Chen Liqin watched with cold detachment, but Golden Pig was relentless: “Minister Chen, suppressing civil unrest is the responsibility of your Luocheng government office. Since your arrival here, I haven’t heard a single word of thanks from you.”

Chen Liqin snorted coldly and remained silent.

Golden Pig laughed in exasperation, then turned to Chen Ji and said loudly, “I told you not to get involved in this matter, but you insisted. See? They don’t appreciate it at all. Let’s go. From now on, if I ever get involved in civil officials’ affairs again, it’ll be because I haven’t learned my lesson!”

Chen Ji shook his head, “Sir, we can’t leave yet. There’s still unfinished business.”

Golden Pig said urgently, “You’ve already accomplished a great feat by taking down Liu Mingxian and capturing Jing Dynasty’s Si Cao. Unless something unexpected happens, the cultivation methods will soon be sent to Luocheng. If you withdraw now, any future failures on their part won’t concern you. If you stay here, these civil officials might just pin more blame on you.”

Chen Ji didn’t reply.

Golden Pig sneered, “Fine, fine. I won’t concern myself with your fate anymore. Stay here if you wish. But don’t come complaining to me if things go wrong later.”

With that, Golden Pig actually turned and left with Tianma. Xifeng turned back several times, seemingly wanting to persuade Chen Ji, but ultimately gave up.

Zhang Zhuo put down his staff and advised Chen Ji, “He’s actually looking out for you.”

Chen Ji hummed, “I understand.”

The plain porridge gradually thickened, and Zhang Zhuo ordered his men to extinguish the fire under the pot.

An officer asked, “Sir, should we serve the porridge now?”

Zhang Zhuo shook his head, “No, we must wait until the porridge cools down a bit.”

When it was time to serve, the refugees lined up to receive the porridge. Those with bowls used them, while those without cupped their hands.

Only at this moment did Chen Ji realize why Zhang Zhuo had insisted on waiting for the porridge to cool: many refugees had fled without even a proper bowl.

Just then, a man, after taking a mouthful of porridge from his bowl, suddenly smashed it to the ground. “Damn it, these officials are trying to fool us! They’ve put sand in the porridge!”

As he spoke, he pulled at a middle-aged man who was cupping porridge in his hands, spilling it onto the ground. “Don’t drink that damn stuff! Grab your weapons and fight them. Let’s rush into the city, eat well, drink well, and not put up with this nonsense!”

The man tried to incite the refugees further, but the next moment, the refugees queuing around him rushed forward and prostrated themselves on the ground, scooping up the spilled porridge mixed with dirt and putting it into their mouths. No one paid him any attention.

The man froze, glanced back at the crowd of refugees, and slowly retreated into their midst.

Among the refugees, some men who had initially seemed restless suddenly fell silent.

After receiving their porridge, they quietly squatted on the ground, swallowing the sand bite by bite, consuming every last drop of the plain porridge.

Time passed slowly.

The porridge distribution continued from dawn until morning, and not a single complaint was heard.

The Liu family assassins Chen Ji wanted to capture had completely vanished.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhuo said to Chen Ji, “Your method didn’t work. They are smarter than we thought. The moment they saw it was impossible, they immediately went into hiding. These assassins trained by the Liu family aren’t mere brutes; they are the elite of the elite from the Yan Shi camp, possessing both courage and cunning.”

Chen Ji cupped his hands to him and said, “As I mentioned before, I’ll need to trouble Minister Zhang now.”

“Oh?”

Chen Ji explained, “I’ve long heard that Minister Zhang possesses an eidetic memory and can recite classics, histories, philosophical works, and anthologies backwards. Did you remember the details I asked you to pay attention to just now?”

Zhang Zhuo laughed heartily, “So, you accounted for my photographic memory from the very beginning! Rest assured, I’ve already memorized all the people you mentioned. Follow me; we’re going to make arrests.”

With that, he led the officers, charging into the crowd to make arrests. In just a few breaths, they singled out one person from the refugees and knocked him to the ground.

The man, pinned to the ground by an officer’s knee, struggled and roared, “Sir, why are you arresting me?”

“Do you have parents here?”

“No, my parents died in the flood!”

“Do you have a wife and children here?”

“No, my wife and children also died in the flood.”

Zhang Zhuo sneered, “The refugees have been starving for days; they drink the porridge immediately and wish for another bowl. You have no wife, children, or parents here, yet you received the porridge and didn’t drink it on the spot. How do you explain that?”

The man protested, “Sir, are you going to convict me based solely on this? This is an injustice!”

Zhang Zhuo said quietly, “This method might lead to wrongful arrests, but desperate times call for desperate measures. We’ll arrest all of you and take you to the prison for now. If there’s a genuine injustice, I will personally release you. It’s better to make a mistake by killing than to let someone escape. We have no choice but to employ such extraordinary means.”

However, just at that moment, seeing Zhang Zhuo’s risky move, the Liu family assassins no longer held back.

They drew short blades from their sleeves, fanned out, bypassed Zhang Zhuo and the officers, and weaved through the refugees, heading straight for the porridge tent.

Zhang Zhuo abruptly turned his head, realizing these individuals weren’t coming for him, but to kill Chen Ji.

He roared at the officers, “Stop them!”

But the officers recoiled.

Their monthly salary was so meager; why risk their lives against such assassins?

Over twenty assassins radiated killing intent. Chen Liqin suddenly turned to look, only to see Chen Ji standing expressionless beneath the porridge tent, coldly watching the assassins.

The assassins drew closer, but Chen Ji neither retreated nor yielded.

The next moment, streaks of light shot from the city wall like bolts of lightning, piercing the thighs of the Liu family assassins one by one.

The assassins abruptly looked up. Tianma had returned.

