Aoyama

Chapter 505 Coming one after another
Chen Ji stood by the window, quietly watching Chen Wende on the long street.

The other person changed into a bright red, diagonally collared, long-sleeved robe, and a black square headscarf, looking clean and meticulous. He resembled a high-ranking official about to go to the Meridian Gate to carry a coffin and remonstrate to the death, leaving the most dignified image in other people's minds.

Li Xuan came to Chen Ji's side and whispered, "Be careful, he doesn't want to live anymore and wants to take the Chen family down with him."

Qi Zhenzhuo exclaimed in astonishment, "So ruthless?"

Li Xuan ignored Qi Zhen's concerns and continued to say to Chen Ji, "Your Majesty has suffered from the powerful families for too long. You have spent more than ten years painstakingly working to deal with the Liu family. Now, if someone were to hand Your Majesty the knife to kill the Chen family, no one knows whether Your Majesty would accept it."

Qi Zhenzhuo glanced at Chen Ji, gritted his teeth, and said, "Master finally managed to be adopted into the main branch of the family. How can we let him ruin everything? I'll go and kill him right now!"

Li Xuan glanced at him sideways: "With so many garrison soldiers and civilians watching, can you kill them all? If you kill him, it can be classified as suppressing a rebellion, or it can be classified as silencing witnesses. It's all up to His Majesty's decision."

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guards exchanged glances, some cautiously observing Chen Ji's expression.

Li Xuan made it very clear: getting involved in this mess could be a crime punishable by the confiscation of one's property and the extermination of one's entire clan. The Imperial Guards were all sons of high-ranking officials; who would be willing to abandon their status and take such a risk?

If it were just about themselves, they might rush in on a whim, but now that it involves family and relatives, they need to think carefully.

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "Don't kill them. We can't let this cause everyone to go to the imperial prison again..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Xuan walked to the corner of the wall with his Flying White Sword in hand and slit the throats of the dying assassins one by one.

Chen Ji looked at him suspiciously: "What are you doing?"

Li Xuan used his toe to pick up a broadsword and held it in his hand. He said seriously, "Only Chen Wende is left. You escort him out of the city later. I will remove my armor, put on a mask, and ambush you on the way. I will kill Chen Wende before you leave Changping County, so that the people in the city can see that it was an assassin."

Qi Zhenzhuo sighed, "So it turns out you were the most reckless one, brother-in-law."

Chen Ji pondered for a moment: "No, you are the Commander of the Imperial Guards. If you are not in the ceremonial procession, you will definitely be discovered by someone with ulterior motives."

Li Xuan replied, "Not many people have seen what I look like. When Qi Zhenzhuo wears my helmet later, they will mistake him for me."

Chen Ji countered, "What if someone has seen you before?"

Li Xuan remained silent.

This place is only a day's journey from the capital; perhaps someone has actually seen him.

Chen Ji looked out the window.

In the long street, Chen Wende still stood alone, the garrison soldiers and civilians far apart, and no one dared to approach.

He took a deep breath, picked up the whale knife, turned around and walked downstairs: "No need to think too much, escort Chen Wende back to the capital."

The Imperial Guards followed Chen Ji down the stairs, their silver armor and white pheasant tails making them look imposing.

Chen Ji walked into the long street and stood before Chen Wende: "Since you've left, why come back?"

Chen Wende looked him up and down, then smiled and answered irrelevantly, "Brother Chen Ji, you have a truly tough fate. Back in Xiangshan, dozens of assassins couldn't kill you, and even using forbidden techniques like the Five Wrathful Soldiers didn't work. Today, I've colluded with the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Bureau, and even had an officer from the Seeking Dao Realm take action, yet we still couldn't kill you. I'm completely convinced, and you lost fair and square."

Qi Zhenzhuo said from behind Chen Ji, "My master is destined by fate, and cannot be killed by villains like you."

