Green Mountain

Chen Ji tentatively asked, "Which prince does Your Majesty favor the most?"

Bai Xingzhen, hidden behind the seam of the carriage curtain, pondered for a while, "That’s hard to say. The Fourth Prince is quite esteemed in the army; in the 34th year of Lisheng, he headed south to Chongli Pass, and was the most valiant, even has the merit of killing generals on the battlefield. The Sixth Prince excels in scholarship; in the 32nd year of Li Sheng, he hid his identity and went to take the Imperial Examination, surprisingly passing anonymously as a scholar, and he might get into the First Class if he joins the Palace Examination. As for the Fourteenth Prince, he doesn’t have much to show for himself, relying entirely on his sister, Princess Li Yang, so logically speaking, Your Majesty would definitely not choose this Fourteenth Prince. Yet this is why Your Majesty was previously displeased with Princess Li Yang, but..."

Chen Ji irritably replied, "Don’t leave me hanging when you talk."

Bai Xingzhen leisurely said, "Originally, Your Majesty was in poor health and wanted to quickly select a Crown Prince, but someone from the Temple of Martial Arts came to Princess Li Yang’s side. Not only did he help Your Majesty’s health improve a bit, but he is also an old acquaintance of Mountain Master; it’s said that when Your Majesty ascended the throne, this person assisted from the side... Thus the political situation has become even more enigmatic."

Chen Ji’s heart skipped a beat; was this referring to Old Yao?

He casually asked, "Who does Duke Huang support?"

Bai Xingzhen curled his lips, "He supports no one. All these princes are emotionless and selfish. They’re a bunch of scoundrels. My Bai Family holds the Left Guard and Shangjing Road, regardless of who ascends the throne, they can’t do without the Bai Family. Why should the Bai Family rush to curry favor with them?"

Chen Ji stopped probing and continued driving the horse carriage shakily southwards. On the roadside, a Nuotu Team appeared in various forms, initially with hundreds, then dozens, until after passing Anren Square, only a dozen remained.

In the Nuotu Team, the Fangxiangshi wore a wooden mask with a blue face and fangs, donned a straw coat, and wore a gray cloth outfit.

Hidden in the carriage, Bai Xingzhen noticed a shop selling smoked meat pancakes and hurriedly tugged at Chen Ji’s clothes, "Stop for a bit, I want to eat those smoked meat pancakes."

Yet Chen Ji held the reins as if he hadn’t heard.

Bai Xingzhen angrily grumbled, "I answered everything you asked, and now I want to eat a smoked meat pancake, and you’re pretending not to hear? You’re being disingenuous!"

Chen Ji calmly replied, "We only agreed to drive you out of the Duke Mansion, not to offer you food."

Bai Xingzhen gritted his teeth, opened the curtain himself, and waved to the shop clerk from afar, "Hey, waiter, two smoked meat pancakes!"

The waiter smiled broadly and agreed, "Sure!"

Chen Ji continued driving the carriage, and by the time the waiter had rolled the smoked meat pancakes, they had already moved a distance away. The waiter ran up and handed the pancake into the carriage window, "Sir, your pancake."

Bai Xingzhen generously tossed a piece of broken silver out, "For you."

He held two smoked meat pancakes and sat beside Chen Ji, taking bites each way, then deliberately waved them in front of Chen Ji’s face, "You’re not getting any!"

Chen Ji glanced at him and continued to drive the carriage towards Zhou’s Carriage and Horse Shop in Datong Square, agreeing to come back at noon to pick up the carriage.

He headed towards Guiyi Square, and Bai Xingzhen followed him, suggesting, "Let’s go to the East Market; I hear there are puppet shows and wrestling matches there."

Chen Ji replied without turning back, "Not going."

Bai Xingzhen rolled his eyes and suggested again, "Then let’s go to the West Market, I hear there are barbarians from the Western Regions performing illusions there, along with actors demonstrating sword swallowing and rope skills. My father told me some rope masters can throw a rope into the clouds and climb up all the way to the Forty-nine Heavens."

Chen Ji still replied, "Not going."

Bai Xingzhen let out a frustrated "ah!" and proposed, "Let’s have a fight then!"

He swung his Turtle Fist, but Chen Ji raised a hand and pressed it on his forehead until Bai Xingzhen was too exhausted to swing anymore, then let go and continued walking towards Guiyi Square.

