Green Mountain

In the posthouse, Mrs. Lu suddenly asked, "How do you know so much about my son? These things must be remembered with great care."

Chen Ji explained, "He and I are close friends, and he often talks about you. He said it over and over again, so naturally, I remembered."

Mrs. Lu was curious, "What else did he say?"

"He said a lot," Chen Ji continued talking to himself, "He visited your house in Changping and saw the couplets you put up. The upper couplet said, ’Only bless the lin child with safety,’ and the lower couplet said, ’Always pray the horse child stays healthy,’ with a horizontal scroll saying, ’Long life and prosperity.’

"He knows that no matter how busy you are, you return to the Imperial Capital from Changping every day, afraid that if he encounters difficulties, he won’t find help... Everything you’ve done, he knows it all."

After Chen Ji finished, he originally thought Mrs. Lu would be happy after hearing this, but when he looked up, he found she was not as pleased as he anticipated.

He wondered, "What’s wrong, Aunt Ping?"

Mrs. Lu thought for a moment and said, "You just said I left him a maid as a death soldier and taught her life principles to recite to him, indicating I wasn’t around him for a long time."

"You said on his wedding he didn’t give the bride a ten-mile red dowry, so I sent thirty-six carriage gifts, showing there were no other elders in the family to host the wedding, and I did this out of a sense of debt."

"He encountered trouble in Guyuan and needed help from outsiders."

"He was framed for assaulting the Crown Prince when he reached the Imperial Capital."

"You said I stayed in the Imperial Capital in fear he might not find help in trouble, indicating his poor situation with no one to assist him."

Mrs. Lu’s voice grew fainter, "He must have had a hard time these past years."

Chen Ji was stunned and unable to speak for a long while.

He stopped responding, lowered his head to drink the lamb soup, then suddenly said, "It would be better if you stayed amnesiac."

Mrs. Lu pondered, "Brother also said something similar."

"Oh?" Chen Ji was curious, "Why did he say that?"

Mrs. Lu recalled, "Last night I called him brother, and he said it’s the first time in my life I’ve called him brother, so he hopes I stay amnesiac."

Chen Ji knew Mrs. Lu was talking about Si Caogui.

Mrs. Lu looked out the window, "Memory is like an account book, recording past loves and hates, those who have done right by oneself, and those who have not are all noted there."

Mrs. Lu turned to Chen Ji, "I guess he’s guilty towards me; he can’t face the old me, and he hopes I stay amnesiac to start anew on a blank sheet... And you, why do you hope I stay amnesiac?"

Mrs. Lu changed her tone, "Why do you wish I remain amnesiac?"

Chen Ji paused for a long moment, then smiled, "I see you’re too tired, always burdened with many things from dawn till dusk, not happy, but now with amnesia, you seem more relaxed."

Before Mrs. Lu could speak, Chen Ji had already stood up, "The Right Martial Guard should be in pursuit, let’s go. We need to reach Yingkou before sunrise."

Mrs. Lu did not press further, "Alright."

The two left the posthouse and mounted their horses, Chen Ji rode Zhaolei, and Mrs. Lu rode two horses alone, swaggering out of Hai City Posthouse.

An hour later, they heard galloping horse hooves outside Hai City Posthouse, and Yuan Xing led the Right Martial Guard’s troops in single file, causing the military families in the city to make way to the roadside.

Yuan Xing sat on the horse and shouted loudly, "Have you seen a man and a woman? The man is about twenty, the woman around forty, the man riding a tall horse, half a head taller than mine!"

The posthouse soldier quickly replied, "Reporting, sir, there was indeed a man and a woman who passed by, the man was riding a tall and mighty horse."

Yuan Xing got excited, leaned forward, grabbed the posthouse soldier by the collar, and pulled him in front: "Where did they go?"

The posthouse soldier pointed south, "They changed to two horses and went south, towards Yingkou."

Yuan Xing was a bit puzzled, "Is it a false trail or brazen fearlessness? Knowing I’m chasing towards Yingkou, they still dare go there?"

In the next moment, he grabbed the posthouse soldier and asked, "How many horses are left at Hai City Posthouse?"

The posthouse soldier replied, "Reporting, sir, there are forty-six horses left."

Yuan Xing let go of the posthouse soldier’s collar, dismounted, and strode towards the stable, "Twenty-two of us from Xing Camp, follow me with two horses each and catch up, don’t let the two get away!"

...

...

Chen Ji and Mrs. Lu traveled day and night.

One person with two horses needs to change a horse every hour for riding, then trot slowly for an hour, and the previous horse can regain its energy.

