked again: "...Is she okay?"

Chen Ji subconsciously tightened the reins but did not answer.

Arrived at Fuyou Street.

Xiaoman led Chen Ji into an alley and knocked on the side door on the south side of Chen's mansion.

She kicked the stone lions in front of the door and muttered, "The young master is obviously an official, but he is still not allowed to go through the main gate. Rules, rules, rules all day long."

The wooden door creaked open, and the servant from the Chen residence inside said politely, "Third Master, you are back. Please follow me."

He led Chen Ji inside, and after walking only ten feet, they arrived in front of a courtyard. The servant said respectfully, "The master has ordered that you live in this courtyard from now on. The courtyard was cleaned a few days ago, and everything is ready."

Chen Ji pushed the door open and walked in. The yard was clean and tidy.

Wuyun jumped out of Xiaoman's arms and stretched.

The servant followed them and said, "Third Young Master, would you like to go and pay your respects to the Master and the Madam? When the Master came back, he told me to go and tell him when you came back..."

Before he finished speaking, Xiaoman had already turned around and closed the courtyard door. A voice floated out from the door: "My master wants to rest, you can go back."

The servant looked at the closed door, opened his mouth, but said nothing for a long time.

Xiaoman stood close to the door, and when she heard the footsteps fade away, she turned around and looked around the yard: "Wow, young master, look, the yard is full of blue bricks supplied by the official kiln of Suzhou Prefecture, and the same is true for the house. There are plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum engraved on the bricks."

Xiaoman walked around the yard, looking around: "The yard is so big. The bare tree in the yard must be a ginkgo tree. It has grown so big, it must have grown for many years. It must be very beautiful in autumn. You live in the main house, the east wing is for your desk, and the west wing is for sundries... No, no, I remember, this is the yard where Chen Wenxiao lived before. Ugh, it's unlucky."

Xiaoman lost interest instantly when she thought of Chen Wenxiao, and the joy of living in a "big yard" for the first time slowly faded away.

When she turned around, she was shocked to find that Chen Ji was not listening to her, but was squatting on the ground, conspiring with Wu Yun.

Xiaoman also squatted over and saw Chen Ji breaking off a branch and drawing on the ground. He said to Wuyun, "This is Wumen, where the most guards are stationed. You can just climb over the west wall and you will find the Imperial Wine Room. Don't go through Huangji Gate, where there are many Jiefan Guards and four corner towers for lookouts. I'm afraid there are high-ranking officials on duty in Xundao Realm."

As Chen Ji drew a map of the forbidden area, he continued, "Go from the Renzhi Hall, bypass the Cining Palace and reach the Kunning Palace. At this point, you are only separated from the six eastern palaces by two walls... Be careful. I haven't seen the entire forbidden area today, so there may still be unknown dangers. Remember, if things get out of hand, evacuate immediately and we'll look for another opportunity."

Wuyun nodded.

Xiaoman squatted beside him, looked at Chen Ji, then looked at Wu Yun, and said in shock: "Tianzun, you can remember such a complicated thing?"

Wuyun glanced at her with disdain and meowed.

Xiaoman was puzzled: "Sir, what did the Heavenly Master say?"

Chen Ji translated: "It asked, can't you remember?"

Xiaoman: “…”

Chen Ji looked at Wuyun and whispered, "She must be very sad being trapped in Jingyang Palace. The Taoist nuns in Jingyang Palace are crazy. If someone bullies her, you must find a way to protect her and don't let her suffer any injustice." Wuyun meowed, turned around, jumped onto the eaves, and sneaked towards the palace under the cover of night.

Xiaoman looked at the direction where the dark clouds disappeared, and suddenly thought that the person the young master was concerned about was really Princess Baili.

But if it was the princess... when would I be able to see the young master get married? Wouldn't I have to stay in the Chen Mansion forever?
It doesn't seem to work either.

……

……

There are many tall buildings in the capital, more than in Los Angeles.

Two-, three- and four-story buildings are scattered at different heights, and the shadows of the buildings obscure the shape of the dark clouds.

It walked on the gray tiles, stopping and starting along the way. When it passed Fuyou Street and there were cars and horses passing by, it waited patiently.

There was a noble lady in the carriage who accidentally lifted the curtain and saw dark clouds squatting on the eaves.

Miss Guan Gui exclaimed: "Someone actually uses a raccoon as a eaves beast. How unique."

When she asked her female companion in the car to look together, she found that there was nothing left on the eaves.

The dark cloud jumped from one eaves to another, easily crossed the two-meter-wide Fuyou Street, and continued to run towards the palace. When it reached the red wall, it lightly jumped onto the gray tile eaves and looked around carefully.

A young eunuch in a green robe and a round collar was on duty in front of the imperial wine room, and he was sitting on the ground and taking a nap.

