Green Mountain-Chapter 582 - 441: Wu Xiangjun

Outside the Cold Plum Building, Shen Ye clutched a handkerchief, smiling as he looked up at the building.

The people nearby whispered to each other, some saying that the top scholar writing a poem for a brothel leader was a beautiful tale, while others said that the top scholar mingling with a brothel girl was self-indulgence and degradation.

But Shen Ye paid no mind to any of it.

The Yulin Army rode in quickly, scattering the people and surrounding Shen Ye. Li Xuan said in a deep voice, "Brother Shen, you should come with us to the Imperial Academy. The Qionglin Banquet cannot be disrupted."

Shen Ye reassured them, "Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’ll go with you now."

He tugged on the reins and re-entered the ceremonial procession.

As he was leaving, he looked back at the building, and Liu Xingshou had somehow come out again and was standing at the railing, silently watching him.

Within the ceremonial procession, Chen Ji glanced at Shen Ye, then at Liu Su on the building, and said quietly, "Brother Shen, you must be old acquaintances with Liu Xingshou, right?"

Shen Ye turned his head and grinned, "I explained to you before, back when I was in Jinling, I helped Liu Xingshou’s rival write a poem to win the top place, and she was annoyed with me for many years. Now that there’s a chance, I ought to make amends."

Chen Ji asked softly, "Is it that simple?"

Shen Ye asked back with interest, "What else? What exactly do you want to ask, dear brother?"

Chen Ji met his gaze for a moment, then smiled and said, "Nothing much, just thought you two are quite a match."

Shen Ye laughed heartily, "I think so too."

Li Xuan rode up to Chen Ji’s side, "You should go back, today’s matter, I will explain to the court myself."

Chen Ji shook his head, "The matter is too significant, you can’t explain it away. I’ll go with you; I think His Majesty should also summon me to the palace."

Li Xuan looked over at Lin Yanchu in the ceremonial procession, "What about him?"

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, "Let him do as he wishes."

Qi Zhenzhuo dismounted and went up to Lin Yanchu, pulling him off his horse, "Come down, you have a new path now, no need to mingle with us any longer, take off your armor!"

Under everyone’s gaze, Lin Yanchu hesitated for a long time, looking at Chen Ji.

Chen Ji said calmly, "Go pursue your future."

Lin Yanchu gritted his teeth, and finally removed his Yulin Army armor, wearing only a gray inner garment, and clasped his fists towards Chen Ji, "Take care, my lord!"

With that, he turned and strode away, merging into the crowd.

Qi Zhenzhuo led Lin Yanchu’s horse to Chen Ji, "Master, don’t bother with this ungrateful wretch, heaven will deal with him."

Chen Ji took a deep breath and mounted the horse, "Let’s go."

The ceremonial procession resumed its slow march through Zhengyang Gate. Just as they reached Chengtian Gate, they saw six Jiefan Guards riding towards them, angry and imposing, "Wu Xiangjun, His Majesty summons you to the palace to be questioned!"

Wu Xiangjun.

Chen Ji almost didn’t react, realizing they were calling his title.

The six Jiefan Guards charged into the ceremonial procession and surrounded Chen Ji. Qi Zhenzhuo and the others drew their swords, attempting to scatter the Jiefan Guards, "What are you doing? What crime has he committed?"

The Jiefan Guards coldly eyed Qi Zhenzhuo, "The scholar’s procession is court dignity, meant to showcase the emperor’s vast grace. Chen Ji disrupting the scholar’s procession, what crime is that?"

Qi Zhenzhuo hesitated, "He did it for... you aren’t avenging Wu Xiugong, are you?"

The Jiefan Guards sneered, "It seems Lord Qi also wants a trip to our Imperial Prison."

Qi Zhenzhuo bristled, "Afraid of you? We men have been there before!"

Chen Ji raised a hand to stop the conversation, "It’s fine, I’ll go with these Jiefan Guard officers for a trip."

Qi Zhenzhuo shouted anxiously, "Master!"

Chen Ji looked at him and said with a smile, "You’ve become bolder than before. Don’t worry, it’s nothing, at most they’ll strip me of my newly acquired title."

The Jiefan Guards pulled him off the horse, even placing iron shackles on his hands, and escorted him towards the Imperial Palace Gate.

...

...

At this moment, dozens of ministers stood in the courtyard outside Renshou Palace. Official Chen, Official Hu, Zhang Zhuo, Wang Daosheng, and others stood in the front row, with the rest of the ministry officials’ ranks reaching all the way to the Filial Piety and Brotherly Love Stele.

Inside Renshou Palace, they were questioning Chen Wenren, all was silent.

No one knew what had been revealed or what troubles might arise.

Wang Daosheng, outside the hall, bowed his head slightly, turned his cheek slightly, and quietly asked Zhang Zhuo, "How is Chen Ji in the Imperial Prison, can Chen Wenren really relieve his troubles?"

Zhang Zhuo felt guilty and did not speak.

Wang Daosheng turned his head to carefully examine Zhang Zhuo. After a moment, he raised his voice: "Where is Chen Ji? Speak!"

Zhang Zhuo responded in a low voice, "Lower your voice, lower your voice, Chen Ji is fine."

Wang Daosheng frowned: "You’re deceiving me?"

Zhang Zhuo sighed, "It’s not related to Chen Ji, it was my idea. If you want to blame someone, blame me, no need to blame him."

