Aoyama

Chapter 433 Wang Gui
late at night.

The night watchman has already struck the gong twice.

Chen Ji rubbed his cheeks in front of the Ginkgo Garden before pushing the door open and entering.

In the courtyard, Xiaoman was dozing off by the stone table, holding her little black cat, while the little monk sat by the stone table with his eyes closed, chanting sutras.

Hearing the door open, the young monk opened his eyes and met Chen Ji's gaze. His eyes seemed to ripple like a pool of water, looking directly into Chen Ji's heart.

The moon-white cassock draped over his body made him look as gentle as the moon.

Seeing his gaze, Chen Ji remained silent for a moment, then laughed nonchalantly, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

The young monk bowed his head and put his hands together in prayer: "Benefactor, do not mistake 'self-attachment' for your true nature. Attachment is the root of afflictions. One should dwell nowhere and yet give rise to the mind... Benefactor, you actually know your own mind."

Chen Ji leaned against the doorframe and sighed, "I don't even know how I feel, but you know it better than I do..."

The young monk gazed into his eyes: "Benefactor, the Buddha said, 'See yourself, see all beings, see heaven and earth. When you see heaven and earth, be humble; when you see all beings, be compassionate; when you see yourself, be clear-headed.'"

Chen Ji countered, "How can I become sober?"

The young monk said earnestly, "Why don't you step back from the past and look at the present?"

Chen Ji smiled and asked again, "Without the past, how can there be the present?"

The young monk sighed: "Benefactor, when the mind is free from attachment and fear, and far removed from deluded dreams, one attains Nirvana. There are many fools in the world, but in the end, it is all just a great dream, like a flower in a mirror or the moon in water. Perhaps what you are attached to is only what you see in the mirror or water; when you actually touch it, it will shatter."

Chen Ji said with a smile, "We'll talk about it after we touch it."

The young monk's expression gradually turned solemn: "Benefactor, you have severed greed and anger, so why does ignorance linger?"

Chen Ji walked into the courtyard and casually patted the little monk's smooth head: "If I had that ability, wouldn't I have cut off the word 'foolish' long ago? I don't even know how I cut off the words 'greed' and 'anger'. You're just talking nonsense."

The young monk quickly replied, "I am not talking nonsense."

Xiaoman woke up at the sound, still sleepy, and asked, "What are you talking about... Young Master, have you eaten yet?"

Chen Ji said without turning his head, "I've eaten. I'm going to rest now. You should all go to sleep early too. Xiaoman will stay in the east wing, the little monk will stay in the west wing, and I'll have my own room."

Xiaoman was slightly taken aback: "How can that be?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the main room was tightly shut.

Xiaoman turned to look at the little monk: "What were you and the young master talking about? He was just granted a title, why does he seem a little unhappy?"

The young monk answered irrelevantly: "Miss Xiaoman, birth, old age, sickness, death, not getting what you want, separation from loved ones, being with those you hate, and the burning of the five aggregates—which is the most painful?"

"Being broke is the worst!" Xiaoman rolled her eyes. "If you don't speak like a human being from now on, I won't cook for you anymore."

The young monk put his hands together and said, "Amitabha, Miss Xiaoman is right."

Xiaoman smiled and said, "I'm so happy that you received your title today. Tell me, what would you like to eat tomorrow morning?"

The young monk pondered earnestly: "Scallion pancakes, red bean buns, fried sugar cakes, fried bean curd sheets..."

Xiaoman slowly stopped smiling: "If you eat so much, I won't be happy."

The little monk: "..."

……

……

Chen Ji took off his clothes and lay on the bed, quietly looking at the silk above the canopy bed, finally able to catch his breath.

He kept his eyes open, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

Fragrant Hills, Changping County, Andingmen, Renshou Palace, Wendan Hall...

engagement.

Everything that has happened these past few days has been like autumn leaves falling; a strong wind has blown the leaves, which had been dormant, into the sky in a chaotic and complicated frenzy.

Has the dust settled?

not yet.

Today at the Wendan Hall, the words that Grand Secretary Chen spoke to Chen Lizhi undoubtedly indicated an attempt to reconcile with the second wife's family. However, given Chen Lizhi's temperament, reconciliation is absolutely impossible.

