Chapter 235: Inn Rules

At midnight, the sound of a door opening echoed from room B next door. Someone stepped lightly onto the wooden floor of the corridor and walked out, descending the stairs.

Xiao Man, sitting on a small chair, was startled awake. She opened her eyes groggily, only to see Hei Yun, who knows when, had curled up by Zhang Xia’s pillow, holding hands and sleeping.

Xiao Man felt a wave of annoyance. This whole way, no matter how she tried to please Hei Yun, Hei Yun remained indifferent and unwilling to get close to her. Now, he was willing to sleep by Second Miss Zhang’s side, which was truly heartless.

She raised her head to look.

Chen Ji was still standing in his original spot, gazing out the window, holding the Jing Dao in his arms, his waist straight.

Xiao Man thought, if Young Master were to wear the Yin Jia and Bai Pi Feng of the Yu Lin Jun, with a white pheasant tail feather in his helmet, he would surely look even more magnificent than those Yu Lin Jun soldiers.

But was this still the same illegitimate son of the Chen family who, in her impression, would lower his head and not dare to speak after being scolded by the Liang family and Wang Gui?

Xiao Man’s eyes darted around. She quietly got up and lifted the hem of her skirt to go to Chen Ji’s side and test the waters. “Young Master…”

Chen Ji suddenly spoke, interrupting her. “Xiao Man, thank you.”

Xiao Man’s eyes widened. Huh! Why did Young Master suddenly say thank you to her? Could it be that he knew about her earlier act of controlling the Tao Tie to help him vent?

When did Young Master know? Was it when she formed the seal that she was seen? Or did she eat too much and cause suspicion?

Chen Ji, without turning his head, said calmly, “This whole journey to Guyuan, you haven’t complained about hardship or tiredness. No matter who you face, no matter what their identity, you always stand in front of me to protect me. Thank you.”

The large stone in Xiao Man’s heart finally landed, and she breathed a sigh of relief. So, Young Master meant this.

She opened her mouth and said, “Young Master, there’s no need to be polite. I am your maid, and this is all what I should do…”

Chen Ji spoke again. “Xiao Man, don’t worry about your identity.”

Xiao Man’s heart panicked.

Could it be that Young Master knew her identity within ‘Deng’? Was it something she said to Su Chuan that was overheard? Or did she accidentally talk in her sleep?

Chen Ji’s warm voice comforted her. “When we arrive at the capital, I will find Madam to retrieve your deed of sale. At that time, whether you want to go or stay is up to you. If you want to go, I will give you a dowry. If you want to stay, I will give you a raise in your monthly allowance.”

Xiao Man’s mood was like being between the clouds and the ground, fluctuating up and down, her heart pounding non-stop.

But when she heard that she could get back her deed of sale, she couldn’t suppress her joy. “Young Master, you must keep your word. You yourself said you would return my deed of sale, you are not allowed to go back on it.”

Chen Ji acknowledged with an “en” and said in a low voice, “Go back and rest. I’ll continue to watch.”

“Oh.”

Xiao Man returned to the small chair in a daze. Only when her buttocks touched the chair did she remember that she was supposed to test Young Master.

She looked suspiciously at Chen Ji’s back, the more she thought, the more suspicious she became!

Aiya! When did Young Master become so cunning… it must be Zhang Zheng’s bad influence!

Thinking of this, she secretly stretched out her leg and kicked the deeply sleeping Zhang Zheng nearby. But Zhang Zheng didn’t even open his eyes, he only turned over and continued to sleep.

Xiao Man muttered, “Sleeping so soundly, wouldn’t even know if you were killed!”

At this moment, Chen Ji’s eyes peered through the window crack, gazing at the stable. He wanted to see if the fatty who had entered the stable would come out, but he had already waited for over an hour, and still hadn’t seen the figure.

Could it be that the secret passage that quietly left the Guyuan military town was located beneath this stable? Where did the guest from next door go in the middle of the night? Could they also want to leave Guyuan City?

But Chen Ji waited until dawn, and still didn’t see anyone entering or leaving the stable. It wasn’t until the sound of roosters crowing rang out that an inn helper came with an armful of hay to feed the horses.

