Aoyama

Chapter 349 Chen Yu
Shen Shi.

The Yulin Military Academy was empty, with no one training there.

Chen Ji was in the stable, combing the war horses with the poor soldiers. The hard bristle comb scraped across the horses' bodies, leaving a layer of fine floating hair.

Behind him, in the Governor's Mansion, there were faint shouts and yells, and several people weighed the loudest: "Come on, come on, buy it and leave!"

Lin Yanchu looked at Chen Ji and said, "Master Chen, this is not going to work. The Left Guard has lost its commander, the Right Guard commander is a fool, and the governor is still sleeping in the barracks..."

Chen Ji shook his head: "I've been spoiled by my family. I think if I lose my temper or act up, someone will come to comfort me. It's okay, it will be fine in a few days."

Lin Yanchu sighed, "I can understand them. They are kept in this governor's mansion, and they want to go out and make achievements every moment. It's normal for them to feel discouraged when they are blocked by their own family just when they are about to succeed. My lord, you have only been in the Yulin Army for a short time, so you can't understand the hardship here."

Chen Ji lowered his head and blew the horse hair caught in the mane comb: "Do you want to go to Goryeo too?"

Lin Yanchu hesitated for a moment: "I want to."

Chen Ji asked casually: "Why? People will die on the battlefield."

Lin Yanchu thought for a moment and said, "Sir, my family spent all their savings and borrowed some money to buy me a job in the hope that I could bring honor to the family, but in the end, I can only stay in this Yulin Army yamen and wait for death. When I am in my thirties, I will be ordered to retire and return to the countryside. At that time, I can only find a living as a guard in the homes of officials and become someone's grandson. Moreover, the salary of the Yulin Army is too little. Only by fighting can I make a fortune and pay back the money owed by my family."

Chen Ji glanced at him and asked, "How much money do you owe?"

"Three hundred and twenty taels."

Chen Ji said nonchalantly: "If I find you a job that can make money, will you be willing to give up your status as a Yulin soldier?"

Lin Yanchu was startled for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "Are you serious, sir?"

At this moment, the sound of cloud boards suddenly came from the six government offices opposite the gate.

Daming Street gradually became lively, and the voices of clerks from the six ministries floated into the Governor's Mansion across Daming Street.

The class is over.

Chen Ji threw the mane comb in his hand to Lin Yanchu: "I am dismissed, you continue. Remember to leave someone on duty at night, close the doors and windows, and check the armory every hour. Don't let everyone go to sleep. Although there are no bows and crossbows in the armory, it is always troublesome to lose the weapons."

Lin Yanchu hurriedly caught the mane comb thrown from the air and said, "Don't worry, Master Chen, I will arrange it... Master just said there is a job that can make money, are you serious?"

"Seriously, wait for my news," Chen Ji glanced at the building of the Governor's Mansion and walked out without looking back.

When walking out of the gate, Chen Ji suddenly saw a young man standing on tiptoe across Daming Street, waving at him across the crowd of people who were leaving school.

The young man said happily: "Chen Ji!"

Chen Ji's heart sank; he had never seen this young man before.

The man was about twenty-two years old, with a thin body covered in a blue official robe, a plain silver leather belt around his waist, and a egret patch on his chest. He was a sixth-rank official.

He is so young and has a sixth-rank official title, he must be a child of an aristocratic family.

Chen Ji sighed in his heart. He always met familiar strangers when he returned to the capital. This young man was not the first, and probably would not be the last.

While he was guessing the other person's identity, he waved his hand happily: "Long time no see!"

The young man laughed and walked towards the gate. On the road, a red velvet sedan chair happened to pass by. The young man bowed to the sedan chair and said, "Master Qian."

The person in the sedan nodded and walked away without telling the bearer to stop.

After the sedan chair left, the young man strode across Daming Street.

The other person stood in front of Chen Ji, looking him up and down with his eyes sparkling. "I haven't seen you for three years. You have become much stronger. When you left, you said that you would never return to the capital in your life. I was sad for a long time. Originally, I was invited to the Luhun Mountain Villa Literary Gathering. I was going to take the opportunity to visit you, but unfortunately I was delayed by my work."

Chen Ji also looked the other person up and down.

I couldn't see clearly from a distance just now, but now that I'm closer, I can see more clearly: there is mud on the young man's black boots, and a thin layer of dust on his black hat. There is white frost on his cheekbones and mottled lines on his neck. It is obvious that he has been exposed to the sun for a long time, not working in the government office.
The collar of the man's official uniform was dirty, and the sleeves were torn and frayed, indicating that he had been away from home for a long time and had no woman to take care of his life. He himself was not a person who cared about details.

The young man looked at Chen Ji and asked curiously, "Why do you look so unfamiliar?"

Chen Ji explained: "I heard that you went to another place, but I didn't expect you to come back today."