There was anger in Wang Daosheng’s eyes: "What on earth is going on?"

Zhang Zhuo whispered, "Chen Ji is indeed in trouble, but deceiving you into returning early was so that you have a self-inflicted crime, making it convenient for Your Majesty to handle you. During your expedition, you were granted the position of General, promised the title of Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and unprecedentedly given the special advancement to Doctor of Guanglu, along with the Loyal and Brave Gold Medal, allowing you to act first and report later in case of emergency. You’ve taken all the good opportunities. Now you’ve captured the Council Chief Executive Officer of the Jing Dynasty alive and returned with a rare triumph. How should Your Majesty reward you? Make you the Imperial Tutor?

Imperial Tutor, the head of the Three Councilors, teacher of the emperor.

This position, in terms of the Confucian code of ethics, is even higher than the emperor. Those awarded during their lifetime are suspected of having merits that overshadow the lordship, thus blurring the distinction between ruler and minister, usually only granted posthumously.

Even Official Chen, as the tutor of the Crown Prince, has repeatedly declined the position of Crown Prince’s Tutor, fearing that once the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the title of Imperial Tutor might be awarded posthumously, causing the new emperor’s displeasure. Therefore, Official Chen is just ambiguously referred to as the "Crown Prince’s Teacher," rather than "Crown Prince’s Imperial Tutor."

Wang Daosheng caught the underlying meaning of Zhang Zhuo’s words, reducing it to four words: "Do you want to die?"

He was silent for a moment: "But you shouldn’t have deceived me. I ran three horses to death to barely make it back to the Imperial Capital today. How can you make a joke about Chen Ji’s safety?"

Zhang Zhuo sneered: "If I didn’t use this excuse, would you have returned? Is it that I don’t understand you, or you don’t understand yourself? Earlier, when I asked you to self-implicate, did you listen?"

Wang Daosheng sighed: "This is not the proper way!"

Zhang Zhuo turned his head to look askew at Wang Daosheng: "What is it? Are you angry that I, Zhang Zhuo, hindered your achievements? Are you upset that I delayed your promotion and advancement? Unexpectedly, you, Wang Daosheng, are also someone who covets achievements and power!"

Wang Daosheng angrily retorted: "When did I ever covet achievements and power?"

Zhang Zhuo smirked, "Then that’s settled."

Wang Daosheng remained silent.

Zhang Zhuo continued to chatter: "With a crime in place, Your Majesty can justifiably strip you of military power. But as long as your position as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War is not seized, your presence at the court will be of great use. Otherwise, you’ll only be dispatched to the serpent-filled and miasmic south to continue serving as a General, never thinking of returning to the Imperial Capital, nor targeting the Jing Dynasty. The choice is yours."

Wang Daosheng finally changed the subject: "What does Chen Wenren know, why is the interrogation taking so long?"

Zhang Zhuo shook his head: "Just wait."

...

...

As they spoke, Wu Xiu walked out of Renshou Palace and solemnly instructed the Jiefan Guard: "By imperial decree, bring Chen Lizhi and Chen Wende into the palace!"

The Jiefan Guard hurriedly departed, and everyone secretly glanced at Official Chen, all aware that today was a major calamity for the Chen family. If Chen Lizhi were brought in for interrogation by Meng Ji, who knows what could be uncovered.

If the attempted assassination during the recent spring hunt at Fragrant Mountain were exposed, it wouldn’t just implicate the second family; the entire Chen family would suffer.

Official Hu also turned to look at the nearby Official Chen, only to find him with his head bowed, eyes closed, chuckling: "Seems like there’s a backup plan? Ginger gets hotter with age."

Official Chen did not respond.

The Jiefan Guard returned about an hour later. He reported quietly to Wu Xiu: "Chen Lizhi hanged himself in his room, and Chen Wende is missing. According to the Chen family’s servants, Chen Lizhi instructed an Executive Officer to escort Chen Wende away early in the morning, but they don’t know where he went."

Wu Xiu instinctively glanced at Official Chen, but Official Chen’s expression remained unchanged.

He quietly instructed: "Send carrier pigeons to all official routes, and dispatch people to the Cao Guild. We must capture Chen Wende... Where is Chen Ji?"

The moment the words fell, a Jiefan Guard was seen escorting Chen Ji in front of Renshou Palace. All at once, the ministers’ gaze fell on the manacles around Chen Ji’s wrists. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

This figure, missing for more than ten days, caused a tempest upon his appearance. How had he become a prisoner?

Wu Xiu glanced at Chen Ji and announced loudly: "Summon all Officials and Ministry officers to enter the hall."

Official Chen stepped forward as if today’s ordeal were not related to the Chen family at all.

Chen Ji followed the crowd into Renshou Palace, only to see the draperies within the hall all drawn back, revealing Emperor Ning on the throne.

Emperor Ning was seated cross-legged on the throne, but strangely, he was holding a Little Black Cat in his arms.

Wu Yun.

The ministers exchanged glances, not understanding why Emperor Ning was holding a cat.

Emperor Ning’s love for cats was known to all, but this was the first time he held a cat while receiving the ministers.

The next moment, Wu Yun nuzzled Emperor Ning’s palm with its head, causing Emperor Ning to chuckle twice.

It meowed once: "Don’t worry, I heard the emperor say putting you in manacles was just to scare you, so that you don’t get emboldened and cause a bigger chaos in a few days."