Chapter 159 Falling from the Horse
The bustling long street was crowded with people. People were carrying shoulder poles and driving ox carts through the snow as they walked out of the city. They had to leave Los Angeles before sunset and return to their farms in the suburbs.

The smell of cow dung and the sounds of shouting intertwined together make the winter in Los Angeles lively.

Chen Ji stood in the endless stream of people, silently put his hands into his sleeves, hiding the note brought by the west wind.

A chill ran down his spine: The Secret Service was the inner court's personal guard. Normally, the Twelve Zodiac Signs could move freely with the king's banners. Why did they need to hide their identities and pass notes secretly?
And now, Xifeng hurried away with his bamboo hat lowered, indicating that the Secret Service has moved into the dark and hidden its identity... They have to be careful that the Liu family will take risks and kill them all.

But in this case, in Mr. Feng's eyes, only Chen Ji was still in the open, and the Liu family could only vent their anger on him.

Chen Ji originally thought that after the Dragon King's garrison was wiped out, the Secret Service would have evidence of Liu's rebellion. As long as they sent the evidence to the capital, they could confiscate the Liu family's property and execute them.

Once the Wansui Army arrived, the Liu family was naturally wiped out.

However, the Liu family had no intention of sitting still and waiting for death, and the secret report from the Secret Service could not be sent to Yuzhou at all.

No wonder Mr. Feng is so arrogant... The Liu family is about to fall out!

Chen Ji turned around, his eyes looking through the gaps in the crowd at the quiet carriage outside the city gate.

What is Lord Liu planning by seeking Prince Jing so urgently?
Seeing that he was in a daze, Bai Li asked curiously, "Chen Ji, what's wrong with you? You don't look very good."

Chen Ji came back to his senses and smiled at Bai Li: "Princess, I'm fine."

Bai Li pulled his sleeve and walked forward: "In front is the storefront of Li's clothing store in the south of the city. I'll take you to measure the size of the clothes. It's just right to wait for father in the store, and then we can go back to Anxi Street together."

Zhang Xia looked at Bai Li's hand and subconsciously looked at the prince's expression.

The prince pretended not to know and looked away.

Zhang Xia asked curiously, "Sir, are you planning to turn a blind eye?"

The prince said helplessly, "Including this time, Chen Ji has saved my brother and me twice. Each time, we were in danger and almost died. As an elder brother, I just pretended not to see it. Why should an outsider like Miss Zhang find out the truth?"

Zhang Xia smiled and said, "That's right."

In Li's clothing shop, the shopkeeper personally took a roll of leather tape and measured Chen Ji's size.

Chen Ji stood in front of the counter with his arms outstretched, his eyes looking out the door. Bai Li sat on a chair beside him, his chin resting on his white hands, watching with interest.

Two maids brought tea and dried fruits and placed them on the table next to Baili. They immediately knelt on the ground and massaged Baili's legs.

Bai Li was startled: "No, no, no, what are you doing?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "My princess, you don't know that tailoring clothes is a time-consuming and slow process. If the size is off by even an inch, the clothes won't fit comfortably. In order to make the guests wait patiently, I, Li Ji, have hired maids to entertain the guests."

Baili quickly waved his hands: "No, no, I'm ticklish."

The shopkeeper smiled at the maid and said, "Since the princess says it's not necessary, you two can go down."

The maid bowed and said softly, "Yes."

The shopkeeper added, "There is a place to play Pai Gow in the back yard. If the princess is bored waiting, she can ask the maid to play a few rounds with her."

Bai Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Really, no need, I can wait."

"Okay," the shopkeeper carefully measured the clothes for Chen Ji, taking care not to miss any detail, including the cuffs, collar, and waistline. No wonder Li's shop is famous in Los Angeles, and there must be a reason for its fame.

After two cups of tea, the shopkeeper finished measuring Chen Ji's size and asked with a smile, "What does the princess plan to order for this young master?"

Bai Li counted on his fingers and said, "Two coats with stand-up collars, two pairs of winter cotton trousers, two pairs of black boots, and a corrugated black gauze hat. Can you make cloaks here? Use fox fur to make him a black cloak to keep warm, but don't use the fox fur on the outside, use it as the lining, because he doesn't like to show off..."

Chen Ji was stunned. He withdrew his gaze from the door and said, "Princess, there is no need to do so much, right?"

Bai Li's eyes curved into crescents, and he smiled and said, "You are very busy on weekdays, and you must make more clothes when you finally make them. I am doing this to thank you for saving my life. Isn't my life worth this money?"

Chen Ji also smiled: "Worth it."

Bai Li waved his hand and said, "That's good. Please wait for me for a moment. I'll talk to the shopkeeper and then come out."

Chen Ji turned around and left the shop to talk to the prince and Zhang Xia.

Bai Li poked his head out to see that they were not paying attention to this side, so he stood up and walked to the counter, took out six gold melon seeds from his sleeves and said, "Boss, when you make clothes, sew these gold melon seeds into the hem of his clothes."

The shopkeeper was startled.

Officials and nobles have always liked to sew some thin silver cakes the size of a fingernail into the hems of their clothes. The weight of the silver cakes can hold down the hems of the clothes, making the clothes look more draped and wide.

There are also auspicious copper coins with words like "bring in wealth and treasure" or "promotion and fortune" sewn on them to bring good luck.

But this is the first time I’ve seen people sewing golden melon seeds.

Seeing the shopkeeper's confusion, Bai Li smiled and explained, "It's for his emergency use. Just sew the gold melon seeds in."

The shopkeeper didn't ask any more questions and replied with a smile: "Okay!"

……

……

At this time, Prince Jing lifted the curtain and got out of the carriage, only to see him jump on the horse and ride hurriedly towards the city.

