Chapter 111 Chapter 111 Update.
The county magistrate and Minister Li were having a very pleasant conversation, and it was obvious that this was not the first time they met.
Here, Minister Li took them on a tour of the garden and led them to the main hall of the veranda to sit down. There was a complete banquet here, and some distinguished guests who had arrived earlier were also present.
Ji Xu saw many familiar faces among them. They had been to the county magistrate's mansion to ask for elixirs. Now he met the county magistrate of Zhuo County and they bowed and chatted with each other.
The eunuchs gradually attracted many nobles, including the son of King Ai of Zhongshan and the grandson of King Xiao of Qi.
Finally, the mighty Prince of Yan, with his whiskers and beard, came in accompanied by the Zhong Daifu. The officials and royal family members who were offering gifts from all over quieted down and looked at the Prince of Yan who was sitting up.
The King of Yan ordered everyone to drink and enjoy themselves, and in the middle of the banquet there were maids playing the zither and beating drums.
Ji Xu poured wine and served food beside the Second Master. Halfway through the banquet, the Prince of Yan dismissed the servants and attendants.
Ji Xu was one of those who retreated outside the hall. He saw that there were men with swordsmen and axes guarding the corridor, who were guarding it so tightly that not even a mosquito could get close.
Ji Xu waited outside and could not hear any sound from inside. It was not until dark that he saw the drunken Second Master come out and stayed with him in the guest room in the garden.
The Second Master told her not to run around tonight, but Ji Xu was new there, so how could she do that? Besides, there were lightning and thunder outside, and it looked like a rainstorm was coming, so she went to bed early.
The sound of water in the copper clepsydra was drowned out by the sound of rain. In the deep of night, she was awakened by a burst of hurried footsteps, the sound of the wooden floor outside the door being trampled on.
Bang bang bang!
Someone banged on the door, startling her.
"Don't open the door." The second master said, his voice coming from the tent.
After a while, there were more footsteps under the eaves. It seemed that there were many people, with great momentum, and they were wearing armor, so their steps were much heavier.
"Stop!" Commands came one after another from outside.
"The Prince of Yan is plotting treason! The Prince of Yan is plotting treason!"
The man seemed to have fled here randomly, his shouting stopped abruptly, and a streak of blood splattered on the door.
"There was a thief in the garden, disturbing the Second Master's peace."
The second master left the door half open, and the leading armored soldier clasped his fists and said, "The rain and blood were blown in by the wind." Ji Xu was behind him and saw that the person being dragged away was someone he had seen before. This was the garden steward who had known about the King of Yan's conspiracy at some point.
The next morning, there was the sound of drums in the park. The tiger in the cage moved around restlessly and roared at the people who came. The bear was also angry and slapped the iron cage.
Seeing this, Ji Xu quickly walked over and followed the second master along the small bridge on the bank of the pond to the double-eaved pavilion in the center of the pond. Most of the nobles who had feasted last night were in the pavilion, watching the hunt.
I saw warriors gathering for hunting in the open space downstairs. Every day, there were hundreds of people wearing the uniforms of Yan soldiers, which looked like a kind of Hu clothing that was convenient for riding and shooting. Some of these people were people from all over the place who saw the notice and came for the bounty; some were fugitives and escaped slaves who came here to seek a place to stay.
At the King of Yan's command, the wild beasts were released into the mountains. King Yan said:
"All those who participate in the hunt are soldiers of the State of Yan. Those who hunt tigers and wolves will be rewarded with a hundred gold pieces!"
After half a day, seeing that the hunters had only caught some rabbits and spotted deer, but no birds of prey, the grandson of King Xiao of Qi said:
"I heard that last year in the capital, a doctoral student emerged who was able to fight a tiger with his bare hands. He could even defeat a bear with his bare hands. Although he is now called Marquis of Muping, his fiefdom is only 500 households, just a small village. Why doesn't the King of Yan recruit such a brave talent?"
This Marquis Muping, surnamed Zhuang, performed exceptionally well in the examinations last year among all the doctoral students.