He looked into the distance again, only to see that the torches on the distant city walls and the fire basins had all been extinguished.

Good thing, the Jingchao Tian Ce Army hadn’t come.

Chen Ji thought for a moment, handed the Jing Dao to Xiao Man, and turned to walk out the door. “Guard the room well.”

Xiao Man sat on the chair, turned around to look at Chen Ji’s back, and waited for the door to close again. She quietly untied the cloth strip on the Jing Dao and pulled out a foot of the blade.

The blade was as bright as snow and could reflect people. Xiao Man could actually see her own face clearly on the blade. She had never seen such a good knife, not even at her aunt’s place.

Xiao Man thought for a moment, then stroked her hair with the blade. Only then did she casually sheathe the knife.

Chen Ji walked down the stairs lightly. Inside the inn’s main hall on the first floor, three helpers were just setting up the tables and chairs.

Seeing him descend, the helpers all stopped their work and bowed, saying, “Guest official, ten thousand blessings.”

Chen Ji nodded and went to the backyard by himself. The shopkeeper gave Xiao Wu a look, and Xiao Wu limped along behind Chen Ji.

“Guest official, what are your instructions?” Xiao Wu asked with a smile.

Chen Ji smiled and said, “I’m going to groom my horse.”

Xiao Wu quickly said, “Guest official, let the little one do this kind of dirty and tiring work. The stable is a smelly place, it smells very strong.”

Chen Ji explained, “My horse has a big temper, it won’t let others touch it.”

As he spoke, he went directly to the front of the stable and held out his hand. Zao Zao then came forward and arched his palm with its head.

Xiao Wu praised, “Guest official, this horse is truly extraordinary. Even the war horses sold from Jing… the northern side, are not this strong.”

Chen Ji opened the stable and led Zao Zao out. “Please get two jin of fried yellow beans, mix them with two eggs, and put it on my account for room Tian Zi Jia.”

Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment, then finally agreed. “Alright!”

Chen Ji heard the sound of footsteps behind him receding and immediately used his peripheral vision to look at the stable.

Inside the stable, more than twenty horses were tied to a single post. The ground was covered with thick straw. Perhaps the secret passage was hidden beneath some of the straw.

At this moment, Chen Ji suddenly saw a black gauze hat with a tiled ridge in the corner of the stable, which had been stepped on and deformed by a horse’s hoof.

Why would there be a black gauze hat with a tiled ridge scattered here? Was it the fatty’s from last night?

The fatty did wear a black gauze hat with a tiled ridge, but it was late at night last night, and this type of hat was similar, so Chen Ji wasn’t sure if this was the fatty’s hat.

Chen Ji held a wooden comb and groomed Zao Zao’s shedding fur, waiting for Xiao Wu to return with the yellow beans. But it wasn’t Xiao Wu who returned, but the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper brought a wooden basin to Zao Zao, but Zao Zao didn’t move.

Chen Ji smiled and said, “Let me do it.”

He took the wooden basin and brought it to Zao Zao. Zao Zao snorted and devoured it.

The shopkeeper exclaimed in surprise, “Guest official, this horse is truly intelligent. Just now, Xiao Wu told me that your horse won’t let others touch it, and I still didn’t believe him.”

As he spoke, he glanced towards the inside of the stable and also saw the black gauze hat, suddenly frowning.

The shopkeeper moved a few steps, blocking the space between Chen Ji and the black gauze hat, and asked with a smile, “Guest official, where are you from?”

Chen Ji didn’t answer the question. “Shopkeeper, why is that helper limping?”

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes slightly. “There’s no need to hide it from you. Several of us were border soldiers before. Xiao Wu was under Mount Quwu and was shot through the ankle by a divine archer of the Jingchao Tian Ce Army with an arrow from over a hundred steps away.”

Chen Ji suddenly asked, “Doesn’t our Ningchao have firearms? But I passed through the south city gate last night and didn’t see the border army carrying firearms.”

The shopkeeper smiled, “Firearms are only equipped to the three major camps; they may not be given to us Guyuan Du Si Fu to use.”

Chen Ji doubted, “Why? Aren’t they all used to fight the Jingchao thieves?”

