After Ying Yan Long left the Flower Appreciation Banquet, although he frequently thought of the lady, he was still unable to gather any information about her.  When he returned he was once again overwhelmed with work.

Ying Yan Long was sitting in his study in deep thoughts after he listened to the news brought back by the doctors he had sent to Mei Yi Wen, who again refused to allow any doctor to take his pulse to do a diagnosis. 

After all, even the best medicines need to be formulated according to a person's body condition.  If Mei Yi Wen does not want to live, it is none of his business but if Mei Yi Wen dies, a lot of people will be investigated and he cannot accept this.

While listening to the report of the herbalist, s.h.i.+ Tai, at the same time, he was also thinking about how to convince Mei Yi Wen to allow a doctor to take his pulse.

 "......It was practically s...o...b..und......this small one can't go up.  After the weather cleared, this small one went up the mountain immediately.  After looking for three days and three nights, I still can't find the lavender.  So, traveling nonstop day and night I came back with the news......"  s.h.i.+ Tai said as he bent his waist to take a bow. 

Ying Yan Long breathed in the scent twirling from the incense burner and looked at the man standing in front of him with a blank expression.

The Ying Family has two medicinal mountains and the mountains are specially planted with precious herbs.  Every month, the herbalists who planted their herbs will go up the mountains in different areas to look for the herbs they are responsible for.  If they are unable to gather the specific amount required, they have to inform in advance, so that Ying Yan Long can instruct his people stationed at the foot of the mountains to look for subst.i.tute herbs from other countries.

Just like this lavender......they only bloom for one sichen (2 hours) between 11.00 pm to 1.00 am on the first day of the first lunar month of the year.  If one is unable to wait beside them ahead of time for the blooming then the picking will have to be postponed to the next year.

Ying Yan Long looked at the herbalist, s.h.i.+ Tai who was still continuously complaining about the difficulties encountered and Ying Yan Long's big hands suddenly slapped on the table repeatedly. 

"Have you talked enough?!"

s.h.i.+ Tai sucked in a breath and immediately knelt down on both knees.

"Do you think that as long as you put on a show for me, I will forgive you?  In the first place, when a herbalist signed the contract with the Ying Family, it was already stated as the first condition that when picking herbs, it is of utmost importance that one doesn't fail in his duties.  Once the herb picking time is delayed, he is to inform the village chief immediately.  Offenders will immediately be expelled from the village."  Ying Yan Long said sternly.

"This small one is not deliberately concealing this matter and was only thinking that if I look for it a few days more......."

Ying Yan Long did not spare him a glance and looked towards Steward Zhu.  "Bring the contract and burn it in front of him.  Send someone to see that he leaves the village immediately."

"Dangjia!  Give me another chance!  Don't cancel the contract......I still have to support my old mother and my children......"

s.h.i.+ Tai cried and knocked his head hard on the ground.  He was so scared that his body trembled.  The income of a herbalist in the Ying Family was ten times more than that of an ordinary farmer and he could not afford to lose this job.

"If you really care for your old mother and your children, then you should not drink and make the mistake.  I am fully aware of the situation in the village and know all about the workers.  I had taken into consideration your filial piety and since you had not done any mistakes, so I gave you the opportunity to follow the old herbalist to go up the mountains to gather herbs.  And what is the result?"

"Dangjia!  I know I have done wrong!"  s.h.i.+ Tai knocked his head hard on the ground to kowtow.

Ying Yan Long lifted his chin at Steward Zhu to indicate that s.h.i.+ Tai is to be taken away.

Earlier on, he had instructed Steward Zhu to take some money to the village and told the Village Chief to regularly take care of the widows and orphans residing in the village.  Later, even if s.h.i.+ Tai leaves the village, he would not let s.h.i.+ Tai's mother go hungry.  He just did not want this to be made public.

If s.h.i.+ Tai was so brave to drink and make the mistake, then he should also have the courage to bear the consequences.  After all, if he were really to pick on s.h.i.+ Tai, even if the whole family of s.h.i.+ Tai was sold, it would not be able to make up for the loss of this mistake.