Chen Wende smiled and shook his head, then said sincerely to Chen Ji, "It's not a matter of luck. Once or twice could be luck, but if someone helps you every time, that's true strength. My dear brother, it's really that the second branch of the Chen family chose the wrong opponent and misjudged you."

Chen Wende truly wanted to kill Chen Ji. Earlier, thirty percent of the assassins had fired shots at Chen Ji, and Chen Guang was hiding on the roof waiting for an opportunity to strike, all for the sake of killing Chen Ji alone. The others were just there for show.

But he still failed... but it's okay.

Chen Ji looked Chen Wende up and down. He saw that Chen Wende was tall and proud, with no sorrow or resentment about impending death, only the composure of accepting defeat.

“Brother, you are an upright man,” Chen Ji asked again calmly, “but you have already left, so why did you come back? The Second Master left you with so many people and must have a lot of wealth. You can make a name for yourself anywhere. Don’t you intend to leave a lineage for the second branch of the family?”

Chen Wende tucked his hands into the sleeves of his robe, straightened his posture, and looked up at the sky: "Brother Chen Ji, the virtues of filial piety and brotherly love are just a facade in your third branch, but they are real in my second branch. My father knew he was going to die, so he arranged for two officials at the Dao Seeking Realm to stay by my side and took me far away. He knew that if he didn't die, Grand Secretary Chen wouldn't let me go, so he stayed behind to face his death alone. Would you say he had guts?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Fine."

Chen Wende then asked with a smile, "My two henchmen all know they are going to die today, but they still came with me to kill you. Does that count as having guts?"

Chen Ji replied, "Yes."

Chen Wende said again, "I could have just left and gone to Southeast Asia or the Qing Dynasty, where I could have lived a life of wealth and honor. But I came back anyway, to avenge my father's death, and to drag the entire Chen family down with me. Does that count as having guts?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Fine."

Chen Wende looked up at the sky and sighed, "Chen Ji, that Grand Secretary Chen talks about literary courage every day, but this courage isn't just something you guys have, my second branch of the family has it too."

Li Xuan asked in a deep voice, "Just to save face, so many lives have to be lost?" Chen Wende shook his head slightly, "It's just that I can't stand seeing that scoundrel Chen Luchi take over the place without paying the price."

At this point, he smiled and looked at Chen Ji: "Brother, have you made a decision? Will you escort me back to the capital or kill me here? I wonder if you are willing to watch what you have worked so hard for go down the drain?"

Chen Ji looked at the garrison soldiers and civilians behind Chen Wende: "I suppose my brother has a backup plan. No matter what I choose, the result will be the same. Let's go back to the capital. His Majesty will make the decision."

Chen Wende nodded: "Smart man... Did my father say anything before he passed away?"

Chen Ji recalled: "Before leaving, Second Master asked for a cup of fine tea, Longjing tea that had just been picked before the Qingming Festival, with one bud and one leaf. After drinking the tea, he said that there was nothing to complain about, that it was his skill that was inferior to others. He only asked the head of the family to give him a way out and allow him to go to sea."

Chen Wende remained silent for a long time, and then said softly, "Yes, it's all about the winner and the loser. There's nothing to complain about. Let's go."

Chen Ji turned to look at the Imperial Guards behind him: "Where is the Crown Prince?"

Qi Zhenzhuo and the others were taken aback. They looked around and finally found the Crown Prince in the shadows under the gray-tiled eaves. An arrow was piercing the Crown Prince's thigh, and he was soaked in sweat, but his face remained normal.

Chen Wende burst into laughter: "There are even worse off than my second wife."

Chen Ji came to the Crown Prince to check his injuries. The arrow had broken the Crown Prince's leg bone, and the Crown Prince would most likely be crippled.

In the Ning Dynasty, the Crown Prince's lameness was no small matter.

