He Danggui sighed, "At that time, I was only eight years old. How can I remember a person I met only once? However, when I recalled that event, I feel that the middle-aged man would be terrible if the five permanent workers were really killed by him. Even if I had three lives, I couldn't have that endurance. He clearly couldn't tolerate the five permanent workers who were rude to his sister, but he scolded his sister and paid money to those workers to show his gentility. After that, he could turn back to seek revenge immediately, but he waited for half a year. Please think about it, Master Gao. Who can remember a quarrel with pa.s.sers-by half a year ago, and always want to revenge? But the middle-aged man remembered such a small thing and tortured the others for a whole month before he let them die miserably. He is really cruel and merciless."

Gao Jue nodded, "If what you said is true, this guy is really narrow-minded and has a vicious heart which is really rare in the world!"

He Danggui said with a smile, "Since you are here to say goodbye, I won't occupy your too much time. Master Gao, go and do your work. Zhen Jing and I will continue shopping."

Gao Jue looked at the bright and intoxicating eyes. It seemed that he saw through the vast night and fell into an unknown void. His voice was so bitter, "Shall we meet again?"

He Danggui looked at him calmly and said, "We will meet again in the near future. As long as we are alive, we will have the chance to meet each other. Master Gao and Childe Duan helped me find the precious gold lock. And you help me unchoke the channels and change the Zhenqi into my internal force. I will pay back your great kindness in the future."

Then Gao Jue handed her the hairpin and said, "It's unpredictable in the future, but now you can take it as a reward. It's the first time that I have given a gift to a girl... It'll be embarra.s.sing if I am rejected."

He Danggui hesitated for a moment, took over with two hands, and replied briskly and playfully, "So, I have to thank you for the gift, my Master! Master, please accept my wors.h.i.+p!" Then she bowed down.

Gao Jue turned away and said angrily, "Who is your Master?"

He Danggui said, "A teacher for a day is a teacher for a lifetime. I have bowed to you. How can you be so mean? Master, I have benefited a lot from the Zhenqi you gave me. I hope that when I meet you again, you can teach me something to embolden me!"

Gao Jue said coldly, "I don't accept the disciple, let alone a female disciple. So, give it up." Then he disappeared.

He Danggui turned her head and looked at the clothes shop. She found Zhen Jing was picking a raised nail on the table. Then she shouted, "Chan Yi, don't be dazed. I'm hungry again. Let's go for lunch!"

He Danggui walked into Qunxianlou Restaurant with Zhen Jing and found a clean seat. Looking at the menu on the wall, she called the waiter and ordered, "First, brew a pot of scented tea and take two dishes of dessert. The main dishes are Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce, Roast Suzhou Duck, Stewed Sliced Meat with Bamboo Shoots and Stewed Chicken Claws with Green Vegetables. Then give us four seasonal dishes. Well, the soup is the Bean-curd Soup with Sow Thistle and Duck Heart. At last, give us ten steamed buns."

Hearing her words, the waiter was stunned. Even if two men might not eat so many dishes, let alone they were just two little girls who dressed as men.

"Oh, by the way," He Danggui added, "Pack 5 jin of newly baked dessert, and we'll take them away after eating." Then she gave the waiter 500 qian as a tip and ordered, "Tell the chef that the Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce should not be too greasy, and the Chicken Claws should be less spicy."

The waiter took the money with a smile. Soon, a pot of scented tea and two plates of dessert were served. He Danggui and Zhen Jing had been walking all morning. So, they were hungry and began to eat and drink at once. They became bold after wearing men's clothes, so they eat in an unconstrained way. Many people on the nearby tables couldn't help taking a peek.

When the dessert was half eaten, the Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce, the Roast Suzhou Duck, and a plate of ten steamed buns were served. He Danggui and Zhen Jing smiled at each other. Just the day before yesterday when they ate rice mixed with splendid achnatherum, He Danggui promised to bring Zhen Jing to eat Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce and Roast Suzhou Duck in Qunxianlou Restaurant. At that time, Zhen Jing thought it was just a joke, but now the glittering Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce and the delicious Roast Suzhou Duck were in front of them. What He Danggui said became a reality.

