Chapter 353: Chen Yu

In the late afternoon, the Imperial Forest Army's parade ground was deserted; no one was training.

Chen Ji was in the stables, grooming warhorses alongside common-born soldiers. The stiff bristle comb scraped over the horses' coats, removing a fine layer of loose hair.

From the main building of the Governor's Mansion behind him, faint sounds of boisterous gambling could be heard. The loudest voice, carefully calling out numbers, proclaimed: "Come, come, come, place your bets!"

Lin Yanchu looked at Chen Ji. "Lord Chen, this situation can't continue. The Left Elite Guard has no commander, the Right Elite Guard commander is an idiot, and the Governor is still hiding in his quarters, fast asleep..."

Chen Ji shook his head. "They've all been spoiled by their families, believing that if they just throw a tantrum or act up, someone will coax them. It's nothing; they'll come around in a few days."

Lin Yanchu sighed. "I can empathize with them. Cooped up in this Governor's Mansion, they long every moment to go out and achieve great things. It's natural to feel disheartened when success is within reach, only to be hindered by one's own people. Lord, you've only been with the Imperial Forest Army for a short time; you can't yet truly understand the frustrations here."

Chen Ji lowered his head and blew the horsehair caught in the mane comb. "You also want to go to Goryeo?"

Lin Yanchu hesitated for a moment. "Yes."

Chen Ji casually asked, "Why? People die on the battlefield."

Lin Yanchu thought for a moment and said, "Lord, my family used all their savings and even borrowed some money to buy me a path into officialdom, hoping I could bring glory to our name. But instead, I'm stuck here in the Imperial Forest Army office, just muddling along. When I'm around thirty, I'll be ordered to retire from service and return home, and by then, I'll only be able to find work as a guard for wealthy families, forced to be utterly subservient. Moreover, the Imperial Forest Army's pay is simply too low. Only by going to war can I get rich and repay the money my family owes."

Chen Ji glanced at him. "How much money do you owe?"

"Three hundred and twenty taels."

Chen Ji said indifferently, "What if I found you a lucrative job? Would you be willing to give up your status as an Imperial Forest Army soldier?"

Lin Yanchu was startled, then his eyes lit up. "Lord, are you serious?"

At that moment, the sound of a cloud gong suddenly echoed from the offices of the Six Ministries, across from the main gate.

Daming Street gradually became lively. The voices of the clerks from the Six Ministries drifted across Daming Street and into the Governor's Mansion.

Work was over.

Chen Ji tossed the mane comb he was holding to Lin Yanchu. "I'm off duty; you all continue. Remember to have someone on night duty, close the doors and windows properly, and check the armory once every two hours. Don't all go to sleep. Even though there are no bows and crossbows in the armory, losing military equipment is always troublesome."

Lin Yanchu clumsily caught the mane comb thrown through the air and hastily said, "Lord Chen, rest assured, your subordinate will arrange it... Lord, you just mentioned a lucrative job; were you serious?"

"I'm serious; wait for my word," Chen Ji said, glancing at the main building of the Governor's Mansion, then walking out without looking back.

As he walked out the main gate, Chen Ji suddenly saw a young man across Daming Street, standing on tiptoe and waving at him through the dispersing crowd.

The young man joyfully exclaimed, "Chen Ji!"

Chen Ji's heart sank; he had never seen this young man before.

The young man was around twenty-two years old, his slender figure clad in a blue official robe, a plain silver leather belt cinched at his waist, and a heron rank badge on his chest, indicating a sixth-rank official.

To hold a sixth-rank official title at such a young age, he must be from an influential family.

Chen Ji sighed inwardly. Returning to the capital always meant encountering familiar strangers. This young man was not the first, and likely not the last.

While guessing the young man's identity, he also enthusiastically waved back, calling out, "Long time no see!"

The young man laughed heartily as he walked towards the main gate. Just then, a red velvet sedan chair passed by, and the young man bowed respectfully towards it, saying, "Lord Qian."

The person inside the sedan chair grunted in acknowledgment and continued on, not instructing the bearers to stop.

After the sedan chair had passed, the young man strode across Daming Street.

The young man stopped in front of Chen Ji, his bright eyes carefully scanning him up and down. "Haven't seen you in three years; you've gotten much sturdier. When you left, you said you'd never return to the capital in your life, and I was sad for quite a while. I was even invited to the Luyun Mountain Villa literary gathering and had planned to take the opportunity to visit you, but unfortunately, I was delayed by official business."

Chen Ji also looked him up and down.

From a distance, he hadn't been able to see clearly, but now that he was closer, it was much more apparent: the young man's black boots were muddy, and his black gauzed cap was covered with a thin layer of dust.

His cheekbones showed white, frost-like peeling skin, and his neck had patchy patterns from shedding skin, evidently from prolonged exposure to the sun, indicating he wasn't someone who merely worked in an office.

His official robe's collar was dirty, and his sleeves were frayed and damaged, indicating he had been away for a long time, had no woman to take care of his daily life, and was generally unkempt.

The young man looked at Chen Ji and asked somewhat curiously, "Why that look? Have you become unfamiliar with me?"

Chen Ji explained, "I heard you went to another province; I didn't expect you to return today."

The young man replied with a laugh, "This time, Lord Langzhong sent me to the Changlu Salt Field to collect salt taxes, and it truly put me through hell. Those salt transport commissioners and salt merchants were in collusion. As soon as I arrived, they incited a group of salt workers to block me in the yamen, starving me for three days and three nights, giving me quite a show of force."

Chen Ji raised an eyebrow. "So brazenly? Why not arrest a few to make an example of them?"