Chen Ji saw his figure from afar, turned around and said to Bai Li: "Princess, we should go now."

Bai Li replied from inside the house: "Coming."

But just as he finished speaking, Prince Jing began to stagger on his horse. Before he reached the door of Li's clothing store, he coughed up blood and fell off the horse. The prince exclaimed, "Dad!?"

Chen Ji was quick-witted and quick-handed. He took two steps and caught Prince Jing before he fell to the ground.

He looked up outside the city gate. Mr. Feng was sitting in the coachman's seat, whip raised high, and driving the carriage south as if no one was around.

No one expected that the Liu family would commit such a brutal act against a powerful vassal king in a busy city.

The prince's eyes were red with anger. He stared at the Liu family carriage angrily but did not chase it. He turned to Chen Ji and whispered, "Go back to Anxi Street and find your master to save people first!"

Chen Ji carried Prince Jing on his back and ran towards Anxi Street. In the endless stream of people, Zhang Xia and others chased after him on horseback, but they couldn't catch up for a while.

Chen Ji's face looked heavy.

If it was really the Liu family who did this, it means that the other party has become unscrupulous and completely crazy.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out the significance of the Liu family killing Prince Jing.

The setting sun sank beyond the city, and the sky and earth became dark.

Taiping Clinic was closed, Chen Ji rushed in through the door and shouted, "Master, Master!"

The long-lost old man Yao was standing behind the counter, fiddling with an abacus under a kerosene lamp. He looked up at Chen Ji and Prince Jing, then at his precarious door panel, and said indifferently, "Is the sky falling?"

The prince rushed in from outside and said hurriedly: "Doctor Yao, please save my father quickly, he was murdered by the Liu family!"

Old Man Yao asked casually, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

The prince was helpless: "It's already this late, and you're still not in a hurry."

Old man Yao came out from behind the counter, stroking his white beard with his left hand, and gently placed three fingers of his right hand on Prince Jing's wrist. Chen Ji held his breath, fearing that he would delay taking Prince Jing's pulse.

After a moment, Old Man Yao said lightly, "The prince was not harmed by anyone, but he left the city before recovering from a cold, and now it's just that the old illness has recurred."

Chen Ji suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. At least the Liu family had not yet reached such a cruel point.

Old man Yao walked to the backyard with his hands behind his back and calmly arranged: "Chen Ji, carry the prince to the main house; She Dengke, light the stove in the house to warm the prince; Liu Quxing, get me the silver needle. The prince and the princess, close the door and don't let outsiders in... Not even the people in the palace."

In the main room, Old Man Yao finally left only Chen Ji to help. He gently placed Prince Jing on Old Man Yao's bed and took off his armor.

Old man Yao sat by the fire, slowly burning the silver needles one by one before applying them to Prince Jing. In the blink of an eye, Prince Jing's chest was full of silver needles.

Chen Ji asked softly, "Master, is Prince Jing really suffering from a cold?"

Old Man Yao glanced at him and asked back while continuing to give acupuncture: "You have also studied the pathology of wind and cold, what do you think?"

Chen Ji did not answer.

When all the silver needles had been injected, Prince Jing suddenly coughed up blood again.

Chen Ji was surprised and asked, "Master?"

Prince Jing slowly opened his eyes, looked at Old Man Yao with a smile, and said weakly: "You saved me again."

Old Man Yao stood up and went to the wooden basin stand, washed his hands, and wiped them with a white towel while sneering, "Your Highness, you should not go out without telling anyone. I am a doctor, not a wizard. I don't have the ability to cross out the book of life and death."

Prince Jing smiled, as if he had long been accustomed to the harshness of old man Yao. He turned to look at Chen Ji and said, "Young man, please help me call Yunxi in. I have something to tell him. Also, help guard the door and don't let anyone in."

Chen Ji hummed, lifted the door curtain and went out.

In the yard, Bai Li was standing under an apricot tree, holding the Whale Knife and pursing his lips. The prince was pacing anxiously, while She Dengke, Liu Quxing, Liang Maoer and others were squatting nearby, at a loss as to what to do.

Seeing Chen Ji coming out, the prince immediately came forward and asked, "Chen Ji, how is my father?"

Chen Ji whispered, "Prince, the prince wants you to come in."

The prince went into the main room, and as the door curtain swayed, he heard a knock on the door outside the clinic.

Concubine Jing said outside the door: "Open the door!"

Chen Ji said calmly, "Brother Mao'er, hold the door and don't let anyone in to the clinic yet."

Liang Maoer responded and walked out. Before he reached the door, Concubine Jing had already pushed the door open with more than a dozen strong servants.

Chen Ji took the Whale Knife from Bai Li and stood outside the main house with the knife in his hand: "Madam Jingfei, the prince has said that he is talking to the prince and no one can go in."

Concubine Jing stared at him straight in the eyes: "Did the prince say this himself, or did you just fake his order? Get out of the way!"

Chen Ji twisted the handle of the knife slightly, and the sharp blade was facing Jing Fei and others: "I can't do it."

Concubine Jing walked forward step by step, not taking Chen Ji and the Whale Knife seriously at all: "Young man, don't make a mistake. You are just an apprentice in a clinic. Using a knife on a royal family member is a capital crime anyway. Now get out of the way, and I will forgive you for what happened."

Chen Ji didn't move.

At this moment, the door curtain behind him was lifted.

Chen Ji looked back and saw the prince coming out with red eyes. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and looked at Concubine Jing: "Aunt, father wants you to come in."

In the quiet courtyard, Chen Ji moved aside with the whale knife in hand, while Concubine Jing raised her head arrogantly and passed him by.

Chen Ji saw the prince pulling Bai Li out of the clinic with tears in his eyes. He turned around and looked at the silent main room... What did Prince Jing say to the prince?
(End of this chapter)