CHAPTER 432: 338. NEITHER WILL

In front of the Qi Mansion.

A pair of seven feet and two inches green stone lions stood at the bottom of the stone steps, their claws gripping carved embroidered balls.

According to the Ning Dynasty rules, a First-Grade Official could have a six-foot stone lion in front of his door, but the stone lions of the Qi Mansion exceeded this standard by one foot and two inches, rivaling those of a Prince.

In the night, Qi Zhenzhuo stood beside the stone lions, looking around. The servant beside him urged, "Second Young Master, you should go inside now; the Literary Meeting has already started."

Qi Zhenzhuo impatiently replied, "I have to wait for someone, understand? Personally welcoming them at the door shows respect. If I weren’t afraid of being too deliberate, I should be inside waiting, then shout when they arrive, and I’d come out barefoot to greet them."

The servant secretly sneered.

Qi Zhenzhuo glanced at him sideways, "Look at your sour face, showing no respect!"

The servant quickly said, "No, no, it’s just that the Eldest Young Master has already sent people to urge several times."

Qi Zhenzhuo leaned casually against the stone lion, "No worries, my brother won’t blame me for such a small thing."

Just as he finished speaking, he saw Chen Ji arriving from the south of Fuyou Street in a black collared robe, followed by Xiao Man in a green dress, holding a Little Black Cat.

Qi Zhenzhuo hurried to greet him, "Master, where have you been? You’re an hour late!"

Chen Ji smiled and explained, "This Literary Meeting was personally invited by Mr. Qi, so I had to be more formal. We trained all day and looked disheveled, so I went home to take a cold shower and changed into clean clothes."

Qi Zhenzhuo scoffed, "Master, you treat the Qi Mansion like your own home, no need to be so formal. But Master, your outfit suits you better than the Yulin Army’s silver armor. As my brother-in-law said, you look best in black, the bright silver armor of the Yulin Army doesn’t suit you."

At this time, his gaze turned to the Little Black Cat in Xiao Man’s arms, muttering, "So it really isn’t yours?"

Chen Ji calmly asked, "What?"

Qi Zhenzhuo explained, "Earlier I saw the Empress holding a Little Black Cat, and I thought it was the one you had in Guyuan."

Chen Ji smiled, "Didn’t I explain it before?"

"I misunderstood," Qi Zhenzhuo quickly led Chen Ji inside, "Let’s go in quickly, the Literary Meeting has started."

Chen Ji followed him over the knee-high threshold of the Qi family, casually asking, "Who came today?"

Qi Zhenzhuo replied, "Wuzhai from Yuanjue Temple is supposed to come, but a Novice Monk came to deliver a message, saying that an important person is visiting Yuanjue Temple, so he’ll come later. We also sent an invitation to Zhang Zhuo, Lord Zhang, but Lord Zhang just sent someone to say that something happened over in East Rongmi Lane. The officials and High-ranking officials have all been summoned into the palace to discuss the matter of the Korea Envoy. It’s said that Mr. Wang Dao hasn’t even reached his residence yet before being summoned by the Inner Court."

Chen Ji casually remarked, "Mr. Wang is in the capital? What happened over at East Rongmi Lane?"

Qi Zhenzhuo scratched his head, "I don’t know, I heard there was someone breaking the law by setting fire in the streets, and the Spy Department has now cordoned off that area, stopping several officials from searching for the culprit, but found nothing. Now the Five Cities Military Department has locked all the inner and outer city gates, not allowing anyone in or out; it’s possible the Spy Department will turn the Imperial Capital upside down again."

Chen Ji pretended to be surprised, "Is it that serious? Shouldn’t we in the Yulin Army return to the Governor Mansion to wait for orders?"

Qi Zhenzhuo snorted, "Big matters usually don’t involve the Yulin Army. Whenever they do call us, it isn’t that important."

Chen Ji: "..."

Qi Zhenzhuo sighed, "I wonder where that lawless person came from, daring to set fire in the inner city, do they have a death wish?"

Chen Ji glanced at Qi Zhenzhuo.

Qi Zhenzhuo continued, "By the way, I also wonder whether the court will send reinforcements to Korea. My brother-in-law has been thinking about this, wanting to take our Right Brave Guard to volunteer for the journey, to earn merits. He says each border town has its own border army, and the main battlefield at Chongli Pass already has the Imperial Three Camps; if he wants to earn merits, he can only look for such opportunities."

Chen Ji contemplated, "The court will send reinforcements there."

"Hmm?" Qi Zhenzhuo was taken aback, "Master is so sure?"

Chen Ji nodded, "Otherwise, the High-ranking officials wouldn’t have summoned Mr. Wang to the capital. They must have already decided on who will lead the troops... Let’s not talk about this now, let’s go inside."

"Alright," Qi Zhenzhuo looked back at Chen Ji, "It’s a pity Second Miss Zhang and Zhang Zheng didn’t come, or it would be livelier."

Xiao Man, following behind them, explained, "Second Sister said such Literary Meetings are beneath her dignity."

Qi Zhenzhuo felt a bit awkward, "Second Miss Zhang really does have the confidence to say such things. Her not coming is fine; it allows everyone more freedom... Oh, and today, more than ten famous scholars from the South came. The most famous among them is the top scorer from Henan Province, ’Lin Chaojing’, a younger brother of Lin Chaoqing of the Eunuch Party, which is unlucky to mention. Another is the scholarly champion of the Huqiu Poetry Society from the South, ’Shen Ye’, truly extraordinary. It’s said he will compete with your brother Chen Wenzong for the top spot this year. There’s also the son of a salt merchant from the South, ’Huang Que’ from the Jishan Academy. Although he’s talented, without a good background, he can’t pursue the Imperial Examination. He’s failed twice already, and now he’s come to seek favor with our Qi family..."

Chen Ji interrupted, "Salt merchant?"

Qi Zhenzhuo was puzzled, "Master is interested in salt merchants? His family is just a small salt merchant, incomparable to the Eight Great Merchants of Lianghuai."

Chen Ji chuckled, "It’s nothing, I was just asking."

Xiao Man rolled her eyes; she had followed Chen Ji for a while and thought more comprehensively than Qi Zhenzhuo. Since the Young Master specifically asked, he must have his eye on some business related to salt.