Chapter 86: Treating the Orphan
In the small courtyard of the Taiping Clinic, a group of people were crowded around a small eight-person table. Liang Maoer raised his arm slightly and almost pushed Liu Quxing to the ground.

The table was piled high with steamed buns. When the steamers were opened, one hand on the left and one hand on the right took all the buns in the steamer in a flash, as if they were fighting for food.

Old man Yao was just about to reach out to grab a bun, but he saw Liang Maoer's hand leaving a shadow, and the buns in the steamer disappeared.

When he wanted to take another bun, it had already been in the prince's hands.

Old man Yao held a bowl of millet porridge with a dull expression, drinking it mouthful by mouthful. He was used to a quiet and lonely life in the past, and now that Taiping Medical Clinic is so lively, he is still a little uncomfortable...

They chatter even while I'm eating. It's so noisy.

"Master, why don't you eat?" Chen Ji asked curiously.

Old Man Yao said indifferently: "I am telling your fortune."

"Ah? You don't know the birth dates of the princes, right? How do you calculate it?"

Old man Yao sneered, "I don't need to look at your birth date to know that you are my unlucky star. Hurry up and eat, then get out of here."

At this time, it became lively outside the door, with countless people gathering on both sides of Anxi Street, some carrying fruits, and others carrying baskets of eggs.

The air on Anxi Street seemed to be boiling. The last time it was so lively was when the prince and the princess had just returned.

The next moment, a black imperial guard suddenly passed by the gate. The people followed with their belongings, insisting on stuffing them into the hands of the soldiers beside the imperial guard.

The laws of the Ning Dynasty clearly stated that the Emperor of Daning could use ochre-yellow ceremonial guards, while the princes of Daning could use black ceremonial guards.

Prince Jing is back.

"It's bad, it's bad," the prince stood up suddenly, and hurriedly stuffed half of the bun in his hand into his mouth, and said vaguely: "Didn't General Wang say that the old man just arrived in Gongyi County last night? How come he rushed back overnight?! Baili, go back to the mansion quickly, if he catches you, I'm afraid your monthly salary will be cut off!"

Bai Li was also a little panicked. He picked up his clothes and climbed up the ladder, then disappeared on the other side of the courtyard wall.

The prince, who is usually carefree, acted like a mouse seeing a cat at this moment.

Chen Ji and the others walked to the door and watched from afar as the mighty procession entered Prince Jing's mansion. He looked at Old Man Yao curiously and said, "Master, why is Prince Jing so loved by the people? The people are vying to give him gifts."

Old Man Yao curled his lips and said, "Over the years, many people in Yuzhou have survived thanks to him, so naturally they respect him."

At this time, a middle-aged man suddenly came to the door and said, "Doctor Yao! Doctor Yao! My father fell down and he won't wake up no matter how hard we call him. Please come and take a look."

"Did you bring the medical fee?"

"Take it, take it!"

Old Man Yao waved to She Dengke and said, "Go and carry my acupuncture box over here. Hurry up, his father won't be able to hold on for long."

After Old Man Yao and the middle-aged man got on the carriage, Liang Maoer got up to clean up the dishes.

……

……

After Old Man Yao went out, Chen Ji was just about to go back to the backyard to clean up the dishes when he heard a gentle voice coming from the door of the clinic.

"Chen Ji?"

Chen Ji's body froze in the clinic. The last time the shopkeeper Yuan came to the door in the middle of the night, he seemed to ask the same question. Could it be that the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department came to the door again? Didn't Ke Gui say that those who knew his identity had been dealt with?

He turned around slowly, but what came into his sight was not the fat figure of Manager Yuan.

But the person who was speaking was a middle-aged man wearing an old navy blue robe with a newly mended collar and patches on the elbows of the sleeves. He had a simple wooden hairpin in his hair and looked tired.

Who is this?
Never seen it before.

The middle-aged man looked at Chen Ji and asked after a moment: "Why, you don't remember me anymore?"

Chen Ji hesitated.

The middle-aged man smiled faintly and said, "It seems that you don't recognize me. When you were a child in the capital, I held you in my arms. Your eyes and eyebrows haven't changed much, you look a lot like your mother."

Chen Ji was shocked...Uncle?
Could it be that his uncle, a high-ranking official in the Jing Dynasty, had come to the Ning Dynasty to seek refuge from his political enemies? Judging from his appearance, he was weathered, with mud spots on his pants and boots, and he really looked like he had traveled through wind and rain.

But what about the patches on the other person’s body? My uncle shouldn’t be in such a miserable state.

