220, Knife
Beside the official road, Chen Ji stared blankly at the backs of the two unfamiliar figures. The two men were pulling an ox cart and following a large group of people into the Mengjin city gate, without noticing the burning gaze behind them.
The two escorts were strong, one tall and one short. The taller one was more lazy, like a veteran; the shorter one spoke in a deep voice and acted in a methodical manner.
Chen Ji had never seen the two of them before today, but he felt they looked very familiar.
To be precise, it was the other person's way of speaking that made him feel particularly familiar.
Erdao and Pao Ge. These two people Chen Ji once thought he would never see again in his life.
Now that their appearances have changed, Chen Ji cannot be sure whether his guess is correct. What if there really is someone in the world who speaks in the same style as Erdao?
But his desire to meet his old friend again in a foreign land made him want to catch up and find out the truth right away.
But after taking a few steps, Chen Ji slowly stopped.
He stood in the cold wind and took a few deep breaths, letting the biting cold wind rush into his lungs, and then he became a little more sober.
Chen Ji, holding Zaozao's hand, braved the cold wind and walked through the city gate to catch up with the two people. He asked with a smile, "Are you two escorts from the Liang Escort Agency?"
The tall escort turned to look at Chen Ji and said with a polite smile, "Yes, we are both working with Escort Chief Liang."
Chen Ji asked casually, "What are your names?"
The short escort wanted to answer, but was pulled back by the tall escort.
The tall escort pulled the ox cart while introducing the two of them: "Sir, you can just call me Ah Da, and my brother is Ah Si. We are four cousins, I am the eldest and he is the fourth."
Ah Da looked Chen Ji up and down and asked, "Who are you?"
Chen Ji smiled and said, "I'm the third child of the Chen family. Now that my elders have been transferred to official positions in the capital, our family has moved there. By the way, A Da and A Si are your childhood nicknames, right? What are your full names?"
A look of vigilance flashed across Ah Da's eyes, but he smiled and replied, "So you're the Third Young Master of the Chen Mansion. My apologies. For small people like us living in this quagmire, we can live longer if we're called by our nicknames. A fortune teller told my parents that we have lowly fates, and calling by our full names might not be enough to suppress our status, so it's better not to mention it."
The more cautious the other party was, the more Chen Ji wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Holding Zaozao's hand, he walked alongside the two men and casually exchanged pleasantries: "You two are escorts, so you must have traveled a lot, right? I haven't been far away much, so I wonder if you could share some of your experiences from different places to broaden my horizons."
Ah Da's fingers suddenly clenched. "I wonder what you want to hear, sir?"
Chen Ji smiled and asked, "First, tell me where you have been?"
Ah Da laughed and said, "We just came back from Runan. Why don't we tell you about Runan? Runan is a beautiful place, surrounded by water. The county town is like a gourd ladle in a lake..."
Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Besides Runan, where else have you two been delivering escorts before?"
Ah Da and Ah Si glanced at each other subconsciously, but Ah Da kept talking: "We went to Jincheng before to deliver someone. The person we delivered was the second son of the Qiao family, a merchant from Shanxi. It was a dangerous trip. There were mountains along the way, and there were quite a few bandits. Oh, and we also went to Jinling. At that time, we were responsible for escorting the money of Mr. Yao from Luocheng..."
Chen Ji became interested: "I also
I've never been to Jinling, but I heard the Qinhuai River there is full of singing girls, and at night it's ablaze with lights and fireworks. Is that true?"
Ah Da actually became interested. "Of course! The Qinhuai River is bustling at night. Smoke from fires fills both banks, and merchants gather. There are luxurious buildings of varying heights. Evenings are filled with singing and drinking in restaurants and teahouses. Boats ply the river. The larger ones are called 'zoucangs,' and the smaller ones are called 'tengpengs.' Bright lanterns hang from the boats, and women sit beneath them, playing the pipa. Each woman has a graceful figure, their faces covered with veils, so from a distance you can't really see them clearly... It's a pity that my brother and I are broke, so we don't dare ask them to row their boats over."
Chen Ji pondered for a moment and asked curiously, "I heard that the Imperial College on the south bank of the Qinhuai River is very lively. Many students and scholars would pray before the imperial examinations. It is said to be very effective."
Ah Da glanced at him and said, "This young man must have remembered it wrongly. The Imperial College is on the north bank, not the south bank."
Chen Ji exclaimed, "Did I remember it wrong? Is there an archway in front of the Imperial College that reads 'World Literature Fortune'?"
Ah Da laughed heartily, "Young Master, you have a really bad memory. The memorial archway in front of the Imperial College is called 'World Literary Hub', not 'World Literary Fortune'!"
Ah Da talked incessantly and actually knew the Qinhuai River very well.
Chen Ji fell into deep thought. If Ah Da and Ah Si were really Er Dao and Pao Ge, they should have never been to Nanjing in person. How could they talk so convincingly?
Moreover, I set up two traps, but the other party was able to easily resolve them.
Is it really just a coincidence?
