Chapter 253: First Day of the Siege

Besieged city, first day.

The sound of roosters crowing rose, and a long queue had already formed outside the porridge shed on Kucha Street.

In the queue, singing girls and dancing girls, wrapped in thick camel hair blankets that only exposed their cheeks, young servants, turtle masters, and guests stood in line, holding ceramic bowls in their hands, waiting for the queue to advance little by little.

Border army soldiers, not wearing armor, wrapped gray headscarves, holding long iron ladles, scooped thin porridge and gave it to the common people in the queue.

Qi Zhemian returned from the porridge shed early with his bowl, lifted the cotton cloth curtain, and thumped up the wooden stairs to the second floor. He knocked on Li Xuan's room door.

Inside the room, Li Xuan, dressed, opened the door and said doubtfully, "What's the rush and panic?"

Qi Zhemian held out the ceramic bowl in front of Li Xuan and said angrily, "Elder sister's husband, look at this, the border army's boiled porridge is actually as thin as this bird's appearance. A full bowl only has a dozen grains of corn. What's the difference between drinking this and drinking water?"

Li Xuan lowered his head to look at the ceramic bowl, his heart suddenly sinking. He saw that the thin porridge inside the bowl was clear to the bottom, bland like dishwater.

He held the ceramic bowl, not having time to get dressed, and hurriedly wanted to go out the door.

Qi Zhemian pulled him, "Elder sister's husband, where are you going?"

Li Xuan grabbed his collar and said in a low voice, "Wait a while, quickly take people to buy grain. No matter the cost, you must buy grain back. Even if it's one tael of silver per jin, you must buy it!"

Qi Zhemian was stunned, "One tael per jin, this could be a hundred times the price! Elder sister's husband, if we pay this price, the silver we brought might not be enough to buy much grain, and even if we buy it, it won't be enough for the Imperial Guards army to eat!"

Li Xuan said angrily, "The grain merchants have all had their grain requisitioned by the border army. That group of merchants don't even have the opportunity to hoard and speculate. Now the border army is giving porridge this way. The entire Gu Yuan is not getting enough to eat. It's fortunate if we can still buy grain. It's a small matter if you and I starve. Now, if we let Your Highness starve with us, you and I will have to apologize with death! Spend all the silver. Protect Your Highness first!"

He fiercely pushed open Qi Zhemian and ran up to the third floor, knocking on the Crown Prince's room door.

The Crown Prince opened the door, "Lord Li, how is it?"

Li Xuan said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, look at this porridge. I fear that in half a month, people will be exchanging children for food. If the Jing Dynasty army besieges the city for a month... the consequences are unimaginable."

The Crown Prince looked at the porridge in his hand and frowned, "Quickly dispatch Imperial Guards army soldiers to seek grain. If someone can buy ten shi of grain, they will be rewarded a hundred taels of silver after returning to the capital. If someone can buy a hundred shi of grain, their official rank will be raised one level after returning to the capital! In addition, go call Lord Chen and the others up, we must immediately discuss new countermeasures!"

Li Xuan left in a whirlwind.

The Crown Prince paced back and forth in the room, pondering how to solve the grain problem, and pondering who could solve this matter.

Chen Liqin wouldn't work. This Lord Chen still placed hope on the border army and would only do things according to the rules. In times of crisis, he had no 'extraordinary' ability.

Li Xuan wouldn't work either. This great official had the skill to fight a hundred enemies in a chaotic battle, but he was not a 'capable official'.

Although Qi Zhemian was a dandy from the Qi family who came to gain experience, he usually needed to be given face by the Qi family, but at present, he could not be entrusted with important tasks.

Chen Ji...

The Crown Prince pondered for a long time, finally walked to the next door, and knocked.

Thump thump thump.

Thump thump thump.

The Crown Prince knocked for a long time, but no one opened the door.

At this time, Li Xuan led Chen Liqin, Chen Wenzong, and Qi Zhemian up the stairs. The Crown Prince asked doubtfully, "Where did Chen Ji go?"

