Chapter 44: The Cattery and the Greenhouse
Qi Zheng’s attack truly shook Shangjing for several days.
Although the various states were currently at war, Great Qian had always been rather peaceful internally. If people from an enemy state had unknowingly entered the territory and even dared to attack a prince, that would be rather shocking.
Fortunately, after only a few days, the investigation produced results.
It turned out that a group of lawless bandits had been bold enough to disguise themselves as refugees and wander all the way outside Shangjing. They had mistaken Prince Zheng for a wealthy merchant and killed to rob him of his money.
Now, those bandits had all been killed by the Shangjing authorities. It could be considered that peace had been restored to Shangjing.
Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief. “So it was bandits. That scared me to death.”
“So many bandits became vicious and lost their conscience because they had no food to eat and were driven into a dead end. Sigh, there’s a group of bandits on the mountain near my hometown too. They’re simply utterly heartless, but who doesn’t know they’re made up of the disaster-stricken commoners from nearby? Pitiful and lamentable.”
“It’s not some great matter. Those bandits were probably muddleheaded from desperation. It was bad enough that they were at the end of the road, but they actually ran blindly to Shangjing.”
“Exactly. It has only been a few days, and weren’t they all brought to justice?”
Chen Bai listened, but his heart chilled to the extreme.
So the case was closed just like that? The king clearly knew this was Crown Prince Jiao’s doing, yet he did not express even the slightest stance. He had even arranged for all the bandits to be killed, leaving no witnesses alive, and conclusively defined the entire murder attempt as an accidental robbery of a wealthy merchant.
Chen Bai felt a little creeped out. People said even a vicious tiger would not eat its cubs. People said the imperial family was heartless. Now he had truly seen it. The king could be completely indifferent even to the life and death of his own son, much less what place anyone else could possibly hold in his heart.
Perhaps someone like this really was suitable to be the king of a nation, because in his eyes, every person had only value or no value, and nothing else.
This was the ideal kind of king. Perhaps he really could govern Great Qian well. But… Chen Bai simply could not bring himself to like him. He felt too cold, too heartless. After all, people had warmth, and they also needed to feel warmth from others.
Shangjing was spreading rumors that Qi Zheng had been seriously injured, but Chen Bai had gone to Qi Zheng’s residence once. No matter how he looked at it, the injuries had healed a little too quickly.
That made sense too. With the people Meng Huanchao had brought, how could they truly injure Qi Zheng? This was quite the smoke screen. It had fooled everyone. Crown Prince Jiao would probably spend quite some time worrying in fear that the investigation might lead back to him.
Qi Zheng did not seem surprised by the king’s decision at all.
Chen Bai was a little puzzled. “Since you knew the king would not uphold justice and would not turn against Crown Prince Jiao because of this, why did you still put on this bitter-meat scheme and arrange an attack on yourself?”
“Only to let Crown Prince Jiao know that no matter how great a mistake he makes, the king will not hold it against him.”
Chen Bai frowned. “Are you tempting Crown Prince Jiao little by little into committing an irreparable mistake?”
Chen Bai looked at Qi Zheng oddly. “But the king can even turn a blind eye to him murdering his own son. What greater mistake could make the king care?”
Qi Zheng’s expression was unreadable. “There are only two things the king cares about. First, Great Qian. Second, his dragon throne.”
“This…” Chen Bai’s eyes shrank. “Could Crown Prince Jiao be that audacious? He shouldn’t dare…”
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Zheng said, “He did not dare before because the timing had not arrived. But if the king has little time left, will he really make no preparations?”
Chen Bai looked at Qi Zheng in surprise. He was the Grand Scholar of the Brush and usually stood beside the king’s dragon throne. The king looked majestic and powerful. No matter how one looked at him, he should still be able to rule Great Qian for another ten or twenty years. How could he be…
“No need to doubt it,” Qi Zheng said. “The news Meng Huanchao sent is still worth believing. The king did indeed suffer several serious injuries on the battlefield in his early years. Now his condition is very likely on the verge of erupting. Moreover, even if the news is false, Crown Prince Jiao will still believe it.”
