Chapter 561
Exterminate All
Chen Ji slowed down his horse and dragged Yang Zhong through the streets and alleys as if he were being paraded through the streets. Pedestrians had already moved to the side of the street and under the eaves, holding their breath and keeping quiet.
In the end, he was the only one left in the middle of the long street, his horse's hooves clattering slowly but powerfully on the bluestone slabs.
Along the brothels on both sides of the Eight Great Hutongs, many women secretly watched Chen Ji's figure pass by under the gray-tiled eaves. The red figure and the bloodstains behind him stretched forward like a carpet, its destination unknown.
"Whose son is this, from a noble family? Acting like this..."
"The three dukes' mansions are no longer what they used to be, and they would never dare to be so ostentatious. Perhaps it's the Qi family? Or the Hu family?"
"You're ignorant, aren't you? See that Qilin robe? It's unique in our Ning Dynasty. It belongs to the owner behind Plum Blossom Ferry, the one who fought his way back from Chongli Pass."
"It's him?"
Yang Zhong's left leg was bound by hemp rope. At first, he struggled to untie the knot, but now only intermittent groans remained. His back, thighs, arms, and cheeks—wherever he touched the stone slabs—burned with pain. He drifted in and out of consciousness, and in a daze, he raised his hand to wipe his face, finding his palm sticky and scarlet.
“Chen Ji…” Yang Zhong said weakly, “Torturing and killing an imperial inspector in the street is a capital offense. The Jie Fan Guard is about to arrive. If you release me now, you can still save your own life.”
But Chen Ji remained unmoved, still holding the reins, neither too fast nor too slow.
"Chen Ji!" Yang Zhong roared with all his might, "Kill me, and the Yang family of Hongnong will fight you to the death! My father is the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Cities of Jinling! My elder brother is the Commander of the Yuzhou Guard!"
Chen Ji then turned his head slightly, speaking casually as if discussing the weather and crops: "If they were in the capital, they might be able to save you, but since they're not, you might as well just wait to die. Lord Yang, I don't know whose idea it was for you to come to the capital and seek refuge with the Qi family, but don't worry, the Qi family is good at changing their tune and protecting themselves; they won't protect you."
Yang Zhong cried out in anguish, "Chen Ji, how dare you kill me?"
Chen Ji smiled and said, "Hasn't Lord Yang heard of my reputation? I've killed many people, so one more won't make a difference."
Yang Zhong panicked: "If you want to redeem Bai Li, then go ahead and do so. I promise you, I will definitely not go to the brothel after seven days. I will also persuade Yuan Wang not to go. If you spare my life, my Yang family will definitely repay you handsomely!"
Only then did the onlookers realize the reason for this incident: it was all because of Princess Bai Li, who was to be sold at the brothel in seven days.
Yang Zhong's flustered tone was as if the last layer of his cloak had been stripped away, leaving him completely exposed to the public eye.
Chen Ji suddenly stopped his horse and turned to look at Yang Zhong: "Lord Yang, how long has it taken you to get to the capital? How did you get here?"
Yang Zhong was taken aback: "The carriages and horses depart from Yuzhou and will arrive in half a month."
Chen Ji said with a smile, "Lord Yang traveled from Yuzhou by carriage and it took him half a month. But I came from Luocheng, and it took hundreds of lives."
After saying that, he turned to look at the people around him: "Listen carefully, dragging Yang Zhong away today is a warning. If anyone is still ungrateful seven days from now, they can come and try it."
The next moment, Chen Ji suddenly jerked the reins, mounted his horse, and galloped off.
Yang Zhong's body left bloody marks on the ground. Just as he was about to turn into Zhengyangmen Street, the back of his head was hit by a protruding blue brick on the ground, and he lost consciousness again.
……
……
Zhou Biao spurred his horse and galloped back to the Three Judicial Offices.
The offices of the Three Judicial Offices are not located outside the Meridian Gate, but in the west of the inner city. You have to go west after passing through Fuyou Street.
