Chapter 217: Return to the Capital

At Yin time, Su Zhou lay on the bed couch, falling into a drowsy sleep. Xiao Man gently touched her forehead and said in a low voice, "Young master, her forehead is a bit feverish. Do you have any good methods?"

Chen Ji replied, "There's no good method. Just use a cloth with water to cool her down."

Xiao Man took the white cloth, wet it again, and placed it on Su Zhou's forehead. Without changing expression, she reached her hand into Su Zhou's hair, feeling around, but she couldn't find the remaining lamp fire copper coin.

Disappointed, she sat back on the small stool beside the charcoal basin, staring blankly at the firelight in the charcoal basin, which flickered brightly and then dimly.

Xiao Man had originally wanted to take advantage of Su Zhou's sleep to subtly get revenge for the grievance of being held captive, but she thought that the other person was completely unaware, so it felt meaningless.

For revenge, the enemy must know about it for the anger to be vented.

Chen Ji sat beside her on a small stool. Hei Yun was curled up in a ball on his lap, already fast asleep.

Tonight, first there was the assassination of General Wang, and then the search by the secret police. This moment was a rare period of peace.

Xiao Man picked at the charcoal basin with the iron tongs and asked, "Young master, I'll make a bed on the floor for you. You should also rest for a while."

Chen Ji hugged Hei Yun and said calmly, "No need. I'm worried that someone will come to search the Chen residence again tonight, so I won't be able to sleep."

Xiao Man let out an "Oh." Her eyes darted around. "Young master, I heard the soldiers from the military department say earlier that the person who assassinated General Wang tonight is a Xian Official."

Chen Ji hummed in response.

Xiao Man secretly sized him up. "Do you want to become a Xian Official?"

Chen Ji's gaze shifted slightly, and he said indifferently, "I've heard that Xian Officials are all very mysterious and powerful, but I have no opportunity to become one."

Xiao Man lowered her voice. "There is an opportunity."

Chen Ji turned his head to look at her. "Oh?"

Xiao Man subtly motioned towards Su Zhou on the bed couch with her mouth. "Young master, isn't the assassin right here? She's definitely a Xian Official. We'll tie her up and force her to hand over her cultivation method."

Chen Ji was speechless.

This Xiao Man wasn't old, but she was truly thick-skinned and dark-hearted, completely lacking in martial virtue!

Thinking about it, the other person was sold to human traffickers from a young age and had to fight for every meal there.

After coming to the Chen residence, although she stayed with the aunt for a while, the aunt also left soon, and she became rootless again. As a third-class maid, she must have endured a lot. No one taught her right from wrong, so she only figured out her own philosophy of survival.

The wild grass that grew barbarically on the cliff wall could only survive by continuously inserting its roots into the cracks in the stone and seizing limited nutrients.

Yet, she heard Xiao Man continue to tempt him. "I heard that cultivating a Xian Official's path can make you immune to hundreds of diseases as long as you're not injured, and prolong your life. There are many benefits. Not only that, once you become a Xian Official, you'll be able to stand tall, and no one in this Chen residence will dare to bully you again."

Chen Ji shook his head. "She is a friend of Jing Wang, and I am also a friend of Jing Wang. Although her actions are a bit extreme, I cannot take advantage of someone in danger at this time."

Xiao Man hung her head. "Alright... I'll think of other ways for you to get a Xian Official's path later."

Chen Ji asked without changing expression, "You seem to know a lot about Xian Officials."

Xiao Man panicked for a moment. "Ah, no, no, I just happened to listen to the storytellers in the tea house. They mentioned them."

Chen Ji had roughly two guesses in his mind. The first guess was that his birth mother, from the Lu clan, after buying Xiao Man back, saw her pitiful life story and felt pity. Plus, Xiao Man was clever, so the Lu clan passed on the Mandala secret seal of the Jing Dynasty branch to her, wanting to cultivate her as a confidante.

