26. Parade
"If you want to catch a spy, you must learn to think like a spy."
"If I were the head of the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Department, what kind of people would I recruit in the palace to be my spies?"
Chen Ji sat on the bunk bed, propping up his chin, and silently analyzed:
"Not a guard. Guards are not allowed to enter the backyard."
"...The imperial physicians and apprentices of the Taiping Clinic are not only able to interact with people outside, but are also eligible to enter the inner palace."
Chen Ji was stunned: "Isn't it possible that I'm really a spy from the Jing Dynasty?!"
He carefully analyzed this possibility:
I once appeared at Zhou Chengyi's house in the middle of the night. It was the first time I met the housekeeper, but the housekeeper knew that I was an apprentice in the medical clinic, which meant that I had been to Zhou's house more than once.
Alum is often used as medicine, and it's available at the Taiping Medical Clinic. If I were a spy from the Jing Dynasty, I'd know where the alum in Zhou Chengyi's mansion came from...
hiss!
Chen Ji took a breath of cold air.
Wait, that's not right.
According to the information Zhou Chengyi passed on, the spy should have met the big shot in the palace, and after both sides confirmed their sincerity, the head of the Military Intelligence Department planned to go south.
When he had gone to Wanxing Garden for a medical consultation before, Chunrong wanted to beat him to death with a stick. Concubine Yun stood up and prepared to leave, but Concubine Jing remained silent and let it go. If he had not taken the initiative to ask for life, he would probably have died in Wanxing Garden that day.
If I were a spy from the Jing Dynasty, at least one of these two big men should have protected me.
Chen Ji got up quietly and quietly opened the wardrobe shared by the three of them. He felt through everyone's clothes, even the collar and cuffs, to see if there was anything hidden inside.
However, no clues were found.
Chen Ji squatted down again, and in the dim light, he placed his fingers on the bricks that were laid out, carefully stroking each brick.
Huh.
He actually felt that a brick was slightly raised by about two millimeters, and the clay around it was loose.
Chen Ji pinched the edge of the brick with his index finger and thumb nails and pulled it out bit by bit. But he saw that someone had hollowed out a small hole on the back of the brick, and there were five silver ingots hidden inside!
ah? !
A silver ingot weighing ten taels should never be something an apprentice in a medical clinic can own, unless the Jingchao Military Intelligence Department provides funding.
When Chen Ji suspected that the spy was in the clinic, he laughed at himself for being suspicious, but when he really saw the evidence, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Does this silver ingot belong to She Dengke or Liu Quxing?
...or your own?
Chen Ji stuffed the silver ingot and brick back and went back to bed calmly.
…
…
Early in the morning, before the roosters crowed, Old Man Yao, who was sleeping on the bed, was awakened by the noise in the yard.
He put on his black cloth shoes with white soles, and walked slowly out the door with his hands behind his back. In the yard, Chen Ji gently poured the water he had just brought back into the water tank.
Old Man Yao looked at Liu Quxing, who was sleeping on the kitchen stove, then looked at Chen Ji, who was full of energy. He frowned and said, "...Did you overwork him to death?"
Chen Ji:
...No, Senior Brother Liu just fell asleep."
Old man Yao curled his lips and said, "The rooster hasn't even crowed yet, and you've already woken me up by making such a noise. Otherwise, why don't you let the rooster crow instead and let it do it yourself in the future?"
Chen Ji smiled, not taking his master's words to heart. He had gradually gotten used to his master's venomous mouth. "Master, I'm going to fetch some water. I'll fill it up before the cockcrows so it won't delay your morning lessons."
As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves to his wrists, picked up the shoulder pole and walked out.
However, before Chen Ji reached the door, a copper bell suddenly rang out from the distance. The sound was clear and pleasant, coming from far away and getting closer.
Old man Yao frowned, walked up quickly, and pulled Chen Ji back into the house before he left.
Chen Ji was pulled back two steps involuntarily, and the shoulder pole and wooden barrel on his shoulders kept shaking.
The next moment, a group of people carrying a solemn and majestic Buddha statue passed through Anxi Street in the dawn night.
Thirty-two monks wearing grey robes and with half of their arms bare, were carrying the enormous Sumeru throne steadily.
Beside the Sumeru throne, a monk holds a copper bell in his left hand and an incense stick in his right. Occasionally, he strikes his hands together, and the incense sticks and the copper bells create brilliant sparks and crisp sounds.
The incense burned for a long time, and sparks shot up into the sky like flaming trees and silver flowers, with fish and dragons flying everywhere.
Chen Ji asked in a low voice: "Master, please pull me back..."
Old Man Yao said expressionlessly, "Don't ask."