The Sanfasi (Three Law Offices) is adjacent to the charcoal factory. On weekdays, the charcoal factory, separated by an alley, is always filled with thick smoke, and dust always settles on the floor tiles and tables.
The Left Censor-in-Chief has repeatedly petitioned the court to allocate the Imperial Guard Commandery to the Three Judicial Offices, since there are hardly any Imperial Guards left... but Emperor Ning has not yet agreed.
Some say that Emperor Ning simply wanted the Three Judicial Offices to be further away from the Forbidden City, or even better, to be moved out of the capital.
Zhou Biao dismounted in front of the yamen and shouted angrily, "Lord Qi!"
Qi Xianzhun came out to greet them: "Didn't I tell you to go and seal off Plum Blossom Ferry? Why are you back so soon? Does Chen Ji dare to obstruct the investigation by the Three Judicial Offices?"
Zhou Biao explained, "No, once the imperial edict was issued, Chen Ji did not disobey. The imperial inspector was still checking the accounts at Meihua Ferry, which was guarded by the Five City Garrison."
“He’s quite composed, knowing that once the Three Judicial Offices issue the warrant, they won’t allow him to run wild,” Qi Xianzhun asked doubtfully. “If that’s the case, what trouble could he possibly cause?”
Zhou Biao pointed south: "Chen Ji tied Yang Zhong to the back of the horse and dragged him away. There was a long trail of blood on the ground. He's probably been dragged to death now! This kid is reckless and arrogant. We can't let him escape like this!"
Qi Xianzhun paused in stroking his beard, but his expression remained calm: "In the end, he is still young and easily provoked. He did such a rebellious thing after being provoked for a little while."
Zhou Biao said in a low voice, "My lord, you only ordered that the salt permit for Meihua Ferry be temporarily sealed for seven days. Now that someone has died, it may be difficult to control... The Third Miss is still engaged to him. What should we do?"
Qi Xianzhun remained unfazed: "He's just a discarded son of the Chen family, what marriage agreement is there to talk about? When he colluded with the eunuch faction, where did he place my Qi family? Now everyone knows that my Qi family and the Chen family have already gone through the betrothal, name-asking, auspicious date selection, gift-giving, and wedding date setting. To break off the engagement with him would cause a lot of trouble and be against etiquette."
The betrothal ceremony involves the groom's family sending a matchmaker with gifts to the groom's home; wealthy and powerful families often send a live goose as a gift.
Asking the name involves the matchmaker inquiring about the woman's name and birth date, which are then taken back to the man's family for divination to determine the auspiciousness of the marriage. Accepting the auspicious omen involves the man's family receiving a favorable divination result and informing the woman's family of the preliminary agreement to the marriage. This is called engagement, also known as a small engagement.
The betrothal ceremony, or "nazheng," is when the groom's family sends betrothal gifts to the bride's family. The marriage agreement becomes effective at this point and cannot be changed. This is called "guodali" or "fangding."
"Pingqi" means to choose a date and set the date for the wedding.
Once the marriage has reached this stage, the engagement is considered legally binding. Either party can renege on the agreement and appeal to the authorities. Unless there is a legitimate reason that is in accordance with law and human sentiment, the person who breaks their promise may be exiled to Lingnan.
Grand Secretary Qi, as the Minister of Rites, is a model for all scholars, and his actions must conform to propriety so that no one can find fault with him. Whether Chen Ji is a member of the eunuch faction cannot be used as a reason to break off the engagement, but if Chen Ji is imprisoned for a crime, everything will be fine.
Zhou Biao hesitated: "But what about these relics, Miss San..."
Qi Xianzhun looked at Zhou Biao: "Your Excellency dotes on her, but there is a limit. How can my Qi family collude with the eunuch faction? Go to the Jiefanwei yamen and accuse Viscount Wu Xiang of murdering an official in the street. Make sure this son is brought to justice... Wait, summon all the imperial censors in the capital to go to the palace gate to petition, so that Chen Ji has no chance to turn the tables."
