Chapter 256: The Struggle for the Throne

In the inn's main hall, Wang Gui held steaming hot yellow flour steamed buns, his back firmly to Chen Ji.

He was thinking about what reason he should use to send Chen Ji away if he came up and demanded the steamed buns.

However, Chen Ji didn't pay attention to Wang Gui. He walked directly towards the stairs on the left. With each step Chen Ji took, Wang Gui slowly turned his body, ensuring his back always faced Chen Ji.

At this moment, Chen Wenxiao was standing at the corner of the second-floor stairs and shouted loudly: "Wang Gui, why did you take so long, the food still hasn't..."

When he saw Chen Ji, his voice suddenly stopped, and he turned around and headed towards the room.

Everyone waited for Chen Ji to go upstairs. It wasn't until Chen Ji disappeared around the corner of the stairs that Wang Gui let out a long sigh of relief.

Behind the counter, the shopkeeper, dressed in a black cloth shirt, glanced at Wang Gui: "Isn't Chen Ji also from your Chen family? Why are you all guarding against him like a thief?"

Wang Gui glared fiercely at the shopkeeper: "The Chen family's family matters, do you care about them? It was hard to buy some food; the legitimate young master may not even eat his fill, so there's no turn for him."

The shopkeeper sneered: "The Chen family is a famous and prominent clan, yet they do some activities that can't see the light of day. The master is like this, and the tied-up dogs at home are the same."

Wang Gui's eyes narrowed slightly: "The Chen family has held high official positions for generations, and they still can't tolerate a countryside commoner like you interfering. If you want to fight injustice for him, you might as well divide your own food for him to eat. It's just that this Jing Dynasty besieged city, who knows how long it will last. You may not be able to feed others but starve yourself."

As he spoke, the cotton cloth curtain was lifted open again.

Qi Jianzhe and a Yulin Army soldier in civilian clothes entered, each carrying a lightly floating cloth bag. It was clear at a glance that there wasn't much food inside.

When Qi Jianzhe saw the steamed buns in Wang Gui's hand, his eyes suddenly lit up.

This young master of the Qi family took several steps forward, and on his own, grabbed two steamed buns from the tray. He stuffed one into his own mouth and the other into his colleague's mouth.

Chewing the steamed buns, he mumbled: "Starving the young master!"

Wang Gui was greatly shocked and reached out to snatch the steamed buns from Qi Jianzhe's mouth: "What are you doing? This is food I worked hard to collect from the common people's homes!"

Qi Jianzhe tilted his head back, avoiding Wang Gui's outstretched hand, and blurted out: "What's yours or mine? Everyone is in the same boat now. If there's food, just take it out and everyone eat together! Come over, I'll take two more. My brother-in-law hasn't eaten a meal since morning!"

"There's none!" Wang Gui, frightened, turned and ran upstairs.

Qi Jianzhe was disappointed as if he had lost something. He looked at the half-eaten steamed bun in his hand, bit his teeth, and didn't eat any more, planning to leave it for Li Xuan.

The shopkeeper behind the counter sized up Qi Jianzhe: "Army sir, collecting food wasn't smooth."

Qi Jianzhe sighed: "Every family's grain shops were thoroughly searched by the border army. We only collected some food from the corners and edges of common people's homes, and we still had to buy it at a sky-high price. The silver I spent to buy this small half bag of food is enough for me to go to the Eight Great Alleys and drink flower wine!"

The shopkeeper said lightly: "Save some to eat. The days of enduring hunger are likely still long."

Qi Jianzhe's eyeballs rolled: "Shopkeeper, you're always in the main hall. Haven't you seen how much food the Chen family bought back?"

The shopkeeper smiled: "Just that little bit they bought back. It was all steamed into steamed buns in one go."

Qi Jianzhe asked again: "What about Chen Ji? Did Chen Ji bring food back?"

The shopkeeper glanced at him: "No."

Wang Gui thumped up the stairs with the steamed buns, knocked on the door of the Earth Character Yi Number room. Chen Wenxiao opened the door, frowned, and looked at the tray: "Only these things? There isn't even braised beef. How can I swallow this?"

Wang Gui patiently explained: "Second young master, this is what I managed to buy from the common people."

Chen Wenxiao hesitated for a moment but finally took the tray.

Wang Gui was about to follow him into the room, but the door slammed shut in front of him, closing heavily. Wang Gui was startled. He opened his mouth to say he hadn't eaten yet but didn't know how to speak. His face gradually sank.

Inside the room, Chen Liqin and Chen Wenzong were standing by the window, their brows furrowed with worry.

Liang Shi took the tray from Chen Wenxiao's hand: "Old master, Wenzong, come and eat something."

However, Chen Liqin and Chen Wenzong didn't come to eat immediately. Instead, they looked down from a high position, observing the movements inside Gu Yuan city.

Outside Gu Yuan city, mountain fires were burning, with thick smoke rolling.

Chen Wenzong said gravely: "Dad, Gu Yuan is in danger. The grain stored in the city won't last for a month, I'm afraid it won't even last for half a month."

Chen Liqin sighed heavily: "I no longer care about Gu Yuan city. If we can't buy more food, the Yulin Army will go hungry tonight! At that time, when those soldiers start making noise, who knows what kind of mess they'll create."

