45. Full Drink
At the head of the banquet, the Crown Prince and Princess Baili sat behind a table, simply listening to the conversation without interrupting. The two of them were whispering to each other, and it was unclear what they were discussing.
Chen Ji looked at the people in this literary gathering and felt a little out of place. He didn't know when Concubine Jing would talk to him about something.
At this moment, Chunhua quietly came to his side, bent down and whispered: "My wife wants you to come over and talk."
Chen Ji looked around the literary gathering and breathed a sigh of relief when he was sure that Concubine Yun did not attend.
Now, in front of Concubine Jing, he is a member of the Secret Intelligence Department, and in front of Concubine Yun, he is a member of the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department. He feels as nervous as walking on a tightrope ten thousand meters in the air.
He stood up and followed Chunhua to a pavilion. He looked inside through the bamboo curtain and could only see the vague figure of Concubine Jing.
When the spring flowers faded, only Chen Ji and Concubine Jing were left inside and outside the pavilion, separated by a curtain.
Concubine Jing didn't speak for a long time, and Chen Ji just stood there. It seemed that both of them came to concentrate on participating in the literary gathering.
After an unknown amount of time, Concubine Jing calmly asked, "Everyone says Liu Shiyu was forced to death by the Secret Service. Why do you say he was murdered to silence him?"
Chen Ji said slowly, "I performed the autopsy. Someone colluded with the prison guards to make it look like he had committed suicide by hanging, but he was actually strangled to death. The Secret Service has files on this matter."
Concubine Jing frowned. "How can I check the files of the Secret Service? How can I know if you are not fooling me?"
Chen Ji stood outside the pavilion, pondered for a moment, and then said, "You actually know what I'm saying is the truth. Since the Liu family was willing to give you that cup, they naturally wouldn't be stingy with Liu Shiyu's life. I'm just a small figure working for the Secret Service. Concubine Jing, you shouldn't seek revenge on me."
Concubine Jing said in a serious tone, "Don't think you can get away with this. Someone told me that if it weren't for you, the Secret Service wouldn't have been able to find any evidence against Liu Shiyu! Since you sent Chunhua to tell me this, then tell me how to get revenge, or you'll die too!"
Chen Ji looked at the scholars in front of him. While others were discussing romance and political ideals, he was in another world discussing life and death. "Madam, who is in charge of the Liu family in Luocheng now? Is it Liu Mingxian?"
Hearing this name, Concubine Jing's tone was obviously full of resentment: "It's him!"
There was a hint of madness in Concubine Jing's suppressed tone. First she lost her son, and the next day she lost her close nephew. The continuous grief has brought her to the brink of losing control.
Chen Ji mentally praised Liu Mingxian's acting skills. The night he surrounded the Zhou residence, he was dressed in mourning, his eyes red and his expression weary. No matter how you looked at him, he looked like a filial son. "How do you want to take revenge?"
"I want him to die miserably!"
Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief, his hatred now shifting to Liu Mingxian: "When did he give you the cup?"
"At the beginning of spring!"
Chen Ji asked again: "At that time, he must have asked you to do something
You didn't agree, so he wanted to give you this cup as revenge. I want to ask, what exactly did he ask you to do at that time?"
"Why are you asking these questions?"
Chen Ji responded: "I don't know what he's going to do, so how can I take revenge on him?"
Concubine Jing pondered for a moment. "At that time, one of the prince's old subordinates was promoted to the rank of admiral, commanding two thousand soldiers and garrisoning the Luocheng Artisan Supervisor. Liu Mingxian asked me to help him contact this old subordinate in the prince's name..."
Chen Ji was stunned for a moment.
Zhou Chengyi arranged Shou Ma Cui Huan in order to get close to the Supervisor of Craftsmen, and Liu Mingxian entrusted the matter to Concubine Jing in order to get close to the commander-in-chief stationed at the Supervisor of Craftsmen.
Why is the Supervisory Commissioner of Craftsmen so important that the Military Intelligence Department and the Liu family have to go to such great lengths? And why does the Ning Dynasty's Supervisory Commissioner of Craftsmen need two thousand elite soldiers stationed there?!
etc.
Just now, a scholar said that if the Jing Dynasty cavalry approached Chongli Pass, the Ning Dynasty defenders could use artillery and firearms to repel the enemy.
A ray of light connected all the clues in Chen Ji's mind: Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Department wanted Ning Dynasty's secret recipe for firearms manufacturing!
This is the sincerity that the head of the Military Intelligence Department asked for from the Liu family!