So whether it was true or false, Crown Prince Jiao would make preparations for the final moment. What Qi Zheng did not say should be that no matter what, Meng Huanchao would make Crown Prince Jiao do certain things to ensure he could ascend once the king was unable to govern.
And to ensure that he could ascend smoothly, he would probably have to do some excessive things.
No matter how much the king doted on Crown Prince Jiao, there were probably some things he would not tolerate.
Chen Bai roughly understood what Qi Zheng was doing. He was making Crown Prince Jiao’s courage grow larger and larger. He was guiding Crown Prince Jiao into playing himself to death.
Chen Bai glanced at Qi Zheng and said nothing, because if Crown Prince Jiao ascended, it would not only be Chen Zixiu who would suffer great misfortune. Qi Zheng would not escape either.
At least when it came to dealing with Crown Prince Jiao, their goals were aligned.
As for the methods—perhaps affected by the resentment in this body—Chen Bai wished they could be even more ruthless. Because in a certain sense, the original Chen Zixiu had truly died unjustly. This blood feud would have to be avenged by him, the latecomer.
Chen Bai had originally wanted to tell Qi Zheng to rest well, but looking at Qi Zheng now, he was clearly only pretending to be injured, so he saved that sentence.
The next time Chen Bai saw Qi Zheng, it was already in the multifunctional electronic classroom.
The group of students was still gathered around Qi Zheng, asking after him.
“Prince Zheng, are your injuries healed?”
“Those bandits really must have been tired of living. They even dared attack a prince.”
“Now they can only repent underground. They were truly blind.”
But as they spoke, the topic started to drift. “Prince Zheng, I heard your Alaskan was there that day too?”
“Poor doggy. Luckily, it wasn’t hurt, but it must have been frightened. Other people definitely don’t know this, but our dogs only look big. They’re actually very timid. Here, have some jerky to calm your nerves.”
Qi Zheng: “…”
Chen Bai: “…”
Had they come to comfort the person, or to comfort the dog?
Chen Bai’s lesson today was a little special. He was teaching pet grooming, because Gan Xin’s Old English Sheepdog had grown up, and with that whole body of fur, it looked like a lion.
Gan Xin brushed his half-black, half-white Old English Sheepdog every day. Its fur was not tangled, but it had never been trimmed. To be honest, it looked like a wild beast, though Gan Xin still cheerfully felt that his Old English Sheepdog was as cute as when it was little. But he did not even consider that every time it passed through the streets of Shangjing, it scared people into turning around and running away.
Actually, that was not bad either, but overly long fur was not good for dogs. He had heard that Gan Xin’s Old English Sheepdog had walked into walls several times because its eyes were completely covered by fur.
That was why this lesson existed.
Chen Bai said, “Those who are not interested in pet grooming can review the previous lessons by themselves.”
This class was mainly voluntary.
But as soon as he said that, aside from the few students who had dogs, everyone else also shouted, “I want to learn, I want to learn.”
“Gan Xin, once I learn it, can I help groom your dog?”
Their faces were practically showing bootlicking expressions.
For dogs like Chen Xiaobu’s Dalmatian, the Shang brothers’ husky and corgi, and Prince Ning’s bulldog, short-haired dogs only needed regular baths, brushing, and nail trimming. Gan Xin’s Old English Sheepdog was different. It absolutely had to be groomed.
Oh, and Qi Zheng’s Alaskan Malamute also required grooming. Alaskans were long-haired dogs.
Chen Bai was actually learning as he taught, but at least he knew how to use the grooming tools in his hands.
Gan Xin’s Old English Sheepdog became the teaching tool. Chen Bai trimmed its fur while teaching according to the video.
Did they know how difficult it was to trim a furball monster like an Old English Sheepdog?
With Qi Zheng and several students helping, it took the entire morning just to finish the whole process: bathing, trimming, fluffing, styling, and blow-drying the Old English Sheepdog.
