Green Mountain

A bowl of strong liquor turned Bai Xingzhen’s cheeks a rosy red, his eyes filled with mist, reflecting the bright lamps and lanterns outside as if holding all the lights of the world within.

Chen Ji smiled and asked, "Never drank wine before, have you?"

Bai Xingzhen stubbornly raised his head and said, "Don’t underestimate me. I could drink three large bowls in one go when I was nine."

Chen Ji wondered, "Why did you drink so much at nine?"

Bai Xingzhen looked at the lights outside the building, "That year, my father passed away. My mother missed him too much and followed him. I read in a storybook that wine could let you live a drunken life and dream away, so I stole some to drink. After drinking, I indeed slept a whole day and night and forgot everything, but once awake, I remembered it all clearly. It was useless."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, "What about your grandmother?"

Bai Xingzhen wobbled as he said, "Grandmother’s health isn’t good either. The Imperial Physician said she probably won’t make it through this year. I had planned to take the Bai Family’s Army back to Shangjing Road after Grandmother leaves. In the years without my father, Beifan has been restless. A Bai Family member must oversee Shangjing Road to keep them in check. Even though I’m young, as long as a Bai Family member is alive, Beifan wouldn’t dare move the Royal Court south of the Wan Nan River. If Father were still here..."

Bai Xingzhen looked across, "So many people over there are serving you food. It’d be nice if we all ate together. Then you could all come to Shangjing Road, and I’ll roast whole lambs for you on the grassland."

"Sure," Chen Ji looked at the bowl on the opposite side, which was piled so high with food that it couldn’t hold anymore.

At this moment, the poetry competition in the tavern had concluded a round with the Western Capital Road winning. If Tokyo Road loses another round, the plaque "Not as good as the Western Capital Road" would hang for another year.

Scholars from both sides across Nanqu Lane discussed loudly, "The Spring Imperial Examination will be soon upon us; for the next round, shall we use it as our topic? The last was five-character verses, let’s use seven-character verses for this round."

"Agreed!"

With that, the young scholars from Tokyo Road were immediately invigorated. Having just lost a round, they were holding back their breaths, eager to regain their reputation with a change of topic.

"I’ll go first!" A scholar in blue eagerly began writing a poem on the hanging scroll from the eaves, chanting as he wrote: "Ten years beneath the cold lamp of study, one scroll of writing queries the old monk. With the spring wind’s help, reach the sky’s heights of nine thousand layers."

"Bravo!" After he finished, there were cheers, with some taunting looks toward the Western Capital Road crowd.

On the Western Capital Road side, a middle-aged scholar with graying hair picked up a brush and wrote: "Fame and fortune don’t depend on win or loss, head to the deep parts of Qingshan. All volumes of poetry are old friends, a jug of murky wine is one’s life."

The Western Capital Road scholars also cheered, yet Tokyo Road quickly responded with a poem: "Ten years in the cold beneath a green lamp, at midnight the sound of reciting heard. Don’t say fame and fortune are as thin as paper, for the inkstone was ground to the bone."

Bai Xingzhen clapped and praised with a smile, "That middle-aged scholar across likely failed the exams several times, comforting himself that fame isn’t important. Over here, they retorted, saying that back when you almost ground through your inkstone, you didn’t think so."

Saying this, he couldn’t resist taking another swig of wine, exhaling a strong breath of alcohol.

Bai Xingzhen lifted the wine jar to pour himself another drink, and as he was doing so, the sound of footsteps echoed up the stairs.

Mr. Feng, dressed in white, leisurely arrived at the second floor. Instead of rushing to find Chen Ji and Bai Xingzhen, he approached two Imperial Guards first, patting one on the shoulder: "Excuse me, have you seen two youngsters, one this tall, the other this tall?"

Mr. Feng gestured at chest and head height.

The Imperial Guard pointed with a stern face toward Chen Ji and Bai Xingzhen: "Over there."

Mr. Feng clasped his hands in thanks and turned toward the square table, taking the wine jar from Bai Xingzhen’s hand: "Duke, you can’t drink anymore."

Seeing Mr. Feng, Bai Xingzhen smiled foolishly with a flushed face, "Chief Steward is here... It’s all this kid’s fault for luring me out. I didn’t want to come out. If you want to blame someone, blame him."

After saying this, Bai Xingzhen closed his eyes and leaned back. Mr. Feng caught his back, supporting him to sleep soundly on the table.

Mr. Feng checked his pulse at his neck, then turned to Chen Ji, smiling without sincerity, "Bai Xingzhen is crucial. If you dare sneak him out again, I’ll wring your neck."

Chen Ji leaned back a bit guiltily: "We were just about to head back."

On the second floor, two young men glanced over, and Mr. Feng lifted his clothing hem to sit by the table, saying softly, "Don’t make any noise. Shangjing City currently hosts eight thousand armored soldiers, with two to three hundred Imperial Guards in Pingkang Square. If you cause trouble, they could hack you to death, and no one could save you."

He then glanced toward the opposite tavern and nodded slightly to Old Yao.

Chen Ji looked at the drunken Bai Xingzhen and turned to Mr. Feng, "What is Mr. Feng’s true purpose in staying by this person’s side?"

"When the time comes, act as a lobbyist," Mr. Feng poured himself a bowl of wine: "I only hope that when Jing Dynasty sends troops north, the Bai Family remains neutral at Shangjing Road, and after the war between the two dynasties ceases, Bai Family continues as the Duke."

