Chapter 130: Teacher of the Lesson

“Shh, keep your voice down, keep it down!”

Jing Wang glared, placing his index finger vertically beside his mouth, cautioning Chen Ji and Bai Li.

He turned his head to look behind him, confirmed no one was watching them, then faced Chen Ji and Bai Li. “I just managed to sneak out after great difficulty in disguise, what are you two yelling about!”

Bai Li doubted, “Dad, you teach me and my brother every day not to climb walls, and you still climb walls yourself?”

Jing Wang smiled, “Look what you’re saying. Your dad here walked out the main gate.”

Bai Li also smiled, “General Wang is on duty at the main gate right now, I’ll go ask him.”

Jing Wang quickly grabbed Bai Li’s arm. “I climbed out. I climbed out from the medical hall side.”

Chen Ji doubted, “Prince, you’re just going out in plain clothes like this, what if something happens? We might not be able to handle it.”

Jing Wang laughed, “I’m just a coachman now, as long as you don’t say anything, who would make trouble for a coachman?”

Chen Ji thought for a moment then continued to advise, “You should still bring some guards. Or let Feng Da accompany you to take care of your food and daily life?”

“No.”

Jing Wang raised his voice. “If I let them follow, they’ll advise me every day not to eat this, not to drink that, not to do this, not to go there. What’s the point of going out in plain clothes then? Besides, the literary meeting this time is very lively. If I go as Jing Wang, everyone will be reserved.”

Chen Ji sighed, “I was wondering why the heir has such a personality, turns out he takes after you.”

Jing Wang raised his eyebrows. “How do I feel like you’re scolding someone, boy? Where are he and I alike? At his age, I was already running circles around the civil officials.”

Chen Ji said seriously, “Prince, everyone recognizes you. They’ll discover your identity before the morning is over.”

Jing Wang waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. By then, I’ll already be out of Luo City. The sky is high and the sea is vast.”

Chen Ji interrupted, “Prince, let’s not talk about you traveling in plain clothes. As you can see, I’m really not suited to studying classics, nor do I have any intention of entering officialdom. It would be better to let me withdraw from school. As for the border army military expenses, how can that change just because of me? Affairs of the family and the country, how can they be so childish?”

Jing Wang was silent for a moment, then said meaningfully, “I won’t use the great justice of the family and the country to bind you either. How about this, you only need to study until next spring, and I will owe you a favor. Afterward, if you have something you need, as long as it doesn’t harm the state and nation of the Ning Dynasty, I can help you once. How about it?”

Chen Ji didn’t answer.

Although he was just a mere apprentice at a medical hall, he had now made the Prefect of Luo City and a powerful vassal king owe him a favor. It did sound good to say, but how would this favor be cashed in?

Chen Ji thought for a moment then said, “Then I have something I need right now, Prince. You going out in plain clothes is truly too dangerous. It would be better if you went back…”

Before he finished speaking, Jing Wang’s expression changed and he interrupted, “Stop, young man, you’re still young now and fundamentally don’t know what you want most. How can you easily use up this favor?”

At this moment, Chen Wen Xiao on the cart shouted, “Coachman, coachman, let’s go.”

Jing Wang quickly muffled his voice, “Coming.”

He lowered the brim of his straw hat, walked to the front of the cart, and sat with his back to everyone. With a casual flick of the whip, the old yellow ox pulled the cart slowly forward.

Bai Li smiled, put the cloth bundle of pastries into Chen Ji’s embrace, and said, “Everyone in the world knows my dad’s promise is worth a thousand taels of gold. You’d best think about how to best utilize this favor before you speak. Don’t forget to eat the pastries.”

Having said that, she chased after the cart a few steps, and with a light leap, she sat backwards at the end of the cart, her legs hanging outside and swinging up and down with the bumps of the cart.

Bai Li patted the heir beside her. “Brother, this time we’re out, you must remember Dad’s exhortations. No drinking alcohol for a month.”

The heir laughed coldly. “Hey… I’m already out of Luo City, can he still control me?”

