A group of people walked into the banquet hall.
Jinxia had never met Shangguan Yuanlong before, she didn’t expect this small banquet would be grand enough to invite him; she was very surprised. Looking at the people on the side, Xie Xiao was a person who could not hide his feelings and even though he did not say anything, his face clearly looked frustrated. Although Xie Baili looked happy, his forehead was creased, and he couldn’t hide his gloomy face either.
“What happened?” She asked YangYue in a low voice.
YangYue told her everything.
Jinxia thought, ‘This Hu Zongxian, the governor of Zhejiang Province, has a good brain; pirates are roaming along the coastal side, if he depended on the Yamen officers alone, he definitely wouldn’t be able to hold them back. Using the Shaolin monks and students to assist them, this should be a more effective method.’
“Xie Xiao left the house for three years, he hasn’t been home for a full month yet, would Xie old master be willing to let him go again?” YangYue whispered to her.
“This is called a dilemma between filial and loyal.” Jinxia sighed, “On the other hand, my mother is very understanding of my work.”
Even if the table was full of food, if the Seniors had yet to touch their chopsticks, the juniors wouldn’t dare to take the lead. Jinxia hadn’t eaten lunch, she was hungry to the point her stomach wouldn’t stop rumbling… This was a huge torture for her.
Xie Baili ordered the servants to pour the wine. Yang ChengWan couldn’t drink wine, so it was replaced with tea instead.
“Today is actually a farewell party for YangYue and Jinxia,” Xie Baili raised his cup and said earnestly, “But I just received a letter, in Zhejiang pirates are rampant, people are homeless. The teacher of Xie’er and Xi’er has invited them to go together to fight against pirates. Brother Shangguan and I have already discussed, we will allow them to go to Zhejiang…”
“Father!”
Xie Xiao did not think his father would give permission, he was shocked and also happy at the same time.
Xie Baili glanced at him, “What? So happy to leave the house?”
“Father, I just didn’t think that you would let me go to Zhejiang. Are you really letting me go?”
“Fighting against the pirates is the righteous thing to do for the country, not to mention this is the word of your teacher, we cannot disobey it,” Xie Baili sighed and said, “As if I didn’t understand you… even if I force you to stay home, you will definitely not be able to sit still, and sooner or later you will cause trouble. It’s better to let you go now.”
At this time, Shangguan Xi’s forehead frowned, “What about the work in the gang? How will we handle it?”
“Your father and I have discussed it. At most, we elders will take care of it,” Xie Baili laughed loudly, “Our hands and feet, although we might not be young, are still able to move!”
“Father…” Shangguan Xi looked at Shangguan Yuanlong, her face looked apologetic, “The work at the gang is very complicated, I’m afraid you might overwork yourself.”
Shangguan Yuanlong laughed, “My daughter, your father has been relaxing enough for several years, it’s time to move this body a little.”
Xie Baili also laughed and said, “That’s right, if we don’t come out of our shell, these kids will look down on us…Take a look at them, these two children are very well-behaved.”
Jinxia and YangYue heard this praise and secretly laughed.
Yang ChengWan smiled and said, “Whether they’re good or not, let them set off together tomorrow. On the way, they can look after each other.”
Hearing his words, Jinxia’s heart immediately stopped beating for a moment: on the carriage, A’rui would be there. If Shangguan Xi had gone with them, he would have been caught by her. The situation would have then become too complicated to explain. Just as she was trying to figure out how to dodge it, she heard Xie Xiao’s voice.
“Uncle Yang, not that I want to offend you, taking care of each other is a must, but Lu Yi is an official, now I hear he has been promoted to the fourth floor, being the palace representative. We are gang members, walking with him would be very uncomfortable.” Although Lu Yi had helped Sha Xiuzhu, Xie Xiao’s heart still held a grudge.
Shangguan Xi also said awkwardly, “The work of the gang still needs to be explained before handing them over, at least in proper detail and it will take one or two days before we can leave. Therefore, I am afraid tomorrow would be too early.”
