Chapter 100: Wake Up

On the main road to Luocheng.

An old yellow ox slowly pulled a cart, step by step, into the twilight. Time seemed to slow with its pace, allowing the orange-red sunset glow to warmly engulf everyone like a tide.

The main road was bustling with traffic; some were driving ox-carts towards Luocheng, while others carried unsold fruit, returning to the suburbs.

Bai Li sat on the ox-cart and waved to an old man carrying shoulder pole baskets. "Elder, why haven't you sold all your oranges? You still have so many left in your baskets!"

The old man, with his shoulder pole, came closer to the ox-cart. "Pretty customer, no one wants to buy these oranges; they were damaged by the heavy snow a few days ago."

Bai Li asked curiously, "How much are your oranges?"

The old man quickly replied, "Two *wen* per *jin*."

Bai Li smiled, pulled out a piece of broken silver from her hair, and handed it over. "Here, give all your oranges to us. It will save you the trouble of carrying them back."

The old man was startled. "Oh no, you shouldn't! Frozen oranges don't last long; you don't need to buy so many."

Bai Li was in a very good mood. "It's fine. Brother Mao'er, please get off and use your clothes to carry some oranges. We'll share them."

Liang Mao'er chuckled good-naturedly, "Alright!"

Bai Li held onto the edge of the cart, leaned over, took an orange from the old man's baskets, and peeled it.

After breaking off a segment and putting it in her mouth, she silently handed the orange to the Young Lord.

The Young Lord happily popped a segment into his mouth, then smilingly handed the rest of the orange to Chen Ji.

It was passed along peacefully like this until it finally reached Liang Gou'er.

Liang Gou'er stuffed a good portion of the orange into his mouth in one go. "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! I knew you guys were being too kind peeling an orange for me. It's so sour it's going to rot my teeth!"

Everyone became solemn, returning to their serious, unsmiling expressions.

Only then did the faces of those who had previously eaten the orange contort, and they all burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! No wonder the old man couldn't sell a single orange!"

Their laughter carried far into the sunset.

Pranking friends was always such a joyful time.

Amidst the bustling crowd, as the boisterous cart passed in front of the Imperial Examination Hall again, the Young Lord instinctively puffed out his chest, raised his head, and let out a sigh of satisfaction.

However, the first round of the Autumn Imperial Examinations wouldn't conclude for another three days, so there was no audience today.

The Young Lord let out a sigh. "I truly wish those scholarly young lords knew what great deeds we've accomplished. Entering the city so quietly now, it feels like parading in brocade clothes at night—what a pity!"

Bai Li sat on the cart, hugging her knees, and laughed, "Brother, when will you curb your flamboyant nature? If you become Prince Jing and still act like this, people will surely mock you."

The Young Lord waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine. Our father can stay on the throne for at least a few more decades. By then, I'll definitely be mature and steady."

Bai Li countered, "But Father, at your age, had already helped His Majesty suppress the imperial relatives."

The Young Lord froze, then suddenly felt disheartened. "What's the use of helping His Majesty suppress the imperial relatives? Isn't His Majesty still allowing us to be suppressed by the Eunuch Faction? The Eunuch Faction is truly hateful."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "Has the Eunuch Faction been suppressing Prince Jing's Household all these years?"

The Young Lord scoffed, "For years, the Chief Justice's Bureau has been watching my father's old subordinates; over twenty have been arrested and thrown into the inner prison. The Secret Service has also repeatedly planted spies in the Prince's residence to monitor our daily lives. You saw Grand Eunuch Feng, didn't you? He's also one of the Grand Minister's people, assigned to stay by my father's side constantly."

Even Bai Li complained, "The Eunuch Faction is arrogant and tyrannical; they are truly despicable."

Chen Ji remained silent. Although not by choice, he was indeed a member of the Eunuch Faction now.

Caught between Prince Jing's Household and the Eunuch Faction, he didn't know how to navigate the situation to his advantage.

Just then, his gaze fell upon a stout figure standing on the street, smilingly observing him.

That figure, like a resonant bell, woke him from a beautiful dream.

Just as the rising sun always sets, even the most beautiful dream eventually ends.

When Chen Ji hid in Liu Family Village, he knew he couldn't hide for long; what was meant to come would always arrive.

Jin Zhu!

Jin Zhu, in the bustling crowd, smiled and beckoned to him, signaling him to follow. Then, without a word, he turned and merged into the crowd.

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment, then turned to Bai Li and said, "Princess, you all go back first. I just remembered I have some matters to attend to."

With that, he jumped off the cart and followed Jin Zhu's retreating figure.

Liu Quxing, sitting on the cart, shouted after Chen Ji's retreating back, "Hey, is this an excuse not to treat us? We're still going to Yingxian Tower later; come back soon!"