Chen Ji and Old Man Yao stood side by side, silently watching the group of monks slowly pass by the door of Taiping Medical Clinic.
As he was watching, he suddenly took a step back.
At that moment, the Buddha statue seemed to look at him, and his eyes were indifferent but with a hint of compassion.
At this time, Liu Quxing was also awakened by the sound of the bell and rushed over. He looked at the group in front of the door and said, "They are the monks from the Tuoluo Temple in the south of the city. Who is so generous as to afford to invite the Buddha and Bodhisattva to tour Luocheng on the Double Ninth Festival?"
Chen Ji hesitated for a moment and asked, "Master, are there really gods and Buddhas in this world?"
Liu Quxing quickly answered, "Of course there is. Two years ago, in the suburbs of Liujiatun, a man's mother was seriously ill. He knelt before the Buddha statue while it was being paraded and prayed, and his mother's illness was healed on the spot!"
Chen Ji was skeptical, as he knew that many religions used miracles to attract believers.
Liu Quxing continued, "Also, I remember three years ago, there was a filial son in the west of Luocheng whose parents both died of plague. He went to the Tuola Temple in the south of the city to pray to the Buddha. He donated all his wealth, land deeds, and ancestral property, and asked Abbot Chuyun to hold a water and land ceremony to offer sacrifices to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in all directions."
"What was the result?"
"His parents have been resurrected, and the plague has disappeared. They are just lying in bed unable to move," Liu Quxing replied.
Chen Ji frowned and turned to look at Old Man Yao: "Master, is what Senior Brother Liu said true?"
Old Man Yao put his hands behind his back and said lightly, "When his parents sent them to me, they were already on their deathbed. I asked him to carry them away so that they wouldn't die in the clinic and ruin my reputation."
Liu Quxing whispered
He muttered, "Master, you said at the time that the person could no longer be saved. It would be better to save some money for the living..."
Old Man Yao ignored him and continued, "His parents died right before my eyes, so when I heard the news that they were resurrected, I went to their house to verify it myself. They are indeed alive, but lying unconscious in the hospital bed. Their pulse, heartbeat, and breathing are all present."
Chen Ji was stunned. What about his parents...
But then Old Man Yao sneered, "But what's the point of living like this? It's better to let them go in peace."
Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Master, is there any way to bring the dead back to life?"
Old Man Yao glanced at him and said, "Rumor has it that the only son of Xu Gong, the Prime Minister of the current cabinet, died in an accident. Xu Gong paid a large sum of money to ask the abbot of Yuanjue Temple to create a flesh body for his son using the Seven Treasures Lotus Lantern, allowing his son to live again."
"Is his son still alive?"
"If he's still alive, he's the current Vice Director of the Imperial Observatory, Xu Shu."
Chen Ji's mind was like a giant axe that chopped through the haze and chaos, and suddenly became clear.
I have lived my life over again. If there really is someone in this world who can resurrect the dead, then will I be able to find my way home one day and resurrect my parents?
make money.
Practice.
Chen Ji's heart was burning.
If you want to practice, you can no longer avoid the ice flow. You have to figure out what the ice flow is, how it is produced, and how to obtain it!
By the time the group of monks disappeared at the end of Anxi Street, the sky was gradually brightening.
The neighbors were all awake and had taken down their doors early. They greeted each other happily and set up their stalls on the street in advance.
Chen Ji did not go back to the backyard. He carried his shoulder pole and walked towards the well.
A young man carrying dry firewood came towards him and hawked his wares. As they passed by, Chen Ji stopped and grabbed the man: "Tell Master Yunyang that I need to go to the inner prison."
The young man looked surprised: "What is Doctor Chen saying? Why don't I understand?"
Chen Ji said calmly, "A firewood seller walks the streets, exposed to the wind and sun, and his face won't be as clean as a secret agent. Furthermore, a firewood seller wouldn't just wander around this one street, selling nothing from morning till night. If he were a spy from the Jing Dynasty, he wouldn't be arrogant, but cautious. Go tell Lord Yunyang that I'm going to the inner prison to check on the prisoners and files. Maybe I can help him find new merit."
After saying that, he went to fetch water without looking back.
Chen Ji had not just discovered the abnormality of the firewood boy today. He had already known about it when he had been sitting on the threshold of the clinic for a whole day while waiting for his parents to send him money for school.
The reason why he went to the Inner Prison, a place that others avoided, was simply because...
Where are the most wrongful deaths?
The inner prison of the Secret Service.
The firewood seller slowly put away his smile and stared at Chen Ji's retreating figure. He had thought he had disguised himself perfectly, but now it seemed the other party had already noticed his flaw and was simply watching his clumsy performance in silence.
The next moment, the firewood seller dropped the firewood and shoulder pole, turned around and walked away in big strides.
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