The Azure Mountain

Chapter 131: Teaching Master

"Shush, keep your voice down, keep it down!"

Prince Jing glared, placing his index finger against his lips as he warned Chen Ji and Bai Li.

He glanced back, confirming no one was paying attention to them, before turning back to Chen Ji and Bai Li. "I finally managed to sneak out in disguise, and here you are making a fuss!"

Bai Li asked in confusion, "Father, you constantly preach to my brother and me about not climbing walls, yet you do it yourself?"

Prince Jing smiled. "What kind of nonsense is that? Your father walked right out the front gate."

"General Wang is on duty at the front gate," Bai Li replied with a smirk. "I'll go ask him."

Prince Jing hurriedly grabbed Bai Li's arm. "I climbed out. I snuck over the wall by the clinic."

"Your Highness, what if something happens to you while you're strolling around in disguise?" Chen Ji asked. "We wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility."

Prince Jing laughed. "I am nothing but a carriage driver right now. As long as you keep your mouths shut, who would bother a humble driver?"

"You should still bring some guards," Chen Ji suggested after a moment of thought. "Or at least let Eunuch Feng accompany you to take care of your daily needs!""No way."

Prince Jing raised his voice. "If I let them tag along, they'll constantly nag me—don't eat this, don't drink that, don't do this, don't go there. What's the point of going out in disguise then? Besides, this literary gathering is going to be bustling. If I show up as Prince Jing, everyone will be too stiff and formal."

"I used to wonder why the Prince Heir had such a personality," Chen Ji sighed. "Turns out he takes after you."

Prince Jing raised an eyebrow. "Why does it sound like you're insulting me? How is he anything like me? When I was his age, I had those civil officials dancing in the palm of my hand."

"Your Highness, everyone recognizes you," Chen Ji said earnestly. "It won't even take a morning for people to figure out your identity."

Prince Jing waved a hand dismissively. "It doesn't matter. By then, I'll be out of Luo City, free as a bird."

"Your Highness, setting aside your disguised excursion," Chen Ji interrupted, "you've seen it for yourself. I am truly not suited for studying the classics, nor do I have any intention of stepping into officialdom. You might as well let me drop out. As for the Border Army's military funding, how could it change just because of me? How can matters of the state be treated like child's play?"

Prince Jing fell silent for a moment before speaking meaningfully. "I won't try to guilt you with matters of the state either. How about this? You just need to study until the beginning of spring next year, and I will owe you a favor. In the future, if you ever need anything, as long as it doesn't endanger the Ning Dynasty, I will help you once. How does that sound?"

Chen Ji did not answer.

He was just a mere clinic apprentice, yet now the Prefect of Luo City and a powerful regional prince both owed him a favor. It sounded nice, but how exactly was he supposed to cash in on these favors?

"Then I have a request right now," Chen Ji said after some thought. "Your Highness, it is truly too dangerous for you to travel in disguise. You had better return to..."

Before he could finish, Prince Jing's expression shifted, and he cut him off. "Stop. Young man, you are still young. You don't even know what you truly want yet. How can you use this favor so carelessly?"

At that moment, Chen Wenxiao called out from the cart, "Driver, driver, let's go!"

"Coming," Prince Jing quickly replied, muffling his voice.

He pulled down the brim of his straw Bamboo Hat and walked to the very front of the cart, sitting with his back to everyone. With a casual flick of his whip, the old yellow ox slowly pulled the cart forward.

Bai Li smiled brightly as she shoved a cloth bundle into Chen Ji's arms. "Everyone knows that my father's word is A Promise Worth Ten Pieces of Gold. You'd better think carefully about how to use this favor. Don't forget to eat the traditional snacks."

With that, she jogged a few steps and gracefully plopped down at the tail end of the cart, her legs dangling off the edge, swaying with the bumps of the road.

Bai Li patted the Prince Heir sitting next to her. "Brother, since we're out, you have to remember what Father told you. Absolutely no drinking for a month."

The Prince Heir sneered. "Heh... I'm already out of Luo City. Does he think he can still manage me?"

Bai Li's eyes sparkled. "Brother, is that a good idea? What if Father finds out?"

The Prince Heir waved it off, entirely unconcerned. "So what if he knows? I am already past the age of twenty. Do I still need to look at anyone's face just to have a drink?"

Bai Li let out a long, "Ohhh... You're so amazing!"

