Aoyama

Chapter 409 The Lu Family
The secret room behind the stable was quiet, with the candlelight flickering gently, casting an uncertain glow on Lu's robes.

She asked softly, with a hint of doubt, "He assassinated the Crown Prince?"

The shopkeeper explained, "The arrest warrants have been issued for Chen Ji and Liao Zhong. Before sunset, a large contingent of Jie Fanwei and Secret Intelligence Bureau personnel arrived in Changping County... The fact that arrest warrants have been issued means the evidence is conclusive."

Looking at the flickering candlelight, Madam Lu said, "That's not right."

The shopkeeper was slightly taken aback: "Hmm? What's wrong?"

Madam Lu closed her eyes and pondered: "Firstly, Chen Ji finally won the struggle for the throne in the Chen family. With fame and fortune within his grasp, why would he give up everything to assassinate the Crown Prince? Secondly, if Chen Ji wanted to assassinate the Crown Prince, he could have done so in Guyuan. Why would he wait until now?"

Master Hu straightened up and also sensed something amiss.

Lu said firmly, "Chen Ji was framed."

The owner of the lamp made his decision in just a few words.

She looked at the shopkeeper: "He said he wants us to help find Liao Zhong in Changping?"

The shopkeeper hummed in agreement.

Madam Lu nodded, the black veil beneath her hat fluttering: "Logically speaking, since the court has issued arrest warrants for both of them, they should be accomplices. But judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem like one. In such a critical moment, he's still looking for Liao Zhong. I'm afraid only finding Liao Zhong can clear his name."

Third Master Hu walked out: "I'm going..."

Lu glanced at him and said, "Wait a minute."

Uncle Hu stopped in his tracks.

Madam Lu sat calmly behind her desk and looked at the shopkeeper: "Who are the people from the Jie Fan Wei and the Secret Intelligence Bureau?"

The shopkeeper whispered, "The Secret Service sent the Black Serpent, while the Anti-Trouble Guard sent a new face."

The white of Hu Sanye's blind eye gleamed menacingly in the dimly lit room: "The Secret Service only sent Xuan She, and Lin Chaoqing from the Jie Fan Guard didn't come either, which means there aren't many clues. They're not certain that Chen Ji and Liao Zhong are here. According to their usual practice, they'll probably turn Changping County upside down tonight, searching every house."

The shopkeeper tentatively asked, "Master, should we help this old treasury?"

Mr. Lu fell into a long silence and did not answer for a long time.

Master Hu waved to the shopkeeper: "Wait at the door, I need to say a few words to the owner."

The shopkeeper quickly agreed, "Yes."

He closed the door, went out, and then stayed a distance away, obediently guarding the door.

Master Hu said in a low voice, "Master, we have to help."

Madam Lu calmly said, "I won't help. Third son, I guess he ended up like this because of the Chen family's struggle for the throne... People die for wealth and birds die for food. He fought tooth and nail for fame and fortune this time. Since it was for his future, this is the consequence he deserves."

Uncle Hu said confidently, "He's not the kind of person who only cares about his future!"

Madam Lu said softly, "How do you know he isn't? Even if he wasn't before, now that he's in the capital, a place of great opportunity, how can you guarantee he still isn't? Third son, people can change. Otherwise, why would he go through so much trouble to compete with the second branch for the throne?"

Uncle Hu took a deep breath: "I'd bet my life that he's not the kind of person who would betray his principles for personal gain."

Madam Lu looked up at him, seemingly surprised that Third Master Hu would say such a thing: "You've only met him a few times?"

Master Hu said sincerely, "After returning to the capital, I investigated in many ways. His journey to the capital was not easy. He narrowly escaped death when involved in the Prince Jing's treason case, and he narrowly escaped death again in Guyuan..."

Madam Lu said calmly, "I heard that he betrayed Prince Jing."

Master Hu walked around to the table and said, "Master, instead of listening to what others say, you should go and see him for yourself."

The secret room fell silent again as Master Hu waited for Madam Lu to make her decision.

After a long while, Madam Lu said softly, "Third son, do you know how many people depend on us for their livelihood? In the past, we were fine because we kept a low profile, but this time, the assassination of the Crown Prince has been involved, and the Jie Fan Guard and the Secret Intelligence Bureau have been mobilized in full force, causing a nationwide uproar. If my Deng Huo gets involved, I'm afraid that if we are not careful, Deng Huo will be uprooted and thousands or tens of thousands of people will be purged."

Madam Lu looked up, her eyes beneath the black veil staring directly at Third Master Hu: "It's not so bad if you and I die, but if the lights are gone, the trade routes are gone, who will transport the military rations for the Guyuan border army? Who will redress the general's case? Who will support the families of the dead Guyuan border soldiers? Everyone can be willful, but I cannot be willful."

Master Hu continued, "I'm confident I've done it discreetly enough that no one will discover it was Deng Huo who did it. Once the storm has passed, he definitely won't spread it around. Boss, you haven't dealt with him before, but he's an absolutely reliable person. You'll understand once you do."

Madam Lu said slowly, "Even if you argue until the end, it won't work."

After a long silence, Master Hu said, "Master, Chen Ji has already suffered enough."

The candlelight flickered in the secret room, as if someone's breathing had become disordered.

Suddenly, Madam Lu removed her veil, revealing her face. Her once delicate face now bore a scar that ran horizontally across the bridge of her nose, extending from her left cheek to her right, just half an inch away from blinding her.

She pulled a piece of black cloth from her sleeve and covered her eyes to hide her scars.

Madam Lu said, “Third brother, the lamplight cannot be destroyed because of one person’s selfish desires. Xiao Jiu lost the salt permit, and according to the rules of the lamplight, I stabbed him three times and left six holes. It wasn’t because he lost my ‘silver,’ but because he lost the lamplight’s silver. This lamplight is not my private property.”

