Art

At the banquet, everyone fell silent. Even the sound of the zither stopped.

They could no longer bring themselves to mock She Dengke or Liu Quxing's name and clothes. They also could not help asking themselves: if they were slandered, how many people would be willing to stand up and speak for them?

When ordinary people heard rumors about you, they would merely repeat a few words they had picked up from others and tell them to you.

But you might not care what other people said. Perhaps what mattered more was whether your friends had spoken up for you when others spread rumors about you.

Chen Ji had not expected She Dengke and Liu Quxing to stand up and speak for him. It was precisely because he had not expected it that he was surprised.

At that moment, the heir drained his cup. The cups in the prince's manor were rather small, and he found them unsatisfying, so he wanted to summon someone to bring him a larger wine bowl.

But Commandery Princess Bai Li shot him a glare, and he had no choice but to drop the idea.

The bearing of the jianghu naturally clashed with an elegant gathering of scholars.

Still, the heir muttered, "These scholars aren't as interesting as people from the jianghu, after all... The name Chen Ji sounds familiar. I think I've heard it somewhere before?"

At that moment, Commandery Princess Bai Li looked at Chen Wenxiao. "May I ask whether those IOUs of your younger brother's are genuine?"

Chen Wenxiao gathered his sleeves and sat up straight. "My younger brother Chen Ji is fond of gambling. He owes seven gambling houses a total of 1,231 taels of silver. Every word I have said is true."

A scholar cupped his hands toward the commandery princess. "Wenxiao is a man of admirable character. He would never lie about such a matter."

"All right," Commandery Princess Bai Li said, letting out a breath.

Chen Ji listened quietly beside the pavilion. He, too, was wondering what sort of person he had once been. Had he really been a gambler?

It was possible. After all, those IOUs from the gambling houses could not be faked, and such a thing was easy to verify.

But those matters had nothing to do with him. They were in the past.

Behind the bamboo curtain, Consort Jing seemed to look toward Chen Ji. "Does your family not know you belong to the Secret Intelligence Directorate?"

Chen Ji replied, "Madam, I do not belong to the Secret Intelligence Directorate. At most, I am one of its falcons. I am not even a secret agent."

"Oh?" Consort Jing was somewhat puzzled. "Then why do you risk your life working for the Secret Intelligence Directorate?"

Chen Ji answered frankly, "For money. They give me fifty taels of silver each time I help them find a clue."

Consort Jing was taken aback. "Only fifty taels? You risked your life working for the Secret Intelligence Directorate for fifty taels of silver?"

By now, she believed what Chen Wenxiao had said. This medical hall apprentice was indeed a gambler, willing to throw away his life for money.

Chen Ji, however, thought to himself that this was the disparity in the world. He worked himself to the bone for fifty taels, yet such a paltry sum meant nothing in the eyes of Consort Jing and Consort Yun.

Behind the bamboo curtain, Consort Jing slowly leaned back on her cushioned couch. "Help me take revenge, and I will give you a thousand taels of silver when it is done."

Chen Ji thought for a moment. "You want Liu Mingxian dead?"

"That's right."

"Lord Liu has hidden experts at his side, and he seldom leaves home. Killing him won't be easy. If I borrow the Secret Intelligence Directorate's hand, it will be even harder-he has already brought down both Cloud Goat and Bright Rabbit... If you want revenge, it will cost five thousand taels."

"Two thousand taels, and not a tael more."

"Deal."

Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, money was easier to earn from the wealthy!

With those two thousand taels of silver to fall back on, he would dare venture into the inner prison again, collect all the icy streams, and light more than a hundred furnace fires.

By then, as long as no executive officer intervened, three or five ordinary secret agents could forget about doing anything to him.

While he was thinking, Consort Jing suddenly asked, "What do you think of Chunhua? She is in the bloom of youth, at her most charming. Though she is a little older than you, she knows how to care for someone. When I bought her from Yangzhou, she cost me a hundred taels of silver."

Chen Ji hurriedly replied, "Madam, please don't play matchmaker at random. Money will be enough."

At the banquet.

Chen Wenzong looked at She Dengke and Liu Quxing and asked, "Are you colleagues of my younger brother? Has he been well lately? Did he come today?"

"He did. If you want to know how he's been, why don't you, his own elder brother, ask him instead of me?" She Dengke replied dully.

Chen Wenzong looked embarrassed. "A fair point."

Chen Wenxiao's face darkened. "He did such a thing himself. Why should we still care about him?"

The Ning Dynasty governed through the cardinal and moral bonds. The principles of ruler and subject, father and son each keeping to their roles formed the order that bound the entire society. Yet although everyone spoke of loving mothers and filial sons, of elder brothers being kind and younger brothers respectful, how many parents in the world could truly treat a concubine's child as their own?

It was all just for appearances.

Liu Quxing was about to open his mouth to retort when someone patted him on the shoulder. He turned and saw that Chen Ji had returned to the banquet at some unknown point.

Chen Ji cupped his hands toward Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao from across the room. "Elder brothers, we have met again today after a long separation. I never expected things to turn out like this. Why don't we leave it at that? This is the literary gathering the heir arranged, after all. Let's not disturb the other guests' enjoyment of it."

