Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 77 Distress
That night, Xu Gong escorted Jia Chuan to the gate of Gao's house. Wang Yu said goodbye after leaving Liu Mian's house. He didn't think he needed to get close to Jia Chuan at the moment. He would take him out for a walk to see if he was a mule or a horse. Only when he came back alive could he tell. Let's talk about it later.

Chen Mo had been following Jia Chuan, with a bag on his horse's back. It was obvious that he was accompanying him on this trip to Jinan that lasted for several months.

Xu Gong said goodbye to Jia Chuan at the gate of Gao's house and gave him earnest advice like an elder brother.

After seeing Xu Gong off, Jia Chuan and Chen Mo, who was carrying a bag, entered the courtyard. Jia Chuan then grumbled softly, "Didn't I tell you to think of a way not to take this job? Why wouldn't you listen?"

Chen Mo snorted and said, "I don't trust others to go. Besides, this isn't just your job. I've reached the end of my rank as a captain. If I don't make some great contributions, there's no way I'll be able to move up or get a promotion. This is a difficult task for you, but it's a smooth ride for me."

Jia Chuan was just being polite. He had figured out who these people were in the small courtyard, and Chen Mo didn't make a difference. Having Chen Mo around was better than having a stranger.

He learned this trick from Chen Mo. When he first knew that he was going to handle a case in the Ministry of Justice, Chen Mo acted like he was doing a favor, as if he always put Jia Chuan first, but in fact he knew his mission long ago.

Jia Chuan followed suit, his expression and words full of concern for Chen Mo. But after hearing what Chen Mo said, he was a little dazed, and felt that it was Gao Yuntian standing next to him.

What Jia Chuan didn't know was that after this child trafficking case, Chen Mo had changed the position of Jia Chuan in his heart. He was no longer just a future reliance, but someone to follow. He knew that by following Jia Chuan, at least for now, he could do things that he wanted to do but couldn't do.

Jia Chuan was stunned for a moment, then patted Chen Mo on the shoulder and said, "Go to bed early." He didn't say anything more.

……

The next morning, Jia Chuan watched anxiously as Chen Mo directed several new faces to load the carriage. This time, in addition to the people who picked up Jia Chuan to Beijing last time, there were a few new people added. There would be two carriages this time, one for Dong Yuanyuan and Gao Yunduo, and the other for loading some things for the road.

Jia Chuan was not worried about the dangers on the road. According to his inference, the road should not be too difficult to travel.

Of course, there is no guarantee that the King of Han has different thinking patterns from ordinary people and wants to kill him on the road, but with so many guards, it is difficult for Jia Chuan to worry. What he is anxious about is why Haishou has not come to give him silver.

Chen Mo confirmed again and again that everything was brought, and then the group set off.

But Haishou still didn't come.

The emperor can also fool people!
Jia Chuan was indignant, but then he thought about what kind of job the emperor had. How could he remember every detail? It would be better to wait until he came back alive before asking for it. He thought these people wouldn't starve him.

Just as Jia Chuan had persuaded himself, the group arrived at the city gate. From a distance, Jia Chuan saw Hai Shou. He immediately became cheerful and grinned all the way to Hai Shou.

Haishou looked at Jia Chuan kindly and asked in a low voice, "Are you anxious?"

Jia Chuan nodded honestly with a few silly laughs.

"The emperor told me to see you off at the city gate, which is more useful than at the Gao family gate."

Jia Chuan could figure out the emperor's intention without much hesitation. Although the capital was not close to Jinan, news was always traveling far. The emperor was trying to build momentum for Jia Chuan.

Hai Shou turned around, took a bundle from the eunuch behind him, handed it to Jia Chuan, and said, "Everything you need for your living quarters over there has been arranged. This is enough for you. Be frugal and don't spend it recklessly. You still have to get married in the future."

Jia Chuan took the bundle happily and gave Hai Shou a big hug while he was happy.

What Jia Chuan didn't know was that just because of this hug, whenever he offended the emperor in the future, Hai Shou would stand up to explain for him and speak well of him.

Haishou is not young anymore and has been doing this job for decades. He has a kind of coquettish air about him that even he himself dislikes. He never dares to get too close to nobles, let alone officials in the court. But Jia Chuan doesn't dislike it. Haishou feels the strength of this hug. It is not perfunctory or reluctant. He even feels that he can feel Jia Chuan's heartbeat. This beating makes him excited. He endures it again and again, but turns his face away and wipes away the tears in his eyes.

