Chapter 155: New Year's Day

The heavy snow stopped.

The scarlet tassels on the thousand-year-old army helmets floated across the snowy plain, like a grand banner heading north.

Chen Ji led his horse at the very front. The white mist from his nostrils drifted far away with the wind. He only felt the suffocating gas in his heart vanish, finally feeling alive in this world.

Bai Li, wrapped in a beautiful white mink coat, led her horse behind him and asked loudly: "Chen Ji, when we get back to Luo City, what do you want to do most?"

Chen Ji pulled the reins, slowing down his warhorse to walk alongside Bai Li. He smiled and replied: "Take a hot bath, then sleep until it's dark."

Bai Li smiled and said: "Your clothes are torn in several places. When you wake up, come with me to Li Ji’s shop. Let them measure you and make two new sets of clothes, and also boots and a hat."

Chen Ji replied: "These clothes can still be worn after being sewn and mended."

Bai Li thought he was worried about the money and quickly said: "I'll pay, you don't need to worry about the silver."

"Ah?"

Chen Ji was stunned for a moment: "That's not good."

Bai Li thought for a moment: "What's not good? If it weren't for you this time, I definitely wouldn't have made it back alive. Also, you helped me vent my anger during the scripture debate. What's two extra sets of clothes from me!"

Chen Ji smiled: "Alright!"

Bai Li smiled with narrowed eyes and said: "There's only one month left until the New Year. Are you going back to the Chen family?"

"No!"

Bai Li asked with a smile: "If you don't want to go back to the Chen family, how about coming to the Prince's Mansion? Everyone can play card games together on New Year's Eve, and also go to the streets together to set off firecrackers."

New Year's Eve is the Spring Festival, followed by eating Yuanxiao and the Shangyuan Festival lantern viewing.

Chen Ji thought for a moment: "At that time, Senior Brother Liu and Senior Brother She will all go home for the New Year. Only Master will be left in the medical hall. I must stay with him at the medical hall."

Bai Li thought for a long time, then opened her mouth and asked: "Then how about my brother and I go to the medical hall for the New Year? Sweep the dust in the morning, hang lanterns in the afternoon, wrap dumplings, and steam mantou. Play card games in the evening. See in the New Year."

Chen Ji doubted: "Don't the Princess and the Heir need to celebrate the New Year at the Prince's Mansion? New Year's Eve is always spent with family!"

Bai Li was silent for a moment: "There's no New Year's atmosphere in the Prince's Mansion. The mantou are all steamed by the servants, and the dumplings are also wrapped by the servants. Father still needs to handle government affairs, and Mother rests early. No energy."

Chen Ji smiled and said: "Then the Princess and the Heir should come to the medical hall. We can sweep the dust together, hang lanterns, wrap dumplings, and steam mantou."

Bai Li's eyes lit up: "Good, it's a deal. Right, did you secretly look at the red cloth strip I tied on the apricot tree?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "No, Princess, rest assured, that is your secret. I will not secretly look."

Bai Li let out a long "oh" sound: "...That's good!"

Not far behind the two, Jing Wang and Wang Dao Sheng rode side by side. Jing Wang's red cloak was particularly conspicuous in the white world.

Mister Wang said: "Your Highness, this time you mobilized the thousand-year-old army without a transfer order. If this matter spreads to the capital, I fear you will again suffer verbal attacks and written criticisms."

The thousand-year-old army was Jing Wang's direct line army some years ago, but it was ultimately not a private army.

Mobilizing more than three hundred people out of the camp required a military department transfer order.

Now Jing Wang had gathered a thousand soldiers to surround Lu Hun mountain villa.

This matter could be considered big or small, it all depended on the mood of the Emperor.

Jing Wang didn't care at all: "If I can't even protect children, it's better to be a commoner. I think His Majesty knows about this, and he can be tolerant."

Wang Dao Sheng doubted: "In recent years, Your Highness has hidden your abilities and bided your time, cherishing your reputation, afraid of doing something wrong to provoke His Majesty's suspicion. How did you become so reckless today?"

Jing Wang smiled without answering.

He looked at Chen Ji and Bai Li's backs from a distance, and changed the subject: "Mister Wang, you said earlier that you would let Chen Ji audit, not even count as a registered disciple. How did he become a direct disciple now?"

Wang Dao Sheng said indifferently: "He was surrounded by monks and couldn't leave. Presumably, he committed a major taboo of the Buddhist sect during the scripture debate. I am his teacher. Naturally, I want to find a way to protect him. This way, if Wu Zai's martial uncle wants to find someone to vent his anger, he should come to me, rather than finding him."

