225. Border Town

The situation in front of the city gate was no longer tense. The border soldiers changed their expressions and said happily, "Sorry for the offense. Let's go to the city to avoid the cold."

Chen Ji clasped his fists and saluted the lieutenant before mounting his horse. He pulled his scarf over his mouth and nose and rode back to the end of the caravan to reunite with Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia.

Wang Gui knelt beside the camel and let Chen Liqin step on his back to climb back onto the camel.

When Chen Liqin put one foot on Wang Gui's back, he couldn't help but turn his head to look at the back of his illegitimate son.

In the wind and sand, the scarf on Chen Ji's neck was blown messy by the wind, and a long red scarf fluttered in the wind.

Chen Liqin just felt that today was like getting to know this bastard all over again.

Wang Gui knelt on the ground and did not dare to urge him. It was not until a long time later that Chen Liqin came to his senses and climbed onto the camel.

At the end of the camel caravan, Xiaoman looked at Chen Ji with concern: "Master, you are a weak scholar, don't try to show off your abilities in the future. What if these soldiers hurt you?"

Chen Ji agreed with a smile.

Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia looked at each other, with smiles in their eyes.

Xiao Man changed the subject and praised, "But you were truly heroic just now, young master. You dared to ride forward in the face of such a pair of long spears. If you behave like this in the future in the Chen family, they will definitely not dare to bully you!"

Zhang Xia teased, "How do you think your young master compares to that general in silver armor? Is he as heroic as him?"

Xiaoman whispered, "It's still worse than others..."

Chen Ji laughed heartily: "Let's go into the city!"

The long camel caravan moved slowly, and the sound of camel bells drifted through the city gate, as if passing through a thousand-year-old Buddhist shrine.

As we entered the door, the sound of camel bells gradually became quieter and the voices of people became more and more lively.

The scenery inside is completely different from that outside.

There were houses made of loess bricks on both sides of the road, tents and stalls set up one after another, squeezing the bumpy dirt road so much that only three or four people could pass through.

Peddlers and pedestrians were everywhere, shoulder to shoulder.

Chen Ji subconsciously looked back at the desolate yellow land outside the door, then looked back at the bustling Guyuan City. He felt as if he had accidentally touched a mechanism and entered a paradise.

Without the wind and sand in the city, even the temperature seems to have risen a lot.

On the roadside, dancers bared their bellies in the winter, their gleaming silver chains trembling. They waved to the newly arrived Chen family members, "Sir, come in and have a drink."

The clothing in Guyuan City is different from that in the Central Plains. People here like to wear colorful stones to decorate their foreheads, ears, and necks, and they are as passionate as a fire.

Chen Wenxiao was dazzled by the bewitching act, and Chen Wenzong snorted coldly before coming back to his senses.

Chen Ji also turned to look at the dancer. Xiaoman rode his pony and rushed forward to block his view, but he was too short to do so.

She reminded him, "Sir, don't be seduced by those Hu Xuan dancers. Before you marry a legitimate daughter of the capital, you must protect your reputation, otherwise the legitimate daughters of the capital will avoid you."

Chen Ji laughed in silence. Xiaoman seemed to be more concerned about her marriage than he was, as if it was an obsession.

Zhang Xia said with a smile: "Your young master has a sweetheart, so don't worry about it."

Xiaoman exclaimed, "You have a sweetheart? Who is your sweetheart? Whose noble family is she from? Is her status high?"

Zhang Xia did not answer this series of questions.

Xiaoman rolled her eyes and asked, "Miss Zhang Er seems to know my young master very well?"

Zhang Xia said casually, "Not bad."

Xiaoman curled her lips: "Why are you so mysterious?"

Her eyes moved back and forth between Chen Ji, Zhang Zheng, and Zhang Xia. She always felt that there were many secrets among these three that she didn't know about.

While he was thinking, something strange happened.

But in front of the camel caravan, there was a rough man, who was holding the collar of a thin young man and angrily said: "How dare you steal my things?

Tired of..."

