Green Mountain

Chen Ji gripped the reins, carefully observing Mrs. Lu: fine crow’s feet had already formed at the corners of her eyes, strands of gray mixed with her black hair, and her face bore the weariness from exposure to the elements.

He had never seen Mrs. Lu without her veil before; not only was she covering a scar on her nose, but she was also deliberately concealing her identity and face, with a black veil separating mother and son.

That black veil was not like a paper window that could be pierced easily; it was a hurdle that neither of them could overcome.

Chen Ji pondered for a long time before tentatively asking, "How did you know your son was in Yingkou?"

Mrs. Lu answered seriously, "Ah Di told me."

Chen Ji was puzzled, as this unresolved question led to a new one: "Who is Ah Di?"

Mrs. Lu tightened the reins and glanced at him with confusion, then became wary: "Don’t you know? Didn’t you say you were familiar with me? How could you not know who my Ah Di is?"

Chen Ji opened his mouth but couldn’t speak for a while.

Evidently, she mentioned something that didn’t even exist, yet because he didn’t know, it became his doubt instead.

Chen Ji turned to look, Mrs. Lu was still waiting for his answer, her gaze growing sharper, and she drove her horse a little further away, moving her right hand towards the short knife.

Looking at Si Caogui’s short knife, Chen Ji remained silent for a moment: "He’s a man with a scar on the back of his hand, right? You usually don’t call him Ah Di, so I didn’t react immediately."

Mrs. Lu remembered Si Caogui saying, "Ah Jie called me Ah Di for the first time," and quickly released the knife handle: "Sorry, I was overthinking it."

Chen Ji let out a small sigh of relief.

Speaking of Ah Di, Mrs. Lu’s expression turned somber: "Ah Di stayed behind in Shangjing to save me... I don’t know how he is now."

Chen Ji comforted her, "Aunt Ping, don’t worry, he’s fine."

Mrs. Lu was pleasantly surprised: "Really?"

Chen Ji affirmed with a hum: "Yes, really. I saw him this morning; he was slightly injured but nothing serious. He’s the one who sent me to rescue you; otherwise, I wouldn’t have known you were on your way to Yingkou."

Mrs. Lu relaxed: "That’s good."

Chen Ji urged his horse closer and persuaded Mrs. Lu: "Aunt Ping, we can’t go to Yingkou. If the pursuers catch up, and we are attacked from front and back by the garrison soldiers there, we might have no escape..."

Mrs. Lu stubbornly declared, "No need to persuade me anymore; I must go to Yingkou."

In the next moment, she unexpectedly advised Chen Ji: "Young man, you don’t need to go to Yingkou with me. You should leave on your own. For saving my life just now, if I can return alive from this journey, I will surely reward you generously."

After speaking, Mrs. Lu clamped her legs against her horse’s belly, speeding up to leave Chen Ji behind.

Chen Ji urged Zhaolei to follow, carefully choosing his words: "Aunt Ping, your son is not in Yingkou."

Mrs. Lu frowned: "Not in Yingkou?"

Chen Ji said confidently, "Yes, your Ah Di told me himself. He asked me to stop you and said your son has already gone to Lushun."

Without looking back, Mrs. Lu let out a cold laugh: "Don’t try to fool me; I only believe what Ah Di says in person."

Chen Ji was left with no options: "Aunt Ping, I am your son."

Mrs. Lu was taken aback, then slowly said, "I know you mean well, but there’s no need to suffer such grievances just to save me. If your mother heard you casually calling someone else ’mother,’ she would be upset too."

Chen Ji was stunned.

Mrs. Lu stated firmly, "I must go to Yingkou; I don’t know why, but I have a sense that my son is in danger and might be waiting for me to save him there. If even his mother can’t be relied upon, he would feel upset too."

After speaking, Mrs. Lu sped up again.

Wu Yun looked up at Chen Ji and meowed, "What now?"

After a moment of silence, Chen Ji urged his horse to follow: "Go to Yingkou, and leave by ship before the Right Martial Guard catches up."

...

...

By evening, the two of them saw a post city from a distance, with the words "Hai City Posthouse" carved above its gate.

Hai City Posthouse was not large, but it served as a transit hub from Shangjing to Yingkou and Lushun, built specifically for the transport of provisions, troops, and documents.

Chen Ji called out to Aunt Ping, "Aunt Ping, we need to bypass this post city."

But Aunt Ping shook her head: "No, my horse can’t run anymore. We need to change horses in the post city to continue our journey."

Reluctantly keeping up with Aunt Ping, Chen Ji saw her riding to the post city gate and being stopped by the guards. Aunt Ping dismounted without changing her expression and took a waist tag from her bosom: "On business from the Privy Council."

Seeing the waist tag, the guard quickly stepped aside: "Please come in, sirs. The posthouse has hot water, good wine, good food, and good lodgings."

Aunt Ping led the war horse with great swagger as she walked in: "Where is the posthouse?"

The guard pointed to the south: "The largest house at the southern gate of the city is it."

Just upon entering the Post City, a wave of hot air hit them in the face.

In the city, people came and went; the rows of stables emitted a grassy scent; blacksmith workshops lined the roadsides, with blacksmiths inside making clanging sounds as they hammered horsehoes. From time to time, civil servants shouted orders, counting the supplies passing through Hai City Posthouse, exchanging documents.

Chen Ji quietly observed Hai City Posthouse with some puzzlement. There were no battles in Lushun or Yingkou, so why was Hai City Posthouse, a logistical hub for both places, so busy? Did it warrant so many people crammed here, shoeing so many horses?

