Chapter 619
Searching for People
The snow in the capital was falling heavier and heavier.
Chen Ji rushed out of Donglaishun and trudged through the ankle-deep snow toward Shaojiu Hutong.
When Jinzhu lifted the thick cotton curtain and chased after him, he only saw Chen Ji's departing figure carrying the whale knife.
"Damn it," Jin Zhu rushed back to Donglaishun and whispered to Tianma, "Stop eating, hurry up and get out of here, don't let this kid get into trouble with Qi Zhong."
Tianma put down the bowl of sesame paste and gestured in sign language: "Qi Zhong doesn't dare to openly kill Chen Ji in the capital. He's just being brave and ruthless, not stupid."
Just as Tianma was about to pick up the bowl again, Jinzhu grabbed his wrist: "The people in the Qi family who are willing to consider the big picture are no longer in the capital. Without anyone keeping Qi Zhong in check, who knows what this madman will do? Chen Ji is no match for him."
Tianma stared at Jinzhu for a long time, seemingly lost in thought: "You really consider that kid a friend? I remember you said that there are no true friends in the Secret Service."
Jin Zhu was silent for a moment, then said with a relaxed expression, "I didn't consider him a friend. I was only worried about what would happen to my connections if he died."
Tianma glanced at him, threw the bowl and chopsticks on the table, got up and left Donglaishun.
……
……
It's only half a mile from Qipan Street to Shaojiu Hutong, and the traces of the past can be reached in an instant.
Traces of the past lingered at the entrance of the alley.
The alley was quiet; the snow had blown away all the sounds.
He looked into the alley, his right hand resting on the hilt of his knife, his thumb braced against the blade, ready to draw it at any moment.
In the alley, Qi Zhaoning stood in front of the courtyard gate, wearing a white fox fur cloak with the hood pulled low, covering most of her face.
Hearing footsteps, Qi Zhaoning turned around, clutching a bronze hand warmer in her arms. She had been standing in the snow for a long time, her eyelashes covered with tiny ice crystals, and her nose red from the cold.
Chen Ji didn't look at her, but instead looked at Qi Zhong behind her, and finally pushed the knife away with a clang.
Qi Zhong clenched his fists, and the cracking sound of his knuckles came from his bulging veins.
At this moment, Qi Zhaoning stepped to the side, blocking their view, and whispered to Chen Ji, "You've lost a lot of weight."
Chen Ji had no intention of reminiscing. He stepped forward, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his boots crunching on the snow. "Where are Pao Ge and Er Dao?"
Qi Zhong emerged from behind Qi Zhaoning, his black outfit making him look like an iron stake. His gaze swept over Chen Ji, and he moved slowly through the snow, searching for any weakness in Chen Ji's defenses.
It seemed that as soon as Chen Ji showed any weakness, he would strike ruthlessly.
At this moment, Jin Zhu arrived and led his men to surround the front and back of Shaojiu Hutong, glaring menacingly at Qi Zhong in the alley: "Qi Zhong, this is the capital city, not a place for you to run wild."
Qi Zhong looked around. Some people were drawing their knives at the alley entrance, while others were climbing over the wall and setting up crossbows. The sound of taut bowstrings echoed muffledly in the heavy snow.
But Qi Zhong's gaze did not linger on them. Instead, he looked up at a distant eaves corner where Tianma stood, bow drawn and arrow nocked, his killing intent firmly locked onto him.
Qi Zhong calmly said, "You bunch of worthless scoundrels, you'd better not try to embarrass yourselves in front of me."
Just as a fierce battle was about to erupt, Qi Zhaoning suddenly grabbed Qi Zhong's wrist and whispered, "Brother Zhong, I can do it myself."
Qi Zhong frowned, but ultimately, under Qi Zhaoning's gaze, he took half a step back and stood behind her.
The murderous intent in the alley vanished instantly.
