190. Pick the Zodiac

Midnight.

Huanjing Hutong.

In the main hall of the Secret Service Office, Chen Ji and Bai Long sat opposite each other with a chessboard between them.

It’s still the old rule from Longwangtun, playing fast chess, and each move cannot exceed ten breaths.

The two men each held black and white and made their moves quickly.

Bai Long put on his mask. He watched the chessboard unfold, placing his pieces while admiringly saying, "You're not panicking at all, and your style of play is very different from last time. You've finally understood the meaning of 'willing to give up.' Zhi Gu Tun Long's move is brilliant, but it's also extremely greedy and shouldn't be adopted."

Chen Ji didn't say anything, staring at the chessboard intently.

Bai Long said slowly, "It's already midnight, and Yun Yang and the others haven't been able to bring the prince to me yet. I'm afraid they've messed up their job again."

Chen Ji said without even looking up: "Since Yunyang and Jiaotu always mess things up, why don't you replace them, Lord Bailong?"

Bai Long was happy: "I have my own reasons, you will understand later."

As he finished speaking, a night watchman passed by the alley, banging a gong: "Close the doors and windows to prevent theft!"

The agreed time of midnight has passed, and it is already dawn at Chou time.

Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief: "Lord Bailong, it looks like I won."

Bai Long smiled and said, "I won, but I'm a little curious, where did you hide the prince?"

Chen Ji remained calm and said, "Master Bailong, I have proven myself to be useful enough. From now on, I will do my best for you, even if it means risking my life. I don't know what happened to the princess..."

Just at this moment, footsteps were heard outside the door.

Yunyang, Jiaotu, and Jinzhu came together, brushing off the snow on their bodies. "Sir, Princess Baili has been imprisoned in the secret residence and is under the personal supervision of Jiefanwei."

When Jin Zhu saw Chen Ji, he was stunned: "Why are you here?"

Chen Ji pointed to the chessboard and said, "Play chess with Lord Bailong."

The golden pig looked puzzled.

Bai Long stood up and put his hands behind his back: "Have you found the prince?"

Yunyang and Jiaotu exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads. "Reporting to Lord Bailong, we are incompetent and have not found the Crown Prince. However, we are certain that Zhang Zhuo is helping them cover their whereabouts. Lord Bailong, please give the order. The two of us will arrest Lord Zhang and imprison him in the inner prison, and we will definitely interrogate the Crown Prince's whereabouts!"

Bai Long laughed heartily, pointing his finger at the two of them. "You two made a mistake, and you want me to take the blame with you. How can that be justified? Tell me, what else did you do?"

Jiaotu whispered, "It didn't cause any trouble."

"Hmm?" Bai Long turned around and said, "Golden Pig, you go ahead and talk."

Golden Pig didn't bother to be polite with them: "Yunyang and Jiaotu led the Jiefan Guard to stop Zhang Zhuo's grain transport team. In the end, they failed to find the prince and even scattered the official grain all over the ground."

Jiaotu argued cunningly, "Not much food was taken. I stopped them in time!"

The Golden Pig pondered for a moment. "Jiefanwei was quick, piercing all twenty-seven bales. The official grain transport may seem insignificant, and a dozen bales of grain aren't worth much, but it's always a major military matter. It can be big or small. Let's see if Zhang Zhuo wants to put the two of you on the scale and weigh you."

Bai Long raised his head and thought for a moment. "A bag of government rations weighs 120 jin (approximately 120 kg), and 1 jin (approximately 11 wen). According to Daning law, anyone who steals or destroys 25 or more guan (approximately 25 guan) of military rations will be punished with 100 strokes of the cane, tattooed with the words 'stealing government money, grain, and property,' and exiled 3,000 miles away... You two are going to be exiled again."

Chen Ji subconsciously turned his head to look at Bai Long. He didn't expect that the other party could recite the Daning Law so accurately.

What kind of people can memorize the law? Three types of people.

The first type is people like Zhang Zhuo and Zhang Xia who have a photographic memory.