Their pace varied between fast and slow but never stopped, only seeing the outline of Yingkou City at midnight when Mrs. Lu finally halted.

She turned to Chen Ji, "Once inside that city gate, if discovered, we’ll be caught in a trap. I will leave here; don’t follow me in and risk your life."

Chen Ji smiled, "What are you saying, Aunt Ping? You don’t even know what your son looks like. If I don’t go with you inside, how will you find him?"

Mrs. Lu pointed to her head, "I’m slowly remembering some things; maybe in a few hours, I’ll recall my son’s appearance. In any case, I can’t let you risk your life for my troubles."

Chen Ji no longer argued, he spurred his horse towards Yingkou, and Mrs. Lu had no choice but to follow, shaking the reins.

Chen Ji first came to the city gate, with barricades and heavy guards in front.

A guard loudly asked, "Who goes there?"

Chen Ji looked back as Mrs. Lu arrived, showing the Privy Council’s waist tag angrily, "On duty for the Privy Council."

The city gate guards immediately moved the barricades, slowly opening the city gates. Chen Ji took a deep breath and passed through the gate tunnel.

Inside the city, Chen Ji did not rush Aunt Ping to the port but roamed the city instead.

Mrs. Lu followed on horseback, asking, "What are you looking for?"

Chen Ji explained, "Looking for Denghuo. Yingkou is one of the Jing Dynasty’s most important ports, and Denghuo must have opened an inn here. Once we find Denghuo Inn, there will naturally be someone to help us leave the Jing Dynasty."

Mrs. Lu pondered, "Denghuo... what does it mean? Is it that in the long night with no home, the lamplight guides the traveler? Or is it that the world longs for light, unaware of fire consuming them?"

Chen Ji glanced around at the couplets by the roadside, "None of those, it’s not that complicated. Someone told me, ’Deng’ means ’home,’ so a home with a light is a home with people."

Mrs. Lu thought for a moment, "The person who named it must miss their family, right?"

Chen Ji paused briefly, then continued on horseback.

Throughout the late night in Yingkou, Chen Ji searched street by street, scrutinizing every couplet, looking for an hour but couldn’t find Denghuo Inn, and Mrs. Lu followed him silently.

At this moment, he suddenly halted, looking up at a plaque reading ’Hongfu Inn.’

He looked at the couplets on either side; the upper said, ’Viewing matters, viewing things, viewing heaven, viewing earth, viewing the sun, viewing the moon, viewing up, viewing down, always find highs and lows in others’; the lower said, ’Laugh at the ancient, laugh at the present, laugh east, laugh west, laugh south, laugh north, laugh back and forth, laugh at oneself for ignorance.’

Chen Ji observed the windows of the inn, the first, third, and fifth ones were slightly open, while the second, fourth, and sixth were closed, indicating someone was passing messages.

Found it.

He dismounted and walked straight into the inn, where a dim oil lamp lit the counter. Behind it, a young man propped his chin, dozing.

Hearing footsteps, the young man asked vaguely, "Guest, do you use silver or copper coin?"

Chen Ji replied calmly, "Copper coin."

The young man lifted his eyelids, lazily eyeing Chen Ji, "Guest, are you here to pick up or deliver...?"

Before he finished speaking, he saw Mrs. Lu also arrive at the counter, examining the inn’s decor, "Is this the Denghuo Inn?"

The young man stood up abruptly, "Landlord? What are you doing here!"

Mrs. Lu hesitated, "Who are you?"

The young man was surprised, "What’s wrong, I’m Little Fourteen!"

Mrs. Lu shook her head, "I don’t remember."

Little Fourteen heard this, stumbled toward the back courtyard.

Soon, hurried and chaotic footsteps sounded from the backyard, and Chen Ji turned to see people pulling up pants, buttoning shirts, and putting on shoes, rushing wildly to the main hall, among them a familiar face.

Su Zhou.

Seeing Chen Ji and Mrs. Lu, Su Zhou’s face changed, "Why is it you two?"

Chen Ji was also surprised, "Why are you in Yingkou?"

Su Zhou pointed at Aunt Ping irritably, "Ask her, it was this woman who exiled me here, telling me not to return to Ning Dynasty and cause trouble!"

As soon as he finished speaking, they heard drumming outside, drumming intensely with strength, a total of one hundred and eight beats before stopping.

Su Zhou looked at Chen Ji, "It’s the curfew drum, they intend to search all over Yingkou... Are they trying to catch you two?"

...

Sorry, some plot details took a night to sort out; revisiting the outline delayed the update.

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