Chapter 45 Full Drink
At the head of the banquet, the Crown Prince and Princess Baili sat behind the table, just listening to everyone's chat without interrupting. The two of them were whispering, and no one knew what they were talking about.

Chen Ji looked at all the people in this literary gathering and felt that he was out of place. He didn't know when Concubine Jing was going to talk to him about something.

At this time, Chunhua quietly came to his side, bent down and whispered: "My wife wants you to come over and talk."

Chen Ji looked around the literary gathering and was relieved when he was sure that Concubine Yun did not attend.

Now, in front of Concubine Jing, he is a member of the Secret Intelligence Department, and in front of Concubine Yun, he is a member of the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department. He feels as nervous as walking on a tightrope ten thousand meters in the air.

He stood up and followed Chunhua to a pavilion. He looked inside through the bamboo curtain and could only see the vague figure of Concubine Jing.

When Chunhua faded, only Chen Ji and Concubine Jing were left inside and outside the pavilion, separated by a curtain.

Concubine Jing didn't speak for a long time, and Chen Ji just stood there, as if both of them were here to concentrate on attending the literary gathering.

After an unknown amount of time, Concubine Jing asked calmly, "Everyone says that Liu Shiyu was forced to death by the Secret Service. Why do you say that he was murdered to silence him?"

Chen Ji said slowly, "I examined the body. Someone colluded with the jailer to disguise his death as hanging himself, but he was actually strangled to death. The Secret Service has files on this matter."

Concubine Jing frowned: "How can I check the files of the Secret Service? How can I know if you are fooling me?"

Chen Ji stood outside the pavilion, thought for a moment and said, "You actually know that what I said is the truth. Since the Liu family can give you that cup, they will naturally not begrudge Liu Shiyu's life. I am just a small figure working for the Secret Service. Concubine Jing, you shouldn't come to me for revenge."

Concubine Jing said in a serious tone: "Don't think you can get away with it. Someone told me that if it weren't for you, the Secret Service wouldn't be able to find any evidence against Liu Shiyu! Since you asked Chunhua to bring a message to me, then tell me how to take revenge, or you will die too!"

Chen Ji looked at the scholars in front of him. While others were talking about romance and political ideals, he was talking about life and death in another world. "Madam, who is in charge of the Liu family in Luocheng now? Is it Liu Mingxian?"

Hearing this name, Concubine Jing's tone became obviously resentful: "It's him!"

There was a hint of madness in Concubine Jing's suppressed tone. First she lost her son, and the next day she lost her close nephew. The continuous grief had already brought her to the brink of losing control.

Chen Ji praised Liu Ming's acting skills in his heart. The other party was wearing mourning clothes when he surrounded Zhou's house that night. His eyes were red and his expression was tired. No matter how you look at him, he looked like a filial son. "How do you want to take revenge?"

"I want him to die miserably!"

Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief, his hatred shifted to Liu Mingxian: "When did he give you the cup?"

"In the spring!"

Chen Ji asked again: "At that time, he must have asked you to do something, but you didn't agree, so he wanted to give you this cup to retaliate against you. I want to ask, what did he ask you to do at that time?"

"Why are you asking this?"

Chen Ji responded: "I don't know what he is going to do, so how can I retaliate against him?"

Concubine Jing pondered for a moment: "At that time, one of the prince's old subordinates was promoted to the rank of admiral, commanding two thousand soldiers to garrison Luocheng's craftsman supervisor. Liu Mingxian asked me to help him contact this old subordinate in the name of the prince..."

Chen Ji was stunned for a moment.

Zhou Chengyi arranged for Shou Ma Cui Huan to be close to the Supervisor of Craftsmen, and Liu Mingxian entrusted the matter to Concubine Jing in order to be close to the commander-in-chief stationed at the Supervisor of Craftsmen.

Why is the Craftsmanship Bureau so important that the Military Intelligence Department and the Liu family have to go to such great lengths? And why does the Ning Dynasty's Craftsmanship Bureau need two thousand elite soldiers to garrison it? !

and many more.

Just now, a scholar once said that if the cavalry of the Jing Dynasty approached Chongli Pass, the defenders of the Ning Dynasty could use artillery and firearms to repel the enemy.

A ray of light suddenly appeared in Chen Ji's mind, connecting all the clues together: Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Department wanted Ning Dynasty's secret recipe for making firearms!
This is the sincerity that the head of the Military Intelligence Department asked for from the Liu family!

The Liu family has cooperated with Concubine Yun and obtained the firearms. The cup is not just intended to kill the child...

