The morning rooster crowed.
A crow perched by the bed, gently pecking at Old Man Yao's hair.
Slowly, Old Man Yao opened his eyes, listening to the soft sound of water flowing in the courtyard.
He draped a coat over his shoulders, picked up his cat, Black Cloud, and stepped outside.
In the courtyard, he saw Chen Ji rolling up his sleeves, carrying a shoulder pole as he headed out.
Old Man Yao chuckled, "Seems like you weren't tired enough yesterday. If you're really not tired, why don't you start by cutting a door in the courtyard wall? That way, the young master and Bai Li won't have to climb over it every day."
Chen Ji smiled and explained, "We used a lot of water washing off the dust last night, so I got up early to fill the water vat so we'd have enough for cooking. Did I disturb your rest? I'll be quieter next time."
"No need," Old Man Yao sighed.
He noticed the apricot tree in the courtyard, which had changed its appearance.
He mused, "When the apricot tree blooms with white flowers next spring, it'll be quite a sight. When I was young, it was nice to do things with friends. We might have been covered in dirt back then, but decades later, those old friends seem to glow in my memories..."
Chen Ji was surprised.
Old Man Yao looked at him, "Do you still have any red cloth?"
Chen Ji was momentarily stunned but quickly fetched the leftover red cloth from last night and brought a brush from the main hall counter to his master.
In Chen Ji's memory, Old Man Yao was always a man of few words, never sentimental, and couldn't stand sentimentality.
But today, he seemed unusually emotional.
Old Man Yao took the brush and gently wrote his wish on the red cloth: "May the little rascals stop bothering this old man."
Chen Ji's face remained expressionless as he slowly turned to look at his master, "..."
Old Man Yao said leisurely, "No need to hang it on the apricot tree. Just hang it on your forehead. That way, you can help me fulfill this wish."
Chen Ji retorted, "Are you just teasing me this early in the morning?"
Old Man Yao tied the red cloth to the lowest branch of the apricot tree and said indifferently, "Last evening, Golden Pig came to the clinic looking for you, but you weren't here."
"Did he say what it was about?"
Old Man Yao clasped his hands behind his back and turned toward the main hall of the clinic, "No, why would the Secret Intelligence Bureau casually share their business with a royal physician? But I know why he came looking for you."
Chen Ji followed behind his master with the shoulder pole, "Why?"
"The Secret Intelligence Bureau failed to capture the Jing Dynasty traitor who used firearms, so they're returning to the线索 of the Golden Workshop and the Artisan Bureau. Yesterday, they arrested many people from the Canal Gang. Perhaps they have new leads that require your expertise... Were you hiding in Liu Family Village to avoid him? Once you're in the Secret Intelligence Bureau, there's no way out. Where do you think you can hide?"
Chen Ji said softly, "I suspect Consort Yun is planning to drag the young master and Bai Li into the whirlpool, so I took them away from the trouble. Now that Prince Jing has returned, perhaps no one will dare to frame them anymore, but it's better to stay hidden for as long as possible."
Old Man Yao raised an eyebrow, "Consort Yun wants to harm her own children?"
Chen Ji hesitated for a moment before sharing his speculation, "Master, on that day, the Jing Dynasty already knew about the Imperial Guards surrounding the Golden Workshop in Red Clothes Alley. The person in charge of the Golden Workshop fled in advance, but someone deliberately led the young master and Bai Li there. Other than Consort Yun, I can't think of anyone else who would do this. I suspect she wants her children to inherit Prince Jing's position."
However, Chen Ji was also puzzled, "But I don't understand. Consort Yun doesn't have a son. Why would she do this?"
"You're asking me? I'm not a spy!"
Chen Ji pondered, feeling like he was missing a crucial piece of information, like a key wooden peg missing from a mortise and tenon structure before building a pavilion.
"Master, has Consort Yun lost any children in recent years?"
"No, Bai Li is her only child."
"Has the Prince Jing's household lost any other children?"
"Counting the one Consort Jing lost recently, two. The previous one was also Consort Jing's child."
Chen Ji was surprised, "Master, is Consort Yun unwell?"
Old Man Yao said calmly, "I've taken her pulse. She's fine."
Chen Ji had another doubt: Consort Yun currently has no descendants to inherit Prince Jing's position.
Why would she want to harm the young master and Bai Li? If she wanted to act, shouldn't she wait until she had a child of her own?
Could he have misjudged the situation?
"Wait," Chen Ji looked at Old Man Yao, "Master, how long has it been since Prince Jing spent the night in Feiyun Garden? Uncle Crow can communicate with birds. You must know this."
Old Man Yao scoffed, "What kind of person do you take me for? Do you think I'd eavesdrop on such things?"
Chen Ji said seriously, "Master, this is important."
Old Man Yao stroked his beard, "I've been in Luo City for three years. Prince Jing has never spent the night in Feiyun Garden. He always stays alone in Mingzheng Tower."
Chen Ji fell silent.
The last wooden peg fell into place.
He seemed to understand why Consort Yun was doing this.
Her target might not just be the young master and Bai Li, but also Consort Jing.
...
...
As he pondered, a rustling sound came from outside the wall.
Chen Ji and Old Man Yao suspiciously walked back to the rear courtyard.
The next moment, the young master's head popped over the wall, "Chen Ji!"
Chen Ji was surprised, "Young master, you're here so early? Being so eager to work isn't like you."
The young master's expression changed, "What are you talking about? Wasn't I diligent yesterday? Chen Ji, you should speak with a clear conscience!"
"Diligent, very diligent!"
The young master's expression softened, "I need to discuss something with you. Yesterday, you said you needed help to rebuild the kiln. I found you some helpers."