Before Master Hu could speak, Madam Lu stood up and said, "Liao Zhong may not be in Changping County. Even if he is, Chen Ji cannot arrest people there. With so many Jie Fan Guards and spies, they would both die here if there's the slightest disturbance. The person who framed him for assassinating the Crown Prince might have some backup plan. He won't be able to return to the capital..."

Madam Lu turned to look at Third Master Hu: "Third Brother, you make the arrangements. This time, I will personally go to escort him from Datong to Ningchao. No one else is allowed to make any rash moves."

"Third brother, if I die, you will be the next supervisor of the lamplight."

…… ……

The shopkeeper went to the backyard and stayed there for half an hour, while Chen Ji stood quietly in front of the counter for half an hour.

The waiter carefully pulled the curtain open a crack, secretly watching the chaos outside, with guards and spies coming and going.

The city gates of Changping County are closed.

Looking into the distance, braziers were lit on the city wall, and dark figures were watching menacingly.

He glanced back at Chen Ji, fearing that the Jie Fanwei would rush in and discover that their inn was harboring a traitor, and then drag the entire inn's manager and staff away to be beheaded as a warning to others.

Fortunately not.

The Jiefan Guard and the Secret Service are currently busy sealing off the city. Only after all waterways and land routes are blocked, and even the dog holes leading out of the city are sealed off, will it be time to conduct a search.

The young shopkeeper returned from the backyard, his first question being curious: "Did you really kill so many Tian Ce soldiers in Guyuan?"

Chen Ji did not answer, but looked past the shopkeeper's shoulder and towards the corridor leading to the backyard behind him. A bamboo curtain hung at the end of the corridor, blocking the view.

He was somewhat puzzled. Wasn't this young man the innkeeper? Who had the innkeeper just gone to report to? Could it be that some important figure from the "Lantern Inn" was staying here?
The young shopkeeper took a step to the left, blocking Chen Ji's view with his head, and coughed twice: "You collect Second Brother's body, and I, Deng Huo, will repay you, but I cannot break my rules."

Chen Ji remained calm: "What rules?"

The innkeeper explained, “Sir, you may not know this, but my Lanternlight Inn is merely a place to accept and distribute jobs. We don’t interfere in the feuds of the martial world. If you want to find Liao Zhong, you need to use Lanternlight Copper Coins to ‘pass on a leaf,’ which is essentially assigning a job. If one of the heroes at my Lanternlight Inn thinks your offer is reasonable and can do the job, he will help you find Liao Zhong. But if no one is willing to do it, then my Lanternlight Inn can’t help you. Of course, if no one in Changping County can accept your ‘leaf,’ then we can raise the price and send it to the capital, where there are larger Lanternlight Inns and more powerful figures.”

Chen Ji hummed in agreement: "What else can the Lantern Inn do?"

The innkeeper said in a low voice, "As long as you have some Lantern Coins, my Lantern Inn can provide you with temporary shelter and help you escape danger. As for how many coins you need, that depends on the situation."

Chen Ji casually asked, "Given the current situation, how many copper coins are needed?"

The shopkeeper held up his index finger: "Hide, ten coins. Escape, one hundred coins."

Xiaoman once said that one lamp coin could be exchanged for two hundred taels of silver at an inn, and one hundred coins would amount to twenty thousand taels of silver.

Chen Ji raised an eyebrow: "So expensive?"

The shopkeeper reminded him, "Sir, this is a warrant for arrest issued by the Directorate of Ceremonial."

He then changed the subject: "However, since you helped my Lantern Inn, if you only need to hide, the ten copper coins can be waived, but you cannot escape."

Chen Ji pondered for a moment: "If I didn't have any copper coins, I would have asked someone to find Liao Zhong."

The shopkeeper explained, "That depends on whether the person who 'accepts the leaves' is willing to give you credit or credit against your debt."

Chen Ji asked, "How can I get credit? How can I pay off the debt?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Some people want you to pay with silver, for example, ten lamp coins for three thousand taels of silver, which is more expensive than usual; some want to exchange information with you, it depends on whether you have what they want... and some people want your life."

"Life?"

The shopkeeper smiled, his expression enigmatic.

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright, help me send the leaf."

The shopkeeper beamed, "Alright!"

As he spoke, he slightly closed the first, third, and fifth windows of the inn, and closed the second, fourth, and sixth windows: "When our people see these windows, they will know that someone in the inn is 'passing on leaves' and will come in to inquire."

Chen Ji lowered his head in thought. Deng Huo was a local bigwig in Guyuan, running the largest inn and doing information business. This place should also be where their information was most readily available.

If even the people at the Lantern Inn can't find Liao Zhong, then I might not be able to find a needle in a haystack in Changping County.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the curtain of the Fulai Inn was lifted, and a woman in black, with her head down, crawled in through the gap in the curtain, her face covered with a black cloth.

Chen Ji looked the woman up and down. She had fine crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, making her look about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old. She was slender and thin, and her fox-like eyes had less of the cunning of ordinary people and more of the murderous aura of the martial arts world.

The innkeeper, not recognizing the woman, smiled and asked, "Sir, would you like a meal or a room?"

The woman's gaze swept across the inn: "Who sent the leaf?"

The shopkeeper was taken aback: "Are you from out of town?"

The woman ignored him and turned to look at Chen Ji: "It's you, from the wanted poster."

Chen Ji replied calmly, "Exactly."

The woman got straight to the point: "I can send you away from Ningchao for thirty copper coins."

The shopkeeper looked at the woman, then at the traces of time.

Chen Ji slowly said, "I'm sorry, I don't plan to leave."

(End of this chapter)