Before he could finish, the skinny thief pulled out a dagger from his waist and stabbed it into the man's abdomen.

The man stumbled back a few steps, the thief dropped his knife, and turned to join the crowd. The man slowly fell to the ground, his bright red blood staining the dirt and turning purple.

The vendor at the nearby stall simply cursed him for bad luck and continued to hawk his wares beside the corpse: "Fine tea bricks, tea bricks from Yunzhou!"

All this was like a small stone thrown into the sea, which only caused a few ripples, but soon returned to normal.

The maids and servants in the camel caravan looked pale, and Guyuan seemed to have suddenly torn off his colorful veil, revealing his fangs.

Chen Ji whispered to Xiao Man: "Watch your belongings carefully, there are many thieves here."

Xiaoman held her purse tightly and looked at everyone with vigilance. The purse contained all her belongings. If someone set their sights on her, she would fight to the death.

At this time, a group of eight or nine-year-old children gathered beside the camel caravan. Holding bamboo baskets, they said to Chen Wenxiao, "Sir, please buy some raisins."

Chen Wenxiao said impatiently: "Go away, go away, I don't want to buy it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a child reached out and ripped off the jade pendant from his waist, turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

Chen Wenxiao shouted angrily, "Stop right there, thief!"

He jumped off his camel and tried to chase after them, but the group of children selling raisins squeezed him and he couldn't get out at all.

More and more children crowded forward, like vultures smelling blood on the grassland, and even pulled away Chen Wenxiao's white jade collar pendant and golden hairpin, leaving him standing there with disheveled hair.

If the servant hadn't protected him in time, I'm afraid all the clothes on his body would have been stripped off.

A street vendor shouted jokingly, "Look at this fool from the Central Plains who dared to jump off his camel and chase him! If he hadn't jumped off, the thief wouldn't have been able to reach the hairpin on his head!"

"The fat sheep of the Central Plains must learn this lesson."

People on both sides of the street leaned against the wall with their arms folded, watching the excitement, as if they were already used to it.

At this time, a young man with his face covered by a scarf at a roadside spice stall saw the jade pendant on Zhang Xia's waist and whistled immediately.

The children turned around to look at the source of the whistle. The young man gave them a look, and the children immediately understood and gathered around Zhang Xia.

Just as they were about to reach out to snatch the jade pendant, Chen Ji pulled out a whale knife wrapped in cloth from the front of the saddle and hit the child's wrist hard.

"Ah!" The child withdrew his hand in pain. He looked up at Chen Ji, but Chen Ji did not look at him. Instead, he stared calmly at the young man not far away.

The child was slightly startled, and reached out to pull at the jade pendant again. Chen Ji didn't even glance at him, and the scabbard followed him like a shadow, slapping his wrist again.

The child felt as if his wrist was about to break and looked back at the young man.

The young man stared at Chen Ji for a long time, then finally turned to the children and shook his head slightly. The children then dispersed and began to tear at the bags carried by the servants and maids.

They held on to their bags tightly, but the thieves cut the bags open with a blade, and the jewelry, silver and copper coins were scattered all over the ground and were looted.

A servant tried to fight the thief with a whistle stick, but a long cut was made on his arm, so he could only retreat in fear.

Chen Wenxiao murmured, "Rites and music are broken! This is the place where rites and music are broken! Dad, you must report this to the Crown Prince and have all these rioters killed!"

Chen Liqin frowned and shouted, "Shut up!"

In just a short distance of one mile, the servants and maids' bags were robbed and their savings of several years were wiped out.

The maids cried as they walked, causing passers-by to burst into laughter.

Xiaoman secretly observed Chen Ji from behind. Although she had little experience, she was just focused on practicing her own methods. However, the two blows Chen Ji had just given the child were definitely not something she had imagined the third son of the Chen family could do.

Something is strange!

While he was thinking, Wuyun meowed, and Chen Ji in front suddenly turned around. Xiaoman quickly withdrew his gaze.

But Chen Ji didn't look at her, but looked at the crowd behind him.