The most important thing is that Chen Ji had just gotten rid of his identity as a spy of Jing Dynasty and was planning to live an ordinary life. Why did the other party come to him at this time?
He didn't take me back to Jing Dynasty when I was rich and powerful, so why did he come back now? Did he plan to make a comeback in Ning Dynasty? Then I would be forced to work hard for him.

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said stiffly, "What can I do for you?"

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, then he nonchalantly said, "Don't you use honorifics when addressing your elders? Where's your master?"

When Chen Ji heard the word "elder", his tone became even stiffer: "Master is out, just come to me if you have any problems."

The middle-aged man lifted his coat and stepped over the threshold: "Then let's wait for your master to come back in the clinic. Do you know how to play Go? Let's play a game to kill time. Your mother is very good at Go, so you should be good too."

Chen Ji said: "There is no Go in the clinic."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Of course it's there. It's in the second drawer of the cabinet in the main room. Go get it. I'll wait."

Chen Ji narrowed his eyes slightly. These words sounded more like a threat to him, just like when Yun Yang first paid him and placed the silver ingot directly next to his pillow.

The subtext is: I can enter and leave the clinic at will, but you can't find out.

Chen Ji turned around and went to the main room, opened the second drawer, and sure enough, there was a Go set inside!
He brought the Go board to the main hall of the clinic, spread the board on the counter, and held a few chess pieces in his hands: "Guess what will happen first."

The middle-aged man thought for a moment and said, "An even number."

Chen Ji spread out his palm, and saw three black pieces in his hand: "You guessed wrong, I will play black first."

The middle-aged man generously said, "Okay, you go first, I'll give you two pieces."

Chen Ji raised his head and glanced at him: "Okay."

The middle-aged man was very strong in chess, so strong that he made great moves, and his moves were like a mountain falling on one's head, with no escape. In just 65 moves, he had cut off the black pieces of Chen Ji, like reefs in the waves, isolated and helpless.

The middle-aged man smiled and looked at Chen Ji: "Your chess skills still need to be honed. Go is about making choices. Only by giving up small things can you have a big picture. If you don't want to give up everything, then nothing will happen."

However, Chen Ji didn't listen to what he said at this time, but just made another move in a helpless situation. It seemed that he was stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat, and also like a lonely and crazy demon.

The middle-aged man was startled.

Follow one piece. Chen Ji made another move.

The middle-aged man has another son.

However, the two sides fought back and forth, and in the 72nd move, Chen Ji managed to fight his way out of isolation and joined forces with another isolated piece.

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up and he exclaimed: "Swallowing a dragon? What kind of move is this?"

Chen Ji raised his head and glanced at him: "Cure the orphan."

The so-called treatment of isolated pieces is to take advantage of the opponent's weakness in isolation and make your isolated piece find a way out. Often, an isolated piece can in turn destroy the opponent's overall situation.

Chen Ji once won the second prize in the Los Angeles Go Competition, relying on his unconventional technique of dealing with isolated opponents. Chen Ji had no overall view, he was just stubborn.

He imitated the other person's tone and said slowly: "The world is so big, how can there be no place for us? There are only small spaces, but not small minds."

The middle-aged man was amused: "Why are you lecturing me?"

Chen Ji said calmly: "No, I was talking about chess."

In fact, he was angry. After coming to this world, he didn't know his past life experience and was led by others everywhere. Now he finally sent Gui and Wu Hongbiao away and finally took a breath, but someone came to his door again.

However, at this moment, Old Man Yao led She Dengke in from outside. She Dengke was carrying a medicine box and said happily, "Chen Ji, you don't know, the old man was clearly dead just now, but Master gave him two injections and he woke up immediately...Huh?"

The middle-aged man turned to look at the door and said with a smile: "Doctor Yao, long time no see. Your little apprentice is good at chess, better than you."

Old Man Yao glanced at Chen Ji and said, "That's strange... Why did you come here alone?"

"Come and help me take my pulse. I have been feeling a little unwell lately."

Old Man Yao glanced at him and said, "Why did you end up so exhausted just to go out and gather food and fodder?"

Chen Ji was stunned. Wait?

Raise food and fodder?

What kind of food and supplies should be raised?
But the middle-aged man sat down opposite the counter, looking exhausted, and forced a smile, saying, "As soon as we arrived in Jiangnan to collect taxes, someone brought the body of his wife to the government office, saying that she was killed by our tax collection. The southern gentry now regard us as enemies, and they try every means to resist at the slightest sign of trouble. It's not easy to collect taxes."

As Old Man Yao walked behind the counter, he said calmly, "Taking someone's money is like killing their parents. What they are afraid of is not the tax, but that you want to remeasure the land."

The more Chen Ji listened, the more he felt something was wrong. It was obvious that he had recognized the wrong person.

Who is this? Dusty and ragged, could this be a tax collector? Or maybe...

