Chapter 600
Escape
The imperial physicians looked out the door, none of them expecting that the other party had not come to arrest Chen Ji, but instead sent the Director of the Palace Guard and the Chief Clerk to their door.
To liven things up?
Using a eunuch party official to add to the festivities—what a grand gesture!
Changxiu smiled and led the Palace Attendant and the Chief Clerk through the crowd: "Excuse me, please make way."
The imperial physicians quickly moved aside, letting the guards go to the main hall.
Changxiu stood outside the main hall, looking at the traces of someone reading behind the desk, seemingly unaffected by the outside world.
He gestured for Jie Fanwei to stay outside, then stepped over the threshold and came to Chen Ji's desk, praising, "Lord Chen has such refined tastes, running off to the Imperial Hospital to escape to a peaceful place. In recent years, there have been quite a few people in the capital who have suddenly become restless, but probably not many who can find peace and quiet."
Chen Ji looked up at him: "You've brought the Director of the Palace Guard here. Such a grand gesture can't be just for saying a few nice words."
Changxiu, with her hands tucked into her sleeves, still praised, "Lord Chen is incredibly insightful; he has quite the air of an inner minister."
Chen Ji looked the Jie Fan Wei commander up and down: "Lord Chang Xiu greets everyone with a smile and speaks kind words to them first. Whose demeanor is this?"
Changxiu ignored Chen Ji's sarcasm and instead moved a chair to sit opposite him at the table: "I brought the Director of the Palace Guard here not to make a deal with you, but because I've wanted to get rid of him for a long time. Firstly, this man, relying on his position as a close minister of His Majesty, has always been outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant towards the Directorate of Ceremonial. Getting rid of him is a good opportunity for you, Lord Wu Xiu, to make your mark as a new official. Secondly, I brought him here merely to show my sincerity; I have no other intentions."
Chen Ji lowered his head to read again: "In that case, I will thank you on behalf of the Imperial Medical Academy."
Changxiu smiled shyly, "That was just a greeting gift before, now it's serious business. Not only can I confiscate the property of the Director of the Palace Guard, but I can also reinstate those imperial physicians who were expelled from the Imperial Medical Academy by Ye Yan, just like when Imperial Physician Yao was in charge three years ago..."
Chen Ji casually turned a page of his book and said without batting an eye, "Want to switch to 'The Enlightenment of All Things'?"
Changxiu took both hands out of her sleeves and gave a thumbs up: "Sir, you are indeed a prophet."
Chen Ji pulled out the book "Enlightenment of All Things" from his pocket and pushed it out: "Take it."
Changxiu picked up the book and flipped through a few pages. When he got to page four, he asked with some doubt, "Can this modified dragon bone waterwheel really turn when the current is slow?"
Chen Ji glanced at him but didn't say anything.
Changxiu flipped through a few more pages, her eyes growing brighter and brighter. When she reached the last page, she suddenly asked in confusion, "What is this sweet potato? How can it yield over a thousand catties per mu and even replace millet and wheat? Lord Chen, wheat only yields a little over two hundred catties per mu. Do you know how many people could live in my Ning Dynasty if we had this? Do you know what this thing means?"
Chen Ji casually said, "I only heard merchants mention this item when I was in Guyuan, but I don't know if it really exists, which is why I put it on the last page."
Changxiu dropped her smiling demeanor and asked urgently, "Can it be grown in both the north and south?"
Chen Ji sat behind the desk and mumbled, "I heard that's true."
Changxiu stood up and leaned forward slightly: "Who told you that?"
Chen Ji looked at him but did not answer.
According to Chen Ji's recollection, sweet potatoes were smuggled back to China from the Philippines by merchants during the Wanli period of the late Ming Dynasty. They were later cultivated in Guangzhou and Fujian, helping southerners survive several famines.
However, it was only planted on a small scale during the Ming Dynasty, and it was not until the Qing Dynasty that it was cultivated throughout the country.
Chen Ji had never seen a sweet potato since arriving in Ning Dynasty, so he wasn't sure if anyone in Ning Dynasty had ever seen one, or even if such a thing existed in this world.
But with Ningchao's overseas trade already so developed, perhaps someone has already brought it back.
Changxiu stood there, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment, she stuffed the "Enlightenment of All Things" into her bosom: "Whether or not this can be found, Lord Chen should be remembered in history along with this book."
Chen Ji had no interest in such empty titles and continued reading with his head down: "What I should have given you has been given. Take care, and don't see me off."
Hearing Chen Ji's order to leave, Chang Xiu did not move, remaining glued to the opposite side of the table: "Lord Chen, there's no need to rush me away, I still have something to say."
Chen Ji gently turned a page of the book: "I would like to hear the details."
Changxiu glanced back at the door, then looked at Chen Ji: "I would like to ask you, sir, is there any great use hidden in this morning report? Now that you don't care for this item, why not teach me your treasured possessions so that they can benefit the people?"
Chen Ji ignored him.
Changxiu rolled her eyes and lowered her voice: "These past few days, everyone outside thinks that Lord Chen is making a big fuss because his livelihood and family property have been taken away by the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Qi family, so he wants to vent his anger. But I know that Lord Chen actually wants to force Lord Wu Xiu to remove you from your position in the Secret Service, and then force the Qi family to find a way to take away your title, so that he can be free of all burdens, right?"
At this point, Chen Ji had reached the end of his medical treatise, with only the last page remaining.
