Chapter 33: Mediating a Quarrel

The Peony Pool sits on the northern bank of the Huai River; with Mid-Autumn approaching, a hundred pleasure boats of all sizes have gathered by the lakeshore, and the crowds along the bank are dense.

Inside a pleasure boat moored by the shore, the laughter of women could be faintly heard:

"Cloud shadows and distant mountains enter the painting; the setting sun casts late light upon flowing mist. Whose home is by the winding bridge and curved shore? A few neighs by the fence..."

"Young Lady Wang has fine literary talent; truly worthy of being the number one nurse of the Chongwen Academy..."

"Tch~"

"Hahaha..."

The pleasure boat had been chartered by the Princess's Wang Fu; inside were the Young Ladies of the Chongming River and female students from the Academy, while outside were the Wang Fu Wu Zu responsible for guarding.

Liu Qingzhi was a notorious henpecked husband among the Wang Fu's personal guards; every day his wife tormented him with some wild method she'd begged from somewhere, leaving him without a single grain of grain left, so he had no interest in the lewd jokes and laughter of the women on the boat, merely standing at the edge of the deck listening to Butler Hou ramble.

The pointy-nosed, monkey-cheeked Butler Hou, because his appearance was too bizarre and would spoil the refined amusement of the mad Young Ladies if he went inside, now stood on the deck fanning himself with a folding fan; seeing the scene of 'vibrant life and all things competing to flourish' by the lake, he couldn't help but stroke his handlebar mustache on his chin and sigh:

"Every generation produces talented men; in my youth, when I attended the Mid-Autumn gathering, I was at least considered a handsome young man. Now that I am old and my looks have faded, placed here at the Peony Pool, I'm afraid I wouldn't even rank in the top ten."

?

Liu Qingzhi thought Butler Hou's earth-shattering, tear-inducing appearance could make the monkeys raised by wealthy families on Wencheng Street look handsome and refined; even in a beauty contest at Monkey Mountain he might not make the top ten, let alone at the Peony Pool.

However, as the chief butler of the Princess's Wang Fu and the Princess's trusted general, where would Liu Qingzhi dare to mock? He properly flattered him, saying:

"Mr. Hou, do not belittle yourself. Beautiful faces are everywhere, but how many people can the Princess appreciate? For a man to stand in this world, it mainly depends on talent; Mr. Hou's talent can be called a once-in-a-millennium occurrence!"

Liu Qingzhi wasn't exactly blowing smoke; just Butler Hou's magnificent beauty, which could subdue Xie Jinhuan, could be called a once-in-a-millennium occurrence.

However, Butler Hou also had self-awareness; he waved his hand and said:

"I dare not accept. If the talent of the world amounts to one dan, the Princess alone claims eight dou..."

At this point, Butler Hou realized he had forgotten the Prince, which was very improper, so he added:

"The Prince also claims eight dou; I, Hou, and all people under heaven share one dou together..."

"Uh..."

Liu Qingzhi felt that the seven dou owed were all the sin created by Butler Hou himself, but he truly dared not say it openly, so he just kept apologizing with a smile.

Just as the two were boringly rambling like this, Butler Hou suddenly stretched his neck, narrowed his rat eyes, looking like a weasel hunting for chicks, and peered toward the outer perimeter of the Peony Pool:

"Yo-ho~ That Xie kid from the back alley has also run over to join the fun; is that Physician Lin beside him?"

"Hmm?"

After witnessing Xie Jinhuan's abilities, Liu Qingzhi valued him greatly; hearing this, he searched toward the riverside and indeed saw a carriage parked at the outer perimeter of the Peony Pool, with two people and a bird nearby, walking toward a large ship on the river.

Among them, the man in a white robe with two weapons hanging at his waist was clearly Xie Jinhuan.

The woman beside him with a graceful figure, though the distance made it hard to see clearly, he knew well because his wife ran to the Lin Family Clinic every day; she was the clinic's divine physician.

"It really is Physician Lin; could the two of them have gotten together?"

"Possible. This kid is quite impressive; he's only been here a few days and has already tricked such a big white peony into his hands; tsk, tsk, tsk..."

Just as the two were watching the gossip from afar, they suddenly discovered Xie Jinhuan walking up to a large ship, exchanging a few words with someone on board, and then an argument broke out; it looked like they were even preparing to fight.

"Eh?"

Liu Qingzhi frowned: "What's going on?"

Butler Hou didn't understand either; just as he was curiously observing, a sound suddenly came from behind:

Tap tap~

Turning to look, Princess Changning walked out from the ship's cabin with her maid.

Coming out to attend the banquet, Princess Changning was dressed quite exquisitely, wearing a pale gold chest-high hezi skirt, with gold and pearl tassels at her waist; her bodice was embroidered with a peony and hibiscus; her figure was petite, round and jade-like, yet her ample parts had an awe-inspiring dimension.

Such a peerless beauty naturally attracted many admirers; all around, on the surrounding boats and even by the lakeshore, were Young Masters and scholars stretching their necks to show off their charms, trying to catch the attention of this 'Number One Rich and Beautiful Woman of Danzhou'.

Seeing this, Butler Hou asked:

"Why has the Princess come out? Did the Academy's gambling god defeat you again, leaving you in disarray?"

