The 32nd year of Jianing, the eighth of October.

Han Lu, the seventeenth solar term in the lunar calendar.

There’s a saying in the Ning Dynasty: during the day, Han Lu, one can pass winter with a single robe; at night, Han Lu can freeze an old cow to death. Walkers on the streets in the morning could already see white mist breaths.

The sound of roosters crowing, Xiao Man walked out of the West Wing Room rubbing her arms. The snores of Brother Pao and Er Dao came from the felt tents, with sharp sounds turning into muffled echoes inside the tent.

At this moment, the main house’s door creaked open. Chen Ji, wearing just a thin robe, directly walked into the small room, bent down, picked up a shoulder pole, and was about to head out.

While tying an apron, Xiao Man said, "Master, come back early. The meal will be ready soon."

Wu Yun jumped onto Chen Ji’s shoulder. Chen Ji smiled as he left the house, "Sure, Gate Tower Alley is so close. I’ll be back soon."

Brother Pao stretched and emerged from the tent, kicked the tent next to him where Er Dao was, "Get up and work, take the night bucket far away."

Er Dao crawled out of the tent, rubbed his eyes, "How far?"

Brother Pao said offhandedly, "Dump it at Xilaxi Alley. Old Li lost at chess, and he’s cheating by not paying. Let the stench kill that bastard."

Er Dao replied with a muffled voice, "Got it."

Brother Pao hurriedly added, "I didn’t mean to actually kill him."

After Er Dao went out, Brother Pao leaned against the kitchen door, taking in the smell of fried oat noodles, and said helplessly, "Miss Xiao Man, haven’t we finished eating the oat noodles yet? We’ve been eating it for more than a month."

Standing by the stove, Xiao Man complained, "You think I want to eat this stuff? We’re down to thirteen taels of silver in the house, and running out of food soon. You all are just idling around. One goes out every day to play chess with the old man, another runs to the Imperial Hospital to read, and the one doing the meditation is slacking too. Who’s actually taking care of this house?"

Brother Pao teased, "If you save those thirteen taels of silver, they can last for another two months."

Xiao Man muttered, "You all don’t seem worried at all. I want to buy some cloth to make a new outfit for the master before New Year’s Eve. I don’t even know why the master saved that Commandery Princess. Fifty-four thousand taels of silver, enough to spend for ten lifetimes... No, it can’t be spent in ten lifetimes."

Brother Pao replied, unconcerned and cheerfully, "Officials inquire about punishment, authorities inquire about disasters, common folk ask about making money. The poor ask the rich, the rich ask the way, the rich and well-connected ask about disasters, and asking about disasters leads to seeking Immortal Techniques, it’s all selfishness. Someone has to think differently, right?"

"Going on and on every day," Xiao Man rolled her eyes, "The master has been to the Imperial Hospital for a month now, and they don’t pay him any salary. Why does he help them so much? I see the master reading medical books every day. Just yesterday, he was on the roof with Wu Yun late at night, reading by moonlight. Does he really plan to open a Medical Hall? That could work too. Medical Halls make money quickly..."

Brother Pao laughed, "Keeping busy is good. Being busy helps forget unhappy things. The landlord needs something to distract his mind, or what if he starts thinking of something stupid like hanging himself?"

Xiao Man spat three times, "The master isn’t that foolish... Brother Pao, have you heard? The Qi family, on the first day of October, opened the ancestral hall and expelled Qi Xianzun and Qi Zhenwu from the family genealogy, and sent them back to Ji State. They even voluntarily handed over their hidden properties in the Imperial Capital to the Ritual Supervision. I secretly calculated that the Qi family turned over a business worth tens of thousands of taels of silver this time."

Brother Pao acknowledged, "I’ve heard. It’s been the buzz in the streets and alleys. Some say the Qi family is truly worthy of having a literary heart, with the courage to sacrifice for the greater good. Even when their own make mistakes, they show no leniency."

