Chapter 106 Zhang Zhuo
In the study of Zhou Mansion.

Jin Zhu sat behind the mahogany desk, glancing at Xi Feng with a half-smile: "Master Si, your acting is so good. You are so loyal to me on weekdays. Isn't that just acting?"

Xifeng: “Ah?”

Jin Zhu's words were like a bolt of lightning, striking Xifeng who was still immersed in the role of Si Zhu.

Wake up from the split.

Xifeng cried out in his heart, and hurriedly said, "Sir, my loyalty to you is known to the sun and the moon, and there is absolutely no falsehood."

Jin Zhu smiled and didn't dwell on the matter any more: "What do you think of the man wearing the tiger mask just now?"

Xifeng said immediately: "It's pretty impressive, at least it's better than me."

Jin Zhu said meaningfully: "If I tell you that he is just a clerk in a store, would you believe it?"

Xifeng was stunned: "How is it possible?!"

Jin Zhu leaned back in the chair and slowly closed his eyes: "Yeah, how is that possible."

Logically speaking, one should not doubt someone that Meng Ji has interrogated.

But the reason why Golden Pig continued to doubt was because of this sentence "How is it possible".

Chen Ji first helped Jiaotu and Yunyang overcome their difficulties, and then helped himself to find evidence against the Liu family. He was able to hang out with the prince and the princess and become friends with them, and even caught the eye of Prince Jing.

Is this something a little apprentice can do?

The key point is, the Secret Service's official bulletin clearly stated that the Chen family's concubine's son was taciturn, but now this Chen Ji, how could he be taciturn at all?
Xifeng asked, "Sir, did you spend a lot of money to invite Mengji here just to interrogate him?"

Jin Zhu answered casually, "I asked Meng Ji to come here to interrogate the Liu family, but since they have been invited from Kaifeng Prefecture, it doesn't hurt to interrogate one more person. This person is not unknown, and I will not feel at ease if I don't interrogate him thoroughly."

Xifeng asked curiously, "When are you going to try him?"

Jin Zhu thought for a moment and said, "After resolving the Liu family issue, immediately arrest him and secretly put him in the inner prison."

"clear."

The study became quiet.

Xifeng suddenly asked, "Sir, do you really have a grudge against the Liu family? Isn't it the Xu family that has a grudge against you?"

Jin Zhu leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Who said that I have a grudge against the Xu family?"

Xifeng brought the teacup to the Golden Pig and whispered, "Lord Xuanshe said so. This matter seems to have spread throughout our Secret Service Department. Someone even asked me about it secretly a few days ago."

Jin Zhu did not take the teacup, letting Xi Feng hold the cup with both hands, and asked casually: "What did Xuan Snake say?"

"Master Xuanshe said that your family was engaged in maritime trade in the past, and the goods could be sold as far as Luzon, Champa, and Java. Later, the Xu family forced your entire family to do corvée labor, and you were the only one who survived."

Golden Pig frowned: "Did he say how he knew it?"

"No." Xifeng looked at the golden pig quietly: "Sir, is this true?"

Jin Zhu finally took the teacup, drank the tea in it, and said calmly, "Really."

"Then why don't you seek revenge on the Xu family?" Xifeng was puzzled.

Jin Zhu stood up, put his hands behind his back and looked out the window: "Our Lord Internal Minister, if he has not squeezed out the last bit of energy in you, he will not let you get what you want. I am also waiting for the day when he allows me to take revenge."

"When the time comes, I will go through fire and water for you, my Lord!"

The Golden Pig sneered, "Don't you feel tired of showing your loyalty all day long?"

"I'm not tired of it anymore!"

Jin Zhu looked back at Xi Feng and said, "For so many years, I have been suppressing you from becoming Hai Dong Qing. Do you blame me?"

"A little bit."

Jin Zhu was happy, and he suddenly sighed: "You are quite honest. Sooner or later you will understand. When you reach Hai Dongqing's position, you will be noticed by the Minister of Internal Affairs. Then you will not get happiness, but pain. It is good to be a pigeon-level spy. The salary is not bad. Just work hard and don't think too much."

"My Lord, is this true or a lie?"

"Get out."

"Oh……"

Xifeng slipped out the door, and Jinzhu sat back in the chair, slowly leaning against the back.

He picked up a court newspaper and covered his face with it.

He told so many lies that sometimes even he couldn't tell whether what he said was the truth or a lie.

