Double Ninth Festival, the entire city celebrated together.

The crowd gathered, escorting the heir and the county princess towards the prince’s mansion. Ordinary people came to offer chicken, eggs, and vegetables, and young women on the roadside threw fresh flowers at the heir.

Not only was the heir popular, but the two young masters of the Chen family were also covered in flower petals, as if fresh flowers paved their path and magpies built a bridge.

Chen Ji was still observing the scene when he saw a young monk about thirteen or fourteen years old, wearing a moon-white monk’s robe. He had red lips and white teeth, a handsome appearance, and was likely the Buddha’s child that Wu Yun had mentioned, from the Ge Ning Sect in Yunzhou.

When this Buddha’s child rode past, he actually turned his head and looked at Chen Ji. He was startled for a moment, then smiled at him.

In the procession, a girl riding a white horse curiously asked: “Little monk, who were you just looking at?”

She followed the little monk’s gaze, but under the eaves, there was no one there.

The little monk laughed: “Bai Carp County Princess, I saw a young man whose heart is very bitter, yet he has already slain two thieves. His heart is only left with one infatuated word.”

“Ah?” Zhu Bai Carp looked confused: “You always say some vague things, what two thieves?”

“I just said it casually.”

Chen Ji followed the crowd all the way back to the medical hall. Old Man Yao was just standing inside the threshold at this time, looking at the young men in fine clothes and on spirited horses on the street, and slowly said: “Aren’t those your two full elder brothers? Why didn’t you go greet them?”

Chen Ji said with a smile: “Master, aren’t you asking the obvious? They don’t recognize me either.”

Liu Qu Xing’s head popped out, and he said in surprise: “Master, are you talking about Chen Wen Zong and Chen Wen Xiao next to the heir? Those are the young masters of the same-knowledge family in Luo City! I saw them at Old Grandfather Liu’s birthday banquet… You mean those two are Chen Ji’s full elder brothers?”

Old Man Yao gave a noncommittal “hmm.”

The crowd in the medical hall looked over, and saw the two noble young masters of the Chen family impeccably dressed in white. The jade pendants on their collars alone were worth a lot of money. They wore not wooden or silver hairpins, but white jade hairpins. They were indeed romantic young men, dazzling and eye-catching.

Liu Qu Xing looked at these two, then looked at Chen Ji, only to see that Chen Ji had changed into his just-mended gray cloth long robe, wrapped with a coarse cloth waist belt, and wore a pair of old cloth shoes…

“Chen Ji, are you from the same family as them?” Liu Qu Xing said in shock.

Chen Ji also gave a noncommittal “hmm.”

He originally thought Liu Qu Xing, with his low moral standards, would take the opportunity to mock him a few times. To his surprise, the other party suddenly became indignant for him: “Your birth mother is too biased! Although illegitimate sons cannot inherit the family business these days, there’s still an emphasis on brotherly love and respect, and motherly kindness and filial piety. Isn’t she afraid of being criticized for doing this?!”

Chen Ji looked at Liu Qu Xing somewhat unexpectedly.

Then he heard Liu Qu Xing continue angrily: “You never mentioned your family background all these years. I thought your family was just tenant farmers. Do you know, just the jade pendant on their collar is enough for ten years of your schooling expenses.”

Chen Ji smiled and patted Liu Qu Xing’s shoulder: “Senior brother, don’t be angry, don’t be angry. I didn’t expect you to speak up for me.”

Liu Qu Xing was unhappy: “What kind of talk is this? For better or worse, we are senior brothers. They are all outsiders.”

Saying that, Liu Qu Xing glanced at the backs of that group of people: “Pah, a bunch of people gathered around, like ants moving house!”

Chen Ji couldn’t help but laugh: “Senior brother, your mouth indeed has five-tenths of master’s skill.”

Liu Qu Xing turned his head to look at Old Man Yao: “Master, he’s insulting you too.”

Old Man Yao slapped him on the back of the head: “You just love to cause trouble! Don’t look, that’s another world, it has nothing to do with you all.”

