Green Mountain-Chapter 585 - 443: Undercurrents Surge (End of Volume Six)
Chen Ji remained silent.
Brother Pao continued, "While watching that play, I was thinking, that ever since you came to this world, you’ve been living a much more exciting life than I have."
Chen Ji smiled and said, "It’s all just a play."
Brother Pao curiously asked, "How do you plan to rescue him? I heard Prince Jing committed treason, a very grave offense. Although I don’t know the laws of the Ning Dynasty, I know that historically, such matters are hard to overturn."
Chen Ji calmly replied, "A few days ago, the Crown Prince said to me that the Renshou Palace and places like the Six Livestock Farm, where people are bought and sold, are no different. As long as you have enough bargaining chips, you can exchange for anything you want."
Brother Pao nodded, "I understand. What should I do?"
Chen Ji instructed, "Three things."
"The first thing?"
"Let all the illegal salt merchants in the south know that we are selling salt permits to attract more people."
"That’s not difficult. What’s the second thing?"
"Find a way to infiltrate the Cao Guild."
Brother Pao adjusted the clothes draped over his shoulders, "Infiltrating the Cao Guild is not easy. They have their own selection methods, a tightly knit organization that’s not much worse than ours..."
At this point, Brother Pao suddenly confidently said, "But don’t worry; give me half a year, and I’ll definitely uncover the secrets of the Cao Guild for you. The third thing?"
Chen Ji pondered for a moment, took the Buddhist Treasure he had just received from Chen Xu, and tossed it to Brother Pao, "This represents twenty thousand two hundred and sixty taels of silver. Put it in the account; earn as much silver as you can before spring next year."
Brother Pao grinned, "Finally, you’re talking about what I’m best at. But aren’t you afraid I’ll take the silver and run? Your heart sure is big."
"Some say I’ve cut off greed and anger. Thinking about it, it makes sense," Chen Ji turned and headed into Meirui Building, "Once I rescue the Commandery Princess, I’ll leave this place far behind. All of this in the Ning Dynasty will be yours. But Brother Pao, always remember, between us, it’s just business. If you fall into dire straits, I won’t risk my life to save you. If I fall into dire straits, you don’t need to risk your life to save me."
Brother Pao whistled, "This deal is worth it, we have a deal!"
He watched Chen Ji walk down the staircase until the sound of footsteps on the wooden stairs faded into the distance.
Moments later, Er Dao ran upstairs, "Brother, he sold you out, and you still want to work for him?"
"What ’work for him’ or ’not work for him,’ it’s all business," Brother Pao turned his head to look into the distance, "Er Dao, his actions always have a backup plan. He’s sure I won’t die, either because he knows where I’m being taken, or among those who kidnapped me, some are his men, or he’s certain that the Chen family head will do him this favor."
Er Dao scratched his bald head, "Is it that profound? But from what I’ve seen, this guy uses any means necessary; he doesn’t seem like a good person."
Brother Pao sneered, "You understand now? Do you think I look like a good person?"
Er Dao earnestly said, "Brother, you are a good person."
Brother Pao paused, took a drag on his cigarette, and exhaled outside Meirui Building, "If he’s not a good person, he wouldn’t rescue that Commandery Princess. He said so much to me today, but truly it was just to tell me one thing: if he falls into dire straits, I shouldn’t risk my life to save him... Er Dao, this guy is about to risk his life again, and he’s worried about dragging us down."
Brother Pao lowered his head, knocking ashes off his shoes, "But this is a good thing; he only risks his life when he’s confident."
Er Dao wondered, "What do you mean?"
Brother Pao smiled, "I mean, he’s already figured out how to rescue the person."
...
...
Chen Ji walked out from the back door of Meihua Ferry Crossing, heading alone towards Chessboard Street.
At this moment, Chessboard Street was bustling, crowded with people rubbing shoulders, all heading to Bianyifang Restaurant for the best scorer banquet.
Shen Ye from Anding Gate made a promise with Bianyifang Restaurant, and Bianyifang didn’t break its word. The landlord lavishly spent thousands of gold to set up eighty-eight banquet tables for guests from all over, beggars and women and children were invited, allowing all to get drunk from the golden cups.
According to the Imperial Capital business agreement, after Bianyifang hosted the best scorer banquet, for the next three years, the dishes on the first eight Water Plates behind the counter couldn’t be sold by other taverns.
Once, a tavern luckily predicted the best scorer correctly, even putting everyday dishes like spicy and sour cabbage, twice-cooked pork, and braised tofu on those eight Water Plates, making all the taverns in the capital suffer greatly.
This time, the first eight Water Plates at Bianyifang were empty, with nothing written on them.
The famous tavern landlords from the inner city and Outer City came in succession, not only presenting congratulatory gifts but also loudly praising the landlord’s benevolence.
When Chen Ji arrived, a long line had formed outside Bianyifang.
As he walked ahead, a figure wearing a bamboo hat followed behind, as if the two were connected by an invisible thread, keeping a precise ten-step distance.
Chen Ji moved left, and so did the shadow.
Chen Ji moved right, and so did the shadow.
The two regarded all others as if they did not exist.
Instead of heading to Bianyifang, Chen Ji entered the tavern next door.
He gestured to the waiter, "Two bowls of noodles."
The waiter replied loudly, "Alright, Guest, please sit!"
Chen Ji picked a corner to sit, reaching over to extract chopsticks from the bamboo tube on the table and rubbed them together.
There were already quite a few drunk people in the tavern, loudly shouting. At the neighboring table, alcohol was in full swing, and they were chatting about Bianyifang, about today when Young Master Chen of the Chen family clashed with the Yulin Army’s guards during the best scorer’s parade, and about the poem the best scorer wrote for Liu Xingshou of Meihua Ferry Crossing.
Little did they know, the culprit behind today’s events was sitting right beside them.
"I heard from my uncle that today Chen family’s Young Master from Fuyou Street clashed with the guards because he had a personal grudge with best scorer Shen Ye, wanting to compete for Meihua Ferry Crossing’s Oiran Liu Su."
"Your uncle? Is your uncle a big official? I’ve never heard you mention him."
"My uncle is the coachman for the Li Mansion on Chessboard Street..."
Chen Ji was amused.