Doctoral students who studied in the capital mostly had career paths as civil servants. Those with high academic scores could be appointed Zhonglangguan, close ministers to the emperor, and enjoy lucrative positions. Those with lower scores could be appointed Wenxuezhang, working under the Taichang, one of the Nine Ministers. At the very least, they were officials in the capital, and that was a good position.
Those who are in the middle level are appointed as county and state literary officers, which are local official posts and are responsible for the educational work of local official schools, which is also acceptable;
Then there is the lowest class, serving as county literary officer, which is considered the place where those with the lowest academic scores go;
There is another category of people who failed the exam and had to "repeat the grade" and study for another year. There were many such people in Chang'an Imperial College, and some of them even repeated the grade for several years.
This Marquis Mu Ping studied the "Spring and Autumn Annals" and was appointed as a cavalry official because of his bravery, fighting skills, and proficiency in riding and shooting. He often accompanied the emperor on hunting trips and fought wild beasts with his bare hands, which attracted the emperor's attention.
It was then discovered that this cavalry official was originally the son of Marquis Muping of Qingzhou. After the Enfeoffment Order, the marquisate of Marquis Muping was divided into smaller and smaller parts, with only 500 households left in his fiefdom, comparable to a small village. When the old Marquis Muping was leading the people to harvest wheat, the city was attacked by thieves. The old Marquis Muping died at the hands of the thieves, and his wife and family escaped, and the marquisate no longer existed.
The emperor ordered his men to verify the identity of the cavalry official and reinstated him as Marquis of Muping, saying:
"You deserve it, your father inherits it."
However, these clan members were granted fiefs of 10,000 households, so they naturally looked down on Marquis Mu Ping's fief of 500 households, which was comparable to the fiefdom of a small village.
The King of Yan had heard of the mighty name of this cavalry general and even secretly sent gold, silver and jewelry to his fiefdom. However, money did not shake the heart of Marquis Mu Ping, and the King of Yan did not recruit him to his camp.
Now he said, "This boy is nothing special. Bring me my bow and arrows, and I will hunt tigers and leopards myself!"
The Prince of Yan personally went to the hunting ground, and the nobles also drew their bows and rode their horses, and went into battle one after another. The Second Master also changed into light and easy-to-wear Hu clothing and riding boots in the carriage.
The county magistrate wanted him to stay away from the hunting grounds. "You are not good at riding or shooting. Be careful not to get crushed by the black bear."
"The King of Yan is in high spirits, and I cannot sit here alone. I will just go hunting in a shallow area where there are only deer, muntjac, rabbits and chickens, and just do my best to keep him company."
Ji Xu also changed his long-sleeved robe into a simple Hu clothing, and changed his low-hanging topknot into a round bun at the back of his head. He followed the Second Master into the hunting ground. He was accompanied by six soldiers sent by the county magistrate, who were asked to stay with the Second Master and keep an eye on his safety.
"Second Master, we can't go there anymore."
The second master was really not good at archery. He didn't even touch a rabbit hair after half a day. He got off his horse and chased a wild rabbit to the cliff.
I saw that the river below was rushing due to the continuous heavy rain. The cliff was also slippery with moss and difficult to walk on. If I wasn't careful, I would fall into the water. The soldiers stopped me.
The Second Master said, "Who told you to make a sound? If you return empty-handed, how can I save my reputation? Xu, be careful and go over there and block its path."
Ji Xu gradually held onto the tree trunk and when he was about to walk over steadily, he was obviously tripped by the Second Master and slid down, pulling the Second Master who was nearby with him.
But the second master was obviously not as good as a tree, and fell down at the slightest touch.
But in the eyes of the palace soldiers, the two men seemed to have lost their balance when they missed each other and fell into the river with a thud.
They hurriedly untied their belts and threw them into the water, but before they could catch them, they were swept away by the rapids.
"waste!"
In the pavilion, the county magistrate heard about this and threw his cup in anger. When the King of Yan found out, he immediately sent people to salvage the fish along the river, but they returned in vain.
In the dark room, the King of Yan asked behind the other person's back, "Did your brother deliberately escape?"
"Impossible. He's suffering from a cold and can't stop taking his medicine for a day. I increased the dosage of dragon grass in the medicine to suppress his cold symptoms, but it also increased his addiction to dragon grass. If he stops taking the medicine for three days, the cold will enter his body and he will definitely die."