The crowd went back inside the medical hall. Chen Ji said with a smile: “I just passed by a roast chicken shop and bought two roast chickens. Master, two senior brothers, let’s eat together.”

“Wow,” Liu Qu Xing just noticed the lotus leaf wrapped package in Chen Ji’s hand. He took it and opened it on the counter: “Chen Ji, did you get rich?”

“Picked up a piece of broken silver,” Chen Ji explained.

“Picked up silver?” Old Man Yao casually threw out six copper coins on the counter, and while untying a divination stick, he ridiculed: “You didn’t pick up silver, you trapped two unlucky guys in prison on this trip… Tsk tsk, a big deal!”

Chen Ji quickly looked around, seeing Liu Qu Xing and She Deng Ke focused on eating the chicken meat, and only then did he relax.

He whispered doubtfully: “Did you figure this out, or did Raven see it?”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Old Man Yao said in a low voice: “I’ll ask you, was it you who reported to the Liu family?”

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, finally saying: “It was me.”

Old Man Yao chuckled lightly: “Now you dare to tell me the truth?”

“Because I feel you have no ill will towards me, and after I consider the medical hall my home, you are my only elder.”

“Stop trying to get close to me,” Old Man Yao didn’t answer this topic: “Did anyone discover you reported?”

“No.”

“Then it’s fine,” Old Man Yao stroked his beard: “Do whatever you want, your legs are on your body, I can’t control you, but you mustn’t implicate me!”

“Alright!”

Old Man Yao looked at him, and finally added a sentence: “If you want to live a long time, then don’t be ostentatious when doing things. Look at those people outside the door, dressed in fine clothes and on spirited horses, they are proud, but only those who keep a low profile and make a lot of money can laugh in the end. Later you will find that as long as you live long enough, you can watch your enemies die one by one.”

Chen Ji said seriously: “Master, I understand the principle you said, and I will also try to be low-key, but I can’t wait that long to get revenge…”

At this time, Liu Qu Xing was gnawing on the chicken meat, and while his mouth was greasy, he advised: “Chen Ji, you don’t know how to live either. You picked up a bit of broken silver and hurried to buy roast chicken, you don’t even know how to save.”

She Deng Ke blurted out a scolding: “Then don’t eat! Still talking while eating someone else’s food!”

“I’m reminding him out of good will!”

Chen Ji looked at Liu Qu Xing. This senior brother was an interesting person. If you say he’s a good person, his moral standards aren’t high, he has a sharp tongue, and he’s also petty.

If you say he’s a bad person, he still has a bottom line in his heart, much stronger than bad people.

However, in this world, most people are like this, and cannot be simply evaluated as good or bad.

Chen Ji tore off a chicken leg and held it in front of his chest. Wu Yun crawled out of his embrace, hugged the chicken leg with two claws, and started gnawing. Chen Ji then tore off another chicken leg and handed it to Old Man Yao.

Old Man Yao curled his lip and reluctantly said: “I’m old, I can’t eat this greasy stuff.”

Chen Ji directly stuffed the chicken leg into his hand: “You were lively when you beat us with bamboo strips, not old at all. Hurry up and eat.”

Old Man Yao puffed up his beard and glared: “How do you describe your master? No respect for elders!”

Outside the medical hall was a noisy crowd, inside the medical hall, the master and disciples divided one roast chicken among the four of them. Chen Ji sometimes thought, if it could be so peaceful, it would be good.

But he knew that what should come, would come sooner or later.

…

…

At this time, the Joy Cake girl used an orchid finger to pinch the hem of her skirt, and hopped to the door of the medical hall. This girl was dignified and lovely inside the prince’s mansion, but outside the prince’s mansion, she let herself go, her steps swaying.

She leaned against the door, looking inside the medical hall, and waved at Chen Ji: “Chen Ji, Chen Ji!”

Wu Yun hid behind the chair at the counter. Chen Ji wiped his mouth and went out: “Joy Cake girl, what is it?”

Joy Cake said: “My mistress’s white Prajna is injured again. Madam sent me to call you over to see.”