However, not long after the Lu clan passed on the Xian Official's path to Xiao Man, they either died or escaped due to some reasons and didn't teach her many other things. To the point that Xiao Man only had a Xian Official's path and was like an outsider in everything else.

The second guess was that Xiao Man was originally a member of the Jing Dynasty's military intelligence department, and the Xian Official's path was also passed down from the military intelligence department. She was a person planted by his uncle. Her current clumsiness was all an act.

Chen Ji thought about it repeatedly. He thought the first guess was more likely, and the second guess was less likely.

However, he didn't need a Xian Official's path. With the Mountain Lord, Sword Seed, and also the 'Cover Cloud' bestowed by the Internal Minister, Chen Ji already had three cultivation methods.

Just as he was pondering, Chen Ji was pulled back to his senses by a wave of noise from outside the courtyard. He hugged Hei Yun from his lap, opened the door to check, and saw Dong Zhi, the first-class maid from the Liang clan's side, shouting to wake up all the maids in the Qun Xiang Yuan.

Chen Ji looked at the color of the sky. It was still not bright, and the chickens hadn't crowed yet.

He hugged Hei Yun and stood at the entrance of the Ming Quan Yuan, asking curiously, "Dong Zhi girl, what are you doing?"

Dong Zhi bowed. "Replying to the third young master, the old master and madam have temporarily instructed us to quickly pack up the family property. We will leave Luo City as soon as the sky brightens."

Chen Ji asked, "Are we going to the capital with the Zhang family?"

Dong Zhi explained with a smile, "Replying to the third young master, our Chen family is going alone, not with anyone else. Right, you should also pack your things. The carriages are already stopped outside the residence. The old master and madam are in the first carriage, the eldest young master is in the second, the second young master is in the third, and you and Xiao Man will sit in the fourth."

After speaking, she no longer paid attention to Chen Ji and turned around, shouting loudly, "Everyone get up! Qiu Fen, you lead people to boil water and make food. The rest of you follow me to Wen Yun Hall to pack things. Everyone, work carefully today! If any objects in Wen Yun Hall are damaged, even selling you all won't compensate for it!"

At Mao time, the chickens crowed.

In the Chen residence, busy maids shuttled back and forth, registering and cataloging the objects to be taken away one by one and moving them onto the carriages and ox carts outside Cui Yun Lane.

The gate of the Zhang residence was tightly shut, quiet and still, seemingly not in a hurry to leave Luo City.

In the thin morning fog, Chen Ji and Xiao Man together carried a large wooden box through the Chen residence and stuffed it into the carriage. When a small servant came to help, he politely refused.

Dong Zhi saw this scene and quickly stopped them. "Third young master, this box is better placed on the back ox cart. There's no need to put it inside the carriage and take up space. The ox carts are all equipped with oilcloth sheds, so you don't have to worry about snow or rain."

Chen Ji climbed out of the carriage, patted the dust from his palms, and explained with a smile, "It's hard to save down family possessions. It's more peaceful to keep them nearby."

Dong Zhi turned and went back into the residence, the smile gone from her face, muttering quietly, "Heh, he hasn't seen the world. Who knows how many treasures he thinks are saved inside."

After breakfast, the Chen family members got into the carriages one after another and set off in a hurry, like fleeing a disaster. They didn't linger. Chen Li Qin and the Liang clan didn't even look at the Chen residence again. Instead, the maids cried in a group.

Some of the Chen residence maids wanted to return to the capital together, while others stayed behind to look after the Luo City business. They separated just like that. For people of this era, the distance between Luo City and the capital was a lifetime.

In front of Chen Ji's carriage, Qiu Fen wiped away tears with one hand and instructed Xiao Man, "When you go back to the Chen family's main residence, don't be so silly and follow people to be stubborn. Control your bad temper. Sometimes you can endure, just endure."

Xiao Man's eyes were also red. "Okay, I know, Sister Qiu Fen, but I can't help it."

Qiu Fen was exasperated and poked her forehead with her finger. "Little hussy never listens to me. There will always be a time when you suffer a loss. By then, people will demote you to a third-class maid again. Without me, let's see what you'll do."