Losing this batch of lavender herbs which was the responsibility of s.h.i.+ Tai, the Heart Relaxing Pills that requires a year of preparation throughout the seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter would be lessened by one pill.  The monetary loss of one hundred gold coins is a small matter.  There are people monitoring when Mei Yi Wen takes the Heart Relaxing Pill and he cannot afford to be careless.  Now that one pill for one a month is short, there will definitely be someone to pursue this matter.  So, he has to come out with a plan.

Ying Yan Long called for Steward Zhu and instructed him to send someone to Xiling Mountain where lavender plants were also available, to buy from them at one hundred gold coins.  He also wrote several letters to seek help from a few local medicine merchants.  After that, he sent out a spy to deliver a secret letter with information about the situation regarding the Heart Relaxing Pill.

Finally, he personally went to the alchemy chamber to inquire about the progress of the new medicine, Phoenix Pill, because at the present time, only this medicine could possibly replace the Heart Relaxing Pill.  But the answer he received was that it would take at least half a year before any further progress could be achieved.

After settling this matter, it had already taken up half of a day and Ying Yan Long returned to his study.  With a frown, he sat down in the wooden chair and picked up the cup of tea to take a sip.

Recently, matters had not been smooth continuously with one following another and if he believed in the presence of evil, he would have gone to pray for blessings.  First, it was Mei Yi Wen in poor health, then it was s.h.i.+ Tai's mistake and even the people he sent out to find 'her' had said that they could not find 'her' whereabouts.  Everyone said that 'she' was Qian Ying Ying's distant relative but when he asked for further information, no one could tell him anything.

In addition, 'she' never visited Qian Ying Ying in recent days and so the person he sent to monitor at the door of the Qian Family could find no trace of her. 

Who actually is 'she'?  Why are Qian Ying Ying and her mother willing to help her hide 'her' ident.i.ty?

Furthermore, that Hua Ming Zi who had promised to pay a visit to the Ying Family had sent him a letter and a gift the day before yesterday, to thank him for his good intention of proposing marriage on behalf of his younger brother.   However, after much thought, she still felt that she is not a suitable match and does not dare to climb up so high in status.

After hearing the news, Ying Xue Wen was so happy that he got himself drunk the whole night.  Yesterday, Ying Yan Long had, in turn, sent an Introduction Note* over to indicate he wanted to pay the Hua Family a visit.  However, Hua Ming Zi still had not responded yet.  Apparently, her refusal was still firm. 

(Introduction Note is a letter sent to the Host before an intended visit introducing the Visitor and stating the purpose of the visit.  The Host will usually reply with a stated time and day that he will receive the Visitor.)

If he retreats so easily when confronted with a refusal, how can the Ying Family's medical halls be in this successful position today?  Just like he had always reflected on any unsuccessful business transaction, he wanted to know the real reason why Hua Ming Zi rejected him.

Ying Yan Long took a while to look through the progress of several medicinal developments and after writing down some instructions, he got up and walked out of the study.  Then he called out.  "Servants come!  Prepare a carriage!"

One of the two guards at the door immediately came up to ask.  "Dangjia, are you going to the Medical Halls?"

"No, I want to go to Hua Mansion."  Ying Yan Long said.

"Do you want to send a Note over first?"  The guard asked again.

"No, but you have to send someone to Doctor Qu to await my orders.  He just returned from the palace.  When you receive my orders, just invite him to leave for Hua Mansion immediately."  Ying Yan Long did not look back and walked out of the door.

He had sent someone to investigate and found out the reason Hua Ming Zi was so anxious to get married was all because of her seriously ill father. 

As a filial daughter, how can she refuse the consultation of an imperial doctor?  Not to mention, he is the Dangjia of the Ying Medical Halls.  Even if one has a lot of gold or silver, one may not be able to buy good medicine.  He is confident that she will definitely meet him!