The young man shook his head. "Those salt workers are also unfortunate souls; why make things difficult for them? Let's not talk about those unpleasant matters anymore. Tell me about yourself. I heard about your achievements in Guyuan when I was at the salt field. I didn't expect you to become an official, and you've even mastered such good martial arts. When I first heard you went to be an apprentice at a medical clinic, I felt it was a pity, but now I can only be happy for you."

Chen Ji had a bit of a headache. Who exactly was this person, and how did he know such detailed information?

He had a few guesses in his mind, but he couldn't be sure without conclusive evidence.

At that moment, the young man tugged at his sleeve and walked towards Daming Gate. "Let's go, let's talk as we walk. The family is still waiting for us to have dinner together."

"Family?"

Chen Ji finally confirmed the young man's identity: Chen Yu, the illegitimate son of the Chen family's second branch.

Chen Yu pulled Chen Ji through Chang'an Street, recounting his experiences from this trip: "When I first arrived at the salt field, I stayed in the yamen's guesthouse. When I woke up, all the yamen clerks had disappeared, and just as I was wondering where they went, I found myself blocked inside the yamen by the salt workers. They nailed all the door panels and windows shut, as if they wanted to suffocate me alive in the main building. Fortunately, there was still half a pot of leftover tea in the room; otherwise, I would have had to drink urine."

Chen Ji asked, puzzled, "The local salt merchants are so rampant? They even dare to treat an Inspector of Salt from the Ministry of Revenue's Bureau of Revenue Affairs like this? And you're from the Chen family, no less!"

Chen Yu sighed. "What kind of Inspector of Salt am I? I'm just a section chief in charge of salt revenue. I heard that in earlier years, a Langzhong from a certain division of the Bureau of Revenue Affairs was even thrown into the river by them! Fortunately, he was a good swimmer and managed to swim ashore himself. The Langzhong originally wanted to return to the capital to report them to the Emperor, but before he even returned, a memorial impeaching him for abducting a civilian woman arrived in the capital first."

As the two walked on the bluestone-paved Chang'an Street, Chen Ji frowned. "Can no one control them?"

Chen Yu looked at the pedestrians on the street and remarked with emotion, "I originally thought so too, and was determined to find a way to deal with these lawless salt merchants. But later, upon inquiring, I found out it was actually done by our own Chen family's salt merchants..."

Chen Ji was speechless.

Chen Yu said softly, "It's appalling, Chen Ji. When I was released, I also thought of finding the leaders and punishing them to make an example. But later, after investigating, I realized that the culprits were not those salt workers. The root cause lay with the salt merchants and salt officials; the salt workers were merely coerced. Unless the salt merchants and salt officials are removed, the problem will always remain."

Chen Ji asked calmly, "How so?"

Chen Yu explained, "Salt tax accounts for as much as thirty percent of our Ning Dynasty's tax revenue; it would not be an exaggeration to call it a pillar of the nation. That gleaming white salt is, in fact, gleaming white silver. There are too many corrupt officials throughout the salt administration, deeply entrenched and intertwined, making it difficult for the imperial court to take action. Even if an imperial salt inspector goes to Lianghuai, if you're willing to collude with them, you'll be fine. But if you're not, they'll drown you and then find a scapegoat, and you won't be able to say a thing."

Chen Yu said with a laugh, "Even a minor clerk in my Ministry of Revenue's Bureau of Revenue Affairs said that the imperial court must properly rectify the situation and ruthlessly execute a batch. But a minor clerk is a minor clerk after all; he doesn't understand. He, a minor clerk, cannot represent the imperial court. The people behind the salt merchants are the true power in the court. This time, the bureau sent me to collect salt taxes because they thought, since I'm from the Chen family, the salt officials and merchants wouldn't dare to touch me. But little did they know, the salt officials and merchants also wielded immense power and didn't need to pay attention to me, an illegitimate son of the Chen family, at all."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the side gate of the Chen Residence's QinZheng Garden. Chen Yu raised his hand to knock on the beast-head knocker but suddenly stopped. "Chen Ji, I heard you want to contend for adoption into the main branch?"

Chen Ji said without changing his expression, "Why bring this up?"

Chen Yu turned to face Chen Ji and said earnestly, "Don't contend for it; let me have this opportunity."

In the narrow alley, under the gray tiles and white walls, the two stood facing each other, as if the air in the alley and the lingering glow of the sunset were frozen in place.

Chen Ji asked, puzzled, "You are already a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue's Bureau of Revenue Affairs; do you still need to rush to be an adopted son?"

Chen Yu hummed in acknowledgment. "If you hadn't come back, this matter would have been a foregone conclusion. I worked hard to achieve official titles, diligently performed my duties, and tried every possible way to be included in the family genealogy—all for this opportunity. With this opportunity, I can do more for the common people."

Chen Ji lowered his head and thought for a moment. "I don't have such lofty ambitions as you, but I've heard others talk about serving the common people so much that my ears have grown calluses."

Chen Yu shook his head. "I am sincere, more real than pure gold."

Chen Ji looked directly into Chen Yu's eyes. "You have your goals, and I have mine. Since we both need this status, then let's each rely on our own abilities."

Chen Yu was silent for a long time, then he smiled brightly. "Then I won't be polite. Before a result is decided, I will use every means available."

Chen Ji also said with a smile, "Me too."

Chen Yu raised his hand, picked up the beast-head knocker on the door, and knocked. The small brown door creaked open. The young servant inside saw the two of them and immediately said, "You two young masters are back. Please follow me to the WenDan Hall in Zhuozheng Garden; several masters are discussing matters there."

Chen Yu casually tossed a piece of broken silver to the young servant. "What are they discussing?"

The young servant smoothly slipped the piece of broken silver into his sleeve. "I heard they are going to hand over some of the family's properties for you two young masters to manage. They're currently discussing which properties should be allocated to you both."