"Out there, take good care of yourself and don't try to show off. I still say the same thing: saving your life is the most important thing. As long as you survive, the emperor won't blame you. As long as you do your best..."

Hai Shou talked a lot, and Jia Chuan kept nodding. He was still immersed in the weight of the bag in his hand, and his sense of happiness was overflowing. Just by the weight, he knew that in addition to banknotes and silver, there was also a lot of silver. Although real gold and silver were not allowed to circulate in the world, having these things in hand could preserve value. When buying big things, he would still use silver privately, and at worst he could exchange it for banknotes and silver. This was the second huge income since he came to this life, and he didn't need to hide it. How could Jia Chuan close his mouth?

……

The group finally left the city gate.

After walking for a while, Jia Chuan rode to the carriage and knocked on the board. Dong Yuanyuan's big head appeared, and Jia Chuan said, "Change people!"

Dong Yuanyuan's face disappeared and Gao Yunduo's face appeared on the car window.

"Take it! Use it as you see fit." Jia Chuan handed the bundle to the car window.

Gao Yunduo didn't know what was in the bundle, so she took it.

Jia Chuan sat upright beside the carriage, waiting for screams to come from it.

But he forgot that the noise made by Dong Yuanyuan's great efforts could not be described as a scream. The horse pulling the cart in front was more shocked by Dong Yuanyuan's noise than by being whipped. It seemed as if it wanted to bravely run a few steps to get rid of the scary noise. Fortunately, the driver of the Jinyiwei drove the cart well. The horse ran a few steps in panic but was calmed down by him and started to move forward slowly again.

Even though Jia Chuan was mentally prepared, he was still frightened. A captain of the Jinyiwei who was standing nearby almost fell off his horse. However, the horse he rode seemed very courageous. He just stopped and Shunzi hurried forward to apologize.

Jia Chuan hurriedly urged his horse to catch up with the carriage.

The curtain was lifted again, and Gao Yunduo asked angrily, "Whose dirty money did you accept?"

Jia Chuan subconsciously said, "The Emperor's." Then he said, "I want to carry out such an important task, so the Emperor will naturally reward me. I will be traveling far away this time, and when I return to the capital, I will naturally have no shortage of houses and land."

"Who asked you?!"

The head on the window retracted, and Jia Chuan was delighted. Just as he was about to let his horse gallop, Gao Yuntian rode up beside him. He asked curiously, "Did the emperor grant you a house and land?"

Jia Chuan ignored him and spurred his horse into a gallop. Gao Yuntian followed closely behind, still asking, "Did the emperor really grant you the promise? What about the others? Will there be any rewards?"

Jia Chuan caught up with Chen Mo and slowed down before speaking: "Just like if you follow me, I won't treat you unfairly, I follow the emperor, how can the emperor treat me unfairly? If the emperor doesn't give me anything, I will ask for it. Only the crying child gets the milk."

Chen Mo had no idea what they were talking about. He turned his head, frowned, looked at Jia Chuan, and asked, "What do you want from the Emperor?"

"Do you think anyone would dare to stop us along the way?" Jia Chuan asked, changing the subject.

Gao Yuntian was on Jia Chuan's left. He snorted and said, "How dare anyone stop the Jinyiwei escort?"

Chen Mo, on Jia Chuan's right, said, "It's hard to say. The King of Han has a different temperament. He's been wanting to kill you for a long time. He'll know who we were when we left the capital. I don't think anything will happen in the first two days. The closer we get to Jinan, the more uncertain it will be."

"He should have closed the gate and pretended to be dead. How dare he order someone to block the way? Don't worry, Brother Chen. I've met people sent by the King of Han before. Not only does he not dare to send people, but even if he did, I can handle it alone!"

Jia Chuan turned his head to look at Gao Yuntian, who was full of confidence. He was about to make a few sarcastic remarks, but after thinking about it, he was probably the least capable one among the dozen people. Shunzi could still shoot a few arrows, so he should be content not to be ridiculed. What's more, what Gao Yuntian said was right. He should have handed in the iron ruler when he resigned from Dongzhao County, but he had been with the iron ruler for several years and had developed feelings for it, so he begged Cui Youzhi to let him keep it.

