Green Mountain

"Where on earth did you come from?"

"What are you planning to do, coming to the Imperial Capital?"

"Can you let me hold that cat in your arms?"

Bai Xingzhen followed behind Chen Ji, chattering nonstop, but Chen Ji just held Wu Yun and walked forward, not answering a single question. Bai Xingzhen was so anxious he nearly went mad, punching and kicking at the air behind Chen Ji.

But after a while, he forgot his grudge again, scooted back to Chen Ji’s side and probed, "You really aren’t afraid I’ll turn you in? The Duke Mansion can’t tolerate someone with ulterior motives like you."

Chen Ji said, completely at ease, "Not afraid. If you turn me in, there’ll be no one to take you out to have fun."

Bai Xingzhen curled his lips and said stiffly, "I can go out whenever I want. Who dares stop me? I don’t need you to take me out to play."

Chen Ji made an acknowledging sound, "Then let’s go back to the Duke Mansion right now."

Bai Xingzhen panicked, "Don’t! We haven’t gone to the West Market to see the Immortal Rope yet!"

Chen Ji stopped in his tracks, "Taking you is fine, but the Imperial Capital isn’t as peaceful as you think. On the way you have to listen to me. If you don’t, I’ll send you back immediately."

Bai Xingzhen muttered, aggrieved, "...Fine!"

They returned to Zhou’s Carriage and Horse Shop, and Chen Ji drove the carriage away.

The more Bai Xingzhen sat in the carriage and thought, the angrier he got. After a moment, he lifted the curtain a crack and said arrogantly, "You entered the Imperial Capital and hid yourself in the Duke Mansion because you want to help her win the succession, don’t you? If you treated me better, I might be able to persuade the Duke and help this Princess Liyang."

Chen Ji kept driving on his own, not acknowledging him at all.

Bai Xingzhen felt like he’d punched into cotton. He took a deep breath and continued to tempt him, "You’re unmoved by my proposal—most likely because you still don’t know the situation Princess Liyang is in right now..."

Chen Ji still showed no reaction.

Wu Yun meowed, "This kid is easier to deal with than Old Ears. Just ignore him and he’ll keep talking on his own."

They heard Bai Xingzhen continue, "Princess Liyang has now thrown in her lot under Yuan Xiang, but Yuan Xiang only wants to use her to check Lu Jin; he never intended to support that useless younger brother of hers. She thinks that with the support of Longyou Road and Tokyo Road she can have a seat at the court, but she’s thinking far too simply. Those two Military Governors are, in the end, just governors posted outside, not the Central Forbidden Army, too far from imperial power. In this court, the ones who truly call the shots are still those people in the Central. Right now, in the Central Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel, there’s not a single person willing to speak for her. To put it bluntly, she doesn’t even have the qualifications to sit at the table."

Chen Ji made a sound, "And what can you do for her?"

Bai Xingzhen said meaningfully, "In his early years Yuan Xiang suppressed dissent and made quite a few enemies. Many people at court want to bring him down but are too weak on their own. Yuan Cheng may be dead, but the nobles behind him are very much alive."

Chen Ji was puzzled, "Those people who bear grudges against Yuan Xiang—why don’t they throw in with Lu Jin?"

Bai Xingzhen replied with an old-fashioned air, "When Yuan Xiang was purging dissent, Lu Jin was the Daozi in his hand. Whoever hates Yuan Xiang also hates Lu Jin—how would they possibly side with Lu Jin? Yet just by themselves, they can’t topple Yuan Xiang, and they can’t topple Lu Jin either... Princess Liyang is actually a decent choice, but she’s still too weak. Choosing her now is no different from courting death. But if our Bai Family picks a side, that would mean the Left Guard and Shangjing Road have picked a side, and Princess Liyang would no longer be isolated and helpless in the Central. At that point, among the Twelve Central Forbidden Armies, the Right Guard and Left Brave Guard, who both hold grudges against Yuan Xiang, would stand with the Bai Family. Not just them—those in the Central who bear grudges against Yuan Xiang and Lu Jin as well, the Left Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Minister of the Secretariat—might very well start to loosen up."

Chen Ji seemed lost in thought.

Bai Xingzhen leaned in, coaxing, "The Duke wouldn’t even need to make his stance explicit. As long as he’s willing to openly say a word to Princess Liyang, she can immediately get out of her predicament."

Chen Ji hummed, "So?"

Bai Xingzhen said through gritted teeth, "So if you want to help her, you should be begging me!"

Chen Ji nodded, "I’m begging you."

Bai Xingzhen froze, then exploded, "That’s not the attitude I meant!"

Just then, someone suddenly leaped onto the carriage and sat side by side with Chen Ji in the driver’s seat.

Bai Xingzhen shut his mouth and stared blankly through the crack in the curtain at the man’s profile. When his gaze moved to the peachwood hairpin stuck in that graying hair, his jaw dropped wider and wider.

Chen Ji frowned and looked at the man; it turned out to be Old Ears, the same man who had earlier lured the Imperial Guard away at the city gate.