But Chen Ji did not reply.

His expression was calm as he watched Jin Zhu's figure, vaguely visible ahead in the crowd.

Jin Zhu's steps never faltered; he led Chen Ji through countless street corners until the pedestrians thinned out. Only then did he stop and turn around in a dead-end alley.

Chen Ji stopped. "My Lord, why have you led me to this dead-end alley?"

Jin Zhu looked at him with a smile, saying nothing. The next moment, a carriage suddenly stopped at the alley's entrance behind Chen Ji, blocking it completely.

The wind howled. Before Chen Ji could react, someone delivered a chop to his neck, knocking him unconscious.

Chen Ji had a dream.

He dreamt that under the splendid evening glow, he was still sitting on that old ox-cart, his friends beside him.

Everyone was eating sweet oranges, and the orange-red breeze gently ruffled their hair as Bai Li softly sang a melody, smiling.

But as the sky gradually darkened, two people jumped off the back of the cart.

They stood, turned, bowed, and smilingly said to Chen Ji on the cart, "We'll meet again someday."

The cart didn't stop, and Chen Ji could only watch his friends disappear into the darkness behind him.

When those two were out of sight, three more jumped off the cart, bowed, and smilingly said, "We'll meet again someday."

His friends, one by one, jumped off the cart to bid farewell, like a play ending and the audience dispersing.

Chen Ji wanted to remember their faces, but their features were shrouded in darkness, always unclear.

He asked, "Where are they going?"

No one answered.

Chen Ji looked around in surprise, only to find himself all alone on the swaying ox-cart.

At that moment, a basin of cold water poured down from above, waking him from this long dream.

Chen Ji slowly opened his eyes and looked up. His hands were bound and suspended from the inner prison ceiling, the cold iron chains biting painfully into his wrists.

Looking down again, he saw that he was drenched from head to toe, with water still dripping from his messy hair and chin.

His cold clothes clung to his body, the chill piercing to the bone.

The inner prison!

This was the Secret Service's inner prison.

In the dim inner prison chamber, the flames in the Bagua array lamps on the walls flickered, but offered no warmth.

Jin Zhu put down the bucket, sat down at the dark red octagonal table in front of him, and gently picked up a tender piece of fish cheek with his chopsticks. "Awake now?"

Chen Ji murmured, "Yes, I'm awake."

Jin Zhu closed his eyes as he ate the tender meat, savoring it, and exclaimed, "Deliciously tender."

He opened his eyes, then smilingly picked up another piece of meat from the fish's belly, stood on a chair, and held it to Chen Ji's mouth. "Eat it, swallow it all."

The fish bones from the belly had not been removed. Chen Ji chewed them up along with the meat and swallowed, his throat stinging from the crushed bones.

Jin Zhu gave a thumbs-up and praised, "You ate it without a sound. Tough."

He sat back at the octagonal table and asked curiously, "Young Doctor Chen, were you trying to hide from me?"

"Yes!"

Jin Zhu took apart the fish head with his chopsticks, then picked out another tender piece and put it into his mouth. "Why didn't you hide this time? If you hid in Prince Jing's Household, I wouldn't dare do anything to you."

Chen Ji replied calmly, "My Lord Jin Zhu has an iron fist. If you couldn't find me, I imagine you would take it out on others at the clinic."

"Smart!" Jin Zhu said, puzzled. "But since you're so smart, why can't you see that I genuinely want to promote you? If you also became one of the Twelve Zodiacs, you and I, as Tianma, could look out for each other in the Secret Service. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Chen Ji replied, "That night, I was investigating the martial artists, and we found that the person who silenced them was from the Directorate of Ceremonial's inner court. I felt the matter was too dangerous and didn't want to get involved anymore."

Jin Zhu sighed, "Indeed, now that you've aligned yourself with Prince Jing, you can certainly extract yourself from trouble. But is my Secret Service a place you can just enter and leave as you please?"

Saying this, he removed all the fish meat from the plate, then stood up and held the entire fish skeleton to Chen Ji's mouth. "Eat it. It'll strengthen your tough bones. Speak after you've finished."

Chen Ji didn't hesitate, opening his mouth to chew the fish bones into pieces and swallowing them roughly.

Jin Zhu stood on the chair, hands behind his back, meeting Chen Ji's gaze. "Although those martial artists had their faces peeled off, I still managed to find out that they had been drinking and associating with Prince Jing's Young Lord, and the silver on them was also given by the Young Lord. Are you unwilling to investigate further because you don't want the Young Lord to be implicated in this rebellion case?"

At this point, Jin Zhu's voice turned harsh. "What are you trying to conceal for the Young Lord?"

