Chapter 648
Cinnabar
Telling a story?
Chen Ji had never told stories to children before: "Brother can't tell stories, but how about I read you the newspaper instead?"
The little girl shook her head: "The stories in the newspaper aren't good. I want to hear stories. What about Lord White Dragon? He can tell stories and make paper kites. I want him to take me to fly kites, but Lord White Dragon said he'll take me in early summer, to the hillside with dandelions."
The little girl's voice lit up with joy: "Lord White Dragon also said he would take me to many places."
Chen Ji asked curiously, "Where else are we going?"
The little girl suddenly removed the wooden monkey mask from her face, revealing a delicate face beneath. Her face was clean and free of elaborate, mysterious makeup, with small dimples: "Lord White Dragon said that after the Awakening of Insects in spring, he will take me to the fields outside the city to search for treasure. Four-leaf clovers are treasures, and strangely shaped stones are treasures too. If I find more than him, he will take me out to play in the summer."
Chen Ji's expression relaxed, and he took his hand off the hilt of the whale-shaped sword. Leaning against the side of the carriage, he asked with a smile, "Where are we going to play in the summer?"
The little girl smiled and said, "Lord White Dragon said he can take me to the Yongding River to catch fish in the summer. Lord White Dragon said he's the best at catching fish; he can catch them with his bare hands without a net. The little fish we catch will be kept in earthenware jars, and we'll release them back into the river when we get home."
"And autumn?"
"When the leaves fall in autumn, he takes me to pick the most beautiful leaves. He says there's a Fragrant Hills in Beijing where the leaves turn red, even more beautiful than the sunset. If we pick the leaves and put them in a book, we can look at them again in winter, as if we're hiding autumn away."
What about winter?
"Winter?" The little girl thought for a moment, "The White Dragon Lord took me to build a snowman a while ago."
Chen Ji sighed, "Lord Bailong is so thoughtful."
The little girl hid behind the gap in the carriage curtain: "Brother Chen Ji..."
Chen Ji turned his head and looked down at the little girl's face: "How do you know my name?"
The little girl replied matter-of-factly, "Lord White Dragon told me that your name is Chen Ji, and you're a friend. He said that if my uncle and aunt are no longer here one day, and I encounter danger, I'll go to you, and you'll definitely be willing to help me."
Chen Ji asked in confusion, "Uncle and Aunt?"
The little girl thought for a moment and said, "They are the uncles and aunts who live in my house."
Chen Ji suddenly realized that this must refer to Changsheng, Yuyuan, Qixiao, and others.
A thought struck him: "What else did Lord White Dragon say about me?"
The little girl recalled, "Lord White Dragon said you were incredibly stubborn, like a donkey, refusing to move no matter how you led it, and retreating no matter how you hit it. He also said you seemed quite clever, but were actually incredibly stupid. He also said you were too calculating..."
Chen Ji quickly stopped him, saying, "Alright, alright, I know... By the way, what's your name?"
The little girl said obediently, "My name is Zhu Sha. Aunt Yu Yuan calls me Nannan, and the uncles call me Xiao Donggua."
Chen Ji let out a long sigh of relief: "Those uncles are really awful."
Zhu Sha looked up and said, "You haven't told me a story yet."
Chen Ji thought for a moment: "I haven't read many stories, but I can tell you a story about multiple people traveling together called The Naming Technique of Night. The protagonist is named Qing Chen, and he has an older brother named Qing Zhun..."
Zhu Sha asked in confusion, "What is meant by 'group wearing'?"
Chen Ji took a deep breath: "Then let's change the story. I'll tell you a story about a little monkey."
Zhu Sha pointed to the wooden monkey mask beside her: "Is this the story of this monkey?"
Chen Ji was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes."
Zhu Sha became interested: "I want to hear it! I want to hear it!"
Chen Ji smiled and said, "Once upon a time, there was a big rock that stayed by the sea for a very, very long time, exposed to the sun, the sea breeze, and the rain every day. One day, the rock suddenly cracked..."
Chen Ji suddenly spread his arms wide, making an exaggerated gesture. The dark cloud nestled on his shoulder was startled by this sudden action, meowed, jumped onto the car floor, and wagged its tail in dissatisfaction.
Zhu Sha stared wide-eyed, hugged the fluffy black cloud to her chest, and looked up at Chen Ji: "And then?"
Surprisingly, Wuyun let Zhusha hold her without struggling, and listened to the story with Zhusha.
Chen Ji lowered his voice: "Then, a little monkey jumped out of the stone! This little monkey was extraordinary. It could run, jump, and climb trees from birth. As soon as it opened its eyes, two golden beams shot out from its eyes and all the way up to the sky, making the Jade Emperor's chair shake."
Zhu Sha asked curiously, "Who is the Jade Emperor?"
Chen Ji thought for a moment: "He is the highest official in heaven, and all the gods are under his jurisdiction."
Zhu Sha asked in confusion, "Is he bigger than Lord Bai Long?"
Chen Ji laughed: "He's much bigger than Lord Bailong. Bailong only manages the Secret Service, while the Jade Emperor governs the whole world."
“Oh…” Zhu Sha blinked. “And then?” “Well, then the monkey played with the other monkeys on the mountain. One day, the monkeys were bathing in a mountain stream when an old monkey said, ‘Let’s all go upstream and see where its source is. Whoever finds the source will be our king.’ So the monkeys went upstream and came to a huge waterfall. The waterfall was enormous; the water rushed down from the mountaintop, even faster than the Yongding River.”
