Green Mountain-Chapter 648 - 505: Old Affairs

Behind Bai Long, Xuan Snake, Treasure Monkey, Jiao Tu, Yun Yang, Jin Zhu, and Heavenly Horse lined up on horseback, glaring fiercely, their intimidating aura making the Jiefan Guard unable to raise their heads.

The six Zodiac Guardians, usually in discord and harboring their own agendas, seemed to only stand together when Bai Long appeared.

Bai Long glanced slowly: "Who can tell me what happened here?"

Lin Chaoqing clasped his fists and said, "Lord Bai Long, someone came to our Jiefan Guard to report..."

Bai Long interrupted Lin Chaoqing, pointing at Chen Ji: "You speak."

Lin Chaoqing was momentarily speechless, but gritted his teeth and continued: "Saying that the court's wanted criminal Chen Wende is hiding in Changping County, intending to rebel..."

In an instant, the six Zodiac Guardians all turned to look at Lin Chaoqing. Beneath the wooden monkey mask of the Treasure Monkey, a cacophony of voices—men, women, the elderly, and children—roared deafeningly: "Outrageous!"

These two words abruptly interrupted Lin Chaoqing's thoughts, and his speech came to an abrupt halt.

Bai Long chuckled softly: "Lord Lin, we haven't seen each other for a day, and your courage has grown so much?"

Lin Chaoqing was silent for a moment: "I wouldn't dare."

Bai Long looked at Chen Ji: "Speak truthfully."

Chen Ji bowed to Bai Long: "Your lowly servant led the Yulin Army to cover the escort of Princess Liyang and Yuan Cheng to Tanggu. Upon reaching Anfu Square, we were ambushed. After suppressing the rebellion, Chen Wende suddenly appeared, claiming he was the mastermind."

Bai Long understood in an instant what Chen Wende was trying to do: "Seeking death, taking the Chen family down with him?"

Chen Wende stood among the Jiefan Guard, clasped his hands, and said, "I'm just confessing and accepting punishment." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Bai Long said indifferently: "The truth of the matter, we'll have to wait for this seat to investigate thoroughly. Lord Lin, we're taking Chen Wende with us to the Spy Department."

Lin Chaoqing remained silent.

Over the years, the Spy Department has been at odds with the families, taking down countless civil servants, even bringing down the Liu Family with their own hands. How could the Chen family change its ways?

Now that there's a chance to bring down the Chen family, the Spy Department should pounce like wolves smelling blood, so why does it seem they're letting the Chen family off the hook now?

Lin Chaoqing looked around, and finally his gaze stopped on Chen Ji's face.

Bai Long waved his hand: "Take Chen Wende away."

Lin Chaoqing snapped back and said in a deep voice: "Lord, this person was apprehended by our Jiefan Guard first."

"Oh?" Bai Long smiled: "Since when does the Ritual Supervision concern itself with first come first serve? This seat has never heard of such a thing."

Lin Chaoqing pondered for a moment but remained unwilling: "Lord Bai Long, we are close attendants to the Emperor, our duty is to relieve His Majesty's worries. The matter of Chen Wende is of great importance and cannot be covered up..."

Xuan Snake said darkly: "It's not your place to teach the lord how to do things, step aside!"

Beneath the wooden monkey mask of Treasure Monkey, a hoarse voice said: "No matter how you put it, our Spy Department has all seven Zodiac Guardians here. This Chen Wende, the Jiefan Guard has to hand him over, whether willingly or not."

Bai Long raised his hand to stop the conversation and said to Lin Chaoqing: "Lord Lin, the second branch of the Chen family is suspected of colluding with Jing Dynasty spies. It should be handed over to our Spy Department."

Lin Chaoqing was silent for a moment, then gestured for the Jiefan Guard to hand over Chen Wende to the Spy Department.

Bai Long pointed at a member of the Jiefan Guard: "Give up a horse for Chen Wende."

The Jiefan Guard dismounted and handed the reins to Chen Wende.

But Chen Wende did not take them immediately. He looked up at Bai Long: "Is Bai Long planning to protect the Chen family by killing me midway to silence me? Even if I die without explanation, this won't end well. I advise you not to go to such lengths."

Bai Long laughed: "What kind of person does Mr. Chen take this seat for? It's just that there's still a day's journey back to the capital, and this seat is worried something might happen to you along the way, so I personally want to escort you. Mr. Chen, please mount the horse, I have some questions to ask you."

Chen Wende remained standing: "What do you wish to ask?"

Bai Long's tone became indifferent: "About the matters in Yangzhou."

Chen Wende's expression changed.

He struggled for a long time, finally turned over onto his horse, and honestly left with the Spy Department.

Bai Long rode through the Jiefan Guard, not looking sideways. Lin Chaoqing stood with his horse, his gaze calm under the bamboo hat. Heavenly Horse, Jin Zhu, Jiao Tu, Yun Yang, Treasure Monkey, and Xuan Snake passed by him one by one, each of them sneering as they stared at him until they brushed past each other.

The seven members of the Spy Department led Chen Wende out of Changping County, and Bai Long dismissed the others: "Stay away, I have something to say to Mr. Chen Wende."

Xuan Snake and the others responded and slowed their horses, allowing Bai Long and Chen Wende to ride side by side.

Bai Long was not in a hurry to speak, the silence pressed on Chen Wende until he could hardly breathe, eventually, he couldn't help but test the waters first: "What do you want to ask about Yangzhou?"