Yang ChengWan maintained a smile, “I just said it casually, don’t mind my words, just act as you please.”
Hearing their words, Jinxia let out a sigh of relief.
After everything had been decided, Xie Xiao, whose mind was already excited about going to Zhejiang, was thinking about being able to meet up with his old teachers and fighting pirates altogether. He drank a lot of wine, and also kept teasing Xie Baili with jokes and words – sweet words in order to make Xie Baili happy.
Xie Baili knew that his son was deliberately saying nice things, but he was delighted all the same.
The father and son did not quarrel and the others were much more relaxed. This meal was enjoyed by both the host and the guests.
Xie Xiao and Xie Baili drank a lot. As soon as the dinner was over, they immediately went back to rest; Shangguan Xi took Shangguan Yuanlong home; Xie Xiao also accompanied his father back to his room.
Jinxia, remembering that she still had to make arrangements for the next day’s trip, and because Yang ChengWas was here, she didn’t dare to drink a lot, only two sips of snow wine. After the dinner ended, she went to the kitchen and talked nicely asking the servant to wrap some clean food, then went back to the forest in a hurry.
Passing through the forest in a familiar way, she walked into the house quickly and entered the room with light steps.
In the room, the candlelight was lit, everything was quiet.
A’Rui’s position was the same as before she’d left the room. He was not moving at all.
Jinxia’s eyes fell on Lu Yi: he was leaning against the window, his arms were on his head, both his eyes were closed. She wasn’t sure if he was resting or sleeping…
“Daren?” She opened her mouth to call him.
Nothing, he had absolutely no reaction; the corners of his eyebrows did not move.
She placed the basket of food carefully on the table, bit her lip and looked at Lu Yi sideways: the food in the basket had to be eaten when warm and fresh, but Lu Yi seemed very tired. Should she wake him up or not?
The candle light dimmed slightly. Without realizing it, she was already closing in front of Lu Yi’s face, so close that even the number of strands of his eyelashes could be clearly counted.
Unexpectedly, he snapped his eyes open.
Two pairs of eyes met, at a very close distance.
“You’re secretly looking at me?” Maybe because he just woke up, his tone sounded a little lazy.
Jinxia quickly stood up straight, taking a step back, “No… Daren, I brought food here, while it’s still hot, you should eat first, when it’s cold, it’s not good for the stomach.”
Lu Yi gave her a quick glance, “You smell like alcohol, did you enjoy the dinner at Xie’s house?”
Jinxia bit her lips, “Today, everyone was happy. I only took two sips, because my master was there. I didn’t dare to drink much.”
Lu Yi got up to his feet, looked at A’Rui for a while, saw that he was still in the same state, then stretched out lazily.
“Everyone is having fun…” His tone was unhappy, “Is there any good news?”
“Xie Xiao and Shangguan Xi received a letter from their teacher, asking them to come to Zhejiang to help fight against the Japanese pirates and Xie Xiao’s father agreed and he was very happy, he even flattered him with a lot of words, or perhaps the words he had held back for decades, but the old man was delighted.” Jinxia laughed, “Then the two of them drank a lot.”
Lu Yi looked at her, “I can see that you are also very happy, aren’t you?”
After considering the meaning of Lu Yi’s words, Jinxia said in a serious tone, “Of course not, I remembered that Daren had not had dinner. Even though I was smiling over there, I was actually very worried about you.”
Obviously he knew that her words weren’t true, but at least they came out of her mouth. Lu Yi was still satisfied. After glaring at her for a few moments, he couldn’t help but smile.
Jinxia looked at him, and also chuckled. She then opened the lid of the basket and gave him the food.
Lu Yi ate two mouthfuls, thought of something and asked, “Xie Xiao and the others will be coming with us?”
“No, Shangguan Bangzhu still has to take some time handing her work over, maybe it will take another one or two days before they can leave.”
