Chapter 303: The Cat General

Wu Yun lay at the woman Nuan Nuan’s knee, his black, shiny eyes scanning around, searching for an opportunity to leave.

However, Aunt Yuan Jin never left her side. He could only rest his head on the woman’s hand, feeling frustrated, and wait for Aunt Yuan Jin to go to the restroom or change clothes.

Aunt Yuan Jin said from the side, “Niang Niang, please return to the sleeping quarters to rest. It’s getting cool outside.”

The woman smiled. “Rarely is the moonlight so beautiful tonight. If I can’t see the magnificent mountains and rivers outside, seeing the moon is good enough. Aunt Yuan Jin, don’t rush… Ben Gong heard Yuan Yang say that this afternoon, Princess Yong Chun made a mistake at Jing Yang Palace and almost collided with the Crown Prince.”

Aunt Yuan Jin replied, “The little eunuch who delivered the decree didn’t understand things. He ran to the entrance of Jing Yang Palace and shouted the words ‘Yu Lin Army.’ Thankfully, Dao Chang Xuan Zhen pulled her back and prevented it from becoming a ‘great disaster’!”

The woman stroked Wu Yun’s head and looked at the moon, lost in thought. “When Princess Yong Dun ran away privately with Zhou Zhuo Yuan that year, Ben Gong was still very, very young! When I heard about their story, I thought she was truly bold and reckless! But later, when Ben Gong grew up, I discovered that the first emperor was distant and unemotional – he clearly knew Princess Yong Chun admired Zhou Zhuo Yuan, so why did he still arrange that marriage? At that time, Ben Gong thought in her heart, it was admirable that she could board that southern ship. She was at least free!”

Aunt Yuan Jin said in a low voice, “But she was still sent back by the boatmen!”

The woman smiled. “Maybe not. This cage isn’t that simple to struggle to escape or not escape from!”

Aunt Yuan Jin closed her mouth and didn’t speak.

The woman casually asked again, “Ben Gong also heard that the Jing King’s two daughters are also under house arrest in Jing Yang Palace?”

Wu Yun’s ears suddenly perked up.

Aunt Yuan Jin lowered her voice. “The Empress Dowager has been making a fuss these past few days, also because she wants to go to Jing Yang Palace to see that Zhu Ling Yun, but she can’t even leave Ci Ning Palace!”

The woman sighed softly. “Zhu Ling Yun, none of the male members of the Liu family are left, only this one baby girl remains, and she’s under house arrest in that ghostly place, Jing Yang Palace. Find an opportunity and quietly send some clothes and food to Bai Li and Ling Yun!”

“Niang Niang,” Aunt Yuan Jin reminded solemnly, “If people find out, it will implicate you!”

The woman said warmly, “That’s why I told you to find an opportunity to quietly send it!”

Aunt Yuan Jin shook her head. “No! The old master has endured for the Hu family all these years, barely holding on! If the little king had been appointed Crown Prince at the beginning, the old master wouldn’t be in this situation now… You must absolutely not get involved with the Jing King again. If His Majesty finds out, it will cause trouble again!”

The woman looked at the moonlight and remained silent for a long time. “There’s nothing left to fear when everyone is gone. Forget it, it’s not worth it!”

After saying this, she picked up Wu Yun and headed towards the sleeping quarters. “Then let’s make several new clothes for Princess Yong Chun. Sending her some snacks is also fine!”

Aunt Yuan Jin was startled. “Why are you caring about her?”

The woman said softly, “Pity her!”

She stepped over the high threshold and walked into Kun Ning Palace. There were many candles burning in the palace, and more than ten female officials bowed together. “Empress Niang Niang!”

Wu Yun widened his eyes. The Empress.

Kun Ning Palace was vast, and even with more than ten people standing there, it still felt empty and desolate.

Then, the Empress instructed, “Go get Ben Gong’s snack box, and that small quilt embroidered with nine fox slaves from the east warm cabinet!”

The female officials walked with small, quick steps to the side hall, and then carried seven red lacquer food boxes. They lined them up on a long table and opened the lids.

The Empress, holding Wu Yun, walked in front of a food box and said warmly, “See what you want to eat.”

Wu Yun stretched his neck and surveyed the boxes of snacks: date paste cakes, lotus seed paste crisps, hawthorn ‘pot helmets,’ apricot paste cakes, green tea crisps, top scholar cakes, pea crisps, and over a hundred other kinds of snacks. He could eat all of them.

The Empress placed him on the table. “Go ahead, eat whatever you want.”

Aunt Yuan Jin quickly said, “Niang Niang, don’t let it waste things casually. If it gets dirty, none of it can be eaten!”

The Empress’s expression was indifferent. “It doesn’t matter!”

Wu Yun wandered back and forth in front of the food boxes, and finally bit into a piece of date paste cake.

