Aoyama

Chapter 365 Choosing a Hairpin
early morning.

The unchanging hour of Mao (5-7 AM).

Inside the inner city, the silent mansions, like colossal creatures, began to stir slowly before dawn. Servants were responsible for lighting lamps and sweeping the floors, while maids served tea and water and helped the nobles dress.

When an official dons his bright red robe, the colossal structure beneath his feet will fully awaken.

Outside the side gate of Qinzhengyuan, Si Caogui arrived early in the alley with his horse-drawn carriage to wait.

He took out a chamois cloth and carefully wiped the carriage clean, leaving no dust even in the crevices of the openwork pattern. The way he wiped the carriage was as if he were polishing a dagger he carried.

As he was wiping, Chen Ertong crept up along the wall and asked in a low voice, "Brother, where did Chen Ji go yesterday?"

Si Cao Gui continued wiping the carriage without turning his head.

Chen Ertong tossed out a piece of silver in an annoyed manner, but Si Caogui, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, caught it steadily with his backhand.

He flicked the dust off the suede cloth: "Chen Ji didn't go to the Imperial Guard Commander's Office yesterday. He went directly to Plum Blossom Ferry and came out with Young Master Shen Ye around Shenshi. He first went to Bianyifang on Chessboard Street for a banquet with Young Master Shen Ye, and then returned to the Chen residence alone."

Chen Ertong asked curiously, "Whose banquet was this at Bianyifang? What did they talk about?"

Si Cao Gui remained silent.

Chen Ertong was listening intently when suddenly he stopped talking: "And then?!"

Si Cao Gui said slowly and deliberately, "One hundred taels of silver."

Chen Ertong was startled: "Are you crazy? Do you still want to work for the Chen family?"

Si Cao Gui said indifferently, "If they won't let me work for the Chen family, I'll just find another place to continue being a coachman. It's not like it's a particularly lucrative job."

Chen Ertong, feeling stifled, said, "You wait here. I don't have that much silver on me."

He turned and ran away, returning about two incense sticks later. He shoved two large silver ingots into Si Cao Gui's hand and said breathlessly, "Speak quickly."

Si Cao Gui wiped the carriage and said, "I am the coachman. I can't even get into Bianyifang. I can only eat the food prepared for the servants in the stable. So naturally I don't know what they discussed."

Chen Ertong reached out to snatch the silver back, but Si Caogui raised his hand to stop him: "However, after the banquet, Chen Ji kept thanking Shen Ye after getting into the carriage, saying that he was grateful to Shen Ye for bringing him so many customers. Those big salt merchants were very generous and seemed to be joining forces to take over most of the salt permits in Chen Ji's hands. Moreover, more salt merchants are on their way."

"anything else?"

Si Caogui wiped the car clean: "They also plan to contact the border households and collect all the salt permits they have."

Chen Ertong immediately rushed to the salt shop.

When he returned to the salt shop, Chen Yue was pacing back and forth in the main hall.

Chen Ertong stepped forward and reported what he had just learned. Chen Yue frowned and kept thinking.

After a long while, he instructed Chen Bin beside him: "Send a trustworthy person to Tanggu to find the local scholar Li. He owes me a favor and needs to repay it."

Chen Bin tentatively asked, "What does the shopkeeper need him to do?"

Chen Yue narrowed his eyes: "Have him pick four village women, strangle them, and send them to the yamen. Say that the Ministry of Revenue's tax collection has driven people to their deaths, and the people are about to starve. Then find an imperial censor with a weakness to expose this matter to the court, forcing Chen Lizun to go to Tanggu to quell the people's grievances."

Chen Bin's expression changed: "This..."

Chen Yue turned and stared at him: "You heard what the Second Master said. If we succeed in this, we'll drive that brat Chen Ji out of the capital, and the position that Manager Ye vacates will be yours. But if we fail, I'll fall, and you'll be stuck as a shop assistant for life. Chen Bin, we're both just dogs under the master's command, but as long as we're loyal to the master, being a house dog is better than being a stray dog."

Chen Bin gritted his teeth, turned around, and went out.