Lu Yi remained silent.
Hearing the four words ‘Shangguan Bangzhu’, A’Rui, who was in bed and even though he was unconscious, started to move his fingers a little.
“Daren and Shangguan Bangzhu…” Jinxia tilted her head and looked at Lu Yi, curiously asking, “There aren’t really any other feelings?”
Lu Yi was using the chopsticks to pick up a meatball. He immediately shoved it into Jinxia’s mouth, his eyebrows tightened and asked, “What feeling should I have toward her?”
Jinxia chewed carefully and then said, “Although Shangguan Bangzhu is a gang person, from her appearance to her temperament, it’s really rare to find a woman like her. If Daren says she’s not good enough or not a bit attracted to her, it will feel a little unreasonable.”
“Unreasonable?” Lu Yi’s eyebrows furrowed
Jinxia tried to calm him down, “These meatballs smell so good, Daren, you should try… Daren, could you possibly be engaged?”
“You think I’m like you?”
Lu Yi silenced her with her own questions.
It seemed that the topic was not suitable to discuss today, and Jinxia wisely changed the subject, “The route to Zhejiang, it’s from Suzhou city and then to the city of Jiaxing…”
“No, we’ll go to Yixing first, then from Yixing go to Huzhou city.” Lu Yi cut her off.
Jinxia was taken aback for a moment, “Yixing?”
“Mm, my grandma lives outside of Liyang, I want to stop by and see her.”
“Oh… I get it, then Beizhe will go back and arrange the horse carriages.”
***
The next day, after saying goodbye to Yang ChengWan, Jinxia told YangYue about A’Rui, but because she wanted to hide Zhai Lanye’s death, she didn’t dare to say too much, and only said that A’Rui was seriously injured.
YangYue did not understand, “Why not hand him over to Shangguan Bangzhu? We’re taking him to Zhejiang for what?”
“He was poisoned by the Japanese, maybe Lu Daren wants to ask him some questions when he wakes up.” Jinxia replied vaguely, “It’s Lu Daren’s order, we have no say in this.”
YangYue was confused. He was shocked when he saw A’Rui’s conditions. Fortunately, he remembered his duty and didn’t ask anymore questions.
They travelled all the way south, crossing rivers, passing through Zhenjiang and then to Liyan. Two days later, they reached Yixing.
During the past two days, YangYue had constantly changed the medicine for A’Rui and fed him porridge, but A’Rui did not wake up once. Thankfully, the wounds were slowly healing.
The family of Lu Yi’s grandmother was rich and influential in the city. Jinxia stood in front of her house, looking at the green ceramic tiles and white walls displayed before her, thinking that ‘rich and influential’ seemed a little understatement. That family could be regarded as one of the descendants of the most famous families in the Ming Dynasty.
After the young servant announced their arrival, a housekeeper rushed out at once and greeted them, letting them and the horses inside the courtyard. Jinxia and YangYue were assigned to a small place to rest while Lu Yi went straight to the inner room.
After resting there for a night, when they were preparing to leave, Jinxia discovered that there were two more carriages, much more refined than the original one.
“One of my cousins will be going home to visit a grave, so she will be coming with us.” Lu Yi explained.
Jinixa was surprised, “Daren has also a cousin?”
“I didn’t jump out of a crack in the rock. Of course, I have a cousin.”
Just as they were talking, a young girl, who looked very classy, was escorted out by an old lady. There were two other female servants who followed behind her.
“Big brother.” She turned to Lu Yi and greeted, lightly saying, “At the end of last year, my second brother brought a rose and lily scented powder to me, he said it was from big brother.”
Lu Yi laughed a little, “Nothing much… Here, these two people are the constables of LiuShanmen: Yuan Jinxia and YangYue. They’re here on a business trip with me. Throughout this journey, we will all be together. They are carrying swords on themselves, but please, do not be afraid.”
Jinxia looked at the swords on their bodies and remained silent.