And the Old English Sheepdog after styling…
The students’ jaws almost dropped to the floor. Was this really the same furry monster that frightened Shangjing’s people into running away?
It looked like a completely different dog. Simple, beautiful, a fluffy big treasure. It was so good-looking that one’s heart melted, making people want to pounce on it, hug it, and pet it.
Seeing such a dog, forget being scared into running away. People would probably be unable to resist reaching out to touch it.
Gan Xin usually fed it well, and the Old English Sheepdog’s fur had changed from messy and disordered into something like cotton candy. Even Qi Zheng was surprised for a long time. The change was actually this big?
He looked at his own Alaskan. He had to study this class properly.
Gan Xin laughed until he giggled. How could his dog be so good-looking? If it walked on the street like this, wouldn’t it attract a crowd? He would have to be careful in the future. He felt like everyone wanted to steal his dog.
“Teacher, I think I’ve found my life’s dream. I want to become a pet groomer in the future.” Dimples appeared on Gan Xin’s smiling face.
Chen Bai: “…”
This child was really honest. But who did not have a dream when they were young? It was better than everyone monotonously wanting to become scientists, so he ignored it.
Then—
“Teacher, my dream is also to become a pet groomer.”
One by one, they grinned so widely their mouths nearly split.
Chen Bai: “…”
Fine. Scientists would have been better.
When the morning lesson ended and they went outside, the courtyard was full of quails running all over the ground.
“Aiya, weren’t they fenced in over there? How did they get out again?”
“They must be too small and squeezed through the gaps in the fence.”
These tiny “chickens” that looked like birds but could not fly had also become a source of joy for the students.
“Catch them, catch them.”
“Everyone count them. Don’t let any be missing. They’re too naughty.”
One moment, they teased the quails. The next, they ran off to pet the dogs.
Chen Bai looked at the pitiful expressions of the students who did not have dogs and thought about it. He might as well build a cat room in the academy. There were still several unused school buildings anyway. It could serve as a public cat café and satisfy their pitiful needs.
No sooner said than done. While the students were eating, Chen Bai went to a nearby school building and bought some solid wood cat houses.
They looked like cat villas, with several levels up and down. Inside were stairs, little rooms, rope-wrapped scratching boards, small hanging beds…
He placed them against the wall. Then he bought cat litter boxes, ceramic food and water bowls, and cat food.
He placed an indoor temperature regulator in the corner.
Only then did he buy the cats.
One orange cat, one blue-and-white British Shorthair, one short-legged Napoleon cat, and one hairless cat. Hairless cats were afraid of the cold, so in the future it would have to stay in a constant-temperature cat house. There were four cats in total, and he placed them directly into the cat villas.
The cat villas were a set, with the walls connected so the cats could visit one another.
In the afternoon, when Chen Bai led the students toward the nearby school building, the group was still a little puzzled.
“Teacher, aren’t we having class in the multifunctional classroom?”
They were now used to having class there. In any other place, they felt that class lacked spirit.
However, before Chen Bai could explain, the moment the students entered the room, they were completely stunned.
Looking at the cats inside the cat houses, they cried, “Wh-what kind of exotic beasts are these?”
“Meow! Meow!”
Kittens were very clingy by nature. Seeing people come in, they began meowing, wanting to approach and act cute.
The students were dumbfounded.
“Oh my goodness, look at this one! What is this?”
The hairless cat instantly attracted everyone’s attention. It was indeed… a little unusual. But hairless cats were also known as hairless dogs, dogs among cats, clingy beyond belief.
“And this short-legged one! Look at its little paws. It’s too funny.”
The short-legged Napoleon was not to be outdone either.
But in terms of fluffy cuteness, the orange cat and the blue-and-white British Shorthair still won.
Chen Bai gave a brief introduction. “From now on, this will be the academy’s cat café. During breaks, or when you drink water and eat, you can come here to play. You must take good care of these cats. This afternoon’s lesson will mainly be about how to raise cats.”
This counted as one of the academy’s major benefits.
