In the small courtyard of the Taiping Medical Hall, a group of people crowded around a tiny Eight Immortals table, making the space feel even more cramped.
Liang Mao'er raised his arm slightly, almost knocking Liu Quxing to the ground.
On the table, a tall stack of bamboo steamers held steaming buns.
As soon as the lid was lifted, hands from the left and right quickly snatched up the buns, as if they were fighting for food.
Old Yao was just about to reach for a bun when Liang Mao'er's hand moved like a blur, and the buns in the steamer vanished.
By the time Old Yao tried to grab another, it was already in the hands of the young master.
Old Yao, with a calm expression, held a bowl of millet porridge, sipping it slowly.
He was used to a quiet and simple life, and the bustling atmosphere of the Taiping Medical Hall was a bit overwhelming for him.
The constant chatter during meals was too noisy.
"Master, why aren't you eating?" Chen Ji asked curiously.
Old Yao replied indifferently, "I'm reading your fortunes."
"Huh? You don't even know their birth dates, how can you read their fortunes?"
Old Yao sneered, "I don't need their birth dates to know you're all bad luck for me. Hurry up and eat, then get out of here."
At that moment, the street outside became lively.
Countless commoners gathered on both sides of Anxi Street, some carrying fruits, others baskets of eggs.
The air seemed to boil with excitement.
The last time it was this lively was when the young master and the princess had just returned.
Suddenly, a grand black procession passed by the gate.
The commoners followed the procession, trying to hand their offerings to the soldiers accompanying it.
According to the laws of the Ning Dynasty, the emperor used vermilion-colored processions, while the feudal lords used black.
It was the return of Prince Jing.
"Oh no, oh no," the young master exclaimed, hastily stuffing the remaining half of a bun into his mouth.
"General Wang said the old man just arrived in Gongyi County last night. How did he get back so quickly?! Bai Li, hurry back to the manor. If he catches us, even your monthly allowance might be cut!"
Bai Li, equally panicked, lifted his robe and quickly climbed over the wall, disappearing into the neighboring courtyard.
The usually carefree young master now looked like a mouse seeing a cat.
Chen Ji and the others walked to the gate, watching the grand procession enter Prince Jing's residence.
Curious, Chen Ji turned to Old Yao, "Master, why is Prince Jing so beloved by the people? They're all rushing to give him things."
Old Yao shrugged, "Many people in Yuzhou owe their lives to him. Naturally, they respect him."
Just then, a middle-aged man arrived at the door, "Doctor Yao! Doctor Yao! My father fell and now he won't wake up. Please come and take a look."
"Did you bring the consultation fee?"
"Yes, yes!"
Old Yao waved to She Dengke, "Go get my acupuncture kit. Hurry, his father might not last long."
As Old Yao and the middle-aged man left in a carriage, Liang Mao'er got up to clear the dishes.
...
...
After Old Yao left, Chen Ji was about to go to the backyard to clean up when a gentle voice called out at the entrance of the medical hall.
"Chen Ji?"
Chen Ji froze.
The last time someone came knocking in the middle of the night, it was Manager Yuan.
Could it be the intelligence agency of the Jing Dynasty again? But hadn't Gui said that everyone who knew his identity had been dealt with?
He slowly turned around, but instead of Manager Yuan's portly figure, he saw a middle-aged man in a worn-out dark blue robe.
The collar was newly patched, and the elbows of the sleeves were mended.
A simple wooden hairpin held his hair in place, and his face looked weary.
Who was this? He had never seen him before.
The middle-aged man studied Chen Ji for a moment before asking, "What, don't you remember me?"
Chen Ji hesitated.
The man smiled faintly, "It seems you don't recognize me. I held you when you were a child in the capital. Your eyes and brows haven't changed much; you look a lot like your mother."
Chen Ji's heart skipped a beat...
Uncle?
Could this be his high-ranking official uncle from the Jing Dynasty, fleeing political enemies and seeking refuge in the Ning Dynasty? From his appearance, the man looked weathered, with mud stains on his pants and boots, as if he had traveled a long way.
But the patches on his clothes? His uncle couldn't have fallen on such hard times, could he?