Bai Li’s eyes were bright. “Brother, this isn’t good. What if Dad finds out?”

The heir waved his hand carelessly. “How will he find out? I’m already past the age of maturity. Do I still need to look at whose face to drink alcohol?”

Bai Li let out a long “Oh.” “Truly impressive!”

Watching Jing Wang sitting at the front, the action of waving the whip paused, then the whip fell heavily, drawing a moo from the old ox, and it sped up its pace.

The street pedestrians were bustling. One ox cart, one horse, followed by a walking young man.

On this rare winter day, with clear skies and fresh air, Chen Ji suddenly felt that going out for a study trip was not bad. He could temporarily escape from the right and wrong, the disturbances.

He followed behind the ox cart not too fast, not too slow, and untied the cloth bundle in his embrace.

The bundle contained pastries from Zheng Xin Zhai, honey three knives, gold hemp crisp, peach crisp, opening laugh…

Just as he was eating, the sound of horse hooves echoed. Zhang Xia rode her horse alongside him, looked down at the pastries in his hand, and asked casually, “You and the heir and the county princess have a very good relationship, ah. The county princess actually specially prepared pastries for you.”

Chen Ji turned his head to look at her. “The heir, the county princess, and I are friends!”

Zhang Xia doubted, “Friends?”

Chen Ji said calmly, “You don’t have friends?”

Zhang Xia said straightforwardly, “No. After coming to Luo City, those who want to be friends with me either want some silver or want to ask my dad to handle affairs. These kinds of friends are fine even if I don’t have them.”

Chen Ji said casually, “Then with the Xu family’s status, it might not be easy to make friends with Miss Zhang Er.”

Zhang Xia suddenly said, “I’m called Zhang Xia. There’s no need to keep calling me ‘Miss Zhang Er’ here and ‘Miss Zhang Er’ there.”

Chen Ji responded casually, “Okay, Zhang Xia!”

Just at this time, Bai Li saw Chen Ji walking behind and turned her head to Wang Daosheng, saying, “Mister, Chen Ji has already walked quite a few li. How about letting him get on the cart?”

Mister Wang put down the book scroll in his hand and silently looked at Chen Ji.

Bai Li saw that it was working and quickly added a sentence, “Look, he’s also being punished. He definitely won’t be late again next time. Yi Chuan County City is still over forty li away. If he walks all the way, his shoes will be worn out.”

Mister Wang said to Jing Wang, “Could you stop for a moment?”

Jing Wang pulled the reins without turning his head.

The ox cart slowly stopped.

Just as Bai Li was about to wave her hand to let Chen Ji get on the cart, she saw Mister Wang jump off the cart.

He said to Jing Wang, “Continue driving.”

Everyone was startled. “Mister, what are you doing?”

Mister Wang patted the dust off his clothes and smoothed out the wrinkles. “Fortunately, the county princess reminded me. Since I’ve received the tuition fee, I am Chen Ji’s teacher. If he makes a mistake, I also have responsibility and should be punished together. While you are still sitting on the cart, I will accompany him and walk to Yi Chuan County City.”

Chen Ji opened his mouth and said, “Mister, you don’t need to do this.”

Mister Wang shook his head. “This matter has nothing to do with you. I am just acting according to my heart, that’s all.”

Chen Ji felt a little ashamed. “Sorry, student will not be late again in the future.”

Mister Wang swept the floating dust off his shoulder with the book scroll. “No, if there are matters more important than studying classics again, you should go and do them!”

“Hmm?”

Mister Wang said calmly, “What Xing Shu Academy can teach you is just the principles of being a person, and these principles are just about acting according to your heart. The pity heart that wants to help when you see a beggar fall is a heart, and the justice heart that draws a sword to help when you see injustice on the road is also a heart. When the heart arrives, go and do it. There is no wrong!”

Chen Ji was a little confused.

The always serious Mister Wang rarely smiled. “If you only miss one class of mine, I can teach you again, but some matters, once missed, are missed forever.”

Chen Ji took a deep breath. “Student understands.”

He suddenly felt that this Mister Wang seemed different from the literati he had seen before.

