Chapter 265: Change and Unchange

“Chen Ji, my Ning Dynasty rises from the Bohai Sea in the east, falls to Qinghai in the west, stretches north to Chongli Pass, and south to East Fan Ryukyu Island. From east to west, from north to south, a single letter takes several months to travel. If commoners in the south rebel, the capital will only know several months later. Guyuan was surrounded on New Year's Day, perhaps the ministers will only know when the capital's spring flowers bloom.”

Hu San Ye sat beside the desk and took a sip of tea. “All emperors in this world understand very clearly that no matter how exhausted they are, they cannot manage all the affairs of the realm. So, they truly only care about one thing: who is coveting their power. If the Hu family were to produce two Grand Officials of the God Dao Realm in one go, perhaps even the one in Ren Shou Palace wouldn't be able to sleep soundly.”

Chen Ji was silent for a moment. “Does Hu Jun Xian have the assurance to reach the God Dao Realm?”

Hu San Ye laughed heartily. “The God Dao Realm is like a natural chasm. Unless you're an extraordinary genius like Lu Yang from the Jing Dynasty's Martial Temple, who can confidently say they will certainly cross that threshold in this lifetime? Even that young supervisor in my Hu family never boasts. Xu Shu simply says it's impossible for him in this lifetime. But are these things important to the one in Ren Shou Palace?”

Chen Ji asked softly, “Isn't he afraid that if the Jing Dynasty suddenly gains two more Grand Officials of the God Dao Realm, they will swallow the Ning Dynasty instead?”

Hu San Ye said seriously, “There are a total of four Grand Officials of the God Dao Realm in the two dynasties. The Jing Dynasty has two, and the Ning Dynasty has two. Adding one more is not allowed. This is the tacit understanding between the emperors.”

Chen Ji looked up and was surprised to find that Hu San Ye's only blinded white eye seemed to be gazing deeply at him.

That eye was clearly damaged, yet it seemed capable of seeing into the depths of one's heart.

Chen Ji changed the subject. “San Ye, before Hu Jun Xian came to Guyuan as the deputy commander, this official position should have been yours, right?”

Hu San Ye smiled. “It was mine.”

Chen Ji asked, “Why did you resign from your official position?”

Hu San Ye said casually, “I wanted to leave Guyuan to do some things. I couldn't leave without resigning.”

Chen Ji probed, “Is it because there are people you want to kill, so you want to resume your official career?”

Hu San Ye picked up the teapot to pour himself another cup and said carelessly, “Why fight and kill? Perhaps I just wanted to see what the world outside Guyuan had become. When I first came to Guyuan, my mother didn't agree, saying it was too far from home. I stole a fast horse, brought five hundred taels of silver, and rushed all the way to Guyuan to join the army. I stayed for twelve years straight.”

“Before coming to Guyuan, I thought I could bravely kill the enemy with my colleagues every day. But after arriving, I discovered that Guyuan doesn't have war every year. Maybe once every two or three years, maybe once every five or six years. And during this time, it's a long and silent loneliness. You stand on top of the wall and gaze into the distance, only seeing yellow earth, mountains, sand, and gravel. It suppresses you until you go mad.”

“No one cares about this place. Literati don't care, ministers don't care. Military pay and supplies are already peeled away layer by layer before they arrive here. They don't seem to worry about Guyuan falling at all. Anyway, it won't affect the prosperity of the capital. I think, Hu Jun Xian and I, and all the border armies, we hate this place. In our dreams, we dream of leaving here, returning to the prosperous capital, visiting temple fairs, and appreciating flower lanterns.”

