Chapter 50: Hush Money

In the faint morning mist, as a rooster crowed, a carriage slowly pulled up to the entrance of the medical clinic.

Bai Li pushed aside the curtain, jumped down from the carriage, and stretched. She looked around, but the thin figure who usually swept was nowhere to be seen. Strange. Just yesterday at this time, that person was still sweeping outside the door. Why are they gone today? Are they sleeping?

At this moment, Liang Mao'er, with Liang Gou'er on his back, slowly hopped down from the carriage and walked into the clinic. Although Liang Gou'er was tall and large, he felt weightless on Liang Mao'er's back. In the past, Liang Mao'er could carry him for dozens of *li* without seeming bothered.

Liang Mao'er smiled guilelessly, bidding farewell to the Young Lord and Princess Bai Li: "Young Lord, Princess, thank you for your hospitality. I'll take my brother back to sleep now."

The Young Lord smiled and waved his hand, "Go on, go on."

As Liang Mao'er headed back to the apprentices' dormitory, Bai Li tiptoed to peek into the room, but still didn't see Chen Ji. "Strange," she wondered, "where did that black-hearted person go?"

Chen Ji was not at the medical clinic; he was walking on the bluestone path leading to the East Market. He walked below, while Wu Yun lightly hopped along the eaves beside him. Man and cat proceeded side by side. The black cat on the rooftop was like a spirit silently guarding Chen Ji.

The East Market was already bustling. Goods from north and south gathered and dispersed here, and muscular laborers, each carrying a sack, moved continuously back and forth. Chen Ji found a breakfast stall and sat at a small wooden table outside. Wu Yun lightly jumped into his arms, hid inside his clothes, with only his head peeking out from the collar.

"Chen Ji, baozi!"

Chen Ji smiled and waved to the attendant: "Attendant, two steamer baskets of braised meat buns and a bowl of hot soy milk!"

"Alright! Please wait a moment, sir, the buns will be right out!"

When the buns arrived at the table, Chen Ji took a large bite from a bun with his right hand, while holding another bun to his chest with his left hand, allowing Wu Yun to eat it bite by bite. He ate slowly, waiting in silence.

Just as he finished his second bun, a middle-aged customer approached the neighboring general store: "Boss, how much for saltpeter?"

The owner sat inside the shop, legs crossed. "Three hundred *wen* per *dou*. Within three *li*, I can have an assistant deliver it to your specified location... Sir, what do you need saltpeter for?"

The customer replied with a smile: "My family makes fire-strips, and we need saltpeter every day. We usually get our supplies from Old Li's place, but somehow, his shop isn't open this morning. Boss, three hundred *wen* per *dou* is a bit expensive, can you make it cheaper?"

But the owner, cracking sunflower seeds, said: "Take it or leave it."

The customer's face fell, and he turned to leave, flicking his sleeve: "How do you do business? Can't you speak properly? There are many sellers of saltpeter in the East Market; I don't have to buy from you!"

The owner, legs crossed and cracking sunflower seeds, remained unconcerned: "Then buy it somewhere else."

Chen Ji watched the customer leave. Immediately after, a young man dressed as a 'boatman' from the breakfast stall, without even finishing his meal, promptly put down his chopsticks and got up to follow the customer. They maintained a distance of more than ten paces. The young boatman, who was tailing him, stayed within the crowd, intently watching the customer. As he passed Chen Ji, Chen Ji noticed thick calluses on the web of the young man's right hand—marks left by prolonged handling of weapons.

Chen Ji understood: Golden Pig had already made a move. This Golden Pig was even more clever and discreet than imagined. They had anticipated that the Jing Dynasty most desired firearms, so after arriving in Luocheng, they subtly set up their operations: acquiring shops, planting secret agents disguised as merchants, and tracking everyone who sought to buy saltpeter! Golden Pig lurked in the shadows of Luocheng, like a spider, seizing the moment when Jing Dynasty's military intelligence relaxed its guard, to weave a large net.

The ordnance surrendered by Concubine Yun must have been stolen from the Arsenal's inventory by collaborators from within and without. If Golden Pig was smart enough, they had probably already begun inventorying stock and recovering the stolen goods... Would Concubine Yun and the Liu family withstand Golden Pig's investigation? Jing Dynasty's military intelligence and the Liu family had finally met their true adversary.

Chen Ji quietly lowered his head and ate his bun. He and Wu Yun didn't get up to leave until they had completely finished two baskets of buns. Man and cat burped simultaneously: "So satisfying!"

Chen Ji meandered through the East Market. As he passed a sugar shop, he quickly observed his surroundings from the corner of his eye: the owner was genuinely selling brown and white sugar. Servants of nobles and officials bought brown and white sugar, and no one was being followed or monitored. After observing for a long time, he approached the stall and asked: "Boss, how much for brown sugar and white sugar, respectively?"

