Chapter 95: Family Affairs and State Affairs

While Chen Ji was resting and drinking, Bai Li quietly leaned in and whispered, "I just saw them secretly writing down what you said. Be careful, don't let them steal your techniques."

Chen Ji took a sip from his leather water pouch, then glanced around. Wherever his gaze fell, several burly, dark-browed men quickly averted their eyes.

He asked, puzzled, "Princess, your father brought them here. Aren't you on his side?"

Bai Li retorted angrily, "That's beside the point. Stealing is wrong."

Chen Ji smiled and said to Bai Li, "It's fine, Princess. Look, these master craftsmen are excellent at building kilns. They've worked so hard to help, it's okay for them to learn a few things. We shouldn't be so stingy."

Bai Li looked at him with exasperation, "I don't know how valuable your craft is, but if it's something even my father is eager to learn, it must be significant. I can't tell if you're genuinely naive or just pretending. Don't you understand the saying, 'Teach an apprentice and starve the master'? My father is benevolent to the people, yes, but when it comes to serious matters, he has many tricks up his sleeve. If he didn't have any strategies, would the gentry of Jiangnan obediently hand over their provisions to him?"

"Well, well, speaking about your father like that."

Bai Li rolled her eyes, "Never mind, there's no explaining it to you. I'll go talk to him myself."

Chen Ji watched her angry figure walk away and suddenly chuckled.

At this moment, Feng Daiban ordered servants to bring tables and chairs from the village. They covered them with coarse cloth and set up a chessboard. "This kiln modification will likely take a while to finish, Your Highness, so please don't stand around. Your humble servant will accompany you for a few rounds to pass the time."

Prince Jing smiled, "Come, come. Yesterday, playing against that young man nearly shattered my confidence. Today, playing against you, I can regain some."

Feng Daiban said softly, "Your Highness certainly doesn't hold back."

"Come, let's guess who goes first!"

Just as Prince Jing gathered the pieces into his palm, a slender, fair hand unexpectedly reached out from the side, plucked the pieces from his hand, and tossed them back into the box.

Prince Jing slowly turned his head to see Bai Li standing beside him, her cheeks puffed out. "Father, what exactly are you doing here?"

Prince Jing explained sincerely, "Father is here to help, of course. It's just that my health has been deteriorating over the years, and I can't do heavy work anymore. Otherwise, I would certainly be moving bricks and plastering mud with them right now."

Bai Li furrowed her delicate brows. "Don't pretend to be ignorant when you clearly know. You're not here to help; you're clearly here to steal techniques."

Prince Jing quickly stood up, pulled Bai Li by the wrist, and started walking her out of the kiln factory. "How could I, the esteemed Prince Jing, do something like steal techniques? Come, come, Father will take you out for a walk. Oh, and your birthday is in a few months; is there anything you want as a gift?"

Bai Li struggled as she was dragged away. "Father, bribing me won't work! Let go of me!"

Just as they reached the entrance, a carriage slowly pulled to a stop in front of it.

Following behind were several pages and guards on tall horses.

The coachman took out a footstool, placed it in the mud, and helped Chen Liqin slowly alight from the carriage.

"Your Highness? What are you doing here?"

Chen Liqin was startled. He had come to find Chen Ji. He had been furious when he heard Chen Ji was idling about at the kiln factory. A young man's time was precious; he should be seizing every moment to study, not wasting it at a kiln factory! But he hadn't expected to see Prince Jing and Princess Bai Li the moment he stepped out of his carriage.

Prince Jing was also surprised to see Chen Liqin. "Master Chen, why are you here?"

Chen Liqin bowed and said, "Your humble servant just went to the medical hall to pay for my son's tuition. I also discussed with Imperial Physician Yao that my son will no longer be an apprentice there. I plan to send him to Donglin Academy next spring, and once he returns, having completed his studies like his elder brother, I will have him take the imperial examinations to serve our Ning Dynasty."

Bai Li gasped. "Chen Ji won't be at Taiping Medical Hall anymore? Is he going to Donglin Academy for three years?"

Prince Jing held Bai Li and said seriously, "Previously, I was wondering why a clever child like Chen Ji was kept at Taiping Medical Hall. If he can take the imperial examinations and serve the court in the future, it would certainly be a better path for him."

"Your Highness is wise."

"Chen Ji is inside. I'll take you to him."

Bai Li whispered, "Father, Chen Ji doesn't want to go back to the Chen manor."

Prince Jing chuckled, "My silly girl, that's his family matter. Can you make decisions for him?"

At this moment, Chen Ji was with Liang Mao'er, pushing a stone roller, having already prepared all the raw materials. Once the kiln modification was complete, they could immediately start firing cement.

From a distance, Chen Liqin saw his dusty, disheveled appearance and immediately frowned. "Chen Ji."

Chen Ji was startled. He looked up and instinctively asked, "Master Chen, why are you here?"

Chen Liqin heard himself addressed as "Master Chen" and immediately showed displeasure. "I've already discussed it with Imperial Physician Yao. From now on, you won't need to go to Taiping Medical Hall. Come home with me."

Chen Ji fell silent. Discussed with his master? No longer an apprentice at Taiping Medical Hall?

Inside the kiln factory, everyone stopped their work and looked at Chen Ji.

Chen Ji suddenly said with certainty, "Impossible."

Chen Liqin frowned, "What's impossible?"

Chen Ji said seriously, "My master wouldn't agree to that."