Chen Ji smiled, "Having helpers is a good thing."
The young master hesitated, "These helpers are a bit special. But don't feel pressured. They're mainly curious about what we're doing..."
Chen Ji felt something was off.
The next moment, a ladder was set up on the other side of the wall, and a figure appeared on the wall.
Chen Ji's face changed, "Your Highness?!"
How did inviting helpers end up bringing Prince Jing here?!
Prince Jing, still wearing his patched clothes, climbed over the wall and into the clinic, laughing, "Climbing over my own wall is quite thrilling. No wonder Yunxi and Bai Li don't use the front door."
The young master, still perched on the wall, chuckled, "Right?"
Chen Ji quickly gave the young master a look and whispered, "Your Highness is mocking you. Can't you tell?"
The young master's smile faded.
Prince Jing slowly walked to the apricot tree, picked up a red cloth strip, and silently read the wish written on it, "Did you all write these? It's been a while since I've seen such simple wishes. Usually, it's all about seeking official positions or wealth."
Chen Ji put down the shoulder pole and asked curiously, "Your Highness, are you here to help us?"
Prince Jing smiled, "I'm not much of a laborer, but I've brought other helpers for you. They're on their way and should be here soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a knock at the clinic door.
Someone called through the crack, "Your Highness, we're here."
Prince Jing pointed to Feng Da, who had just climbed into the courtyard, "Open the door for them."
While Feng Da went to open the door, Chen Ji whispered to the young master, "Did you say something to His Highness?"
Prince Jing was an extremely practical man.
The young master must have mentioned something that piqued his interest for him to come so early in the morning.
The young master also lowered his voice, "After this morning's lesson, my father asked me what I did yesterday. I bragged about what you said, about how the kiln wasn't working well, and how the local gang could only modify a semi-inverted flame kiln, but we weren't satisfied. I told him today we're building a fully inverted flame kiln."
Chen Ji thought for a moment, "What did His Highness say?"
The young master shrugged, "He asked me what a fully inverted flame kiln was, where the chimney should be placed, how to leave the air intake and fire holes, where to place the combustion chamber, how high the fire wall should be... How would I know? I told him it was all classified and I couldn't tell him."
Chen Ji was stunned.
Prince Jing was that knowledgeable?
The so-called upward flame kiln, flat flame kiln, semi-inverted flame kiln, and fully inverted flame kiln essentially differed in how the flame flowed inside the kiln.
Most people thought of a kiln as just a "dirt mound," rarely paying attention to its internal structure.
A powerful feudal lord like Prince Jing was so knowledgeable about this, even coming here specifically to join in the fun?
At that moment, the door of the Taiping Clinic opened, and a dozen burly men filed in.
Their skin was dark, their muscles rippling, and they looked strong and capable.
The leader of the group bowed to Prince Jing, "Your Highness, I've brought the men. They're all skilled at building kilns."
Prince Jing nodded, then turned to Chen Ji, "Shall we go? The ox cart is ready at the door."
Chen Ji was taken aback, "Your Highness, are you riding the ox cart too?"
Prince Jing laughed, "We're going to work. What else would we ride?"
As they stepped outside, Bai Li instinctively moved to sit on Chen Ji's ox cart, but Prince Jing called out, "Where are you going? Come sit here."
"Oh..."
Bai Li lowered her head and slowly sat down beside Prince Jing.
The three ox carts slowly set off, the wooden wheels creaking as they turned.
With Prince Jing by their side, everyone on Chen Ji's cart was unusually tense.
On the other two carts, the burly men were all serious and unsmiling, quietly munching on their flatbreads.
When they arrived at the kiln site, the men immediately got to work, cleaning up the messy kiln site.
Chen Ji took a branch and drew a construction plan on the ground, "First, dig a foundation, leaving space for a combustion chamber on each side..."
As he drew, Prince Jing suddenly interrupted, "The interior is straight up and down, with vertical fire holes? Wouldn't the flames just shoot up to the dome? Would the bottom of the kiln even get hot?"
Chen Ji explained, "The fire holes need to be small in cross-section so the flames move quickly. As long as the dome is a proper arch, the flames will swirl downward inside the kiln. Also, the fire wall needs holes to ensure even temperature distribution."
One of the men asked, "Why two combustion chambers?"
Chen Ji continued, "It's also for the convection of the flames, turning the semi-inverted flame into a fully inverted one, increasing the temperature by another twenty percent."
Prince Jing was surprised, "That much? Do you know what a twenty percent increase in temperature means? Many craftsmen struggle to increase it by ten percent, and you're saying twenty percent just like that?"
Chen Ji thought for a moment, "It should work."
Prince Jing pondered, then turned to the men he brought, "What do you think? Is it feasible?"
The leader hesitated, "Your Highness, let us discuss it."
The dozen men huddled together, whispering.
Finally, one of them said, "Let's try it. If the drawing is correct, building such a small kiln should only take a day."
Feng Da found a barely usable chair in the kiln site, wiped it clean, and placed a rough cloth on it for Prince Jing, "Your Highness, please sit and rest. You shouldn't stand for too long."
Prince Jing waved his hand, "It's fine. Let's watch for now."
Chen Ji led the young master and the others to start building the kiln.
However, after a while, the leader of the men said, "Young master, step aside. Just pass us the bricks and clay. We'll handle the rest."
The young master muttered, "We're being looked down on."
Liu Quxing whispered, "What should we do? Should we prove we're not worse than them?"
The young master watched the men work with such efficiency and thought for a moment, "No need. I'll allow them to look down on me."
(End of Chapter)