Green Mountain-Chapter 742 - 593: Poison Minister

The Prime Minister once used the words 'fame and fortune' to tear the Jianghu of the Ning Dynasty into a turbulent mess. Some people became hawks and dogs of the court, some betrayed each other, some broke their promises.

The words 'fame and fortune' are like knives, cutting through the Jianghu like a hot knife through butter, slashing nine parts of heroism in the world. But now, these words suddenly don't work on Chen Ji.

Inside the Jiefan Building.

Wu Xiu's knuckles of the index and middle finger curled up, tapping on the dossier, making a dull sound. The autumn sun outside was just right, casting his shadow long, on the empty Taishi Chair.

He looked back at that Taishi Chair behind the desk, muttering to himself, "No wonder you went to such great lengths."

The Director of the Imperial Eunuch Office cautiously observed Wu Xiu's expression, pondering how to speak: "Lord Prime Minister, what did you say?"

A call of "Prime Minister" pulled Wu Xiu back from his thoughts.

He glanced sideways, his gaze neither cold nor warm: "What did you call me?"

The Director of the Imperial Eunuch Office replied with a smile: "When Xu Wenhe was still the Director of the Rites, he was the Prime Minister. Now you are the Director, so naturally, you are the Prime Minister."

Wu Xiu laughed: "You're being smart. You probably don't even remember that the world first called him the Poison Minister."

The Director of the Imperial Eunuch Office froze, not daring to respond.

Wu Xiu stopped tapping with his fingers, resting on the dossier: "In the 11th year of Jianing, he secretly instructed the Spy Department's Xiao Shan Niu to take away twelve scrolls of scripture from the Jiefan Building and quietly bury them outside the Changsha Prefecture. Six months later, Tomb Dog brazenly dug them out, intentionally fleeing with the twelve scrolls of scripture."

"From Changsha Prefecture to Jinling, it's a seventeen-hundred-mile mountain road. Tomb Dog intentionally moved neither fast nor slow, just enough for the news to spread, just enough for those Jianghu people to catch wind and act. The first three scrolls alone caused a bloody storm in the Jianghu, with heads rolling."

Jiao Tu was shocked: "This was the Prime Minister's scheme? Just remember the twelve scrolls of scripture of the Five Mad Soldiers?"

Wu Xiu replied calmly: "Otherwise, how can Jinling, unable to flee overseas and escape the Ning Dynasty, still be a vital point for the Jiefan Guard? Why did Tomb Dog run to Jinling? Isn't it walking into a trap?"

Jiao Tu puzzled: "But those scriptures eventually fell into others' hands, and Tomb Dog's life ended in demise and disappearance."

Changxiu, smiling from the side, said, "Just a few scrolls of scripture, there are plenty more in the Jiefan Building. As for Lord Tomb Dog's life... If the Poison Minister cherished others' lives, he wouldn't be called the Poison Minister. Twelve scrolls of scripture, one Tomb Dog, exchanged for twenty-one years of discord in the Southern Sect of Jianghu, was worth it."

Wu Xiu reflected: "Whether Poison Minister or Prime Minister, it wasn't his self-title, but a name passed down in the Jianghu. Remember, the Director is the Director, not the Prime Minister."

The Director of the Imperial Eunuch Office quickly bowed: "I will remember."

Wu Xiu knocked on the desk: "Let's not mention the morning report for now. How about the salt permit?"

The Director of the Imperial Eunuch Office bowed his head and said: "Everything is fine with the salt permit. Initially, the salt merchants were worried that after the court took back control of the salt permit trade, there would be a reckoning, but Bai Long instructed that not a single word of Chen Ji's rules should be changed. Gradually, the salt merchants lowered their guard. However..."

Wu Xiu's eyes sharpened: "Speak less nonsense in front of me."