Zhen Jing was extremely excited. She glanced with grat.i.tude at He Danggui who was drinking tea. Suddenly, she felt that there was nothing that He Danggui couldn't do in the world.

Zhen Jing picked up the chopsticks with her trembling hands, and didn't know what to eat. At this time, a voice like the drake sounded from the table next to them, "Little girls, you ordered so many dishes. Can you finish?" Zhen Jing was so scared that she took back her chopsticks immediately because of the words full of ridicule. After all, now she was still an ascetic, but she came to the restaurant to eat such extravagant dishes without scruple. So, she felt guilty in her heart.

He Danggui raised her eyebrows and glanced at the next table. She felt ridiculous when she found that the person who called them little girls was a little boy of eleven to twelve. He was rather handsome, but unfortunately, he was a kibitzer since he put his finger in others' pie, even caring about the eating or drinking of other people.

Wearing a soft Tang-style silk hat, the kibitzer was dressed in light blue robe with gauze, a plum-colored sash of five-finger wide in the waist, a pair of white boots, as well as bluish and white cloth wrapping on his legs. He was really a gorgeous boy with spindly eyebrows, black s.h.i.+ning eyes, a Roman nose, and a pointed chin. Now, he raised his thin lips arrogantly.

There was another boy sitting beside the kibitzer. He looked a little older than that kibitzer, but he concentrated on eating. It seemed that they had similar appearance but different temperament.

The cool boy dressed alike with the kibitzer. Wearing a vermilion kerchief, he was dressed in parrot-green robe with gauze, a long-plaited girdle in the waist, and kneepad on his legs, and took black high boots. He raised his amorous eyes slightly. The eyes were as black as ink, with an arrogant and cold light.

If the cool boy was like a mini-sized Gao Jue, the kibitzer was like a mini-sized Liao Zhiyuan who was a gossip to inquire about others.

As expected, the kibitzer curled up his thin lips and asked, "Hey, it seems that you are very hungry! Don't you have any food at home? You are girls, but why are you wearing men's clothes? Is there nothing to wear at home?" The kibitzer asked in a voice like the drake and with a tone of ridicule. Looking at He Danggui up and down with his eyes similar to wild cats, he asked again, "Do you plan to have a dine and dash? Qunxianlou Restaurant won't invite you to dinner just because you are women! Maybe you will be caught and sold!"

Hearing his words, Zhen Jing got sweaty. She felt guilty even if they had so much silver in the pockets. Was the food very expensive here? Then she pulled He Danggui's sleeve and whispered, "Xiaoyi, how much will this meal cost? Can we afford it?"

He Danggui replied in a common voice, "I told you that it's my treat. So, don't worry about it." She picked up a reeky Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce in Zhen Jing's bowl, and then poured soup with spoon on it. She gave Zhen Jing an angry stare and complained, "He put his finger in our pie. You should learn from him and worry about trifles. Do you want to make me angry?" Then He Danggui tore a steamed bun into pieces, threw into Zhen Jing's bowl, and urged Zhen Jing to eat.

Zhen Jing was excited again and picked up a piece of steamed bun from the soup with her chopsticks. She put it into her mouth with trembling. Her mouth was full of aroma immediately.

But the kibitzer said again, "I said it just for your sake! If women get fat, no man wants to marry them. Crying is no use when no one wants to marry you! Although you are both slim, you will become fat soon if you eat in this way. The Stewed Pork Ball in Brown Sauce and the Roast Duck you ordered are really tasteless, because only a nouveau riche eats that. You can see what we ordered." The kibitzer pointed to their dishes, but he felt embarra.s.sed at seeing their empty plates. Then he said, "We guys can eat anything, but you girls can't. Because you will become fat easily…"

Then He Danggui couldn't help laughing. He was really a kibitzer. But she was indeed a nouveau riche!

At this time, her smile was as beautiful as the halo of the pearl and the jade. No one could compare with her. The kibitzer was shocked. He thought, "The mother of Sister Su was the first beauty of the capital. So, Sister Su was so lovely. But now, this village girl was much more beautiful than her."