The young man smiled and replied, "This time the doctor sent me to the Changlu Salt Field to collect salt taxes, but it really put me in a terrible situation. The salt transporters and salt merchants were in collusion with each other. As soon as I arrived there, they instigated a group of cooks to block me in the government office and starved me for three days and three nights, just to show me their power."

Chen Ji raised his eyebrows: "It's so blatant, why not catch a few and kill them as a warning to the monkeys?"

The young man shook his head and said, "Those cooks are also miserable people, why bother them? Let's not talk about those bad things, let's talk about you. I heard about your achievements in Guyuan when I was at the salt field, and I didn't expect you to become an official and have good martial arts. When I heard that you were going to be an apprentice in the hospital, I felt a little sorry, but now I can only be happy for you."

Chen Ji had a headache. Who was this person and how did he know so much?
He had a few guesses in his mind, but he couldn't be sure without solid clues.

At this time, the young man pulled his sleeve and walked towards the Daming Gate: "Come on, let's talk while we walk. Our family is waiting for us to have dinner together."

Home?

Chen Ji finally confirmed the other party’s identity: Chen Yu, the illegitimate son of the second branch of the Chen family.

Chen Yu dragged Chen Ji across Chang'an Street and told him about what he had seen and heard this time: "When I first arrived at the salt field, I lived in the government office. When I woke up, all the clerks in the government office had run away. I was wondering where they had gone when I was blocked in the government office by the cooks. They nailed up all the door panels and windows, as if they wanted to suffocate me to death in the building. Fortunately, there was still half a pot of leftover tea in the room, otherwise I would have to drink urine."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "How could the salt merchants below be so rampant that they dare to treat even the salt inspector of the Ministry of Revenue like this? What's more, you are a member of the Chen family."

Chen Yu sighed, "I am not a salt inspector, I am just a person in charge of collecting salt taxes. I heard that in the early years, a doctor from the Qingli Division was thrown into the river by them. Fortunately, the doctor was good at swimming and swam to the shore by himself. The doctor originally wanted to go back to the capital to file a complaint with the emperor, but before he could return to the capital, the memorial impeaching him for robbing a woman arrived in the capital first."

The two walked on the bluestone pavement of Chang'an Avenue. Chen Ji frowned and said, "Is there no one who can cure them?"

Chen Yu looked at the pedestrians on the street and sighed: "I thought so too, and was determined to find a way to deal with these lawless salt merchants. But later I found out that it was actually done by the salt merchants of my Chen family..."

Chen Ji: "..."

Chen Yu said softly, "It's shocking, Chen Ji. There are too many corrupt officials in the salt business, and they are so intertwined that the court can't do anything about it. Even if the imperial salt inspector goes to Lianghuai, it's fine if you are willing to go along with them. If you don't want to, they will sink you into the pond and hand over a scapegoat, and you won't be able to say anything."

Chen Yu smiled and said, "The department sent me to collect the salt tax this time because they thought that since I am a member of the Chen family, the salt officials and salt merchants would not dare to touch me. But they never thought that the salt officials and salt merchants were also very powerful and would not take me, a bastard of the Chen family, seriously at all."

As they were talking, the two walked to the side door of the Qinzheng Garden in the Chen Mansion. Chen Yu raised his hand to knock on the ring on the animal head, but suddenly stopped and said, "Chen Ji, I heard that you want to fight for the eldest wife's adoption?"

Chen Ji said calmly, "Why do you mention this?"

Chen Yu turned around and faced Chen Ji, saying sincerely: "Don't fight anymore, just give me this opportunity."

In the narrow alley, under the gray tiles and white walls, two people stood facing each other, as if the air in the alley and the afterglow of the sunset were also fixed in place.

Chen Ji asked in confusion: "You are now a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue, and you still want to be someone's adopted son?"

Chen Yu hummed, "If you don't come back, this matter is already a done deal. I worked hard to pass the imperial examinations, worked diligently, and tried every means to be included in the family tree, all for this opportunity. With this opportunity, I can do more for the people."

Chen Ji lowered his head and thought for a moment: "I don't have such lofty ambitions as you, but when I hear others talk about doing things for the people, my ears are covered with calluses."

Chen Yu shook his head: "I am sincere, more real than real gold."

Chen Ji looked directly into Chen Yu's eyes and said, "You have things you need to do, but I have reasons why I have to fight for you. Everyone should rely on their own abilities."

Chen Yu was silent for a long time, then smiled and said, "Then I won't be polite. I will use any means before the result is determined."

He raised his hand, picked up the animal head ring on the door and knocked on it. The brown door creaked open. The servant inside saw that it was the two of them and immediately said, "You two gentlemen are back. Please follow me to Wendan Hall in the Humble Administrator's Garden. The masters are discussing matters there."

Chen Yu casually threw a piece of silver to the boy: "What are you discussing?"

The servant put the silver coins into his sleeve and said, "I heard that some of the family's properties are to be handed over to the two young masters to manage. We are discussing which properties should be divided among you two."

(End of this chapter)