Up at the very front, Prince Jing's whipping motion paused for a split second before the whip came down hard. The old ox let out a moo and picked up the pace.

The streets were bustling with pedestrians. An ox cart, a fine steed, and a young man walking alongside. It was a rare, clear winter day, and Chen Ji suddenly felt that going out for a study tour wasn't such a bad idea. It offered a brief escape from the endless rights and wrongs, the constant turmoil.

He followed behind the ox cart at a leisurely pace, untying the cloth bundle in his arms.

The bundle contained traditional snacks from Zhengxin Bakery: honey glazes, golden sesame crisps, walnut cookies, smiling sesame balls... As he ate, the clip-clop of hooves approached. Zhang Xia rode up beside him, glancing down at the treats in his hands, and asked casually, "You seem to be on very good terms with the Prince Heir and the Commandery Princess. The Commandery Princess even prepared snacks specifically for you."

"The Prince Heir, the Commandery Princess, and I are friends!" Chen Ji turned to look at her.

"Friends?" Zhang Xia asked, puzzled.

"Do you not have friends?" Chen Ji asked calmly.

"No," Zhang Xia replied bluntly. "Since coming to Luo City, anyone who wanted to be my friend either wanted to beg for some silver or wanted to ask my father for a favor. There's no point in making friends like that."

"Well, given the prestige of the Xu Family, it wouldn't be easy for anyone to just become friends with the Second Miss Zhang," Chen Ji commented casually.

"My name is Zhang Xia," she said suddenly. "You don't need to keep calling me 'Second Miss Zhang' left and right."

"Alright, Zhang Xia!" Chen Ji agreed readily.

Right then, Bai Li watched Chen Ji walking behind them and turned to Wang Daosheng. "Sir, Chen Ji has already walked several miles. Shouldn't we let him get on the cart?"

Mr. Wang lowered his book and looked at Chen Ji silently.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Bai Li quickly added, "Look, he's already been punished. He definitely won't be late again. It's still over forty miles to Yichuan County Town. If he has to walk the whole way, his shoes will wear right through."

"Please stop for a moment," Mr. Wang said to Prince Jing.

Without looking back, Prince Jing pulled the reins, and the ox cart slowly came to a halt.

Just as Bai Li was about to wave Chen Ji over to get on, Mr. Wang hopped off the cart.

"Keep going," he told Prince Jing.

Everyone was startled. "Sir, what are you doing?"

Mr. Wang dusted off his clothes and smoothed out the wrinkles. "It's a good thing the Commandery Princess reminded me. Since I accepted the tuition fee, I am Chen Ji's teaching master. If he makes a mistake, I bear responsibility as well. It is only right that we are punished together. All of you sit tight on the cart; I will walk with him all the way to Yichuan County Town."

"Sir, there's no need for you to do this," Chen Ji spoke up.

But Mr. Wang shook his head. "This has nothing to do with you. I am merely acting according to my heart."

"I'm sorry," Chen Ji said, feeling somewhat ashamed. "This student will never be late again."

However, Mr. Wang used his book to brush the light dust off Chen Ji's shoulder. "No. If there is ever something more important than studying the classics, you absolutely must do it!"

"Hmm?"

"What Zhixing Academy can teach you are merely the principles of being a decent human being," Mr. Wang said calmly. "And that principle is to act according to your heart. The compassion you feel when you see a horse fall and want to help—that is your heart. The sense of justice you feel when you see an injustice and draw your sword to help—that is also your heart. When your heart moves, you act on it. There is no wrong in that!"

Chen Ji felt a bit confused.

The normally stern Mr. Wang offered a rare smile. "If you only miss one of my classes, I can always teach it to you again. But if you miss out on certain things in life, they are missed forever."

Chen Ji took a deep breath. "This student understands."

He suddenly felt that this Mr. Wang was entirely different from any scholar he had ever met before.

"I'll walk too!"

Bai Li pushed off the cart with both hands and jumped down nimbly, falling into step beside Chen Ji. The red jade carp pendant dangling from her collar looked like a plum blossom in winter.

The Prince Heir hesitated for a moment before reluctantly hopping off the cart as well, muttering complaints under his breath. "Why would anyone want to walk when there's a perfectly good ox cart to ride? You're all crazy..."