……

……

In the busy traffic, the two secret agents followed Chen Ji from a distance, as if they were connected by two invisible threads that could not be torn apart.

Suddenly, the crowd became lively. A fast horse was seen galloping on the street, and a man with a red belt around his waist shouted, "Chen Wenzong of the Chen Mansion, the champion!"

Behind him, there was another young man riding a fast horse and shouting, "The son of the Chen family, the co-magistrate of Luocheng, Chen Wenzong, has won the first place in the imperial examination!"

"Young Master Lin, Lin Chaojing, ranked second in the high school!"

"The son of the Chen family, the co-magistrate of Luo City, Chen Wenxiao, has won the first place in the imperial examination!"

One after another, the "Jie Zi" rushed to report the top five.

The so-called reporting the top five winners means that the "successful candidates" would wait in front of the Imperial Examination Hall early in the morning for the results to be announced. After the results were announced, they would immediately rush to report the good news to the top five winners. The first person to reach the homes of the top five winners would receive a generous reward.

The minimum is five taels and the maximum is fifty taels. For example, for a mansion like the Chen Mansion, the reward must be fifty taels, the highest reward. So all the wise guys are scrambling for it and it is possible that they will fight on the way.

Chen Ji watched silently, and suddenly felt a little dazed, as if he was still in the kiln factory surrounded by cement dust the day before, and in the blink of an eye, the results of the autumn examination were announced.

At some point, he also wanted to sit in a bright and clean academy and study without worries... But forget it, he couldn't learn anything about the meaning of the scriptures.

Chen Ji smiled and said, "I am more suitable for gambling with others."

At this time, people on the street gave way and even pulled the ox carts to the side, as if no matter how important the matter was, it had to give way to the good news of the autumn examination.

The two spies did not look at Jie Zi, but stared at Chen Ji's back in the crowd. But when the horse passed between them, in just a breath of time, the horse galloped past, and Chen Ji's shadow disappeared in front of them, as if he had disappeared out of thin air. The galloping horse was like a sharp knife, cutting the thread between them.

Half an hour later, Chen Ji stood at the door of Taiping Clinic holding two roast chickens, letting the crowds rushing to the morning market pass by him.

He took a few deep breaths and rubbed the slightly tired look on his face with his hands.

When his face softened, he smiled and stepped over the threshold: "Master, I'm back."

Next to the mahogany counter.

Old man Yao was playing chess with someone across the counter. He heard Chen Ji's voice and looked up: "You still remember to come back? Come back when you want to, leave when you want to. You can change the name of my Taiping Clinic to Taiping Inn."

At this time, the man who was playing chess with Old Man Yao turned around and said, "Dr. Chen is back. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to see you!"

Chen Ji was stunned.

The visitor was actually the prefect of Luocheng, Zhang Zhuo!

Zhang Zhuo was seen wearing a casual scholar's robe, a fashionable black gauze hat with a tassel, and brand new black boots, which was rare today.

The other party did not look like an official, but rather a distinguished figure who was going to a banquet.

Chen Ji handed the roast chicken to She Dengke and asked in confusion, "Why is Mr. Zhang here?"

Zhang Zhuo patted his shoulder affectionately and said, "The thing called 'cement' you made solved my urgent need. I came to thank you for it."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Master Zhang, you don't have to thank me. I am also doing this for business."

Zhang Zhuo's face turned serious: "How can I not thank you? Do you know how many people in Yuzhou freeze to death every winter?"

"How many?"

Zhang Zhuo said, "In the 19th year of Jianing, the 31 charity estates in Yuzhou collected a total of 33,421 frozen corpses. In the 20th year of Jianing, a total of ..."

Chen Ji listened to Lord Zhang counting the number of people who froze to death every year. The more he listened, the more shocked he became. In Yuzhou alone, so many people froze to death every year?

But Zhang Zhuo said, "If we can build a batch of houses before the second snow falls this year, I'm sure there will be fewer deaths in Luo City. As the governor of Luo City, I should come and thank you in person."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "I am honored to be able to do something for the people of Luocheng."

He originally thought that after a few pleasantries, Zhang Zhuo would say goodbye and leave, but he didn't expect that Zhang Zhuo would not leave. Instead, he pulled his arm and dragged him to the chessboard: "Come on, come on, I heard from the prince that you are a great chess player, let's play a few games."