Chen Yue then instructed Chen Ertong: "Invite the other managers to the salt shop and tell them I have important matters to discuss. Once they arrive, keep them all here to prevent anyone from betraying us and tipping off Chen Ji."

Just as Chen Ertong was about to leave, Chen Yue pulled him back: "Send someone to keep an eye on the main and back gates of Plum Blossom Ferry. It doesn't matter who goes in or out, but if anyone brings boxes in, be sure to tell me. By the way, have all the border households that Chen Bin gathered yesterday been assembled?"

Chen Ertong nodded.

Chen Yue threatened, "Remember, if we can't drive Chen Ji out of the capital this time, we'll go and keep each other company at the pond next to the Altar of Mountains and Rivers."

……

……

Chen Ji did not go to Yingmao or Meihua Ferry, but instead took a carriage to Tianbao Pavilion opposite Donghua Gate.

This was one of the Liang family's properties, and also one of the most famous jewelry and silver shops in the capital. Master craftsmen from the Imperial Workshop often secretly flowed into the market through this shop, attracting officials and noblewomen in droves.

Tianbao Pavilion originally meant "the imperial treasures are gathered in this pavilion".

Before noon, the area in front of Tianbao Pavilion was already filled with carriages and silk sedan chairs. At a glance, the three-story building was bustling with women.

Si Cao Gui stopped the carriage some distance away and asked in a low voice, "Since you already know that the second branch of the Chen family wants to kill you, why do you still have the mind to come here and wander around? Anyone who can spend a hundred taels of silver to buy information must have prepared more money to save your life."

Chen Ji lifted the carriage curtain and said casually, "Didn't Lord Si Cao hope that I would form a marriage alliance with the Qi family?"

Si Cao Gui paused for a moment, then said, "That's right."

Chen Ji jumped off the carriage and made up an excuse, saying, "The Qi family's daughter is the apple of Grand Secretary Qi's eye. The marriage between the Chen and Qi families is still undecided. Actually, it's because the Qi family's daughter's mind is still undecided. The festival to worship the silkworm god is coming soon. At that time, the women in the capital will go to the northern suburbs to enjoy the spring. As a member of the Imperial Guard, I will also go. That will be a good time to give gifts."

Si Cao Gui suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."

Chen Ji lifted the hem of his robe and walked into Tianbao Pavilion.

At that moment, whispers were heard inside a carriage parked across the street. Qi Zhaoning lifted the carriage curtain to peek at Chen Ji's back, then turned to her sister Qi Zhaoyun: "Sister, Tianbao Pavilion is a place for women only. What is he doing here?"

Qi Zhaoyun was also somewhat surprised: "Perhaps she's choosing a hairpin for herself?"

Qi Zhaoning said angrily, "Men go to Qipan Street to buy hairpins, who would come to Tianbao Pavilion? He must be buying jewelry for some lover... It must be Zhang Xia, I knew it! He and Zhang Xia are not innocent!"

Qi Zhaoyun said helplessly, "I've already inquired about it for you. He and Miss Zhang have no romantic relationship. Not only does my brother-in-law say so, but my second brother also says so. They said that when they were in Guyuan, Chen Ji and Miss Zhang always kept proper etiquette and never overstepped their bounds. Moreover, they also revealed that Chen Ji, Zhang Zheng, Miss Zhang, and Xiaoman have a bond of life and death and are sworn brothers and sisters."

Qi Zhaoning asked with a hint of doubt, "Really?"

Qi Zhaoyun touched her cheek and comforted her, "Of course it's true. In other words, they went through life and death together in Guyuan. If they really had feelings for each other, why wait until now without any progress?"

Qi Zhaoning breathed a slight sigh of relief: "That's true, who would like that Rouge Tiger? He's so fierce."

Qi Zhaoyun smiled and said, "What, do you still remember when she hit your hand with a bamboo stick when you were at the Imperial Academy?"

Qi Zhaoning's expression changed: "Don't mention this matter again!"

"Alright, alright," Qi Zhaoyun said with a smile, "Let's not talk about it anymore."

Qi Zhaoning's eyes flickered for a moment, then she turned to the other person in the carriage and said, "Zhenzhu, go and ask Chen Ji's coachman what he's doing at Tianbao Pavilion. Go quickly."

