158. Falling from a Horse

The bustling long street was bustling with people coming and going. People were carrying shoulder poles and driving ox carts through the snow as they walked out of the city. They had to leave Los Angeles before sunset and return to their farms in the suburbs.

The smell of cow dung and the shouting intertwined together make the winter in Los Angeles lively.

Chen Ji stood in the endless stream of people, silently put his hand into his sleeve, hiding the note brought by the west wind.

A chill ran down his spine: the Secret Service was the inner court's personal guard. Normally, the twelve zodiac animals could move freely with the king's chess and cards in hand. Why would they need to hide their identities and secretly pass notes?

And now, Xifeng hurried away with his hat lowered, indicating that the Secret Service has moved into the dark and remained anonymous!

They have to be careful that the Liu family will take risks and kill them all.

But in this way, in Mr. Feng's eyes, only Chen Ji was still in the open, and the Liu family could only vent their anger on him.

Chen Ji originally thought that after wiping out the Dragon King’s military town, the Secret Service would have evidence of the Liu family’s rebellion.

As long as they sent the evidence to the capital, they could confiscate the Liu family's property and execute them.

Once the Wansui Army arrived, the Liu family would naturally be wiped out.

However, the Liu family had no intention of sitting still and waiting for death, and the secret report from the Secret Service could not be sent to Yuzhou at all.

No wonder Mr. Feng is so arrogant.

The Liu family is about to fall out.

Chen Ji turned around, his eyes looking through the gaps in the crowd at the quiet carriage outside the city gate.

What is Lord Liu plotting that makes him so anxious to find Prince Jing?

Seeing him stunned, Bai Li asked curiously, "Chen Ji, what's wrong with you? You don't look very good."

Chen Ji came back to his senses and smiled at Bai Li: "Princess, I'm fine!"

Bai Li pulled his sleeve and walked forward. "The storefront of Li's Clothing Shop in the south of the city is just ahead. I'll take you there to get your measurements. We'll wait for Father in the shop, and then we can go back to Anxi Street together."

Zhang Xia looked at Bai Li's hand and subconsciously looked at the prince's expression.

The prince pretended not to know and looked away.

Zhang Xia asked curiously, "Sir, are you planning to turn a blind eye?"

The prince said helplessly, "Including this time, Chen Ji has saved my brother and me twice. Each time, it was dangerous, and each time we narrowly escaped death. As his elder brother, I pretended not to see it. Why would an outsider like Miss Zhang Er bother to find out the truth?"

Zhang Xia smiled and said, "That's right!"

In Li's clothing shop, the shopkeeper personally took a roll of leather tape and measured Chen Ji's size.

Chen Ji stood in front of the counter with his arms open, but his eyes were looking outside the door.

Bai Li sat on a chair nearby, his chin supported by his white hands, watching with interest.

Two maids brought tea and preserved fruits and placed them on the table next to Baili attentively. They immediately knelt on the ground to massage Baili's legs.

Bai Li was startled: "No, no, no, what are you doing?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "My princess, you don't know that taking measurements for clothing is a time-consuming and meticulous process. If the difference is even a fraction of an inch, the clothes won't fit comfortably. In order to encourage our customers to wait patiently, we at Li's have hired maids to entertain our distinguished guests."

Baili quickly waved his hands: "No, no, I'm ticklish."

The shopkeeper smiled at the maid and said, "Since the princess says it's not necessary, you two can go down."

The maid bowed and said softly, "Yes!"

The shopkeeper added, "There's a place to play Pai Gow in the backyard. If you're bored waiting, you can ask the maid to play a few rounds with you."

Bai Li was at a loss whether to laugh or cry: "Really, no need. I can wait."

"Okay!"

Zhanggu meticulously measured Chenji's clothes, taking care not to miss a single detail: the cuffs, the collar, the waistline.

It’s no wonder that Li’s shop is famous in Los Angeles. There must be a reason for its fame.

