Chapter 982 - 821: Ping Zhao

Tidings.

Yao An.

The Mountain Lord’s senior brother was leaning against the edge of the pavilion, his loose robe half-open, looking down at a pond of koi swimming in the water. Through his fingers, he let a bit of red worm fish food drop into the pond, causing the koi to thrash about.

The Ji family Shopkeeper stood with hands at his sides at the stone steps outside the pavilion, waiting patiently.

Yao An watched the koi fighting for food and said leisurely, "People love to watch the koi fight for food, yet they don’t realize they are no different from these silly koi. The mighty Xu family has just changed owners, what a pity."

After fighting for a long time, the koi saw he was not going to throw more red worms and dispersed, wagging their tails.

Yao An turned his head and asked with a smile, "How is the Hu family doing?"

The Ji family Shopkeeper bowed and said, "Hu Junye dispatched Wang Changzhen to Dinghai Port, but not only did he fail, Wang Changzhen got caught up in it. Now, Hu Junye is certain this matter is not enough for the Emperor of the Ning Dynasty to grant the Zhang family the Grand Secretary position, so there will likely be more conflicts in Jinling City."

Yao An snorted with laughter, "Five million taels of silver can’t even buy a Grand Secretary? People say I am greedy, but I think this Emperor of the Ning Dynasty is far more greedy than I am. What does the Hu family plan to do next?"

The Ji family Shopkeeper shook his head, "Hu Junye didn’t say... The Anti-Japanese Army is strange too, they didn’t want Dinghai Port when they had it in hand, instead, they handed it over to the Jiefan Guard. To this day, no one knows who is in charge of the Anti-Japanese Army, I suppose it’s not someone unknown."

Yao An put the red worms back into the jar and clapped the dirt off his hands, "Who else could it be? Of course, it’s my dear junior brother."

The Ji family Shopkeeper hesitated, "Your Excellency’s junior brother is..."

Yao An smiled and said, "Don’t you know? My junior brother is none other than the famous Marquis Wu Xiang."

"Marquis Wu Xiang?" The Ji family Shopkeeper was stunned, "Isn’t Marquis Wu Xiang dead?"

The stickiness from the red worms on Yao An’s hands wouldn’t come off, so he picked up the teapot from the stone table and washed his hands, "Everyone thinks he’s dead, but having practiced the Path together, I, his senior brother, know best whether he’s truly dead or not."

He shook the water off his hands, then looked up with a smile at the Ji family Shopkeeper, "Losing to him isn’t disgraceful for the Hu family. Before, the Qi family also fell, and not only the Qi family, even I suffered... This junior brother of mine, he dismantled all my attendants in the Imperial Capital, leaving me severely weakened. If he were to easily lose to others, wouldn’t it make me look useless? Now that the Hu family has been defeated, it shows I, as the senior brother, am not so useless."

The Ji family Shopkeeper remained silent, as if digesting the news that Marquis Wu Xiang was still alive.

In recent days, rumors flew within the government office: where did the Zhang family get their resources, how did the Anti-Japanese Army defeat the pirates, why did the Salt Gang and Cao Guild mobilize entirely, why did the Xu family fall so quickly, how did the opponents think to attack with tariffs, a series of inexplicable events, no one could figure out.

But once these things were linked to Chen Ji’s name, they seemed less surprising.

He looked at Yao An, "Now that Marquis Wu Xiang’s whereabouts are unknown, how should we respond? We must first find him."

"What we need to do has little to do with him, but he is a variable, so finding him is indeed necessary," Yao An sat back by the railing, "If it were someone else, you’d just follow the silver and find them, you’re bound to. But my junior brother is different, he has no greed in his heart, only stubbornness, so you can’t follow the silver, you have to follow the ties of affection... Has Second Miss Zhang returned to Jinling?"

The Ji family Shopkeeper nodded, "She returned yesterday."

Yao An laughed heartily, "Then my junior brother must also be in Jinling."

The Ji family Shopkeeper inquired, "Should I arrange people to keep an eye on the Zhang family?"

Yao An casually said, "Find an opportunity to kidnap Second Miss Zhang, or you could kidnap the little monk or the little maid by her side, any of them would do, it would force him to come out."

He shifted the conversation, "But with Xu Shu, Deputy Director of the Observatory, around them, you may not succeed."

The Ji family Shopkeeper pondered, "Xu Shu? That profligate son?"

Yao An sneered, "Don’t think this Lord Xu only knows how to indulge in pleasures, if you truly provoke him, who knows what kind of trouble he’ll stir up."

The Ji family Shopkeeper replied softly, "Then what should we do?"

Listening to the clear sound of running water nearby, Yao An mused, "This junior brother of mine always likes to step outside the board and do unusual things, he’s indeed a troublesome figure. Rather than finding him, it’s better to let him find me... How’s the newspaper I asked you to organize?"

The Ji family Shopkeeper responded, "Everything is ready, there’s a scholar dedicated to writing articles for the paper and masters skilled in block printing. But the Wuxiang Morning News staff are all experienced hands; our side is all still learning. They publish eight or sixteen pages, while we can barely manage four pages a day."

Yao An sighed, "Once again outdone by my junior brother. But four pages are enough, take this and publish it."

He pulled a folded piece of Xuan paper from his sleeve and handed it to the Ji family Shopkeeper, who opened it and studied it for a while, but could only see an ordinary article, with nothing unusual.