The second type is law enforcement personnel.

The third type is those who are preparing to break the law.

White Dragon should be the third type.

White dragon facing the cloud

Sheep and Rabbit sighed, "I've told you all along to pay more attention to our laws. That way, you can avoid breaking the law and avoid being caught. How do you think I made it to the top three? It was all by avoiding being caught."

Yunyang and Jiaotu were so guilty that they didn't dare to look up.

Bai Long thought for a moment and said, "How about this? I will ensure that you two will not be exiled. However, I will take back the position of Zodiac Sign on behalf of the Minister of Internal Affairs, so that we can have an explanation to the Xu family. From now on, you two will be demoted to pigeon-level spies and work under Chen Ji."

"What?" Yun Yang was shocked. "Why should we work under him?"

Bai Long pretended to be confused: "You are pigeon-level spies, and he is Haidongqing, a level higher than you. Can't you work under him?"

Yun Yang was as sad as if she had lost her parents: "But...but..."

Bai Long: "Oh? You don't accept it?"

Jiaotu hurriedly tugged at his sleeve, and said through gritted teeth, "Do you want to die? Hurry up and agree, agree, agree..."

Yun Yang glanced at Chen Ji with a look of ashen face, then clasped his fists and saluted: "As you command."

As he finished speaking, Chen Ji spoke up, "Lord Bailong, I'm still inexperienced and I'm afraid I don't have the ability to lead others. Why don't Yunyang and Jiaotu stop working under me?"

It’s not that Chen Ji didn’t want to take this opportunity to humiliate the two of them.

Rather, these two people were too vindictive and extremely skilled in assassination. He was worried that if he pushed them too far, they would resort to desperate measures.

Bai Long turned his head and glanced at him: "You are all so bold, you dare to talk back to my arrangements?"

Chen Ji, Yun Yang, and Jiao Tu all clasped their fists and bowed their heads: "We dare not!"

Bai Long was afraid and patted Chen Ji's shoulder: "Do your job well, and I will ask the Minister for your reward."

Jinzhu's expression changed. Why did Chen Ji change the door lintel and obey Bailong's orders?

The next moment, Bai Long waved his hand and said, "Alright, everyone disperse! Go and guard all the main traffic arteries in Luocheng and check every household. Don't let the prince escape."

"Yes," Jin Zhu and others saluted and retreated, but Chen Ji did not move.

Jin Zhu walked to the threshold, turned around and waved to Chen Ji: "Let's go."

Chen Ji said softly, "I still have to play chess with Lord Bailong. Lord Jinzhu, please leave."

Jin Zhu's face darkened. After hesitating for a long moment, he couldn't help but say, "You want to change your allegiance? Have you forgotten how I treated you? If it weren't for Tianma and I saving you, you would have been killed by the sword long ago!"

Chen Ji was silent for a long time: "Master Jinzhu, I still think that working with Master Bailong is more promising."

Bai Long laughed out loud: "Pig, oh pig, a forced melon is not sweet."

The Golden Pig sneered three times: "Well, well, Master Bailong has good means. I wish Master Chen to achieve the position of the Zodiac as soon as possible!"

After saying that, he turned away.

…

…

Bai Long paced forward a few steps, his hands behind his back, looking out at the snow in the courtyard. "I'll consider you the winner of this round tonight. I've been thinking about it over and over again, but I still can't figure out where you hid the prince... Are you really not going to reveal the answer to me?"

Chen Ji came to his side and said, "Since Lord Bailong is willing to let the prince live, why bother to investigate further?"

Bai Long laughed: "It's not that I intentionally let him go, but someone threatened me, saying that if I don't let you live this time, he will kill me. There are not many people in Ning Dynasty who can kill me, and he is one of them."

Chen Ji was slightly stunned.

He subconsciously turned around to look at the teacup on the table. Someone had just been drinking tea here, which had delayed Bai Long for an hour.

Chen Ji looked towards the courtyard. When he just entered the courtyard, there was a faint smell of Chinese medicine in the yard. It was clearly the familiar medical clinic.