Changxiu continued, "I even know that once Lord Chen is free of his shackles, he will immediately set off for Luocheng. He will first study medicine, and after he has mastered it, he will open a small clinic and live a peaceful life."
The main hall was quiet. Chen Ji finally closed the book and looked up: "You guessed it yourself?"
He scrutinized Changxiu, the little eunuch who looked like a fox and had a pair of cunning eyes. These past few days, only this man had guessed his thoughts.
Changxiu grinned, knowing he had guessed correctly: "Who would have thought that Lord Chen is not greedy for power at all, and can throw away what he has gained without hesitation? But sir, if you are still useful, no one will let you go. Even if you go to the ends of the earth, someone will remember you. Only useless people are forgotten in a corner."
Chen Ji's eyes flickered. Chang Xiu continued, "Instead of keeping your most treasured possessions hidden away, you might as well give them to me. I'll tell Lord Wu Xiu that you have nothing left to offer."
Chen Ji was silent for a moment, then slowly asked, "May I ask, Lord Changxiu, who is in charge of the Ning Dynasty?"
Changxiu thought for a moment and replied cautiously, "Naturally, it is His Majesty's responsibility."
Chen Ji just stared at him, not in a hurry to speak.
After being stared at for a while, Changxiu stopped talking nonsense: "The capital is naturally under His Majesty's jurisdiction, outside the capital it is under the jurisdiction of civil officials, and below the county level it is under the jurisdiction of local gentry and clans. If the court is incompetent, an imperial edict will leave the capital and reach the hands of local officials, who may or may not comply. For example, the matter of Lord Zhang Zhuo promoting the land survey is currently not going well. When the government orders and documents reach the county, no one pays any attention to them."
Chen Ji nodded: "The reason why local gentry and clans can control the common people is not because they have great power, but because imperial edicts cannot be issued to the county level, so the common people can only believe what they say... But what if newspapers could carry government orders all over the country?"
Changxiu was startled and stood up to think for a long time.
After a moment, he denied it, saying, "The gentry and clans either have dozens of servants or are very large. Even if the common people know that the court is surveying land and reducing taxes, they dare not disobey the gentry."
Chen Ji countered, "What if the people are starving to death?"
“There are quite a few people starving to death,” Changxiu said thoughtfully. “Our Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs could kidnap a few master engravers from the Buddhist community, and then use the carrier pigeons of the Eagle House to send the morning report to various places. However, the farthest places would probably be delayed by seven days, unless…”
Chen Ji stood up: "I've taught you the method. Whether you can do it or not is up to you."
After saying that, he walked out.
Changxiu refused to leave, so he had no choice but to go.
As he stepped out of the main hall of the Imperial Medical Academy, Changxiu stood inside the threshold and said with a smile, "Viscount Wu Xiang is very talented. It won't be easy for him to get away. I will speak to Lord Wu Xiu for you, but you will have to figure out a way to deal with the Qi family yourself. They will not let this go easily."
Chen Ji did not turn around. He handed the medical outline he had just finished reading to the head of the Imperial Medical Academy and left the Academy directly.
……
……
It was 3:45 PM.
On Qipan Street, the lingering atmosphere of the Double Ninth Festival has finally passed.
The dogwood vendors had vanished, leaving only a few stalls selling chrysanthemum wine. The wine jars were nearly empty, and the stall owners were scraping the last bit of wine from the jars with wooden spoons into customers' gourds.
As Chen Ji walked by, he smelled a faint fragrance of chrysanthemums mixed with the smell of wine, much like the scent of Red Clothes Alley in Luoyang.
He turned onto Yuhe Bridge along Qipan Street.
The bridge is a stone arch bridge, and over the years, the balusters on the stone railings have been worn smooth by wind and rain. The Jade River flows slowly beneath the bridge, and the ripples of the water shatter the setting sun, turning it into golden-red fragments that float on the surface.
Chen Ji stood on the bridge, and suddenly stopped in the sunset.
He looked at the shattered sunset, watching the light float, gather, and disperse on the water's surface, as if piecing something together, or as if tearing something apart.
There was nothing on the water.
There was no She Dengke's big frame, no Liu Quxing's cunning schemes, and no Old Yao wielding a bamboo stick and cursing.
Nothing at all.
Only the gentle waters of the Jade River flow southward.
It got dark.
The orange-red turned to gray-blue, and the gray-blue turned to dark blue. The light on the water went out, leaving only a deep darkness, reflecting the lights that gradually lit up on both banks.
His time suddenly felt less urgent. He could stand on the Jade River Bridge and daydream, standing there for as long as he wanted, no longer being pulled along by ropes.
As Changxiu said, Chen Ji had indeed thought that it would be even better if Wu Xiu could remove him from his position in the Secret Service and the Qi family could take away his title.
At that time, he might actually be able to return to Los Angeles, open a small clinic, and live a peaceful life away from the world.
Just then, a carriage sped toward the Imperial Hospital. Chen Ji looked back and saw that the carriage was decorated with seven cranes carved in openwork.
Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop in front of the Imperial Hospital, a servant jumped off and hurriedly ran into the hospital.
As they ran, they shouted, "Your Excellency, Your Excellency, come with me! My master has woken up! Grand Secretary Qi has woken up!"
Chen Ji watched as the academy envoy and judge hurriedly boarded the carriage before turning and leaving.
Back in Shaojiu Alley, the aroma of food wafted from afar. Chen Ji stood outside the door, rubbing his cheeks, before pushing it open and entering: "I'm back." (End of Chapter)