The owner replied with a smile: "Sir, brown sugar is eighty *wen* per *jin*, and this white crystallized sugar, well, that's ten *liang* of silver per *jin*."

Chen Ji was dumbfounded. This white sugar was ridiculously expensive! However, he quickly understood: in this era, most families still used brown sugar, and the method for making white sugar was a closely guarded secret, never passed on. Nowadays, only nobles and high-ranking officials could afford the "elegant" white sugar, making it a true luxury item.

Chen Ji muttered to himself, should he try making some white sugar himself? He couldn't. *The Exploitation of the Works of Nature* recorded a method of decolorizing sugar using yellow mud and water, which involved pouring yellow mud water over brown sugar to produce white sugar. But in reality, in Chen Ji's time, no one had ever successfully replicated the "yellow mud water decolorization method." This technique was already lost.

Chen Ji took out a piece of broken silver. "Boss," he said, "I'd like one *liang* of crystallized sugar, just one *liang*." Carrying the kraft paper package, he also bought a bamboo tube of potent liquor. With that, he had all the materials needed to make gunpowder. Chen Ji walked among the crowds. He no longer seemed like a stranger; he looked more like a native young man of Luocheng out for market.

That night.

The Young Lord and Princess Bai Li were perhaps tired of playing, as they did not climb over the wall again that day. Chen Ji waited until everyone was fast asleep before taking out the bamboo tube containing saltpeter and going to the main hall.

However, the first step in making gunpowder was not simply mixing saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal in proportion, but purifying the materials. This was why Chen Ji firmly believed his gunpowder would be more potent than that of the Ning Dynasty: the Ning Dynasty's chemical science was underdeveloped, and they likely had no idea how to purify these materials, relying only on crude methods.

Chen Ji took a slightly larger ceramic bowl and carefully positioned it above an oil lamp. Wu Yun squatted on the counter, tilting his head and meowing curiously: "Chen Ji, what are you doing?"

Chen Ji answered while preparing the materials: "Before I become a true officer, I'm making some means of self-preservation... Wu Yun, your hearing is good. Tell me immediately if you hear anyone approaching the main hall." He knew there were probably great officers in this world who weren't even afraid of gunpowder, such as the White Dragon, Heavenly Horse, and Sick Tiger mentioned by Golden Pig. If they were fast enough, they could evade the explosion before the gunpowder even detonated. But he didn't need to deal with those people; the gunpowder would suffice for his needs.

However, just as he was about to pour the saltpeter from the bamboo tube into the ceramic bowl, a crow suddenly flew into the main hall of the medical clinic! Chen Ji and Wu Yun froze simultaneously. Man and cat exchanged glances for a long time but couldn't communicate their thoughts.

Wu Yun meowed: "Will it tell your master about this?"

Chen Ji silently resealed the bamboo tube while rapidly thinking of a countermeasure. He was currently making gunpowder, a secret that the Ning Dynasty's Imperial Armory guarded with two thousand elite soldiers. Even if he were discovered secretly collecting saltpeter, he would likely be in great trouble.

Wu Yun looked at Chen Ji: "How about I catch it? Silence the bird!"

The next moment, the crow pointed a wing at Wu Yun and cawed with laughter, full of mockery. Wu Yun indignantly leaped to catch it, but while Wu Yun was fast, the crow was faster. Two dark blurs darted up and down in the medical clinic's main hall. Chen Ji had already lit sixteen oil lamps. Wu Yun's figure weaved through the hall, almost indiscernible. Yet, despite such speed, he couldn't even touch a single feather of the crow! This crow, who knows how long it had been cultivating with old man Yao, had become quite the spirit!

Just as Chen Ji was about to call out to Wu Yun, an old voice rang out: "Enough. It's the middle of the night. Why are you two making such a ruckus here instead of sleeping?"

Chen Ji froze. He slowly looked at old man Yao: "Master..."

Old man Yao glanced at Chen Ji, then slowly walked to the counter, curiously examining the oil lamp, bamboo tube, and ceramic bowl. He felt something was odd. Yet, despite his extensive knowledge, he couldn't quite figure out what Chen Ji was doing... He frowned and asked: "What are you doing with the kitchen's ceramic bowl here?"

Chen Ji replied: "Nothing, Master. I just used this bowl to hold water for drinking."

"Oh, is that so..."

Just as Chen Ji let out a sigh of relief, old man Yao took six copper coins from his sleeve and tossed them onto the table. With a clatter, the six copper coins settled. Chen Ji's heart jolted. Although old man Yao couldn't discern what he was doing, he could tell fortunes!