Yao An smiled, "You don’t understand, but my junior brother will, just publish it."

The Ji family Shopkeeper agreed, "Yes... what exactly are you here to do in Jinling this time, Your Excellency?"

"You’ll know when the time’s right," Yao An stood up and said calmly, "With Si Caobing, Si Caogeng, and Si Caoren all here in Jinling, it must succeed, it cannot fail."

The Ji family Shopkeeper hesitated, "Your Excellency, after this affair, my control over the Ji family..."

Yao An turned around and walked down from the pavilion, patting the shoulder of the Ji family shopkeeper as he passed by: "Fish out all the koi from Qi Shui Pavilion and kill them. I don’t like anyone competing for food in front of me. Go, first publish the newspaper and lure my junior brother out."

...

...

In the evening, Chen Ji returned from the Confucius Temple.

He and Old Ears walked in front, while Yuan Xing and others chattered behind. Yuan Xi marveled in a low voice, "The sight of thousands of poor students gathered in one place is truly impressive. The so-called cultural aura of the world is all in Jinling, it certainly lives up to its name."

Yuan Xing said carelessly, "What cultural aura? They’re all writing the same old essays and spouting false righteousness. All I see are thousands of people aspiring for official hats, not any cultural aura. If you really want to study, you can do it in the countryside or in the mountains, why come here?"

Yuan Xi pondered for a moment and nodded, "You’re right...I didn’t expect you to have such insights."

Yuan Xing rolled his eyes, "Who do you look down on? Do you really think I became the Great Commander by chance? Even all of you combined don’t have a title bigger than mine!"

At this moment, a young man with a cloth bag slung over his shoulder came towards them, shouting, "Jinling Evening News! Shocking changes in Southern Zhili, Minister of the Ministry of War in the Capital Wang Changzhen assassinated, Dinghai Port changes hands, all in the Jinling Evening News!"

Yuan Xing and others exchanged glances, "What is this Jinling Evening News?"

Jiang Chai stepped forward and took out a string of coins, "Give us a few to have a look."

The young man beamed and quickly handed over a few newspapers. Jiang Chai distributed them and took one to Chen Ji, "Godfather, someone suddenly started this Jinling Evening News, I fear they are setting up a rivalry with the Wuxiang Morning News."

Chen Ji hummed as he took the newspaper, scanning through it quickly.

The articles in the front of the paper were conventional, turning otherwise interesting stories into tedious scholarly language, obviously penned by an old scholar, with no regard for whether common people could understand it.

Chen Ji flipped to the back and his gaze suddenly stopped on a political commentary, his brow gradually furrowing.

Seeing his expression, Jiang Chai curiously asked, "What’s wrong, is there something odd about this article?"

Chen Ji casually stuffed the newspaper into Jiang Chai’s arms, "It’s nothing, it seems an old acquaintance has also come to Jinling, trying to find me."

Jiang Chai probed, "An old friend or an enemy? Godfather, an old friend with a knife could become an enemy..."

Chen Ji chuckled, "No need to worry, if he wants to look, let him look. Tonight we’ll take a boat on the Qinhuai River."

With that, he continued walking forward, not taking the matter to heart at all.

The riverside buildings along the Qinhuai River lined the water, with vermillion railings and ten miles of pearl curtains.

As night fell, lamps were hung under the eaves, painting boats shuttled back and forth on the river, and the sound of flutes and songs drifted across the water, intertwining with voices, string music, and oars, stretching from the Jubao Gate Water Gate all the way to Tongji Gate.

When Chen Ji and his group reached the northern dock of the Qinhuai River, the once-crowded dock now had only one lonely large boat left. Yuan Xing slapped his thigh in frustration, "We’re late! Do the people of Jinling have no business, how come all the painting boats are occupied so early!"

Jiang Chai pointed to the painting boat by the dock, "Why rush, isn’t there still one left?"

Yuan Xing lamented, "What’s the point if it’s what’s left, have you ever seen a top courtesan left until the last? That Wang Tuan’er, Yang Miaoyi, don’t entertain new guests after five p.m.!"

Just then, a few passing boatmen teased, "This gentleman might be mistaken, that painting boat named Late Sun is the most famous on the Qinhuai River, not left over, but rather unaffordable for others."

Yuan Xing’s eyes lit up, "Really?"

The boatman laughed, "Is there a lie? The fame of its owner Ping Zhao, and the Twelve Beauties on that painting boat, who on the Qinhuai River doesn’t know them?"

Chen Ji stood frozen, before being dragged towards "Late Sun" by Yuan Xing, "Godfather, don’t be stingy with the silver, we’ve worked hard all this time, it’s time to reward the troops."

But as Yuan Xing tugged, Chen Ji shook him off and strode towards Late Sun, walking even faster than Yuan Xing.

Before he got on the boat, he saw on the gangway a woman in black clothes and a black veil hat leaning on the ship’s railing, gazing at the darkening sky in the distance.

Chen Ji suddenly called out, "Mother?"

The woman was startled, then turned to look at him.

She lifted the black veil of her hat, revealing an entirely unfamiliar face underneath.

Leaning against the ship’s railing, the woman teased, "Why does this young man call every woman mother? There are fisherwomen, music women, which one are you looking for?"

Chen Ji: "..."