When the students saw other people’s dogs, they were terribly envious. Now they jointly owned four cats, so they could finally satisfy their cravings.
The students were so happy they almost exploded. These exotic beasts were too beautiful. They wanted to raise them.
In truth, Chen Bai’s students now had quite a lot to do every day.
First, in the courtyard, they had to take care of the flowers in their pots, watering and fertilizing them at intervals.
Then there were the hundred or so quails, now fenced into a corner of the academy, which also required their care.
There were also the fruit trees being planted on the mountain, which they had to pay attention to from time to time.
Now there were four cats as well.
This was not even counting the time they spent sketching every day.
The students’ study intensity was real. They could only rely on taking good notes and reviewing seriously afterward.
Today’s lessons were actually not over yet. Whether it was the morning’s pet grooming or the afternoon’s cat care, those were interest classes. Chen Bai had arranged one more proper skill-based lesson.
That was greenhouse planting.
Why had he arranged this lesson? Because autumn was almost over.
Time truly passed a little too quickly. Now was exactly the right time to talk about greenhouse planting, because it would soon be useful.
After returning to the multifunctional electronic classroom, Chen Bai began the greenhouse lesson he had prepared.
“As long as the temperature, moisture, and sunlight are controlled properly, crops can actually be planted out of season even in winter. The greenhouse planting we are about to learn is a technique for growing vegetables in winter…”
The students opened their mouths. “…”
In winter, even noble families rarely ate fresh vegetables, because they simply could not buy them.
Teacher was now going to teach them a method to grow vegetables in winter?
Even Qi Zheng could not help but glance at Chen Bai. Lexun did the same…
Lexun usually carried that aloof, cold air. If others did not take the initiative to speak to her, she would never take the initiative to speak to others. But with that temperament, people could not ignore her presence.
Chen Bai could not finish explaining everything in such a short time. Today, he mainly explained one portion. After that, he would slowly teach them while they built the greenhouse.
When school ended, the students were still discussing excitedly.
“This is fun. Next class, we’ll try it.”
“My notebook is full. All that’s left is practice.”
After the students left the classroom, Chen Bai glanced around and saw that a few had not left. He was just about to ask if there was something else.
In the end, those students ran over to Qi Zheng.
“Prince Zheng, when spring comes next year, you’ll be promoting potato planting. Come plant them in my family’s fields. Our land is very fertile.”
“Mine too. My family’s fields are sandy soil, especially suitable for planting potatoes.”
“I’m good at planting class. Come plant them in my family’s fields. I can even help you watch over them.”
“…”
Listening from the side, Chen Bai was also stunned. Qi Zheng was responsible for promoting potato planting. In truth, the first priority was breeding the crop and increasing the number of seed potatoes.
But there was a problem here. Qi Zheng’s fief was basically all barren mountains. The only bit of farmland he had was not very good, and there was not enough of it either.
Chen Bai had still been thinking that if Qi Zheng could not find land to plant potatoes, he might become a laughingstock.
Now it seemed he had worried too much. Such a good opportunity to earn merit had long made the other families envious. Because of his personality, Qi Zheng was usually not close to the other meritorious families.
But that did not matter. Wasn’t Qi Zheng some kind of teaching assistant at Mountain Lord’s academy? He was said to attend classes together with their younger family members. Of course they had to seize such a good opportunity.
As for the fact that it was not yet planting season? Heh, if they waited until then, they probably would not even get a chance to drink the soup.
Qi Zheng: “…”
It seemed some problems had solved themselves.
Did they think he did not want to build good relationships with the other meritorious families? Wasn’t it simply because he had no opportunity? Unexpectedly, the opportunity had delivered itself to his door. And with this layer of connection, many things would become much more convenient in the future.
The students acted like little adults. Chen Bai watched with a smile, then left the classroom to them.
When Qi Zheng came out, Chen Bai asked, “All arranged?”
Qi Zheng said, “I still need to go to their residences to finalize it.”
Chen Bai nodded.