Bai Xingzhen rubbed his shoulder while following behind him, complaining, "Where exactly are you going? You’re just a small subordinate of My Bai Family; how can you be so domineering? When I return, I will definitely complain to the Chief Steward and send you back to Shangjing Road!"

Chen Ji casually responded while recognizing directions, "Since you’ve already left the Duke Mansion, you don’t need to follow me anymore. You have silver on you; you can go anywhere to have fun. We agreed to meet at noon at Zhou’s Carriage and Horse Shop and I’ll take you back to the Duke Mansion."

Bai Xingzhen’s eyes lit up as if realizing the truth, yet he timidly watched the masses on the street and ended up obediently following behind Chen Ji.

Chen Ji suddenly halted and silently watched the soup kitchen ahead.

The soup kitchen queues orderly outside, Princess Li Yang stood in men’s attire beside a large pot, rolling up her sleeves in the cold weather, scooping soup for the masses with a wooden ladle.

Behind her, a richly dressed young man stood reluctantly handing out clay bowls.

On the other side of the soup kitchen, Chen Ji stared blankly at an elderly man with graying hair sitting behind a table, checking the pulse of the queuing masses. Even with an informal sitting posture, the old man seemed capable of transporting Chen Ji back to Luocheng City.

Master, Yao Qimen.

Chen Ji didn’t step forward immediately but scanned the surroundings.

Outside the soup kitchen, Princess Li Yang’s subordinates guarded, patting their waist knives and surveying the area.

Further out, things initially seemed normal, but a closer look revealed that some men in gray weren’t queuing for soup or medical care, instead lingering outside the crowd, their eyes fixed on Princess Liyang and the Fourteenth Prince.

Chen Ji thought for a moment and instructed Bai Xingzhen, "Wait here for me."

He joined the medical queue, slowly moving forward with them.

Bai Xingzhen followed like sticking plaster, irritably asking, "Did you come all this way just for a free medical check-up? I could’ve told you this; my Bai Family wouldn’t be stingy with medical money!"

But Chen Ji paid him no mind, and silently observed his surroundings.

Gradually, Bai Xingzhen sensed something amiss too; he glanced at the soup kitchen and Chen Ji, pondering for a while, then exclaimed, "You’re here because of Princess Li Yang; you want to become her consort?"

Chen Ji glanced at him, "Don’t speak."

Bai Xingzhen lowered his voice, "You’re a subordinate of My Bai Family; how can you dream of climbing the ranks through such means? A real man should carry a three-foot sword, rise to noble titles and generalship based on skill, never be a subordinate to a gown!"

Chen Ji remained expressionless, "Shut up."

...

...

Under the soup kitchen, Princess Li Yang was serving porridge to the masses, thickening it to ensure each ladle was filled with rice.

After handing out a bowl, she reached back, waiting for her brother to give her a new clay bowl but none arrived after quite a while.

Turning around, she saw her brother standing with discontent, "Why does it have to be me doing these things? You clearly brought so many people, why can’t they do it?"

Princess Li Yang frowned, put down the wooden ladle, and pulled her brother to the side, lowering her voice, "What nonsense are you talking? Your Fourth Brother and Sixth Brother are personally doing these things; if you want to compete with them, you mustn’t lag behind in anything!"

The Fourteenth Prince Yuan Yun replied impatiently, "It’s clearly you who wants to compete; what does it have to do with me? Is it fine if I don’t compete?"

Princess Li Yang became furious, yet restrained her voice to scold, "You know nothing. Power must be held in your own hands because if you throw it by the wayside, others will pick it up and slash it at your neck. If you want to complain, you should complain about why your mother gave birth to you. If she hadn’t given birth to you, I wouldn’t have to tread so carefully! If I were a man, where would that leave you?"

Seeing his sister’s real anger, Yuan Yun quickly said, "I was just talking idly; I’ll continue serving porridge, okay?"

Princess Li Yang softened her tone, "Even if you’re not competing for the throne, you should see how many people outside the soup kitchen are still hungry..."

Yuan Yun became impatient again, "Okay, okay, I’m not going to slack off, alright? Sis, stop nagging."

Princess Li Yang sighed and led her brother back to the pot, but just as she picked up the wooden ladle, she noticed someone in another queue, stopping in his tracks, even failing to take the clay bowl Yuan Yun handed.

"Sis?"

Yuan Yun followed her gaze, seeing a young man reaching the front, placing his wrist before Old Yao, "Check my pulse please."

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