Her expression was hidden behind the pearl veil; she only responded softly, "Yes."

She lifted the carriage curtain and stepped out, walking across the riverside street to Si Cao Gui, and said softly, "Brother, may I ask if this is the carriage of the young master of the Chen family?"

Si Cao Gui quickly examined Qi Zhenzhu: "Exactly."

Qi Zhenzhu hesitated for a moment, then took out a piece of silver from her purse and handed it to Si Cao Gui: "Could you inquire what Young Master Chen is doing at Tianbao Pavilion?"

Si Cao Gui's gaze passed over her shoulder, silently examining the Qi family's carriage, which was engraved with seven cranes.

Cranes were the official badges of first-rank officials in the imperial court. Only those whose ancestors had produced the three highest-ranking officials—Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Protector—could have the confidence to have cranes carved on their carriages.

It is extremely rare to find a piece that can be carved with a single crane, and only one family can carve seven cranes.

Qi family.

Si Cao Gui withdrew his gaze, a thought flashing through his mind.

He returned the loose silver and said politely, "Reporting to this young lady, my young master came to Tianbao Pavilion to buy a gift for the third young lady of the Qi family, which he will personally present to her during the spring outing and the silkworm god worship ceremony in early March."

Qi Zhenzhu was taken aback, said thank you, and returned to the car.

When Qi Zhaoning heard Qi Zhenzhu's report, her eyes were filled with disbelief: "He really said that? Could he just be saying something auspicious on purpose? He was so rude at the brothel earlier!"

Qi Zhaoyun said irritably, "How could a coachman dare to talk nonsense? Besides, if he didn't know Chen Ji's purpose, he wouldn't have made up such a lie. Perhaps the young master of the Chen family is shy because he is inexperienced in matters of the heart, so he didn't dare to talk to you that day? Or perhaps he had some ulterior motives of playing hard to get."

“That’s true.” Qi Zhaoning said thoughtfully, her eyes growing brighter. “Let’s go back to the manor.”

Qi Zhaoyun asked in confusion, "Why go back? Didn't you come to buy jewelry to worship the Silkworm God?"

Qi Zhaoning smiled smugly: "Wouldn't we just be catching him if we went in now? It would be a waste of all his efforts. Let's go, we'll come back tomorrow."

……

……

Inside Tianbao Pavilion.

As Chen Ji casually glanced at the dazzling array of gold and silver jewelry, a woman with white powder on her face approached him, accompanied by a fragrant breeze.

She glanced at Chen Ji briefly. Chen Ji was wearing clothes given to him by Chen Lizun. They were made by Liangji Clothing Shop in the inner city, and the sleeves had Liangji's hidden pattern. They were quite expensive.

The woman covered her face with a silk fan and said with a coquettish smile, "Young master, are you choosing a gift for your sweetheart? There are only some gold and silver items on the first floor. If you want to choose round or green-headed items, you have to go up to the second floor."

A round, lustrous shape indicates a pearl, while a green head indicates jade.

Chen Ji casually asked, "What about the third floor?"

The woman smiled and said, "Whether we can get to the third floor depends on fate."

Chen Ji was taken aback: "Fate?"

The woman said meaningfully, "The third floor is filled with unique treasures that are one of a kind in the world. Only when the time is right can you go up to the third floor."

Chen Ji understood; he needed to spend enough money to qualify for the third floor.

He casually replied, "I'll just take a look from the first floor."

Princess Baili is currently confined to Jingyang Palace, focusing on her cultivation. The hairpins she uses must not be luxurious or eye-catching; they cannot have kingfisher feathers or be inlaid with jewels...

It also cannot have the swastika pattern symbolizing Buddhism, nor can it have twin lotus flowers or intertwined branches.

The only options seem to be Bagua lines, cloud patterns, bamboo joint patterns, water ripple patterns, and pine needle patterns. However, it would seem too strange for a woman to wear Bagua lines, bamboo joint patterns, or pine needle patterns; no man would give a woman such a hairpin.

After pondering for a long time, Chen Ji finally fixed his gaze on a plain silver hairpin with auspicious cloud patterns: "This one, and I'll trouble the craftsmen in the pavilion to engrave eight characters on it."

(End of this chapter)