Green Mountain

The carriage ambled north, its wheels clattering over the cobblestone path. Pedestrians, upon seeing the carriage, quickly made way, standing by the roadside with slight bows, only daring to straighten up and continue on their way once it had passed.

If the carriage encountered a sedan chair on the road, the sedan chair had to immediately stop and set down, waiting for the carriage to go by before continuing.

After losing the reins, Chen Ji didn’t bother with anything else and leaned back in the carriage, closing his eyes to rest. Old Ears was humming a little tune, looking quite pleased with himself, and he remained unbothered by the clouds hovering above him.

Bai Xingzhen’s gaze darted between the two men and occasionally glanced at the clouds, growing more puzzled with each look.

Unable to control his curiosity, he pointed at Chen Ji’s back and asked Old Ears: "What’s your relationship with him?"

Old Ears stroked his beard and hesitated: "I suppose I’m half his master."

Chen Ji slowly opened his eyes.

Bai Xingzhen wondered aloud: "How is that a half-master?"

Old Ears chuckled: "I agreed, but he hasn’t agreed yet."

Bai Xingzhen looked at Chen Ji in disbelief: "He hasn’t agreed? What do you mean he hasn’t agreed?"

Old Ears asked suspiciously: "Do you know me? I haven’t been to Shangjing City for about eighteen or nineteen years."

Bai Xingzhen quickly replied: "I don’t know you, I just think this kid is somewhat ungrateful, don’t you agree?"

Old Ears laughed heartily: "Of course, you’ve got a good eye, unlike some people who see without perception, always arguing with me."

Chen Ji raised his eyebrows.

Bai Xingzhen edged closer, his eyes burning: "If he doesn’t appreciate you, don’t mind him; why not take me as your disciple?"

Old Ears shook his head: "You can’t be, you’re not the right material."

Chen Ji burst out laughing, and Bai Xingzhen’s face turned dark with anger, retreating sulkily: "Fine, don’t accept me then."

Yet after retreating inside the carriage, he couldn’t resist lifting the curtain to sneak a peek.

Chen Ji changed the topic: "What kind of place is Pingkang Square, and why go there on New Year’s Eve?"

"What kind of place is Pingkang Square?" Old Ears reclined in the carriage, one leg on the carriage floor and the other dangling outside, speaking freely: "All the Jinzou Institutes are there, responsible for receiving documents and gathering news about the court and the public. Officials and scholars coming to the capital are entertained by the Jinzou Institutes."

Chen Ji suddenly understood that Jinzou Institute was the Diplomatic City Office.

Old Ears continued: "Pingkang Square originally had many temples which were noble family temples, but later, Kujue Temple abolished these family temples, selling them to nobles and officials of the Six Ministries to use as private residences, some to keep concubines, some to store gifts. But our trip isn’t to the Jinzou Institute or these private residences, but to North Three Quarters."

Bai Xingzhen’s eyes widened: "You’re taking us to a brothel? I didn’t expect you to be that kind of person!"

Old Ears gave him a sideways glance: "So young, yet you speak so harshly. Those are places where literati and scholars gather... Besides, the brothels aren’t open for business yet, we have to find a place to pass the time till nightfall."

Bai Xingzhen muttered: "Saying it’s not to a brothel."

Old Ears ignored him and reminisced: "I wonder what’s popular in Shangjing City now. In our time, we first went to the best bathhouse for a soak, and once thoroughly refreshed, the bathhouse would prepare food, dumplings, wontons. After filling up, going to a brothel to listen to music saved a lot of silver, as things in brothels are expensive..."

Bai Xingzhen shrank back a bit: "Bathhouse? I’m not going to a bathhouse."

Old Ears smacked his lips: "Not going to a bathhouse, then we can only go to a tavern. There should be stories at this hour to listen to; I wonder if there are any new ones lately."

Bai Xingzhen’s eyes lit up: "There are, there are. I heard recently there’s a new story about Champion Marquis Yuan Hengli Zhen leading the Mo Blade Camp to chase the Southern Dynasty’s Marquis Wu Xiang at Chongli Pass."

Old Ears perked up: "That’s a good story, worth listening to."

Bai Xingzhen scrutinized him, making sure he was genuinely interested, and curiously asked: "You like listening to stories about Champion Marquis Yuan Hengli Zhen?"

"Not really," Old Ears corrected: "I like hearing about that Southern Dynasty’s Marquis Wu Xiang getting in trouble. Hearing he was hunted down is more satisfying to me than ice in the summer."

Chen Ji rolled his eyes, and Bai Xingzhen always felt there was more to Old Ear’s words.

He thought for a moment: "If you dislike Marquis Wu Xiang, there’s major news for you. A carrier pigeon arrived from the Military Intelligence Department, saying this Wu Xiang has already perished in the fire."

Old Ears sighed: "Tsk tsk, to die just like that, he got off too easy. Such a person deserves the harshest punishment, like castration, dismemberment..."

Chen Ji couldn’t be bothered with him and looked back at Bai Xingzhen to ask: "When did this happen?"

Bai Xingzhen recalled: "The news just came from the palace yesterday. Why are you all so concerned about that Marquis Wu Xiang, is there something special about him?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "No, just asking randomly."

...

...

A Nuo troupe was approaching head-on.

Following the fangxiangshi with green faces and tusks was a group of jubilant young jingzi, chattering as they passed by the carriage, not knowing which neighborhood they were visiting.

