Chapter 106: Reputation

At noon, the sunlight was just right.

Outside the medical hall, four sedan bearers slowly lifted Zhang Zhuo’s dark red official sedan chair and merged into the flow of people on Anxi Street.

Inside the medical hall, a wave of faint fragrance surged. Bai Li moved to the counter and looked outside, asking, "I think I saw Lord Zhang Zhuo. Why did he peek at us and then leave in such a hurry?"

Chen Ji collected the chess pieces one by one into the chess basket. "Lord Zhang said he still needed to attend a banquet at noon, so he left first."

Bai Li was puzzled. "Lord Zhang specially came to find you? Does he want to act as a matchmaker for the Chen family and advise you to go home?"

Chen Ji also had a forehead full of question marks. "No, he seemed to come to advise me not to go home..."

Bai Li: "Ah?"

The Shizi who had just climbed over the wall lowered his head, patted the dust off his body, and teased, "Perhaps Lord Zhang took a liking to your talent and wants to recruit you to work as an official in the government office."

"Can you be an official without passing the imperial examination?"

The Shizi laughed. "Of course you can. With Lord Zhang's identity and background, recommending you for an official position is as easy as turning your hand. He might really want to invite you to take up an official position. You can first work as a staff member in the government office for two years, and then be immediately sent to a place to take up a post."

Liu Qu Xing said sourly, "What kind of official can Chen Ji be? His medical skills are not as good as mine. At the beginning of the year, I could accurately touch the positions of the twelve meridians, but he still couldn't remember where the Yongquan acupoint was..."

She Deng Ke folded his arms across his chest and sneered. "Although you remember the acupoints, you don't remember those who are good to you."

Liu Qu Xing stiffened his neck, his face red with anger. "What kind of stinky dog fart are you farting!"

The Shizi sighed. "Taiping Medical Hall doesn't grow its mouth in vain, does it?"

At this time, Master Yao on the side was fiddling with the abacus beads, recording accounts with a brush, and without lifting his head, he said flatly, "Don't guess wildly. As soon as that Lord Zhang entered the door, he asked me which family's daughter Chen Ji had taken a liking to. I said no, this boy's brain may not have fully developed yet, so he hasn't considered this matter."

Liu Qu Xing's breath hitched.

Master Yao put down his writing brush and lifted his head to continue. "Then, Lord Zhang began to praise his own daughter as gentle, understanding, and good at managing the household. Lord Zhang's meaning, don't you all understand?"

The medical hall suddenly fell silent.

Liu Qu Xing opened his mouth wide, silently looking at Chen Ji, wanting to speak but stopping.

Chen Ji looked at Liu Qu Xing. "What does senior brother want to say?"

Liu Qu Xing gritted his teeth. "You really should die!"

Chen Ji: "..."

Since the master had made it so clear, it was inappropriate for him to pretend to be foolish again. "Master, didn't you respond to him?"

Master Yao sneered. "I'm not your dad. What qualifications do I have to respond to this kind of talk? But people rushed to the medical hall early in the morning, just to get a closer look at your character. Now that he's left satisfied, he probably isn't going to attend the banquet, but to the Chen residence."

Chen Ji frowned. "So hasty? I've only met Lord Zhang a total of three times. Can he determine my character based on that?"

This time it was Master Yao's turn to be startled. "Three times is not enough? He can make a special trip to the medical hall for this matter, which is quite sincere. It seems his daughter is very favored."

Chen Ji suddenly realized a problem: marriage in this era was not about choosing a person, but about choosing a family status.

As the master said, for Zhang Zhuo to personally run to the medical hall to see Chen Ji's character, he was already extremely responsible to his daughter.

She Deng Ke said in a muffled voice, "How many daughters does Lord Zhang have? Which one does he want to matchmake now?"

The Shizi leaned against the counter, seemingly thinking. "Lord Zhang only has two daughters. The older one is already married into the Liu family. It should be the slightly younger one, but..."

Chen Ji was puzzled. "But what?"

Liu Qu Xing said straightforwardly, "But, the remaining daughter is the legitimate daughter, while you are an illegitimate son. Could it be that Lord Zhang still has an illegitimate daughter?"

The Shizi shook his head. "Even if Chen Ji is an illegitimate son, he is still an illegitimate son of the Chen family. The Chen family is a family of wealth and influence, and they have worn hairpin ornaments for generations. Now the family head, Chen Lu Chi, is as noble as a current cabinet elder and serves as the Minister of Revenue. If Lord Zhang came to the door to arrange a marriage for an illegitimate daughter, he would be driven out of the Chen family by Lord Chen. So, the one Lord Zhang wants to matchmake is probably his legitimate daughter."

