86. Even if we meet, we won’t recognize each other

In the main hall of Taiping Medical Clinic, Old Man Yao slowly wrote the prescription and handed it to Chen Ji to get the medicine.

Chen Ji weighed the medicine slowly and quietly, his eyes fixed on the scale of the copper scale, almost cross-eyed, and he never glanced anywhere else, for fear that Prince Jing's anger would affect him.

Bai Li stood beside the prince with his head down, and kept secretly kicking him with his toes, asking him to admit his mistake quickly.

However, Prince Jing no longer looked at the Crown Prince, but only at Chen Ji: "Don't talk about medicine yet. It's rare to meet a chess talent like you. Come over and play a few more games!"

"oh…………"

Chen Ji walked to the counter with his head lowered and picked up the chess pieces one by one and put them into the chess basket.

Prince Jing smiled and said, "I won't give you two pieces this time. I can't beat you even if I give you two pieces!"

Bai Li's eyes widened. His own father took the initiative to not give up a piece when playing chess with the younger generation? This was a rare thing!

She moved forward step by step to peek at the two people playing chess, but after just two steps, Prince Jing glanced at her sideways, so she retreated obediently and could only tiptoe to peek over.

Chen Ji's chess skills were far inferior to Prince Jing's, but relying on the fact that Prince Jing had never seen such a paranoid method of dealing with isolated enemies, he fought back time and time again.

Prince Jing exclaimed in admiration, "You're clearly a clever man, but why doesn't he follow the orthodox path of chess? Instead, why does he only favor this unconventional style? Isn't that limiting his own chess skills?"

Chen Ji calmly placed a move: "Greed will not lead to victory."

Prince Jing was stunned for a moment.

The so-called greed for victory is also one of the keys to chess.

Chen Ji meant that this was his personality and he was only good at dealing with the solitary dragon. If he insisted on learning from others to control the overall situation and make careful moves, he would not be able to win.

Prince Jing picked up the chess piece and sighed, "With your personality, you can't be a chess player. If you can only be a chess piece, are you willing?"

Chen Ji was puzzled. Could this be a question a prince asked an apprentice in a clinic?

Apprentices in the medical clinic are just ordinary people, living like weeds. They don’t have the status of a blue sky, so how can they be considered chess players and chess pieces?

He thought for a moment, then asked doubtfully, "Do I have to live on this chessboard?"

Prince Jing smiled brightly: "You can also live outside the chessboard, that's another way of living."

The prince, who was kneeling on the ground, looked up quietly and exchanged a glance with Bai Li. They both found that their father's mood had gradually improved after playing chess with Chen Ji.

The prince gave Bai Li a wink, and Bai Li understood what he meant. He hurriedly took away Prince Jing's empty teacup and refilled it with another cup of tea.

At this moment, Prince Jing was playing chess with Chen Ji while also chatting with Old Man Yao: "Doctor Yao, have Bai Li and Zhu Yunxi gotten into trouble recently?"

The prince and Bai Li's hearts suddenly rose to their throats, and they looked at Old Man Yao eagerly.

Old Man Yao stood in front of the medicine cabinet, his back to the mahogany counter. As he filled the medicine, he said indifferently, "I haven't had any major problems, but I have to go out to play almost every night. I go out at midnight every day, and I don't know where else to go in Los Angeles at this late hour."

Prince Jing said calmly, "Of course we're going to White Clothes Lane and Red Clothes Lane."

The Prince and Bai Li's anxious hearts finally died.

Prince Jing said slowly, "Zhu Yunxi's monthly salary had already been reduced, and he had no money to go to these places. I think Baili paid for it. Starting from this month, Baili's monthly salary will also be reduced."

The prince was suddenly panicked, it was over!

Bai Li whispered, "Father, I won't give my brother money anymore. Could you please not reduce my monthly salary?"

Prince Jing did not answer, but picked up the chess piece and wanted to play another game with Chen Ji.

He looked up at Chen Ji and said, "Yunxi and Baili are going to Baiyi Lane and Hongyi Lane. Are you one of them?"

Chen Ji said seriously, "Your Highness, I am working hard on my medical studies and schoolwork. I don't have the time to go to a place like that."

Prince: Ah?

Baili: Ah?

Prince Jing glanced at the Crown Prince and Bai Li and said, "You two should drink more Chen Ji and learn from him."

The prince suddenly said: "This kid is going with us."

Chen Ji: "No one should live..."

Prince Jing looked at Chen Ji happily: "You went too?"

Chen Ji: ...

Prince Jing put the chess pieces into the chess basket and asked with a smile, "So, if life could only be like the first time we met, why would the autumn wind bring sorrow to the painted fan?"

"Withered vines, old trees, crows everywhere, small bridges, flowing water, and homes."

"Did you write this?"

"I know Yunxi's abilities very well. He can't write those things."

Chen Ji was surprised.

It turned out that Prince Jing knew everything. Not only did he know that the prince and his companions had gone to Baiyi Lane and Hongyi Lane, he also knew every poem that the prince had used in the embroidery building.