"At that moment, our stone monkey jumped out and shouted, 'I'm going in!' He closed his eyes and jumped in with all his might. Guess what he discovered?"
Zhu Sha shook his head.
"There's no water behind the waterfall, but there's a big iron bridge, and on the other side of the bridge is a cave. The cave entrance has twelve characters written on it: 'Blessed Land of Flower and Fruit Mountain, Heavenly Cave of Water Curtain.' Inside the cave, there's everything: stone pots, stone stoves, stone bowls, stone basins, stone benches, and stone beds. It's so spacious that it could house thousands of monkeys. It's practically a home made just for monkeys."
Zhu Sha's eyes sparkled: "Then did he become king?"
"It's done, it's done..."
Following his memory, Chen Ji told Xiao Zhusha the story of Journey to the West, continuing until the little monkey crossed the ocean to the southern continent of Zhanzhou to learn how to dress and speak, and until the little monkey met the Bodhi Patriarch at Lingtai Fangcun Mountain and Xieyue Sanxing Cave, before stopping.
He looked south and saw Changxiu waving at him: "Lord Chen, Lord Zhang is leaving the palace. Quickly bring the carriage over."
Chen Ji turned to look at Zhu Sha: "That's all for today. The rest of the story is too long to tell in a long time."
Zhu Sha didn't make a fuss, she just obediently said "oh", and then pulled the curtain a little wider: "Brother Chen Ji, can we continue the story tomorrow? The story you told is more interesting than the one told by Lord Bai Long."
Chen Ji smiled and said, "Okay."
"Pinky promise".
Chen Ji extended his little finger: "Pinky promise."
After making a pinky promise, Zhu Sha put on the wooden monkey mask with satisfaction. Suddenly, the sounds under the mask became noisy. Qi Xiao heard the drums on the city tower and said in a muffled voice, "Wait, it's already noon. Why has Little Winter Melon been out for so long today?"
Chang Sheng was also puzzled: "Normally it's only half an hour at most, right? Lord Sick Tiger, what happened today? What did Little Winter Melon tell you?"
Yu Yuan hurriedly asked, "Lord Sick Tiger, is Nannan crying?"
Chen Ji said nonchalantly, "No crying, no crying, you're being good."
Yu Yuan asked in confusion, "If you really didn't cry, then why did it take so long?"
Chen Ji explained, "I told her a story, so she probably didn't want to go back."
Yu Yuan asked curiously, "What story?"
Chen Ji laughed and said, "I won't tell you."
Yu Yuan pleaded, "If Nannan wakes up at mealtime next time, please buy her some millet cake or osmanthus lotus root. She loves these the most."
“Definitely,” Chen Ji replied. He picked up Zhang Zhuo outside the Donghua Gate and took him back to the Zhang residence for dinner. After dinner, he went to the Wenhua Hall to review memorials and was busy until evening.
Seeing that Grand Secretary Chen and Grand Secretary Hu had left the palace and boarded their carriages, Zhang Zhuo was nowhere to be seen.
Qi Xiao questioned, "Could it be that Lord Zhang was murdered in the palace?"
Chang Sheng scoffed: "With Shan Niu in charge of the palace and Li Dongyan, the commander of the Jie Fan Guard, just returning to the capital, how many lives do those Jing Chao traitors have to dare to assassinate a cabinet minister in the palace? Besides, Lord Zhang is always diligent. Sometimes he simply stays in the Wenhua Hall until the second watch before coming out, goes back to sleep for two hours, and then comes back again."
Chen Ji was astonished; he hadn't realized how hard Zhang Zhuo had worked.
Qi Xiao was puzzled: "Didn't they say that the Military Intelligence Bureau would definitely take action against the cabinet ministers today? But Grand Secretary Hu and Grand Secretary Chen have already returned, surrounded by many experts. If Lord Zhang stays until midnight, won't he be unable to kill any of them?"
Chang Sheng casually replied, "Then let's do it another day. It's no big deal."
Chen Ji frowned in thought.
No, it won't be another day.
That arrogant guy from the Military Intelligence Bureau dared to challenge me; he must be absolutely certain that an opportunity will come today. But where is that opportunity?
Just then, Changxiu came out of the Donghua Gate, followed by two Jiefan Guards.
Chen Ji rushed forward: "Lord Changxiu, is Lord Zhang still in the Wenhua Hall?"
Changxiu smiled and said, "Lord Zhang is still reading the urgent reports from the border. I heard that the Jing Dynasty's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry has been spotted north of Datong. Lord Wangdaosheng just entered the palace and I'm afraid he won't be back until very late."
Chen Ji glanced at the imperial edict in Chang Xiu's arms and asked calmly, "Where is Lord Chang Xiu going?"
Changxiu said "Oh": "Master Qi Zhen has arrived in the capital today. Right now, several censors from the Censorate are hosting a welcome dinner for him on the third floor of Bianyifang. His Majesty ordered me to convey the imperial decree to promote him to Minister of Rites, concurrently Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, and to bestow upon him the title of Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince."
Chen Ji was stunned. Was this what the Military Intelligence Division was waiting for? (End of Chapter)