The shopkeeper said slowly, “The court doesn’t trust us, afraid that we will privately sell firearms to the north… Guest official is so concerned about border army matters, are you not a Jingchao spy?”

Chen Ji said casually, “Shopkeeper, I’m here to find a Jingchao spy, do you believe that?”

The shopkeeper sized Chen Ji up and down. “Not like it. You instead look like a top scholar who wants to go to the capital for the imperial examination.”

“Shopkeeper, you certainly know how to flatter,” Chen Ji suddenly turned his head to look at the shopkeeper. “May I trouble you with a question? If I want to buy some information, where should I go?”

The shopkeeper smiled slightly, “Guest official, you’ve come to the right place. When you come back to the main hall, you will find what you want.”

Chen Shi.

Chen Ji led Zhang Zheng, Zhang Xia, and Xiao Man downstairs, planning to simply have breakfast at the Long Men Inn.

But when they walked downstairs, they were all startled. The inn’s main hall, which was empty last night, was now almost full of guests.

As Chen Ji descended from upstairs, all the guests in the hall turned their heads to look at him, then turned back as if nothing had happened, continuing to eat the small dishes in front of them.

Among these guests, some carried knives, some wore swords, some sat alone, and some groups of seven or eight people squeezed around the same Eight Immortals table, cracking melon seeds.

In the entire main hall, only one empty table remained in the middle.

Zhang Xia hesitated, “How can it be so lively?”

Zhang Zheng whispered, “The people of Guyuan are strange, drinking alcohol so early in the morning?”

Chen Ji’s gaze swept around, only to see jars of alcohol on every table, but the alcohol jars were still covered with red cloth and mud seals, untouched.

Zhang Xia recalled, “I once heard that Sichuan has a custom of eating morning wine. Even wealthy people would go to the street to order a small pot of卤牛肉 (lu niurou), 肥肠 (feichang), and eat it with strong wine. But I’ve never heard that Guyuan also has this custom.”

Chen Ji went to the empty table and was about to sit down, but was blocked by Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu smiled ingratiatingly, “Guest official, this table is not for sitting.”

Chen Ji seemed to ponder, “Is there a rule here?”

Xiao Liu quickly explained, “It’s not really a rule, it’s just that this table is specially reserved for our Long Men Inn owner. The owner hasn’t arrived, so no one can sit here.”

Chen Ji asked expressionlessly, “Who is the owner?”

Xiao Liu smiled, “The owner’s identity is inconvenient to reveal. If you are fated, you will see her yourself.”

As he spoke, a person at the table next door got up to leave. A helper led Chen Ji over. “Guest official, please sit here.”

As Chen Ji sat down, he noticed that until the guest who just left, the alcohol on the table had not been opened from the red cloth and mud seal, and the alcohol had not been taken away either.

Xiao Liu picked up that single jar of alcohol. “Guest official, what do you want to eat?”

Chen Ji glanced at the wooden sign hanging behind the counter. “Two cages of steamed buns, four bowls of fine noodles.”

Xiao Liu suddenly asked, “Guest official, do you want vegetable steamed buns or meat steamed buns?”

Chen Ji smiled, “Vegetable.”

“Guest official, do you want Xiyu Putao Jiu or Shao Dao?”

Chen Ji’s heart stirred. The other party didn’t ask if he wanted to drink or not, but directly asked what kind of wine he wanted.

He looked around and saw that the alcohol jars on the tables next door were labeled Putao Jiu and Shao Dao, there was nothing unusual.

Chen Ji thought for a moment and asked calmly, “Helper, what is in the jar you are holding?”

The helper smiled and replied, “Shao Dao.”

Chen Ji pointed at the table. “Put it down. I’ll just have this jar of Shao Dao.”

The helper said loudly, “Got it, one jar of Shao Dao!”

As soon as these words were spoken, gazes from all around were cast over, and whispers began.

The helper placed the jar of Shao Dao back on the table. “Guest official, the wine is here, the steamed buns will take a while.”

Chen Ji acknowledged with an “en.”

After the helper turned to leave, a man with a knife immediately got up, walked directly to their table, sat down, and boldly asked, “Young man, you have a very unfamiliar face. Do you have any news to sell?”

Suddenly, the surroundings became quiet. Several tables of guests perked up their ears.