Nowadays, no matter whether other Jinyiwei members have Embroidered Spring Swords on their waists or not, they are all swords. Only Gao Yuntian is still using an iron ruler. He has seen the power of this iron ruler.

Chen Mo had never seen the kung fu of the Gao brothers and sisters, and just thought that Gao Yuntian was bragging. However, he knew his own kung fu and the skills of his subordinates, so he gave Gao Yuntian a task: to protect the carriage.

……

At the end of the day, the people on horseback were getting bored. In order to interest them, Jia Chuan used his old trick. When they were far away from the carriage, he secretly told them a passage from Jin Ping Mei.

This trick really worked. When they set out again the next day, Gao Yuntian couldn't wait to ask Jia Chuan to start his lecture. Chen Mo also wanted to listen, but he still had to put business first and reminded them that if they walked faster today, they could reach Dongzhao County earlier tomorrow.

On this trip, Chen Mo didn't care whether Jia Chuan understood it or not, and still told him the route and time required in advance. Jia Chuan translated it as: If they all rode horses, it would naturally be faster because there would be carriages and no need to rush. They could walk for four or five hours a day, which is eighty to ninety hours. They could rest at the post station at night. They could walk about one hundred and fifty to sixty miles a day because there would be several trips to the service area in between. The distance from Beijing to Jinan was about eight hundred miles, so it would take about five days to walk.

On the third day, they would pass through Dongzhao County. Chen Mo asked if they wanted to go into the city to rest for half a day. Jia Chuan asked Gao Yuntian if he wanted to go into the city to see his uncle. Gao Yuntian said no, considering they had only been away for a few days.

Jia Chuan said that he would let the Jinyiwei people go to the city gate for a stroll on horseback. Chen Mo didn't understand what he meant. Jia Chuan secretly whispered a few words to Chen Mo. Chen Mo said "oh". This made Gao Yuntian even more curious. He kept asking questions and even forgot about Jin Ping Mei. Jia Chuan just said that he would know it tomorrow.

Jia Chuan agreed with Chen Mo's previous analysis. If there was any danger, it would be when they were about to reach Jinan, which was the last two days. Therefore, Jia Chuan was in a good mood for the first three days.

Especially on the afternoon of the third day, when he heard the sound of horse hooves behind him, Jia Chuan looked back and saw that the Jinyiwei who had acted alone before was riding towards him with Old Zheng.

Gao Yuntian was startled and shouted, "Why are you here?" Then he realized what was going on and said, "No wonder he didn't go into the city!"

Old Zheng ran wildly for a while and felt like his bones were about to fall apart. He just waved his hands and didn't even have the strength to speak.

Jia Chuan said, "You just lack exercise. You should practice more on the way. Fortunately, there are two carriages. You can sit in one with the daily necessities."

Old Zheng took a deep breath and said, "I originally thought the county magistrate would only give me a donkey, but when he heard that you were not going into the city, he immediately replaced it with a horse."

Gao Yuntian laughed and said, "He's afraid that you'll walk too slowly and bring this plague god into the city." Jia Chuan laughed.

On the day he entered the palace, he asked Zhu Zhanji for Old Zhengtou. His reason was very good. Just this investigation of the jade shop case made him see the status of the coroner. Not to mention whether the coroner had real skills, it was easy for him to be out of his control with this identity. He might encounter a murder case on this trip to Jinan and Le'an, and it was even certain that he would encounter a murder case. Jia Chuan did not believe that the coroner in the provincial government office over there was a useful person. Even if he was, it would take time to build trust and tacit understanding. However, the coroner was an indispensable technical expert in investigating the case.

There is a ready-made one in Dongzhao County.

Zhu Zhanji agreed very readily.

Of course, Jia Chuan had his own selfish motives. Since everyone else had been brought along, he might as well throw them all away. As long as they could escape, it would be a credit. How could Old Zheng be left out?

However, Jia Chuan thought that Gao Yuntian would be as happy as he was to see Old Zheng. He didn't expect that Gao Yuntian was even less excited than Dong Yuanyuan. At least Dong Yuanyuan shouted excitedly several times, and the Jinyiwei driving the carriage almost couldn't control the horse.

……

At dusk that day, the group arrived at the post station. Several postmen came forward to take the horses away, and the Jinyiwei people went in to arrange rooms. Gao Yunduo and Gao Yuanyuan strolled at the entrance of the post station.