Xiao Man squatted at the coachman's seat, tears falling pitter-patter. "Sister Qiu Fen, you also be good in Luo City, okay? Next year, you'll be of age. Find a good family to marry early. After you marry, you must write me a letter..."

Qiu Fen cried and asked, "What, do you still want to add some dowry for me?"

Xiao Man shook her head, wiping away tears as she spoke. "No, I'm just congratulating you."

Qiu Fen cried and laughed. "I worried about you for nothing!"

Inside the first carriage, Chen Li Qin's calm voice came. "How much longer are you going to cry? Set off."

The small servant beside him quickly waved his arms. "Set off, set off."

The coachman sat slanted on one side of the carriage, raised his whip, and the carriage slowly moved.

Qiu Fen chased forward two steps and stuffed the cloth bundle on her shoulder into Xiao Man's arms. "When you go to the capital, don't think about the people and things in Luo City anymore. Live a good life!"

"I know!"

As the carriage rattled, Xiao Man clung to the carriage and looked back. She watched the increasingly distant plaque of the Chen residence and the maids standing in place, tears flowing uncontrollably.

After a long time, she climbed inside and sat down blankly. "Young master, we're just leaving like this."

Chen Ji was squeezed together with the wooden box, holding Hei Yun in his arms. "Qiu Fen is very good to you."

The light outside the window passed through the curtain crack and gently sprinkled on Xiao Man's face. "How can it be considered good in this deep residence and large courtyard? If the young master is talking about the kind of 'good' that saves a life, then definitely not. It's just that sometimes when Wang Gui bullied me, it was clearly mealtime, but he would suddenly tell me to go fetch water and sweep the floor. By the time I finished working and went back, there was only hard-to-bite rice left at the bottom of the pot. At times like these, Sister Qiu Fen would secretly leave me a bowl of rice. That's what counts as very, very good."

Chen Ji hummed. "See what she sent you."

Xiao Man opened the bundle and saw that it was stuffed with bath beans made by Liu Ji in the East Market, rouge cream from Nan Xing Ji, and stone dyeing pens from the old brand in Dong Liu...

Chen Ji subconsciously covered Hei Yun's ears. The next moment, Xiao Man wailed and cried in the carriage like an immature child.

At this time, a wave of noise interrupted the crying.

A maid rushed out of the Chen residence, crying and shouting as she chased the carriage, following step by step beside Chen Wen Xiao's carriage. "Second young master, aren't you taking me? You said you wanted to take me to the capital together! I'm pregnant with your flesh and blood!"

Chen Wen Xiao panicked and instructed the small servant, "What are you standing there for? Pull her away!"

The small servant pulled the maid away, and she gradually disappeared into the cold thin fog behind.

There were a total of eight carriages in the Chen family's motorcade, twenty-two ox carts carrying wealth and fine goods, eighteen maids, and over forty small servants and house guards. Wang Gui sat on the ox cart at the very end without saying a word. Now he had no steward status and couldn't even sit in a carriage.

After walking for about half an hour, the motorcade arrived in front of the North City Gate.

Suddenly, someone outside shouted loudly, "Lord Chen! Hahaha, why didn't Lord Chen tell me he wanted to leave? Let me wait here nicely!"

When Chen Li Qin heard the familiar voice, his heart sank.

He lifted the curtain and looked out, and saw Zhang Zhuo, Zhang Zhuo's wife Xu Shi, Zhang Xia, and Zhang Zheng sitting in a teahouse in front of the city gate, eating bean curd brain and golden fried dough sticks.

Below the city pass, the Zhang family's convoy of over a hundred vehicles formed a long line, extremely spectacular. Not only were there groups of maids and small servants, but they had even hired people from the Liang clan escort agency in Luo City to escort them.

Zhang Zhuo wiped his mouth and walked out of the teahouse, laughing happily. "Lord Chen, I've been waiting here for a long time. Let's return to the capital together!"