The moonlight in Guyuan was silver-colored, shining down on the human world, clear and cold. Four horses wove between earthen houses and small paths, when they heard a “huh”. Chen Ji pulled the reins and turned back to look at the empty street behind him. “The Crown Prince shouldn’t have sent anyone to look for us. We’ve shaken them off.”

He wore a black cloak, and dark clouds were gathered under it, sleeping soundly. Xiao Man rode a small pony following behind, and curiously asked, “Young Master, why did we have to sneak away quietly?”

Chen Ji answered without turning his head, “Li Xuan and Qi Jianzhe have bravery but no strategy. Master Chen isn’t a quick-witted or capable official either. The Crown Prince wants to investigate and claim the merit for killing Liang Mao, but I’m afraid he’ll have to rely on himself. This is fine too. Now that someone is secretly plotting against the Crown Prince and the border army, if we stay with them, we might get caught up in the trouble.”

Zhang Zheng sighed, “The Yulin Army, good or bad, is the facade of the imperial front forbidden army. I don’t know why they employ so many descendants of noble families. That Qi Jianzhe was chased around by us in the imperial city, and now he’s also riding on a Yulin Army white horse.”

Zhang Xia glanced at him. “Employing noble descendants isn’t entirely due to nepotism. It’s to use their loyalty. The Yulin Army guards the palace gates, which is a crucial position. This kind of position absolutely cannot use people with no ties or connections. If they employ a commoner and he makes a mistake, it’s hard for the court to even execute his nine clans.”

She turned her head to look at Chen Ji. “Following the Crown Prince’s side will be dangerous?”

Chen Ji nodded. “I suspect that the poison given to the Chen family tonight wasn’t from the border army, but from a spy of the Jing Dynasty military intelligence department.”

Zhang Zheng was startled. “Spy?”

Chen Ji explained, “As I said before, the border army has no motive to do this, and the local gangs in Guyuan city also have no motive. But if it’s a Jing Dynasty spy with the purpose of stirring up conflict between the Crown Prince and the border army, then it makes sense. It’s just that the people around the Crown Prince seem to think it’s the border army and haven’t considered other possibilities.”

At this point, Zhang Zheng held the reins and laughed. “It’s also strange. Why are there no capable people around the Crown Prince at all? No wonder he’s anxiously transferring Master Chen over.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment and asked, “Who is the Master Qi the Crown Prince mentioned? Why didn’t he come to Guyuan with the Crown Prince?”

Zhang Xia shook her head. “I don’t know. We know very little about matters inside the palace. Father and Uncle never mentioned it. They are very secretive about matters concerning the heir apparent.”

She pondered for a few breaths and guessed, “If I had to guess, when the Crown Prince was the Vice Minister of Education and investigated the case of privately minted copper coins, his perfunctory actions already disappointed His Majesty to the extreme. Therefore, His Majesty simply transferred away the strategists and advisors around him one by one, as a warning.”

Zhang Zheng happily said, “His Majesty is probably afraid that those old schemers will lead the Crown Prince astray.”

Chen Ji thought to himself, after he returned to the Chen family, Chen Liqin was immediately promoted to Minister of the Eastern Palace. The consecutive transfers of advisors around the Crown Prince created a power vacuum. This chain of events, as if fate was clearing the way for Chen Liqin… was it a coincidence, or a conspiracy?

If Chen Ji were still a newcomer apprentice at a medical hall, perhaps he wouldn’t think these things. But after witnessing the methods of the White Dragon and the Inner Minister in taking over the Liu family and the Jing Wangfu, he couldn’t help but think more.

Zhang Xia asked, “Then what do we do now?”

Chen Ji came back to his senses. “We need to find the military intelligence department’s spy. Otherwise, with their potential cooperation with the Jing Dynasty army outside the city, Guyuan might truly be in danger.”

Zhang Xia seemed thoughtful. “You want to help the Crown Prince?”

Chen Ji was silent for a moment. “Yes, I have a reason to approach the Crown Prince, but I can’t say it for now.”

Speaking of this, he suddenly realized: all the people around the Crown Prince were transferred away. Could it be that it wasn’t making way for Chen Liqin, but making way for himself?

In the night, Chen Ji urged his horse along the narrow earthen roads within Guyuan city, looking around for something. After a moment, in a dark alley, he found an old man huddled behind a pile of杂物, dozing. Beside him were a broken copper gong and a gong mallet.

Chen Ji sat on his horse, bent down, and asked, “Old man, are you the night watchman?”

