CHAPTER 42: 40. CLIMBING OVER THE WALL

General Wang asked in a heavy voice, "Miss Chunhua, have you found anything?"

Suppressing a sobbing tone, Chunhua replied, "No..."

She turned around, her eyes red and filled with disbelief as she looked toward She Dengke, who had a glimmer of doubt in his eyes along with a trace of resignation.

General Wang looked at Chunhua and then at She Dengke, his voice growing colder, "I hope that Miss Chunhua will call us only when there is conclusive evidence next time. We, the Thousand-year Army, are guards of the Prince, not petty officers who search for lost chickens and dogs. Let’s go."

As the guards were about to leave, Old Yao blocked their path and said nonchalantly, "Apologize."

General Wang fell silent for a moment before turning to Chen Ji, "I apologize for the offense!"

Chen Ji spoke slowly, "I would trouble General Wang to clarify things at the door for me, otherwise, the neighbors may no longer associate with me in the future."

General Wang shook his head, "I can’t do that. Let’s go!"

The guards from the Prince Mansion came quickly and left just as swiftly. Chunhua looked at She Dengke with unspoken words and ultimately turned away with tearful eyes, "You’re going to get me killed!"

"Wait a moment!" said Chen Ji.

Chunhua stopped in her tracks and turned back to Chen Ji, somewhat fearfully, "What are you going to do? I didn’t want this, but I had no choice."

"Step aside for a word."

Chen Ji, leading Chunhua to the doorstep, whispered, "Please inform Princess Consort Jing on your return that there was no need for us to become enemies. It wasn’t I nor the Spy Department who killed Liu Shenyu; it was the Liu Family who silenced him. If I could help her find the lead barium glass cup last time, I can also help her seek revenge this time. Go back and convey this message; you should be safe."

Chunhua paused and then turned to leave.

Chen Ji stood in front of the Medical Hall, listening to the surrounding murmurings and watching Chunhua’s departing figure.

As the sun set in the west, the orange-red light slowly faded from him until he was enveloped by the night.

The Secret Spy Department, the Military Intelligence Department, Princess Consort Jing, Consort Yun—each of these figures was a towering presence in this world, seemingly capable of crushing him with a simple gesture.

Chen Ji’s fate was not his to control. As a newcomer, he could only survive in the cracks.

However, now in front of him was a chessboard, and he gently placed a piece on the edge at "Spring Corner." It might not decide the outcome, but he always played chess unconventionally, never following common moves.

He returned inside the Medical Hall only to see Old Yao staring at She Dengke, "Grown wings? Kneel down!"

She Dengke knelt obediently on the ground, crying and sobbing, "Master, I didn’t expect it to turn out this way. Chunhua said it was Princess Consort Jing who made her do it, otherwise, she would be killed tonight. Chunhua told me that all I needed to do was hide a pearl in Chen Ji’s clothes to get him expelled from the Imperial Medical Hall. She took out all her savings from over the years, claiming it was to compensate Chen Ji, so that even if he left the Medical Hall, he could still run a small business."

As he spoke, She Dengke took out three silver ingots, two silver hairpins, two silver bracelets, and thirty-six copper coins from his bosom.

Old Yao turned to Chen Ji, "This is your affair, what do you say?"

Chen Ji remained silent.

Chunhua could have offered ten, fifty, or even five hundred silver taels, but she only gave thirty silver taels and thirty-six copper coins—because that was all she had.

But could he forgive her? No, he could not.

He knew in this era, a girl like Chunhua had no other choice—if she didn’t comply, Princess Consort Jing would indeed kill her.

But if he had truly been framed, would the consequence have been as simple as just being expelled from the Imperial Medical Hall? No, he would have certainly been executed on the spot by Chunrong with a strong servant in tow.

He had thought he could regard the Medical Hall as his home and his seniors as his family, but reality never unfolds as one expects.

The most damnable part of this world is that it won’t spare you just because you are a good person.

Chen Ji was not a good person either.

He picked up the silver, bracelets, hairpins, and copper coins from the ground, "I’ll accept these. But Senior Brother She, both you and Chunhua owe me a life. When I say it’s time to repay, you must do so. Is that understood?"

She Dengke nodded frantically, "Understood! Understood!"

Turning around, Chen Ji went back to the main hall of the Medical Hall. Liu Quxing watched his retreating back, wanting to speak but feeling that nothing he could say would make a difference now.

Old Yao looked down at the kneeling She Dengke, "Blinded by a woman, go kneel inside the house. Don’t be an eyesore here. Although Chen Ji doesn’t hold a grudge, should this happen again, you’ll no longer have a place in this Medical Hall."

...

...

At night, the Taiping Medical Hall quieted down, as if nothing had occurred during the day.

Chen Ji stood behind the counter, resting his chin in his hand.

Wu Yun emerged from the shadows, softly jumping onto the counter to sit, and spat out a round pearl into Chen Ji’s palm.

It meowed once, "Don’t be sad, don’t be angry."

Chen Ji tucked the pearl into his sleeve, "I’m not sad, nor angry. Sadness and anger are useless emotions of the weak... Let’s talk about something cheerful, let’s do some accounting!"