Jia Chuan, Gao Yuntian, Shunzi, and Old Zhengtou were all in the hall. Chen Mo had gotten used to it over the past three days. Every night when they arrived at the post station, Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan would stroll around the door for a while. He understood that they really needed to move around after sitting in the carriage for a long time, but Chen Mo couldn't understand why Jia Chuan and the others were so at ease. He would always stand guard at the door, fearing that there would be any conflict.

"Are you so confident in letting the two of them stroll around the door?" Chen Mo finally couldn't help but walked into the hall and asked.

Jia Chuan was stunned for a moment, then asked, "It wasn't long ago that the two of them beat those five people so badly that they couldn't get up. Have you forgotten?"

Chen Mo then remembered this matter. Although he was not at the scene at that time, he had seen the appearance of those five people. But even so, he could not imagine how capable the two women were. He just felt that the five people were useless.

Chen Mo wanted to say something else when Gao Yunduo suddenly called out to Jia Chuan and motioned him to come outside.

Jia Chuan went out happily. Seeing Gao Yunduo's serious expression, he didn't dare to show too much joy. Before he could ask what was the matter, Gao Yunduo spoke first and asked, "I heard that you know someone named Ximen Qing?"

"Huh?" Jia Chuan's eyebrows stood up.

"My brother said that Ximen Qing, relying on his family's cash, wouldn't even spare a woman in mourning... You'd better stay away from a man like that."

Jia Chuan wanted to greet Gao Yuntian's family, but when he remembered that Gao Yunduo was the only one left in his family, he gave up the idea and sighed, "Is it possible that this is just a story?"

"But my brother said that what you said sounded like the truth."

"That only proves that I'm a good storyteller. Think about it, I worked in the Inspection Office for three years, and when I was released I went straight to Dongzhao County. If I knew someone like that, how could your brother not know him?"

"If it's a story, where did you hear it from?"

"Uh... maybe I heard a few stories here and there when I was little, and then I strung them together when I had nothing better to do. Don't worry, I haven't made any bad friends."

"I'm afraid you'll lead your brother astray! Take care of yourself."

Jia Chuan stood there for a moment with his mouth open. After confirming that Gao Yunduo had gone upstairs and entered the house, he turned and walked towards his room.

Gao Yuntian naturally still shared a room with him, along with Shunzi and Old Zhengtou, and Chen Mo was squeezed out.

Jia Chuan stared at Gao Yuntian fiercely. Gao Yuntian seemed to know where he had done wrong. He shrank his neck and dared not look at Jia Chuan.

Old Zheng was tired, so he lay down on a separate bed as soon as he entered the room. He felt that even if Jia Chuan didn't mind, Gao Yuntian and Shunzi would feel uncomfortable even if they didn't say anything. So he simply slept on a separate small bed. Although it was a bit narrow, he felt comfortable.

Old Zheng narrowed his eyes as he watched Gao Yuntian avoid Jia Chuan's gaze, then asked with a smile, "What did he do to provoke you?"

Only then did Shunzi notice that Jia Chuan and Gao Yuntian were different from before.

Gao Yuntian sighed and said, "You can't blame me for this. He kept talking about random things to pass the time, and we all loved listening to him. My sister noticed something was wrong and started questioning me. I held back and didn't answer correctly several times, but you don't know my sister. She has always been strict with me since I was a child..."

Old Zheng and Shunzi looked at Jia Chuan with sympathy at the same time, as if they had discussed it beforehand.

Jia Chuan waved his hands angrily and said, "Don't blame everything on Duoduo. You don't have a brain yourself. If she asks you, just tell the truth."

"How could that be? I just picked out some things that I could tell her."

"Then why do you say Ximen Qing is my friend?"

"This is Duoduo's own deduction. I didn't say it."

"But you didn't deny it!"

Gao Yuntian chuckled. At this moment, Chen Mo pushed the door open and said, "The food is ready. Let's go and eat!"

That night, Jia Chuan wanted to tell Old Zheng about his experiences in the capital over the past few days, but Old Zheng's previous activities were limited to strolling around the county government office. Today's exercise volume seriously exceeded the limit, and he fell asleep as soon as he lay down after dinner.

Was there a moment when Jia Chuan questioned whether his decision was right or wrong?

Old Zheng was not as good as him. At the critical moment, he still had three tricks to save his life. Old Zheng...