Jing Wang said happily: "Mister's righteousness is great. It's just that this boy doesn't read classics. After being examined by others, I fear he will lose face for you, Mister."

Wang Dao Sheng shook his head: "No harm, with the Heir's jade in front, Chen Ji is not different."

Jing Wang slowly restrained his smile and looked at his eldest son beside him with displeasure.

The Heir saw his father looking at him and thought he wanted to talk to him. He immediately led his horse forward: "Dad, I haven't seen you wear armor in a long time. It's as majestic as before."

Jing Wang replied: "Some years ago I needed to go out with the army to suppress rebellions. These years have been peaceful, so naturally I don't need to wear it."

The Heir suddenly sighed: "Seeing you wear your old bright armor, I just realized you've lost a lot of weight."

Jing Wang was startled. People are sometimes unaware of their own weight changes until their old clothes don't fit, and they suddenly realize they've gained a lot of weight, or they realize their old clothes are suddenly loose, and they know they've lost weight.

He lowered his head to size up the bright armor on his body, then raised his head to look at Chen Ji and Bai Li's backs, and suddenly asked: "Yun Xi, what do you think of Chen Ji?"

The Heir looked forward, only seeing Chen Ji's whale knife hanging by the horse saddle. The young man's waist and back were straight, like a young hero from the Tianshan Mountains.

He thought for a moment and replied: "Good, very good, I've never had such a good friend."

After speaking, he looked at Chen Ji and Bai Li, then looked at his father, surprised and uncertain: "Dad, what do you mean by suddenly asking this? Are you thinking..."

Before he finished speaking, Jing Wang interrupted: "Yun Xi, do you have any woman you admire in Luo City?"

The Heir replied: "No, the young ladies from official noble families are all pretentious and affected, I can't stand them."

Jing Wang said casually: "Some years ago I wanted to arrange a marriage for you, but you said you wanted to go to Dong Lin Academy to study, and you didn't want to get married before you returned. Now you've been to Dong Lin Academy for three years, and you're already of age. If you keep refusing marriage, this Prince's Mansion won't need you."

The Heir's face changed: "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Jing Wang was displeased: "I'm talking about sending you to the border army."

Just at this moment, a person galloped across the snowy plain.

The other party wore a hat and a black cloak, their face completely covered in the shadow under the hat.

Three long knives hung by the other party's horse saddle, the black scabbards and knife handles exuding killing intent.

"Protect Your Highness!"

The thousand-year-old army formation quickly moved closer to Jing Wang and the Heir.

A cavalry unit in the rear held horse spears, blocking in front of Jing Wang.

But even with a thousand armies and ten thousand horses here, the uninvited guest showed no intention of stopping, not avoiding or giving way.

At the crucial moment.

Chen Ji followed the sound of the horse hooves and narrowed his eyes to look. He suddenly turned to Bai Li: "Princess, isn't that the person who has been stalking you many times before?"

Bai Li was startled: "It's him."

Earlier outside the medical hall, a middle-aged man had stood under the steamed bun shop and secretly sized up Bai Li. By the time Chen Ji wanted to carefully observe the other party, the other party had already disappeared.

According to Bai Li, she had discovered this person four or five times already, it was absolutely not accidental.

Chen Ji was surprised, why did this person appear here?

The other party was getting closer and closer. Chen Ji led Bai Li to stay put on their horses and didn't move forward, waiting for the thousand-year-old army to surround them.

When the middle-aged man's black horse charged, its hooves stirred up snow waves.

However, when he got close and saw Bai Li on the snowy plain, he actually slowly slowed down.

Chen Ji tightened the reins with his left hand and moved closer to Bai Li, his right hand gripping the handle of the whale knife, quietly staring at the middle-aged man approaching.

But he gradually detected something was wrong. This man lifted his head, revealing a hard face like it was carved by a knife, yet without the slightest hostility.

Instead, he seemed to relax, as if letting out a breath. His whole body's muscles relaxed, and his face also softened a lot.

Only saw the thousand-year-old army intercept the man and tightly surround Chen Ji and Bai Li.

The man walked past the outer edge of the thousand-year-old army formation as if no one else was there, without saying a word.

Chen Ji was inside the army formation, looking out through the gaps between the scarlet tassels on the helmets, and discovered that the other party was also sizing him up.

The soldier holding the King's flag looked at Jing Wang: "Your Highness, should we take him down?"

Jing Wang looked deeply at the man, and lightly shook his head: "Everyone is in a hurry, no need to make things difficult."

This chapter is not finished, continuing...