“I’m walking too!”

Bai Li supported the cart with both hands and jumped off cleanly. The red jade carp pendant on her neck was like a plum blossom in winter.

The heir hesitated for a moment, then also jumped off the cart unwillingly, muttering, “There’s a good cart to sit on, but you insist on walking. Are you all crazy…”

Chen Wenzong wanted to get up but was pressed down by Chen Wen Xiao. “Brother, what do you want to do? He made a mistake, he should bear it himself. Why should we be punished together? If we walk all the way to Yi Chuan County City, our feet will be covered in blisters.”

Chen Wenzong sighed, and finally sat back down.

Zhang Xia looked at the walking people, suddenly jumped off her horse, led the reins, and walked with Bai Li.

Bai Li glared at her. “What are you doing getting down?”

Zhang Xia said straightforwardly, “We are all classmates. We share fortune and misfortune.”

The heir gave a thumbs up. “Children of the Jianghu.”

The ox cart slowly moved out of the south city gate. Outside the city, many refugees were gathered, living in sheds. They relied on the government to provide porridge every day for survival.

The heir asked, “Haven’t you all heard? The night before last, outside the west city gate, there was almost a rebellion. It was only because Lord Zhang Zhuo transported grain in time and also caught the villains who instigated the rebellion among the disaster victims that this matter was quelled.”

Chen Wenzong sat at the end of the cart, looking at the heir, and replied, “I heard my father mention it. He said that day was extremely dangerous. The disaster victims almost rushed into Luo City to burn, kill, and loot.”

The heir said, “According to reports, that night there was a masked person wearing a conical hat who acted as a hostage outside the city, promising that the grain would arrive by the Mao time. This delayed the disaster victims for over two hours. These past two days, storytellers in every teahouse have been outside the city, interviewing the disaster victims about the events of that night and planning to compile the matter of this masked person into a story.”

Zhang Xia led the reins and admired, “My dad said that was a young hero. He didn’t panic at the change of face and wasn’t afraid in the face of danger. He can be a great general. At that time, he not only suppressed the disaster victims and delayed time, but also found the dead men planted by the Liu family among the disaster victims. Very impressive.”

Bai Li subconsciously glanced at Chen Ji.

The day before yesterday, wasn’t that the day Chen Ji was late?

She didn’t know why she thought of Chen Ji, and there was no evidence at all to say that person was Chen Ji.

But in the deepest part of her impression, Chen Ji was also masked, and also didn’t panic at the change of face and wasn’t afraid in the face of danger.

Chen Wen Xiao suddenly said disdainfully, “What young hero? That’s an eunuch party member.”

Zhang Xia glared. “What about being an eunuch party member? Eunuch party members also really saved people.”

Chen Wen Xiao retorted, “How can you say they are heroes just because the eunuch party occasionally does something good? Do they deserve it? My dad said that if anyone in the Chen family associates with the eunuch party, their legs will be broken.”

Bai Li suddenly felt again that the person outside the city should not be Chen Ji. Could it be because Chen Ji saved her that night and then killed six secret agents of the Si Li Jian?

How could someone who killed eunuch party members be an eunuch party member?

Mister Wang, who was on the side, paid no attention to their argument. He walked to the porridge shed and said to the officer of the Luo City Prefectural Yamen, “Register the roster today. Among the disaster victims, those with children can get an extra half portion of porridge. Afterward, if a child is lost, the whole family will not be allowed to get porridge again!”

The officer said impatiently, “Who are you? Get to one side, is it your turn to point fingers? Master will give however he wants to give.”

Mister Wang was not angry. He just said politely, “Just tell Zhang Zhuo that Wang Daosheng said this. He will understand on his own.”

Zhang Xia asked curiously, “Why is it that if a child is lost, the whole family is not allowed to get porridge again?”

Chen Ji explained casually, “Perhaps it is to prevent someone from exchanging children for food!”

Zhang Xia was shocked. “Exchanging children for food? How could parents do such a thing?”

Chen Ji said calmly, “In a year of great disaster, there are only the strong and the weak!”