Aunt Ping led Chen Ji south with a nonchalant demeanor, undisturbed by the coming and going of military families, posthouse soldiers, and soldiers, just as she had first led Chen Ji around Changping County with ease.

Arriving at the posthouse’s door, Aunt Ping casually threw the reins to a posthouse soldier and flashed her Privy Council waist tag: "Bring two good horses. Brew two large bowls of lamb soup, slice a pound of lamb, and bring two pounds of cakes. We’ll leave after eating."

The posthouse soldier took the reins hurriedly: "Please come inside, esteemed guests."

Aunt Ping led Chen Ji to a table by the window and sat down, rubbing chopsticks with her hands while vigilantly looking outside, speaking nonstop: "The Right Martial Guard will definitely change horses at Hai City Posthouse, otherwise, they can’t catch up with us. Just now, I counted, there are at most fifty warhorses in the stables at Hai City Posthouse, and if I take away two, only forty-eight can follow us after they pass through. It’s a pity I’ve lost my memory, otherwise I’d find a way to capture that second-generation wastrel commander... With a person and two horses driving, we could reach Yingkou tonight, so it’s best not to cause more trouble."

Chen Ji and Wu Yun both widened their eyes at the same time, Chen Ji curiously asked: "Have you really lost your memory?"

Aunt Ping turned her gaze back inside the posthouse, handing a pair of chopsticks to Chen Ji: "Indeed, I have amnesia, but things occasionally pop up in my mind."

She tilted her head recalling: "A big setup handles the whole game, silently grasping the mechanism. By the pond, lure guests and paint big baits, cleverly cajoling one into a snare. Falsely persuade and arouse one’s spirit, harsh advice hides traps... Three create a tiger to make waves, deceitful words to beguile the common. This seems to be some trick of the Eight Generals of Thousand Gates, impossible to forget."

Wu Yun meowed, "Bold move!"

At this moment, the posthouse soldier brought over the lamb soup, lamb, and cakes: "Please enjoy, esteemed guests."

Aunt Ping picked up the lamb with chopsticks, pushing most of it to Chen Ji, and the rest into her own lamb soup: "By the way, do you recognize my son?"

Chen Ji paused while stirring his lamb soup with chopsticks: "I do."

Aunt Ping took a big gulp of hot lamb soup, put down the bowl, and curiously asked: "Tell me what my son looks like, I’m afraid I won’t recognize him at Yingkou."

Chen Ji bowed his head: "He’s about the same height as me, with a similar build..."

Aunt Ping frowned: "Isn’t there something more distinctive? This is too ordinary."

Chen Ji smiled: "That’s about it. No worries, I’ll recognize him and help you find him then."

Mrs. Lu nodded, tore a piece of cake, and soaked it in the lamb soup: "Alright, thank you then."

As they ate halfway, she hesitated again: "Before I lost my memory, was I close to my son?"

Chen Ji was silent for a while: "Very close. You’ve saved his life many times and done many things for him, which he remembers."

"Oh?" Mrs. Lu’s eyes lit up: "What kind of things have I done?"

Chen Ji softly replied: "Though you couldn’t be by his side often, you trained his maid Xiao Man into a Death Soldier. Xiao Man, though she hesitated initially, intended to flee with the silver, but later took her duty seriously and stayed with him, became family. You were afraid you wouldn’t have the chance to teach him principles, so you taught them to Xiao Man, who then gradually passed them on to him. You also gave Xiao Man a bracelet that could borrow troops from Yutian, instructing her to hand it to your daughter-in-law."

Mrs. Lu was dazed, remembering none of it.

Chen Ji continued: "When he encountered trouble in Guyuan, Third Master Hu under your command helped him find people and buy ginseng. Due to your connections, the shopkeeper at Dragon Gate Inn also took good care of him."

Mrs. Lu nonchalantly replied: "These are minor matters."

Chen Ji recalled: "Later, he was chased to Changping, and you risked your life, helping him escape death, and caught the fugitive Liao Zhong, clearing him of assassination charges against the Crown Prince."

Mrs. Lu furrowed her brows: "My son seems not very easy to manage? How does he get into so much trouble?"

Chen Ji laughed heartily: "Indeed, not very easy to manage. Later, he needed to capture Si Caoding from the Military Intelligence Department within three days, and you disguised yourself to accompany and assist him; when he got married without preparing a dowry parade, you arranged for thirty-six carriages, containing red gold and ruby headpieces, ambergris fished from the sea, Shu brocade, Yun Jin, Kesi silk... The list of gifts goes on, still the talk of the Imperial Capital’s tea guests."

Mrs. Lu’s eyes brightened: "My son got married? Who is the bride? Is she of noble character?"

Chen Ji warmly replied: "The bride is very good, they are a match made in heaven. Her family is also very nice, and they take good care of your son."

Mrs. Lu was happily satisfied, too pleased to eat, and exclaimed: "Do they have children?"

Chen Ji hesitated: "Not yet."

Mrs. Lu hesitated: "Which one of them is incapable?"

Chen Ji replied peevishly: "It’s not about being incapable, they haven’t been married long."

Mrs. Lu let out a long "oh": "Then when we meet, I must hurry him."

Chen Ji looked at Mrs. Lu: "You need not worry about not bonding with him when you meet, you’re a very good mother, he always feels fortunate."

...

There’s another update tonight, everyone can read it in the morning

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!