While Chen Ji was taking a break to drink some water, Bai Li quietly approached him and whispered, "I just saw them secretly jotting down what you said. You better be careful and not let them steal your skills."
As Chen Ji drank from his leather water bag, he glanced around, and several men with thick eyebrows and big eyes quickly avoided his gaze.
He asked curiously, "Princess, these people were brought by your father; aren't you on his side?"
Bai Li, upset, replied, "Stealing is wrong, no matter the circumstances."
Chen Ji chuckled and said to Bai Li, "It's nothing, Princess. Look, these craftsmen are experts in kiln building. They're here to help us with hard labor. If they learn something along the way, it's fine. We shouldn't be so stingy."
Bai Li huffed with anger, "Even if I don't know how valuable your skill is, the fact that my father is keen to learn it secretly means it's not trivial. I can't tell if you're really naive or just pretending. Have you never heard the saying 'Teach your apprentice, starve the master'? My father, though friendly with the people, has many methods for handling serious matters. Do you think the gentry of Jiangnan would willingly give up their grain and provisions without some tactics?"
"Oh wow, and you speak of your father like this."
Bai Li rolled her eyes, "Forget it, there's no reasoning with you. I'll go speak to him myself."
Chen Ji watched as she stomped off, and he broke into a grin.
At this time, Eunuch Feng ordered people to bring a table and chairs from the camp, covered them with a coarse cloth, and set up a chessboard.
"This kiln modification might not be finished soon, Prince. Instead of standing around, let me accompany you for a few rounds of chess, so you don’t get bored."
Prince Jing laughed, "Come now, yesterday's match with the lad almost shattered my state of mind. A game with you today will help me regain some confidence."
Eunuch Feng spoke softly, "Your Highness, you truly don’t hold back with your words."
"Let's see who goes first!"
Just as Prince Jing picked up a chess piece, he unexpectedly saw a slender, fair hand reach over from the side, extracting the piece from his palm and tossing it back into the basket.
Prince Jing slowly turned his head to see Bai Li standing there, puffed with indignation.
"Father, what exactly are you up to here?"
Prince Jing sincerely explained, "Father is here to help. But over the years, as health has declined, I really can't manage heavy labor anymore. Otherwise, I'd be there moving bricks and slathering mud."
Bai Li knitted her fine eyebrows, "You need to stop pretending to be clueless. You're here to steal skills, aren’t you?"
Prince Jing quickly rose, grabbed Bai Li’s wrist, and started pulling her out of the kiln factory, "As a noble prince, how could I stoop to stealing skills? Come, let’s go for a stroll. By the way, your birthday is in a few months. Have you thought of any gifts you want?"
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Bai Li struggled as she was half-dragged out, "Father, bribing me won’t work. Let me go."
As they reached the door, they saw a carriage slowly stopping in front.
Several attendants on tall horses followed behind as guards.
The coachman placed a footstool in the mud, assisting Chen Liqin down from the carriage.
"Your Highness? What brings you here?"
Chen Liqin was taken aback; he had come to find Chen Ji.
When he heard Chen Ji was idling at the kiln factory, he was infuriated.
A young man's time is precious, meant for diligent study, not wasted at a kiln factory.
But he hadn't expected to see Prince Jing and Princess Bai Li upon stepping off the carriage.
Prince Jing was equally surprised, "Minister Chen, why are you here?"
Chen Liqin clasped his hands in salute, "I just went to the medical hall to supplement my son's apprentice fees, and I've agreed with Physician Yao that my son won't be an apprentice there anymore. I plan to send him to Donglin Academy next spring, to study like his older brother, and once he succeeds, he will take the imperial examinations to serve Ning’s court."
Bai Li gasped.
"Chen Ji won’t be at the Taiping Medical Hall anymore? He’s going to Donglin Academy for three years?"
Prince Jing pulled Bai Li closer, speaking earnestly, "I wondered before why such a smart child like Chen Ji was placed in Taiping Medical Hall. If he takes the imperial examinations and serves the court, it would indeed be a brighter future."
"Your Highness is wise."
"Chen Ji is inside. I’ll take you to him."
Bai Li whispered, "Father, Chen Ji doesn’t want to return to the Chen household."
Prince Jing chuckled, "Silly girl, that’s his family matter. Can you make decisions for him?"
At that moment, Chen Ji was pushing a stone grinder with Liang Mao’er, preparing all the materials.
Once the kiln modification was complete, they could start burning cement immediately.
Chen Liqin, seeing Chen Ji’s dusty appearance from afar, frowned deeply and called out, "Chen Ji."
Chen Ji was startled, raising his head instinctively, "What brings Minister Chen here?"
Hearing such formal address, Chen Liqin was displeased, "I've already arranged with Physician Yao, from now on, you don’t need to stay at the Taiping Medical Hall. Come home with me."
Chen Ji fell silent.
Arranged with the teacher?
No longer a Taiping Medical Hall apprentice?
In the kiln, everyone paused, looking towards Chen Ji.
Suddenly, Chen Ji was resolute, "Impossible."
Chen Liqin furrowed his brows, "What’s impossible?"
Chen Ji firmly replied, "Master wouldn't have agreed."
Chen Liqin was momentarily stunned.
He had intended to trick Chen Ji back home.
Yet he didn’t expect the boy would see through his lie.