After two cups of tea, the shopkeeper finished measuring Chen Ji's dimensions and smiled.

He asked, "What does the princess plan to order for this young master?"

Bai Li counted on his fingers and said, "Two stand-up collared jackets, two pairs of winter cotton trousers, two pairs of black boots, and a corrugated black gauze hat. Can you make a large brush here? Use fox fur to make him a large black brush to keep warm. But don't make the fox fur on the outside, make it the lining. He doesn't like to be conspicuous."

Chen Ji was stunned. He withdrew his gaze from the door and said, "Princess, there's no need to do so much, right?"

Bai Li's eyes curved into crescents, and he smiled gently, "You're usually very busy, so you must make more clothes when you finally get to make them. I'm doing this to thank you for saving my life. Isn't my life worth this much money?"

Chen Ji also smiled: "Worth it!"

Bai Li waved his hand. "That's all right. Please wait for me for a moment. I'll have a few words with the shopkeeper and then I'll be back."

Chen Ji turned around and walked out of the shop to talk to the prince and Zhang Xia.

Bai Li peeked out to see that they weren't paying attention. He stood up and walked to the counter, pulling out six gold melon seeds from his sleeve. "Boss, when you make his clothes, sew these into the hem of his shirt."

The shopkeeper was stunned.

Officials and nobles have always liked to sew some thin silver cakes the size of a fingernail into the hems of their clothes. The heavy silver cakes can hold the hems down, making the clothes look more drooping and straighter. They also like to sew auspicious copper coins with words like "attract wealth and treasure" or "get promoted and get rich" to bring good luck.

But this is the first time I’ve seen someone sewing golden melon seeds together.

Seeing the confusion surrounding the cabinet, Bai Li smiled and explained, "It's for his emergency use. The shopkeeper just needs to sew the gold melon seeds in."

The shopkeeper didn't ask any more questions and replied with a smile: "Okay."

When Prince Jing lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage, he saw him jump on the horse and ride hurriedly towards the city.

Chen Ji saw his figure from a distance, turned around and said to Bai Li, "Princess, it's time for us to leave."

Bai Li replied from inside the house, "I'm coming."

But just as he finished speaking, Prince Jing's body on the horse began to stagger. Before he reached the door of Li's clothing shop, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell off the horse at an angle.

The prince exclaimed, "Dad?"

Chen Ji was quick-witted and quick-handed. He ran two steps and caught Prince Jing before he fell to the ground.

He looked up outside the city gate. Mr. Feng was sitting in the coachman's seat, whipping the horse high in the air, driving the carriage south as if no one was around.

No one expected that the Liu family would commit such a cruel act against a powerful vassal king in a busy city.

The prince's eyes were bloodshot. He stared at the Liu family carriage angrily but did not chase it. He turned to Chen Ji and whispered, "Go back to Anxi Street and find your master to save them first."

Chen Ji carried Prince Jing on his back and ran towards Anxi Street.

In the endless stream of people, Zhang Xia and others chased on horseback, but they couldn't catch up for a while.

Chen Ji's face looked heavy.

If it was really the Liu family who did this cruel thing, it means that the other party has become unscrupulous and completely crazy.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what the significance of the Liu family killing Prince Jing was.

The setting sun sank beyond the city, and the sky and the earth became dark.

Taiping Medical Clinic has closed.

Chen Ji rushed in and shouted, "Master, Master."

The long-lost old man Yao was standing behind the counter, lighting a kerosene lamp and fiddling with an abacus.

He raised his head and glanced at Chen Ji and Prince Jing, then looked at his precarious door panel and said indifferently, "Is the sky falling?"

The prince rushed in from outside and said hurriedly: "Doctor Yao, please save my father quickly. He was murdered by the Liu family."

Old Man Yao asked casually, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

The prince was helpless: "It's already this late, and you're still not in a hurry."

Old man Yao walked out from behind the counter, stroking his white beard with his left hand, and gently placed three fingers of his right hand on Prince Jing's wrist.

