Green Mountain

Chapter 546 408: Mrs. Lu

The secret room behind the stable was quiet, the flame of the candlestick flickered gently, casting Mrs. Lu's robe into a dance of light and shadow.

After a moment, Mrs. Lu softly wondered, "Assassinate the Crown Prince? Why would he assassinate the Crown Prince?"

The shopkeeper explained, "The wanted writ has called for the arrest of Chen Ji and Liao Zhong. Before sunset, a large group of Jiefan Guard and Spy Department personnel will arrive in Changping County... Since even a wanted writ has been issued, the evidence must be conclusive."

Mrs. Lu looked at the flickering candlelight, "No, it's not right."

The shopkeeper was slightly stunned, "Hmm? Landlord, what's not right?"

Mrs. Lu closed her eyes in thought, "Firstly, Chen Ji has been in Luocheng City for so many years and has never had any disputes with the Crown Prince. How could he assassinate the Crown Prince? There's no motive. Secondly, if Chen Ji wanted to assassinate the Crown Prince, he could have done so in Guyuan long ago. Why wait until now?"

Third Master Hu straightened up, also sensing the oddity.

Mrs. Lu decisively said, "Chen Ji is being framed."

This owner of the lamp quickly came to a conclusion with just a few words.

She looked at the shopkeeper, "Did he say he wants us to help find Liao Zhong from within Changping?"

The shopkeeper responded with a hum.

Mrs. Lu nodded, the black veil under her headscarf drifting, "Logically, the court is after both of them. They should be accomplices, but he doesn't seem that way. In such a critical moment, he's still looking for Liao Zhong, fearing only that finding Liao Zhong would clear his name."

Third Master Hu was about to leave, "I'll go..."

Mrs. Lu glanced at him, "Hold on."

Third Master Hu stopped in his tracks.

Mrs. Lu sat calmly behind the desk, looking at the shopkeeper, "Who are the ones from the Jiefan Guard and Spy Department?"

The shopkeeper whispered, "The one from the Spy Department is Xuan Snake, and a new face came from the Jiefan Guard."

Third Master Hu's blind eye, showing only the whites, was unusually fierce in the dim room, "Only Xuan Snake from the Spy Department, and Lin Chaoqing from Jiefan Guard didn't come, indicating that there are not many clues. They're not certain that Chen Ji and Liao Zhong are here. According to their usual practice, tonight they'll probably turn Changping County upside down, searching house by house."

The shopkeeper tentatively asked, "Landlord, should we help this Chen Ji?"

Mrs. Lu fell into a long silence, taking her time to respond.

Third Master Hu waved the shopkeeper away, "Wait at the door. I have a few words with the Landlord."

The shopkeeper quickly agreed, "Sure."

He closed the door, stepped outside, and stayed some distance away, obediently guarding the entrance.

Third Master Hu quietly said, "Landlord, we need to help."

Mrs. Lu still didn't speak.

Third Master Hu approached the desk to persuade, "I understand you're worried that revealing you're still alive might drag him into trouble, but this time, if you don't help, how can he escape the wanted writ alone? If caught and sent to the Imperial Prison, even if he's framed, he'll have no chance to clear his name."

He continued, "Landlord, only I know about his relationship with you in the lamp now. He retrieved the corpse for Second Brother, so we helping him seems reasonable; others won't think much of it... They won't guess that you are actually mother and son."

The secret room fell silent again, Third Master Hu waited for Mrs. Lu to make a decision.

After a long time, Mrs. Lu softly said, "Old Third, I understand what you're saying, but do you know how many people rely on us for a living? We were fine before because we were low-key enough, but this time it's about the assassination of the Crown Prince, with the full force of the Jiefan Guard and Spy Department, shaking the whole country. If my lamp gets involved, any slight mishap might root us out, thousands or tens of thousands will face retribution."

Mrs. Lu raised her head, her eyes under the black veil of her headscarf directly met Third Master Hu's gaze, "You and I dying is not scary, but if the lamp is gone and the trade routes are gone, who will transport the military rations for the Guyuan Border Army? Who will redress the General's case? Who will support the families of the deceased in the Guyuan Border Army? Anyone can act recklessly, but I can't afford to be reckless."

Third Master Hu continued, "I can ensure enough secrecy so nobody will discover it was the lamp that intervened. Once the storm passes, he won't proclaim it to the outside. Landlord, you haven't dealt with him, but when you do, you'll find he's absolutely reliable."

Mrs. Lu calmly said, "Even if you speak till the end of the world, it's no."

Third Master Hu was silent for a long time, "Landlord, Chen Ji has suffered enough."

The candlelight in the secret room shook, as if someone's breathing became erratic.

Mrs. Lu suddenly took off her headscarf, revealing her face. On what was originally a delicate face, a scar crossed from the bridge of her nose; this scar stretched from the left face to the right, missing blinding her eyes by half an inch.

She pulled out a piece of black cloth from her sleeve, covering the scar under her eyes.

Mrs. Lu softly said, "Old Third, the lamp can't be destroyed by one person's selfish desires. Little Nine lost the salt permit, and according to the lamp's rules, I pierced him with three blades and six holes, not because he lost my 'silver,' but because he lost the lamp's silver. This lamp is not my personal property alone."

Before Third Master Hu could speak, Mrs. Lu stood up and said, "Liao Zhong may not be in Changping County, even if he is, Chen Ji can't act within Changping County. With so many Jiefan Guards and spies, any slight movement and both of them will die in Changping. The person who framed him for attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince might have other plans in store, he can't return to the Imperial Capital..."

