The Azure Mountain

Chapter 108: Zhang Xia

Chen Ji gazed outside the clinic door. Before the steamed bun shop, there was already no one there, as if no one had ever stood there staring at them.

He opened his mouth and said: "We have to first figure out whether this person was tailing the Prince Heir, or tailing the Commandery Princess. Prince Heir, have you ever been tailed by this person when you were alone?"

The Prince Heir shook his head: "No."

"Commandery Princess, when you go out alone, have you ever met this person?"

Bai Li replied: "I have. I remember during the Lantern Festival temple fair last year, my brother was drinking with Jianghu friends, and I took my servant girl to guess lantern riddles. That person was also hiding in the crowd secretly watching me."

"Did Commandery Princess ever mention this matter to Madam Consort Yun?"

"I did. Mother told me not to let my imagination run wild, saying it might just be a coincidence."

Chen Ji froze slightly.

According to the logic of a normal person, if their daughter was being tailed by a strange man, the first reaction would be to send people to protect her, rather than telling the daughter not to let her imagination run wild.

Consort Yun likely knows who that person is.However, right at this moment, the sound of horse hooves interrupted Chen Ji and the others' train of thought. A jujube-red fine horse was seen stopping urgently in front of Taiping Medical Clinic.

The crowd in the clinic stopped their conversation and cast their gazes over one after another. That jujube-red fine horse and the person on the fine horse seemed born to be the main characters on stage; whether singing Qingyi or Huadan, they would always be the most dazzling and eye-catching ones.

The jujube-red fine horse was dripping with sweat all over, evaporating dense mist under the early winter sunlight.

The wood-and-silver plated saddle was inlaid with gold threads and precious stones. From the saddle, a girl dressed entirely in red flipped off the horse and casually tossed away the riding crop in her hand. As if possessing intelligence, the fine horse caught the riding crop in its mouth.

The reins didn't need to be tied anywhere either; the jujube-red fine horse just stopped at the clinic entrance and didn't go anywhere.

The girl wore a neat and agile polo-playing outfit. She walked directly into Taiping Medical Clinic and asked in a loud voice: "Who is Chen Ji?"

Everyone subconsciously looked towards Chen Ji. Standing behind the counter, Chen Ji said calmly: "I am."

The girl was seen coming to the front of the counter as if no one else was there, carefully sizing up the wooden hairpin on Chen Ji's head and the gray cloth clothes on his body that had been washed until they lost their sizing and turned white.

Separated by the redwood counter, the girl looked at Chen Ji and asked directly: "Have you read the classics?"

"I have."

The girl asked again: "'The Great Learning', 'The Analects', 'Mencius', 'The Doctrine of the Mean'; which article are you most proficient in?"

Chen Ji froze: "I'm not proficient in any of these."

The girl frowned slightly and asked again: "Of the Six Arts—the Five Proprieties, the Five Archery Techniques, the Six Musics, the Six Chariot-Riding Techniques, the Six Calligraphies, and the Nine Mathematics—which one are you proficient in?"

Chen Ji pondered for a moment and answered: "My Nine Mathematics should be passable."

The girl's frown deepened: "Do you know how to write poetry? If you've written any, take them out for me to see."

Chen Ji shook his head: "I don't know how."

Liu Quxing, She Dengke, Bai Li, the Prince Heir, and the others looked at one another in blank dismay, all of them still not having figured out the situation.

This girl was as if she had dropped from the sky, suddenly and vigorously appearing.

Yet the girl was seen standing before the counter scrutinizing Chen Ji. She remained silent for a long while, seeming to be conflicted and struggling.

Ultimately, she cleanly and neatly rolled up her sleeve and rested her slender wrist on the counter: "Examine my illness."

Chen Ji said softly: "This Miss, I am merely a lowly apprentice of this Taiping Medical Clinic. I haven't completed my learning of medical skills and still don't know how to treat patients. That elderly man over there is my Master, you should seek him out for pulse inquiries."

Clang.

The girl fished out a silver ingot from the pouch at her waist, slapped it onto the counter, and said stiffly: "I strictly want you to examine me."

Just as Chen Ji was about to say something, he saw that Old Yao had already put the silver ingot away.

While stuffing the silver ingot into his sleeve, Old Yao unhurriedly said: "Since the patient has this kind of request, we treating physicians should comply with her wishes. After all, an illness of the heart is also an illness."

The girl looked at Chen Ji: "Your Master has already spoken, don't dawdle."

Seeing her unreasonably overbearing attitude, Bai Li was immediately about to step forward to argue, but the Prince Heir grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her original spot.

Chen Ji sized up the girl. The other party wore a dark red jade hairpin in her hair, transparent like the fiery clouds at sunset, and her pair of phoenix eyes were full of sharp spirit.

But how would he know how to diagnose illnesses?

When he had originally just transmigrated over, Chen Ji had even thought about cramming some medical skills. But later, when he discovered that what Old Yao taught his inner disciples was fundamentally not medical skills but the Mountain Lord Cultivation Path, he completely gave up on trying.

Now, how was he supposed to diagnose a patient's illness?

Chen Ji remained silent for a moment, and then said: "Hello Miss, I now need to ask you some questions. After you answer, I will grade you according to my judgment using five degrees: 'None', 'Very Mild', 'Moderate', 'Severe', and 'Very Severe'. Is that okay?"

He was familiar with this.

The girl across the counter froze first, and then her expression turned solemn: "Are you making a fool out of me?"

Chen Ji said calmly: "It was Miss who made a fool out of me first."