Chen Wenzong hesitated: "The Yulin Army also has military discipline."

Chen Liqin scoffed: "The Yulin Army has military discipline, but when people are hungry and desperate, what can they do? I'm just afraid they'll rob the common people's food and be caught by the border army and dealt with according to military law. The Yulin Army was brought out by His Highness. If the Yulin Army's reputation is ruined, His Highness's reputation is also ruined. By then, whether the Crown Prince position can be kept will also become a problem."

Chen Wenzong's pupils contracted: "Before the great enemy, how can it be to this extent?"

"You are still young and don't understand the dangers of the court," Chen Liqin explained slowly: "Hu Junxian is Fu Wang's uncle. That Fu Wang seems harmless, not competing with the world, but what he does in private, who knows. I haven't even seen a shadow of the Jing Dynasty's Tian Ce Army. The city walls are also quiet. I even suspect that everything is fabricated by the border army, just to make the Yulin Army make a mistake, for the sake of seizing the heir!"

Chen Liqin continued: "Think about it, the command office, granary, and arsenal are always strictly guarded. How did the Jing Dynasty thieves set fires? It must have been the border army guards themselves stealing!"

Chen Wenzong murmured: "But they went to great lengths, making such a big fuss just to frame the Crown Prince. If the Yulin Army doesn't make a mistake, all the common people in the whole city will have to keep starving like this."

Chen Liqin shook his head. Seeing that his legitimate eldest son still didn't believe him, he only patiently said: "Seizing the heir is seizing the world's rivers and mountains. Compared to that dragon chair, what do the common people of a city matter?"

Chen Wenzong was full of worry: "Then what should we do, Dad? Let's go find food!"

Chen Liqin's brows were tightly locked: "Where can we find it? We've already found everything that could be found!"

Chen Wenzong's eyes suddenly lit up: "Find Chen Ji! He's full of ideas. Maybe he'll have a way!"

Chen Wenxiao, chewing on a steamed bun, sneered: "Elder brother, you're treating him like an immortal. Five hundred Yulin Army couldn't find food, and he can? If he can find it, I'll walk upside down from now on!"

Chen Wenzong said in a cold voice: "Instead of wasting your effort on saying sarcastic words, you might as well think about how to share His Highness's and Father's worries!"

Liang Shi pulled his arm and made him sit at the table, mediating: "Wenzong, quickly eat something. You haven't eaten anything all day."

Chen Wenzong picked up a steamed bun, hesitating for a moment: "Mother, maybe you should send some food to Chen Ji's side."

Chen Wenxiao laughed mockingly: "You all say he's magical. Where does he need us to send food? Elder brother, isn't this contradictory?"

However, the next moment, Chen Wenzong stood up, stuffed four steamed buns into his mouth, and walked outside: "I'm going to see him."

Liang Shi was anxious: "What are you doing? I... I've already arranged for Wang Gui to send him four steamed buns. You just eat yours!"

Chen Wenzong was suspicious: "Really?"

Liang Shi said angrily: "Is it difficult not to believe your mother? This might violate filial piety!"

Chen Wenzong hurriedly explained: "I'm not suspecting Mother... Since Mother has arranged it, that's good."

In front of the Heaven Character Bing Number room, Chen Ji lightly knocked on the door with his knuckles: "It's me."

With a creak, Xiao Man opened the door.

Chen Ji saw Zhang Zheng pacing back and forth in the room, anxious like an ant on a hot pot.

He looked around the room and asked with a frown: "Where is Second Miss Zhang?"

Zhang Zheng took several steps forward and said urgently: "After you left with Old Wu, my sister said you definitely wanted to know where those two Luo Cheng men went, and she insisted on following them to see. I disagreed, but she took advantage of me and Xiao Man not paying attention and I don't know where she followed them!"

Chen Ji felt something was wrong and turned to go out and find her.

But just as he stepped out of the door, he saw Zhang Xia coming up the stairs, asking curiously: "Where are you going?"

Chen Ji suddenly let out a sigh of relief: "I thought you had fallen into the hands of that group of Luo Cheng people."

Zhang Xia smiled: "I'm not that silly. I wouldn't let them discover me. Let's go. Let's talk inside the room."

Chen Ji looked left and right in the corridor, then closed the door: "Where did you just follow them?"

Zhang Xia leaned against the window and said carefully: "I didn't dare to follow too closely, so I don't know who else they saw along the way. I only know they finally went to Tao Huai Fang and entered the official residence of a family named Li."

She continued: "I quietly found several small children to inquire. One of the children said this official Li is a businessman and is quite rich. Every New Year and festival, they send some lucky money to the neighbors. All the children get a share. They are quite a kind family."

Chen Ji pondered for a moment: "What kind of business does this official Li's family do?"

Zhang Xia thought for a moment: "I didn't ask... Wait, the smell of sulfur on that street was very strong. Perhaps they do sulfur business."

Chen Ji suddenly realized: "Sulfur!"

Zhang Xia asked doubtfully: "Isn't sulfur just a medicinal material? Why such a big reaction?"

Chen Ji was silent.

Only he knew that sulfur was one of the main raw materials used to make firearms, but he couldn't let others know that he had mastered the formula for firearms!