The Director of the Imperial Eunuch Office quickly replied: "Nowadays, this salt permit trade has almost turned the Gang Register in the hands of the Eight Great Merchants into a piece of waste paper. They likely won't take it lying down. Bai Long said, Chen Ji had long left a backup plan for this, Brother Pao told his ruffians to wait for the Eight Great Merchants to act... but no one knows what this backup plan is."

Wu Xiu pondered briefly: "It will take some time for the Eight Great Merchants to react, we can put the salt permit matter aside for now, the morning report is of immediate importance... In the coming days, as usual, send the morning report to the Renshou Palace."

The Director of the Imperial Eunuch Office's face changed: "Ah? Me?"

Wu Xiu sneered: "What, do you want me to cover it up for you for your incompetence? Go, instead of shirking, think about how to manage the morning report properly."

The Director of the Imperial Eunuch Office hurriedly left.

Wu Xiu looked at Changxiu: "You go and see Qian Ping from the Three Mountains Association, let them take over the distribution of the morning report."

Changxiu shook her head: "Lord, the Three Mountains Association has always been at odds with us in the Eunuch Party. Even when the Prime Minister was here, they were reluctant to tackle this tough matter."

Wu Xiu nodded, not insisting: "Indeed. The one who tied the bell must untie it, some matters must be handled by Viscount Wu Xiang himself. Jiao Tu, Yun Yang, have the Red Gate catch a batch and disperse a batch. Viscount Wu Xiang wants to rely on those peace money to become a wealthy man untroubled by the world, I also want to see if he can really live a life of poverty."

Jiao Tu and Yun Yang bowed: "Yes, we will go now."

The footsteps faded away.

Finally, the room was quiet.

Wu Xiu stood alone behind the desk, his fingers gently gliding over the wood grain on the table, polished smooth and glossy by endless days and nights.

He lifted his head, looked at the Taishi Chair behind him, gazed for a long time.

The chair was old, the armrest polished bright, with a shallow scratch on the back, who knows from which year it came. The cushion had sunken deeply, forming a deep hollow.

Wu Xiu stared at the chair but ultimately did not sit down. He withdrew his gaze and walked outside.

At the door, his footsteps paused as he instructed Changxiu: "From now on, all memorials and secret reports will be sent to the Eagle House Office. Seal the Jiefan Building, without my waist tag, no one is allowed to enter or exit."

Changxiu smiled and nodded slightly: "Understood."

...

...

The following morning.

In the main hall of Eagle House Office, Wu Xiu sat behind a rosewood desk, approving documents.

The desk was stacked with three piles of memorials, to the left were those already approved, to the right those yet to be reviewed, and in the middle was what he was currently reading. A cup of tea sat on the corner, already cold, the tea leaves settled motionless at the bottom.

Outside, the occasional sound of pigeons flapping came repeatedly, uninterrupted all morning. Usually, the carrier pigeon reports were handled by Bai Long, but now Bai Long had submitted a document saying he was investigating official corruption, showing no sign of appearing.

Outside the Eagle House Office, footsteps were heard. Wu Xiu looked up and saw Jiao Tu and Yun Yang passing through the three-courtyard complex, startling the pigeons kept there.

The courtyard was planted with a dozen old locust trees, their branches spreading wide and covering half of the yard.

Jiao Tu and Yun Yang walked through the old locust trees and stood outside the threshold, their expressions somewhat subtle.

Wu Xiu glanced at them and continued to review the documents with an indifferent tone: "How many ruffians did Red Gate catch?"

Jiao Tu hesitated for a moment, took a step forward: "Reporting to your lordship... we caught none."

The tip of Wu Xiu's pen halted.

He slowly raised his head, moving his gaze from the document to Jiao Tu's face: "None caught?"

Jiao Tu felt uneasy under his gaze and hurriedly explained, "Yesterday evening, Brother Pao held a banquet at Desheng Building in the Outer City and invited all the ruffians from Red Gate."

Wu Xiu put down his pen and leaned back.

Jiao Tu carefully chose his words: "He disbanded the people. In front of everyone, he said, 'A man with a treasure invites his own misfortune.' If the ruffians continued gathering, they would follow in the footsteps of Furui Xiang and Heji sooner or later."

