Early in the morning, before the rooster crowed, Chen Ji opened his eyes and was startled to see five small silver ingots placed beside his pillow.
It was the payment promised by Yun Yang, but he had no idea how or when the other party had sneaked into the clinic.
It was as if the five silver ingots had appeared out of thin air.
This was not only Yun Yang's payment but also a warning from the other party.
Chen Ji silently got up and changed into the new clothes sent by Xi Bing.
When he unfolded them, he saw it was a dark blue long robe with a standing collar and large lapels.
The two buttons on the collar were adorned with silver decorations, a far cry from the clothes he had been wearing before.
This set of clothes must have cost several taels of silver, right?
Unfortunately, Xi Bing had only sent the clothes, inner garments, and pants, but no boots or belt.
So, even though Chen Ji was now wearing this fancy robe, he still had on his old cloth shoes and a wide hemp belt around his waist.
Chen Ji chuckled to himself.
He looked a bit mismatched.
But who cared? He was just a poor apprentice.
He could always buy the missing pieces later when he had more money.
When the rooster finally crowed, Chen Ji stepped out and saw the grain shop across the street just opening up.
"Good morning, Madam," Chen Ji greeted with a smile as he entered the shop.
"Oh, Little Doctor Chen, what can I get for you?" The shopkeeper, busy preparing for the day, immediately put down what she was doing when she saw him come in so early.
"How much for a pound of millet?" Chen Ji asked.
"For others, it's eight coins, but for you, Little Doctor Chen, it's six coins," the shopkeeper replied with a smile.
"And a pound of rice?"
"Nine coins. I can't go any lower on that one, I'm afraid."
In these times, doctors were scarce and held a relatively high status.
Chen Ji's master was a proper seventh-rank imperial physician, so the neighbors treated Chen Ji with respect.
"Then give me five pounds of millet, five pounds of rice... and a bottle of sesame oil. Oh, and a string of cured meat!" Chen Ji said.
The shopkeeper beamed.
"Alright, that'll be 195 coins. I'll take 190 from you."
Chen Ji broke one of the silver ingots into smaller coins and left them at the grain shop to pick up later.
He then carried the various packages he had bought.
The packages were tied together with straw ropes, which dug into his hands, but he was in a good mood nonetheless.
He had bought these things to take home during his break.
Chen Ji thought about it—his family's situation probably wasn't great either, given his own living conditions.
From what his master had mentioned, his father worked on the river embankment, right?
Even under such circumstances, his father had managed to scrape together the money for the apprenticeship gift and secure a good future for him.
It must have been a huge effort for the entire family.
This touched Chen Ji deeply, and he even felt a bit curious about his family in this world.
The Chen family lived in Cuiyun Alley.
Chen Ji asked a shopkeeper on the street for directions and headed north through Luocheng.
The city was livelier in the morning.
He saw someone driving an ox cart loaded with several sacks, probably heading to the market.
There was also a caravan entering the city from the north, their carts piled with stretched hides.
With winter approaching, these were the most sought-after goods among the wealthy.
It was said that the most famous entertainment district in the east market was called Hongyi Lane.
The top courtesans there usually didn't take clients, but if a wealthy merchant offered a white mink fur, they would surely grant their favor.
Children played and chased each other on the streets, singing nursery rhymes and holding homemade pinwheels.
Women washed clothes by the small river that ran through the city, chatting and laughing loudly from time to time.
Chen Ji arrived at Cuiyun Alley and asked a vendor, "Uncle, could you tell me which house belongs to the Chen family from Guandong?"
The old man looked at him.
"Isn't this Chen Ji? Why are you asking where your own home is?"
Chen Ji: "..."
So they knew each other.
He hesitated for a moment, not daring to ask more, and just carried his things further into the alley.
Up ahead, there was some commotion.
"Steward, Steward, where should we hang this lantern?"
A man's sharp, impatient voice replied, "Do I have to teach you everything? Hang it on the eaves above the stone lion's head. There's a hook there! Hurry up, the two young masters will be back soon. If you dawdle, you'll regret it!"