Qi Zhaoning, draped in a fox fur cloak, stood in the heavy snow, staring intently at the whale-shaped knife in Chen Ji's hand: "Do you want to kill me? Then you'll never see those two again. Brother Zhong hid them in a place you'll never find in your entire life. If I die, they'll die too."
Chen Ji stared at Qi Zhaoning calmly and asked, "What do you want?"
Instead of retreating, Qi Zhaoning advanced, carrying a bronze hand warmer to Chen Ji. She took off her hood and carefully examined Chen Ji's eyes, nose, and lips, as if she wanted to remember this face forever.
A moment later, she switched the bronze hand warmer to her left hand, raised her right hand, and actually placed her fingertips next to Chen Ji's cheek: "The Four Dreams of Bianliang say that Li Changge has sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, and a nose like a hanging gall. Judging from this, you should not be as good-looking as Li Changge."
Qi Zhaoning's finger, which had been pausing, finally landed on Chen Ji's cheek: "But you are more like a character from a storybook than Li Changge. Only characters in stories would go crazy for someone, die for someone, and give up everything for someone... Li Changge is fake, you are real."
The snow fell on her fingertips and melted.
Chen Ji took a step back, dodging Qi Zhaoning's fingers.
Qi Zhaoning smiled and gazed into his eyes: "Every time I listened to the Four Dreams of Bianliang before, I would think, 'I wish Li Changge were mine.' Now, when I listen to the Four Dreams of Bianliang again, I feel that something is missing. He and the princess went through twenty years of unrequited love, and he watched helplessly as the princess died in the palace. But you refused to accept your fate and insisted on rescuing her. You are more capable than him, and more determined than him... You really rescued the princess."
Chen Ji frowned, wondering what Qi Zhaoning meant by saying all this: "Don't involve the innocent. The Pao Ge and Er Dao have no grudges against the Qi family."
Qi Zhaoning pulled her hands back into her cloak and began to talk to herself: "Chen Ji, I know you hate me, hate the Qi family, hate my second uncle, hate my brother, hate that I refused to break off the engagement, hate that I fought you for your man at the brothel, hate that I kidnapped your man today... But the Qi family has nothing left. Grandpa won't wake up, my second uncle and brother went back to Jizhou, my father went to Jiaozhi, and my third brother is in the Five Cities Military Command, but he's on your side. Now, I'm the only one left in the Qi family in the capital."
She looked at the ruins and repeated, "It's just me left."
Chen Ji stood opposite Qi Zhaoning, letting the snow fall all over his head: "Third Miss Qi, I don't hate the Qi family, nor do I hate you. I only wanted to rescue the princess; it had nothing to do with the Qi family." Qi Zhaoning retorted angrily, "Why should it have nothing to do with my Qi family? You say it has nothing to do with us? It was your Chen family that first came to my Qi family seeking a marriage alliance!"
Chen Ji didn't want to get entangled in this messy matter: "How can you let the Gelaohui and Erdao come back?"
Qi Zhaoning's voice returned to its original tone as the third young lady of the Qi family, neither cold nor warm, neither too close nor too distant: "Tomorrow you will come to the Qi family to fetch the bride. All the proper etiquette must be followed. We have already completed the betrothal, name-asking, auspicious date selection, gift presentation, and wedding date setting. Only the wedding procession remains. If you come to fetch the bride, your person will be back... The Qi family has arranged the marriage, so we can't be without someone to fetch the bride."
Chen Ji was silent for a moment: "At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), I will go to fetch the bride."
Qi Zhaoning stared at him for a long time, then suddenly smiled.
She pulled her hood up again, covering most of her face, her eyes obscured by the shadow: "Chenshi, don't be late. Others may have certain manners, but the Qi family must not neglect any of them. Chen Ji, this is what you owe me."
Qi Zhaoning walked out of the alley, the hem of her white fox fur cloak trailing on the snow, leaving a shallow mark.
Qi Zhong stood still, staring intently at Chen Ji.
Qi Zhaoning gripped his wrist tightly and whispered, "Brother Zhong, I have nothing left, I can't lose you too."
