Gold Pig looked toward Chen Ji, his eyes narrowed into a smile. He said, “The Inner Minister planned this strategy in the tent. He knew that Yunyang and Mingtuo would only mess things up, so he had me waiting by the side early, ready to quickly step in when they inevitably failed. At this moment, the Military Affairs Department and the Liu family probably don’t think I’m already in Luocheng. This is precisely the opportunity to capture them.”

Chen Ji’s sense of crisis greatly increased. This Inner Minister’s thoughts were truly profound and meticulous. Originally, Yunyang and Mingtuo were just pushed out to confuse the enemy’s line of sight. Once Yunyang and Mingtuo failed, the enemy would relax due to their temporary victory. At this time, Gold Pig would quietly enter the field. The enemy would be in the light, and he in the dark, ensuring gains. Perhaps promoting Yunyang and Mingtuo to the Twelve Zodiac half a year in advance was precisely for this moment!

Even his own people were calculated so viciously. No wonder everyone outside called him the “Poison Minister”!

Chen Ji cupped his hands and said, “Gold Pig Daren, I am not a member of the Jingmi Si. I hope Daren will not reveal secrets to me.”

Gold Pig walked over, intimately held Chen Ji’s hand, and smiled widely. “Of course I want to tell you! I still rely on you joining the Jingmi Si to help me achieve merit! Oh, I haven’t told you the good news yet. The Inner Minister Daren has issued a decree, specially approving you to join the Jingmi Si. From now on, we are colleagues. With your talent, you are sure to rise straight to the clouds.”

Chen Ji’s hand was held by Gold Pig’s plump hand, and he felt goosebumps rise. He quickly said humbly, “Gold Pig Daren overpraises me. I have no such ability.”

“Of course you do!” Gold Pig praised. “I originally thought Yunyang would fail at Zhou Chengyi’s place and would leave Luocheng dejected within a day. Yet, I didn’t expect them to not only find criminal evidence but also firmly implicate Liu Shiyu. They even investigated the matter of the Liu family’s Old Master faking his death. At that time, I was still puzzled. These two are fierce in killing, but when did they gain other skills? Later, I finally understood, it was because of you!”

“It wasn’t me,” Chen Ji shook his head. “Gold Pig Daren, I am just a medical hall apprentice.”

“Don’t be humble. Lin Chaoqing has already reported the process of the matter to the Inner Minister Daren, and Mengji also reported the matter of interrogating you in his dream to the Inner Minister Daren. With these two things together, the truth is naturally clear.”

Chen Ji suddenly realized. No wonder Gold Pig came to find him. It turned out the Inner Minister already knew of his existence. He said curiously, “I heard Yunyang Daren say that the selection for the Jingmi Si is very strict.”

Gold Pig smiled and patted his shoulder. “What he said is not wrong, but your performance in the Liu Shiyu case was eye-catching, which made the Inner Minister Daren value talent. Naturally, it was a special case.”

“What are the benefits of joining the Jingmi Si? What is the salary?” Chen Ji asked.

“Salary?” Gold Pig laughed heartily. “A Que-level agent’s annual salary is twenty-four taels of silver, and a Zhi-level agent’s is twenty-six taels. When you reach Ju-level, the annual salary is twenty-eight taels of silver. At this point, you can stand on equal footing with a magistrate of a large county. Reaching Haiying is even more extraordinary. Ordinary prefects have to be polite when they see you. Do you know what a Haiying is? This fellow is naturally fierce. If it’s hungry, it will attack anything in the sky.”

“What about the Twelve Zodiac?” Chen Ji asked again.

“You want to be one of the Twelve Zodiac?” Gold Pig sized up Chen Ji with interest, his mouth not stopping. “The Twelve Zodiac are naturally fiercer than the Haiying. They hold the king’s command flag and can first execute and then report when encountering matters… but there are also differences among the Twelve Zodiac.”

“Ah?”

“The Twelve Zodiac are divided into A, B, C, and D. D-three are namely Shu, Tu, and Yang.”

Chen Ji secretly thought to himself, so Yunyang and Mingtuo were in the lowest positions among the Twelve Zodiac.

Gold Pig continued, “Next are the C-three, which are currently Jinzhu, Baohou, and Mengji.”

“What about the B-three?”

“Shigou, Shanxiu, and Xuanhuang.”

“What about the A-three?”

Gold Pig laughed and said, “The A-three are truly fierce. As the saying goes, the ‘Upper Three’ are like iron, the ‘Lower Nine’ are like flowing water. In recent years, the other Zodiac have basically all changed, but the Upper Three are like tumblers. They never handle matters incorrectly and never change people.”

“These three are namely Bailong, Tianma, and Binghu!”

“The authority of the Upper Three Zodiac is naturally also different from ours. We still need to report to Wu Xiu Daren and then have him convey it. The Upper Three, however, report matters directly to the Inner Minister Daren. What they want to do and what they are doing is also not something we can inquire about. If there is a dispatch, the Lower Nine Zodiac must unconditionally obey the Upper Three.”

The medical hall quieted down. Only at this moment did Chen Ji have a complete concept of the Jingmi Si. Gold Pig no longer spoke. He took off his bamboo hat and placed it on the counter, allowing Chen Ji to digest this information. Chen Ji quickly thought in this peaceful environment. Why did the other side say so much to me? Is it because his city mansion is not deep? No. If the other side’s city mansion wasn’t deep, he wouldn’t have patiently waited until this time to appear. Where is this Gold Pig? Clearly, he’s a master at pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger.

Chen Ji asked, “May I ask… where are Yunyang and Mingtuo Daren now?”

Gold Pig laughed and said, “Originally, they were to be escorted to the capital to await punishment, but the Inner Minister Daren’s decree came. There’s no need to return to the capital, they’ll be directly exiled to Lingnan.”