Most importantly, Chen Ji had just escaped his identity as a spy for the Jing Dynasty and was looking forward to a peaceful life.
Why would his uncle show up now?
When he was enjoying wealth and power, he didn't bring Chen Ji back to the Jing Dynasty.
What was he here for now? Was he planning to make a comeback in the Ning Dynasty? If so, Chen Ji would be forced to risk his life again.
After a moment of thought, Chen Ji replied stiffly, "What do you want?"
The man was taken aback, then chuckled, "No respect for your elders? Where's your master?"
Hearing the word 'elder,' Chen Ji's tone became even stiffer, "Master is out. If you have something to say, tell me."
The man lifted his robe and stepped over the threshold, "Then I'll wait here for your master to return. Do you play Go? Let's have a game to pass the time. Your mother was good at it; you must be too."
Chen Ji said, "There's no Go set here."
The man smiled, "Of course there is. It's in the second drawer of the cabinet in the main room. Go get it; I'll wait."
Chen Ji narrowed his eyes.
To him, this sounded more like a threat, similar to when Yun Yang first paid him by placing silver ingots by his pillow.
The underlying message was clear: I can come and go as I please, and you won't even notice.
Chen Ji went to the main room, opened the second drawer, and sure enough, there was a Go set inside!
He brought the set to the main hall, laid out the board on the counter, and held a few stones in his hand, "Guess the number."
The man thought for a moment, "Even."
Chen Ji opened his hand, revealing three black stones, "You guessed wrong. I'll take black and go first."
The man generously said, "Alright, you go first. I'll give you a two-stone handicap."
Chen Ji glanced at him, "Fine."
The man's Go skills were formidable, his moves like a mountain pressing down, leaving no room for escape.
In just sixty-five moves, he had cut off Chen Ji's black stones, leaving them isolated like rocks in a turbulent sea.
The man smiled at Chen Ji, "Your Go skills need more practice. The game is about making choices, sacrificing the small for the greater good. If you refuse to let go of anything, you'll lose everything."
But Chen Ji wasn't listening.
Instead, he placed a stone in the isolated area, stubborn and unyielding, like a lone warrior.
The man was surprised.
Chen Ji placed another stone.
The man followed suit.
As they continued, by the seventy-second move, Chen Ji had managed to break through the isolation, connecting his lone stones to another group.
The man's eyes lit up, "Swallowing the dragon? What kind of move is that?"
Chen Ji looked up, "Treating the lonely."
Treating the lonely meant using the opponent's weaknesses to create a path for isolated stones.
Often, a single lonely stone could disrupt the opponent's grand strategy.
Chen Ji had won second place in the Luoyang Go competition with his unorthodox style of treating the lonely.
He didn't have a grand strategy; he only had stubbornness.
He mimicked the man's earlier tone, "The world is vast; there's always a place to belong. It's not the space that's small, but the heart."
The man laughed, "Now you're lecturing me?"
Chen Ji said calmly, "No, I'm talking about the game."
In truth, he was frustrated.
Since coming to this world, he had been manipulated by others, never knowing his true past.
Just when he thought he could finally breathe after dealing with Gui and Wu Hongbiao, someone else showed up.
Just then, Old Yao and She Dengke returned.
She Dengke, carrying the medical kit, said cheerfully, "Chen Ji, you wouldn't believe it. That old man was practically dead, but Master revived him with just two needles... Huh?"
The middle-aged man turned to the door and smiled, "Doctor Yao, it's been a while. Your little disciple is quite skilled at Go, better than you."
Old Yao glanced at Chen Ji, "That's surprising... Why are you here alone?"
"I need you to check my pulse. I haven't been feeling well lately."
Old Yao gave him a look, "Out gathering supplies, and you've worn yourself out like this?"
Chen Ji was puzzled.
Gathering supplies? What supplies?
The man sat down at the counter, looking exhausted, "We just started collecting taxes in the south, and someone brought their wife's corpse to the government office, claiming we drove her to death. The southern gentry now see us as enemies. At the slightest hint of trouble, they resist. Tax collection isn't easy."
