Chapter 621
Together We Face Mountains of Knives, Seas of Fire, Spring and Autumn, Winter and Summer
Zhang Xia stopped and stopped pushing forward.
She watched quietly as the crowd parted in front of the wedding procession, then regrouped at the back, all the way to the Qi family's gate. But there were no servants to greet the guests, no servants to scatter lucky money; only Qi Zhong stood there.
Chen Ji reined in his horse, looking at Qi Zhong, who in turn looked at him.
Jin Zhu stepped forward and up the stone steps, handing over the gift list: "The Qi family has come to welcome the bride. The betrothal letter, gift list, wedding invitation, four bolts of black and red silk, and six boxes of wine and fruit are all included."
But Qi Zhong didn't answer.
Holding up the gift list, Jin Zhu smiled and said, "What, have we been impolite?"
Qi Zhong ignored the golden pig and looked at Chen Ji, his voice firm and resolute: "Dismount."
Chen Ji remained silent for a moment, then dismounted, his boots sinking into the snowmelt, and walked step by step up the stone steps.
Qi Zhong stood with his hands behind his back, feigning ignorance, and asked, "May I ask what brings you to my Qi family today?"
Chen Ji calmly said, "We've come to welcome the bride."
Qi Zhong said in a deep voice, "Speak louder, tell the people outside what you've come here for today."
The golden pig narrowed its eyes, the smile still lingering on its lips, but its eyes were no longer smiling: "Zhong'er..."
Chen Ji raised his hand to stop Jin Zhu from speaking, and said loudly, "Chen Ji, the illegitimate son of the Chen family, has come to the Qi family to marry Qi Zhaoning, the legitimate daughter of the Qi family, in accordance with the marriage agreement."
Qi Zhong pointed to the two stone lions at the bottom of the stone steps: "According to the laws of Da Ning, the stone lions in the residence of a first-rank official are only allowed to be six feet tall. The pair in front of my Qi family's gate are seven feet two inches tall, bestowed by Emperor Gaozong, which allows my Qi family to stand shoulder to shoulder with a prince."
After saying that, Qi Zhong pointed to the inside of the Qi family gate: "In the main hall, there is a plaque that reads 'The Heart of Literature Under Heaven,' written by Emperor Zhongzong himself. The Qi family has produced seven cabinet ministers over the centuries..."
Chen Ji listened quietly as Qi Zhong recounted the Qi family's illustrious lineage, describing it as towering as Mount Tai.
After a moment, Qi Zhong stared at Chen Ji and said, "Since you have come to welcome the bride, our Qi family should have the elders come out to greet you. You should bow three times before entering. However, the elders in charge of our Qi family have all been driven out of the capital by your eunuch faction. You should bow to the south."
The people below the stone steps erupted in uproar: "What place is to the south? Jizhou?"
"Is this to make him bow to Qi Xianzhun and Qi Zhenwu?"
"This is to make him admit his mistake!"
At this moment, Jin Zhu stepped forward, standing in front of Qi Zhong, only a fist's distance from his cheek. He lowered his voice and sneered, "Zhong'er, that's enough. You Qi family know what you've done. It's only because the lives of the Pao Ge and Er Dao are in your hands, and it's only because this kid is loyal and righteous, otherwise, now that the Three Judicial Offices and Grand Secretary Qi are gone, how long can your Qi family protect itself?"
Qi Zhong sneered: "The Qi family's influence in Jizhou is still there. Old Master Qi Zhen resigned from his post and went into seclusion a long time ago. He is on his way to the capital and will be reinstated soon. My Qi family has been a family of officials for generations, enjoying wealth and honor. We are not someone that the eunuch faction can offend. Get out of the way. If he is unwilling to pay his respects, I will order those two to be killed right now."
Before Jinzhu could say anything more, Chen Ji gently stopped him, saying, "Lord Jinzhu, there's no need to say more."
The next moment, Chen Ji bowed deeply to the south.
After bowing three times, he turned to Qi Zhong and said, "Is there anything else? Let's talk about it all at once."
Qi Zhong said loudly, "When a bride comes to my Qi family to be welcomed, the proper etiquette of stopping and yielding three times must be observed."
