Chapter 102: Note

On a night in Baiyi Lane, people bustled along the bluestone street.

As it was the autumn imperial examination today, many Qingyin troupes had hung lanterns all over their doors. The lanterns were painted with green bamboo branches and leaves, embodying a slender, elegant style.

These lanterns held a special significance. Scholars and literati could pay fifty taels of silver for a lantern and 'bet on the questions' by writing on it. If someone guessed correctly what the 'current affairs' section of this year's autumn imperial examination would be about, they could come to the Qingyin troupe on the day the results were announced and be honored as the 'Jieyuan' (top scholar in the provincial exam) for a night.

Tonight, Baiyi Lane was as lively as the City God Temple fair during the Lantern Festival. The bluestone street was brilliantly lit.

At this moment, a carriage slowly stopped outside Baiyi Lane. Jinzhu, the driver, slipped into the carriage, removed the black cloth from Chen Ji's eyes, and said, "We're here."

Chen Ji stood up to get out, but Jinzhu pressed his shoulders, making him sit back down.

Jinzhu's expression was grim. "Before you go see Liu Mingxian, you have to tell me why we're here to see him, right? After Jiaotu and Yunyang exhumed Old Master Liu's coffin, civil officials in the court and throughout the land were enraged. Now, if we don't have solid evidence, we absolutely cannot touch anyone from the Liu family again."

Chen Ji stood up again and said with a smile, "Lord Jinzhu, if you employ someone, don't doubt them; if you doubt them, don't employ them. Since you've sought me out, don't be so hesitant."

With that, he picked up the straw hat from the carriage, put it on his head, jumped out, and immediately blended into the crowd.

Jinzhu chuckled, "It's not that I don't care; it's that the Grand Secretary doesn't care whether I care or not. That's his cleverness. Even if I come to resent him, I still have to do as he says." This mix of hate and reverence had become a grey emotion he himself couldn't distinguish.

Jinzhu pulled down the brim of his straw hat and muttered to himself, "I'll trust you this once." He then stopped under the eaves a few dozen meters outside Yingxian Tower, leaned against the wall like a chauffeur for some high official, bowing his head and closing his eyes to rest, ignoring the bustling crowds.

At this moment, he suddenly heard familiar voices. He turned to look and saw that it was the Young Lord, Bai Li, and others, chatting and laughing all the way.

Chen Ji was startled. He heard the Young Lord say with a smile to the person beside him, "This Yingxian Tower in Luocheng has a history of over forty years and is one of the top old establishments. When the late emperor made his southern tour back then, he specifically asked to eat their 'Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea' dish. Young Master Li, coming from Jiangnan, you must try it."

Beside the Young Lord was a refined young man with red lips and white teeth, a precious sword hanging from his waist, and his hair elegantly tied with a piece of warm, green jade. He was truly dashing and debonair. Beside Young Master Li were two jianghu practitioners, each cradling two wine jars sealed with red cloth.

Behind them were Bai Li, Liu Quxing, the young monk, and others, whispering among themselves. They had all changed into clean, presentable clothes and were chatting and laughing.

Amidst the bustling crowd and the lamplight, the laughing and chattering group did not notice Chen Ji, who was standing under the eaves with his head down.

Just then, Liu Mingxian emerged from Yingxian Tower. He was dressed in a black, stand-collar greatcoat, with an exquisitely silver-embroidered peacock on the back. His figure was tall and well-proportioned, making him stand out like a crane among the plump, well-fed officials surrounding him.

He casually cupped his hands to everyone. "You all go back and continue drinking. I still have official business to attend to, so I won't stay long."

"Safe travels, Your Excellency!" the officials responded.

Liu family servants drove the carriage to the entrance of Yingxian Tower and brought out a footstool for him.

Just as the driver was about to help Liu Mingxian into the carriage, Chen Ji quickly walked past with his head down and deliberately bumped into Liu Mingxian.

"Sorry," Chen Ji said, and immediately walked away.

The driver started to give chase, but Liu Mingxian said, "Don't bother with him. To the prefectural yamen."

"Y-yes, Young Master."

With that, he quietly entered the carriage and sat down. As the carriage slowly began to move, he unfolded a piece of paper he had held in his palm. Liu Mingxian opened the note and, using the lamplight from outside the window, clearly read the characters: "One must drink freely upon solving a case, chess invites to Qiya Mountain."

His pupils suddenly constricted. This poem seemed ambiguous, but if he took the first character of each half-line, it spelled out: "Dawn, Under Bridge" using the fanqie method (a traditional Chinese method of indicating pronunciation). This was clearly a method of information transfer used by the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Bureau. The other party had risked coming to Baiyi Lane to pass him this note, asking to meet him under a bridge at dawn.

Luocheng had three bridges in total: Yingzhou Bridge, Peony Bridge, and Xiyuan Bridge. Yingzhou Bridge and Xiyuan Bridge were too far. It had to be Peony Bridge.

Liu Mingxian slowly closed his eyes. The Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Bureau had dared to contact him directly, bypassing intermediaries. How bold!

Should he go or not? A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes, leaned forward, lifted the curtain, and quietly instructed the driver, "We're not going to the prefectural yamen tonight. Go to the residence beside Peony Bridge. Send someone back to the Liu family mansion to invite those three guests from Yanshi to come into the city."

Meanwhile, Jinzhu chuckled wryly. "You're still risking everything to clear their names, but they've already made new friends, Chen Ji, oh Chen Ji. There are no irreplaceable friends in this world. You only need to be away for a few months, and your friends will naturally forget you. They'll have new friends, and new fine wines." He'd seen Chen Ji's directness and his expression changed, having never expected him to be so reckless.

"Lord Jinzhu, you don't seem to believe in friendship?" Chen Ji asked.

Jinzhu thought for a moment and said, "Setting aside my zodiac identity, I'm actually a merchant by trade. All the business of the Secret Intelligence Department, from north to south, falls under my purview. Every day, there are endless conversations, endless drinks, and endless friends to make. As long as you drink enough, everyone's a friend. However, if I were truly in trouble, only one person would save me."

"Tianma?" Chen Ji guessed.

Jinzhu smiled, "Tianma and I aren't exactly close friends. He's one of the top three Zodiacs now, the Grand Secretary's right-hand man. It would be enough for him to save me just once if I were in peril."

Chen Ji lowered his head as the Young Lord and his group passed by. Chen Ji then said, "Lord Jinzhu, I will assist you in finding evidence against the Liu family. May I leave now?"

He heard Liu Quxing complain to Bai Li as they walked past, "That Chen Ji must have run off because he didn't want to pay. Otherwise, what official business could a medical apprentice who doesn't even need to go home have?" She Dengke chimed in, "Before we left, he said he wouldn't even bat an eye about treating us. But he still ran off." Bai Li also huffed, "Exactly! We need to properly question him when he gets back, that greedy miser! He even charged us so much for passing fees before, and now he won't even treat us to a meal."

Liu Quxing chuckled happily, "Young Master Li is truly generous! He brought several jars of excellent Shaoxing Huadiao wine all the way from Luoyang. I'd only ever heard of this wine, never tasted it before!"

Chen Ji looked up, standing against the wall in the shadow of the eaves, watching the figures in the lamplight disappear into the distance.

"Who is that Young Master Li?" Chen Ji asked.

Jinzhu lowered his voice. "He is Li Chezhou, the Young Master of the Qingyi Sect. He runs pleasure houses, gambling dens, and human trafficking businesses in Jinling. Old Master Li was injured years ago and passed on the family's official channels to him early on. It's said that this Young Master Li entered the Xiantian realm before the new year, which shows considerable talent."