Instinctively, he glanced at the watchtower in the distance. Seeing no one watching them, he finally relaxed.

Old Ears sighed, "I haven’t been to the Imperial Capital in over ten years; almost got lost. Last time I came, the old pagoda tree east of Datong Square wasn’t this tall yet. There was an old man selling candied hawthorns under it, his voice so loud it could startle horses. Now both man and stall are gone."

He reached out and pointed at a watchtower in the distance, muttering to himself, "See that? Under that watchtower there used to be a wonton shop. The proprietress was a widow, and when she rolled out dough, she could slap the board so hard it sounded like thunder. Once, some bastard tried to dine and dash at her shop; she grabbed her rolling pin and chased him down a whole street, drove him straight into the Imperial Guard’s barracks. I just went to take a look—turns out the wonton shop’s become a tailor’s."

With that said, Old Ears turned his head to meet Chen Ji’s gaze and chuckled, "Kid, I helped you sneak into Shangjing City—how exactly are you planning to thank me..."

Chen Ji hurriedly shot him a look, and Old Ears seemed to notice Bai Xingzhen only then: "Eh, whose brat is this?"

Bai Xingzhen said obediently, "Greetings, Old Master, I am Bai Xingzhen of the Bai Family."

Old Ears thought for a good while. "The Bai Family? The same Bai Family of Bai Chongyuan?"

Bai Xingzhen hummed in acknowledgment. "That’s right."

Old Ears casually scooped Wu Yun into his arms and said offhandedly, "Back in the day that fellow rounded up a gaggle of noble wastrels to fight cocks and race dogs all day long. Who’d have thought that after inheriting his title he’d turn over a new leaf, put all those tribes on the grasslands firmly in their place. Wonder what he’s up to these days."

Bai Xingzhen’s expression dimmed for an instant. "He caught a plague a few years ago. He’s gone."

Old Ears sighed regretfully. "Didn’t even outlast this old man."

Chen Ji cut in, puzzled. "Weren’t you running off? How come you’re back again?"

Old Ears shifted into a more comfortable position against the carriage. "I’ve helped you out so many times, and told you so many secrets—if I just left, wouldn’t all that effort go to waste?"

Chen Ji was even more confused. "Then how did you shake those people off, and how did you get into Shangjing City?"

Old Ears chuckled slyly. "This old man’s methods reach the heavens. If I couldn’t even get into Shangjing City, how would I roam the Jianghu?"

Bai Xingzhen shrank into the carriage, looking at Old Ears for a bit, then at Chen Ji, getting more and more baffled the more he looked.

Then Old Ears abruptly changed the topic: "What were you two just talking about?"

Bai Xingzhen answered honestly, "The current court situation."

Old Ears snorted. "Those big shots can’t even piss into the same pot and that’s fine, but they insist on pissing all over each other. What’s so worth talking about in that mess?"

Bai Xingzhen stared, dumbfounded. "This is the first time I’ve heard anyone put it that way."

Old Ears burst out laughing. "That’s called crude words, sound reasoning."

They passed a Shao Mai shop, and Old Ears sniffed the air in approval. "Ma Family Shao Mai still tastes the same. Kid, pull over, pull over."

Chen Ji tightened the reins, and Old Ears held a hand out to him.

Chen Ji frowned in confusion. "What?"

Old Ears said as if it were only natural, "Hand over the silver. This old man doesn’t have any silver on him."

Old Ears looked at Chen Ji, and Chen Ji turned his head to look at Bai Xingzhen.

In the end, the old man, the youngster, and the cat all quietly stared at Bai Xingzhen.

Bai Xingzhen fished out silver while muttering under his breath, "You’re all grown men, why do you still have to ask me for silver? You don’t even have enough on you to buy Shao Mai?"

But just as he pulled the money pouch out of his sleeve, Old Ears snatched it away with a grab.

Bai Xingzhen exclaimed, "How can you rob a child of his things?"

Old Ears hefted the pouch, untied the cord and peeked inside, then immediately cried out in delight, "So much silver? Forget Shao Mai—this old man’s taking you two to eat something decent! It’s New Year’s Eve, after all. This silver’s enough for me to show you a good time straight through till dawn!"

Bai Xingzhen’s eyes lit up, but then he hesitated. "No, I still have to enter the palace this evening. There’s Your Majesty’s New Year’s Eve vigil banquet tonight."

Old Ears dismissed it with a scoff. "What’s fun about a vigil banquet, listening to a bunch of people fawn over the old Emperor? Pingkang Square is where we ought to be!"

Bai Xingzhen gritted his teeth. "Fine, I’ll listen to you!"

"Hold on," Chen Ji frowned. "The Duke Mansion needs this carriage. After Noon I have to return it, or there’ll be big trouble."

Old Ears snatched the reins from his hands. "Brooding all day long, overthinking every move—you’re not half as carefree as this old man. Kid, there aren’t that many ’big troubles’ under the heavens. As long as you don’t die, it’s not a big deal."

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