Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 682 Chen Family
Outside the city walls of Jinling, on Sanshan Street, at the Chen residence.

In the vast and beautiful garden, there was a newly built martial arts arena. People from all walks of life, dressed in various styles, came and went, and were led to their seats by a gray-clad servant.

"Hasn't my older brother come back yet?"

As Chen Yun put down the blue and white porcelain cup, a pretty maid wiped the corner of his mouth.

"It will be soon. The Jade Kirin can travel a thousand miles a day. At the latest, the eldest young master should be able to return to Jinling by tomorrow."

A tall, thin man with a mask covering his face and soft armor kneeled on one knee beside him, looking just like a shadow of Chen Yuncong.

"My elder brother is almost thirty years old before he gets this opportunity to make a name for himself. Although Yunnan and Guizhou are remote and the southern barbarians are unruly, my Chen family has eight hundred elite soldiers who have utterly defeated those stinking soldiers from the Great Western Regions. It's only a matter of time. But I never expected the court to suddenly issue a transfer order, turning the offensive into a defensive one. Now, if Father and Grandfather want to gain a foothold in the cabinet, it can only be me who makes a move."

Chen Yun sighed a couple of times, then looked at the wooden-like man and asked somewhat listlessly, "Chen Yu, has there been any news from the Tower of Ascension?"

"Have."

The tall, thin man nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Not a good idea."

"How to say?"

"One was to ask Dengzhen Tower for help, hoping to get some soldiers from the Five Battalions and guardian deities to come and assist us. But they said that the virtuous cultivators of Dengzhen Tower were all busy with important matters and had no time to spare. Even transferring some Five Witches from Meishan would take several days. They told us to rely on ourselves, which was clearly a lie."

Chen Yun remained calm and sneered, "Not surprising. What about the government offices?"

"The Shenzha Division said that there was an imperial decree that the five classes of constables—the Fast, Strong, Scout, Arrest, and Assassin—had all left the capital with the Division Chief on official business. There are not many people left in the capital, so it is not appropriate to lend them out casually."

Chen Yun frowned, clearly displeased: "Ding Xun has become increasingly arrogant these past few years, relying on the imperial decree. It was only with the old man's help that he was able to pass the martial arts examination and gradually obtain this sixth-rank official position. What, does he think that just because he knows a few more Taoist priests, he can disregard the Chen family?"

"Ding Xun originally wanted to send two Shenzha bailiffs to help, but after hearing that you had found a lot of rogue cultivators, he was afraid that his colleagues in the government would clash with these people from all walks of life. To avoid any unforeseen complications, he deliberately put the matter aside. However, to repay the old man's kindness back then, he specially asked Wu Heyi of Dengzhen Tower to invite a Xuanpin disciple for you."

"The Xuanpin Sect? Are you referring to those Daoist nuns from Suxuan Temple? They are indeed quite skilled in bed, but this time we're out capturing demons and slaying snakes. I don't have time to spend romantic evenings with them."

Having served in the Jinling court for a long time, Chen Yun was well aware of the Su Xuan Temple's background. He immediately licked his lips and asked doubtfully.

Chen Yu shook his head: "No, the one who came this time is a female Taoist priest who just arrived in Jinling. She is said to be from the Bixia lineage of Wudang Mountain, but we don't know which high-ranking master she is."

"Hmph, it seems someone is holding back, waiting to see the Chen family make a fool of themselves. Don't they realize that they're all working for the Tower of Ascension? If something goes wrong on our side and the Primordial Lord gets angry, who in the entire court will be the one to suffer?"

Upon hearing that the visitor was an unknown country Taoist priest, Chen Yun, who was playing with a blue and white porcelain cup, noticed that a layer of barely perceptible fine lines had appeared on the white glaze.

Chen Yu lowered his voice: "Young Master, should we send a message to the Second Miss and ask her to bring out the Shadow Guards?"