On the street, a young man asked curiously, "What is 'three stops and three yields'?"
A middle-aged woman explained, "It's a rule in wealthy families that you have to answer with a couplet and auspicious words before you can enter. For example, the Qi family would give the first line 'A marriage is bound by a single thread across a thousand miles,' and the Chen family's illegitimate son would have to respond with 'A perfect couple for a hundred years, their hearts linked together.' But usually, they only stop you once you've entered. Now it seems they won't even let the Chen family's illegitimate son in."
The young man clicked his tongue: "If someone like me who can't read can't get in, then I won't be able to get in either."
At this moment, Chen Ji calmly said, "Please."
Qi Zhong said loudly, "How dare the Chen family's abandoned son stand outside the Qi family?"
The street fell silent for a moment, and Chen Ji lowered his head and remained silent.
Someone gasped: "This couplet... isn't it supposed to use auspicious words?"
"The Qi family clearly doesn't intend to let him in."
"If I were from the Qi family, I wouldn't let him in either. He's a eunuch's lackey!"
Qi Zhong glanced sideways at Chen Ji: "What, can't come up with a matching couplet? Then I'll try another one: 'Unfaithful and heartless, how can you face your bride today?'"
Chen Ji remained silent and did not retaliate.
Jin Zhu looked at Qi Zhong: "Is that enough? If it is, then release the person."
Qi Zhong sneered, "Want to leave? It's not time yet. You can only leave when I've said enough, otherwise you can wait to collect those two's corpses."
At this moment, the Qi family's gate suddenly opened wide.
Chen Ji looked up and saw Qi Zhaoning wearing a white fox fur cloak with rouge around her eyes.
Qi Zhaoning stood inside the threshold, staring at Chen Ji for a long time. She watched the heavy snow fall on Chen Ji's head, and several times she seemed about to speak but then stopped.
Finally, she whispered, "I've longed for this day, day and night, but I never imagined it would turn out like this. In my next life, I want to be a ring that doesn't fit properly, teetering on your finger, so you'll worry every moment that I'll disappear. Remember, this is what you owe me."
The next moment, before Chen Ji could speak, Qi Zhaoning raised her head high and loudly proclaimed to the crowd outside the door: "Chen Ji, the illegitimate son of the Chen family, has framed loyal officials, which is disloyalty; he is ungrateful and heartless, which is unjust; he oppresses the people, which is inhumane; he has turned against the Chen family, which is unfilial. Princess Baili would discard such a disloyal, unfilial, inhumane, and unjust person like worn-out shoes..." Qi Zhaoning paused, her voice trembling slightly, and said: "What others don't want, I, Qi Zhaoning, don't want either."
The people in the crowd looked at each other in bewilderment: "The Qi family has broken off the engagement!"
"Good riddance!"
"After this incident, who would still marry him?"
“Any decent family should not marry into such a eunuch faction.”
Amidst the commotion, someone threw an egg that hit Chen Ji on the back, but Chen Ji didn't move.
At first, the people were a little timid, but when they saw that Chen Ji did not move, they mustered up their courage and threw out the next egg.
Zhang Zheng watched from afar as Chen Ji stood in the heavy snow. The boy who once held off ten thousand men at the Longmen Inn in Guyuan, the boy who led the horse of the Prince of Fu in front of Andingmen, the boy who shot like an arrow towards the Danbi Grand Hall in his bright red robe with a qilin emblem, now stood under the lintel of the Qi family, head bowed.
It was as if light was shining down from the sky, but a piece of him was missing.
Zhang Zheng sniffed and pulled Zhang Xia outside, saying, "Don't look anymore."
He forcefully pulled Zhang Xia out of the crowd and out of Fuyou Street, saying as they walked, "Out of sight, out of mind. Since he chose not to look at you, you should understand his meaning. He's smart, so he knows very well what will happen at the Qi family today..."
However, at that moment, Zhang Xia suddenly broke free from Zhang Zheng's hand and stood in the heavy snow with Zao Zao in her hand.
Zhang Zheng panicked: "What are you doing?"
Zhang Xia suddenly turned around with Zaozao in her hand and returned to Fuyou Street without saying a word.