The flame-like girl frowned and said: "When have I made a fool out of you?"

Chen Ji said: "You are not here to seek medical treatment. The moment you entered the door you pressed me with a bunch of messy questions. I don't even know who you are or what your name is. The fact that I was able to answer those questions was already being very polite."

The girl pursed her lips: "I just wanted to see what you have learned after staying in the clinic for two years."

Chen Ji said calmly: "What I have learned and what I haven't learned has nothing much to do with you. Presumably you are also a straightforward and frank person. If you have something to say, you can say it directly, there is no need for roundabout probing."

The girl didn't get angry, but instead slowly calmed down: "You actually really live up to the neighborhood rumors."

"How do the neighborhood rumors describe me?"

The girl thought for a moment and said: "The neighborhood rumors say your temperament is wooden, eccentric, and moody. Year-round you gamble excessively and linger in pleasure quarters like Red Clothe Lane. And you only came to Taiping Medical Clinic to be an apprentice because you were driven out by your family."

Chen Ji nodded: "What they are spreading is the truth, it is indeed so."

The girl froze for a moment: "You aren't making any defense?"

Chen Ji smiled and said: "Since it's a fact, there's no need to defend... Or rather, no need to defend myself to you."

The girl raised her eyebrows: "My name is Zhang Xia."

"Zhang Xia?" Chen Ji looked to the side with a slight trace of bewilderment in his eyes. Liu Quxing was anxiously gesturing, but no one could understand what he was gesturing.

Zhang Xia was puzzled: "You haven't heard of me?"

Chen Ji said sincerely: "I haven't heard of you."

Standing outside the counter, Zhang Xia spoke to herself as if there was nobody else present: "You also don't need to pretend like you haven't heard of me. I came to the clinic today to exhort you about some matters: Where I want to go and what I want to do in the future are all my own business, do not interfere with me. If you insist on fussing over every little thing, you will only look for unhappiness for yourself."

"As long as you can be honest and well-behaved, I will naturally issue you silver to spend every month. But you cannot go to the gambling dens anymore, and you cannot go to Red Clothe Lane anymore. If I find out that you've caused me to lose face outside, I will cut off your silver."

"Oh right, you should also interact less with the Chen family. During festivals, I will naturally arrange gifts to be sent over on your behalf, but it's best if you return less often."

Taiping Medical Clinic quieted down.

She Dengke's hand holding the copper scale to weigh medicine remained suspended mid-air, Liu Quxing's mouth was open wide enough to stuff an entire steamed bun inside, and the Prince Heir's hand grabbing Bai Li's arm increased in strength.

Old Yao slowly stroked his pure white beard, his expression complex.

Chen Ji sighed softly: "Has Miss Zhang Xia misunderstood some matter? I cannot understand a single word of what you're saying."

Zhang Xia supported her hands on the counter and said with a heavy voice: "My father is right now inside your Chen Estate, and you say you don't understand? I came here merely to give you a reminder, teaching you how to get along in the future."

Seeing how straightforward the other party spoke, Chen Ji simply tossed all the Go pieces in his hand into the Go bowl and laid his cards on the table: "Second Miss Zhang, I don't even return to the Chen Estate, they cannot decide my matters either. I can tell that you look down on me. Since that's the case, why don't you directly go persuade your father to dismiss this absurd idea?"

Zhang Xia shook her head and said: "This is the order of parents, them making the decision is enough. Besides, to me, living my days with whoever is the same, as long as they are obedient. You also do not need to feel wronged; as a legitimate daughter, marrying a concubine's son like you can also be considered bringing honor to you. From now on, you won't need to worry about food or clothing, and you can naturally live some good days."

Chen Ji looked towards Zhang Xia across the counter: "I'll trouble you to return and tell Lord Zhang that I will be signing the contract with the Prince today, and kindly ask him not to entertain ideas about the cement formula anymore. Second Miss Zhang, no matter what you think, for the time being I still have no plans of marrying and establishing a career. Please go back."

Zhang Xia was astonished: "You didn't take a fancy to me? On what basis? The difference between you and your blood-related elder brother Chen Wenzong isn't just a tiny bit, I really don't know what my father saw in you."

Bai Li on the side finally couldn't help but say: "What difference is there between those words you just said and a matrilocal marriage? Even if Chen Ji is a concubine's son, he would absolutely never lack backbone to the point of marrying into your Zhang family!"

Zhang Xia cast a sidelong glance at Bai Li: "And who are you? What relationship does the matter between me and him have with you?"

Bai Li was furious: "We are all his close friends, we cannot tolerate you belittling him like this! Also, you said he is inferior to Chen Wenzong, but we stubbornly feel he is a hundred times better than Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao!"

Zhang Xia was puzzled: "Have you contracted madness? Chen Wenzong just snatched the Top Provincial Candidate title today, is well-read in the Four Books and Five Classics, and is proficient in the Six Arts of a gentleman. You say Chen Ji is a hundred times stronger than Chen Wenzong, stronger in what aspect?"

The blue veins on Bai Li's neck throbbed from anger: "He's just stronger than Chen Wenzong!"

Zhang Xia didn't continue arguing with Bai Li, but turned her head to look at Chen Ji: "If you look down on me it's also perfect. Go and tell your father yourself, letting him sever my father's thoughts. If you don't dare to go say it, then do as I just said."

Having said that, Zhang Xia turned around and exited the clinic.

She was seen crossing the clinic's threshold, taking down the riding crop from the fine horse's mouth, and flipping onto the horse: "Zaozao, let's go home!"

(End of Chapter)