A group of people walked into the banquet hall.
Jinxia had never met Shangguan Yuanlong before, she didn’t expect this small banquet would be grand enough to invite him; she was very surprised. Looking at the people on the side, Xie Xiao was a person who could not hide his feelings and even though he did not say anything, his face clearly looked frustrated. Although Xie Baili looked happy, his forehead was creased, and he couldn’t hide his gloomy face either.
“What happened?” She asked YangYue in a low voice.
YangYue told her everything.
Jinxia thought, ‘This Hu Zongxian, the governor of Zhejiang Province, has a good brain; pirates are roaming along the coastal side, if he depended on the Yamen officers alone, he definitely wouldn’t be able to hold them back. Using the Shaolin monks and students to assist them, this should be a more effective method.’
“Xie Xiao left the house for three years, he hasn’t been home for a full month yet, would Xie old master be willing to let him go again?” YangYue whispered to her.
“This is called a dilemma between filial and loyal.” Jinxia sighed, “On the other hand, my mother is very understanding of my work.”
Even if the table was full of food, if the Seniors had yet to touch their chopsticks, the juniors wouldn’t dare to take the lead. Jinxia hadn’t eaten lunch, she was hungry to the point her stomach wouldn’t stop rumbling… This was a huge torture for her.
Xie Baili ordered the servants to pour the wine. Yang ChengWan couldn’t drink wine, so it was replaced with tea instead.
“Today is actually a farewell party for YangYue and Jinxia,” Xie Baili raised his cup and said earnestly, “But I just received a letter, in Zhejiang pirates are rampant, people are homeless. The teacher of Xie’er and Xi’er has invited them to go together to fight against pirates. Brother Shangguan and I have already discussed, we will allow them to go to Zhejiang…”
“Father!”
Xie Xiao did not think his father would give permission, he was shocked and also happy at the same time.
Xie Baili glanced at him, “What? So happy to leave the house?”
“Father, I just didn’t think that you would let me go to Zhejiang. Are you really letting me go?”
“Fighting against the pirates is the righteous thing to do for the country, not to mention this is the word of your teacher, we cannot disobey it,” Xie Baili sighed and said, “As if I didn’t understand you… even if I force you to stay home, you will definitely not be able to sit still, and sooner or later you will cause trouble. It’s better to let you go now.”
At this time, Shangguan Xi’s forehead frowned, “What about the work in the gang? How will we handle it?”
“Your father and I have discussed it. At most, we elders will take care of it,” Xie Baili laughed loudly, “Our hands and feet, although we might not be young, are still able to move!”
“Father…” Shangguan Xi looked at Shangguan Yuanlong, her face looked apologetic, “The work at the gang is very complicated, I’m afraid you might overwork yourself.”
Shangguan Yuanlong laughed, “My daughter, your father has been relaxing enough for several years, it’s time to move this body a little.”
Xie Baili also laughed and said, “That’s right, if we don’t come out of our shell, these kids will look down on us…Take a look at them, these two children are very well-behaved.”
Jinxia and YangYue heard this praise and secretly laughed.
Yang ChengWan smiled and said, “Whether they’re good or not, let them set off together tomorrow. On the way, they can look after each other.”
Hearing his words, Jinxia’s heart immediately stopped beating for a moment: on the carriage, A’rui would be there. If Shangguan Xi had gone with them, he would have been caught by her. The situation would have then become too complicated to explain. Just as she was trying to figure out how to dodge it, she heard Xie Xiao’s voice.
“Uncle Yang, not that I want to offend you, taking care of each other is a must, but Lu Yi is an official, now I hear he has been promoted to the fourth floor, being the palace representative. We are gang members, walking with him would be very uncomfortable.” Although Lu Yi had helped Sha Xiuzhu, Xie Xiao’s heart still held a grudge.
Shangguan Xi also said awkwardly, “The work of the gang still needs to be explained before handing them over, at least in proper detail and it will take one or two days before we can leave. Therefore, I am afraid tomorrow would be too early.”