At this point, Chen Yun suddenly waved his hand. After the servants and maids had cleared away the octagonal table and left, leaving only Chen Yu and himself in the room, he shook his head and rejected him: "The Shadow Guards are stationed in the ancestral land to protect the Grand Duke Jupiter. They cannot act rashly. It's best not to trouble Second Sister with such a small matter. I can tell that Uncle Mei sent me to Songjiang this time. He has ulterior motives. He may just want me to send the Shadow Guards. There are many people in the pavilion who are eyeing our family's foundation. If we send the Shadow Guards out now and they reveal any flaws, it will not be good."

"Here's what we'll do: go to the Huai River Lord Temple, give five hundred taels of incense money, then take my token and give it to the temple keeper to ask for a bead. Last night, Wende divided the moon; He should be awake."

Chen Yu blinked, looking somewhat troubled: "Young Master, you returned to the manor too late last night and didn't wake up until 9 AM this morning. You may not know that the Prefect went berserk last night, causing chaos and even Ding Xun and his servants were helpless. If it weren't for a Taoist priest striking out with his sword and working together with Wu Heyi to persuade him, our bookstore and silk shop would probably be destroyed. The Prefect's anger hasn't subsided yet, what do you think?"

"Why are you so dense? The Lord is injured and has lost face. Why don't you bring some whale glue and tiger bones to comfort him? And hold a sacrificial ceremony for him. That way you'll have both face and substance, and you'll surely get a pearl." Chen Yu nodded slightly, without refuting.

"By the way, how much money do you still have for offerings at the Dengzhen Pagoda?"

"More than 200,000 taels of silver."

"That's barely enough. When you go to pick up the old man after the morning court session, please also bring back a peace charm."

"Yes."

"Also, send 30,000 taels of silver to Mei Bo's wife's family. Although he may have had ulterior motives this time, without his request, it wouldn't have fallen on my shoulders. Once we enter the Tower of Ascension, we'll need his help in many ways."

Chen Yun stood up, and Chen Yu hurriedly followed: "Then is the Second Miss going home to visit her family?"

"We'll talk about it when I get back. Besides, even if the date is brought forward, Dad and Grandpa are still here, and the family won't miss me and my older brother."

As he spoke, Chen Yun headed toward the martial arts training ground in the secluded garden.

But soon, Chen Yun, who was watching the wild cultivators compete in martial arts at the training ground, saw Chen Yu return.

"what happened?"

“A female Taoist priest came from outside, claiming to be a member of the Xuanpin Sect introduced by Wu Heyi.”

"Oh? Then what are we waiting for? Please let her in. Perhaps... there's something wrong with her?"

Looking at Chen Yu, whose tone was somewhat unusual, Chen Yun felt a little strange.

"Young master, this woman is very beautiful, so beautiful that she is somewhat dangerous."

In Sanshan Street, Qin Wenjing, who had left Suxuan Temple and received a letter of recommendation from Wu Daoren, stood in front of the Chen Mansion and found that the mansion was so luxuriously decorated that it could be described as the Jade Capital or even the Golden City.

"Golden silks from three cities gather, and fine furs and horses from five mausoleums roam freely."

While Chen Yu was announcing his arrival, Qin Wen finally had a chance to calm down and observe carefully. He saw that the people on Sanshan Street were well-dressed and bustling, and all kinds of goods were displayed in a lively manner. Even though it was in the outer city, it was very different from other places.

After watching for a short while, footsteps were heard from inside the door. Then, a radiant Chen Yun came out with several beautifully dressed maids. As for Chen Yu, who was a member of the Southern Ming military family, he was nowhere to be seen.

"I am Chen Yuncong, a clerk in the Hanlin Academy. I have met with Master Miaoxuan."

"Young Master Chen, I am Miaoxuan, greetings from the Daoist."

Seeing Chen Yun bow respectfully, Qin Wen also bowed and took out his ordination certificate and letter of recommendation.

(End of this chapter)