After that, autumn passed and winter came. The scorching heat was gone, and cool winds began to blow.
Chen Bai was busy building greenhouses. They would not be too large. They were originally meant for teaching, and incidentally for growing some vegetables they could eat in winter.
The materials were bought directly. If he had tried to find substitute materials on the spot, there was no way the greenhouses would be set up this winter, and the course would not be able to continue.
As for substitute materials, the students could think of that themselves in the future. It was still the same saying: the academy was a place for passing on knowledge. It was not a place to force unchanging, inflexible things into students’ heads. Otherwise, he would not have focused mainly on practical lessons.
“This greenhouse looks like a strange house.”
Looking at the white expanse, the students were extremely curious.
They had participated in building it themselves, but seeing the finished product still felt novel.
“It really is warm inside.”
They quickly flipped through their notes. “In that case, according to what was taught in class, as long as there’s enough sunlight and water, vegetables can be grown.”
“So the nature of growing vegetables according to the seasons is actually like this. Tsk, tsk.”
Chen Bai looked at the hardworking little “bees.” It was good that everyone was interested in his lessons. If they were not interested and were forced to study, the results would definitely be poor.
Today happened to be the day they sowed seeds inside the greenhouses. Chen Bai divided the students into teams, with several teams responsible for one greenhouse.
They were only planting one thing: tomatoes.
Since this was a practical lesson for students, naturally they had to do it themselves. Chen Bai went from greenhouse to greenhouse, taking a look and giving some guidance.
It was quite relaxing.
However, the students were busy, because winter was coming, and they still had to find a way to keep warm the fruit saplings they had planted on the mountain.
In modern times, people usually brushed lime on fruit trees, but that would not work here.
These students planned to dress their fruit trees—using dried grass to make simple “clothes” and wrap the trunks.
When they told the commoners who were helping with the planting about their idea, the group of people was stunned.
They had never heard of trees needing to wear clothes.
The students frowned and tried hard to organize their words to explain.
Chen Bai did not interfere. In the future, they would encounter situations like this many times. These commoners were Qi Zheng’s subjects, so comparatively speaking, they were still easy to talk to. If they met someone unreasonable, hehe…
He would first let them experience a clash of ideas. Chen Bai did not help with this kind of problem.
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. Even on Crown Prince Jiao’s side, Chen Bai heard from Qi Zheng that Crown Prince Jiao had also been making frequent moves in secret. He had no idea what the king was feeling now. The king… with Meng Huanchao, that nail planted inside the Crown Prince’s residence, should be seeing all of Crown Prince Jiao’s actions clearly.
However, when Chen Bai attended court, he did not see any other expression on the king’s face. A person like this was quite terrifying.
Chen Bai had originally thought they only needed to wait quietly for matters to develop. Whether it was him or Qi Zheng, they only needed to see how long the king could tolerate it. But an accident still happened.
Chen Bai’s plan to travel among the various states for study had been moved forward. This was originally a required process before becoming a Grand Scholar. Dragging it until now was already against the rules.
Moreover, his destination for study travel—he had originally planned to go to Su Dan’s Zhao State. When Su Dan left, he had so “warmly” “invited” him over. Chen Bai really did have to go take a look, and while he was at it, settle accounts with that little milk dog for tricking him into taking the academy’s female students to travel through the states.
Su Dan had calculated that if he did not go to Zhao, without Su Dan, the crown prince, backing him up, Chen Bai would face endless difficulties no matter which other state he went to.
That was what Chen Bai had planned too. He would go to Zhao. It would save him from unnecessary trouble.
But man proposes, heaven disposes. The destination of his study travel had to be Lu State, the Lu State where Zuo Qiu was.
As for why?
Chen Bai was not too clear either. He had originally planned to go to Zhao in spring, but in the end, the king issued an imperial decree ordering him to immediately bring people to Lu State for study travel and complete this necessary procedure before becoming a Grand Scholar.
Chen Bai frowned slightly. The king’s intention was truly odd. Why did he insist that he go to Lu State in the depths of winter? Moreover, when Grand Scholars traveled through the states, they usually went wherever they wanted. There was no need for the king to personally issue a decree, right?