Chen Liqin was taken aback. He had originally planned to simply trick Chen Ji into returning. But he hadn't expected the other party to expose his lie. What kind of trust led to such certainty?

He softened his tone and said, "Chen Ji, I know you're still holding a grudge, but the servant who secretly embezzled your monthly allowance has been beaten to death, and the steward also received ten lashes. Even if you're very angry, it's time to let it go. You're not a child anymore; you should understand how to choose between the two paths. If you stay at Taiping Medical Hall, you'll only ever be a seventh-rank imperial physician. If you participate in the imperial examinations, you could govern a region in the future, meet influential people, and see a completely different world."

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Master Chen, when do summer cicadas crawl out of their holes after a rain?"

"Why are you asking that? When you're young, don't waste time on such trivial matters."

Chen Ji smiled slightly. "Master Chen, please go back. I think being a medical hall apprentice is quite good. Perhaps being an official is great, but I don't want to."

"Being an official is great, but I don't want to." The words resonated clearly.

Bai Li gazed blankly at the young apprentice's figure, so open and straightforward, neither servile nor overbearing.

Chen Liqin's face finally darkened completely. "Chen Ji, you don't get to decide on such an important matter. You're young and ignorant now, thinking you're always right. But parents would never harm you. Guards, tie him up and take him to the carriage. We're returning to the manor."

The next moment, Chen Ji innocently looked at Prince Jing. "Your Highness, are you still planning to learn the kiln modification technique?"

Prince Jing was startled. "So you've known all along, why did you pretend not to?"

Chen Ji chuckled, "Your Highness cares for the people; it's no harm if they learn it."

Prince Jing raised an eyebrow and teased, "But we've learned almost enough now. You can go back to the manor with Master Chen. Participate in the imperial examinations in the future, and become a general or a prime minister – a promising future awaits."

Chen Ji's smile widened. "Your Highness, surely you don't believe this small downdraft kiln can actually be used to smelt iron, do you? Where would the molten iron flow out? Where would the iron powder go in? How would the molten iron be immediately refined into wrought iron after it flows out? And how would iron be carburized into steel? Could it be that Your Highness has learned all of this too?"

The string of questions stumped Prince Jing. He subconsciously looked at the military craftsmen he had brought with him. He saw the craftsmen, from a distance, gesturing wildly like ants on a hot pan, desperately signaling that they absolutely must keep this young man.

Prince Jing laughed. "You used the kiln modification technique to hook me, but you hid so much more? Feng Daiban, today I said I would teach this naive young man a lesson. But he ended up teaching me one instead. Well. I've been outsmarted."

Feng Daiban smiled slightly. "Young Physician Chen is indeed exceptionally clever."

Prince Jing waved to the military craftsmen. "Don't let Master Chen take Chen Ji away; he must stay."

Bai Li murmured softly from the side, "Father, you just said that was Chen Ji's family matter."

Prince Jing lowered his voice and stated righteously, "It's no longer a family matter; it's a state affair."

At this moment, a group of military craftsmen blocked Chen Ji, pushing back the Chen manor's pages and guards.

Chen Liqin looked at Prince Jing, perplexed. "Your Highness, this is my family matter. Why are you interfering?"

Prince Jing patiently explained, "Chen Ji is needed here for some important matters. Master Chen, please go back. He cannot go with you."

"What is he doing here?"

"That is a military secret and cannot be disclosed to you yet."

Chen Liqin's breathing became heavy, and his beard trembled. He hadn't expected to fail twice in a row to take Chen Ji back to the manor.

He looked at Chen Ji, then at Prince Jing. "Your humble servant still needs to preside over the 'entering the curtain' banquet. I will take my leave today, but Your Highness should not interfere too much in my family matters. I will certainly bother you again in the future."

Prince Jing waved his hand. "Go on, go on."

Watching Chen Liqin stride away.

Only then did he turn his piercing gaze to Chen Ji. "What is carburizing into steel?"

Chen Ji turned and looked at the downdraft kiln behind him. "Your Highness, things must be done one step at a time."

Prince Jing laughed in exasperation, pointing at him with his finger from a distance. "Alright, alright. One thing at a time then. Wang Luozhi, take your men back and hurry with the work. I want to see a fully completed kiln by tomorrow morning."

Wang Luozhi, the leading military craftsman, cupped his hands and said, "Yes."

After the military craftsmen left.

Liu Quxing looked at Chen Ji with a bitter expression. "Chen Ji, you should go back to the Chen manor with your father. He's not wrong; the imperial examination is a path to greatness, allowing you to rise swiftly and soar far. As an imperial physician, you'd only be dealing with patients in Luocheng, and if you're unlucky, you might not even become an imperial physician."

Chen Ji rolled up his sleeves again and chuckled cheerfully. "If I go to Donglin Academy for three years, wouldn't you all forget about me? How would we drink together then!"

Liang Gou'er, who had been lounging lazily against the wall, suddenly "came back to life." He lifted the straw hat that had been covering his face, a dry, yellow blade of grass dangling from his mouth, and slowly said, "Young people act without considering the consequences. You'll understand later. Being an official is the best path in this world; you'll regret it. But by the time you regret it, it might be too late."

Chen Ji laughed, "Then we'll drink together and cry our hearts out, you regretting your marriage, and I regretting my future."

Liang Gou'er grumbled and pulled his straw hat back over his face. "You kid, your insults are a bit foul..."