Chen Ji shook his head. “Gold Pig Daren, can I not join the Jingmi Si? Even Yunyang and Mingtuo, such fierce characters, ended up in prison. My end will surely not be good…”

“Rest assured, I will protect you.”

Just at this moment, a sound suddenly came from the backyard. Chen Ji looked toward the backyard. By the time he turned his head back, Gold Pig was already gone! He looked up and saw Gold Pig’s bulky figure, he didn’t know when, had leaped onto the house beam, squatting silently above!

Chen Ji: “……”

This Gold Pig, he really hides faster than anyone at the slightest sign of trouble! Gold Pig slightly narrowed his eyes on the house beam, as if facing a formidable enemy. He said in a low voice, “Boy, go check it out.”

……

……

By the backyard wall, Bai Li’s head emerged from behind, carefully sizing up the yard. When she saw Chen Ji, she was suddenly discouraged. She had still thought she came out late today, and could save some travel expenses by waiting until Chen Ji was asleep. But she hadn’t expected this medical hall apprentice to not need sleep! Bai Li clung to the wall and looked toward Chen Ji, saying curiously, “Hey, what are you doing in the yard in the middle of the night?”

Chen Ji righteously said, “Collecting travel expenses.”

Bai Li was even angrier. She flipped over the wall, followed the ladder down, and angrily puffed her cheeks. She took out four silver peanuts from her purse and fiercely slapped them into Chen Ji’s hand. “You should stop calling yourself Chen Ji in the future and call yourself Chen Black Heart!”

“Eh, why are there four?” Chen Ji was puzzled.

At this moment, a head popped out from the top of the wall again. It was a strange girl. Bai Li waved her hand at her. “Lingyun, there’s a ladder inside, follow the ladder down.” One saw the girl wearing a dark green outfit, a green jade hairpin in her hair, dressed as a boy, and lightly jumped into the yard. Shizi and Xiao Seng closely followed. The girl named Zhu Lingyun looked at the four silver peanuts in Chen Ji’s hand and said strangely, “What is this for?”

Bai Li explained, “This is giving him travel expenses.”

“Travel expenses?” Zhu Lingyun was startled for a moment and subconsciously said, “Isn’t the Taiyi Yuan part of our Prince’s Mansion? He’s just a medical hall apprentice raised by our Prince’s Mansion. Why would he still need travel expenses?”

Chen Ji looked toward Bai Li. “Who is this?”

“This is my younger sister, Zhu Lingyun,” Bai Li said with a smile, introducing her. “She didn’t go out much before. This time I brought her out to play. Don’t mind what she says. She has some class concepts.” One saw Zhu Lingyun surprised. “Bai Li, why are you so polite to a servant!”

Bai Li’s small face sank. “What servant or not servant? Father always admonishes us not to be arrogant. Why do you always learn your mother’s ways?”

Zhu Lingyun was also unhappy. “You’re actually getting angry at me for an outsider? What about your mother!”

Bai Li didn’t get entangled in this. “Apologize! Have you all forgotten what Father taught us!”

“Why should I apologize? He’s just a servant!” Zhu Lingyun was not convinced.

Shizi and Xiao Seng on the side looked at this scene and hurriedly mediated. “Don’t argue, don’t argue. What’s there to argue about… Lingyun, you shouldn’t talk about Chen Ji like that.”

Zhu Lingyun stared with her big almond eyes, looking at Shizi with disbelief. “Brother, you’re helping Bai Li again!?”

Shizi was silent for a moment. “I’m not helping anyone. I’m just discussing the matter as it is. When we were at the Donglin Academy, Prince Fu Shizi Zhu Yu was arrogant every day and was finally driven away by the teachers. Don’t be praised so much by those scholars at Donglin Academy that you forget Father’s teachings.”

Tears welled up in Zhu Lingyun’s eyes. After being silent for a while, she actually turned around, climbed the ladder back to the Prince’s Mansion, and said, “You guys go play, I’m not going!”

Chen Ji remained silent from beginning to end… Shizi sighed and turned his head to look at Chen Ji. “Sorry, letting you see a joke. Lingyun is actually a good person, just a little bit tempered.”

Chen Ji smiled and replied, “No harm.” He returned one silver peanut to Bai Li. Bai Li said in surprise, “You can spit out money you’ve already taken?”

“I don’t earn what I shouldn’t.”

Shizi gave him a thumbs-up. “You have principles!”

Chen Ji returned to the bunk and gently patted Liang Gou awake. “Your brother asked you to go drinking with Shizi. Remember to eat more at Hongyi Xiang.”

Liang Gou suddenly sat up, his eyes emitting light. “Drinking? Where are we going to drink?”

Chen Ji: “……”

Liang Gou: “……”

After these people left, the medical hall returned to quiet. Gold Pig lightly leaped down from the house beam. He looked toward Chen Ji and tentatively said, “You seem to have a very good relationship with Shizi and Bai Li Junzhu?”

“Not that good,” Chen Ji shook his head.

Gold Pig smiled with narrowed eyes. “Just now, Bai Li Junzhu was defending you. I heard it all.” He said in an irrefutable tone, “Young man, there are many benefits to entering my Jingmi Si. Following the Inner Minister Daren will never lead to losses. Starting today, you are a Jingmi. First, I will give you a task. Follow Shizi and report all his whereabouts to me. Go.”

Chen Ji stood in the dim light of the medical hall, looked at Gold Pig’s receding figure, and responded in a low voice, “Understood, Gold Pig Daren.” As the medical hall’s large door gently closed, he returned to the backyard, picked up the bamboo tube, and in this cool autumn night, rolled up his sleeves and seriously scraped off the wall frost.