The emperor called himself the Son of Heaven, and his body was considered to be a matter of destiny. Any disability would be regarded by civil officials as a failure of the Way of Heaven and an inability to live up to his position. Once a prince became lame, he would be completely ineligible for the throne.

That's why Chen Wende said there were even worse off than the second branch of the Chen family.

With his chances of ascending the throne gone, the Crown Prince no longer concealed his intentions. Instead, he looked up at Chen Ji, his voice no longer gentle, but sharp as ice: "Lord Chen, are you satisfied now?"

Chen Ji said calmly, "It's a bit of a pity."

The Crown Prince said expressionlessly, "It's a pity I didn't die? Lord Chen, if I didn't die today, how can you sleep soundly?"

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar, the sound of iron-soled hooves ringing out crisply.

Li Xuan's expression changed: "The visitor is not friendly."

The next moment, a group of twelve Jiefan Guards, wearing straw raincoats, came, and the one in the lead was none other than Lin Chaoqing, the commander of Jiefan Guards!
Qi Zhenzhuo lowered his voice: "Why did Jie Fanwei suddenly come? If..."

Chen Wende smiled and said, "Naturally, it was my people who took the initiative to report that someone here was plotting a rebellion... I think the Jiefan Guard will be very interested in my Chen family's property, as they are best at confiscating property."

Qi Zhenzhuo looked at Chen Ji: "What should we do? What if we fall into the hands of the Jie Fan Guard..."

When Jie Fanwei approached, Lin Chaoqing, sitting on his horse, cupped his hands to Chen Ji: "Magistrate of Wuxiang County, we meet again so soon. Someone has reported to me that Chen Wende of the Chen family is privately possessing crossbows and raising assassins. It is my duty to bring this person back to the imperial prison for interrogation."

The Imperial Guards blocked Chen Wende's path, swords drawn and ready to strike.

Jie Fanwei, dressed in a straw raincoat and with his hand on his waist knife, seemed ready to seize someone at any moment.

Lin Chaoqing looked at Chen Ji: "Could it be that the Imperial Guards are accomplices of Chen Wende and are also plotting a rebellion? The Magistrate of Wuxiang County should think carefully, lest he implicate more than a hundred Imperial Guards and suffer with you."

The Crown Prince, who was slumped on the ground, looked at Chen Ji and burst into laughter: "Lord Chen, after what happened with Chen Wende, your Chen family can't even sleep anymore. I'm very happy. I will personally watch you be thrown into the imperial prison and then exiled to Lingnan. On that day, I will raise three cups to Lord Chen from Zhongcui Palace to send him off."

Chen Ji ignored the Crown Prince and said, "Hand Chen Wende over to the Jie Fan Guard."

The Imperial Guards exchanged glances, then slowly made way.

Lin Chaoqing rode forward and said with a smile, "The magistrate of Wuxiang County is much more composed now."

Chen Ji ignored Lin Chaoqing and turned to Duo Bao, instructing him, "Find a carriage to escort the Crown Prince back to the capital."

Duo Bao rushed to Changping Post Station to fetch a carriage, and together with Li Cen, they helped the Crown Prince onto the carriage.

Lin Chaoqing bowed to Chen Ji from afar and said, "Farewell."

Qi Zhenzhuo asked worriedly, "Master, what should we do?"

Chen Ji calmly said, "Let's take it one step at a time..."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from afar. Lin Chaoqing turned around abruptly and saw a figure in white robes leading six people galloping across the long street, heading straight for him.

The group stopped in front of Lin Chaoqing. Lin Chaoqing hesitated for a long time, but when he looked at the black snake, the precious monkey, the bright rabbit, the cloud sheep, the golden pig, and the heavenly horse behind Bailong, he finally bowed his head and clasped his hands: "Lord Bailong, I thought you were still in Tanggu. It must have been before dawn. You came here after seeing off the Jingchao envoy... You must have worn out several horses."

Bai Long ignored him and calmly turned to look at everyone: "What happened here?"

(End of this chapter)