Chen Ji watched as the house was being decorated with lanterns and festive ornaments.
He didn't know what the occasion was, but the more he looked, the more something felt off.
Then he saw the plaque above the gate: "Chen Residence."
Were there two Chen residences in Cuiyun Alley?
This house was brightly decorated, with a vermilion main gate and stone lions.
It wasn't exactly grand, but it was certainly not an ordinary household.
"... This can't be my home, right?" Chen Ji muttered.
"Chen Ji?" The steward with the mustache looked over, puzzled.
"Why are you back?"
Chen Ji hesitated for a second.
"I'm on break today."
The steward said, "Good timing. You're taller. Come over here and climb the ladder to hang this lantern."
"Alright."
Chen Ji put his packages down on the ground and climbed the ladder to hang the lantern.
The steward directed the other servants, "Come on, bring a basin of water and sprinkle it in front of the gate. We don't want dust flying up when the young masters return. You clumsy lot, you're servants of the Luocheng Assistant Prefect's household. If anyone sees you, they'll laugh at how uncouth you are!"
As he spoke, the steward noticed the packages on the ground.
"Who left these here? Move them aside, they're in the way."
Chen Ji calmly climbed down from the ladder.
"Steward, I—"
The steward suddenly remembered, "Oh, you're here for the tuition money, right? The master mentioned it a while ago, but I was so busy I forgot to send it to you."
He ordered someone to bring a string of coins from the accounts—about three hundred in total.
"Use it wisely. Times are tough, and our Chen family isn't doing so well either."
At this point, Chen Ji still hadn't figured out what his position in this Chen household was.
The sound of hoofbeats approached from the distance, and excited chatter drifted into Cuiyun Alley from outside.
"The Chen family's eldest and second young masters are back! They've been at Donglin Academy for three years. They've changed so much, I almost didn't recognize them!"
"The young masters have grown even more handsome."
Chen Ji looked over and saw two young men riding white horses into the alley.
They wore dark green brocade robes with elegant patterns embroidered on them.
Just the embroidery alone must have cost a fortune.
The two young men wore cloud-patterned boots, with jade pendants hanging from their belts and pearl necklaces draped across their chests.
They looked to be around eighteen or nineteen, with an air of grace and refinement.
The steward stepped forward, smiling as he took the reins.
"Returning from Donglin Academy, the two young masters are sure to make a splash in this year's imperial exams!"
The young masters dismounted and handed their whips to the maids, smiling.
"Steward, you've got more gray hairs these past few years. You must have been working hard for the household."
"Not at all, it's all part of the job... The master was overseeing the river embankment repairs, but when he heard you were coming back, he rushed home to wait for you. Go and pay your respects to him now!"
Amid the noise, everyone followed the two young masters into the residence.
As they passed Chen Ji, they didn't even glance at him.
It wasn't that they were putting on airs—they genuinely didn't seem to recognize him, or perhaps it didn't matter whether they did or not.
The once lively entrance of the Chen residence had quieted down.
Chen Ji stood silently at the gate, feeling as if the world had forgotten him.
Chen Ji thought carefully.
His master must have known about his family's situation, but he had never mentioned that they were too poor to pay the tuition.
Nor had he said exactly what his father did on the river embankment.
Back then, his master had been so angry because he knew the family had money but still delayed paying the tuition.
The Luocheng Assistant Prefect was a fifth-rank official, just like Liu Mingxian.
Chen Ji looked up at the plaque that read "Chen Residence" and ultimately didn't step through the vermilion gate.
Instead, he bent down, placed the string of three hundred coins at the entrance, picked up his packages, and turned to leave.
The old man at the alley entrance watched his retreating figure and sighed.
"The difference between a legitimate son with a mother and a bastard son without one is like the difference between heaven and earth."
Chen Ji returned to Anxi Street and picked up the coins from the grain shop.
The shopkeeper was surprised.
"Little Doctor Chen, why are you bringing the things back? We don't accept returns here."
He smiled.
"I'm not returning them. I'm taking them back to offer to my master."
When he returned to the clinic, Old Man Yao glanced at him.
