Green Mountain-Chapter 704 - 560: No Quarter Given

Chen Ji slowed down his horse, dragging Yang Zhong through the streets like a public spectacle, while bystanders had already hidden under the eaves, holding their breath in silence.

In the end, he was alone in the middle of the long street, the horse's hooves clopping slowly yet powerfully on the bluestone slabs.

From the railings of the brothels on either side of the Eight Great Hutongs, many women quietly watched as Chen Ji's figure passed under the gray roof tiles. The red silhouette, along with the bloodstain trailing behind it, was like a carpet unrolling forward, its destination unknown.

"Which noble mansion does this young master belong to, acting in such a manner..."

"The three Duke Mansions are no longer what they were; they wouldn't dare to be so ostentatious. Could it be the Qi family? Or maybe the Hu family?"

"Haven't you seen it before? Did you notice the Qilin embroidery? It's unique to the Ning Dynasty—he's the landlord behind Meihua Ferry Crossing, the one who fought his way back from Chongli Pass."

"It's him?"

Yang Zhong's left leg was bound by a hemp rope. Initially, he struggled to untie the knots, but now he only let out intermittent groans. His back, thighs, arms, and cheeks—all the places scraped by the stone slabs—burned with a fiery pain. He fainted and awoke over and over, dazedly wiping his face with his hand, finding it slick with sticky red.

"Chen Ji..." Yang Zhong whispered weakly, "Killing an Imperial Censor on the street is a capital offense. The Jiefan Guard will be here soon; if you let me go now, you might still have a way out."

But Chen Ji was unmoved, still controlling the reins at a leisurely pace.

"Chen Ji!" Yang Zhong shouted with what little strength he had left, "If you kill me, the Hongnong Yang Family will never rest until you're dead. My father is the Commander of the Five Cities Military Department in Jinling, and my elder brother is the Yu State Commander!"

Only then did Chen Ji slightly turn his head, speaking as if discussing the weather and crops: "If they were in the Imperial Capital, they might be able to save you, but since they are not, you might as well wait for death in peace. Mr. Yang, who in your family advised you to seek refuge with the Qi family in the capital, I wonder? But rest assured, the Qi family is adept at riding the wind and steering, looking out for themselves; they will not protect you."

Yang Zhong wailed hopelessly, "Chen Ji, how dare you kill me?"

Chen Ji chuckled, "Has Mr. Yang not heard of my reputation? I've killed many; one more won't make a difference."

Yang Zhong began to panic, "If you want to ransom Princess Bai Li, go and do it. I promise not to go to the Imperial Music Bureau in seven days, and I'll persuade Yuan Wang not to go either. Spare my life, and the Yang Family will surely reward you handsomely!"

Only now did the onlookers understand the cause of this incident; it turned out to be for the sake of Princess Bai Li, who was to be sold at the Imperial Music Bureau in seven days.

And Yang Zhong's panicked tone sounded like the last layer of his dignity had been stripped away, leaving him naked under the watchful eyes of all.

Suddenly, Chen Ji halted and turned back to look at Yang Zhong, "How long has Mr. Yang been in the Imperial Capital? How did you get here?"

Yang Zhong was taken aback, "Horses and carriages from Henan Province, arrived in half a month."

Chen Ji laughed, "Mr. Yang came from Henan by horse and carriage in half a month. But I came from Luocheng City using hundreds of lives."

Having said that, he turned to the surrounding people, "Hear this clearly, dragging Yang Zhong today is a warning. In seven days, if there are those still courting death, you're welcome to try."

The next moment, Chen Ji shook the reins vigorously, and his horse charged forward.

Yang Zhong's body scraped out a trail of blood on the ground, and just as they were about to turn onto Zhengyang Gate Street, his occipital bump collided with a protruding bluestone, causing him to faint once again.

...

...

Zhou Biao galloped back to the Three Judicial Departments Office.