He Danggui picked up both legs of the roast duck into Zhen Jing's bowl with a smile and persuaded, "Calm down and eat more. We are human-beings, so the main function of our mouth is eating. Only the mouth of a kibitzer is used for gossip."

The kibitzer was very angry. What a glib girl! He was going to argue with He Danggui again, but the cool boy patted his back suddenly and whispered, "Look over there!" The cool boy cast a glance at the window.

The kibitzer turned to look unpleasantly. Then he said in surprise, "Isn't that Ling Miaoyi? What is she doing here? That nuisance!"

He Danggui glanced out of the window. Her eyes fixed. That girl was Gao Jue's sister-in-law. It seemed that she hurried to look for someone. She asked to every pa.s.serby about a guy who was about two feet taller than her. But all people shook their heads or waved hands and then left.

Zhen Jing also saw it when she was busy eating. She got close to He Danggui, asking with her oily mouth in a low voice, "What's wrong with her? Is she looking for Master Gao?"

He Danggui shook her head and whispered, "I heard that she is looking for 'a man in red'. And according to her description, that man may be Childe Duan."

Zhen Jing blinked her eyes, "Does she also like Childe Duan? Then she is your rival!"

He Danggui dabbed Zhen Jing's forehead and cursed, "You wicked girl, don't speak when you are eating."

Zhen Jing took a bite of the duck leg and whispered, "Shall we greet her? She is so anxious. Did anything go wrong?"

He Danggui took a bite of steamed buns, and then picked up the dishes. She replied slowly, "The Stewed Sliced Meat with Bamboo Shoots should have done better, but the heat control was bad at the moment when the dish was finished. The color of this dish dimmed suddenly. That's too bad. The most important element of this dish is its color. Taste it."

Zhen Jing was confused. She didn't know why He Danggui changed the topic of their conversation from Master Gao's sister-in-law to the dish. But she still picked up a slice of meat into her mouth and praised, "Delicious!"

He Danggui smiled and ate silently. But when she finished, she found that Ling Miaoyi was not at the gate of the restaurant, and the two boys also disappeared. The two boys wore leg guards as if they were from Wulin. But the kibitzer had a strong accent of the capital. And the pearl on his frontlet was the finest one. In addition, he was familiar with Gao Jue's sister-in-law. So, he must be from a n.o.ble family.

The little Tu'er Town now became a bustling town. First, a group of generals of the imperial guard came and left. Then the n.o.bles came one after another. Duan Xiaolou had told her before he left that the imperial guard had "another mission" in Yangzhou City. The situation became interesting. What kind of mission could let all elites of the imperial guard came over here?

He Danggui remembered clearly that when Duan Xiaolou helped her to search the Taoist temple and find the gold lock, his subordinates were well-trained and uniformed. A team of them was unique. They had white face and thin brows but no prominentia laryngea. So, they were the Armed Escorts. The Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was 65 years old and one month later, it was his 66th birthday. What did he want to do? Why did he send his henchmen to Yangzhou? Even He Danggui had the memory of previous life and knew about the big events in the next ten years, but she still couldn't figure it out.

At this time, there were a few flies flying through the window and landing on the plates of the next table to enjoy the remains. He Danggui frowned and shouted, "Waiter, clean that table! Hurry up!"

The waiter answered and drove away the flies with his towel. After cleaning the table, the waiter smiled apologetically to He Danggui, "We're so sorry. You can enjoy your food right now. Don't worry about it. Our Qunxianlou Restaurant is famous for the elegant and quiet environment. You generally can't see even a little bug in our restaurant, but this morning, somebody splashed pig blood on the ground. What a bad luck! The pig blood seduced too many... Oh! Sorry. Just enjoy your food!"

"People generally can't see even a little bug, but today there are so many big flies." He Danggui thought and got an instant inspiration. Was there a treasure in Tu'er Town? So, a lot of officials and n.o.bles from the capital came here. It was a thing or a person? He Danggui shook her head. "No. The Emperor is the richest man in the world. What's the treasure that can attract so many people?"

"Hey, girl. Your eyes are flas.h.i.+ng and you have a good physique. There are auspicious clouds on your head which will bring the good luck to you and others surrounding you. You are not a mortal."