The old man was disturbed, but he didn’t even lift his eyelids. His hands, gathered in his sleeves, just shrank a bit tighter, and he continued dozing.

Zhang Zheng sat on his saddle, took out a piece of broken silver from his sleeve, and threw it onto the earthen road. It made a “pu” sound, kicking up some dust. The old man suddenly opened his eyes and crawled over on his hands and knees to pick up the silver.

Zhang Zheng happily said to Chen Ji, “Ask.”

Chen Ji repeated his earlier question, “You’re the night watchman?”

The old man flattered him with a smile. “Reporting to you masters, this humble one is the night watchman of Wushibang.”

Chen Ji curiously asked, “Since you’re the night watchman, why aren’t you beating the watch?”

The old man, with a bitter face, complained, “You masters must have just come from outside. You don’t know, it’s not that this old one is lazy, but there are many 过江龙 and local snakes in Guyuan at night. If I happen to encounter bad people who have just committed a crime, I might be killed to silence me.”

Chen Ji doubted, “Doesn’t the Guyuan Commandery Office manage things?”

The old man hesitated to speak. Zhang Zheng threw another piece of broken silver, and then the old man opened his mouth and said, “Masters, if the Commandery Office wanted to manage things, they wouldn’t let so many outsiders in. Guyuan’s city gate is usually open, and you don’t even need a travel permit to enter or leave. As long as you’re willing to pay taxes and road fees, all the strongmen from all roads who have committed crimes come here to hide from the wind. How could it not be chaotic?”

Chen Ji seemed thoughtful. “When we came, the city gate was closed.”

The old man explained, “Closing the city gate has only been a matter of half a month.”

Chen Ji asked again, “Was it because the Crown Prince came to Guyuan that the city gate was closed?”

The old man shook his head. “No, the Crown Prince has only been here for about ten days. Before he came, the city gate was already closed, and entry and exit were not allowed. Many merchant teams were trapped in the city, making Guizi Street very lively.”

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Xia. “It seems the border army is still concealing some things. Their scouts should have discovered the Jing Dynasty’s movements earlier.”

Zhang Xia’s heart tightened. “You think the Jing Dynasty army is really going to surround Guyuan?”

Chen Ji nodded. “The timing of the Jing Dynasty Tiance Army’s arrival is very巧… What do you think, if the Jing Dynasty wants to turn this place into an isolated city, what time is most suitable?”

Zhang Xia sat on her horse, slightly startled. “Right now.”

Zhang Zheng scratched his head. “What riddle are you two playing? Why now?”

Zhang Xia considered, “Merchant teams come and go frequently in Guyuan. If Guyuan were surrounded under normal circumstances, Taiyuanfu would definitely suspect something if they didn’t see merchant teams coming and going for many days. However, now it’s close to the winter solstice and Lantern Festival, and the weather is cold and the ground is frozen. Even if there are no merchant teams coming and going, no one will find it strange.”

She continued, “If it’s true as the border army said, that Jing Dynasty officials have already infiltrated behind Guyuan, then Guyuan is probably already an isolated city.”

The old man panicked, “What are you masters saying? The Jing Dynasty bandits are coming?”

Chen Ji didn’t answer, and continued to ask, “Why are all the merchants gathered on Guizi Street?”

The old man explained, “Guyuan’s best brothels, wine houses, inns, and gambling dens are all on Guizi Street. Merchants have nothing to do at night, so isn’t it natural for them all to go there? I heard a merchant team from the northwest was set up by a gambling den and in just seven days lost all the antelope skins they brought. Now they don’t even have money for the inn and are working as procurers in a brothel.”

Zhang Zheng sighed, “Indeed, they can also adapt.”

The old man hurriedly said, “They didn’t want to work as procurers, the gambling den sold them in.”

Just as he was speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps came from a distance, and someone was shouting loudly, “Don’t you he娘’s run! Let this old man catch up, and I will definitely chop off your two fingers!”

Chen Ji silently touched the horizontal whale knife on the front of his saddle. The next moment, several young servants in short Hu clothing, carrying short knives, chased a middle-aged man with a short knife stuck in his shoulder past them. This group of people didn’t even spare a glance at Chen Ji and the others from beginning to end.

After these people ran far away, the narrow road returned to quiet, as if nothing had happened.

Zhang Zheng hesitated. “This is…”

The old man answered, “Those young servants just now are from the Wuqia gambling den. It seems it’s another gambler who lost everything and owes the gambling den money and wants to renege.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment and asked, “Last question, where is the Longmen Inn?”

“Masters, the Longmen Inn is just on Guizi Street. It’s the tallest building.”