Now that Si Cao Gui has completely disappeared, if this person is certain that he has betrayed his country, he doesn't even need to take action himself. He only needs to announce his relationship with Lu Jin and what he did in collusion with Jing Chao to the world, which would be enough to put him to death.

Not only will I die then, but Xiaoman will also be doomed.

He stared at the bed curtains above his head...

It's better not to drag others down.

I don't know how long I stayed on the bed, until the sound of a rooster crowing came from afar.

Chen Ji got up, dressed, and went outside.

Instead of fetching water, he walked south along the blue brick path to the Chen family stable and silently peered inside.

The drivers were already up and working. Some were carrying hay into the trough, while others were using bamboo rakes and plows to sweep away horse manure. There were thirteen drivers in gray clothes, but Si Cao Gui was not among them.

Upon seeing Chen Ji standing at the door, a coachman quickly put down his work, bowed, and clasped his hands in greeting: "What are your orders, young master?"

Chen Ji casually said, "I'm going out today, please arrange a car."

The coachman replied, "Don't worry, young master, the carriage will be waiting for you at the side gate in a little while."

Chen Ji's gaze swept over the stables: "Where's the coachman who drove me before? I haven't seen him anywhere."

The coachman paused slightly: "Him? You haven't seen him since you went to the spring hunt last time. It's strange, though, his clothes are still in the stable. Logically, even if he's quitting, he should have taken them."

Chen Ji instructed, "Take me to see."

The coachman led Chen Ji toward the stables and asked cautiously, "Young master, has this fellow done something wrong?" Chen Ji remained calm and said, "Let's see."

When we arrived at the stable, there was only one dormitory-style bed, and all the coachmen slept on the same bed.

The coachman rummaged through Si Caogui's belongings, casually searching for any traces, but found nothing: Si Caogui was a cautious man, and it was unlikely that he would leave anything in the stable.

Chen Ji turned to look at the driver, seemingly displeased: "Leaving without saying goodbye, who hired such an unreliable person?"

The coachman whispered, "Young master, it's Wang Gui, the steward of the third branch..."

Wang Gui.

It's Wang Gui again.

He first conspired with the second branch of the Chen family, and then colluded with the Jing Dynasty's military intelligence agency. This insignificant person has become the crux of the problem today.

Chen Ji recalled that Zhang Xia had said that when they hid in the well in Guyuan, Wang Gui was the first one to be caught and brought up. It took about several dozen breaths before the second person was caught and brought up.

It shouldn't have taken so long to capture Wang Gui and bring him to the well, since the Jing Dynasty's Tian Ce Army had no reason to waste time on such a minor figure.

Unless Wang Gui's identity is suspicious.

No wonder so many people died under the iron heel of the Tian Ce Army, yet Wang Gui, an ordinary man, was able to return to the capital alive.

Chen Ji walked out and casually instructed, "Arrange the carriage and wait for me at the side gate."

The driver bowed hurriedly and said, "Alright!"

Chen Ji headed straight for Qingzhu Garden.

……

……

The Green Bamboo Garden is surrounded by green bamboo, and even the green bricks inside the courtyard are engraved with bamboo joints, symbolizing humility, modesty, integrity and uprightness.

Green Bamboo Garden is larger than Ginkgo Garden. Ginkgo Garden has only one main building, while Green Bamboo Garden has two-story buildings.

At this time in the past, the maids would have been waiting in the building with basins of water and food boxes to help Chen Liqin and Madam Liang get dressed and wash. But now, they had nothing to do, and a dozen or so people leaned against the covered bridge, worried and whispering among themselves.

A young maid whispered, "Now that the master has gone to Jinling, the madam has passed away, the eldest son has returned to Luzhou to observe mourning, and the second son has died young... Will we be sold off by our master?"

An older maidservant, head bowed and clutching her handkerchief, said, "That depends on who's in charge. If it's Madam Liu from the main wife's family, she'll choose from the managers, second managers, shopkeepers, and warehouse supervisors of the Chen family's various businesses and marry us off as their principal wives, so we can live a peaceful life. In that case, we'll actually be able to live a good life, without having to serve anyone, and we can even show off our power as the principal wife."

The maid asked curiously, "What if the second master of the household makes the decision?"

The older maid scoffed, "The master never bothered with this matter; it was all handled by Steward Wang Duo. If he were in charge, he would have given us all to the second branch's trusted servants as concubines, so we could continue to grovel before them."

