Chapter 140: Entrusted

"Stop."

Evening fell outside the small town. Chen Ji, carrying Bai Li, squatted down. His gaze, through the gaps in the bushes, silently scanned the area outside. Shizi and Zhang Xia squatted behind him, holding their breath, their nervous eyes unblinking.

After a moment, four infantry soldiers, hands resting on their waist knives, patrolled past dozens of steps away.

The small town was like a military camp. The outer perimeter was surrounded by wooden fences taller than a man, and infantry soldiers with knives and crossbows patrolled, creating an atmosphere of solemn killing. Raising private soldiers and carrying bows and crossbows were both capital offenses.

Watching the infantry soldiers go far, Shizi lowered his voice and asked, "Should we sneak in now?"

"Don't move!"

Chen Ji didn't immediately stand up. He waited for three more teams of infantry soldiers to pass before lowering his voice and saying, "They patrol twice in the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn. We must enter the small town in the gap between two patrols and find a hiding place."

Shizi lowered his voice and said, "But this small town is full of people. Where should we hide?"

"We'll hide inside the iron smelting workshop."

Chen Ji stared at the small town and said without turning his head, "The furnace inside the workshop is extremely hot. Even if the fire is extinguished, the temperature won't drop until midnight. It's scorching hot and hard to bear inside; the air is foul. No one will live in there."

He turned his head and looked. He saw that Shizi and Zhang Xia's lips were blue and frozen, and their bodies couldn't stop trembling. If they didn't change clothes in time, they would probably be in danger of hypothermia. Once hypothermia set in, eight or nine out of ten would not survive.

At this time, Bai Li, in her sleep, tightly hugged Chen Ji's neck with both arms. The instinct to drive away the cold made her subconsciously approach the warmth, leaning her head against Chen Ji's shoulder like a small child.

Shizi saw the situation and had the impulse to remind him, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

Chen Ji said lightly, "Bear with it a little longer. It will be fine when the sun sets."

Shizi hugged himself and shivered as he complained, "It's all my father's fault. He was supposed to attend a literary gathering properly, but he insisted on stopping to eat fish. Now look at us. We didn't get to eat fish, and instead, we've been chased and killed all the way."

Chen Ji casually explained, "The assassins wouldn't let you go just because you didn't eat fish. In fact, the matter of buying fish allowed us to gather by the riverbank, giving us the opportunity to jump into the river. Otherwise, if we had been surrounded in the ox cart, we wouldn't have been able to escape at all."

He carefully recalled the day's events: the officials on the black-awning boat were originally pretending to be fishermen in the middle of the river and hadn't planned where to act, and the assassins ambushed in the mountain forest had just dealt with the bandits of Longwangzhai and were not yet prepared for the ambush. It was precisely King Jing's temporary decision that prevented the assassins from being able to attack from both front and back, so they all rushed out at once.

Shizi said "Oh" and then muttered quietly, "Chen Ji, are all your skills taught by Imperial Physician Yao? Is it not too late for me to kowtow to the old gentleman as my master now?"

Chen Ji turned his head and looked at Shizi strangely. "You're doing well as Shizi. Why do you want to learn this?"

Shizi thought for a moment and said, "If I can survive this time, I won't be Shizi anymore. I'll also go and kowtow to Imperial Physician Yao as my master. When I've learned, we'll roam the Jianghu together and make a name for ourselves."

At this moment, the afterglow of the sun finally fell behind the hills. Chen Ji said urgently, "Go."

He saw him carrying Bai Li, his body light as a swallow. Watching the gap in the infantry soldiers' patrol, he ran to the outside of the wooden fence, lowering his body to make a ladder. "Step on my leg and climb up."

Shizi skillfully flipped over the fence and landed steadily on the ground.

When it was Zhang Xia's turn, he asked urgently, "How will you get across with Bai Li later? I'll be the ladder. You carry Bai Li and step on me to get across."

Chen Ji urged, "Don't worry about me, quickly, the patrolling infantry soldiers are coming again."

Zhang Xia gritted her teeth and stepped on Chen Ji's thigh to flip in. After she landed, she turned her head to look and suddenly saw Chen Ji squatting down and leaping with force.

The next moment, Chen Ji, still carrying Bai Li, actually leaped over the fence.

Zhang Xia was surprised. "How is your strength so great? Are you an official?"

Chen Ji explained casually as he walked, "Bai Li's body is relatively light."

Zhang Xia frowned. "Can you answer my question properly for once?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Left side."

Chen Ji stuck to the edge of the small town and, before the next team of patrolling infantry soldiers arrived, drilled into the back door of an iron smelting workshop. He carefully closed the door.

As if isolating the danger outside, the inside was an independent world. Inside the workshop, the coal ash in the high furnace hadn't completely extinguished, and the emitted heat continued to surge.

Shizi suddenly slumped onto the ground, a sense of happiness surging. "So warm. I really want to lie here and sleep until I die."

Chen Ji gently placed Bai Li on the ground and looked up at Shizi. "Stay a little farther away from the high furnace. Don't rush to warm up, you really will die."

Shizi quickly rolled and crawled away from the high furnace. When the human body is in a state of hypothermia, rewarming the body too quickly will lead to low blood pressure and shock, which is more dangerous than hypothermia.

This time, Chen Ji directly touched Bai Li's forehead with his hand. He then turned his head and instructed Zhang Xia, "Please find some clothes that can be changed inside this workshop. The workshop craftsmen have to deal with coal fires and molten iron every day, so they must have special work clothes prepared here. Later, help the County Princess change."