Qi Zhong finally relaxed and turned to leave with Qi Zhaoning.
……
……
Jin Zhu leaned closer to Chen Ji and said, "I don't know what Miss Qi is thinking. You're a grown man, how can you be tied down by a marriage certificate? Even if you marry her, what then?"
Chen Ji remained silent, frowning.
Jin Zhu continued, "I think Miss Qi doesn't really want you to marry her; she probably has other plans."
Chen Ji sighed, "You'll find out when you get there... What do we need to prepare for the wedding?"
Golden Pig paused for a moment: "You're asking me? Let me ask..."
He pulled out a spy: "You've been married before, tell me."
The spy hesitated and said, "Lord Chen, the day before the wedding, the groom must prepare the betrothal letter, gift list, and wedding invitation. On the wedding day, there must be at least a band of musicians, two bolts of black silk, and two bolts of light red silk, which are for the wedding gifts. There should also be four or six boxes of wine and fruit, depending on your preference."
The spy added, "Also, you must bring at least twelve people with you. One to carry the betrothal letter, one to carry the silk, one to carry the wine, one to carry the fruit..."
Jin Zhu listened from the side: "Manpower is no problem. Tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM), my secret agents will go with you disguised as servants. As for the things you need to prepare, I'll prepare them all for you."
Chen Ji said earnestly, "Thank you."
Jin Zhu turned and left: "Don't be so formal. I'll have someone deliver the things before Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow."
The footsteps faded into the distance.
The alleyway quieted down again. The snow was still falling, and the two felt tents in the courtyard were deformed by the weight of the snow.
Chen Ji stood in front of the tent, lost in thought.
Just then, Wuyun returned, stepping on the snow on the eaves. It lightly jumped and landed on Chen Ji's shoulder, meowing, "I followed the scent of the Pao Ge and Erdao to Xuanwumen Street, but the snow was too heavy and buried their scent."
Chen Ji raised his hand and patted its head without saying a word.
He sat in the courtyard pondering a solution until midnight, when Xiaoman and the little monk finally returned.
Seeing Chen Ji sitting in the courtyard lost in thought, Xiao Man quickly brushed the snow off him: "Young Master, why are you sitting here in a daze?"
Chen Ji looked up: "How are things going with Jiao Tu and Yun Yang?"
Xiaoman explained with concern, "I went to see Lady Jiaotu, and she immediately dispatched her spies. She said that it was too difficult to find people with just a few dozen spies, so she arrested the leader of the Rong family in the capital, beat him up, and ordered him to send out all the Rong men under his command to investigate and see if anyone had seen the carriage that kidnapped the Paoge and Erdao."
Xiaoman continued, "It wasn't just Lao Rong; the spies also went to the heads of various opera troupes, tavern and teahouse owners, offering a reward of five hundred taels of silver to anyone who saw the carriage's destination, but no one came to report any clues. Later, Lord Bailong also came and raised the reward to five thousand taels, which attracted several audacious individuals who wanted to swindle money."
Chen Ji frowned: "A scam?"
Xiaoman nodded and said, "They kept saying they saw the carriage. When asked what the carriage looked like, what color the horses were, where they saw it, and where the carriage went, they all gave very convincing accounts. But then Lord Bailong waited another half hour and asked them again, and their stories didn't match up. Lord Bailong seemed a little angry and locked all those liars in the inner prison, giving each of them two pairs of red embroidered shoes as a reward."
Chen Ji remained silent.
If the Secret Service's reward of five thousand taels of silver cannot find any news about the Gelaohui and Erdao, then they are truly lost.
Xiaoman pressed on, "Young Master, will the Pao Ge and Erdao be in trouble? What should we do? Should we...?"
Chen Ji returned to the main house and wrote a letter. After drying it, he handed it to Xiao Man: "Take this letter to Jiao Tu and tell her that I will be going to the Qi family to fetch the bride tomorrow. Tell them to do as the letter says." (End of this chapter)