The middle-aged man's jealousy was significant. He could not tolerate people he looked down upon being on the same level as him, or even climbing above him. Now, seeing Li Jin's considerable skill, he actually started to entertain the idea of recruiting Li Jin, completely forgetting how he had just treated him.
Unfortunately...
His usually infallible tactic failed when it reached Li Jin. No matter how explicitly or implicitly he hinted, Li Jin remained unmoved. This infuriated the middle-aged man, who cursed Li Jin for being like a stone in a latrine pit—both smelly and hard, utterly ungrateful and unwilling to appreciate a favor.
Faced with the middle-aged man's insults, Li Jin remained entirely himself, completely unaffected.
In his previous life, Li Jin had heard far worse insults than these. How could he possibly be angered by this middle-aged man? Besides, it was just a few insults; it wasn't as if he would lose a piece of flesh.
"Whoa..."
After traveling continuously for three shichen, they finally reached their destination.
As soon as Li Jin stepped off the carriage, the first thing that caught his eye was a fort of considerable size. Around the fort, there were quite a few trained men taking turns on patrol with orderly steps. Looking further inside, one could clearly see that the fort contained only men, and they carried little bandit-like air about them; they looked more like well-trained soldiers.
The people stationed inside the fort were clearly of no lower status than the middle-aged man. When they saw the group arrive, they merely nodded.
The middle-aged man knew the formidable nature of these men and did not dare to put on airs as he did with the scarred man. He immediately launched into a stream of solicitous inquiries, which made the scarred man break out in goosebumps.
The man the middle-aged man addressed couldn't take it anymore and quickly reminded him, "The master is inside. You must not keep him waiting."
"Yes, yes, we will go in right now."
With that, the middle-aged man impatiently signaled for the scarred man and Li Jin to follow quickly.
Perhaps the people in the fort were accustomed to various kinds of recommendations, so Li Jin's entry did not attract excessive attention. They merely looked up and down at the somewhat slender Li Jin and let them pass.
Li Jin's luck was good this time. When he followed the scarred man and the others here, he happened to encounter the master that the scarred man and his group spoke of receiving an important guest.
The phrase 'important guest' was the scarred man's hint.
In other words, the so-called guest was none other than the person falsely claiming to be a subordinate of the Seventh Prince.
"Lord Jiang, the grain you requested last time are ready. I am just waiting for you to arrange for someone to come and transport them," Chen Manzhou's words were filled with obvious flattery and ingratiation.
Jiang You nodded with satisfaction. "Well, you have handled this matter quite well. When I return and report, the master will certainly reward you heavily."
"Then I thank Lord Jiang in advance." Hearing the satisfactory answer, Chen Manzhou immediately cupped his hands. "Lord Jiang, I have recently acquired some rather fine wine. Might you be interested in tasting it?"
Chen Manzhou knew Jiang You was fond of wine and deliberately catered to his preference.
"Good... very good..." Jiang You said repeatedly. "With your capable assistance, our master's great undertaking is certain to succeed. When that day comes, you will be recognized as a highly meritorious official, no longer confined to serving as a county magistrate in this remote and barren place."
Given Jiang You's position, these words undoubtedly served as a reassurance for Chen Manzhou. "Yes, this subordinate will certainly devote all his efforts to the master, even at the cost of his life."
"However, there is one point you must pay attention to. Besides continuing to prepare grain, do not forget the master's instruction for you to keep timely control over the movements outside Zhuzhou."
"Lord Jiang, rest assured. How would I dare forget such an important matter? As you instructed, I have had the men collecting grain from the various villages in Zhuzhou report back to me at regular intervals."
"Good, you..."
Suddenly, a voice reporting from outside the door interrupted Jiang You's words. "Master, Liu Hai, who is in charge of Liujia Village, has arrived. He is waiting outside."
"Understood. Tell them to wait outside for a moment."
Thinking that Jiang You was still present, Chen Manzhou instructed them to enter later.
Jiang You, however, seemed interested in the matter and unexpectedly replied, "Have them come in. I would also like to hear what he has to say."
"Since Lord Jiang says so, let him enter." With Jiang You speaking up, Chen Manzhou could not very well refuse and simply agreed.
A short moment later.
Li Jin and the other two walked in.
"Greetings, Master."
As Liu Hai and the middle-aged man were, after all, long-time followers of Chen Manzhou, they knew he was particularly fond of official formalities. As soon as they entered, they simultaneously used the formal address "greetings, Master" to show their respect to Chen Manzhou. Li Jin, having been reminded by Liu Hai back in Liujia Village, also followed suit in paying respects, which did not displease Chen Manzhou.
He is actually here.
On the surface, Li Jin appeared unaffected, but in reality, he had been startled the moment he walked in upon seeing Jiang You's presence.
Because in his previous life, this Jiang You was precisely one of Ying Ziqi's close confidants. Moreover, unlike Ying Ziqi's other advisors, there was an indescribable, unclear relationship between Jiang You and Ying Ziqi. Later, among those who hunted Li Jin, Jiang You was the most active and the most ruthless.
Previously, the scarred man said their backer was the Seventh Prince, but now it seemed it was truly Ying Ziqi secretly causing trouble under Ying Yuan's name. But why would Ying Ziqi set his sights on Ying Yuan so quickly?