On the river channel between the valleys, many large trees were broken and fell beside the river banks due to the lightning and thunder last night.
Fortunately, Ji Xu held onto a thick tree and moved ashore little by little with the second master, who was not good at swimming.
Because the area near the riverbank was unsafe, the soldiers were likely to fish along the shore. They walked towards the dense forest, covering the traces left by the grass and trees, and found a secluded cave.
I saw that the cave was on a steep slope, facing the outside of the garden. There were weeds in front of the cave. The entrance was very narrow, only allowing a slender person to pass through sideways. Fortunately, the second master was thin, so he squeezed in and covered the weeds inside. The two of them settled here temporarily.
It was getting dark at this time, and Ji Xu picked up some relatively dry branches and leaves from nearby and brought them into the cave.
"Can you lend me your coat, Master?"
I saw her hanging clothes on the gap in the cave. The crimson velvet fabric was thick and could block out the light.
She took out a tinder wrapped in oilcloth from her lapel, rubbed a handful of dry grass dry, and started a fire.
At first, the wood still had moisture left by the rain, and the white smoke was choking, but it burned much better. It didn't matter if the smoke got out and floated high. It was completely dark at this time, and no one could see it.
The fire dispelled the coldness from the two of them. Ji Xu even took off his coat and placed it aside to dry.
There were three naan breads and a golden hairpin wrapped in the oil cloth. She broke the bread into pieces and gave them to the second master to eat.
The Second Master said, "You are fully prepared."
As early as last night when the Second Master asked her if she could swim, she felt something was wrong, but she couldn't just pack a bag and go out. She could only bring something simple and hide it inconspicuously in her clothes.
As her undershirt gradually dried, she said, "Second Master, it's time for you to tell me why you did this."
The Second Master said, "The Prince of Yan and his clan members are planning a rebellion. After ten days of hunting and training, the grandson of King Xiao of Qi will return to Qi to raise an army. They plan to assassinate the Governor of Qingzhou first."
This was the plot hatched at the banquet on the day of his arrival. After the Crown Prince's death, the Prince of Yan became the eldest son, his heart set on the throne. The late emperor had passed the throne to his youngest son, but the Prince of Yan had always been resentful. He exploited the rumor that the Concubine had been fourteen months pregnant to spread rumors that the current emperor was not the late emperor's biological son. He claimed that the Zhou Dynasty tripod unearthed in Sishui the previous year was merely a replica of an ancient tripod commissioned by the Prince of Yan, and the inscription was naturally a deliberate attempt to incite public sentiment and legitimize rebellion.
"Second Master, do you want to go to Qingzhou to report the news?"
"Exactly."
Ji Xu knew that the Second Master had no real power. If he wanted to rescue his mother, he had to overthrow the county governor and liberate the private mines. He thought for a moment and said:
"This garden is guarded by soldiers. Although we are now out of the county governor's sight, there is only one way out of the garden. Swimming? But the current is so strong that even if I am a good swimmer, I have no confidence."
The Second Master nodded in agreement and said, "In two days, the water will slow down."
Ji Xu saw that he often observed the celestial phenomena, so he also believed this statement. Two days later, the soldiers fishing on the river bank did not see them, so they must have withdrawn. It was the right time for them to swim out of the garden.
That night, the second master unexpectedly caught a cold. His face was as pale as paper, he was sweating coldly, and even had convulsions, which were more serious than any previous time.
The Second Master sighed in frustration, "Brother, it's him..."
He thought he could hold on even without the medicine, just like Ji Xu usually kept watch over him at night, but he never expected that his brother would be so wary of him.
Ji Xu took out a small bottle from the oil cloth, poured out a reddish-brown pill, and fed it to him.
He had asked her to deal with this secretly before, so she kept it secretly, thinking that when she went out, she would go to the pharmacy to check the ingredients in it and find out the mystery of why people came to the alchemy building every day to ask for pills. She also brought it with her when she left Zhuo County this time, and she didn't expect it to come in handy now.
Perhaps the cold symptoms worsened and one pill was not effective, so she fed him two pills, and finally there was some improvement.
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