Yang ChengWan maintained a smile, “I just said it casually, don’t mind my words, just act as you please.”
Hearing their words, Jinxia let out a sigh of relief.
After everything had been decided, Xie Xiao, whose mind was already excited about going to Zhejiang, was thinking about being able to meet up with his old teachers and fighting pirates altogether. He drank a lot of wine, and also kept teasing Xie Baili with jokes and words – sweet words in order to make Xie Baili happy.
Xie Baili knew that his son was deliberately saying nice things, but he was delighted all the same.
The father and son did not quarrel and the others were much more relaxed. This meal was enjoyed by both the host and the guests.
Xie Xiao and Xie Baili drank a lot. As soon as the dinner was over, they immediately went back to rest; Shangguan Xi took Shangguan Yuanlong home; Xie Xiao also accompanied his father back to his room.
Jinxia, remembering that she still had to make arrangements for the next day’s trip, and because Yang ChengWas was here, she didn’t dare to drink a lot, only two sips of snow wine. After the dinner ended, she went to the kitchen and talked nicely asking the servant to wrap some clean food, then went back to the forest in a hurry.
Passing through the forest in a familiar way, she walked into the house quickly and entered the room with light steps.
In the room, the candlelight was lit, everything was quiet.
A’Rui’s position was the same as before she’d left the room. He was not moving at all.
Jinxia’s eyes fell on Lu Yi: he was leaning against the window, his arms were on his head, both his eyes were closed. She wasn’t sure if he was resting or sleeping…
“Daren?” She opened her mouth to call him.
Nothing, he had absolutely no reaction; the corners of his eyebrows did not move.
She placed the basket of food carefully on the table, bit her lip and looked at Lu Yi sideways: the food in the basket had to be eaten when warm and fresh, but Lu Yi seemed very tired. Should she wake him up or not?
The candle light dimmed slightly. Without realizing it, she was already closing in front of Lu Yi’s face, so close that even the number of strands of his eyelashes could be clearly counted.
Unexpectedly, he snapped his eyes open.
Two pairs of eyes met, at a very close distance.
“You’re secretly looking at me?” Maybe because he just woke up, his tone sounded a little lazy.
Jinxia quickly stood up straight, taking a step back, “No… Daren, I brought food here, while it’s still hot, you should eat first, when it’s cold, it’s not good for the stomach.”
Lu Yi gave her a quick glance, “You smell like alcohol, did you enjoy the dinner at Xie’s house?”
Jinxia bit her lips, “Today, everyone was happy. I only took two sips, because my master was there. I didn’t dare to drink much.”
Lu Yi got up to his feet, looked at A’Rui for a while, saw that he was still in the same state, then stretched out lazily.
“Everyone is having fun…” His tone was unhappy, “Is there any good news?”
“Xie Xiao and Shangguan Xi received a letter from their teacher, asking them to come to Zhejiang to help fight against the Japanese pirates and Xie Xiao’s father agreed and he was very happy, he even flattered him with a lot of words, or perhaps the words he had held back for decades, but the old man was delighted.” Jinxia laughed, “Then the two of them drank a lot.”
Lu Yi looked at her, “I can see that you are also very happy, aren’t you?”
After considering the meaning of Lu Yi’s words, Jinxia said in a serious tone, “Of course not, I remembered that Daren had not had dinner. Even though I was smiling over there, I was actually very worried about you.”
Obviously he knew that her words weren’t true, but at least they came out of her mouth. Lu Yi was still satisfied. After glaring at her for a few moments, he couldn’t help but smile.
Jinxia looked at him, and also chuckled. She then opened the lid of the basket and gave him the food.
Lu Yi ate two mouthfuls, thought of something and asked, “Xie Xiao and the others will be coming with us?”
“No, Shangguan Bangzhu still has to take some time handing her work over, maybe it will take another one or two days before they can leave.”