The middle-aged man stretched out his wrist and placed it on the counter. "But food and grass are easy to solve. It's just a matter of a little more trouble and a little more talking. But the glutinous rice required by the front line is a problem for us."

Old man Yao placed three fingers on the middle-aged man's pulse and asked, "Can't find glutinous rice?"

The middle-aged man explained, "Too many city gates were destroyed by the Jing Dynasty this year, and a large amount of glutinous rice mortar is needed to build the city walls. There was a flood this summer, and many families couldn't even eat. How can we spare glutinous rice to build the city walls?"

After that, the middle-aged man sighed and said, "In fact, there was enough glutinous rice, but unfortunately the batch in early autumn was intercepted by the capital and sent to His Majesty to repair the Renshou Palace and the mausoleum."

Chen Ji was puzzled. This middle-aged man seemed to have a very good relationship with his master, and he actually said everything. Old man Yao, who always avoided talking nonsense, did not stop him from talking.

He knew that glutinous rice was one of the strategic materials these days, because all the adhesive materials used to repair the city wall were made by mixing glutinous rice with slaked lime and limestone on site. The branched starch in the glutinous rice mortar had an excellent adhesive effect. Once the glutinous rice mortar calcified after three years, the repaired building could last for thousands of years.

But in this era, many people could not even get enough food to eat, and glutinous rice was a life-saving food. If it was used to build city walls, the people would starve to death.

At this time, the middle-aged man coughed a few times, and Old Man Yao ordered Chen Ji: "Pour a cup of tea!"

Chen Ji entered the kitchen, brought a cup of warm tea and placed it in front of the middle-aged man. He lowered his head, lowered his eyebrows and said in a submissive manner, "Please have some tea."

The middle-aged man looked up at Chen Ji and smiled: "Why are you suddenly so polite and using honorifics? Didn't you just lecture me?"

Chen Ji said awkwardly: "I was just talking about chess, I didn't mean to teach you a lesson."

The middle-aged man raised his hand and nodded at him, smiling and saying, "It's normal for young people to be a little arrogant. There's no need to be so humble."

Chen Ji quickly said, "No, no, I'm not arrogant."

Old Man Yao was puzzled: "What happened just now? What kind of nonsense did this kid say?"

The middle-aged man laughed and said, "Everyone is like this when they are young. When I was young, I often went to you to treat my injuries. When I followed Your Majesty to fight the second emperor, Your Majesty knew that he could not beat me, but he still insisted on letting me go first, which resulted in me being beaten badly."

Chen Ji took a breath of cold air.

It can finally be confirmed that this is Prince Jing!
However, he could not connect the simple middle-aged man in front of him with the majestic and vast Prince Jing's Mansion.

He has no airs and no temper, just like an ordinary guy next door, completely different from what you might imagine.

At this time, Prince Jing looked at Old Man Yao and asked, "How is my health?"

Old Man Yao said calmly, "I'll prescribe some medicine for you. You can just take some time to recuperate. But don't go out again recently. If you don't rest, I'm afraid something big will happen."

Prince Jing shook his head and said, "Some things cannot be delayed. The Jingchao cavalry will march south in the spring of next year. If the city wall is not repaired before then, many people will die if Chongli Pass is lost, and even the capital will be in danger."

Old man Yao said indifferently, "I am just giving you some advice. It is up to you whether you listen or not. But I suggest that you stay in Luocheng, so that you can discipline the prince and the princess, so that they don't get too wild and cause trouble. During the days when you were away, the prince and the princess climbed over the wall every night to go out and play, disturbing me, an old man, from getting a good rest."

Chen Ji: Ah?

No, Lao Deng, why are you slapping people in the back?

He turned to look at Prince Jing, but found that Prince Jing's face looked even worse...

Prince Jing asked slowly: "What have they been doing recently..."

Before he could finish his words, he heard a noise coming from the backyard, as if someone was climbing over the wall.

Then, the prince's voice came: "Strange, our father hasn't come back yet, but the ceremonial guard has returned first. I don't know why they made such a mistake, forcing me to climb over the wall one more time for nothing. Chen Ji, come and play Pai Gow together, watch me kill everyone today and beat you all cleanly... hiccup!"

The prince walked into the main hall of the clinic, and the moment he saw Prince Jing, he was so frightened that he hiccuped!
Prince Jing played with the white chess pieces in his hand, his tone calm and intimidating: "Climb over the wall? Pai Gow?"

The prince knelt on the ground with a plop: "Dad, it was the little monk who led me to turn it over, it has nothing to do with me!"

……

Sorry, I was delayed by the Yuewen live broadcast in the evening, so I just finished writing it now

(End of this chapter)