Old Yao walked behind the counter, "Taking someone's wealth is like killing their parents. What they fear isn't the taxes, but the possibility of you re-measuring their land."
Chen Ji listened, growing more confused.
He had clearly mistaken this man's identity.
Who was he? Dusty and ragged, was he some tax official? Or...
The man extended his wrist onto the counter, "But supplies are manageable, just a bit more effort and persuasion. The real problem is the glutinous rice needed for the front lines."
Old Yao placed three fingers on the man's pulse, "Can't find glutinous rice?"
The man explained, "Too many city gates were destroyed by the Jing Dynasty this year. We need a lot of glutinous rice mortar to rebuild the walls. After the summer floods, many families can't even feed themselves. How can they spare glutinous rice for the walls?"
He sighed, "Actually, there was enough glutinous rice, but the early autumn batch was taken by the capital for the emperor's palace and mausoleum repairs."
Chen Ji was puzzled.
This man seemed very close to Old Yao, sharing such sensitive information.
And Old Yao, who usually avoided gossip, didn't stop him.
He knew that glutinous rice was a strategic resource.
The mortar used to repair city walls was made by mixing glutinous rice with lime and limestone.
The amylopectin in glutinous rice mortar had excellent adhesive properties, and once it calcified after three years, the structures could last for millennia.
But in these times, many people couldn't even feed themselves.
Glutinous rice was a life-saving food.
Using it to repair walls would mean starving the people.
The man coughed a few times, and Old Yao instructed Chen Ji, "Get him a cup of tea!"
Chen Ji went to the kitchen, brought a warm cup of tea, and placed it in front of the man, bowing slightly, "Please have some tea."
The man looked up at Chen Ji with a smile, "Why the sudden respect? Weren't you lecturing me earlier?"
Chen Ji awkwardly replied, "I was just talking about the game. I didn't mean to lecture you."
The man pointed at him playfully, "It's normal for young people to be a bit arrogant. No need to be so humble."
Chen Ji quickly said, "No, no, I'm not arrogant."
Old Yao was puzzled, "What happened? What did this kid say?"
The man laughed, "Everyone's like that when they're young. When I was young, I often went to you for treatment. When the emperor fought his second brother, he knew we couldn't win, but he still sent me in first. I got beaten up pretty badly."
Chen Ji gasped.
Now he was sure.
This was Prince Jing!
But he couldn't reconcile the image of this simple, middle-aged man with the grand and imposing Prince Jing's residence.
No airs, no temper, just an ordinary neighbor, completely different from what he had imagined.
Prince Jing looked at Old Yao, "How's my health?"
Old Yao said indifferently, "I'll prescribe some medicine. Rest for a while, and you'll be fine. But don't go running around anymore. If you don't rest, you'll have serious problems."
Prince Jing shook his head, "Some things can't wait. The Jing Dynasty's cavalry will head south next spring. If we don't repair the walls by then, losing Chongli Pass will cost many lives, and even the capital will be in danger."
Old Yao said lightly, "I'm just giving advice. Whether you take it is up to you. But I suggest you stay in Luoyang and keep an eye on the young master and princess. They've been sneaking out every night, climbing walls and making noise, disturbing my rest."
Chen Ji: Huh?
Wait, old man, why are you throwing us under the bus?
He turned to Prince Jing, only to see his expression darken.
Prince Jing asked slowly, "What have they been up to lately..."
Before he could finish, there was a noise from the backyard, as if someone was climbing over the wall.
Then, the young master's voice came through, "Strange, Father's not back, but his procession returned first. What's the point of this mix-up? Made me climb the wall for nothing. Chen Ji, come play Pai Gow with me. Today, I'll clean you all out... Hic!"
The young master walked into the main hall and, upon seeing Prince Jing, hiccuped in fright!
Prince Jing played with a white Go stone, his tone calm but commanding, "Climbing walls? Pai Gow?"
The young master dropped to his knees, "Father, it was the little monk who made me do it! It's not my fault!"
...
Sorry for the delay, I was caught up with a live stream.
Finally finished this chapter.
(End of Chapter)