Yun Fei's condition for cooperation is probably that the Liu family must kill the disobedient Jing Fei and help her become the main wife as a token of her loyalty.

Otherwise, why would Concubine Yun stand on the side of the Liu family?
……

…While thinking, Chen Ji heard someone at the table ask loudly: "Brother, the Chen family has two outstanding people, and both of them are expected to win the first prize in this year's provincial examination. But I heard a while ago that you have a younger brother, why haven't I seen him before?"

"That's not right. I remember my father once asked Uncle Chen how many children there were in his family, and Uncle Chen said two sons and one daughter!"

Chen Ji looked up and saw that his two elder brothers were outstanding men and the focus of all the literati. Naturally, their family affairs were also paid attention to.

The person who first asked about this matter asked in confusion: "Brother Zong, did I hear it wrong?"

Chen Wenxiao, who was standing by, said, "Our brother has bad behavior, so my father just treats him as if he doesn't exist in the Chen family."

The fat man with big ears became interested: "What do you mean, is there something else going on?"

Chen Wenzong glared at Chen Wenxiao and said, "This is a family scandal, don't mention it again."

Chen Wenxiao didn't care about that and said to himself, "My younger brother Chen Ji was addicted to prostitution when he was young, and he was also a frequent visitor to the gambling house in Hongyi Lane. Three years ago, my father planned to let him go to Donglin Academy to study, but he didn't expect that the gambling house would come with an IOU to collect the gambling debt, which was as much as 600 taels!"

"what?"

"Six hundred taels!"

Chen Wenzong frowned and looked at Chen Wenxiao: "Don't say anything more. You are only bringing shame to your family and making others laugh at you!"

Chen Wenxiao picked up the wine glass and took a sip of wine. "That kid has a long history of bad deeds. How can we hide it from him? Brother, please stop deceiving yourself."

He looked at everyone and said, "After my father learned about this, he ordered the housekeeper to take the servants to investigate. It turned out that he didn't just owe debts to that one house. He owed debts to all six gambling houses in Red Lane."

"and then?"

"Then? My father wanted to kill him immediately, but my mother was kind enough to stop him and said she would find him a job to make a living. My mother first let him work as a clerk in a drugstore, but later he felt that working as a clerk in a drugstore was too tiring, so he asked my mother to donate some money to him and sent him to the Imperial Medical Clinic as an apprentice. Now I don't know where he is now."

During the dinner, someone sighed: "Tsk tsk, it's really unfortunate for a family to have a gambler."

However, there was a bang, and She Dengke flipped the table and stood up: "Bullshit, Chen Ji is not that kind of person, he is not a gambler, and he is not lazy!"

The food on the table was scattered all over the floor, and the wine was also splashed on the scholar at the front table.

Everyone looked towards She Dengke, and Chen Wenxiao looked at the prince in confusion: "Prince, who is this?"

The prince was also a little confused because this was not the person he invited.

She Dengke introduced himself: "I am She Dengke, an apprentice of the Imperial Medical Clinic. I have been studying with Chen Ji for two years. He is definitely not the kind of person you say he is!"

Chen Wenxiao narrowed his eyes: "Chen Ji is my brother, of course I know him better."

She Dengke's face turned red with anger: "What do you know..."

"Dengke? Jinshi, Zhuangyuan, and Jidi? Hahaha!" Suddenly someone laughed: "With such a lofty name, why didn't you take the imperial examination, but became an apprentice in a clinic?"

"And how can you have the nerve to attend the literary gathering in this cloth?"

Liu Quxing couldn't listen any longer, and immediately stood up and said angrily: "What does what you wear have to do with the literary society? We have known Chen Ji for two years, and he is definitely not the kind of person you say he is."

"Hey, you see he is dressed properly, but I think Yingzi's corrugated hat doesn't look like it was made by Li Ji, it looks more like it was copied by a small workshop."

Liu Quxing was speechless. He did buy the imitation one for the sake of cheapness.

However, at this moment, Princess Baili stood up and asked loudly, "Is this how the academy teacher taught you to judge people by appearance? What he wears and what he does has nothing to do with what he says? I don't think you have seen the so-called Chen Ji. I haven't seen him either, but these two people who are willing to help speak for their own sake, I think they should not be too bad."

The prince laughed loudly: "What Bai Li said makes sense. Let me ask you, if someone falsely accuses you, is there anyone who will defend you? Do you have such a friend around you?"

As he spoke, the prince actually raised his glass to She Dengke and Liu Quxing from a distance: "I admire you. Drink up!"

(End of this chapter)