Or was it that Brother Pao was incredibly thoughtful, and despite being a stranger, he had filled in the gaps in his identity to avoid being exposed? Hadn't he also been looking through the Secret Service's files to conceal his identity?
No.
This Ah Da has revealed his flaws.
Unlike later generations, when everyone could read and write, at that time, there were fewer people who could read and write, and most people were illiterate. For example, in the profession of escort, if one out of ten escorts could read and write, it was considered a good job.
When Ah Da described the Qinhuai River earlier, he was so elegant that it was like he was reciting a text. He was even able to remember the Tianxia Wenshu Archway. Could this be the knowledge of an ordinary escort?
There is definitely something wrong with A Da and A Si!
Chen Ji wanted to ask directly, "Are you Er Dao? Are you Pao Ge?"
But what about asking all the questions?
Before his death in his previous life, Brother Pao had felt a deep sympathy for him and lamented that they had met too late. But if Chen Ji regarded Brother Pao as a good person because of this, he would be completely wrong.
It was precisely because of Pao Ge's bad reputation in the underworld that he chose him to be the key link in his plan.
This man was a Sanda athlete in his early years. He was sentenced to prison for killing someone in a black boxing match. After being released from prison, he joined a gang leader in a loan sharking business. He was good at violent debt collection and was arrested six or seven times. Later, he became a gang leader himself.
If such a person knew Chen Ji's true identity, there was no telling what would happen.
While he was thinking, he saw the caravan stopped at the Mengjin Post Station. Liang Biaotou waved his arms in the sunset and shouted, "Don't just stand there. Drive all the carriages into the backyard and take turns eating hot meals. We will stay in the woodshed and the cowshed tonight to look after the good things for the master!"
Seeing this, Ah Da turned to Chen Ji and said with a smile: "Third Master, we have to get busy. If you want to hear anything else, you can wait until we are busy.
Come find us when you're done."
Chen Ji bowed and said, "Thank you both for your help."
Ah Da and Ah Si lowered their heads and went into the backyard. Ah Si asked in a low voice, "Brother, didn't you say that all officials and nobles are bad people? I think this young man is quite good."
Ah Da's eyes were solemn. "To get to the bottom of things is definitely not to be concerned... I'm just afraid the truth has been exposed. I wonder where we let ourselves go?"
Ah Si asked in a low voice: "Should we get rid of him?"
Ah Da scratched his eyebrows helplessly: "I told you long ago, don't fight and kill every day, you should be humble first!"
Ah Si looked back at his butt and felt embarrassed.
Ah Da sighed: "I was just talking about a metaphor!"
Ah Si asked, "So what should we do now?"
Ada didn't answer.
He stood in the backyard, looking outside with deep eyes.
…
…
All the post stations in the Ning Dynasty were government-run and were one of the largest military institutions, specializing in post stations, stations, and shops.
The so-called "post station" uses "postal tokens" to verify identities, entertain guests, and arrange transportation of supplies and personnel.
The so-called "station" is to verify the identity with the "Ministry of War Fire Ticket" and the "Secret Service Fire Card" to transmit important urgent documents and military intelligence. It is for military use only.
The so-called "shop" is the normal place for official documents to be delivered, which is managed by the county magistrate and the prefect.
The scale of Mengjin Posthouse was beyond Chen Ji's imagination. It was far larger than any other inn, not even a dozen or so inns combined. For example, the Ning Dynasty's most famous "Jimingshan Posthouse" was even known as the Posthouse City, a true miniature city.
As the sky gradually darkened, Chen Ji settled Xiaoman here and immediately went out to the backyard where the ox cart was parked. However, he smelled the odor of cow dung and walked around the cow cart for a long time, but he could not find any trace of A Da and A Si.
He called to Liang Biaotou: "Biaotou, where are Ah Da and Ah Si?"
Liang Biaotou was stunned for a moment: "Third Master, who are Ah Da and Ah Si?"
Chen Ji's heart sank. He whispered, "They are the two people in your escort team who often travel together. One is tall, the other is short. One of them speaks and acts in a very methodical manner. Do you remember them?"
Liang Biaotou's expression changed. "Sir, what did they ask them to do...did they offend you?"
Chen Ji shook his head: "No, it's just that I got along really well with them on the road today, and I wanted to hear more of their stories from other places."
Liang Biaotou breathed a sigh of relief. "Is that so... Then I'll help you find them."
Then he opened his mouth and asked, "Knife? Punch?"
After shouting for a long time, no one responded.
Liang, the escort leader, grabbed a guard and asked, "Have you seen the knife and the punch?"
The escort slurped a bowl of buckwheat noodles. He swallowed a mouthful and pointed at the courtyard gate with his chopsticks: "They said they were going out to buy some wine."
Liang Biaotou asked, "How long have you been gone?"
The escort recalled, "Oh, he must have been gone for an hour. It wasn't even dark when he left. How come he hasn't come back yet?"
Chen Ji looked out at the night outside the courtyard, hesitating for a long time...ran away?!
(End of this chapter)
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