The Empress smiled. “So you like to eat this.”

The next moment, Wu Yun, still holding the date paste cake in his mouth, came to her and lowered his head to place the date paste cake in her hand.

The Empress was surprised. “You want to give it to Ben Gong to eat first?”

Aunt Yuan Jin quickly said, “Niang Niang, don’t eat it. An animal has touched it, it’s dirty!”

But the Empress didn’t listen and actually ate the date paste cake.

She swallowed a mouthful of date paste cake and teased, “Aunt Yuan Jin, be careful with your words! His Majesty raised over ten fox slaves before, including Shuang Mei. After they died, they were buried on Wan Nian Mountain and even given the posthumous title of ‘Loyal and Filial Zhao Long Guang Ji You Sheng Zhen Jun.’ He truly loved fox slaves!”

Aunt Yuan Jin immediately stopped talking.

The Empress held Wu Yun close and touched her nose to his nose. “When His Majesty comes to Kun Ning Palace again, Ben Gong will ask him to appoint you as a great mouse-catching general, how about that?”

Wu Yun suddenly suppressed the thought of escaping.

Fu You Street, Chen Residence!

Chen Ji helped Zao Zao unload its saddle and bit, letting it step on the clean Suzhou fired green bricks.

Xiao Man moved a small stool and sat in the courtyard, supporting her chin with both hands. “Young master, why didn’t you send Zao Zao to the stable? There are special grooms there to look after it, and the food is good!”

Chen Ji smiled. “Zao Zao is also a member of our Chen family. It doesn’t feel right to let it live under someone else’s roof! Besides, being tied up in the stable all the time is meaningless. After coming home and taking off the saddle, it can relax!”

Zao Zao nudged Chen Ji with its head.

“Home ah!” Xiao Man looked at this scene, not knowing what she was thinking.

Chen Ji asked curiously, “How much silver can we get from renting out the two houses in the East City?”

Xiao Man calculated. “If it’s the area from Zhengyang Gate to Drum Tower, where there are many merchants, it’s probably eight hundred taels of silver per room. If it’s Qi Pan Street, you can get twelve hundred taels; as for Fu You Street and Xuan Wu Gate Main Street, that’s a symbol of status, and people rarely sell there!”

Chen Ji said “Oh.”

After buying the ginseng, he only had over two hundred taels of silver left. Counting the gift from Zhang Xia’s sworn brother, it was a total of over eight hundred taels. Xiao Man’s eyes darted around. “Young master, we’re back in the capital. Shouldn’t we go find the Liang family and ask for the prostitute mother’s property back?”

Chen Ji nodded. “Tomorrow, after returning from duty at the Yu Lin Army Governor’s Residence, I’ll go find her and get the house deed and land deed!”

Xiao Man’s eyes lit up. “Young master, you promised to let me be the manager of the Drum Abdomen Building!”

Chen Ji said with a smile, “Yes!”

He took out a brush and helped Zao Zao comb its fur, standing under the silver apricot tree. He brushed while waiting for Wu Yun to come back.

But he waited under the silver apricot tree in the courtyard for an entire night, until the sound of the rooster crowed, and still didn’t see Wu Yun.

Chen Ji furrowed his brows.

Did something happen? No, if something happened to Wu Yun, his mountain king would also lose half his life, but he was fine now.

Did something else happen? But what accident could prevent Wu Yun from coming home? Strange!

The big rooster at Chen Residence crowed three times, and the residence suddenly became lively.

Chen Ji opened a crack in the door and looked out, only to see little servants and maids coming and going, truly as lively as a temple fair gathering!

The little servants wore dark green jackets and green headbands, some were sweeping, some were sprinkling water, and some were carrying water and carrying firewood!

The maids wore light green夾jacket and ru skirts, with silver hairpins in their hair, some carrying copper basins to deliver hot water to the master’s family, and some carrying trays to deliver food!

Chen Ji said in a low voice, “So many people!”

Xiao Man laughed. “Young master, why do you look so surprised? The Chen family is a first-class high-ranking family in the capital. The kitchen alone has over two hundred people!”

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment and asked, “Do I need to go pay my respects?”

Xiao Man explained, “No need, you’re not on the family tree yet! According to the Chen family rules, an illegitimate son must obtain an official position of positive sixth rank, and then the main family, second family, and third family gather to discuss and determine if this illegitimate son is upright and hasn’t committed any major mistakes in the past, then they open the ancestral temple and write him into the family tree!”

Chen Ji sighed. “So strict!”

Xiao Man said happily, “If you commit a major mistake after entering the family tree, it will implicate the whole family!”

Chen Ji smiled. “It’s good that they haven’t written me into the family tree. I’m going out, you stay at home and rest!”