The Liu family has already cooperated with Concubine Yun and obtained the firearms. That cup is not just about killing the child...
Concubine Yun's condition for cooperation is probably that the Liu family must kill the disobedient Concubine Jing and help her become the main wife as a token of her loyalty.
Otherwise, why would Concubine Yun stand on the side of the Liu family?
…
…
While Chen Ji was pondering, he heard someone at the table ask loudly, "Brother, the Chen family has two outstanding people, both of whom are expected to win the first place in the provincial examination this year. But I heard a while ago that you have a younger brother. Why haven't I seen him?"
"That's not right. I remember my father once asked Uncle Chen how many children there were in the family, and Uncle Chen said two sons and one daughter!"
Chen Ji looked up and saw that his two elder brothers were outstanding people, the focus of a group of literati, and their family affairs were naturally also paid attention to.
The person who first asked about this matter asked doubtfully: "Brother, did I hear it wrong?"
Chen Wenxiao, who was standing by, said, "Our younger brother has bad behavior, so my father just treats him as if he doesn't exist in the Chen family."
The fat man with big ears became interested: "What do you mean, is there something else hidden?"
Chen Wenzong glared at Chen Wenxiao and said, "This is a family scandal, don't mention it again."
Chen Wenxiao, however, didn't care. He continued, "My younger brother, Chen Ji, has been addicted to prostitution since he was young, and he's also a frequent visitor to the gambling den in Hongyi Alley. Three years ago, my father was planning to send him to Donglin Academy, but he didn't expect the gambling den to come back with an IOU to collect a gambling debt of six hundred taels!"
"What?"
"Six hundred taels!"
Chen Wenzong frowned and looked at Chen Wenxiao: "Don't say anything more, it will tarnish your own
The door lintel of your home will only make others laugh at you!"
Chen Wenxiao picked up the wine glass and took a sip. "That kid has a long history of bad deeds. How can we hide it from him? Brother, stop deceiving yourself."
He looked at everyone and said, "After my father learned about this, he ordered the housekeeper to take the servants to investigate. It turned out that he didn't just owe debts to that one gambling house. He owed debts to all six gambling houses in Red Lane."
"Then what?"
"And then? My father wanted to kill him right away, but my mother, out of kindness, intervened, saying he should find a job and fend for himself. My mother first made him work as a clerk in a pharmacy, but later, he found it too tiring, so he asked my mother to donate some money to him and send him to the Imperial Medical Clinic as an apprentice. Now, I don't know where he is."
During the dinner, someone sighed, "Tsk tsk, what a misfortune for the family to have a gambler."
However, there was a loud bang, and She Dengke flipped the table and stood up: "Bullshit, Chen Ji is not that kind of person, he is not a gambler, and he is not lazy!"
The food on the table was scattered all over the floor, and the wine was also splashed on the scholar at the front table.
Everyone looked towards She Dengke. Chen Wenxiao looked at the prince in confusion: "Prince, who is this?"
The prince was also a little confused. This was not the person he invited.
She Dengke introduced himself: "I am She Dengke, an apprentice at the Imperial Medical Clinic. I've been studying with Chen Ji for two years. He is definitely not the kind of person you describe!"
Chen Wenxiao narrowed his eyes: "Chen Ji is my brother, of course I know him better."
She Dengke's face flushed with anger: "You know..."
"Dengke? Jinshi, champion? Hahaha!" Suddenly someone laughed: "With such a lofty name, why didn't you take the imperial examination, but became an apprentice in a clinic instead?"
"And how can you have the nerve to attend this literary gathering in this cloth?"
Liu Quxing couldn't listen any longer and immediately stood up and said angrily, "What does what you wear have to do with the literary society? We have known Chen Ji for two years, and he is definitely not the kind of person you say he is."
"Hey, you see he's dressed quite decently, but I don't think Yingzi's corrugated hat is made by Li Ji. It looks more like it was copied by a small workshop."
Liu Quxing was speechless. He did buy a fake one for the sake of cheapness.
However, at this moment, Princess Baili stood up and loudly asked, "Is this what the academy teacher taught you to judge people by appearance? What does what he wears and what he does have to do with what he says? I don't think you have seen this so-called Chen Ji, and neither have I. But these two people who are willing to help speak for themselves at the risk of their reputation, I think they are not bad people."
The prince laughed heartily. "What Baili said makes sense. Let me ask you, if someone falsely accuses you, is there anyone who will defend you? Do you have such a friend around you?"
As he spoke, the prince actually raised his glass to She Dengke and Liu Quxing from a distance: "Admiration, drink it up!"
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