On the bluestone slab road of Anxi Street, Chen Ji walked back alone, carrying his shoulder pole.

Two wooden buckets full of water swayed up and down with the pole, but not a single drop spilled.

He pondered the information provided by Jin Zhu, feeling only a suffocating gloom hanging over Luocheng.

If the Liu family truly rebelled, their first act would likely be to sacrifice the “eunuch faction” of the Directorate of Ceremonial as a war banner. As a lowly secret agent under the Directorate, he would undoubtedly be the first target.

This time, many people would die!

As soon as he returned to the medical hall, he saw Princess Baili, dressed in clean white clothes, sitting on the top of the wall, smiling and waving to him: “Chen Ji, Chen Ji, could you hand me the ladder?”

Chen Ji bent down, put aside his shoulder pole, and moved the ladder over.

As Baili climbed down the ladder, she asked curiously, “Did you wipe the tiles on this wall? There’s no dust at all!”

Chen Ji, holding the ladder, hummed in affirmation. “I noticed your white clothes always got dusty when you climbed the wall, so I wiped it.”

Baili looked down at her clean trousers, then smiled up at him. “Thank you!”

When the Young Lord’s head appeared over the wall, Chen Ji asked curiously, “I haven’t seen the little monk in a long time. Where is he?”

The Young Lord smugly replied, “Father said he’d learn bad habits from me if he stayed in Luocheng, so he sent him to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau in the capital to study with Deputy Supervisor Xu Shu!”

Chen Ji said helplessly, “What on earth are you so smug about, Young Lord?! And why are you and the Princess here so early?”

The Young Lord slid down the ladder. “We came to learn swordsmanship from you, Chen Ji! Will you teach me?”

Just as he finished speaking, Prince Jing, looking frail, lifted the door curtain and said, “He’s just a junior apprentice; what’s the use of learning from him!”

Chen Ji was puzzled. Prince Jing had seemed perfectly fine yesterday during the opera, but this morning, he was filled with intense resentment and hatred towards him!

Strange, where did this resentment come from?

At this moment, Baili widened her eyes. “Father, why are you talking about Chen Ji like that?”

Prince Jing also widened his eyes. “I just want to talk like that, is that not allowed?”

Baili asked in confusion, “Father, why do you suddenly dislike Chen Ji? You praised him before!”

Prince Jing retorted testily, “That was then, this is now. My son and daughter are here today, and instead of visiting me first, you started chatting with him! Have you forgotten that your father is still ill?”

Baili quickly brought out a bamboo chair from the room and awkwardly helped Prince Jing sit down. “Father, we rushed here first thing this morning to see you!”

Prince Jing slowly said, “You know perfectly well who you came to see!”

Baili quickly covered Prince Jing’s mouth with her clean palm, whispering, “Father, please stop talking. Of course, I came to see you!”

She secretly glanced at Chen Ji, who seemed not to have heard their conversation. He looked at Prince Jing and asked curiously, “Your Highness, Xu Shu is the Deputy Supervisor of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. Who is the Supervisor?”

Baili explained, “I know! The young Supervisor of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau is named Hu Junyan, and he’s the junior martial uncle of the Laojun Mountain Taoist Court.”

“That name sounds familiar.”

Chen Ji tried to recall. “Wait… Someone told me before that in the winter of Jia’ning’s eighth year, Grand Secretary Hu’s legitimate grandson was abducted by the Beggars’ Sect during the Lantern Festival, but was later found and returned to the Hu family. Is that him?”

Baili, standing beside the bamboo chair, massaged Prince Jing’s shoulders. “Yes, that’s him! Mother said it caused quite a sensation back then! After he was found and returned to the Hu family, Cen Yunzi, the head of the Laojun Junior Taoist Court, personally went to the capital to accept him as a disciple on behalf of his master, taking Hu Junyan into the Taoist sect. So, Hu Junyan is considered Cen Yunzi’s junior martial brother, and Daoist Zhang Li’s martial uncle!”

Chen Ji suddenly felt a bit puzzled. Why would Cen Yunzi suddenly come to accept a disciple, transforming Hu Junyan into the Taoist Court’s junior martial uncle?

Could something unknown have happened when the Beggars’ Sect abducted him?

Or perhaps, like Xu Shu, this person came from the Forty-Nine Heavens?

Chen Ji asked curiously, “How old is he?”

Baili counted on her fingers. “Twenty-seven?”