Chen Ji subconsciously turned his head and looked at Wu Yun behind the counter, a brain full of question marks: Did you do it?

Wu Yun’s eyes were clear and doubtful: No!

One person and one cat couldn’t match accounts!

In this instant, Chen Ji suddenly realized: Cloud Concubine wants to talk to him!

He had always speculated: who exactly is the big figure colluding with the Jing Dynasty military intelligence department.

Clearly, Quiet Concubine, as a member of the Liu family, was the most likely, but all clues pointed to Cloud Concubine.

Thinking of what the military intelligence department’s Si Cao confessed, Chen Ji looked at Old Man Yao: “Master, I’ll go with Joy Cake girl for a trip.”

Old Man Yao thought for a moment, and hinted: “Wouldn’t it be good to bring a whole ginseng root just in case?”

Chen Ji: “…This time it shouldn’t be needed.”

If he gave the cat another branch of ginseng, he was afraid he would be caned to death by Cloud Concubine.

Old Man Yao was a bit regretful: “Go then.”

Chen Ji followed Joy Cake towards the prince’s mansion. When they passed the plaque that said “光明磊落” (Open and Aboveboard), he couldn’t help but look at it more.

Joy Cake showed her waist card to the guard: “My mistress has summoned the doctor from Taiping Medical Hall.”

The guard lowered his halberd and let them pass.

Inside the prince’s mansion, strong servants and maids were busy, probably preparing for the evening banquet because the heir and the county princess had returned.

Chen Ji curiously asked: “Joy Cake girl, who injured the white Prajna?”

“I don’t know,” Joy Cake said with a smile: “I haven’t seen it all day today. Madam asked me to find you, so I came. Diagnose quickly later, there’s a gathering of literati at the Flying White Pool tonight, and I still want to go see. I heard the heir invited many literati talents.”

The two hurried through the arched door leading to the back residence, and stopped at the door of Flying Cloud Garden.

Joy Cake called out in a loud voice: “Madam, I have brought Chen Ji from Taiping Medical Hall.”

Nanny Joy Tang walked out, looked at Chen Ji, and said: “Follow me in.”

Chen Ji lowered his head and followed. As he walked, he surveyed the courtyard of Flying Cloud Garden with his peripheral vision. This place was simpler than Evening Star Garden, with only a single persimmon tree in the middle, laden with red persimmons.

The persimmons were ripe, but many were left hanging on the tree and not picked.

Chen Ji suddenly thought of a story. Old people often say not to pick all the persimmons, but to leave some for the birds in winter. He wondered if Cloud Concubine left these persimmons for that reason.

They arrived outside the covered building in Flying Cloud Garden. This covered building also didn’t look like a woman’s residence. There were no beautifully patterned caissons or inlays, but rather it resembled a man’s study, slightly plain and dull.

At this time, Cloud Concubine was smiling and listening to a young girl speak, telling stories from East Forest Academy.

Seeing Chen Ji arrive, she actually said to the girl: “Bai Carp, you rest for a while. Mother is a bit uncomfortable and has asked the doctor from the medical hall to examine me. I’ll listen to you talk about the academy matters later.”

Zhu Bai Carp was a bit surprised: “Mother, where are you uncomfortable?”

Cloud Concubine smiled gently: “It’s nothing, just sweating easily. Go change your clothes quickly, there’s still a banquet tonight.”

Zhu Bai Carp came out of the covered building, brushing past Chen Ji. She turned her head and looked at Chen Ji, somewhat doubtfully. She always felt this young doctor from the medical hall was somewhat familiar, and… could someone so young actually diagnose diseases?

Cloud Concubine sat upright in a grand master’s chair, wearing a brown double-collared robe with a large front. The robe was embroidered with a bright python over the shoulder, stepping on green waves.

Although it was called a python, in the Ning Dynasty’s regulations, a python was more like a dragon.

Cloud Concubine dismissed Joy Cake. Once there was no one in the room, she lowered her voice and asked: “Today was the agreed-upon delivery time. Why didn’t your Jing Dynasty military intelligence department appear?”

Chen Ji: “…”