Chen Wenzong cupped his hands and replied, "Reporting to the Crown Prince, I saw Third Brother go out with Young Master Zhang and Miss Zhang Er before the rooster crowed. I asked him where he was going, and he said he was going to get porridge."

Qi Zhemian was slightly startled, "I also went to get porridge, but I didn't see him."

After saying that, he softly muttered, "This kid isn't watching us cut off grain and running away by himself again, is he?"

Everyone looked at each other. The Crown Prince slowly said, "Let's not worry about Chen Ji for now. Gentlemen, please come in and discuss countermeasures."

Tao Huai Fang and Zhang Ji's grain and oil shop was a complete mess.

The shelves inside the room had all been pushed down to the ground by the border army who requisitioned grain last night. Even the earth walls and the ground had several holes smashed in them. Baskets were scattered everywhere.

It seemed that the border army, seeing no one respond to the knocking, had directly climbed over the courtyard wall to search and take things. The salt jars, vegetable seed oil, flour, sesame, mung beans, vinegar, and anything edible on the shelves had all been taken away. Even the radish dried on the roof hadn't been spared.

At this moment, Zhang Zheng, Zhang Xia, and Xiao Man were surrounding a stone well, silently waiting.

After the time it takes to burn one incense stick, Chen Ji climbed out with the hemp rope from the well mouth. Zhang Zheng stepped forward and stretched out his hand, pulling him up.

Chen Ji patted the dust off his clothes and said in a low voice, "The grain is still there. The cellar is very big, and the walls are plastered with lime. We don't need to worry about the grain getting damp for a short time. Inside there is corn, millet, rice, and also some wind-dried preserved meat and pickled vegetables stored, enough for us to eat."

After saying that, he untied the cloth bag on his back and handed it to Xiao Man, "Pack it well. Inside is our ration for the next few days. We can't make a fire and cook in here, to avoid attracting the suspicion of the neighbors."

Selling private salt this year was taboo. If caught, it was exile three thousand li to serve labor. Small salt peddlers would pickle private salt into meat and vegetables and wind-dry them to sell, which was more hidden. With these things, there was no lack of salt.

Chen Ji sighed, "Just now I saw that the porridge in the porridge sheds was all so thin. It's still okay now, but in another ten days or half a month, perhaps many people will starve to death."

Xiao Man tightly hugged the cloth bag in her arms, "Young Master, you must not be so kind as to send all the grain out. These two thousand shi of grain seem like a lot, but if they are truly sent out, they won't be able to save the common people in this whole city."

Chen Ji said helplessly, "Don't worry, even if we really want to save people, we can't rely on this little bit of grain. Don't hug the cloth bag so tightly, otherwise others will know there is treasure inside."

Zhang Zheng sat on the edge of the well and sighed, "The Imperial Guards army and the Crown Prince are too careless. They actually slept last night. If it were me, Li Xuan, I should have gone door to door overnight to buy grain. However, Chen Ji, if you want to approach the Crown Prince, now is the best opportunity."

Chen Ji's eyes were calm, "Let them be hungry for a while first."

Thump thump thump. There was the sound of knocking on the door.

The four people simultaneously looked at the tightly closed main door of the grain and oil shop. A shout came from outside, "Shopkeeper, shopkeeper! Is there any grain left in the shop?"

Zhang Xia said in a low voice, "It's Qi Zhemian's voice, they've come to buy grain."

A moment later, seeing no one respond, Qi Zhemian immediately went to knock on the main door of the shop next door.

They heard the attendant next door say impatiently, "None, none, it was all searched away by the border army last night. If you want to buy grain, go elsewhere, don't bother us!"

Qi Zhemian said angrily, "If there's none, there's none, you can't speak properly? Believe it or not, this master will smash your shop!"

As he spoke, his voice gradually went further away, seemingly dragged away by other Imperial Guards army soldiers.