Mrs. Lu turned to look at Third Master Hu, "Old Third, make arrangements. This time I'll personally take a trip to send him from Datong away from the Ning Dynasty, and no one else is allowed to act rashly."

"Old Third, if I die, you will be the next Lord."

...

...

After the shopkeeper went to the back yard for an hour, Chen Ji stood quietly at the counter for an hour.

The assistant carefully pulled open a small gap in the door curtain, quietly watching the chaos outside with the Jiefan Guard and Spy Department coming and going.

The gates of Changping County are closed.

Looking far into the distance, torches are lit on the city walls, unidentified shadows watch menacingly, no one can leave Changping tonight.

He looked back at Chen Ji, afraid that the Jiefan Guard would storm in any moment, discover the inn harbored traitors, and drag the entire inn's shopkeeper and staff off for execution.

Thankfully, that hasn't happened.

The Jiefan Guard and Spy Department are busy locking down the city, and only after all waterways and roads are sealed, even blocking the dog holes leading out of the city, will they search.

The young shopkeeper returned from the backyard, curiously asking first: "Did you really kill so many Heavenly Strategy Army in Guyuan?"

Chen Ji didn't answer, his gaze moved past the shopkeeper's shoulder towards the corridor leading to the backyard, where a bamboo curtain hung, blocking the view.

He was somewhat puzzled, isn't the young man before him the inn's shopkeeper? Who did the shopkeeper just report to? Could it be that someone important from the Denghuo Inn resides here?

The young shopkeeper moved a step to his left, using his head to block Chen Ji's sight, and coughed twice: "You took care of Second Brother's corpse, Denghuo will reward you, but Denghuo's rules must not be broken."

Chen Ji calmly asked: "What rules?"

The shopkeeper explained: "The guest may not know, but Denghuo Inn is just a place to take and give jobs, we do not interfere in the disputes of Jianghu itself. If you want to find Liao Zhong, you need to have the Lamp Copper Coin to 'send the leaf', which means assigning the task. As long as the chivalrous folk of Denghuo Inn find your price suitable, they will do it, helping you find Liao Zhong. But if no one wishes to do this, then Denghuo Inn can only watch helplessly. Of course, if no one in Changping County can take your 'leaf', you can increase the price and send it to the Imperial Capital, where there are bigger Denghuo Inns and more formidable figures."

Chen Ji acknowledged with a sound: "What else can Denghuo Inn do?"

The shopkeeper whispered: "As long as you have the Lamp Copper Coin, Denghuo Inn can provide you with temporary refuge or assist in escaping danger. The number of copper coins required depends on the situation."

Chen Ji casually asked: "In the current situation, how many copper coins would be needed?"

The shopkeeper raised a finger: "For hiding, ten coins. For escaping, a hundred coins."

Xiao Man once said one Lamp Copper Coin could be exchanged for two hundred taels of silver at the inn, a hundred coins equate to twenty thousand taels of silver.

Chen Ji raised his eyebrows: "This expensive?"

The shopkeeper reminded: "Guest, this is a sea capture warrant issued by the Ritual Supervision."

He changed the tone: "However, since the guest has assisted Denghuo Inn, if it's just for hiding, the usual ten copper coins can be waived this time, but not for escaping."

Chen Ji contemplated: "What if I don't have copper coins, but want to ask someone to find Liao Zhong?"

The shopkeeper explained: "Then it depends on whether the person 'accepting the leaf' is willing to credit you or make other arrangements."

Chen Ji asked: "How to credit or make arrangements?"

The shopkeeper laughed and said: "Some people want you to offset with silver, like ten Lamp Copper Coins for three thousand taels of silver, which is more expensive than usual; others want to exchange some information, this depends on whether you have what they want... and some want your life."

"Life?"

The shopkeeper chuckled, leaving much unsaid.

Chen Ji pondered for two moments: "Alright, help me send the leaf."

The shopkeeper beamed: "Okay!"

Saying that, he partially closed the first, third, and fifth windows of the inn while fully closing the second, fourth, and sixth windows: "Our people seeing these windows will know someone in the inn is 'sending a leaf,' and will come in to inquire."

Chen Ji bowed his head in thought, Denghuo in Guyuan is a local tyrant, running the largest inn doing business in information, and this place should also be where their intelligence is most interconnected.

If even people from Denghuo Inn cannot find Liao Zhong, it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack in Changping County.

About thirty minutes later, the curtain at Fulai Inn was lifted by someone, and a woman dressed in black entered through the curtain gap, a piece of black cloth covering her face.

Chen Ji scrutinized her, the corners of her eyes showed slight crow's feet, appearing to be thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, her figure sleek and slender with fox-like eyes losing some common shrewdness but gaining a hint of Jianghu's deadly aura.

The shopkeeper didn't recognize the woman and smilingly asked: "Guest, eating or staying?"

The woman's gaze swept across the inn: "Who is sending the leaf?"

The shopkeeper was taken aback: "Are you a lamp from out of town?"

The woman ignored him, turning her attention to Chen Ji: "It's you, on the sea capture warrant."

Chen Ji unemotionally replied: "Yes, indeed."

The woman got straight to the point: "I can help you leave the Ning Dynasty, for thirty pieces of Lamp Copper Coin."

The shopkeeper glanced at the woman, then at Chen Ji.

Chen Ji slowly spoke: "Sorry, I don't intend to leave."