Lu Yi remained silent.
Hearing the four words ‘Shangguan Bangzhu’, A’Rui, who was in bed and even though he was unconscious, started to move his fingers a little.
“Daren and Shangguan Bangzhu…” Jinxia tilted her head and looked at Lu Yi, curiously asking, “There aren’t really any other feelings?”
Lu Yi was using the chopsticks to pick up a meatball. He immediately shoved it into Jinxia’s mouth, his eyebrows tightened and asked, “What feeling should I have toward her?”
Jinxia chewed carefully and then said, “Although Shangguan Bangzhu is a gang person, from her appearance to her temperament, it’s really rare to find a woman like her. If Daren says she’s not good enough or not a bit attracted to her, it will feel a little unreasonable.”
“Unreasonable?” Lu Yi’s eyebrows furrowed
Jinxia tried to calm him down, “These meatballs smell so good, Daren, you should try… Daren, could you possibly be engaged?”
“You think I’m like you?”
Lu Yi silenced her with her own questions.
It seemed that the topic was not suitable to discuss today, and Jinxia wisely changed the subject, “The route to Zhejiang, it’s from Suzhou city and then to the city of Jiaxing…”
“No, we’ll go to Yixing first, then from Yixing go to Huzhou city.” Lu Yi cut her off.
Jinxia was taken aback for a moment, “Yixing?”
“Mm, my grandma lives outside of Liyang, I want to stop by and see her.”
“Oh… I get it, then Beizhe will go back and arrange the horse carriages.”
***
The next day, after saying goodbye to Yang ChengWan, Jinxia told YangYue about A’Rui, but because she wanted to hide Zhai Lanye’s death, she didn’t dare to say too much, and only said that A’Rui was seriously injured.
YangYue did not understand, “Why not hand him over to Shangguan Bangzhu? We’re taking him to Zhejiang for what?”
“He was poisoned by the Japanese, maybe Lu Daren wants to ask him some questions when he wakes up.” Jinxia replied vaguely, “It’s Lu Daren’s order, we have no say in this.”
YangYue was confused. He was shocked when he saw A’Rui’s conditions. Fortunately, he remembered his duty and didn’t ask anymore questions.
They travelled all the way south, crossing rivers, passing through Zhenjiang and then to Liyan. Two days later, they reached Yixing.
During the past two days, YangYue had constantly changed the medicine for A’Rui and fed him porridge, but A’Rui did not wake up once. Thankfully, the wounds were slowly healing.
The family of Lu Yi’s grandmother was rich and influential in the city. Jinxia stood in front of her house, looking at the green ceramic tiles and white walls displayed before her, thinking that ‘rich and influential’ seemed a little understatement. That family could be regarded as one of the descendants of the most famous families in the Ming Dynasty.
After the young servant announced their arrival, a housekeeper rushed out at once and greeted them, letting them and the horses inside the courtyard. Jinxia and YangYue were assigned to a small place to rest while Lu Yi went straight to the inner room.
After resting there for a night, when they were preparing to leave, Jinxia discovered that there were two more carriages, much more refined than the original one.
“One of my cousins will be going home to visit a grave, so she will be coming with us.” Lu Yi explained.
Jinixa was surprised, “Daren has also a cousin?”
“I didn’t jump out of a crack in the rock. Of course, I have a cousin.”
Just as they were talking, a young girl, who looked very classy, was escorted out by an old lady. There were two other female servants who followed behind her.
“Big brother.” She turned to Lu Yi and greeted, lightly saying, “At the end of last year, my second brother brought a rose and lily scented powder to me, he said it was from big brother.”
Lu Yi laughed a little, “Nothing much… Here, these two people are the constables of LiuShanmen: Yuan Jinxia and YangYue. They’re here on a business trip with me. Throughout this journey, we will all be together. They are carrying swords on themselves, but please, do not be afraid.”
Jinxia looked at the swords on their bodies and remained silent.