Zhang Zheng waded through the snow to block her way, grabbing her shoulders with both hands: "What are you doing? If you go over there to speak up for him, you'll only get scolded along with him. Take my advice, let's go home and pretend we were never here today."
In the heavy snow, Zhang Xia suddenly looked up and stared into Zhang Zheng's eyes: "Brother, he doesn't dare to look at me, simply because that's the kind of person he is. He only swallows all the bitterness himself, walks all the roads by himself, and only uses the most foolish way to protect the people he wants to protect... He pushes us away and makes us stay away from him."
Zhang Zheng was speechless.
The heavy snowflakes drifted by, blowing Zhang Xia's hair and red clothes, as well as Zao Zao's mane, all fluttering in the wind: "I understand, but that doesn't mean I'm not in pain."
She turned to look at the dense crowd on Fuyou Street: "People only saw his glory before, but I saw every step of this four thousand miles, from Luocheng to Guyuan, from Guyuan to the capital, from Chongli Pass to Jiaofangsi. I know what Chen Ji did to save Bai Li, what he did to save the Pao Ge, and what he did for that obsession of 'marking the boat to find the sword'. I don't want him to feel that everything he did this year was meaningless."
Zhang Zheng retorted angrily, "Since you've seen him go through fire and water for Bai Li, don't you want to see if he'd be willing to do the same for you? Why should my sister, Zhang Zheng's sister, have to suffer this kind of injustice?"
Zhang Xia turned and stared at Zhang Zheng: "There's no need to test him, I know he's willing. Besides, I don't need to weigh anyone on a scale. Brother, from the moment She Dengke pierced Chen Ji's heart, he'll feel like everyone he sees is coming with a knife. I just don't want him to be disappointed in everyone one day."
Zhang Zheng asked, "What about the Gelaohui and Erdao?"
Zhang Xia adjusted the saddle on Zaozao's back: "We have a backup plan, they'll be fine."
Zhang Zheng's expression turned complicated: "But you are not his moon."
Zhang Xia shook off Zhang Zheng and nimbly mounted his horse: "If I can't be the moon, then I'll be the sun!"
She patted Zaozao on the back, bent down, and charged towards Fuyou Street. Zaozao's powerful hooves kicked up snow, and her breath was like arrows of white smoke. In just a few breaths, she arrived in front of the crowd: "Make way!"
The people turned to look and quickly stepped back to make way for them, stumbling and falling in their haste.
Chen Ji stood in front of the Qi family's gate and turned to look at the girl in red riding towards him, just as impetuously as she had been on her first day at Taiping Medical Clinic.
But the chestnut horse and the rider on it seemed to be born to be the main characters on the stage. Whether they were playing a female role or a young female role, they were always the most dazzling and radiant ones.
Zhang Xia pushed through the crowd and stood in front of the Qi family's gate, calmly looking at Chen Ji.
Qi Zhaoning said urgently, "Zhang Xia, what are you doing here!"
Zhang Xia didn't look at her, but calmly looked at Chen Ji and commanded, "Marry me."
Chen Ji stood there, stunned.
He traveled a long way, traversing countless crowds. Now, finally, in that sea of people, there was someone he couldn't push away or disperse, riding a chestnut steed, like a hero, risking all his reputation, courage, and escape route to rescue him.
Together we will brave mountains of knives, seas of fire, sunrises, sunsets, spring and autumn, winter and summer.
Chen Ji's expression gradually changed. He opened his mouth, and after a long while, he finally uttered a single word: "Okay."
Zhang Xia frowned, gripped the reins tightly, and said in a stern voice, "Speak louder, don't just say it to me, say it to everyone!"
Chen Ji laughed and shouted, "Good!"
Qi Zhaoning stood inside the threshold and said shrilly, "Chen Ji, you mustn't agree to her. Don't forget that those two people are still in the hands of my Qi family. If you dare to go with her, you'll never see them again!"
However, at that moment, more people arrived outside Fuyou Street. Jiao Tu rushed into the crowd and shouted, "They've been rescued! Pao Ge and Er Dao have been rescued!"
Qi Zhong's expression changed, and he leaped onto the rooftop, running wildly southwards. (End of Chapter)