When Bai Li saw Chen Ji appear, she hurriedly tugged at the heir's arm. "Brother, it's him! The one who charged us a toll and set up the ladder for us. If I'd known, I wouldn't have spoken up for him!"

The heir laughed heartily. "I don't think we helped him for nothing. Don't you find him interesting? He even dared charge Prince Jing's heir a toll!"

Bai Li curled her lip. "Three taels of silver for a single crossing. His heart is black through and through. But... although he's awful, he doesn't seem like a gambler to me."

The heir laughed. "And what does a gambler look like?"

Bai Li thought back. "I saw them when I went to the gambling house with you. Every gambler there had lost his senses. They cared about nothing but gambling, their eyes were bloodshot, their clothes were filthy, and there was dirt under their nails... But he's very clean, and he's full of spirit."

A gambler thought of nothing but gambling. He gambled when he woke and slept when he was done. How would he have time to mind his appearance?

The heir nodded. "He doesn't seem like one, it's true. In any case, the little monk said he has already given up greed and anger, and I believe the little monk."

"How has he turned over a new leaf? Even if he's stopped gambling, he's still awful!" Bai Li said sulkily.

The heir smiled and soothed her. "All right, all right. Three taels of silver are no more than a box of your rouge and powder."

At that moment, Chen Wenzong found Chen Ji somewhat familiar.

Only then did Chen Wenzong remember that Chen Ji had looked at him earlier during the banquet, yet he had failed to recognize him.

Of course, perhaps it was also because they had never been close. His mother had always warned him not to associate with Chen Ji.

Chen Wenzong rose. "Wenxiao was in the wrong earlier. I apologize to you on his behalf. Please don't take it to heart."

Chen Ji smiled. "It's all right. His mouth belongs to him; I can't stop him saying what he likes."

Chen Wenzong said, "Father has been at home lately. Come back and fulfill your filial duties when you have time. When he sees that you've turned over a new leaf and are studying medicine diligently, he'll surely be happy."

Chen Ji replied, "My studies at the Imperial Medical Hall keep me rather busy, so... there's no need."

He had no intention of returning to the Chen Family, and did not even plan to return in the future. As he had told Old Yao, he truly had come to regard the medical hall as home.

Chen Ji could understand. With a gambler for a son and a mother whose identity was also suspect, he was naturally unwelcome at home.

Since he was unwelcome, he would have nothing more to do with them. That would also spare everyone the need to put on an act.

At that moment, someone rose and said with a smile, "The bonds between ruler and subject, father and son, must not be thrown into disorder. Perhaps you resent your father for not sending you to Eastern Grove Academy, or for neglecting you. But he is your father, and you are his son. You must still fulfill your filial duties."

Chen Ji looked at the man's face, somewhat puzzled. "And you are?"

The speaker was handsome and graceful. He wore a blue scholar's robe, an exquisite black gauze hat, and a jade belt with a valuable jade pendant hanging from it.

At Chen Ji's question, the man replied with proud reserve, "Lin Chaojing of Eastern Grove Academy."

It seemed that Chen Ji was supposed to know who he was simply upon hearing his name.

But Chen Ji's attention was elsewhere. He had only just realized why the man looked familiar!

This Lin Chaojing looked remarkably like Lin Chaoqing of the Bureau of Punishments. If they were not brothers, they were surely related.

But Chen Ji clearly remembered that voice. Lin Chaojing was the one who had said he would denounce the Eunuch Faction at the palace examination... and Lin Chaoqing was a member of the Eunuch Faction.

He thought no more about it and simply patted Liu Quxing and She Dengke. "Let's go. This place isn't suited to us. Sorry you had to suffer on my account."

"Mm, let's go," Liu Quxing said, sniffling.

"Wait a moment," Lin Chaojing said loudly. "The three of you also came to attend the literary gathering. Presumably, your hearts are filled with brocade as well. Everyone just recited their new works. I wonder what works the three of you have brought?"

Chen Ji looked straight at Lin Chaojing without a word.

Works? He had none.

Should he copy works from the world he had once known? He could not do that either.

Chen Ji's strengths were heavily lopsided. Over the years, he had devoted himself to the sciences, popular science, deduction, investigation, and counter-surveillance. Even when he studied something in the humanities, it was only cryptography.

So asking him to make gunpowder now would pose little trouble, but reciting a poem was truly beyond him...

If he really had to recite poetry, he could probably manage only the most famous line from each poem.

For example, "A time will come to cleave the wind and break the waves; I'll hoist my cloudlike sails and cross the vast blue sea." What came before and after it, he could not recall offhand.

More importantly, the allusion to the Double Ninth Festival weighed on Chen Ji's heart. He still did not know what connection this world had to his own. If he recited a poem someone here had already written, he would make a fool of himself.

Wait!

Suddenly, the clouds parted in Chen Ji's mind, revealing a clear sky stretching for ten thousand miles.

The haze from before scattered in an instant: gunpowder?

Gunpowder!

He might not know how to recite poetry, but he could make gunpowder.

Poetry was art, but wasn't an explosion art too?

There would be another chapter shortly.