Xiao Man picked up the saddle to put it on Zao Zao, but Chen Ji stopped her. “No need, I’ll walk!”

Chen Ji went out the door and looked towards the deeper part of the Chen Residence, only to see this vast mansion extending far away along green brick paths, like a forest so deep that you couldn’t see the end!

The place they were now located was just the edge of the Chen Residence! Chen Li Qin, the third family of the Chen Residence, didn’t seem to be well treated!

When only Xiao Man was left in the courtyard, she looked at the clean courtyard, lifted the hem of her skirt and turned around in the courtyard.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door!

She pulled open a crack in the door and carefully looked outside. Standing outside the door was a maid who was slightly older.

Xiao Man suddenly said joyfully, “Elder sister Duan Wu!”

Duan Wu pretended to be angry. “You’re finally back in the capital, why didn’t you come find me?”

Xiao Man quickly said, “Young master came out of the palace very late last night, I was afraid of disturbing your rest!”

Duan Wu poked her forehead with her finger. “Alright, alright, I know your young master in the house entered the palace to meet the emperor, you don’t need to show off in front of your elder sister!”

Xiao Man was embarrassed that her little thought had been exposed and changed the subject awkwardly. “Elder sister Duan Wu is working in which garden now, Zhuo Zheng Garden or Qin Zheng Garden?”

Duan Wu chuckled charmingly. “I’m still wasting time in Zhuo Zheng Garden. Maybe in a while, I’ll be married out of the residence. There’s a sum of silver here, do you want to earn it?”

Xiao Man said casually, “How much silver?”

Duan Wu squeezed into the door and lowered her voice. “There’s a lot of silver this time, twenty taels. You just need to write down what your young master saw and heard at Gu Yuan, the key point is who he saw!”

Xiao Man felt a pang in her heart. Who exactly was trying to buy news about the young master? The young master had just returned to Chen Residence in Luo City, and the other side immediately started watching him; now that he was back in the capital, they immediately sent people over again!

She examined Duan Wu, wondering whether to tie her up and interrogate her.

No!

Xiao Man thought for a moment and said, “Young master is now an official who entered the palace to meet the emperor, I can’t do twenty taels. Elder sister Duan Wu, please go back. I’ll go to Zhuo Zheng Garden to see you in a few days!”

After saying that, she pushed Duan Wu towards the outside.

Duan Wu quickly said, “If you think it’s too little, we can discuss it, thirty taels, fifty taels.”

Xiao Man remained unmoved.

As Duan Wu was about to be pushed out the door, she gritted her teeth and said, “One hundred taels.”

Xiao Man was shocked. “The other side is giving so much. Who exactly wants to buy news about my young master?”

Duan Wu tidied her dishevelled clothes with annoyance. “This isn’t the first time you’ve done this kind of thing, why are you still asking so many questions! Maybe it’s the Qi family, the Hu family, the Xu family probing for news, or maybe it’s the eunuch faction or someone from one of the king’s residences! Anyway, it doesn’t matter which family it is, we who work below just take the money!”

Xiao Man held out her hand. “Silver!”

Duan Wu took out a string of Buddhist prayer beads from her bosom and slapped them into her hand. “As soon as possible, don’t let anything slip, otherwise you won’t be able to earn this kind of side money in the future!”

Xiao Man said perfunctorily, “Got it, got it!”

After Duan Wu left with a trace of fragrance, she returned to the east wing room to grind ink. After deliberating for a long time, she wrote down everything about Gu Yuan in detail, but she didn’t write about Chen Ji’s dealings with Hu San Ye and the innkeeper!

She folded the Xuan paper and went out into the courtyard, keeping her head down along the way, passing through the quiet winding path through Qin Zheng Garden.

The Chen Residence is composed of two individual gardens. The north side is Zhuo Zheng Garden where the main family of the Chen family is located, and the south side is Qin Zheng Garden where the second and third families of the Chen family are located. There is a garden landscape connecting the two places called ‘Xiao Ying Zhou.’ You can enter both gardens.

There are many ‘Tai Hu Stones’ transported from Suzhou in Xiao Ying Zhou. The most magnificent one is called ‘Guan Yun Peak,’ which is over three zhang high. It’s hard to imagine how much manpower and material resources were required to transport it to the capital!

Xiao Man quietly sneaked into Xiao Ying Zhou, stuffed the paper with the news into the third hole on the south side of Guan Yun Peak, and then squatted in a flower bush in the distance, staring silently, waiting to see who would come to take the news! She squatted there for two hours, her legs going numb, but she didn’t see anyone take the news!

Until the sun was high in the sky, Xiao Man couldn’t help but go to the restroom and change clothes!

From leaving to coming back, it wasn’t even half an incense stick’s time!

But when she couldn’t help but go to check in front of Guan Yun Peak, she found that the Xuan paper with the news on it was already gone!