Chen Ji subconsciously looked at Old Man Yao. He always felt it was a bit strange that this Mr. Zhang suddenly came to the clinic and said he wanted to express his gratitude, but he didn't bring any gifts.

After hurriedly thanking him, he didn't leave, but wanted to play chess instead.

If we delay a little longer, it will be lunch time and we may have to stay for lunch.

What kind of weird and eccentric personality is this?

Old Man Yao sneered when he saw him coming, "Just play chess if Lord Zhang asks you to. Why are you looking at me? Good thing, others who want to play chess with the prefect don't have this opportunity yet. If you make Lord Zhang happy, maybe he will invite you to play chess with him every day."

This confused Chen Ji.

From what my master said, could it be that Zhang Zhuo came here to invite me to be a staff member in the government office?
Chen Ji stood at the counter, picking up chess pieces in his hand while thinking about how to refuse politely.

However, Zhang Zhuo did not try to recruit him. Instead, he said slowly, "It's good for a young man to be arrogant. Others may think you are unorthodox, but I think you have integrity. But if a person loses his home, he will lose his roots, like a rootless duckweed that can only drift... He still needs a home."

Chen Ji frowned: "Is Master Zhang here to lobby for Master Chen?"

Zhang Zhuo laughed: "Of course not, I think you are right not to return to the Chen family. The Chen family is a pure and corrupt family. Everyone says they are gentlemen, but I think they are stupid and don't know how to adapt. Take the river embankment repair, for example. Mr. Chen insisted on asking about everything, making it so that no one can make money. In the end, the construction period was delayed again and again, and no one was willing to work!"

Zhang Zhuo continued, "Let's talk about your Chen family. Without the permission of the higher-ups, how dare a servant embezzle two taels of silver every month? He wouldn't dare to do that even if you were beaten to death. You'd better not go back. You will be bullied if you go back. Besides, you can get 2,500 taels of silver from the palace every year. Isn't it more comfortable to live outside than in the Chen Mansion? If you go back, you will be a sucker!"

Chen Ji was completely confused by Zhang Zhuo.

Why on earth is this Mr. Zhang here?
Chen Ji was puzzled: "Why did you come to the clinic today?"

Zhang Zhuo laughed and answered irrelevantly: "Play chess."

Zhang Zhuo skipped the "guess first" and made the first move.

Chen Ji was stunned: "Why did you make the move directly without guessing first?"

Zhang Zhuo laughed and said, "No need to guess what will happen first. With my chess style, it's easier to win if I play black first."

Chen Ji: "..."

The first game of the game.

Chen Ji originally thought that Zhang Zhuo was a bad chess player, but just as he showed his intention to defeat the lone dragon, he was pinned to death in the corner by Zhang Zhuo.

At first, Prince Jing needed three games to figure out Chen Ji's moves, but Zhang Zhuo only needed half a game to control Chen Ji.

Chen Ji's expression calmed down. He tried to grab the corner with the method of AlphaGo. As long as he saw Zhang Zhuo put two or more pieces in a place, he would immediately rush forward without following the routine.

Zhang Zhuo's eyes lit up, and he followed suit and kept pestering her.

In the eyes of literati, Go is an art that embodies the laws of nature. However, in the hands of these two people, it suddenly became a tortoise-like punch like that of street thugs who do not care about anything as long as they can win.

Zhang Zhuo looked up at Chen Ji and exclaimed, "He is also a person who will do anything to win. Very good, very good!"

Chen Ji was puzzled and said, "I heard Lord Zhang praising the prince's chess skills before, saying that he was almost the best in Central Plains, but I didn't expect Lord Zhang to be better than the prince."

"Hush," Zhang Zhuo laughed happily, "What's the big deal about losing a few games? How much is face worth? If the prince is happy after winning the game and agrees to what I ask for, it will benefit hundreds of thousands of people in Luo City."

Chen Ji seemed to be thinking about something.

At this moment, there was a sound of someone climbing over the wall in the backyard. Zhang Zhuo poked his head to look into the corridor, and saw Princess Baili just stepped over the gray-tiled eaves of the wall.

He turned around and smiled at Chen Ji: "I have to attend a banquet today, let's talk another day!"

After saying that, Zhang Zhuo got into the official sedan chair outside the door without even looking back.

Chen Ji looked at Old Man Yao blankly: "What on earth is he doing here?"

……

Sorry for posting late. I'm going to sleep for a while and write today's

(End of this chapter)