He could not make sense of it, but Chen Bai guessed it should have something to do with the Lu envoys who had come again to buy weapons.
That was right. Zuo Qiu, Zuo Shanqin, that fox who deceived people without even paying with his life, had come again.
He heard that Lu State, relying on the weapons they had purchased, had fought Ba State to a standstill, but it seemed they had not completely driven Ba’s people out of Lu. So they had come to buy more weapons to strengthen their forces. That in itself was understandable.
But as soon as the Lu envoys arrived, the king ordered Chen Bai to go to Lu State for study travel. Chen Bai refused to believe there was no connection.
But what exactly was the reason? He really could not guess.
Unfortunately, Zuo Qiu had refused to show himself the whole time, so there was no chance to ask him. Perhaps after scheming back then to trick him into helping Lu buy weapons, Zuo Qiu felt too embarrassed to meet him.
Chen Bai did not dare delay and began preparing for the study trip.
Unfortunately, he would not get to eat the tomatoes in his greenhouse. His quails also seemed to have started laying eggs, and he had not even tasted any yet.
Chen Bai instructed the students to take good care of the little quails, the cats in the cat café, the fruit trees on the mountain, and the tomatoes in the greenhouses. Only then did he set out with peace of mind.
Winter truly was not a good time to travel. Even wearing a cloak, it was still chilly.
Since he was traveling far, he was not actually alone. Chen Shouye had also arranged many guards for him, so the journey did not seem lonely.
When he arrived at the city gate, Chen Bai could not help but freeze, because…
Several students with dogs and small bundles on their backs were waiting there. Their carriages had nearly blocked the city gate. Those second-generation officials did not care about the people entering and leaving the city. So what if they blocked it?
Chen Bai looked and saw that Gan Xin, Shang Jujiu, Shang Zhizhou, Prince Ning, and Chen Xiaobu were all there, not one missing.
“What are you all doing?” Chen Bai could not help asking.
“We’re going with Senior Brother to study abroad. Our families have all agreed.”
Chen Bai was surprised, but this was actually easy to explain. If it were ordinary people, their parents definitely would not allow them to travel far. But these students were beginning to show signs of becoming famous scholars, so things were completely different. Famous scholars had to travel to broaden their knowledge. Although they were still a bit young, it was naturally good for them to travel together. Their families simply had to bring more servants and attendants to take good care of them.
How difficult was it for a family to produce a famous scholar? So these parents gritted their teeth and agreed.
“Brother, are you surprised? I begged for so long before Father and Mother finally agreed to let me come along.” Chen Xiaobu sniffed, looking terribly smug.
Chen Bai looked at the guards and servants following behind them. With so many people taking care of them, there should not be any problems. Besides, traveling together would indeed be lively.
Chen Xiaobu got into Chen Bai’s carriage, while the others returned to their own carriages, and the group headed out of the city.
Even after getting into the carriage, they lifted the curtains to ask Chen Bai questions.
Chen Bai smiled. Traveling through another state at such a young age would surely become a fine tale. It was just that these students still did not understand homesickness.
Judging from how happy they looked, they probably had no idea how difficult it was to be in a foreign land.
Just as he was thinking this, the carriage left the city gate. Chen Bai froze again, because…
Several female students, led by Princess Lexun, were actually waiting outside the city.
Prince Ning following him to Lu State had already surprised him greatly. Now even Princess Lexun was…
Moreover, not one of these female students was missing. That was strange. Their families could not possibly be using the excuse of cultivating famous scholars too, right? Besides, they had come too neatly, all at once.
Seeming to see Chen Bai’s doubts, Princess Lexun said directly, “The king has issued a decree ordering us to accompany Grand Scholar Zhaoxue to Lu State for study travel.”
Chen Bai frowned. Instead, he became even more puzzled. This was unreasonable.
The king making him go to Lu State at this time already made no sense. Now he even wanted him to bring these female students?