Bai Long smiled and gave a non-answer: "Mr. Chen, have you been to Yangzhou? I have yet to go, but I've heard it's a place of graceful charm."

Chen Wende said sternly: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Bai Long continued his riddles: "Yangzhou is the confluence of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River, the throat of the north-south canal transport, where tens of thousands of canal boats stop and transfer annually, sending Jiangnan's grain, silk, and porcelain to the north, hence it's also known as the 'canal throat'. As our dynasty's merchants gather there to build gardens, Yangzhou is also known as 'the richest place under heaven'... Among them, there is a garden called 'Shadow Garden', I wonder if Mr. Chen has heard of it?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Wende could no longer hold back: "How did you know?"

Bai Long slowly said: "Mr. Chen, there's no wall in this world that doesn't leak. The Wang Family in the Five Cities Military Department fell because of hoarding crossbows privately, your father pretended to place your mother under house arrest, but in fact secretly sent her to Yangzhou. Not only your mother, but also the two women from the Wang Family, Wang Enzuan and Wang Enxian, who were to be sold to the Imperial Music Bureau, he bought them and sent them to Shadow Garden in Yangzhou to live under assumed names, thinking that your father already knew at that time, there was no way out for your second room."

After the Wang Family fell, on the day the Wang Family daughters were sold to the Imperial Music Bureau, Chen Ji was also present, discussing salt merchant business with Huang Que and Shen Ye.

Chen Ji left early because he couldn't bear to watch the Imperial Music Bureau treating people as goods to be sold, but did not know that someone snatched the Wang Family's daughter from the Ru Nan Yuan Family and Hongnong Yang Family with a high price of ninety thousand taels.

Chen Wende was no longer calm, gritting his teeth he asked: "Who leaked the information, Wang Duo? Chen Guang? Han Tong?"

Bai Long chuckled: "You can't blame others for this, it was your own negligence in keeping your Death Soldiers, who leaked all your secrets."

Chen Wende was startled: "There are people from the Spy Department among my Chen Family's Death Soldiers? Impossible, my Chen Family's Death Soldiers never leave witnesses alive, except for today!"

"Not so," Bai Long looked into the distance: "Live people don't talk, but dead ones do. Your Chen Family's Death Soldiers have leech bite marks that have accumulated over the years, and shoulder injuries, clearly they are porters, tracing along the canal path, you'll eventually find them. After the Fragrant Mountain incident, I sent people downstream from the Imperial Capital all the way to Yangzhou, and that's how we found some clues, after all, the sudden disappearance of so many porters would attract attention."

Chen Wende remained silent.

Bai Long continued leisurely: "After finding your Chen Family's second room's remaining Death Soldiers, my Spy Department didn't rashly take action, we even found some unexpected surprises. On the fifth day of April, your Chen Family's Death Soldiers secretly left the city in changed clothes, divided into nine groups to escort your mother and others into Shadow Garden in Yangzhou, then left thirty people to guard the home, while the rest quietly headed north..."

After the Wang Family fell, Xiao Man once told Chen Ji that the Chen Family's second room was actually going to quietly starve Mrs. Chen to death under the guise of house arrest, to erase the stain. But since then, there had been no news of Mrs. Chen, no funeral, nor was there a burial, as if this person never existed, and her son Chen Wende never showed the slightest grief.

Bai Long sighed: "Chen Lizhi, Mr. Chen, has a face like a cannibal, but is kind-hearted, when the salt merchant Store Manager Chen Yue lost him so much money, he didn't kill him. The subordinates didn't do their job well by not stopping Yao Man and the little monk, and he didn't kill them either. The world thought he abandoned the Wang Family, but unexpectedly, he saved the Wang Family's daughter and even helped the Wang Family to continue their line."

Chen Wende said softly: "Indeed, when my father was angry at home, he never hit or killed the servants, he only smashed porcelain to vent his anger, his words are just harsh."

Bai Long laughed and said: "There's no need to shower your father with praise, didn't he also personally kill Mrs. Liang, sink the salt merchant Shop Manager, and dispatch Death Soldiers to kill Chen Ji. Mr. Chen, your father just looked out for himself."

Chen Wende turned to look at Bai Long: "In this world, it's good enough to be kind to your own people. Didn't Lord Bai Long also come today to protect your own people?"

Bai Long laughed heartily: "Indeed."

Chen Wende asked seriously: "Given the current situation, what must I do to ensure my mother's survival?"

Bai Long took a porcelain bottle from his sleeve and tossed it to Chen Wende: "Return to the capital and commit suicide, I assure you your mother will be unharmed."

Chen Wende stared at the white porcelain bottle in his hand, but then threw it back: "No need, I have a poison bag in my back molar. I know what to do, but I have one question that I don't understand, can I get an answer before I die?"

Bai Long casually said: "Mr. Chen, you may ask, but I may not answer."

Chen Wende asked puzzledly: "The Eunuch Party is the emperor's hawks and dogs, does the emperor not want to bring down the Chen Family? If so, wouldn't what you're doing, Lord Bai Long, be contrary to the emperor's will?"

Bai Long casually responded: "If they truly wanted to bring down the Chen Family, they would have done so with the Fragrant Mountain incident last time, why wait until now? Besides, my Spy Department had no intention of capturing you, if we really wanted to capture Mr. Chen, there would have been no need for you to step forward yourself, don't you think?"

Chen Wende sneered in self-mockery: "Indeed, you've even found Shadow Garden... So, why did you come today, Lord Bai Long, for Chen Ji?"

This time, Bai Long did not answer.