The Three Judicial Departments Office is not located outside the Meridian Gate but in the Inner City West. To get there, one must pass through Fuyou Street and then continue west.

The Three Judicial Departments is next to the Charcoal Factory. On normal days, smoke rolls across from the alley separating them, constantly leaving flying ash on the bricks and tables.

The Left Imperial Censor has petitioned the court multiple times to allocate the Yulin Army Commander's Mansion to the Three Judicial Departments, considering the Yulin Army now had only a few left... But Emperor Ning has yet to approve.

Some say Emperor Ning just wants the Three Judicial Departments to stay far from the Forbidden City, perhaps even better if they moved out of the Imperial Capital altogether.

Zhou Biao dismounted angrily in front of the government office, shouting, "Lord Qi!"

Qi Xianzun came out to meet him, "Didn't I instruct you to seal off Meihua Ferry Crossing? Why are you back so soon? Surely, Chen Ji wouldn't dare obstruct the Three Judicial Departments' investigations?"

Zhou Biao explained, "No, once the Driving Letter was issued, Chen Ji did not resist. The Imperial Censor is still at Meihua Ferry Crossing counting the money and accounts, guarded by the Five Cities Military Department."

"He's certainly composed, knowing that my Three Judicial Departments' Driving Letter leaves no room for him to act wildly," Qi Xianzun wondered, "If so, how could anything happen?"

Zhou Biao pointed to the south, "Chen Ji tied Yang Zhong to the back of a horse and dragged him away, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground. He's probably already been dragged to death by now! This insolent youngster cannot be allowed to escape!"

Qi Xianzun's hand paused as he stroked his beard, but his expression remained calm, "In the end, it's youthful impulsiveness, unable to withstand provocation, committing such reckless deeds under a little goading."

Zhou Biao murmured, "Sir, your order was merely to seal the salt permit at Meihua Ferry Crossing for seven days, and now that it has escalated to murder, it might be difficult to contain... The Third Mistress is still engaged to him, what should be done?"

Qi Xianzun's face remained unchanged, "He's just a discarded son of the Chen family; what engagement could there be? When he colluded with the Eunuch Party, where did that place my Qi family? Now, it's well known that my Qi family and the Chen family have completed the betrothal steps, breaking the engagement with him would create quite a stir, and it's against the propriety."

Nacai involves sending a matchmaker with gifts from the groom's family, where officials and nobles usually send live geese.

The inquiry about the name is when the matchmaker asks the woman's name, birth time, and the Eight Characters to bring back to the man's family for divination of good or bad omens.

Naji is when, after divining auspicious results, the man's family prepares gifts to inform the woman's family, marking the preliminary settlement of the marriage, also known as the engagement or Xiaoding.

Nazheng is the offering of betrothal gifts, where the man sends these gifts to the woman's family, thus making the marriage agreement effective and irrevocable, known as Guodali, or Fangding.

Inviting the date is selecting a day, setting the date of the wedding ceremony.

Once the marriage reaches this stage, the marriage agreement is as good as real. Regardless of which party regrets, one can report to the government office, and the one who reneges without justifiable reasons, conforming to law and human sentiment, may be exiled to Lingnan.

Mr. Qi, the Minister of Rites, is a paragon among scholars in the world; all his actions must conform to rites and laws, leaving no room for others to criticize. Whether Chen Ji belongs to the Eunuch Party cannot be a reason for breaking off the marriage, but if Chen Ji were imprisoned for a crime, it would end all troubles.

Zhou Biao hesitated: "But the third young lady towards this Chen Ji..."

Qi Xianzun looked at Zhou Biao: "The Official dotes on her, but there is a limit. How can the Qi family associate with the Eunuch Party? Go to the Jiefan Guard office immediately, accuse Marquis Wu Xiang of publicly murdering a court official, and ensure this person is brought to justice... wait, call all the Imperial Censors in the Capital to petition outside the palace gate, leaving Chen Ji no room for redemption."