Xiao Man snorted, "It’s just sacrificing a pawn to save the king. Do they really think people will believe them? Even Aunt Zhang next door doesn’t believe it."

Brother Pao shook his head, "Say it enough, and people will believe it. The Qi family suffered a significant loss this time. The most crucial part is, they likely won’t just let it go. The landlord should be cautious."

Xiao Man worriedly asked, "If the Qi family does hold a grudge, what do we do?"

Seizing her distraction, Brother Pao picked up the sack of oat noodles from the ground and ran, "Miss Xiao Man, I’m taking this oat noodle to give it away. Let’s eat something else. If we keep eating it, we’ll puke. I’ll go find some work and will surely bring money back tonight."

...

...

The Gate Tower Alley, which Chen Ji used to fetch water, was just a street away from Shaojiu Alley, making it much easier to fetch water now.

Chen Ji traversed the alleys of gray tiles and white walls, carrying the shoulder pole. Wu Yun walked on the tiles alongside him, neither said a word.

Today, the line beside the well at Gate Tower Alley had already formed early. Chen Ji joined the queue unhurriedly. Wu Yun swaggered onto his shoulder, and together they waited leisurely.

As they waited, Mr. Yang’s courtyard gate opened, and immediately, people gathered around, "Mr. Yang, are we reading the newspaper today?"

Mr. Yang, still wearing an impatient expression, was approached by a young man who slipped an egg into his hand, smiling, "Mr. Yang, it’s still warm."

Mr. Yang looked at it for a moment and slipped the egg into his sleeve, "Bring me the newspaper."

The young man probed, "Mr. Yang, can you read the newspaper from the Wenyuan Bookstore? I heard the front page talks about Marquis Wu Xiang, Chen Ji."

Chen Ji turned to look.

Yang Xiucai was also surprised, "The Wenyuan Bookstore’s newspaper has been on hiatus for a couple of months, how come it’s back today?"

The neighbors gasped, "Who knows, but the Three Mountains Association is selling it door to door, saying they are accusing Marquis Wu Xiang three times..."

Yang Xiucai snatched the newspaper and looked down at it, murmuring to himself, "Unfilial, unrighteous, unkind... such serious accusations."

The neighbors stopped lining up for water and gathered around, "Master, please read it out. What exactly does the newspaper say?"

Chen Ji looked at the empty queue in front of him, glanced over at the edge of the well, and quietly walked over to the side, turning the handle.

Yet he heard Yang Xiucai’s loud voice, "On Marquis Wu Xiang Chen Ji’s three crimes, the first is unfilial piety. Chen Ji, a Chen family bastard from Fu You Street. His father Chen Liqin, a court official in Jinling, an official appointed by the court. His legitimate mother Mrs. Liang, from a noble family, gentle and virtuous. Chen Ji lost his mother at a young age, and Mrs. Liang raised him as her own, with kindness as heavy as a mountain."

"However, this son, while in Luocheng City, openly declared he would leave the Chen family, treating his biological father as a stranger. At home, he did not refer to his father as ’father,’ but called him ’Mr. Chen.’ He didn’t call his legitimate mother ’mother’ either, remaining silent and disrespectful. The way of father and son is a natural one, the duty of ministers and monarchs is a fundamental principle. Chen Ji, a bastard son, defied his elders, abandoned familial bonds, and this is his first unfilial crime."

Chen Ji calmly raised the water bucket to the edge of the well, while a murmur of whispers arose among the crowd.

Someone whispered with curiosity, "How could there be irreconcilable enmity between a father and son, even if there were great grievances, why not call ’father’ even once?"

Yang Xiucai ignored the murmurs and continued reading, "Secondly, unrighteousness. The Book of Rites states that marriage ceremonies are for uniting the two surnames, serving the ancestors above, and continuing the lineage below. Chen Ji and Third Miss Qi Zhanning’s marriage engagement began in the spring of the 32nd year of Jianing. The formal proposal, inquiry of names, conveyance of good fortune, conveyance of gifts, and setting of the date, all the five rites were complete. The wedding date was selected for the auspicious day of the eighteenth of the twelfth month."