The maidservant remained worried: "But I heard that some people will be sold into brothels."

The older maid leaned against the covered bridge and shook her handkerchief: "Little girl, don't worry at all. The Chen family are respectable people; they wouldn't do such a thing. It's not that the Chen family is particularly considerate of their servants, but rather that they don't want to bear the stigma. Think about it, if they sold you to a brothel, the madam would tell everyone you came from the Chen family, and every time those filthy men patronized you, the Chen family would lose face. They might as well just beat you to death; after all, the Chen family isn't short of a few taels of silver."

The maid tentatively asked, "Is there a better way out? I don't want to marry those warehouse supervisors and shopkeepers who are covered in sweat and have yellow teeth."

The older maidservant seemed thoughtful: "A better way out is naturally..."

Just then, someone coughed softly behind them.

The older maid turned around and was surprised to see Chen Ji standing at the door.

She quickly pulled the others along and came to Chen Ji, bowing respectfully as she greeted him, "Third Young Master."

Chen Ji cut to the chase: "When did Wang Gui disappear?"

The older maid recalled: "The day before the spring hunt, he arranged for himself to have a day off the next day and went home. He never came back... Wang Duo, the steward of the second branch, the official in charge of the second master's affairs, and Chen Xu, the steward of the first branch, also came to inquire about this matter. They also searched the entire Qingzhu Garden and went to Wang Gui's residence outside the mansion... I am Bailu, a first-class maid in the mansion."

The other maids were slightly surprised and secretly glanced at her, but she remained unfazed.

Chen Ji calmly asked, "How do you know they also went to the residence outside Wang Gui's mansion?"

Bai Lu lowered her head and replied, "On the night of the spring hunt, I secretly saw them bring back Wang Gui's wife. When the woman was brought back, she was sobbing uncontrollably, saying that she didn't know where Wang Gui had gone."

Chen Ji pondered silently for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Has any valuable item been stolen from Qingzhu Garden recently?"

If Wang Gui had already intended to escape, he would have tried to acquire more valuables to sustain himself. Once he obtained these valuables, he would have needed to find a way to exchange them for Buddhist coins to avoid leaving a trace. Large amounts of gold, silver, and valuables would not have been able to pass through the Five Cities Garrison Command.

Bai Lu shook her head: "After the lady passed away, we checked the gold, silver and valuables in the register, and nothing was missing."

Chen Ji pondered for a moment: "Have the master and madam ever bestowed any valuable items upon him?"

Bai Lu recalled for a long time: "In the twenty-fifth year of Jia Ning, the master rewarded him with a mutton fat jade thumb ring, but he never wore it. In the twenty-sixth year of Jia Ning, the lady rewarded him with several pairs of boots, but those were all worn and discarded by Duke Wenxiao... Chen Wenxiao. Later, the master went to Luocheng, and I don't know anything about that."

Chen Ji asked thoughtfully, "Have any valuables been stolen from the manor before?"

Bai Lu shook her head: "No... no, there is!"

Chen Ji looked up abruptly: "What?"

Bai Lu hurriedly said, "When Master and Madam went to Luocheng, they took away many valuable items, including Madam's favorite jewelry. But when Master and Madam returned to the capital, a batch of items went missing. I heard that there was a war in Luocheng, and a whole box of valuable items was intercepted by Liu's troops in the chaos."

Chen Ji frowned slightly. He was also present when the Tiger Armor Iron Cavalry searched the Chen and Zhang residences, and he even mingled among them wearing the Tiger Armor Iron Cavalry's iron mask.

He was certain that the Liu family's troops had not touched the Zhang and Chen families' property, so he kidnapped their relatives and went directly to Prince Jing's mansion.

That box of things couldn't have been intercepted by Liu's troops.

Chen Ji asked calmly, "Among the lost items, is there anything special?"

Bai Lu pondered: "There are two jade hairpins, a hairpin inlaid with pearls, a gold and jade butterfly and flower hairpin, the longevity lock that Young Master Wenxiao wore when he was a child... There are too many to remember."

At this moment, a maidservant said, "And there's more! There's also the phoenix coronet and blue floral headdress that Madam loves the most!"

Chen Ji turned and walked out, saying, "Thank you."

(End of this chapter)