"I’ve now lit sixteen stove fires, and I feel becoming a spy shouldn’t be a problem. Today, when I was restrained by the Royal Mansion Guards, I felt that I could have easily broken free from them. I just don’t know how many stove fires it would take to win against Si Cao, Lin Chaoqing, Yun Yang, Jiao Tu..."

"Can’t sell the pearls now, we’ll find another city to do it later. I previously bought six ginseng at Bailu Pavilion, one I returned to Old Yao, leaving five that cost a total of one hundred and ninety-five silver taels... Including the fifty taels under the bed, plus the compensation from Chunhua, we still have eighty-five silver taels left and one hundred and twenty-one copper coins."

Wu Yun was puzzled, "How many roast chickens can that buy?"

Chen Ji calculated for a long time but didn’t quite get it, "...In any case, a lot! When buying ginseng, that Si Cao didn’t give any discount at all. Do you think I should try to infiltrate the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department as Hai Dongqing in Luocheng City and become a shopkeeper at Bailu Pavilion? It’s perfect since I studied traditional medicine, my profession matches..."

If he could take charge of Bailu Pavilion, even if he didn’t embezzle anything, he could at least buy ginseng at wholesale price, right?!

At that moment, Wu Yun pricked up its ears; it heard soft yet disordered footsteps coming from outside, several people were approaching the Medical Hall.

"Chen Ji, someone’s coming, quite a few of them!"

"Huh," Chen Ji blew out the oil residue lamp and quietly moved behind the door, listening.

Who could it be?

Ning Dynasty Secret Spy Department or Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department? Or was it Princess Consort Jing, still relentless, sending assassins for him again?

Such was the predicament of having multiple identities; when assailants came, Chen Ji couldn’t even determine who was behind the attack.

However, before he could sort it out, a voice came from the back courtyard, "Hurry, be quieter!"

Chen Ji suddenly turned his head and looked through the corridor between the main hall and the back courtyard, only to see a tall figure climbing into the yard!

They were surrounded!

He gave Wu Yun a signal to hide in a dark place while he drew out a short knife used for cutting herbs from behind the counter and stealthily moved to attack.

Chen Ji’s palms began to sweat slightly, surrounded by more than a dozen people front and back; this large-scale ambush was definitely not something he could handle.

But before he could reach the back courtyard, he saw a little monk climbing over the wall that separated the Medical Hall from the Prince Mansion!

The little monk’s head was shiny under the moonlight as he huffed and puffed, clumsily scaling the courtyard wall, and the one who had already climbed over was none other than the Princely Heir of Prince Jing Mansion, resplendent in his attire during the day.

In shock, a voice came from Anxi Street outside the Medical Hall’s gate, "Everyone be calm, the Princely Heir will be out soon!"

Chen Ji looked back at the front entrance, then at the Princely Heir and little monk in the yard, and the climbing Commandery Princess Bai Li.

Chen Ji: Huh?

In the dead of night, he thought Princess Consort Jing had sent more than a dozen to assassinate him, only to find it was a misunderstanding.

Chen Ji slapped the little monk on the bald head, not in the best of moods, "Hey, what are you all doing?"

As soon as he spoke, the little monk and the Princely Heir were startled, and Commandery Princess Bai Li who was climbing the wall hastily retreated her head, only to sneak a peek again moments later, looking towards the Medical Hall’s back yard.

Under the moonlight, Chen Ji with a knife in hand, the slender girl clinging to the wall, the Princely Heir, and the little monk looking guilty as thieves, no one expected to meet like this.

Just like how every story begins, when people meet each other, it’s often unexpectedly.

Chen Ji raised an eyebrow and asked, "Princely Heir, isn’t it a bit inappropriate to climb over someone else’s wall in the middle of the night?"

The Princely Heir was puzzled, "You know me?"

Chen Ji sneered, "I know you. I even held you when you were little."

The Princely Heir: "..."

Perched on the wall, Zhu Baili laughed out loud, "Brother, he’s making fun of you."

"Keep it down," the Princely Heir whispered harshly, "Don’t call the guards over!"

The Princely Heir, smiling cheerfully, came over wanting to be chummy, but stepped back disappointed when he saw the short knife in Chen Ji’s hand, "Here’s the thing, little brother, you know who we are. The Royal Mansion enforces a curfew at night, forbidding free entry and exit, so we are just borrowing a path through your Medical Hall, don’t worry, we won’t damage anything!"

Royal Mansion curfew? Chen Ji hadn’t heard of it, but combining it with what the Princely Heir said during the day about the "old man being strict," perhaps the curfew was specifically aimed at the Princely Heir and the Commandery Princess.

So instead of using the main gate of the Prince Mansion, they chose to scale the wall of the Medical Hall.

As he pondered, the little monk scrutinized Chen Ji under the moonlight, his eyes suddenly lighting up, "So it’s you, you’re at this Medical Hall?"

The Princely Heir, curious, asked in a low voice, "You know each other?"

The little monk, with a smile, said, "Yeah, we met during the day, he’s a very impressive person. I was hoping to ask him some questions, but he disappeared into the crowd."