Just as Ying Yan Long was riding towards Hua Mansion, Hua Ming Zi was sitting in the main hall and under her veil, she had an extremely impatient expression on her face.

"Speak faster......"  Hua Ming Zi frowned and ordered the man sitting on the seat below her who was reporting on his family's situation.

The man blanked out and looked at her for a long time before he could squeeze out a few words.

"This......small......small......small one will try to talk faster.  I......I......where did I stop......I was talking about my mother........she......she has been sick for ten years......."

Hua Ming Zi told herself to be patient.  At least this person is filial and had looked after his mother for ten years.  However, later she still has to meet another candidate and there are still some other business matters to settle.

Just after she had officially rejected the marriage proposal of Ying Yan Long's younger brother the other day, she instructed Matchmaker Liu to arrange for four recruits to meet her every day to see if she has an affinity with them. 

The doctor had come to see her father the day before and said that her father was only holding on for time.  Maybe if there is a happy event, he will have the will to live.  She felt the doctor's words should be correct because after she told her father about her recruitment for a husband,  his spirit was indeed better than usual these past few days.

But......she cannot marry any random man just for the sake of her father.

Moreover, she had met so many of the recruits that her head was almost near the explosion point.  She finally realized why Ying Yan Long left the Flower Appreciation Banquet in such a hurry - because some people need only to say two sentences and she already knew they were unsuitable........

Just like this one in front of her.......

She is not looking for a husband who is unrivaled.  She is just looking for a more suitable man for herself, is it so difficult?

Just like that scholar who came yesterday.  His mouth was full of the theories of the world and when she asked about his family's condition, she found that he idled his time away at home.  He depended on the little money that people gave to help his mother and Hua Ming Zi felt so angry that she nearly picked up the teacup to fling it at him.

And today, there is also this man by the name of Wen s.h.i.+ Xian who is doing a small business of selling calligraphy and paintings.  He is raising three younger siblings and supporting his old mother.  But as soon as she raised her voice, he was scared like a bird startled by the mere tw.a.n.g of a bow*.  Can she marry this type of man?  If she is to scare her husband to death, she will then have to recruit again.  That would be so troublesome, ah.......

(A bird startled by the tw.a.n.g of a bow means someone who is scared easily.)

"Dangjia, tea is being served."  Hua Ming Zi's personal maids, Cui Yu and Cui Xuan, entered through the door, each carrying a white jade teacup on a tray and they held it up to both Hua Ming Zi and Wen s.h.i.+ Xian.

When Wen s.h.i.+ Xian saw the strangers, his body started to tremble again.

*Pa!*  The white jade teacup beside Wen s.h.i.+ Xian's hand suddenly fell to the ground and emitted a fragrant scent of ginseng.

He was so frightened that he jumped up from his chair.

"Wen Gongzi, it doesn't matter."  Hua Ming Zi continued to drink her tea otherwise she will not have the strength to cope with these two people.

"It's her who did not place the teacup properly, it wasn't me!  I can't afford to compensate......"  He kept waving his hands and said anxiously.

Excellent!  She does not have to consider this person.  Hua Ming Zi put down the white jade teacup and let out a sigh of relief.

That white jaded teacup had fallen because she had instructed Cui Xuan to purposely break it so that she could a.s.sess the reaction of the recruits and so far, none of the recruits were normal. 

They reacted so nervously over the small matter of a broken teacup, so how can they be expected to take care of the family?  Even if she did not harbor the thought of having her husband manage her affairs, but at least she would not look for a husband whom she had to constantly worry about or be over-stepped by the servants.

"It's not me!  I didn't do it on purpose......"

When Hua Ming Zi saw that Wen s.h.i.+ Xian was still apologizing continuously, she waved her hand and said.  "It's just a teacup.  Wen Gongzi, it doesn't matter.  Steward Wu, send Wen Gongzi back to his residence."

Steward Wu led Wen s.h.i.+ Xian out of the hall and Wen s.h.i.+ Xian was given a valuable gift to take back with him when he got into the carriage.  Of course, just like the rest of the recruits, he would be monitored for his reaction to the valuable gift when he reaches home.

