217 Return to Beijing
At the hour of Yin, Su Zhou lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Xiaoman touched her forehead and whispered, "Sir, her forehead feels a little hot. Is there any good way to relieve it?"
Chen Ji responded: "There's no good way. I can only use a handkerchief dipped in water to cool her down."
Xiaoman took the white handkerchief, wet it again, and covered Su Zhou's forehead with it. She calmly reached her hand into Su Zhou's hair and felt around, but she didn't feel the remaining lamp coins.
She sat back on the small stool beside the charcoal brazier in a sullen manner, staring blankly at the flickering flame in the brazier.
Xiaoman originally wanted to take advantage of Su Zhou's sleep to take a little revenge on him for holding her hostage, but when she thought that he was unaware, she felt it was meaningless.
To take revenge, you have to let your enemy know.
Chen Ji sat on the small bench next to her. Wuyun curled up into a ball on his lap and fell asleep early.
Tonight, we first had to assassinate General Wang, and then face the search by the Secret Service. Now is a rare and peaceful time.
Xiaoman picked up the charcoal basin with a pair of tongs and asked, "Master, I'll make a mat for you. Would you like to rest for a while?"
Chen Ji hugged Wu Yun and said calmly, "No, I'm worried that someone will come to search the Chen Mansion again tonight, and I can't sleep."
Xiaoman uttered an "oh" and rolled her eyes. "Sir, I heard from the big brother of the military department that it was an officer who assassinated General Wang tonight?"
Chen Ji hummed.
Xiaoman looked at him secretly and asked, "Do you want to become an official?"
Chen Ji's eyes flickered slightly, and he said nonchalantly, "I heard that officials are very mysterious and powerful, but I don't have a chance to become one."
Xiaoman lowered her voice: "There's a chance."
Chen Ji turned to look at her: "Oh?"
Xiaoman nodded towards Su Zhou on the bed and said, "Master, isn't the assassin here? She must be an official. Let's tie her up and force her to hand over her cultivation method..."
Chen Ji was speechless.
Xiaoman is young, but he is really shameless and has no moral principles!
Come to think of it, the other party was sold to a human trafficker since childhood, and had to fight for a meal from the human trafficker.
After arriving at the Chen residence, although she stayed with her aunt for a while, she soon left, and she became a rootless duckweed again. Life as a third-class maid must have been difficult. No one taught her right from wrong, so she could only figure out her own philosophy of survival.
The wild grass growing wildly on the cliff can only survive by constantly digging its roots into the cracks of the rocks and taking away the limited nutrients.
But Xiaoman continued to bewitch him, "I heard that if you practice the way of becoming an official, as long as you don't get hurt, you will be immune to all diseases and live longer. There are so many benefits. Not only that, when you become an official, you will stand tall and no one in the Chen Mansion will dare to bully you again."
Chen Ji shook his head: "She is a friend of Prince Jing, and I am also a friend of Prince Jing. Although her actions are a bit extreme, I cannot take advantage of her at this time."
Xiaoman lowered her head and said, "Okay... I'll find other ways to get you an official position later."
Chen Ji asked calmly, "You seem to know the officials very well?"
Xiaoman was momentarily flustered: "Ah? No, no, I just happened to go to a teahouse and listen to a storyteller, and they mentioned it..."
Chen Ji had two guesses in his mind. The first guess was: after his biological mother, Mrs. Lu, bought Xiaoman back, she felt pity for her because of her pitiful life experience. In addition, Xiaoman was also smart, so Mrs. Lu taught her the mandala seal of the Jing Dynasty branch, wanting to train her as a confidant.
only
Soon after Lu taught Xiaoman the secrets of becoming an official, he died or fled for some reason, and didn't teach him much else. As a result, Xiaoman was like a layman except for the secrets of becoming an official.
The second guess was that Xiaoman was originally a member of the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Department, and his official skills were also taught by the Military Intelligence Department. He was someone his uncle had planted by his side. The awkwardness he was showing now was also all acting.
Chen Ji thought about it again and again. He thought the probability of the first guess was high and the probability of the second guess was low.
However, he did not need the path of an official. Counting the mountain king, the sword seed, and the "cloud-covering" given by the inner minister, Chen Ji already had three paths of cultivation.
While Chen Ji was thinking, he was brought back to his senses by a burst of noise outside the courtyard. He picked up the black cloud on his knees and opened the door to check, but saw Dongzhi, the first-class maid beside Liang, waking up all the maids in Qunfang Garden.
Chen Ji looked at the sky. It was still dark and the roosters hadn't crowed yet.
He held Wuyun in his arms, stood in front of the gate of Mingquan Garden, and asked curiously, "Miss Dongzhi, what are you doing?"
Dongzhi bowed deeply and said, "Reporting to the Third Young Master, the Master and the Madam have asked us to pack up our belongings immediately and leave Luocheng at daybreak."
Chen Ji asked, "Are we going to Beijing with the Zhang family?"
Dongzhi explained with a smile, "Reporting to the Third Young Master, our Chen family is traveling alone and will not be traveling with anyone else. By the way, you should also pack your things. The carriages are already parked outside the mansion. The master and his wife are in the first carriage, the eldest young master is in the second, the second young master is in the third, and you and Xiaoman will be in the fourth."
After that, she ignored Chen Ji and turned around, shouting, "Everyone, get up. Liqiu, you lead the others to boil water and cook. The rest of you, follow me to Wenyun Hall to pack up. Be careful today. If you break anything in Wenyun Hall, I won't be able to compensate you even if I sell all of you!"
…
…
At the hour of Mao, the cockcrows.