Yes.

How could a powerful vassal king have nothing to do with Luocheng?

I know!

The prince was even more surprised.

Why do I have to kneel here when I go to Baiyi Lane, but Chen Ji is treated kindly when he goes to Baiyi Lane?

It's unfair.

The game continues.

Prince Jing lost three games in a row to Chen Ji's tricky tactics of dealing with the lone enemy, but there was no trace of resentment or anger on his face. Instead, there was a bit more exploration and interest in his eyes.

Just play chess game after game.

Chen Ji found it increasingly difficult to defeat Gu Tunlong, until Prince Jing blocked all his unconventional ways and made it impossible for him to defeat Gu Tunlong anymore.

Lost.

Chen Ji is only a second-place Go player in Luo City. Looking at the entire Go world, he is nothing.

Losing was inevitable, but he didn't expect to lose so quickly.

Prince Jing smiled and looked at Chen Ji and asked, "Young man, how is my chess skill?"

Chen Ji took a deep breath: "Amazing!"

"How about I ask you to describe it in one word?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Patience, Prince Jing is really very patient."

The other party is cautious and can plan dozens of steps for the overall situation.

When making plans, it seems that the desire to win is unnecessary and a distraction.

But when I looked more closely, I found that everything the other party did was to win.

Prince Jing looked at Old Man Yao and said, "Doctor Yao, you saved the mother of Jianzhou Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Ma Yiming. If you hadn't diagnosed him nine years ago, his mother would have passed away long ago. Jianzhou still has some glutinous rice in its granary. Could you write him a letter? I'd like to use his glutinous rice to help with my urgent needs. Filial piety is paramount for civil officials in our Ning Dynasty, so a letter from you would surely be helpful."

Old Man Yao nodded and said, "Okay, I'll write it tonight, and Your Majesty can come and pick it up tomorrow."

"Write it later. There's no time to lose."

Prince Jing's expression relaxed a little, but he was not completely relieved.

"The Jianzhou provincial governor has been refusing to hand over this batch of glutinous rice, out of concern for the livelihood of the entire continent. Now that I have transferred this batch of glutinous rice, I must also find a way to fill his granary with other crops to prevent the people from going hungry."

Chen Ji suddenly fell into deep thought. In his world, glutinous rice mortar was used until the end of the eighteenth century.

It was not until foreign cement technology entered the country that it was gradually replaced.

At that time, cement was called "yanghui" by the people.

Is glutinous rice mortar useful?

Easy to use!

The Great Wall of China uses glutinous rice mortar as adhesive, and has stood for thousands of years.

In some ways, it is stronger and more durable than ordinary cement.

But the key point is that Noni mortar appeared in an era when productivity was not high, which in itself created a conflict with people's livelihood.

Moreover, it takes three years for glutinous rice mortar to reach the standard strength after calcification, while cement only takes twenty days to reach the standard strength, which is extremely low cost.

Once cement appears, it will completely subvert the entire construction field.

Chen Ji recalled, how is cement made?

While he was thinking about it, the outside of Taiping Medical Clinic became bustling again.

When everyone looked, they saw sedan chair bearers at the door carrying official sedan chairs towards Prince Jing's Mansion.

A rough estimate is that there were thirty or forty officials who visited Prince Jing together.

Chen Ji looked up, but saw that Prince Jing seemed not to notice these people. He just calmly made his move and reminded Chen Ji: "It's your turn. Yunxi, stop kneeling there and embarrass yourself. Get up."

"oh!"

The prince stood up happily, bent down and rubbed his aching knees.

After a while, those officials who went to Prince Jing's Mansion returned empty-handed. It seemed that they had received the news that Prince Jing's Mansion was not in the palace, so they had to go back home.

When they passed by Taiping Clinic, an official in a sedan chair accidentally lifted the curtain and caught a glimpse of a familiar figure beside the clinic counter.

“Stop, stop, stop.”

The official stopped the sedan bearer, and he looked carefully to make sure he was not mistaken.

It’s not that he is very familiar with Prince Jing, but Prince Jing has been wearing this set of clothes for many years and it has long been engraved in the officials’ memory.

When they got off the sedan chair, a group of officials were seen wearing green and blue official robes with patches of white cranes, pheasants and mandarin ducks on their chests, leather belts around their waists and black boots on their feet.

They gathered in front of the Taiping Medical Clinic, hesitating for a moment as to whether they should go in, and whispered to each other.

The next moment, everyone looked at the two leading officials. One of them had a long beard and a ruddy complexion. He thought for a moment and said, "We will go in after the prince wins this game of chess."

Everyone fell silent, stamping their feet and rubbing their hands in the cold weather, their noses red from the cold.

After a moment, the leading official exclaimed: "Your Highness is an excellent chess player.

Today, search for Miao·Weishu·Wu to read the full version of Qingshan. How can I have the leisure to play chess with an apprentice? What fun is there in this... Hey? Chen Liqin, that boy looks familiar to me, have I seen him somewhere before?