Yun Yang chimed in from the side: "He distributed the Peace Money from Glass Factory, Eight Great Hutongs, Pan Garden Ghost Market, and Chongnan Fang to the small sects like Double Saber Sect, Mizong Sect, Tongbei Sect, and Chuo Jiao Sect. Each sect governs their area, not interfering with each other. From now on, there's no Red Gate in the Imperial Capital."

Wu Xiu raised his eyebrows.

Outside the window, the pigeons flapped their wings loudly, the sound of their wings clear in the quiet courtyard.

He paused in silence and then suddenly chuckled: "Chen Ji indeed has a compassionate heart. He anticipated my actions, and to save those ruffians from imprisonment, he simply dismissed them all."

Jiao Tu and Yun Yang exchanged glances, not daring to respond.

Wu Xiu sipped the cold tea in front of him: "What about Brother Pao?"

Jiao Tu nodded: "Brother Pao is currently living with Chen Ji in Shaojiu Alley, where they've set up woolen felt tents and sleep inside without discomfort."

Wu Xiu suddenly inquired: "After giving away all his wealth, where did Chen Ji get the silver for the banquet?"

Jiao Tu replied helplessly: "I heard it was collected by the songstresses from Meihua Ferry Crossing."

Wu Xiu closed the document in front of him and tossed it to his left: "He sure isn't embarrassed. What about Chen Ji?"

Jiao Tu's expression turned peculiar: "He went to the Imperial Hospital early this morning."

Wu Xiu seemed surprised: "Is he really going to study medicine?"

...

...

Outside the Imperial Medical Hall, Chen Ji looked up at the plaque.

The plaque had a black background with golden characters, inscribed with the words "Imperial Hospital," the script dignified and solemn.

On either side of the gate hung wooden couplets, also with a black background and golden characters. The upper couplet read "Inheriting the arts of Qi and Huang, benevolent acts manifest in skills thrice," and the lower one read "Embrace spiritual essence, rejuvenation powers noted for ages."

The phrase "rejuvenation powers" left Chen Ji a bit bewildered.

The main gate of the Imperial Medical Hall was vermilion, with peeling varnish revealing the gray-brown wood underneath. The door studs were arranged in fives and threes, in line with the standards of a Standard Third Rank governmental office.

The threshold was very high.

Standing outside the threshold, Chen Ji did not enter immediately. He only caught the aroma of medicine wafting out from the door.

It wasn't a harsh medicinal smell, but a faint fragrance, seeping through the door cracks and spiraling in the morning light of autumn.

Chen Ji took a deep breath, the scent was familiar to him.

The same scent was present at the Taiping Medical Hall, from Old Yao's medicine cabinet, the simmering medicine furnace of She Dengke and Liu Quxing's clothes.

He pondered for a moment, lifted the beast head ring, and knocked on the vermilion-painted gate.

A clerk from the gate room poked his head out, sizing up Chen Ji's gray cloth attire: "Who are you?"

With courtesy, Chen Ji replied, "I am Chen Ji, wishing to borrow medical books from the Imperial Hospital."

The gate clerk scoffed, ignoring Chen Ji's request, and said, "Where does this poor Scholar come from? Our Imperial Hospital's medical books are precious. You think you can borrow them just because you asked? Get lost."

Standing outside the threshold, Chen Ji did not argue. After contemplating for a moment, he turned and left.

The gate clerk snorted again and went back inside to catch more sleep.

After ten minutes, Chen Ji returned in a bright red Qilin Embroidered Robe, lifting the beast head ring on the vermilion-painted gate and knocking again.

When the gate clerk reemerged, Chen Ji pointed to the Qilin Badge on his chest and earnestly asked, "And now?"

The gate clerk's expression changed drastically, turning and running deeper into the Imperial Hospital.

"Hospital Director! Dean! It's urgent, Marquis Wu Xiang is here!"