...

...

At noon, a team of Jiefan Guard galloped out from the Meridian Gate, chasing out from Zhengyang Gate, seeking the whereabouts of Chen Ji.

Over a hundred Jiefan Guards, wearing bamboo hats, split into four groups under the scorching sun.

One group to Eight Great Hutongs, one to the Glass Factory, one to Chongnan Fang, and one to Chongbei Fang, vowing to capture Chen Ji.

However, Chen Ji proved easier to find than they expected. As soon as Jiefan Guard reached Eight Great Hutongs, they saw a long, dried, dark purple trail of blood stretching westward, too conspicuous to ignore.

Jiefan Guard followed the blood trail from Eight Great Hutongs to Zhengyang Gate Street, and then further to Second Alley, where the trail finally disappeared.

But the blood trail didn't disappear because Chen Ji wanted to hide his tracks; it vanished because Yang Zhong's blood had run dry.

A Jiefan Guard commander gave a signal: "The Marquis Wu Xiang dragged someone on horseback; surely there are neighbors who witnessed it. Go ask around and see if anyone knows where he went."

Jiefan Guard knocked on a courtyard gate, and the people inside pointed west, hastily closing the gate again.

"Chase," Jiefan Guard pursued westward. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

They chased a hundred paces and, upon turning into an alley, they saw a mansion's gate wide open, with heart-wrenching cries of women emanating from inside.

The Jiefan Guards exchanged silent glances; this was the place!

The commander instructed his subordinates: "Marquis Wu Xiang is ruthless; we may not be his match. Go call the others, surround the mansion completely first."

A Jiefan Guard hastily left.

The commander quietly drew his long knife, leading the remaining guards forward to sneak in.

Just as they were about to surround the mansion, they heard the sound of hooves behind them. The commander turned to see Jin Zhu riding into the narrow alley, saying to the commander, "Wang Zhao, leave this matter to my Spy Department. You go back and report."

Wang Zhao hesitated for a moment and finally bowed and declined, "Lord Jin Zhu, it's not that I don't want to give you this favor, but right now, dozens of Imperial Censors are kneeling outside the Meridian Gate, swearing to bring Marquis Wu Xiang to justice. Not only must I enforce the law impartially, but Lord Jin Zhu, you should also not intervene... this matter has escalated too much."

Jin Zhu paused, hesitated.

After a moment, he gritted his teeth and leaned over, saying in a low voice, "I must protect this person. Pretend you didn't find his trail; give me two hours. Two hours, I only need two hours. Let me see him out of the city, and then I will go to the Prime Minister myself to receive punishment. It will have nothing to do with you all."

Wang Zhao said in a deep voice, "Lord Jin Zhu, I'm afraid it's not as simple as a punishment; sheltering Marquis Wu Xiang in this case could lead to exile at best, execution at worst!"

Jin Zhu impatiently replied, "I can't care that much!"

Wang Zhao refused to back down: "Lord, I can't be flexible on this."

Just as the words were spoken, there was the sound of dense hooves outside the alley. As Jin Zhu turned around, he saw that other groups of Jiefan Guards had also surrounded them, numbering over a hundred.

He sighed deeply, knowing the situation was beyond salvage, yet wondering why Chen Ji dared to be so bold, putting himself in a deadlock.

Jin Zhu said no more, allowing the Jiefan Guards to completely surround the mansion.

Commander Wang Zhao charged into the courtyard with his knife, only to see Yang Zhong lying there uncertain of life or death. Beside him, several men were collapsed, unconscious and uncertain of their fate.

Chen Ji sat by a stone table in the courtyard, donning a crimson official robe, propping up a Whale Blade. He looked less like a fugitive and more like a young general who had just returned from the battlefield.

Calm waters conceal torrents, appearing serene yet commanding respect without anger.

Wang Zhao was taken aback. He originally thought Chen Ji would flee, but now it seemed the other party had no intention of escaping at all?