Upon hearing this, Chen Liqin, the co-magistrate of Luocheng, looked up and gazed intently, only to suddenly discover that the young man playing chess with Prince Jing was actually his youngest son whom he had not seen for more than half a year.

Only then did he remember that he had sent Chen Ji to Taiping Medical Clinic as an apprentice.

Zhang Zhuo turned to look at Chen Liqin: "I remember now, I saw him at your house. I remember the Lantern Festival two years ago, when I went to your house for a drink, he was sitting in the last seat on the lower right..."

Zhang Zhuo passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve and was named outside Donghua Gate at the age of fifteen, becoming the youngest top scholar in the Ning Dynasty. He had beautiful handwriting and the ability to remember everything he saw.

This man's wife passed away when he was nineteen, and he married the niece of Xu Gong, the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty, at the age of twenty-two. From then on, he rose rapidly in his career, and in fifteen years he completed the official career that others would take a lifetime to complete.

If he waited a little longer, it would only be a matter of time before he joined the cabinet. However, Zhang Zhuo lacked the steadiness and reserve of a prefect. He frivolously nudged Chen Liqin with his elbow and said, "Why is your son playing chess with Prince Jing? You're so good, Chen Liqin. You secretly took advantage of the prince's palace and didn't tell me. No wonder you sent your son here as an apprentice!"

Chen Liqin frowned and did not answer, not because he did not want to answer, but because he did not know how to answer.

Zhang Zhuo's doubts are also his doubts.

Why can Chen Ji play chess with Prince Jing?

Moreover, at this moment in the Taiping Medical Clinic, Prince Jing's hearty laughter could be heard. It seemed that the boy at home was having a very pleasant conversation with Prince Jing!

There was a loud rustling sound, and Chen Ji in the clinic picked up the black chess piece and threw it into the chess basket, and the game was over.

Zhang Zhuo tugged at Chen Liqin's sleeve and said, "Hurry up and follow me."

The two men crossed the threshold and came behind Prince Jing. Chen Liqin simply bowed, but Zhang Zhuo smiled flatteringly and bowed to the ground. "Greetings, Your Highness, Prince Jing. Thank you for your hard work in raising military supplies this time south."

Prince Jing slowly turned around and said, "You two have worked hard. I heard that when it snowed, you went to the riverbank to comfort the river workers. This act of compassion for the people is worthy of being the father and mother of this city."

Zhang Zhuo laughed and said, "No, no, it's all part of my job. It's just that the flood in southern Henan a few months ago submerged many fields, and now a large number of refugees are homeless and have no land to farm. They are fleeing to Luocheng, so we need to find a way to build houses for them as soon as possible."

"You really care about the people of this state."

Prince Jing said slowly: "Tell me, what's the difficulty?"

"It's probably too late to build houses now."

…

While Zhang Zhuo was talking with Prince Jing, Chen Liqin kept glancing at Chen Ji.

But the strange thing was that his youngest son was so focused on clearing the chessboard that he didn't even glance at him.

When his youngest son finished putting away the chess and cards and looked up again, their eyes met. The other party just smiled politely and greeted him, as if he was looking at a stranger.

Chen Liqin's brows gradually furrowed. He had sent Chen Ji to Taiping Medical Clinic as an apprentice because of Chen Ji's gambling addiction.

He thought he had not treated Chen Ji unfairly. Being an apprentice at Taiping Medical Clinic was a good career path, and he had asked his housekeeper to send him tuition money every month.

But now, the other party stayed in the clinic and didn't even go home. He treated his father like a stranger and broke off all ties with the Chen family just out of spite?

So ignorant!

Not to mention the doubts in Chen Liqin's heart, Chen Ji also felt a little uncomfortable.

With so many officials present, he was standing by the chessboard, not knowing whether to move or not. Moreover, the officials and teachers were looking at him, but he didn't know what they were looking at.

Chen Ji looked down at his clothes and saw no holes or anything.

Old Man Yao noticed its discomfort and said lightly, "Chen Ji, go pour the two adults a cup of tea to warm their hands."

"Oh, okay!"

Chen Ji returned to the backyard and brought out a tray. He politely placed it in front of Chen Liqin and said, "Sir, please have some tea."

Chen Liqin's square face was almost knitted together with his brows: "You call me Sir?"

Chen Ji was stunned for a moment. If I don’t call you sir, what should I call you?

Before he could react, Zhang Zhuo lifted the warm ceramic cup, warming his hands while smiling and saying, "Your Highness, this year, search for Miao·Wei Shu·Wu to read the complete version of Qingshan. The Yuzhou Autumn Examination is attracting much attention. When Master Chen's son, Chen Wenzong, was at Donglin Academy, he was praised by the scholars as a top scholar. Many Jiangnan scholars were dissatisfied and threatened to compete with him in next year's palace examination!"

Prince Jing glanced at Chen Ji and smiled, praising Chen Liqin, "Master Chen has a good way of educating his children. Not only has he taught his eldest son well, but he has also taught his youngest son, Chen Ji. He won quite a few games against me in the chess game just now!"

Chen Ji was shocked.

End of this chapter.