Chen Ji quietly listened to Hu San Ye reminisce. Hu San Ye stood up, opened the window slightly, and calmly looked at the distant city wall top. “After leaving Guyuan, I was like a country bumpkin entering the city. Many things seemed to have changed. Before I left the capital, the most famous courtesan in the Eight Great Alleys was surnamed Yun. Courtesan Yun was truly beautiful. I caught a glimpse of her when I was seventeen, and the red mole on her brow gave me several spring dreams. She sat on the high stage playing the zither, and I thought even fairies were just like this. But when I returned to the capital twelve years later to inquire, I only learned that she had married into the Qi family as a concubine and was later given to Minister Qi's subordinate.”

Chen Ji suddenly asked, “What hasn't changed?”

Hu San Ye laughed. “Guyuan hasn't changed. Now, after many years of returning here, I only discover that only this block of smelly and hard stone that is Guyuan hasn't changed.”

Chen Ji asked curiously, “Since you've already left, why did San Ye return to this place?”

After a long time, Hu San Ye smiled mockingly. “It sounds like a joke. While in Guyuan, I dreamed of leaving. But after truly leaving, I again dreamed of returning.”

Chen Ji was silent.

At this moment, sounds came from the neighboring Tian Zi Bing Hao room. Someone in the room was pacing back and forth, their footsteps creaking on the wooden floor.

Zhang Zheng's loud voice transmitted through the wall. “Chen Ji wasn't detained by the border army, was he? Why hasn't he returned yet? Should we go to the border army to find him? Since the Chen family is unwilling to help, then we'll bring up the Xu family. I don't believe that Hu Jun Xian would dare to make a mortal enemy of the Xu family.”

Hu San Ye glanced at Chen Ji, then quietly walked to the wooden wall to listen.

He heard Zhang Xia say, “You and I are only half Xu family members. Borrowing the Xu family's identity might not be truly useful. How about this, we go to Baiyun Temple in the west of the city and use Little Uncle's name.”

Chen Ji helplessly stood up and knocked on the wall with his knuckles.

Instantly, the next door quieted down.

Chen Ji said through the wall, “I'm in Yi Hao room. No need to worry about me. I'll be back shortly.”

After saying that, he sat back down at the eight immortals table and took a sip of tea.

Hu San Ye looked at the empty cup and asked, “What, aren't you afraid I've put poison in it?”

Chen Ji shook his head. “If San Ye wanted to kill me, it probably wouldn't be this troublesome.”

Hu San Ye suddenly changed the subject. “How does the Chen family treat you? They clearly knew you were in danger but were unwilling to stand up for you?”

Chen Ji's eyes flickered slightly. “I'm just an illegitimate son of the Chen family. I was even sent to a medical hall as an apprentice for two years. There's some estrangement between us, so it's understandable they weren't willing to stand up for me.”

Hu San Ye was startled, then his face sank. “They actually let you go and become an apprentice, pouring tea and serving water?”

Having rolled around in the Jianghu, he naturally knew how bitter it was to be an apprentice. No pay was a small matter. As an apprentice, you had to put aside your dignity.

Emptying the master's chamber pot, holding the spittoon for the master to receive phlegm in the middle of the night, these were all things apprentices had to do.

Chen Ji explained, “My master is Imperial Physician Yao Qi Men. He was quite good to me.”

Hu San Ye slightly relaxed and asked with a smile, “You're not young anymore. Do you have an admired woman…”

Chen Ji silently glanced at the other. He was not familiar with Hu San Ye. Their conversation about the Chen family was already going from superficial to deep. And now this sentence was more like an elder speaking to a junior.

Hu San Ye knew he had misspoken and quickly stood up to change the subject. “If you want ginseng, come to Yuan Cao Tang tomorrow morning at Si hour. It should be possible then.”

After saying that, Hu San Ye was about to leave.

Chen Ji was puzzled. “Where is San Ye going?”

Hu San Ye replied, “If you want to buy other ginseng at a low price, you naturally have to cut off all his escape routes… Then you'll know.”

The room door closed, leaving Chen Ji alone in Hu San Ye's room to ponder.