Chen Ji let out a small sigh of relief.

Mr. Feng looked toward the opposite tavern. When he saw Old Yao and Princess Liyang, he suddenly sighed, "Risking your life to return to Shangjing just for this distant glance? Why even bother."

Chen Ji remained silent.

...

...

At this moment, Zhu Yunxi suddenly stood up from across the way, borrowing a brush from a scholar, lifted his sleeve, and wrote on the scroll: "On the eve of setting out to the capital, the snow and wind were cold, my mother’s tears were wet as she sewed clothes. If the spring wind could send a message, let it first ask safety for this night."

The crowd from Western Capital Road shouted: "Good! Before you and I went to the capital to take the exam, our loving mothers gave countless instructions with tears on the official road. Now we, who have been away from home for over three months, miss home desperately, which is much better than seeking fame and fortune!"

Only Chen Ji knew that this poem was written for him.

He turned his head to look at Zhu Yunxi, who was standing among the lamps, bowing towards Tokyo Road. That naive and inexperienced princely heir, has finally learned to write poetry on his own, and quite well too.

Chen Ji picked up his bowl of wine and drank it all in one go.

Over on Tokyo Road, refusing to admit defeat, someone else picked up a pen and wrote: "Thousands of miles, the brocade letter brings peace, loving mother smiles in the light. If you ask where the return date can be sent, let achievements comfort the joy of parents."

Someone on Tokyo Road clapped and praised: "Hahaha, if you truly miss your mother, then earn a good name to repay her. Parents live frugally to provide for your education, talking about anything else is useless!"

Liang Gou’er downed a bowl of wine, broadly proclaiming: "The Imperial Capital may be large and the lamps bright, but they are not as good as the home stove fire. Someone waits for you to return to eat, someone saves a ladle for you..."

Speaking to this point, Liang Gou’er scratched his head with his single arm, then slapped his thigh: "Don’t say fame is crucial, the word ’peace’ is the most reliable. If you are cold in the wind outside, drink this hot bowl of wine!"

When he finished reciting, the Tokyo Road side burst into laughter: "What is this stuff, even a doggerel poem is used to fill the count?"

Liang Gou’er retorted confidently: "What are you shouting for, every word rhymes. If any word is wrong, I’ll kowtow to you; if none are wrong, you kowtow to me!"

The Tokyo Road side cursed: "Doesn’t count, doesn’t count, doggerel is an insult to literary elegance!"

Amidst the noise, Chen Ji picked up his bowl of wine again and drained it.

At the next moment, Princess Liyang bowed her head whispering to Old Yao.

Old Yao was silent initially, but eventually opened his mouth, saying something to Princess Liyang.

A moment later, Liyang, smiling with delight, stood up and wrote: "Before leaving, drink three bowls, don’t ask about fame or time. As long as peace is conveyed in a letter, it’s the greatest poem on earth."

She said smilingly: "Others only care about your fame and fortune, only parents wish for your peace and safety, and early return home."

Chen Ji stared dazedly at the opposite side, where under the lamps, Princess Liyang, Liang Gou’er, and Liang Mao’er were all smiling brightly.

Old Yao’s lips moved silently saying: "Go home."

Chen Ji wiped his face with the back of his hand, raised his bowl of wine, and drank it all.

Mr. Feng, after a silent moment, also picked up his bowl and drank: "It wasn’t in vain to come, I’ll accompany with a bowl."

Just at that moment, a huge ice flow came through the wall from the adjacent room, merging into Chen Ji’s Dantian, and he suddenly looked up at Mr. Feng: "The Fourth Prince next door is dead."

Mr. Feng raised his eyebrows: "Certain?"

Chen Ji nodded: "Certain."

Mr. Feng listened to the adjacent room’s sounds, but it remained quiet without the sound of chaos.

Chen Ji said: "Take Bai Xingzhen and leave."

"Why leave? We didn’t kill anyone, leaving now raises suspicion," Mr. Feng laughed: "You go, it’s a good time to leave amidst the chaos. Remember to bring my regards to the Prime Minister once you return, just say things are fine on this side of the Jing Dynasty... let him spend more time in the sun."

Chen Ji frowned: "I must send Bai Xingzhen back."

Mr. Feng waved his sleeve: "Save it, with me here, nothing will collapse."

This white-clothed man sat at the table, calmly sipping from the wine bowl. Just one sentence restored the demeanor of one of the Top Three, Bai Long.

Chen Ji hesitated for two breaths, then turned and headed downstairs.

A sound came from above, and Chen Ji looked up, just in time to see a figure jump and nimbly flip onto the roof and disappear.

It was precisely that famed scholar of Shangjing City earlier engaged in poetic exchange, Wang Tuan’er.

Chen Ji did not interfere, instead headed out of Nanqu Lane.

Just as he left the alley, shouts came from behind: "Assassin! The Fourth Prince was attacked! The assassin has fled to the rooftop!"

The Imperial Guards on street duty glanced at each other, and disregarding their duty, immediately rushed towards the brothel. Pingkang Square was already in chaos as townsfolk fled.

Caught in the crowd, Chen Ji looked back and saw Old Yao standing silently observing him from the tavern’s second floor.

He opened his mouth, but the words were stuck.

Old Yao waved at him: Go home.

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