After she had experienced her Stepmother's betrayal, Hua Ming Zi no longer believed in people so easily.  

"Dangjia, there is someone outside who seeks a meeting but he did not announce his name."  Cui Yu came forward to report to her after listening to the maidservant standing at the door.

"Where is his Visiting Note?"  Hua Ming Zi frowned.  Then she remembered there was still one more recruit that she had not met - the son of a w.a.n.g-ye, borne by a concubine.  Rumors said that this son is a literary talent but a bit reclusive.

She rubbed her head, forced herself to stay alert and finished her tea.

"Let him come in."  Hua Ming Zi instructed.

Cui Yu nodded.  With quick steps, she hurried out of the door in preparation to monitor the visitor's every movement.

These few days, when the men entered the door, there would be more than a dozen servants ready in line to welcome them.  Hua Dangjia wanted Cui Yu to observe the men the moment they walk in.  After these few days' observation, almost all kinds of reactions were displayed.  Some men were afraid, some men were thrilled by it, some men were afraid they would be looked down, so they put on an arrogant face and some men were overly humble, so humble that they could not even walk with their backs straight.

"Serve up a pot of strong tea again." 

After she had instructed Cui Xuan, she leaned back on her seat and closed her eyes to take a rest.

Last night she had looked through the account books until the third geng*.  Early in the morning, she had rushed out to visit the restaurants that were the farthest away and then continued to discuss the new dishes with the merchants who were responsible for supplying the raw ingredients.  When she reached home at noon, she had a talk with her father for a while then she was due to meet the recruits who were supposed to pay her a visit one by one........

(Geng is the ancient measurement of time.  In ancient times, people divided 24 hours into 2 hourly intervals and every 2 hours is a sector.  The third geng is the period between 2300 hours to 0100 hours of the day.  So the third geng is considered as midnight.)

Meeting them made her feel so tired.

Why is this matter of getting married........so boring?

"Here is your tea."  When Cui Xuan served the strong tea to Hua Ming Zi, she lowered her voice and said.  "Chui Yu wants me to let you know that this time, the recruit is extraordinary."

"Thank G.o.d!  Finally, a person of substance has come.  Being the son of a w.a.n.g-ye is really someone with a little difference." 

Hua Ming Zi reluctantly opened her eyes a little and drank several mouthfuls of tea.  However, she was still leaning her body against the chair with a hand propping up her cheek while she continued resting with her eyes closed.

She has this character of doing as she pleases, so it would be best if her future husband is mentally prepared.

"This way, please."  Cui Yu greeted the person coming in and unconsciously lowered her eyes.

The person wore a two-colored embroidery ice silk black robe.  He has a slender body and his outstanding facial features are beyond words.  The most commendable is that he exuded a strong momentum just like his pair of black eyes that made people dare not meet his eyes.

And those black eyes were staring at the person who was sitting on the main chair wearing a veil moving in a sluggish manner......Hua Dangjia.

Ying Yan Long stared at the Hua Dangjia who did not even lift her head and without any change to his expression, he walked up to her.

Is this att.i.tude her way of showing him her strength?  Is this to make him accept her marriage refusal to Xue Wen or is she showing her dissatisfaction with his earlier rejection of her proposal?

"Hua Dangjia."  Ying Yan Long called her.

"Please take a seat."  Hua Ming Zi did not look up and only thought that this voice sounded rather majestic.  It should be worthy of her to heighten her alertness to deal with it.

When Ying Yan Long heard her voice, he felt it was a little familiar.  The other person had displayed an att.i.tude of not even getting up to extend a welcome which made his heart flashed with a feeling of displeasure. 

This Hua Ming Zi is really deliberately giving him a cold shoulder!

"I heard the Hua Ji Restaurants have always been known for their hospitality and I came specifically for advice."  Ying Yan Long said.

When Hua Ming Zi heard him, instantly her eyes flew open.........

Ying Yan Long is standing in front of her! ! !