The beautiful maids in the Chen Mansion shuttled back and forth, registering the items to be taken away from the mansion one by one and loading them onto the carriages and ox carts outside Cuiyun Lane.
The door of Zhang's house was tightly closed, and it was quiet, as if he was not in a hurry to leave Luocheng.
In the morning mist, Chen Ji and Xiao Man carried a large wooden box through the Chen Mansion and stuffed it into the carriage. He politely declined the servants' offer of help.
Dongzhi saw this and hurried to stop them: "Third Master, just put this box on the oxcart in the back. There's no need to put it in the carriage and it's taking up space. The oxcarts are covered with oilcloth, so there's no need to worry about snow or rain."
Chen Ji got out of the carriage, dusted off his palms, and explained with a smile, "I've worked so hard to save this fortune, it's more reassuring to keep it with me."
Dongzhi turned around and went back to the house, putting away his smile and muttering softly: "Oh, if you haven't seen the world, you would think there are so many treasures stored in it."
After breakfast, the Chen family piled into their carriages and set off hastily, as if fleeing. They didn't linger over Chen Liqin and Liang, not even glancing back at the Chen residence. Instead, the maids wept together.
Some of the Chen family's maids were returning to the capital, while others stayed behind to look after the family business in Luocheng, and so they parted ways. For people of this era, the distance between Luocheng and the capital was a lifetime.
In front of Chen Ji's carriage, Li Qiu wiped her tears with a handkerchief and warned Xiao Man, "Don't be so foolish and stubborn when you get back to the Chen family mansion. Control your bad temper. Sometimes you have to be patient."
Xiaoman's eyes also turned red: "Well, I know Sister Liqiu, but I can't help it."
Li Qiu was so angry that she laughed, and tapped her forehead with her finger: "Little hoof, you always don't listen to what I say. There will always be a time when you will suffer. When that happens, I will demote you to a third-class maid.
Without me, let’s see what you will do.”
Xiaoman squatted where the groom sat, tears streaming down her face. "Sister Liqiu, you're doing well in Luocheng. When you're old enough next year, find a good family to marry. And be sure to write me a letter after you get married..."
Li Qiu cried and asked, "Why, do you want to add some dowry to me?"
Xiaoman shook her head, wiping her tears and said, "No, I'm just congratulating you."
Li Qiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I loved you in vain!"
Chen Liqin's calm voice came from the first carriage: "How long are you going to cry? Let's go."
The servant beside him waved his arms hastily: "Let's go, let's go."
The driver sat sideways on the side of the carriage, whipped it, and the carriage started slowly.
Li Qiu took two steps forward and stuffed the cloth bag on his shoulder into Xiao Man's arms: "When you go to the capital, don't worry about the people and things in Luocheng. Live a good life!"
"I know!"
As the car was shaking, Xiaoman clung to the car and looked back. She looked at the lintel of the Chen Mansion which was getting farther and farther away, and the maids who were still standing there, and her tears could not stop flowing.
After a long time, she got back into the car and sat down in a daze: "Master, are we leaving like this?"
Chen Ji huddled together with the wooden box, holding Wu Yun in his arms: "Li Qiu treats you well?"
The light from outside the window filtered through the gaps in the curtains, gently casting a light on Xiaoman's face. "What is considered good in this deep courtyard? If you want to say 'good' in the sense of saving my life, that's definitely not the case. It's just that Wang Gui sometimes gives me a hard time. When it's clearly time to eat, he suddenly asks me to fetch water and sweep the floor. When I come back after work, there's only inedible rice crust left in the pot. At times like this, Sister Liqiu will secretly leave me a bowl of rice, and that's considered very good."
Chen Ji hummed and said, "See what she gave you."
Xiaoman opened the bundle and found that it contained bath beans made by Liu Ji in the East Market, rouge cream from Nansheng Ji, and a stone ink brush from a time-honored brand in Dongzhe...
Chen Ji subconsciously covered Wuyun's ears. The next moment, Xiaoman was sitting in the car crying loudly like a child who had not grown up.
At this moment, a burst of noise interrupted the crying.
A maid rushed out of the Chen Mansion, crying and chasing the carriage, and followed Chen Wenxiao's carriage closely: "Second Master, won't you take me with you? You said you would take me to the capital with you. I was pregnant with your child!"
Chen Wenxiao panicked and ordered the servant: "What are you still standing there for? Take her away!"
The servant pulled the maid away and gradually disappeared in the cold mist behind him.
The Chen family had a total of eight horse-drawn carriages, twenty-two ox-drawn carts carrying valuables, and took away eighteen maids and more than forty servants. Wang Gui sat in the last ox-drawn cart without saying a word. Now that he had lost his status as a butler, he could not even ride in a horse-drawn carriage.
After walking for about half an hour, the convoy arrived at the north city gate.
Suddenly, someone outside the car shouted, "Master Chen! Hahaha, Master Chen, why didn't you let me know before you left? You made me wait here!"
When Chen Liqin heard the familiar voice, he suddenly felt something was wrong.
He drew aside the curtains and looked, only to see Zhang Zhuo, his first wife Xu, Zhang Xia, and Zhang Zheng sitting in a teahouse in front of the city gate, eating tofu pudding and golden fried dough sticks.
At the gates of the city, the Zhang family's hundreds of carriages formed a long procession, a truly spectacular sight. Not only were there groups of maids and servants, but they even hired escorts from the Luocheng Liang Escort Agency.
Zhang Zhuo wiped his mouth and walked out of the teahouse, laughing cheerfully, "Master Chen, I've been waiting here for a long time. Let's return to Beijing together!"
(End of this chapter)
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