"According to Daning Law, Household and Marriage Chapter Article 137, once gifts are exchanged, the marriage contract stands, and the officials are to retain the record, with no alterations allowed. If the male party regrets, the bride price is not refundable. If the female party regrets, she is to be flogged eighty times, and the bride price returned. If the male party does not marry on time without reason, the female party can sue and marry another. Causing reputational damage due to broken engagements results in three years of imprisonment, and death as punishment by strangulation."

"Now, Chen Ji used 540,000 taels of silver to redeem Bai Li, a convict from the Imperial Music Bureau. What fault did the Qi family’s daughter have? Waiting in the boudoir, longing deeply, only to be abandoned like this. Being humiliated publicly, her reputation tarnished, how can she bear it? This is his second unrighteous crime."

Someone in the crowd said, "I heard Third Miss Qi cries all day, almost going blind from tears."

A woman whispered, "But isn’t Marquis Wu Xiang overcoming all difficulties to be with the Commandery Princess, aren’t they the true matches?"

A man spat, "Scoundrels, being engaged yet behaving like this, if there’s someone else in his heart, why get engaged with the Qi family? Spending 540,000 taels of silver, and in the end, still being left behind?"

Yang Xiucai raised the newspaper high, impatiently suppressing the chatter, "Do you still want to listen?"

"Yes, yes, please continue reading."

Yang Xiucai cleared his throat, "Thirdly, unkindness. Mengzi said, the heart of compassion is the beginning of kindness. Chen Ji colluded with street ruffians, established Red Gate to occupy the Eight Great Hutongs, Glass Factory, Pan Garden Ghost Market, Chongnan Fang, and other places, forcibly collecting peace money. Merchants work from dawn to dusk, with small capitals and thin profits, yet must pay monthly, or suffer beatings for noncompliance. Chen Ji, a noble, does not think of serving the court but contends with the people for profits, exploiting the common folk, and this is his third unkind crime."

Yang Xiucai paused here, then enunciated clearly, "Combining the three crimes, unfilial, unrighteous, unkind. How can such a beast in clothing be allowed to stand between heaven and earth? How can it be allowed a place in the court?"

After Yang Xiucai finished reading, the alley fell silent.

The next moment, a man said, "This sudden resumption of Wenyuan Bookstore’s newspaper must clearly be targeting Chen Ji. Such heavy accusations right away, they’re likely aiming to bring him down."

Yang Xiucai sneered, "Even if they’re targeting him, are the things written not true? Our Ning Dynasty is founded on filial piety, advocating loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness. Such unfilial, unkind, unrighteous characters should have their true faces revealed to the public, so none are deceived by them."

As he spoke, Chen Ji walked through the crowd with two buckets of water, unchanged in expression, "Excuse me, please make way, careful not to splash your feet."

The residents of Gate Tower Alley made way, still discussing, "Oh right, yesterday at the teahouse, I heard someone mention Chen Ji might be involved in the prison break in Luocheng, implicated in Prince Jing’s rebellion case. If proven true, it would add disloyalty to his crimes."

"Is that true?"

"I don’t know, but the person spoke convincingly, saying that Chen Ji opened the gates of the inner prison."

Chen Ji had just walked out of the crowd when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Regarding other matters, they weren’t really secrets, the Qi family’s retaliation was within his expectations, only varying in timing. Qi Tower Lord waited patiently after waking up before making a move, much later than he had anticipated.

But the prison break in Luocheng, only a few people knew about it: Prince Jing, Old Yao, Liang Gou’er, Liang Mao’er, White Dragon Feng Wenzheng, the princely heir, She Dengke, and himself.

The rest were either no longer living or had long left the Ning Dynasty, absolutely unlikely to leak the information. The only one who could have leaked it was... She Dengke.

Chen Ji looked down at the water in the bucket, his face reflected on the surface, indistinct and unclear.