……
……
At noon, a squad of guards rushed out from in front of the Meridian Gate and chased after Chen Ji through the Zhengyang Gate in search of his whereabouts.
Over a hundred Jie Fan Wei soldiers, wearing straw hats, split into four groups under the scorching sun.
We will search all the streets of Badahutong, Liulichang, Chongnanfang, and Chongbeifang, determined to find Chen Ji.
However, the traces were easier to find than they had expected. Jie Fanwei had just arrived at the Eight Great Hutongs when he saw a long, dried, purplish-black bloodstain stretching westward, impossible to ignore.
Jie Fanwei followed the trail of blood, from the Eight Great Hutongs to Zhengyangmen Street, and then all the way to the Second Hutong, where the bloodstains finally disappeared.
But the bloodstains didn't disappear because Chen Ji wanted to conceal his tracks; rather, they disappeared because Yang Zhong had bled to death.
One of the Jiefan Guard commanders gave a wink: "Viscount Wuxiang was riding a horse and dragging someone along. Surely some neighbors saw it. Go ask around and see if anyone knows where he went."
Jie Fanwei stepped forward and knocked on the courtyard gate. The people in the courtyard pointed to the west and hurriedly closed the gate.
"Chase!" Jie Fanwei chased after them to the west.
They chased after them for a hundred paces, and just as they turned a corner in the alley, they saw the gate of a mansion wide open, from which came the heart-wrenching cries of a woman.
The guards exchanged a silent glance; this was the place!
The commander instructed his subordinates, "Viscount Wu Xiang is ruthless; we are probably no match for him. Go and summon others to surround the mansion."
One of the guards hurriedly left.
The commander quietly drew his long sword and led the remaining guards forward.
Just as they were about to surround the mansion, they heard the sound of horses' hooves behind them. The commander turned around and saw Jin Zhu riding into the narrow alley. He said to the commander, "Wang Zhao, this matter is to be handled by my secret service. Go back and report."
Wang Zhao hesitated for a moment, but finally bowed and refused, saying, "Lord Jinzhu, it's not that I'm unwilling to give you face, but at this moment, dozens of censors are kneeling outside the Meridian Gate, determined to punish Viscount Wu Xiang. Not only should I uphold the law, but it would be best if Lord Jinzhu didn't interfere... This matter has become too serious."
The golden pig hesitated, undecided.
After a moment, he gritted his teeth, leaned down, and said in a low voice, "I must protect this man. Just pretend you haven't found any trace of him and stall for an hour. An hour, I only need an hour. Allow me to escort him out of the city, and then I will go to the Prime Minister to be punished. It has nothing to do with you."
Wang Zhao said in a deep voice, "Lord Jinzhu, I'm afraid it's not as simple as just being punished. This time, those who have protected Viscount Wu Xiang will be exiled at best, and executed at worst!"
The golden pig said impatiently, "I don't care about that!"
Wang Zhao refused to back down: "My lord, I cannot make an exception."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of hooves came from outside the alley. When Jin Zhu turned around, he saw that the other guards from several other routes had also surrounded him, numbering over a hundred.
He sighed inwardly, realizing that all was lost, but he couldn't understand why Chen Ji was so audacious as to put himself in such a desperate situation.
Jin Zhu said no more, letting the Jie Fan Guards surround the mansion completely.
Commander Wang Zhao rushed into the house with his sword, only to find Yang Zhong lying in the courtyard, seemingly dead. Beside Yang Zhong, several other men lay unconscious, their fates unknown.
Chen Ji sat by the stone table in the courtyard, dressed in a crimson official robe and leaning on a whale-shaped knife. He didn't look like a fugitive, but rather like a young general who had just fought on the battlefield.
It conceals raging waves within, yet its face remains as calm as a still lake.
Not angry.
Wang Zhao was startled. He had initially thought Chen Ji was going to escape, but now it seemed the other party had no intention of fleeing at all. (End of Chapter)