Chen Ji exclaimed, “He’s only twenty-seven, and he’s already a Supervisor of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, a fourth-rank official!”

Baili smiled and said, “You can do it too.”

Prince Jing shifted his posture, pouting, “Him? In his dreams!”

Chen Ji listened silently, not retorting.

As they spoke, a respectful voice from the guards at the medical hall’s entrance announced, “Consort Jing, Grand Eunuch Feng has instructed that only the head physician and apprentices may enter or exit the medical hall. Outsiders are not permitted free entry!”

A crisp slap echoed.

Granny Chunrong snarled, “Calling my Lady an outsider? Who taught you to behave like this? Get out of the way!”

Consort Jing gently interjected, “Chunrong, they are just following orders; don’t blame them. However, I must ask you generals to step aside. I am the Prince’s concubine; how can you possibly bar my way?”

In the courtyard, Prince Jing heard Consort Jing’s voice and quickly rose to go back into the main room. Before entering, he instructed Chen Ji, “Stop her for a moment. I don’t want to see anyone today!”

Chen Ji hesitated. “Consort Jing seems quite forceful; I’m afraid I can’t stop her!”

Prince Jing said heartlessly, “Stop her even if you can’t!”

After entering the room, he pressed himself against the window, quietly listening to the commotion outside.

While listening, he quietly asked Old Man Yao, “Do you think your apprentice will also get slapped?”

Old Man Yao slowly retorted, “Does Your Highness wish for him to be slapped, or not?”

Prince Jing thought for a moment, then chuckled, “I rather hope so.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Ji’s voice came from outside: “Madam, my master is currently administering acupuncture to His Highness; it will be done shortly. Please wait a moment.”

Prince Jing’s face instantly darkened.

He slowly looked at Old Man Yao, who had silently produced a set of silver needles and gestured for him to lie down on the bed.

Prince Jing reluctantly lay down, allowing Old Man Yao to administer the needles, while grumbling in a low voice, “Why is that brat so vengeful?”

Old Man Yao chuckled, “Isn’t Your Highness the same?”

A moment later, Old Man Yao lifted the door curtain and said to the outside, “Consort Jing, please come in!”

Chen Ji leaned by the window, quietly eavesdropping on the conversation inside the room.

However, the voices were too faint; they could only intermittently hear Consort Jing saying, “Grand Secretary Liu and Daoist Cen Yunzi are old acquaintances. They once… As long as Your Highness is willing to help the Liu family, the Liu family will surely retrieve the Sheng Yu Elixir for Your Highness!”

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Consort Jing hurried away, her eyes red. The room remained silent for a long time, as if a chess player sat inside, holding a piece, lost in deep contemplation over a complex board.

Suddenly, Prince Jing murmured, “It’s time!”

The next moment.

He calmly said from inside the room, “Chen Ji, come in for a moment!”

Chen Ji glanced at the Young Lord and Baili in the courtyard before lifting the door curtain and entering.

He saw Prince Jing sitting up on the bed, his face dark, pulling out the silver needles one by one. “I need to go out. You’re coming with me!”

Chen Ji was startled. “Your Highness is going out during the day? What if Consort Yun and Grand Eunuch Feng come to visit you?”

“Don’t worry. They have endless things to deal with right now. They won’t have time for me.”

Luocheng, East Market. Anle Street.

This was the busiest place in Luocheng at midday, with tea houses and restaurants lining the long street.

Leisurely gentlemen in the city liked to sit in tea houses, order a pot of tea, a portion of melon seeds or fennel beans, and listen to storytelling from dawn till dusk.

In front of Fulou Teahouse, Prince Jing stood with his hands behind his back, looked up to confirm the sign, then stepped over the threshold and led Chen Ji to a corner table.

A young waiter in the teahouse, with a white towel draped over his shoulder, was sweeping up melon seed shells from the floor.

Seeing the two enter, he immediately greeted them with a smile: “What tea would you two gentlemen like?”

Prince Jing casually replied, “A pot of Maojian tea, a plate of melon seeds, a plate of fennel beans. A plate of preserved fruits. A plate of tamarind candy. Oh, and what’s today’s storytelling about?”

The young waiter’s face lit up. “Sir, earlier, Mr. Zhou told a story about the Master attaining sainthood – an old tale retold, very exciting. Next, he’s going to talk about something more current, it seems to be a new storybook about the debate at Luhun Villa, concerning our Prince Jing.”

Prince Jing’s eyes lit up. “This sounds interesting, I must hear it.”