In the backyard of the grain and oil shop, Zhang Zheng said disdainfully at the well edge, "If they buy this way, the yellow flowers will be cold. What they should do most now is to go find neighbors and buy surplus grain from families door to door with heavy gold. They can still buy some hidden grain, more or less. Places like grain shops were searched clean by the border army early on!"

Xiao Man squinted at him, "Young Master Zhang is being hindsightful. I didn't see you mention buying grain earlier."

Zhang Zheng happily said, "This is because Xiao Man is here, who needs me?"

Xiao Man was slightly startled. Zhang Zheng suddenly didn't argue with her, but instead flattered her. She was still a little unaccustomed.

Chen Ji patted off the white lime powder stuck to his clothes, "Let's go, let's not worry about them."

Several people took advantage of the fact that it was not yet light and quietly left the grain and oil shop.

All the way, ten thousand households were desolate. Bun shops, breakfast shops, noodle stalls, all were closed. Outside the simple porridge sheds, long queues lined up, and the common people in the queues also seemed to have their yang energy sucked away by yin souls, without vitality.

Peddlers still came out to set up stalls, but no one inquired at the stalls.

Just at this moment, two people brushed past them.

After walking a few steps, Zhang Xia suddenly lightly "eh" and turned her head to look, "People from Luocheng."

Chen Ji frowned and followed Zhang Xia's gaze. He saw two sturdy men wearing single clothes in the winter day, hurrying with large strides.

Zhang Zheng thought for a moment, "Could it be merchants or escorts who came from Luocheng to do business?"

Zhang Xia closed her eyes and recalled, "Not necessarily. The last time I saw him was at the Lantern Festival in Luocheng last year, beside Wenfeng Tower. He was holding a little girl in his arms. The little girl had two upward buns tied with red hair ribbons, and a colorful windmill in her hand..."

"The other one, I've seen him twice, both in the East Market. The first time, he came out of a silk shop, and I was about to go in; the second time, I was riding a red date horse, and he was driving the Liu family's carriage past me..."

Silk, Lantern Festival, carriage, Liu family.

Chen Ji always felt that something was wrong, but for a moment he couldn't figure out exactly where it was wrong.

Zhang Zheng said curiously, "It's also possible they are truly merchants who came to do business. Luocheng is the first station for transporting silk to the Western Regions. Many merchants stop there and then go to Taiyuan Prefecture."

"That's not right," Chen Ji frowned, "He's not holding a bowl. Going out this early and not going to get porridge means he must have more important matters."

Chen Ji lifted his feet to follow the two sturdy men, wanting to explore the truth. He subconsciously felt that a shocking secret was hidden within this.

However, just after turning a street corner, Chen Ji suddenly turned around and led Zhang Zheng and the others into a brokerage shop on the side of the street where the door boards had just been unloaded.

Slanted opposite the shop, a scar-faced middle-aged man seemed to stuff something into the hands of the two men as they brushed past each other.

Zhang Xia turned her head to look. The scar-faced middle-aged man was strikingly Old Wu, the border army deputy general suspected of poisoning and killing thirty-four people in the Chen family!

Chen Ji was inexplicably alarmed. Thirty-four members of the Chen family, a border army deputy general, men from Luocheng... what exactly was the relationship between these?

No, no, that's not right. There were also the cotton gloves sent by Jing Wang to the border army, and the border army soldiers who wanted to avenge Jing Wang... Gu Yuan seemed like a huge labyrinth, and this intricate labyrinth had only one exit.

In such a large city of Gu Yuan, very few could walk out alive to that exit.

He said in a low voice, "You all take the grain back first. I'll follow Old Wu to see where he goes. Old Wu is perhaps the key to untangling the mystery of the border army's various ties."

After saying that, Chen Ji turned and left the door.

As he passed a small stall outside the door, he picked up a hat and put it on his head. The stall owner was about to shout, but saw twenty coins fall onto the stall with a clatter.

By the time the stall owner looked up again to find Chen Ji's figure, Chen Ji had already disappeared without a trace.