Green Mountain

Chen Ji slipped into Shangjing City through Yanxing Gate, walking with his head lowered under the eaves.

This was his first time entering a Jing Dynasty city. From the corner of his eye he glanced at the watchtowers and Wu Hou that Zhang Xia had mentioned: on top of the watchtowers stood sentries ready at any time to draw their bows, while beneath them were Wu Hou’s Shops monitoring the streets.

The lines of sight between these watchtowers intertwined, even denser than those in Baidadan City. Once any sign of the enemy was discovered, they would immediately beat the drums and hang lanterns as signals, sealing off the entire city.

Chen Ji drew in a deep breath and walked down the street with a calm expression, casually taking out the item Old Ears had just stuffed into his hand—a travel permit.

The permit was made of hemp paper. The holder’s name was Bai Wu, from Huanglong Prefecture, seventeen years old, a subordinate of the Bai Family, residing in Shangjing Road Linghuang Prefecture, with no companions, no goods, no pack animals.

His parents were both alive at home, and he had a younger brother and a younger sister.

According to the stated reason for entering the Imperial Capital on the permit, it said the Bai Family had transferred this youth named Bai Wu from their fief to the capital to render service, and the permit had been issued more than half a month ago.

Chen Ji lowered his head in thought. Since the Bai Family had a fief and private troops, they were certainly nobles of the Jing Dynasty; yet previously he had only heard of the three great surnames of Jing—Jiang, Yuan, and Lu—and had never heard of the Bai Family.

Where in the Imperial Capital did this Bai Family live? And where did Princess Liyang reside?

As he was pondering, squads of Imperial Guard came rushing past, then dashed away again, their armor clattering loudly as they ran, frightening pedestrians into hastily making way.

It wasn’t only the Imperial Guard infantry; a Right Guard Forbidden Army detachment of over a hundred horsemen also galloped by. The incident of Old Ears seizing an Imperial Guard Vice General at the city gate had alarmed the entire city, even rousing the Left and Right Guards, the foremost of the Twelve Imperial Armies.

Chen Ji avoided the main avenue and headed north, growing ever farther from the sound of hooves and clashing armor.

He lifted his eyes to look around. The one hundred and eight watchtowers of Shangjing City left almost no blind spots; wherever he went, it seemed there were always four towers that could simultaneously observe his movements.

Wu Yun poked its head out from his arms, curiously taking in Shangjing City.

The Jing Dynasty Shangjing City’s layout was completely different from that of the Ning Dynasty Capital City. Every road ran in straight horizontal and vertical lines, and every ward was like a square block set upon a chessboard, without the slightest curve or arc.

White walls and black tiles, like a rigid middle-aged General.

Wu Yun meowed and asked, "Where are we going now?"

Chen Ji replied, "We must find the Li Yang Princess Mansion as quickly as possible."

He walked north for ten minutes. On the road, Chen Ji encountered an aunt carrying a wooden basin in her arms. Smiling, he stepped forward, pretending to be at ease, and said, "Excuse me, may I ask where the Li Yang Princess Mansion is?"

But the aunt’s expression suddenly turned wary. "You don’t even know where the Li Yang Princess Mansion is—where are you from?"

Chen Ji hurriedly explained, "I am from Linhuang Prefecture and only just arrived in the capital today..."

This explanation only made the aunt more cautious. "People from Linhuang Prefecture coming to the capital should be going to Yongxing Square. What are you looking for that demoness Liyang for?"

Chen Ji frowned slightly. Princess Liyang, honored as a Princess, why would a common aunt on the street call her a demoness?

He kept darting glances toward the watchtowers from the corner of his eye, while his mouth continued explaining, "Auntie, I’m going to the Li Yang Princess Mansion because I have a distant relative working there, and I’m going to look him up and catch up on old times."

The aunt remained guarded. "Catching up on old times? Why would someone from Linhuang Prefecture be working at the Li Yang Princess Mansion?"

Chen Ji fell silent.

Before he could speak, the aunt seemed to have misunderstood and snorted with derision. "Good-for-nothing. Instead of going to the army to serve and open new frontiers, you only know how to cling to a demoness."

Chen Ji asked again, "Please, could you at least point me in the right direction? I need to go to the Li Yang Princess Mansion."

The aunt sized him up for a moment, then tossed out, "I don’t know, don’t ask me," and hurried away as though avoiding a plague.

Chen Ji let out a slight breath of relief. He didn’t know what was going on in Shangjing City, that even a common aunt on the street was so alert he had almost exposed his identity.

Still, although he hadn’t managed to find out where the Li Yang Princess Mansion was, he also hadn’t alarmed the Wu Hou on the watchtowers.

Wu Yun, still in Chen Ji’s arms, asked, "Why does that aunt hate Princess Liyang? Didn’t Xiao Man say Princess Liyang was actually pretty decent?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment. "If a person is too ambitious and stands too high, people will inevitably pin malicious stigmas and conspiracies on them."

Wu Yun grew even more curious. "Why? Shouldn’t people admire them?"

Chen Ji stroked Wu Yun’s head. "Because most people don’t have the ability to stand in that position. So they feel that whoever is up there must either have had outrageously good luck, or used dirty means. Only by saying that can they feel at ease, proving that the reason they’re not in that position is simply because their luck is bad, or because they disdained using dirty methods—so they’re the good people."