Zhang Xia hurriedly rushed into the front of the workshop to search and indeed found several sets of clothes that craftsmen wore when working. The clothes were very loose, and a girl wearing them looked like she was wearing a robe for singing opera, with the sleeves covering much of her hands.

"You two change clothes first. Shizi and I will wait elsewhere. Shout us when you're done changing!"

Chen Ji stood up to avoid them, but he discovered that Bai Li had somehow grabbed his sleeve tightly. Chen Ji was silent for a moment, then gently pried open Bai Li's hand and turned his head to Zhang Xia. "Thank you for your trouble."

He walked into the deeper part of the workshop, while Shizi took the opportunity to search every corner while changing clothes. Chen Ji saw some molds neatly stacked in the southwest corner. He picked one up and looked at it, suddenly startled. "This is... molds for casting copper coins? Look, the copper liquid is poured in through this hole, and after the mold is opened, it's copper coins. After trimming the burrs, they can be circulated in the market. Not only are they manufacturing iron tools here, they are also privately casting copper coins."

No wonder there were infantry, cavalry, and hounds by the river. Those people were originally the guarding troops of this small town. If those people hadn't been led away by Heilong, Chen Ji and the others really wouldn't have been able to enter.

Shizi took off his wet long robe and changed into dry craftsman's clothes. As he buttoned his clothes, he said nonchalantly, "My father said that privately casting copper coins is nothing new. The Xu family, the Liu family, the Hu family, the Chen family, the Yang family, and the Qi family are all doing it. The court has been in a huge deficit these years. It's all granted by them."

"The court doesn't care?" Chen Ji asked doubtfully.

Shizi sneered. "The court? The court, from top to bottom, is all their people. They are the real court. Even if they are caught, they just push out a few scapegoats, that's all. Look, my father wanted to arrange some cotton gloves for the border army, and he still has to look at your Chen family's face."

At this moment, Zhang Xia shouted in a low voice, "We've finished changing."

Chen Ji and Shizi returned to the side of the high furnace. Zhang Xia, wearing loose clothes, looked up at Chen Ji. "What's the plan next?"

Chen Ji folded a piece of clothing and placed it under Bai Li's head as a pillow. Then he looked at Bai Li and fell silent.

Just in this silence, Bai Li, with her eyes closed, said in a low voice, "Dad, someone wants to kill us."

Shizi hurriedly leaned over. "Bai Li, you're awake?"

But Bai Li didn't open her eyes, only mumbled, "Brother, where are you..."

Shizi quickly said, "I'm here. Open your eyes and look."

Bai Li still didn't open her eyes. Shizi lowered his head and secretly wiped the corner of his eye, then looked up at Chen Ji and said, "She's not awake, she's talking nonsense."

As soon as the words fell, he heard Bai Li lightly call out again, "Chen Ji..."

Shizi looked at Chen Ji. "Look at this child... she's really started talking nonsense!"

After a long time, Chen Ji opened his mouth and said, "I want to go out first."

Shizi had already sat on the ground, but when he heard these words, he was startled and stood up again. "This small town is full of their people outside. Do you still dare to go out at this time?"

Zhang Xia also sat up straight. "It's too dangerous."

Chen Ji looked at them. "The County Princess's illness cannot be delayed; she must take medicine. There should be a pharmacy in the small town. I'll go and steal some medicine back for the County Princess, and on the way, I'll find some food for the two of you."

Shizi opened his mouth but didn't say anything. Although he was very worried about Chen Ji, he couldn't let his own sister not be saved. "I'll go with you..."

"No!" Chen Ji shook his head. "Erosion is not dangerous. The soldiers in this small town don't have unified clothing, and they don't need dark signals when they meet. Even if I sneak in, no one will notice. Besides, acting alone is ultimately more convenient. You two warm up thoroughly here, dry your clothes, and take good care of the County Princess. I'll go and be back."

Saying that, he walked to the edge of the door wearing a soldier's clothes and stopped. Chen Ji lowered his head and thought for a moment, then turned back to Shizi and said, "If I'm not back by the zi hour, you two must escape with the County Princess. Remember to watch the patrol gap and escape towards the southwest. Escape as far as you can. If this small town suddenly becomes chaotic after a while, you two stay here and don't act rashly. Sneak away secretly during the yin hour. Before entering Lühunshan Village, you must carefully observe whether anyone is guarding outside. Only after confirming that no one is guarding there waiting for you can you go in."

"Wait." Shizi stopped him.

But Chen Ji didn't pay attention to him. He pushed the door open and walked into the night. "Don't follow. You'll only drag me down. I'll be fine."

Shizi stiffened in his original spot. Zhang Xia looked at the closed wooden door again, then looked at Shizi. "So, this is the reason you and the County Princess trust him?"

Shizi said "Mm."

Zhang Xia sighed. "No wonder my father wanted to mention him in front of me."

Shizi asked, "What did Governor Zhang say? Could it be that he praised him as if decorating with flowers and sprinkling blossoms? I feel that Chen Ji is indeed worthy."

Zhang Xia sighed. "My father isn't one to use such flowery rhetoric. He only said that Chen Ji is reliable and can be trusted."

The two fell silent. Shizi went to the front courtyard of the workshop to get some water and dipped his finger in to moisten Bai Li's lips.

Zhang Xia suddenly asked, "Why exactly did the Liu family want to ambush and kill you and the County Princess? If it was for the Prince's Mansion to seize the heir, they should have waited until Concubine Jing gave birth to a male infant to act. Now she only has Zhu Lingyun under her knee. What's the hurry?"

Shizi said solemnly, "Only the Liu family knows that!"