Old man Yao murmured as he interpreted the divination. Chen Ji's heart pounded with unease, like awaiting judgment, unsure of what the old man would divine. A moment later, old man Yao shook his head: "Strange, I can't see it?" With that, he surprisingly walked to the window, pushed it open, leaned on the sill, and peered out at the night sky, muttering to himself: "Great indeed is Qian, the primal source of all things, ruling over heaven..."

The next moment.

Old man Yao suddenly turned and looked at Chen Ji: "What object is so robust and dominant!"

Chen Ji: "Huh?" "No, old man, you actually have a divination skill?!"

Chen Ji didn't know how to interpret this divination, but old man Yao said "robust and dominant"—wasn't that precisely the characteristic of gunpowder? Old man Yao stared intently at Chen Ji: "I never thought you possessed such a talent, to be able to make something like this. What are you doing making this? Are you planning a rebellion?!"

Chen Ji quickly said: "No, no!"

But old man Yao said: "Do you know that if this matter gets out, you'll die without a burial place? Don't even talk about me not protecting you; the entire Ning Dynasty wouldn't tolerate you."

Chen Ji fell silent. He wasn't sure of old man Yao's stance. If the old man really intended to report him, he would have no choice but to flee. What a pity. He had just managed to establish himself in this medical clinic, believing he could settle down here.

Chen Ji looked up and said: "Master, I didn't intend..."

Old man Yao interrupted: "Hush money, six *liang*."

Chen Ji: "?"

The main hall of the medical clinic was dim. A cool autumn breeze drifted in through the window, making the oil lamp's flame flicker, casting uncertain shadows on Chen Ji's face.

"So, all that talk from you, old man, was just for hush money?" Chen Ji said, his voice tense.

"Not exactly," old man Yao said unhurriedly. "I'm not doing this for money; I'm saving your life."

Chen Ji was distressed: "Do you know that six *liang* of silver can buy a lot of things?"

Old man Yao stroked his beard: "I know. It can buy the ladder you lent Princess Bai Li."

Chen Ji: "..." So he knew everything; no wonder the amount was exactly the same as the two 'tolls'!

Old man Yao sneered: "This clinic is my clinic. The Young Lord and the Princess passed through my property, so what's wrong with paying the toll to me?"

Chen Ji said: "But I also put in effort! I moved the ladder for them!"

Old man Yao turned and went back into the main house. He actually carried out a bamboo lounge chair and placed it in the corridor between the main hall and the backyard: "I'll keep watch for you here; I'm also putting in effort. Pay me six *liang*, and you can do what you need to do in peace. With me guarding, no one will discover you." The massive bamboo lounge chair, in the hands of the ninety-two-year-old man, felt as light as a toy.

Chen Ji: "...This is possible?!"

Old man Yao ignored his surprise, simply extending his hand firmly: "Where are the silver peanuts?" With a pang in his heart, Chen Ji took out the six silver peanuts from his sleeve and slapped them into old man Yao's hand. Old man Yao cheerfully tucked them into his sleeve, humming a tune as he lay back on the bamboo lounge chair, closing his eyes to rest: "The law-abiding fret day and night, while the strong rejoice every night..."

Chen Ji watched him in silence for a long moment, completely at a loss as to what to do with this old man. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said: "Master, don't say I didn't warn you. If you take the money, you'll be an accomplice from now on!"

Old man Yao chuckled softly: "Threatening me? You're still too green. I'd like to see what you can make."

Chen Ji said no more. He added clear water to the ceramic bowl, placed it over the oil lamp to slowly heat, until the water reached about seventy-five degrees Celsius. In this era, there was no formal method for measuring temperature. Chen Ji only knew that when water boiled to eighty degrees, bubbles would start forming at the bottom of the bowl. Once bubbling began, he would remove the oil lamp, wait for the water to cool slowly for five minutes, which would be the temperature he desired.

Chen Ji then took saltpeter and wood ash, placed them in the ceramic bowl in an 8:1 ratio, stirred slowly with a bamboo stick for a quarter of an hour, then slowly filtered the mixture through Xuan paper. Old man Yao, at some point, had gotten up, and was now standing by, watching intently. Chen Ji ignored him, simply boiling the saltpeter water again, until only one-third of the water remained in the bowl. He removed the oil lamp, and focused on waiting for the thick liquid in the bowl to slowly cool.

When the liquid in the ceramic bowl cooled below armpit temperature, Chen Ji took a drop of the liquid with a bamboo stick and gently dabbed it onto the counter. The moment the drop of liquid touched the cool counter, it instantly solidified into a transparent crystal, as if water had turned into ice!

Old man Yao's eyes suddenly widened.

Chen Ji let out a long sigh of relief: "It's done!"