He continued walking toward the northern part of Shangjing City. The Jing Dynasty Imperial Palace was in the north of Shangjing City, and with Princess Liyang’s temperament, she would likely be living near the Imperial Palace.

Where there is power, there is Princess Liyang.

As Chen Ji walked, he searched along the plaques of one residence after another for the characters "Liyang", but Shangjing City was so vast that even by noon he still had not found the Li Yang Princess Mansion.

The farther north he went, the closer he drew to the Imperial City; carriages and sedan chairs grew more numerous, and so did the Imperial Guard and Marquis patrols on the streets.

Several times Chen Ji brushed past patrolling marquises. Every single one of them would let his gaze rest on him for a moment, scrutinize him, then move on, making Chen Jixin’s heart pound with fright.

After walking for an hour more, Chen Ji could already see from afar the Vermilion Bird Gate of the Jing Dynasty Imperial Palace. In front of the Vermilion Bird Gate stood more than a hundred armored Imperial Guards gripping big halberds, and on the gate tower several hundred more Imperial Guards were pacing back and forth.

He avoided the Imperial City and walked west. He was walking with his head down when a man blocked his path. He looked up to see a marquis glaring like a tiger.

The marquis wore a red headband tied across his forehead, a scarlet round-collared narrow-sleeved robe slit at the sides, and on his chest was embroidered a xiezhi—the distinctive emblem of the Imperial Guard.

Chen Jixin’s mind tightened; without giving anything away in his expression, he performed the Jing Dynasty cross-hand salute, left hand enclosing right, left thumb pressing on the tiger’s mouth of the right hand: "My lord, what orders do you have?"

The marquis sized Chen Ji up and down. "What are you idling about here for?"

Chen Ji took out the travel pass from his sleeve and handed it over. "I have entered the Imperial Capital to seek my family’s lord."

As he spoke, the muscles on his body gradually tensed. With the corner of his eye he kept watch on the nearby Wu Hou’s Shop, where nine more marquises were, with seeming nonchalance, casting glances this way.

The marquis swept his eyes over the travel pass, then looked back to Chen Ji. "Bai Family’s Army?"

Chen Ji replied, "Indeed. I was just heading to Yongxing Square."

The marquis’s face did not change. "Yongxing Square is to the east. What are you doing coming west?"

Chen Ji hastily answered, "I am newly arrived in Shangjing and lost my way."

The marquis waved his hand. "Be off with you. This is not a place you should come to."

Chen Ji saluted again, then turned and walked toward the eastern side. The Bai Family must hold some standing in Shangjing City, otherwise the marquis would not have let him go so readily.

Wu Yun reminded him from inside his collar, "That man is still following you. I can smell him."

Chen Ji gave a soft acknowledgment.

The marquis behind him tailed him quietly. As they passed the Wu Hou’s Shop, he summoned two more marquises. The three of them split into three lines, hemming Chen Ji in between, their eyes sharp.

Chen Ji acted as if unaware, calmly asking directions all the way, until at last he asked his way to Yongxing Square.

Yongxing Square lay under the city wall on the eastern side of the Imperial City. There were more than ten grand residences here: the Mighty General Mansion, the Changping County Marquis Mansion, the Marquis Jingyuan Mansion—all dazzling noble households.

Chen Ji did not know which residence he ought to enter. If he knocked on the wrong door, he feared he would be beheaded on the spot.

Just then, he suddenly saw in the distance an even larger residence, with a plaque bearing the words "Duke Huang Mansion"... Of course. Once people heard he was from Linhuang Prefecture, upon entering the Imperial Capital they should first come to Yongxing Square, precisely because Duke Huang Mansion was here, and Linhuang Prefecture was Duke Huang’s fief.

Chen Ji looked at that plaque, listening to the sound of the marquis’s footsteps behind him slowly drawing closer. He did not know whether his guess was right, nor whether, once he impersonated Bai Wu and went in, he would be recognized at once. But he could only grit his teeth, walk up the stone steps, and lift the beast-head ring on the vermilion-lacquered gate to knock.

The gate slowly opened. The gatekeeper eyed him coldly. "Who are you looking for?"

Chen Ji crossed his hands and said, "This humble one is Bai Wu, come by order."

The gatekeeper suddenly understood. "So it’s you. Why have you only arrived in Shangjing today?"

Chen Ji’s expression relaxed a little as he explained, "Heavy snow blocked the roads and delayed my journey."

Before he finished speaking, footsteps sounded from inside the gate. The gatekeeper hurriedly beckoned Chen Ji to help push the gate open, then pulled him to stand off to the side.

Inside the residence, a middle-aged man with the air of a steward was guiding three men and one woman, his manner quite courteous. "Lord Lu, as you have seen, His Grace the Duke is unwell today and not fit to sit long. Once he is feeling better, he will invite you to meet him again."

The leading middle-aged man said gently, "It is of no concern. The duke’s health is what matters."

Standing outside the gate, Chen Ji lowered his head and hands, but his peripheral vision caught the departing guests, and his pupils abruptly contracted. For the woman following behind that middle-aged man was none other than Jiang Liuxian—the very one who, outside Chongli Pass, had hunted him down into the Zhengou River.

And that middle-aged man in front of Jiang Liuxian... was his uncle, Lu Jin.

...

There will be another Chapter tonight, everyone can read it tomorrow morning.