As for the contest between Mountain Lord and the Crown Prince’s retainers, Chen Bai actually no longer cared this time, because he felt Crown Prince Jiao would not be able to jump around for much longer. Winning or losing was no longer that important. Therefore, this time, he had not even specifically gone to inform these female students…
But why had the king specifically issued a decree?
It truly made no sense.
However, Chen Bai could not refuse. He could only have them board their own carriages and set off together.
Sometimes, accidents came one after another, but that did not mean the matter ended there.
They had not gone far when they saw the Lu envoys’ procession, who had come to buy weapons and were now preparing to return. The one at the head was none other than Zuo Qiu.
Chen Bai lifted the carriage curtain, the corners of his mouth rising. “And here I was wondering who it was. Isn’t this one of Lu’s Four Young Masters, the clever, kind, upright Zuo Shanqin?”
The corner of Zuo Qiu’s mouth twitched. What upright or not upright? He was clearly using that to toy with him.
Zuo Qiu said, “Grand Scholar Zhaoxue is going to my Lu State for study travel. Lu welcomes you wholeheartedly. The journey is long. Why not travel with us? That way, we can look after one another.”
Chen Bai smiled. The journey was indeed long, and it was not without danger. Once they left Daqian, they would have to face the smoke of war between the states. It was far more dangerous than Shangjing. Having more people around was indeed much safer.
But…
Chen Bai took out the Fenxin zither that Zuo Qiu had given him from the carriage and said, “Tsk, tsk. Isn’t this the zither Zuo Qiu casually bought from the roadside? It does look rather ordinary to me. Why don’t I chop it up for firewood?”
Serves him right for lying back then. Chen Bai had thought they would never have a chance to meet again, but here they were.
Zuo Qiu’s mouth twitched. This Grand Scholar Zhaoxue really knew how to hold a grudge. He said, “Follow along. We have people arranged to receive us. There won’t be any danger on the road.”
Chen Bai thought to himself, of course he would follow. Wasn’t he having fun getting under Zuo Qiu’s skin right now?
He was just about to say something when Chen Xiaobu suddenly pointed at someone behind Zuo Qiu. “Brother, look. Isn’t that…”
Chen Bai looked over. Behind Zuo Qiu stood a tall, slender figure wearing a mask.
But not everyone who wore a mask was as good at disguising themselves as Chen Bai. Someone familiar could still recognize him.
Wasn’t that Qi Zheng? Why was he in Zuo Qiu’s procession? And judging from the situation, he seemed to be going to Lu State too.
Too many doubts suddenly gathered together, and Chen Bai could not quite sort them out.
It seemed he would have to find an opportunity to ask Qi Zheng.
They were allies now. Even without Mountain Lord acting as a go-between, he could ask directly.
Chen Bai lost interest in teasing Zuo Qiu, and the procession continued on its way.
The current procession was long enough. Besides Chen Bai’s carriages, there were many guards and servants following along. Now that Zuo Qiu’s group had joined, the whole party became even more grand and lively.
Gan Xin and the others insisted on walking their carriages alongside Chen Bai’s carriage. Grinning, they lifted their curtains and chatted with him.
“Brother Bai, did you see the bundles on our backs? They’re all full of dried meat, for feeding the dogs.”
The dogs were inside the carriages, held like warm little hand warmers.
Before Chen Bai could say anything, Chen Xiaobu stuck his head out. His little nose was red from the cold. “My bundle is also full of dried meat for my Dalmatian. Haha, we all thought of the same thing.”
From behind, Shang Jujiu poked his head out. “Gan Xin, hurry up and move forward. I want to talk to Brother Bai.”
The journey was quite lively.
Up ahead, however, Zuo Qiu frowned slightly and looked toward the masked Qi Zheng beside him. “Is that Young Master Gan Thirteen inside that carriage?”
Qi Zheng nodded.
Zuo Qiu opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing.
Gan Xin’s almost miraculous scouting ability during the battle of Shanggu City had long since reached Lu State and caused a great stir. No one wanted such a master scout running into their own country.