"Didn't I tell you to take a break? Why are you back so soon?"
Chen Ji counted out 560 coins.
"Master, this is the money from my family. It's to make up for the tuition and medicine fees I owe you. These packages are also things my family asked me to bring to you."
Old Man Yao smirked.
"Your family finally got their act together. I didn't expect your father to go oversee the river embankment and end up fixing his brain along the way."
Chen Ji: "... Is that why you were demoted to Luocheng? Because your mouth is too sharp?"
...
...
That night, Chen Ji sat in the clinic's main hall, quietly copying notes on the pathology of cold damage.
When he turned around, he saw Wu Yun squatting on the counter behind him, a small blue cloth bundle in its mouth.
"Are you planning to run away from home?"
"What are you talking about?" Wu Yun hesitated for a few seconds before asking, "Can you take me to Qingping Alley?"
"It's already late. I'm afraid of the dark."
"Do you think I believe that?"
Chen Ji sighed.
"Alright, I'll take you. But why do you want to go to Qingping Alley?"
"I don't want to talk about it right now!"
Where was Qingping Alley? That was a serious question.
Chen Ji thought for a moment.
"Well... I'll take you there tomorrow night. It's not convenient today."
"Why can't we go today?!"
"I don't know where Qingping Alley is..."
Chen Ji said.
"Don't look at me like that. I can't explain why, but I really don't know where Qingping Alley is."
Wu Yun thought for a moment.
"I know."
Outside, the night watchman passed by, clacking his wooden clapper and calling out, "The air is dry, beware of fire."
It was already the hour of the Tiger, 3 a.m.
Luocheng was no longer as lively and bustling as it had been during the day.
Chen Ji quietly closed the clinic's door and followed Wu Yun into the night.
He tied the small blue cloth bundle to Wu Yun's back, which looked quite cute and would help him keep track of Wu Yun in the dark...
Wu Yun was just too black.
Along the way, Wu Yun seemed to be relying on memory to find the way, sniffing here and there.
The man and the cat walked on and off, taking a full hour and getting lost several times.
Chen Ji didn't rush.
He could tell that going to Qingping Alley tonight was very important to Wu Yun.
He had plenty of patience.
Finally, Wu Yun stopped in a small alley, staring at a closed door.
"Is this the place?" Chen Ji asked.
"Yes."
"Should I knock?"
"No!"
Wu Yun called out twice toward the door, as if summoning someone.
But the only response was two stray cats coming over.
"I'm going to jump in and take a look. Wait here for me."
Wu Yun leaped over the wall into the courtyard with a speed that left an afterimage, incredibly agile.
Chen Ji leaned against the alley wall and waited patiently.
Before long, Wu Yun returned, clearly in low spirits.
"Let's go."
"Did you finish what you needed to do?"
"Yes."
"What was it?"
Wu Yun stopped and looked back at the door.
"I missed my mom."
Chen Ji fell silent.
Even cats miss their mothers.
Wu Yun said wistfully, "She might not miss me, but I just wanted to see her... And since I'm going to roam the world with you, I wanted to bring you here so she could see you."
Chen Ji asked, "She's not home?"
Wu Yun's voice grew softer.
"She must have been sold too. Her cage and food bowl are gone."
"Should we try to find her?"
"No, it's a cat's fate."
"What's in the little bundle you brought?"
"I stole some dried fish to bring to her."
Chen Ji stood silently in the dark alley.
He bent down, picked up Wu Yun, and started walking back toward the clinic.
Wu Yun didn't struggle.
It just curled up into a small ball, covering its head with its fluffy tail.
The sound of footsteps echoed on the stone pavement, the young man's figure thin but upright.
"Chen Ji, what was your mom like?"
"She... was a very gentle person," Chen Ji said, unwilling to elaborate.
It was as if memories were like warm breaths—once spoken, they vanished.
He carried Wu Yun down the long streets of Luocheng.
Wu Yun, only a few months old, was so small that when it curled up, it was only about the size of two palms.
Chen Ji suddenly felt a strong desire to live on.
"Wu Yun?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's rely on each other."
(End of Chapter)