A legitimate daughter marrying an illegitimate son...

Liu Qu Xing felt even more sour.

Just as he was pondering, Bai Li on the side said, "But, this Lord Zhang Zhuo's reputation..."

"En?" Chen Ji looked at Bai Li.

Bai Li hesitated for a long time, then gently pulled the Shizi's sleeve. "Brother, you say."

The Shizi helplessly spoke on his behalf. "If you want to be promoted under Lord Zhang, promoting to a county assistant costs eight hundred taels of silver, and promoting to a county magistrate costs three thousand taels of silver, a clear price. Every day, the Zhang residence is like a market, with people queuing outside seeking officials, including officials from other states. However, Lord Zhang's reputation is actually very good. As long as you give money, he will truly handle matters for you."

Liu Qu Xing on the side became energetic. "I heard Lord Zhang has taken in dozens of beautiful concubines. Is that true?"

The Shizi laughed. "It's true. The number of officials who send him beautiful concubines every year is countless, and he never refuses, accepting them all."

Liu Qu Xing sighed. "How many houses would that require?"

The Shizi said, "Lord Zhang divides his beautiful concubines into three grades: upper three grades stay in his own residence, and the lower six grades are all sent to estates to do farm work."

Bai Li on the side said, "The Chen family is from the northern pure stream, and the court has always had a grudge with the southern Xu family..."

Chen Ji shook his head. "These court matters are not what I consider. I just have no interest in this matter."

Master Yao scoffed. "Saying it as if you can decide this matter. Parents' orders and matchmakers' words, which is something you can decide?"

Chen Ji replied, "Lord Zhang thinking about this matter probably also took a liking to the cement formula in my hand. Now I haven't signed the contract to transfer the formula with the Prince yet, and there's still room for change, so Lord Zhang came up with this idea. I only need to quickly sign the contract with the Prince and let Lord Zhang know that there's no turning back on the cement matter. He will abandon me like worn shoes."

Master Yao stroked his beard. "That's right. This person is truly a villain who does nothing without profit."

The Shizi suddenly said, "However, Lord Zhang was not like this when he was young. He passed the scholar exam at twelve and topped the imperial examination at fifteen. At that time, he already had a childhood wife. Elder Xu from the cabinet entrusted someone to arrange a marriage, wanting him to divorce his wife and marry a woman from the Xu family, but he refused. At that time, he said to the matchmaker, 'A noble woman without me is still a noble woman, but without me, I fear my wife will become bones.'"

"At nineteen, Lord Zhang's childhood wife passed away due to illness, and he resigned from his official position in despair and returned to his hometown of Jiangling, Hubei."

Bai Li was puzzled. "Eh, then why did he marry Elder Xu's niece again?"

"According to what is said, Lord Zhang thought things through after being idle at home for a year, then turned around and married Elder Xu's niece, and from then on, he rose steadily."

However, just at this moment, Bai Li suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Chen Ji, someone is staring at me from the medical hall opposite. I've seen him before, it's not the first time."

Chen Ji looked over with the corner of his eye and saw a nimble middle-aged man standing in the shadow of the steamed bun shop's awning, silently gazing at Bai Li.

This middle-aged man was dressed in black tight-fitting clothes, with a tiger's back, a wasp's waist, and mantis legs, extremely sturdy.

Chen Ji wanted to see the other party's appearance clearly, but the other party wore a bamboo hat, and his face was completely hidden in the dark area under the bamboo hat.

Is it a secret agent from the Secret Agent Department? It doesn't seem like it; secret agents don't stare at people so directly.

He thought for a moment and then asked, "How many times has the County Lord seen him?"

Bai Li recalled. "Four or five times. The first time was in the tavern at the foot of Donglin Academy mountain. That day, I followed my brother down the mountain, and he was sitting alone in the tavern. This person's body is special, and his temperament is also special, so he's easy to remember after seeing him."

"Where else did you see him after that?"

"I think, after returning from the academy, he was standing by the roadside just when we entered Luoyang city." Bai Li said, "At first, I was quite afraid when I saw him, thinking he was some bad person from the Jianghu, but later I slowly got used to it. He just looks, looks for a while, and then leaves."

"What other features does he have?"

Bai Li recalled for a long time, then suddenly said, "I remember, one time I brushed past him, and I saw that he had a tattoo on his wrist where he rolled up his sleeve. It seemed to be a Buddha."

"Buddha?" Chen Ji frowned and looked outside the medical hall, but under the steamed bun shop's awning, there was no longer any sign of the person.