Li Jin couldn't help but frown slightly.
Over the years, Ying Yuan had kept a very low profile and, as before, was not favored by Ying Zhengjing. Logically, he shouldn't have become Ying Ziqi's target. Yet, Ying Ziqi had already set his sights on Ying Yuan, having his subordinates impersonate Ying Yuan's men and commit all manner of heinous deeds.
With Jiang You present, Chen Manzhou came straight to the point. "Enough, skip the unnecessary talk. First, tell me if anything unusual has happened recently in Liujia Village."
"Yes, Master. This subordinate in Liujia Village..."
The content of Liu Hai's report now was something Li Jin had polished based on what Liu Hai had said. Of course, these contents written by Li Jin imitated the tone Liu Hai would use. Therefore, by the time Liu Hai finished speaking, Chen Manzhou had not detected anything amiss.
"Wait, you said that the day before yesterday, a small merchant team came and set up camp near Liujia Village and showed no intention of leaving?" Jiang You quickly seized the key point in Liu Hai's words, immediately interrupting him to inquire about the small merchant team.
"Uh... this..."
Since Chen Manzhou had never formally introduced Jiang You from beginning to end, and Liu Hai recognized Jiang You as the owner of the voice he had overheard that day, he could only look awkwardly at Chen Manzhou, unsure whether he should answer.
"Since Lord Jiang asks you to speak, you just need to answer properly."
"Yes, Master." Liu Hai quickly nodded, then turned to Jiang You and said, "It is exactly as Lord Jiang said. Those people who claim to be a small merchant team are still outside Liujia Village with no intention of leaving."
Jiang You pressed further, "Did you see what they looked like?"
"Uh... they were too far away for me to see clearly. However, I could tell the other accompanying men were trained fighters."
"Trained fighters..."
Jiang You thoughtfully stroked his chin.
Could it be... that the small merchant team this person mentioned is actually the Seventh Prince and his group? No, I must investigate further. If the information is wrong, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?
Thinking of this, Jiang You planned to send someone to investigate tonight.
However, just as this idea emerged in Jiang You's mind, Liu Hai timely took out a piece of paper from his clothes and presented it. "Yes, one person had a strange jade pendant hanging from his waist. I had someone draw it. Lord Jiang, please look."
As soon as Jiang You opened the paper handed to him by Liu Hai, he was stunned by the dragon-shaped jade pendant depicted on it.
Jiang You had seen an identical jade pendant at Ying Ziqi's place. It was said that once a prince was recorded in the imperial lineage, Ying Zhengjing would order craftsmen to carve a dragon shape from high-quality jade and present it to the young prince, hoping for his safe growth.
The dragon was for the emperor's use, even princes could not use it without the emperor's bestowal. So, although Jiang You did not speak, he was already certain in his heart that the people outside Liujia Village were indeed the Seventh Prince and his group.
Jiang You, maintaining his composure, asked again, "Did you see the person carrying this jade pendant interacting with others?"
"Yes." Liu Hai nodded and continued talking nonsense. "That person seemed to hold a rather high status among them..."
They must be Heir Li and the Seventh Prince.
Liu Hai's answer undoubtedly made Jiang You even more convinced of his conjecture.
Simultaneously.
Jiang You could no longer sit still. He immediately took his leave from Chen Manzhou and hurriedly wrote a letter to Ying Ziqi to report Li Jin's whereabouts.
"Who is this?"
After Jiang You left, Chen Manzhou finally relaxed and noticed the only stranger present.
Liu Hai immediately went down on one knee and said, "Replying to the Master, he is the person I wish to recommend to you. Don't be fooled by his thin, scholarly appearance, his martial skills are quite extraordinary."
"Oh? It's rare to hear you praise someone so highly." Chen Manzhou remained skeptical, his eyes scrutinizing Li Jin from head to toe. "What is your name?"
Li Jin promptly bowed. "Replying to Master, this subordinate is Li Jin."
"Li Jin... that's a good name."
Chen Manzhou initially found the name Li Jin somewhat familiar, but because Li Jin's current appearance was utterly unremarkable and he seemed timid and hesitant, that sense of familiarity quickly faded away.
The face Li Jin currently presented to Chen Manzhou and Jiang You was a work from Shi Weixu's hands. No matter how one looked at it, it was very ordinary and unremarkable. The same went for Ying Yuan and Zhou Yunting.
Otherwise, the middle-aged man wouldn't have let them pass so easily after just one look, it was truly because that common face held little threat.
Li Jin, neither arrogant nor impatient, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your praise, Master."
"Your temperament seems decent, but I wonder if you are truly as extraordinary as Liu Hai says." Chen Manzhou was a man of action. No sooner had he finished speaking than he had someone find a skilled martial artist within the fort for Li Jin to spar with, in order to test Li Jin's ability.
Soon.
A strong, muscular man was brought forward.
"Greetings, Master. What are your instructions for summoning this subordinate?"
Chen Manzhou pointed dismissively at Li Jin and said, "You will spar with him. I want to see if he is truly as 'extraordinary' as Liu Hai says."
"Him?"
The man looked at Li Jin and was instantly dumbfounded.
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