Some neighbors stuffed malt candies into the jingzi’s arms, others offered fried meatballs, and when passing by the tavern, the storekeeper would stop them and give each a cup of Tusu wine.

The Tusu wine had to be drunk by the youngest jingzi first. They removed their masks to drink, spicing their mouths with laughter, then donned their masks again, and staggered away drunk.

Bai Xingzhen leaned out of the carriage window, watching enviously, even Chen Ji couldn’t help but lean out and look back. Old Ears beside him smiled and asked, "Isn’t it fun? Much more interesting than those court intrigues, right? Do you understand now why an old man like me wants to mingle amongst people?"

Chen Ji responded with a nod.

Old Ears patted him: "Stop here, that’s the tavern in front, see the banner embroidered with ’Bottoms up’? Those characters were written by my hand."

The tavern had a cotton curtain but with the windows open, peeking inside, the guests were all gathered around iron stoves drinking and chatting. A large iron pot sat atop each stove, stewing goose, with yellow corn cakes lining the edge, and chimneys sticking up to the roof.

Yet, Chen Ji wasn’t looking at this tavern; rather, he gazed across the street at another establishment named Tongque Platform.

Four gray-clad men with otter fur hats stood at the entrance of the establishment. They seemed to be idling in chat under the eaves, but their eyes remained on the passersby.

Moreover, when Duke Huang’s carriage arrived at the tavern’s entrance, some pedestrians vaguely gathered around, their right hands slowly reaching into the left sleeves.

Chen Ji did not make any noise; he only glanced nonchalantly at the second floor of the place named "Tongque Platform," where a slit in the window was revealing someone nervously peeking down.

At this moment, Old Ears jumped off the carriage as if nothing was amiss, tossing the reins to the little servant who came out to greet them, laughing heartily, "Is Gousheng here?"

The little servant looked dazed at the sight of him with a little black cat atop his head: "The landlord is inside."

Old Ears lifted the curtain and walked in, Chen Ji protected Bai Xingzhen as they followed him in. It was only after they all entered the tavern that the crowd gathered around the entrance dispersed, returning to their nonchalance.

Old Ears shouted as he entered: "Gousheng, see who’s here?"

Behind the counter, an old man fiddling with an abacus raised his head at the words, blinking several times before incredulously exclaiming, "Chieftain!"

Bai Xingzhen was puzzled: "Chieftain? Isn’t that what they call the head of the Old Rongs in Shangjing City?"

"You’ll get used to it," Chen Ji said expressionlessly, "Now, even if someone called him the Buddha, I wouldn’t be too surprised."

Old Ears wasn’t angry, instead, he laughed and pulled him and Bai Xingzhen to sit in a corner, near a large iron pot on a stove, and he himself mingled with the crowd for a drink.

The landlord, Gousheng, ran outside to gather people, calling all the old acquaintances of Old Ears to the tavern. As the place became increasingly lively, Old Ears stomped a foot on the bench, waved his hand, and announced, "Today’s drinks are on me, brothers, drink to your heart’s content!"

The drinking games began in the crowd, initially quite regular, with a group reciting "The current First Rank official, two big eyes, stars shine bright all four seasons till the fifth period of night, six harmonies with six springs, seven skills and eight horses, nine eyes stealing the feather plumes, ten full blessings increase, open the window panels, the bright moon shines in the sky"—a woodland bandit’s drinking game, from one to ten, those who falter will drink as a penalty.

After just ten minutes, Old Ears was already gesticulating wildly among the crowd: "Crab one, eight claws, both ends pointed about this size, squint heave the neck shrink, crawling and crawling cross the sand river..."

Bai Xingzhen watched as Old Ears waved his arms and legs about, dumbfounded, while Chen Ji slowly retracted his gaze: "This may seem childish to you, but it’s just right for him."

Chen Ji sat expressionlessly in a corner, quietly watching as the little servant kindled the stove, bringing a freshly slaughtered goose, cut into pieces, and tossed it into the pot, before lining the edge of the pot with corncakes.

Bai Xingzhen watched, mouth watering, only snapping back to see Chen Ji, at some unknown point, had filled his bowl with wine.

Amidst the boisterous drinking game, Chen Ji toasted nine bowls towards the south, downing them all. Then another nine bowls towards the sky, emptying those too. In the blink of an eye, eighteen bowls were gone.

Bai Xingzhen suddenly asked: "My father used to toast before drinking too; he toasted his comrades, whom do you toast?"

Chen Ji calmly replied: "Also comrades."

Bai Xingzhen seemed thoughtful: "My father also said that those who toast Heaven, Earth, and comrades before drinking have a good heart and are worth knowing deeply."

Chen Ji lowered his head and poured himself another bowl: "Why?"

Bai Xingzhen recalled: "He didn’t say. I asked my mother, and she said my father just loves to drink, don’t listen to him spinning tales."

After finished speaking, he pretended to be mature and poured himself a bowl too, but after taking just a sip, he was too spiced to speak.

At this very moment, on the second floor of Tongque Platform across the street, an old man sat alone at a square table, holding a small wine cup to his lips, and sipped a little.

A fair-skinned, beardless middle-aged man beside him was serving him food: "The Imperial Physician said you should eat more food and drink less."

The old man remained silent, finally setting the wine cup down.

When the sounds of the drinking game drifted over from Old Ears’ side, he slowly raised his head, unable to resist wanting to peek out the window, but the middle-aged man beside him quietly reminded: "Your Majesty, you shouldn’t get too close to the window, lest you suppress passing executive officers, revealing your track."

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