Yet Gan Xin was still angrily fighting Shang Jujiu for position. He wanted to keep his carriage alongside Brother Bai’s. He had no awareness at all that he had already become a thorn in others’ eyes. It was said that his portrait had already been sent to the golden halls of various states.
The carriages traveled for who knew how long. Inside the carriage, Chen Xiaobu watched the scenery outside the whole way. No matter how Chen Bai tried to persuade him, he would not listen. He was practically freezing like a dog. This was his first time traveling far from home, so it was inevitable that he would be a little excited.
Chen Bai had no choice but to add another cloak over him. He thought to himself, in a while, this little one would understand how painful it was to sit in a carriage for so long.
In the end, he had underestimated Chen Xiaobu’s excitement.
Even when the sky was almost dark and the group began setting up camp, Chen Xiaobu could still chatter excitedly with Gan Xin and the others.
Chen Bai thought, this child must have been injected with chicken blood.
Zuo Qiu walked over. “We’ve lit a bonfire over there. The weather is cold. Why not come warm yourselves by the fire? The tents over there are almost set up as well.”
Actually, Chen Bai’s group had brought tents too. Ancient roads were unlike modern ones. Much of the time, there were no inns nearby, so they had to sleep outdoors. Besides, there were so many of them that staying at an inn would not be practical.
Since Zuo Qiu’s people had helped set up tents, Chen Bai would not be pretentious about it.
He got off the carriage and led the others toward the bonfire. Perfect timing—he also needed to ask Qi Zheng why he was in Zuo Qiu’s group.
Qi Zheng was sitting beside the bonfire.
The students gathered around, then exchanged glances.
Wasn’t that Prince Zheng?
But they understood. Since Prince Zheng was wearing a mask and was in the Lu envoys’ procession, he clearly did not want to be recognized.
They grinned and gathered around to warm themselves by the fire. But they were children after all, and every now and then, they could not help sneaking curious glances at Qi Zheng.
Chen Bai sat down beside Qi Zheng, took off his cloak, and placed it over his lap. Listening to the surrounding sounds and smelling the aroma of food drifting over, he guessed Zuo Qiu had ordered people to prepare dinner.
Only then did Chen Bai ask, seemingly casually, “Why?”
Wasn’t this the crucial period in the struggle against Crown Prince Jiao? Why would Qi Zheng leave Shangjing?
Qi Zheng replied, “The king issued a decree ordering me to go to Lu. Lu has now resisted Ba’s invasion, but there are still some Ba troops remaining inside Lu territory, moving around constantly and making their movements impossible to grasp. Lu intends to build friendly relations with Daqian, so Zuo Qiu requested that Daqian help Lu drive out the Ba army. Since I defeated the Ba army at Shanggu City last time, the king sent me to Lu…”
Chen Bai frowned. So it was… borrowing a general.
This was indeed one way for two countries to show friendship.
But if Daqian and Lu joined forces in private, that was one thing. If it appeared openly on the surface, it would likely alarm the other states, and they might take actions unfavorable to Daqian.
Was that why Qi Zheng was wearing a mask?
But paper could not wrap fire. Just as they could recognize him at a glance, others might as well.
Once the news leaked, they would likely face all sorts of problems.
The king must have known the consequences, yet he still sent Qi Zheng.
Chen Bai lowered his eyes and asked, “Is that really the only reason?”
Qi Zheng: “…”
That was right. If the king had merely sent him as Daqian’s gesture of friendship toward Lu, then there would be nothing wrong with it. What worried him was…
That the king had deliberately sent him away, making him leave Shangjing.
What did the king want to do?
At this moment, Chen Xiaobu came over carrying a plate. “Brother, this is meat they roasted. I had them cut the best part. Brother, I’ve never camped outside before. Isn’t it especially fun?”
Chen Bai: “…”
He placed the cloak on his lap over Chen Xiaobu. No matter what the king wanted to do, in this era, Chen Bai also had people he wanted to protect.