Chen Ji looked directly into Jin Zhu's eyes. "The Young Lord cannot possibly be involved in this matter. If he truly were, he wouldn't have left so many clues. How could someone audacious enough to conspire with the Jing Dynasty leave such obvious traces for you to find, showing his association with these martial artists? My Lord Jin Zhu is also a clever man; you must understand this logic."

Jin Zhu's expression softened slightly.

He jumped off the chair, slowly sat back at the octagonal table, picked up a cup of wine, and drained it. "Chen Ji, don't blame me for hanging you here. Once you enter the Secret Service, there's no turning back. Hide? You can't escape. If I couldn't escape, how could you?"

Chen Ji quietly asked, "My Lord Jin Zhu also thought of hiding?"

Jin Zhu looked at the flickering flames on the wall, a reminiscent expression on his face. "I was originally the son of a merchant in Gongyi County, Luocheng. Years ago, my father started his business by selling candy door-to-door. He was a remarkable man; if others woke at the fifth watch to sell candy, he would rise at the third watch and go out with his shoulder pole. Because of his diligence, our family lived quite comfortably."

Chen Ji listened quietly.

Jin Zhu continued, "My mother was gentle and kind, and I had an elder sister who doted on me. I remember every New Year, my sister would begrudge buying new clothes for herself but would insist on getting two sets for me. If Father brought back fish from the river, they would always save the fish head and the most tender meat from the belly for me. Without any mishaps, I should have lived a very happy life."

"Unfortunately, when I was eight, my father discovered a method for making sugar frosting. This method could transform brown sugar into pure white sugar frosting within seven days. Once it appeared on the market, the frosting was highly favored by officials and nobles. I remember one year, on the Mid-Autumn Festival night, my father laughed under the kerosene lamp and told me that our family was finally going to prosper. He said he would prepare a substantial dowry for my sister to find a good husband, ensuring she would never be looked down upon in her in-laws' home.

"He also wanted to donate money to buy me an official position, so I would no longer be a low-status merchant.

"He didn't know where he heard it, but he believed that in our Ning Dynasty, donating a hundred *shi* of rice could get one into the Imperial Academy as a student, and two hundred fifty *shi* of rice could buy a ninth-rank titular official position, which, though without real power, was still respectable."

Jin Zhu poured himself another cup of wine and gulped it down. "But what was the result? That night, officials from the Luocheng Prefecture suddenly broke into our house and, under the pretext of requisitioning labor, dragged my entire family to the Liu family's coal mine. In that dark coal mine, my father and mother were worked to death. Before they died, I cried until my voice was hoarse, but I couldn't call them back."

"To keep me alive, my elder sister went and prostituted herself to the coal mine overseers for food. Every day, she saved her rations for me, but she contracted a terrible illness from the overseers. What could I do? I could only watch her waste away day by day, as if her bones were being pulled out one by one. Before she died, my sister opened her eyes and said she wanted to see me one last time. I wanted to hold her, but she told me to go away, not to touch her."

"At that time, I thought I was also going to die. Suddenly, someone brought me before a lame high-ranking official."

"That official asked me if I wanted to avenge my family. I said yes."

Chen Ji, suspended from the ceiling, looked down and asked, "The Grand Minister?"

Jin Zhu held the wine cup, lost in thought. "That official looked so imposing. His black boots were clean, and his official robe was red like blood. Everyone stood respectfully behind him. I thought, such a high-ranking official must be able to help me get revenge. I begged him, 'Please, help me avenge my family.'"

Chen Ji asked, "What did the Grand Minister say?"

Jin Zhu smiled. "He said he would avenge me, but I had to surrender my life to him."

"At the time, I thought it was wonderful that my wretched life could be exchanged for my family's revenge."

As he spoke, he looked up at Chen Ji. "Over the years, I tracked down and killed each of those officials, and I found the coal mine overseers, flaying and dismembering them and their families one by one. For those who had already died, I dug them up and ground their bones to dust."

"But I still hate."

Jin Zhu gnashed his teeth, enunciating each word. "I hate because the Liu family, who stole my family's sugar frosting business, is still living well. The moment the Grand Minister chose me to come to Luocheng, I knew my chance for revenge had come. The Grand Minister wants the Liu family utterly destroyed."

Chen Ji looked down, seeing the veins bulging on the forehead of this perpetually smiling Zodiac figure.

Jin Zhu stared directly at Chen Ji, a savage look on his face. "Chen Ji, I've told you all this because I want you to help me. I don't trust the Secret Service agents in Luocheng now, nor do I trust the Jie Fan Guard. I need someone smart like you. As long as you help me, I will stake my life on promoting you to seize a Zodiac position, helping you rise swiftly and have a brilliant future."

"I've waited too long for this day. Whoever wrongs me, I will kill! Whoever doesn't help me, I will kill them too."