Beside the narrow dirt road, the young man who had instigated the children to steal was still standing in the shadows of the tent, staring at him intently. After Chen Ji had made eye contact with him, he turned and left.

…

…

Lord Li led the Chen family camel caravan to Guyuan Posthouse. Along the way, he turned a deaf ear to what was happening behind him, as if he had not heard or seen anything.

After settling the Chen family into the post station, he hurriedly left with Chen Liqin, who was wearing a red official robe, and headed for Guyuan Dusi Mansion.

In the room on the second floor, Chen Ji stood by the window, opened it a crack and looked out quietly.

Outside the post station, people came and went. A spice vendor would stare at the post station gate from time to time, without shouting out his wares. Even when a customer approached to inquire about the price, he was absent-minded.

Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng put their things down, brushed off the dust on their bodies, and came to meet Chen Ji.

Chen Ji whispered, "This Guyuan is not peaceful. There are several people watching us. I don't know if they are from the border army or spies from the Jing Dynasty... They should be from the border army."

Zhang Xia was puzzled: "Why do you say it's from the border troops?"

Chen Ji explained, "Look at how brazenly they stare at us. They're clearly fearless. If they were spies from the Jing Dynasty, they wouldn't be so arrogant."

Xiaoman's eyes flickered as she whispered, "It's as if the young master has seen a spy from the Jing Dynasty..."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. Chen Ji immediately closed the window cautiously and said, "Xiao Man, go open the door."

When the door opened, several border soldiers came in carrying a huge silver plate with a silver lid on it.

Chen Ji asked doubtfully, "What is this?"

The border soldier smiled and said, "This is General Zhou's order. We cooked the best white lamb and sent it to you. You are Mr. Wang's direct disciple, so you are naturally the most distinguished guest in Guyuan Border! Please try it. Mutton is common, but white lamb is not. Ordinary people can't eat it."

Chen Ji asked, "Are there any in other rooms?"

Bian Jun smiled and said, "The others are not my distinguished guests in Guyuan. Please enjoy it alone. Also, General Zhou asked me to remind you... Don't get involved in the affairs between the Crown Prince and Bian Jun. It's very complicated and outsiders can't understand it."

Chen Ji thanked him and said, "Please tell General Zhou when you get back. I've made a note of it. Thank you."

As the border soldiers said goodbye, Xiaoman exclaimed, "This is a silver plate. Now that we've finished the mutton, can we take the plate with us?"

Chen Ji didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "What are you thinking about?"

He lifted the lid and saw freshly cooked mutton on the plate. He grabbed a piece and put it in his mouth. There were no spices and no fishy smell at all.

Chen Ji called Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia, "Come and fill your stomachs."

Xiaoman stuffed meat into her mouth while mumbling tentatively, "Master, I have a headache right now. Can you please feel my pulse later? You studied medicine for two years at the clinic, but I've never seen you use it since you came back."

Chen Ji glanced at her and said nonchalantly, "Studying medicine is a long-term process. You can't learn anything in two years. I have been an apprentice for two years. I haven't even started seeing patients yet, and I haven't learned how to take a pulse."

Xiaoman asked suspiciously, "What did you learn at the clinic?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment: "I learned some pharmacology, remembering the cold and hot properties of various medicinal ingredients, as well as the principles of mutual promotion and mutual restraint."

Xiaoman was startled, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster. "What do you mean?"

Chen Ji recalled: "For example, pork and water chestnuts cannot be eaten together, as they will cause stomachaches; potatoes and bananas cannot be eaten together, as they will cause facial blemishes; onions and honey cannot be eaten together, as they will hurt the eyes; soft-shelled turtle and amaranth cannot be eaten together, as they will cause poisoning..."

Xiaoman uttered an "oh," stuffing her mouth full. She asked in a muffled voice, "So, that's what I learned... Sir, what can't be eaten with this mutton?"

Chen Ji looked down at the plate and saw that half of the mutton had gone into Xiaoman's mouth. He said quietly, "I can't eat this mutton with you..."