He had once suspected that Hu San Ye was the person who spent silver to buy his whereabouts from Xiao Man, but it didn't seem like it now. The other person didn't even know that he had been an apprentice at a medical hall, nor did he know his situation in the Chen family.

Strange.

While he was pondering, there was a knock on the door next door.

The Crown Prince's gentle voice transmitted from the corridor. “Second Miss Zhang, is Chen Ji in the room?”

Chen Ji quickly pulled open the room door. “Your Highness, I am here.”

The Crown Prince was surprised. “Eh, weren't you in Bing Hao room? How did you end up in Yi Hao room?”

Chen Ji explained, “Just now, I was chatting with a friend in this room… Does Your Highness need me for something?”

The Crown Prince stood in the dim room and said softly, “Chen Ji, previously Qi Jian Zhe was jealous that you stole the Feather Forest Army's thunder, so he wanted to go against you in everything. After you came out today, Li Xuan and I have severely reprimanded him… It's difficult for you to forgive him, but we cannot delay so many Feather Forest Army officers and soldiers because of one person.”

Chen Ji cupped his hands. “Your Highness is overthinking. This humble position doesn't take it to heart.”

The Crown Prince sized him up for a moment, then sighed. “Today, the Feather Forest Army has already gone without grain for a day. They can only rely on drinking water. If they don't eat tomorrow, I fear they won't even have the strength to kill the enemy.”

Chen Ji immediately said, “Please rest assured, Your Highness. This humble position will certainly find grain for the Feather Forest Army tomorrow.”

The Crown Prince's eyes lit up. “You can be so magnanimous. You already have the breadth of a prime minister.”

He took a string of Buddhist beads from his wrist and handed them to Chen Ji. “This is one thousand taels of silver. It's all for your use. The more grain, the better.”

The third day of the siege.

Before the sky was even bright, Longmen Inn was already bustling.

Chen Ji stood by the window lattice and saw, through the gap, Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu sending Guyuan merchants into the stable one by one. Seven were sent away in one night.

The wealth and goods brought by the merchants were all swallowed by the inn, their whereabouts unknown.

Zhang Xia got up and came to his side, saying softly, “You want to get grain for the Feather Forest Army? Don't mind what others say about 'the overall situation first'. My father said that life in the world is short, just a few decades, gone in the blink of an eye. No need to wrong yourself for others.”

Chen Ji closed the window. “I'm not thinking about the overall situation first. Hu Jun Xian might want to open the city gate and offer the city. If that truly happens, the grain won't even sell for a price. I want to seize the last opportunity and earn all the silver I can.”

Zhang Xia was quick-witted. “Open the city gate and offer the city? Then we must move to the cellar today. Only hiding there is the safest. We'll leave at dawn. We'll take Xu Wei Lane then, that road has few people.”

Chen Ji said yes. “Putting you all in the cellar will allow me to do things with peace of mind.”

Zhang Xia didn't say another word. She turned around and patted Xiao Man, who was still dozing, and they packed their luggage together.

Before the sky was completely bright, Chen Ji quietly pulled open the room door. The four people filed out silently and went downstairs.

As soon as they left the inn, Chen Ji sensed something was wrong.

In the small alley by the roadside on Kucha Street, people who saw them come out immediately lowered their hats and followed behind them. Chen Ji didn't pay attention, but after walking more than ten zhang, another group unexpectedly followed.

As soon as they left Kucha Street, four groups followed.

They didn't hide their tracks either. When Chen Ji sped up, they also sped up. When Chen Ji stopped, they also stopped. When Chen Ji turned back and made eye contact with them, they openly met Chen Ji's gaze.

Zhang Xia said in a low voice, “I recognize these people. They all bought news from you before. They are local snakes in Guyuan. They must have panicked during this siege and couldn't buy news, so they're just following you.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment and turned back to the inn. “Bringing you all makes it impossible to shake these people off. You all wait at the inn. I'll shake them off, handle the matters, and then come pick you up.”