Such trust, to be so sure?
Chen Liqin softened his tone, "Chen Ji, I know you're still angry, but the servant who secretly deducted your monthly allowance has been punished, and even the steward received ten strokes. No matter how upset you are, it should subside. You're quite grown now and should understand which path to choose. If you stay at Taiping Medical Hall, you'll age into a mere seventh-rank doctor. If you enter the imperial examinations, you could govern a district, meet nobles and elites, and see the world differently."
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Suddenly, Chen Ji asked, "Minister Chen, when will summer cicadas emerge from the ground after the rain?"
"Why ask such a thing? In your youth, you shouldn't waste time on trivial matters."
Chen Ji smiled, "Minister Chen, please go home. I am content being a medical hall apprentice. Perhaps being an official is great, but I don't want it."
Being an official is great, but I don't want it.
Words that echoed with conviction.
Bai Li gazed at the young apprentice's figure in a daze, his stance open and unyielding.
Chen Liqin's expression finally darkened completely, "Chen Ji, such major decisions are not yours to make. You're still young, thinking you're right. But parents will never harm you. Men, bind him to the carriage. Let’s go home."
Chen Ji innocently turned to Prince Jing, "Your Highness, are you still interested in learning the kiln modification technique?"
Prince Jing was caught off guard, "You knew all along, yet pretended not to?"
Chen Ji laughed, "Your Highness, with a heart for the people, it doesn’t matter if it's learned."
Prince Jing raised an eyebrow, jesting, "But we’ve learned enough now, so just go home with Minister Chen. A future in the imperial examinations awaits."
Across the street, residents of Qixia and Linjing Gardens returned from work, parking their cars here and then walking ten minutes back home.
Chen Ji's grin widened, "Your Highness, do you really think a simple downdraft kiln can be used to smelt iron? Where will the molten iron flow from, and where will the iron powder enter? After the molten iron flows out, how do you handle it to make mature iron immediately? And how does iron infiltrate carbon to become steel? Have you, Your Highness, learned all that too?"
A string of questions left Prince Jing stumped.
He instinctively looked at the military craftsmen he brought along.
The craftsmen, standing far away, were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, desperately signaling to keep Chen Ji here.
Prince Jing laughed, "You used the kiln technique to bait me but hid so much more? Eunuch Feng, I thought I'd be teaching this inexperienced young man a lesson today. Turns out he gave me one instead. It seems I’ve been outmaneuvered."
Eunuch Feng smiled, "Little Doctor Chen is indeed exceptionally clever."
Prince Jing waved to the military craftsmen, "Don't let Minister Chen take Chen Ji away. He must stay."
Bai Li whispered on the side, "Father, you said it's Chen Ji's family matter."
Prince Jing lowered his voice with a solemn air, "It’s no longer just a family matter. It’s a matter of state now."
At this moment, the group of military craftsmen blocked Chen Ji's path, pushing the Chen household’s attendants aside.
Chen Liqin looked at Prince Jing, puzzled, "Your Highness, this is a family matter. Why intervene?"
Prince Jing patiently explained, "We need Chen Ji here for an important task. Minister Chen, please go back. He cannot leave with you."
"What is he doing here?"
"That remains a military secret; it can't be disclosed."
Chen Liqin breathed heavily, his beard twitching.
He hadn't expected to be thwarted twice in taking Chen Ji home.
Western District Urban Management Committee's Traffic Comprehensive Governance Center staff member Wu Weidi explained that due to extreme parking shortages in the Baizhifang Street area.
He looked at Chen Ji, then at Prince Jing, "I still have to host the curtain banquet. I’ll take my leave for today, but Your Highness should not meddle excessively in my family matters. I will definitely visit again."
Prince Jing waved him off, "Go on, go on."
Watching Chen Liqin stride away swiftly.
Only then did Prince Jing focus on Chen Ji, "What is this infiltrate carbon into steel?"
Chen Ji turned to look at the downdraft kiln behind him, "Your Highness, things need to be done one step at a time."
Prince Jing laughed with exasperation, pointing at him across the distance, "Alright, alright. Let’s do it one step at a time. Wang Luo Zhi, take your people back to rush the work. By tomorrow morning, I want to see a complete kiln."
The leading military craftsman Wang Luo Zhi cupped his fists, "Yes, Your Highness."
Once the craftsmen left.
Liu Qu Xing looked at Chen Ji with a bitter expression, "Chen Ji, you should’ve gone back to the Chen household with your father. He wasn't wrong; the imperial examinations are a path to the heavens, a chance to rise high and spread your wings. Being a doctor means staying in Luo City, dealing with the sick. If unlucky, maybe you won't even become a doctor."
Chen Ji rolled up his sleeves again, smiling happily, "If I went to Donglin Academy for three years, wouldn’t you all forget about me? How would we drink together then?"
Lazy Liang Gou’er, who was taking a nap against the wall, suddenly came to life.
He tipped his grass hat back over his face and spoke slowly with a dry stalk between his lips, "Youngsters act without considering the consequences. You'll understand in time. Being an official is the best path in this world, and you'll regret it. But when you do, it might be too late."
Chen Ji laughed, "Then we'll drink and cry together, you regretting your marriage, and I regretting my future."
Liang Gou’er cursed as he pulled the grass hat back over his face, "This lad has a filthy mouth..."
The chapter ends here.