But since he decided to take Gao Yuntian and the others with him, he was determined to get the job done, which would be a credit, so how could he leave out Old Zheng?
Jia Chuan tossed and turned in bed. From tomorrow on, danger could occur at any time. Shunzi was protected by Dong Yuanyuan, and Old Zheng... and there were so many Jinyiwei. Besides, those who came were here to kill him. As long as Old Zheng hid and didn't move, he should be fine.

It takes brothers to fight a tiger! More people will only increase the chances of success.

After Jia Chuan persuaded himself, he breathed a sigh of relief and fell asleep peacefully.

……

The next day, considering many possibilities, Jia Chuan was arranged into a carriage and Gao Yunduo rode on Jia Chuan's horse.

Old Zheng also got on the carriage. Dong Yuanyuan in the carriage kept shouting that she wanted to go out for a horse ride. Fortunately, Dong Yuanyuan still listened to Jia Chuan's words, but she didn't remember them for long.

In order to calm Dong Yuanyuan down, Old Zheng talked about the autopsies he had performed over the years. Dong Yuanyuan listened with great interest and forgot about the horse riding incident.

The group walked peacefully until the afternoon. Jia Chuan lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and saw that the poplar trees beside the road were shaking off a few yellow leaves in the breeze. He looked up at the sky again, thinking that today might just pass like this. Just as this thought flashed through his mind, the horses suddenly neighed and the whole carriage tilted sharply to the right.

Jia Chuan thought to himself, "Not good!" He followed the carriage's tilt uncontrollably. Fortunately, Dong Yuanyuan was inside. She stretched out her arms, twisted her body, and lunged to the left. This put a strain on the horses pulling the carriage. The tripwires caught the two horses, causing them to lose their balance and fall to the right. But before they could reach the ground, they were pulled up by a force. The horses struggled to stand, and the carriage stabilized as well.

Before Jia Chuan could exclaim, "Yuan Yuan's divine power!", he heard Chen Mo shout from outside the car, "There's a tripwire! Everyone, take your positions and guard both sides!"

Before Jia Chuan could recover from his panic, he heard the clang of a sword being unsheathed, followed by Chen Mo's shout: "You two, brother and sister, guard both sides of the carriage, and the rest of you... prepare to fight!"

When Dong Yuanyuan heard that there was going to be a fight, she immediately thought of Shunzi and rushed out of the carriage.

Soon, Shunzi was thrown into the car by Dong Yuanyuan.

The three losers looked at each other, and Jia Chuan said calmly: "Let's just lie down. I'm afraid they have bows and arrows. If we protect ourselves, we'll be helping."

The three of them lay in the car in a rather strange posture. No one made a sound and they looked very peaceful.

The outside of the car looked quite different.

More than twenty people rushed out from the woods on both sides of the road. Gao Yuntian and his sister were on the left and right, one holding a long sword and the other holding an iron ruler, guarding the carriage on both sides, waiting for someone to come and die.

In front of the car was Chen Mo. When he saw the person rushing out, he formed a circle in an extremely organized manner. He didn't dare to leave the front of the car and asked loudly, "Is there anyone behind the car?" Dong Yuanyuan replied loudly, "Am I considered one?"

The other Jinyiwei had already engaged the intruders, but there were too many of them, and they were all very skilled. Each Jinyiwei was almost fighting two of them. Chen Mo couldn't bear to see his men get hurt, so he shouted again, "You two brothers, take care of the carriage. I'll go help."

Jia Chuan lay in the car and thought: Li Shun’s swordsmanship is good, but he is only a centurion. Chen Mo is a thousand-man commander, so his swordsmanship must be more outstanding.

But Jia Chuan had only seen how cowardly the eight people in the dense forest of Huangluling were, and had never seen what these people who came today looked like?
Chen Mo waved his long sword to save one of his subordinates, but was then trapped by two attackers and unable to escape.

Gao Yuntian watched anxiously. It was obvious that his colleagues were no match for the attackers. These people had become quite familiar with Gao Yuntian over the past few days and were quite close to him. Although Gao Yuntian knew that their friendship with him wasn't due to his size and might, and that everyone had their own ulterior motives, he couldn't just stand by and watch his colleagues fight tooth and nail.

Gao Yuntian held the iron ruler and shouted, "Duoduo, protect the carriage!" Then he rushed forward holding the iron ruler.

(End of this chapter)