Chen Wenzong was also about to get up, but Chen Wenxiao held him down. "Brother, what are you doing? If he made a mistake, he should bear the consequences himself. Why should we be punished along with him? Walking all the way to Yichuan County Town will give us blisters all over our feet."

Chen Wenzong sighed and ultimately sat back down.

Zhang Xia watched the group walking, then abruptly dismounted her horse and joined Bai Li, leading the horse by the reins.

"Why did you get down?" Bai Li glared at her.

"We are all classmates," Zhang Xia said breezily. "We share our blessings and endure our hardships together."

"Spoken like a true traveler of the Jianghu," the Prince Heir gave her a thumbs up.

The ox cart slowly made its way out of the southern city gate. Outside, a multitude of refugees had gathered, living in makeshift shacks. They relied entirely on the government office's porridge distribution to survive each day.

"Have you guys heard?" the Prince Heir asked. "The night before last, there was almost a riot outside the west gate. In the end, Lord Zhang Zhuo arrived with the grain just in time, and they even captured some people among the refugees who had been secretly inciting the riot. That's how everything was settled."

Sitting at the back of the cart, Chen Wenzong looked at the Prince Heir and replied, "I heard my father mention it. He said that day was incredibly dangerous. The refugees almost breached Luo City to burn, kill, and pillage."

"Rumor has it that a masked man wearing a Bamboo Hat went outside the city that night to act as a hostage, promising that the grain would definitely arrive at the designated hour," the Prince Heir said. "That was the only way they managed to hold the refugees off and stall for over two hours. For the past two days, the storytellers from every teahouse have been out here, asking the refugees about what happened that night. They're planning to turn the story of this masked man into a tale."

Holding her reins, Zhang Xia said admiringly, "My father said he was a young hero. He remained calm in the face of danger, composed under pressure—truly fit to be a great general! Not only did he stabilize the refugees and stall for time, but he also weeded out the death warriors the Liu Family had planted among them. He was incredible."

Bai Li subconsciously glanced at Chen Ji.

The day before yesterday... wasn't that the day Chen Ji was late?

She didn't know why Chen Ji immediately came to mind. She had absolutely zero proof that he was the masked man.

Yet, in her deepest impressions, Chen Ji was also someone who wore a mask, someone who remained perfectly calm and composed in the face of terror.

"What young hero?" Chen Wenxiao suddenly scoffed in disdain. "He was from the Eunuch Faction."

"So what if he was from the Eunuch Faction?" Zhang Xia glared. "Even if he was from the Eunuch Faction, he genuinely saved people."

"How can we call them heroes just because the Eunuch Faction occasionally did one good deed?" Chen Wenxiao retorted. "Do they even deserve it? My father said that if anyone in the Chen Family associates with the Eunuch Faction, their legs will be broken."

"So what if he was from the Eunuch Faction?" Zhang Xia glared. "Even if he was from the Eunuch Faction, he genuinely saved people."

"How can we call them heroes just because the Eunuch Faction occasionally did one good deed?" Chen Wenxiao retorted. "Do they even deserve it? My father said that if anyone in the Chen Family associates with the Eunuch Faction, their legs will be broken."

Bai Li suddenly felt that the man outside the city probably wasn't Chen Ji. After all, on the night Chen Ji rescued her, hadn't he slain six secret spies from the Directorate of Ceremonial?

How could someone who killed members of the Eunuch Faction belong to the Eunuch Faction?

Mr. Wang ignored their argument entirely. He simply walked up to the porridge distribution shed and told the government runners from the Luo City prefectural office, "Starting today, register everyone. If a refugee family has children, they can receive an extra half portion of porridge. But if a child goes missing in the future, that entire household will be permanently barred from receiving porridge!"

"Who do you think you are?" the runner snapped impatiently. "Beat it! Since when is it your turn to boss us around? We'll distribute the porridge however we want."

Mr. Wang wasn't angry. He merely said politely, "Just tell Zhang Zhuo that Wang Daosheng said this. He will understand."

"Why ban a whole family from receiving porridge just because a child goes missing?" Zhang Xia asked curiously.

"Perhaps to stop people from Exchanging Children to Eat Them!" Chen Ji explained casually.

"Exchanging Children to Eat Them?" Zhang Xia was horrified. "How could parents ever do such a thing?"

"In a year of great famine," Chen Ji said evenly, "there are only the strong and the weak!"