The taste is fragrant with a hint of bitterness.

When Chen Ji turned back, his eyes flashed with an inexplicable light: "Sir, are you talking about Sick Tiger?"

Bai Long sneered, "Your talkativeness only shows how clever you are."

Chen Ji suddenly understood why Bai Long repeatedly showed kindness to him and why Meng Ji helped him in his dream. It turned out that someone had been protecting him from behind.

Master, Sick Tiger!

Tiger is a tiger!

Chen Ji said, "Master Bailong, if I must save the princess, what should I do?"

Bai Long sighed, "You've given me a truly daunting problem. Chen Ji, that's a serious crime of treason. Do you think His Majesty will let Prince Jing's family off?"

Chen Ji whispered, "But Prince Jing clearly had no intention of rebelling. This is a crime others have framed him for."

Bai Long's voice became solemn. "After you leave this door, don't say such arrogant words. You and I, in this position, must be clear about our status and think carefully before doing or saying anything. Don't let others know that you are determined to save the princess. His Majesty wants to kill her, but you want to protect him. Are you also plotting rebellion?"

After a long silence, Chen Ji asked, "Your Majesty, why must Prince Jing die?"

Bai Long sighed, "In the spring of the 23rd year of Jianing, the Qiansui Army returned victorious from suppressing the rebellion. His Majesty was so pleased that he rewarded the troops. However, the soldiers said they didn't want any reward and only hoped that His Majesty would let the rebels go."

Chen Ji was stunned: "Why is this? Why would the Qiansui Army plead for the rebels?"

Bai Long sneered, "It's because the Qiansui Army initially thought the rebels were some vicious bandits, but when they arrived in Cangzhou, they found they were just desperate tenants struggling to survive. The Qiansui Army was so strong, yet they wanted to kill civilians just holding hoes. How could they bear it? In that battle, many of the Qiansui Army's soldiers cried as they killed people. They were so heartbroken by the killing that they felt dead."

Bai Long continued, "Thirty-seven generals of the Qiansui Army knelt outside the Queyou Gate, begging His Majesty to withdraw the reward and spare the rebels' lives. Furious, His Majesty asked Prince Jing what to do, and the prince replied that the rebels' crimes did not deserve death."

Chen Ji looked puzzled: "And then?"

"And then?" Bai Long reached out to catch the falling snow. "Then His Majesty withdrew the reward and pardoned the rebels. To cover up the incident, His Majesty didn't just pardon the rebels, but instead used the excuse of an auspicious sign to grant a general amnesty. From then on, His Majesty and Prince Jing were no longer on the same page."

Chen Ji whispered, "But if the rebels are civilians with nowhere else to go, then they really are..."

Bai Long asked back, "Chen Ji, the rebels want to rebel against the court. If Prince Jing says the rebels are not wrong, then who is wrong?"

Your Majesty is wrong.

Prince Jing's fate seemed to be determined from that day on.

Bai Long changed the subject and said, "Just because the princess's affairs cannot be accomplished now doesn't mean they cannot be accomplished in the future. I will help you save her life first, and keep her under house arrest in a temple with Qing Deng as her companion. We can discuss this later when things turn around. How do you think?"

Chen Ji concealed his excitement. As long as he could save his life, there was still hope!

He clasped his fists and bowed once more, saying, "Thank you, Lord Bailong!"

Bai Long shook off the melted snow in his hand. "Don't thank me yet. When I was young, I also thought I could change everything, but later I realized that there are too many things I need to give up on this path. Chen Ji, once you embark on this path, there's no turning back."

Chen Ji clasped his fists, bowed his body, and looked at his toes.

Someone has to pay the price, right?

He slowly stood up and said firmly: "Don't look back!"

Bai Long glanced back at him, then turned his head to look at the night, sighing: "My lord, you can't cut off the last bit of the world after all."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "What?"

Bai Long said casually: "It's okay, come in, I have something to tell you."