Tianma, clad in white, stood atop the battlements, holding an invisible bow with both hands, drawing the string and firing with force.

As the meteoric arrows burst forth, strong winds swirled, making his robes flutter wildly.

Chen Liqin said, surprised and uncertain, “You just implied that Golden Pig should argue with me and leave, and you deliberately mentioned in front of the refugees that you took down Liu Mingxian. Was all that to use yourself as bait?”

Chen Ji calmly glanced at him, then returned his gaze to the battle.

Under a rain of meteoric arrows, the Liu family assassins had nowhere to hide.

Someone shouted: “Shields up!”

The Liu family assassins were incredibly strong; they brutally grabbed refugees by the clothes on their backs and held them up as shields in front of them, trying to force Tianma to hold back by using the refugees.

But to their surprise, Tianma didn’t stop drawing his bow. The released meteoric arrows mercilessly pierced through the refugees’ chests first, then through the assassins’ chests.

There was not a trace of hesitation.

The hostage situation didn’t hinder Tianma in the slightest, as if the blood in his veins was naturally cold.

Or as if in his eyes, there were never any refugees, only the assassins behind them.

This was precisely where the Directorate of Ceremonial was heavily criticized.

As Golden Pig had said, the Inner Prime Minister nurtured people like cultivating Gu worms; there were no more venomous Gu worms in the world than them.

“Retreat!”

“Retreat!”

The Liu family assassins turned to flee for their lives. With the three powerful figures acting with such cold disregard, they couldn’t muster any fighting spirit.

Zhang Zhuo picked up a waist saber and roared, “Don’t let them escape!”

The sound of hooves echoed from the city gate archway. Golden Pig charged out first, leading his secret agents, pursuing and cutting down the assassins one by one from behind.

Chen Ji lightly exhaled a breath. The situation was settled.

After an unknown period, when Zhang Zhuo and Golden Pig returned to the porridge tent, escorting the Liu family assassins, Zhang Zhuo proudly boasted, “There are six survivors, young man. Quickly interrogate them to find out who’s behind them. Huh? Where is he?”

At that moment, where was Chen Ji beneath the porridge tent?

Zhang Zhuo looked at Chen Liqin, “Where is he?”

Chen Liqin replied, “He said he had urgent matters to attend to and left first.”

Zhang Zhuo stroked his beard, lamenting, “What a pity, what a pity. I wanted to chat with him more!”

Chen Liqin asked, somewhat puzzled, “Is Minister Zhang acquainted with him?”

Zhang Zhuo thought for a moment and said, “I feel like I’m more acquainted with him than you are.”

Golden Pig immediately turned around in the porridge tent and began torturing the Liu family assassins on the spot, brutally pulling out all their fingernails. “Speak! Who ordered this? Was it Liu Mingxian?”

The Liu family assassin remained silent, only glaring fiercely at everyone present.

When his gaze swept to Golden Pig, he spat forcefully, “Eunuch clique! Lackey!”

Golden Pig chuckled, “Tough enough… Guards! Pull out his rotten teeth so he can only eat soft food from now on.”

But no sooner had he spoken than the sound of carriage wheels rolling over the stone-paved road echoed from the city gate archway.

Golden Pig turned his head and saw a carriage slowly emerge from the city gate and stop in front of the porridge tent.

A middle-aged scholar dressed in a green Confucian robe sat in the driver’s seat and said with a smile, “Minister Golden Pig, long time no see.”

Golden Pig narrowed his eyes, as if facing a formidable enemy, “Mister Feng!”

Mister Feng, in his green Confucian robe, jumped down from the carriage and cupped his hands. “There’s a gift for you inside the carriage, Sir. Take a look.”

Golden Pig looked up at Tianma on the city wall, then slowly approached and used the tip of his saber to lift the carriage curtain. “Liu Mingxian?”

Mister Feng cupped his hands, his smile as gentle as a spring breeze. “My master says this rebellious son, who was determined to slay the Jing Dynasty rebels, almost caused a great disaster. He committed suicide at home out of fear of punishment.”

Regarding the details: Chen Ji removed his bamboo hat and ran frantically. He clearly passed the Taiping Medical Clinic but didn’t enter, instead continuing to rush forward with his head down.

He stopped in front of a small academy, looking up at the plaque that read ‘Zhixing Academy’. From inside, a deep voice could be heard reciting, “The Book of Poetry says: ‘A thousand li within the capital, there the people find their rest…'”

Chen Ji straightened his clothes, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and stepped over the threshold.

Walking into the back courtyard, he saw a middle-aged man in a blue Confucian robe, holding a scripture scroll, pacing back and forth and reciting aloud. It was undoubtedly Wang Daosheng.

In the courtyard, Chen Wenzong, Chen Wenxiao, Zhang Xia, the Crown Prince, and Princess White Carp were kneeling on straw mats.

Princess White Carp turned her head, saw Chen Ji arrive, and immediately her expression changed. She gave him a discreet look.

At that moment, Wang Daosheng looked up at Chen Ji, put down his scripture scroll, and asked unhurriedly, “Are you Chen Ji?”

Chen Ji hummed, “My apologies, Sir. I had urgent matters to attend to, which is why I’m late.”

“What urgent matters?”

“My apologies, Sir, I cannot say!”

Wang Daosheng calmly waved his scripture scroll, “Go stand facing the wall in the front hall.”

“Very well!”

Chen Ji walked back to the front hall, faced the wall, and inhaling the scholarly scent of the room, felt weariness wash over him.

Two days and two nights.

Even the body of a high-ranking official couldn’t withstand it.

At some point, listening to the sounds of reading from the courtyard, he leaned his forehead against the wall and slowly closed his eyes.

End of chapter.