The dark clouds followed the path given by Chen Ji and circled northward.

When it was almost at the Cining Palace, it slowly stopped and pricked up its ears.

The Cining Palace was brightly lit, and both palace gates were guarded by guards with long swords on their waists, watching with eager eyes.

At the palace gate, an old woman, supported by a palace maid, wanted to leave the Cining Palace, but was stopped by Jie Fanwei.

The old woman angrily shouted, "How could he treat me like this? I am his biological mother. I raised him and Prince Jing for more than ten years. How dare he imprison me in this Cining Palace?"

Lin Chaoqing stood in front of the palace gate with his hands down and said nothing. No matter what the other party said, he would not let the other party leave the Cining Palace.

The old woman gradually became angry: "My Liu family has all died, what threat can they still pose to him? My Liu family has already admitted defeat, why do we have to kill all the relatives who have fled overseas? It's better to destroy the filial piety monument in front of his Renshou Palace!"

Wuyun wondered in his heart, why are all the people in this palace so crazy?
It became worried about the white carp, so it quickly bypassed the Cining Palace and continued on its way.

On the road, a group of Jie Fanwei passed by with palace lanterns. Jie Fanwei's eyes were roaming around like hawks, and the black cloud was so scared that it lay cautiously on the gray tiles, blending itself into the darkness.

After the Jie Fan Guards left, it stood up and continued on its way. After walking a few steps, another team of Jie Fan Guards passed by, so it had to crouch down again.

It took Wuyun two incense sticks to walk the short distance of more than twenty feet.

Just as it passed Kunning Palace along the palace wall, a strong light suddenly swept over from the corner tower. There was a brazier burning on the corner tower, and someone was using a bronze mirror to reflect the firelight, shining it into every dark place in the palace.

The middle-aged man holding the bronze mirror had a solemn expression and hooked eyes.

Seeing that the fire was about to shine on him, Wuyun jumped off the palace wall and hid in the flowers in the corner.

The next moment, a strong wind blew.

Before Wuyun could react, the skin on the back of his neck was lifted up.

Someone said in a muffled voice, "Madam, it's a black cat that got lost."

Wuyun was being carried pitifully. He turned around and saw a graceful lady sitting on a stone bench in the yard.

The woman wore a sandalwood-colored long cross-collared jacket on the upper body and a gold-woven horse-faced skirt on the lower body. The collar and cuffs were embroidered with patterns of flowers of the four seasons, and there was only a simple pearl and jade phoenix hairpin on her head.

The person holding the skin from the back of its neck was an elderly female official with gray hair. She wore a purple round-necked robe, a wooden hairpin on her head, and a tooth plate and a bunch of copper keys hanging from her waist.

The woman said gently, "Let me take a look."

The female official came to the woman with the black cloud in her hand and said, "My lady, this wild raccoon slave came from nowhere. He is so ugly. Shall we kill him?"

The woman smiled and said, "Aunt Yuanjin, please calm down. It's just a raccoon. I don't think it's ugly. It's rare to see such a black raccoon."

After that, she took Wuyun and stroked it on her knees: "The fur is quite clean, it doesn't look like a wild cat. Maybe it got lost from the home of some minister or official. Send someone to ask tomorrow... Forget it, I'm afraid it will arouse suspicion again."

The female official named Yuan Jin glanced at Wu Yun and said: "It would be better to kill him."

Wuyun froze on the woman's lap for a moment, then suddenly used his head to nudge the woman's palms, and then went into the woman's arms.

The woman was startled.

She looked down at the dark cloud rolling around on her knees, and finally lying on its back with its belly spread out, its dark eyes looking at her with watery eyes.

The woman smiled and said, "Leave it. It will add some vitality to the palace. It won't hurt to have a bite to eat."

Aunt Yuan Jin said in embarrassment: "My Lady..."

The woman smiled slowly and said, "Alright, alright, can't I just fulfill this little wish?"

Aunt Yuan Jin sighed, "As your majesty wishes. You haven't decided whether to see the little prince yet. He has been asking for an audience for several months, and sends more than a dozen visiting cards every month... He misses you very much. As the queen, it's not a problem for you to see your own son."

The woman suppressed her smile and stroked Wuyun's hair with her warm palms.

After a long silence, she sighed softly, "I can't see him. His Majesty is most afraid of the harem interfering in politics. It would be bad for me to see him. Besides, his uncle has caused such a big incident in Guyuan and is at the center of the storm. If he comes to see me, outsiders will be even more suspicious. Send someone out of the palace in a few days to tell the little prince that I am doing well in the palace and let him listen to grandpa's arrangements. We will meet someday."

After that, she scratched her dark chin and asked with a smile, "Am I right?"

dark clouds:"……"

(End of this chapter)