Chen Ji held his breath,

I was afraid of delaying the pulse diagnosis.

After a moment, Old Man Yao said casually, "The prince was not harmed by anyone. He left the city before recovering from a cold, and now it's just a flare-up of that old illness."

Chen Ji suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. At least the Liu family had not yet reached the point of being so cruel.

Old Man Yao walked to the backyard with his hands behind his back and calmly arranged, "Chen Ji, carry the prince into the main house. She Dengke, light the stove inside to keep the prince warm. Liu Quxing, get me the silver needles. Prince, the princess, please close the door and don't let anyone in. Not even the people from the prince's palace."

In the main house, Old Man Yao finally left only Chen Ji to help.

He gently placed Prince Jing on Old Man Yao's bed and took off his armor.

Old man Yao sat by the fire and slowly burned the silver needles one by one before applying them to Prince Jing.

In the blink of an eye, King Jiang's chest was filled with silver needles.

Chen Ji asked softly, "Master, is Prince Jing really suffering from a cold?"

Old Man Yao glanced at him and continued to give acupuncture while asking, "You have also studied the pathology of wind and cold, what do you think?"

Chen Ji did not answer.

After all the silver needles were injected, Prince Jing suddenly coughed up blood again.

Chen Ji was surprised and asked, "Master?"

Prince Jing slowly opened his eyes, looked at Old Man Yao with a smile, and said weakly: "You saved me again!"

Old Man Yao stood up and went to the wooden basin stand, washed his hands, and wiped them with a white towel while sneering, "Your Highness, please don't go out without telling anyone. I'm a doctor, not a wizard. I don't have the ability to cross out the book of life and death!"

Prince Jing smiled, as if he had long been accustomed to Old Man Yao's harshness.

He turned to look at Chen Ji and said, "Young man, please call Yunxi in for me. I have something to tell him. Also, please guard the door and don't let anyone in."

Chen Ji nodded, lifted the curtain and went out.

In the yard, Bai Li was standing under the apricot tree, holding the whale knife and pursing his lips. The prince was pacing back and forth anxiously.

She Dengke, Liu Quxing, Liang Maoer and others squatted on the side, helpless.

Seeing Chen Ji coming out, the prince immediately came forward and asked: "Chen Ji, how is my father?"

Chen Ji whispered: "Prince, the prince wants you to come in."

The prince went into the main room, and as the door curtain swayed, he heard a knock on the door outside the clinic.

Concubine Jing said in a serious tone outside the door: "Open the door!"

Chen Ji said calmly, "Brother Mao'er, hold the door and don't let anyone in."

Liang Maoer responded and walked out. Before she reached the door, Concubine Jing had already led more than ten strong servants and pushed the door open aggressively.

Chen Ji took the Whale Knife from Bai Li and stood outside the main house door leaning on the knife: "Madam Jingfei, the prince has instructed that he is talking to the prince and no one can enter."

Concubine Jing stared at him intently: "Did the prince say this himself, or are you just passing on a false order? Get out of the way!"

Chen Ji twisted the handle of the knife slightly, and pointed the sharp blade at Jing Fei and the others: "I can't do it."

Concubine Jing stepped forward, not taking Chen Ji and the Whale Knife seriously. "Young man, don't make the mistake of misleading yourself. You're just an apprentice in a medical clinic. Using a knife on a member of the royal family is a capital offense anyway. Now, get out of my way, and I'll forgive you."

Chen Ji didn't move.

At this moment, someone lifted the door curtain behind him.

Chen Ji looked back and saw the prince coming out with red eyes. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and looked at Concubine Jing: "Auntie, father wants you to come in."

In the quiet courtyard, Chen Ji moved sideways with the whale knife in hand, while Concubine Jing raised her head arrogantly as she passed him by.

Chen Ji saw the prince pulling Bai Li out of the clinic with tears in his eyes, and he turned around to look at the silent main room.

What did Prince Jing say to the Crown Prince?

End of this chapter.