On both sides of the long street of Guizi Street, brothels and wine shops hung red lanterns. The sounds of ordering wine and the chirping of orioles and singing of swallows from the brothels were endless, as if a blazing hot furnace in the cold twelfth month of winter, preventing this border military town from completely freezing.

Chen Ji and the others had already dismounted, leading their reins and walking on the bluestone paved road.

Zhang Zheng looked left and right. “Only here in all of Guyuan is paved with bluestone bricks. I thought I was back in Luocheng’s Hongyi Alley.”

Zhang Xia frowned. “Brother, this is a critical moment, you shouldn’t wander around.”

Zhang Zheng laughed happily. “What do you take your brother for? Your brother has already reached the realm of passing through ten thousand flowers without a single leaf touching his body. I’ve long been tired of playing around. Even if the courtesan heads of the capital’s eight major hutongs begged me to be a guest, I wouldn’t agree. What matters to masters in the imperial city is face. The wild flowers here might not attract masters.”

Xiao Man followed behind, muttering softly, “What nonsense are you spouting? Aren’t you afraid of breaking your boast?”

Zhang Zheng said “Hey” and turned back. “Who are you little girl looking down on?”

Xiao Man looked at Chen Ji. “Young Master, he’s being fierce to me.”

Zhang Zheng: “I am not!”

Chen Ji ignored the two of them. He looked up and sized up the street. In the middle of the long Guizi Street, a three-story octagonal building stood out. He led the three to the door and saw a plaque with gold characters that read “Longmen Inn”. On the right side, the upper couplet read, “Observe matters, observe things, observe heaven, observe earth, observe sun, observe moon, observe upper, observe lower, observe others always have high and low.” On the left side, the lower couplet read, “Laugh ancient, laugh now, laugh east, laugh west, laugh south, laugh north, laugh come, laugh go, laugh at oneself originally ignorant, ignorant.”

Chen Ji’s eyes showed deep thought. Other inns hung couplets welcoming guests, wishing for guests from all directions and wealth from all seas. How could this Longmen Inn not seem like it was doing business, but rather like cultivating Zen?

He lifted the thick cotton cloth door curtain and walked inside, wrapped in the wind and frost. Before he could clearly see the furnishings inside the shop, a waiter carrying a piece of white cloth walked up and patted the dust off his body with the white cloth. “Several guest officers, are you staying at the inn or passing through?”

Chen Ji lowered his head and looked at the waiter’s ‘sweeping dust’ technique. He was thoroughly swept over, even his sleeves were touched. This was clearly an attempt to use the opportunity to see how much wealth or weapons he was carrying. When the waiter touched Chen Ji’s hand, which was wrapped with cloth strips over the whale knife, his hand paused slightly, but his face remained as if nothing had happened.

Chen Ji was silent for two breaths and said, “Four people, staying at the inn.”

The waiter’s eyes squinted up with a smile. “Guest officers, will you be using copper coins or silver taels?”

Chen Ji’s eyes narrowed slightly. If it were an ordinary inn’s waiter, they would only ask how many rooms you wanted and what kind of room. But this waiter asked a baffling question… using copper coins or silver taels? This Longmen Inn revealed strangeness everywhere.

Chen Ji calmly asked, “What about using copper coins, and what about using silver taels?”

The waiter laughed heartily. “Guest officers, don’t overthink it. Either is fine. I was just asking casually.”

After saying that, he shouted to the shopkeeper behind the counter, “Shopkeeper, we have some sharp fruit and sharp grandson. Perhaps they are copper heads who have walked the plank, passing through the hall, and know the bottom of the plate.”

Chen Ji asked, “What does that mean? I don’t understand.”

The waiter said politely, “Guest officers, this is our local dialect in Guyuan. I’m calling the shopkeeper to entertain you.”

However, at this moment, Zhang Xia suddenly stepped forward and said with a smile to the waiter, “Brother, you’re revealing secrets.”

She translated for Chen Ji, “What he said to the shopkeeper just now is Jianghu slang. ‘Sharp fruit and sharp grandson’ means handsome man and handsome woman. ‘Copper heads who have walked the plank’ might refer to 过江龙 who have come to the wrong shop. He’s telling the shopkeeper to investigate our backgrounds.”

The waiter was startled. “Hard, hard?”

Zhang Xia explained in a low voice to Chen Ji, “He’s asking if we’re from the same Jianghu path.”

After saying that, she turned to the waiter and said, “No need to investigate further. The four of us are just passing through Guyuan and won’t hinder your business. Please arrange some guest rooms.”