Princess Changning had just lost seven consecutive rounds of dice and was feeling depressed inside; she didn't reply to this remark, but raised her eyes to gaze toward the riverside:

"What's the situation over there?"

"Oh. It's that Xie kid who rents a place in the back alley; for some reason, he got into an argument with someone."

"Xie Jinhuan?"

Seeing this, Princess Changning became interested; she took a spyglass from her maid Duoduo's hand and began to observe from afar:

"Heh... quite handsome..."

——

A short while earlier.

Xie Jinhuan followed the tracks from Rooster Comb Ridge all the way to the Peony Pool; seeing the dense crowds by the river and the pleasure boats of all sizes, he couldn't help but frown:

"So many people?"

In such a public place, Lin Wanyi dared not recklessly use the Shamanist cultivation technique; at this moment, her gaze locked onto a large ship by the river:

"It seems they escaped onto that ship; what should we do?"

Xie Jinhuan glanced slightly at the ship; he could see a flag hanging on it, and from the emblem, it belonged to Jinghua Villa.

Jinghua Villa belonged to a local power in Danyang; its status in the Jianghu was not as high as Mount Zihui, but its business was quite large; basically all the boat gangs in the Huai River area flew the Bao family's characters.

Xie Jinhuan had already chased all the way here, so he definitely had to go up and look; immediately, he led Lin Wanyi and Meiqiu through the dense crowd and arrived beneath the pleasure boat.

Jinghua Villa was a powerful family in Danzhou; the pleasure boat they rented was quite large; inside the ship's cabin, the laughter of clinking cups and the sound of singing voices and zither music could be heard:

"Dang dang~..."

Because the guests were all sons of the powerful families of Danzhou, the Bao family placed extreme importance on security; more than a dozen martial artists stood on the shore, and people patrolled back and forth on the deck.

Xie Jinhuan first had Meiqiu act as a lookout in the sky; he quickly walked toward the ship; the manager on the boarding plank who was receiving guests saw this and stepped forward to ask:

"Young Master, who are you?"

Xie Jinhuan couldn't very well force his way aboard, so he stepped forward and cupped his hands in a salute:

"Xie Jinhuan. My late father once served as the Law Officer of Wan'an County. Just now I encountered several demon bandits at Cockscomb Ridge, and one of them fled and hid here. I wished to board the ship to take a look."

"Uh…"

The steward gave him a blank look.

Wan'an County was a suburban county of the capital; a Law Officer or County Magistrate ranked at the upper eighth grade — already a very high official in the eyes of jianghu folk, but that "once served"…

The steward sized him up carefully, though his manner remained polite:

"Does Young Master have an official document or token of authority?"

"I hold no official post. I merely happened upon the demon bandits on the road and tracked them here…"

"Young Master!"

The steward raised a hand to cut him off, his bowed back straightening a few degrees:

"This is no small place. The boat has been chartered by Jinghua Mountain Manor, and the guests feasting aboard are all persons of importance. Setting aside your 'once served,' even if your father truly were a county magistrate of Jingcheng, you, Young Master, are a commoner in plain clothes — you have no right to search or investigate a case here."

Xie Jinhuan truly had no right to search, so his manner remained even:

"The demon bandits have hidden themselves here and could strike at any moment. If something goes wrong…"

"What's going on?"

Before he could finish, a voice suddenly drifted down from the pleasure boat.

Xie Jinhuan looked up and saw a window on the upper deck swing open, revealing a figure.

The figure looked to be in his twenties, dressed in a young master's robe, pale and plump with a full beard — in certain circles, he might pass for a regal beauty…

The steward, seeing this, hurriedly cupped his hands upward:

"Young Master, this Young Master Xie claims to be the son of the Law Officer of Wan'an County, and says a fugitive is hiding aboard. He wishes to board and search."

"The Law Officer of Wan'an County?"

Bao Fei, the young manor lord of Jinghua Mountain Manor, frowned slightly at the words and glanced back into the room.

The room was full of young masters drinking and making merry; several of them had family members in office, and they quickly supplied an answer:

"The Law Officer of Wan'an County is named Fei Ji. The one from three years back was surnamed Xie, but I believe he was convicted of embezzlement and bribery and exiled to Lingnan."

Xie Jinhuan's brow furrowed:

"Who's spouting nonsense up there?"

"How dare you!"

Bao Fei, as host, had invited only men of wealth; hearing this, his face changed drastically, and he leapt down onto the gangplank.

Lin Wanyi followed behind, watching on the side, truly not expecting these pampered scions to be so reckless with their lives. She hurriedly grabbed Xie Jinhuan:

"Xie Jinhuan, don't get angry. You absolutely cannot hit this man — if you beat him to death, there'll be serious trouble…"

"?"

Bao Fei had barely landed when he stumbled, and the surrounding thugs and stewards were utterly dumbfounded.

After all, when they saw the great beauty behind him rush forward, they assumed she meant to hold back this reckless young fool — never in their wildest dreams did they expect her to be stoking the fire!

Right in front of Jinghua Mountain Manor, urging a young man not to get angry, lest he beat their young master to death — wasn't that looking down on them?

Bao Fei, constrained by the many high officials and nobles around, couldn't strike directly. Naturally, he paid no heed to a woman with long hair and short sense, and merely stared coldly at Xie Jinhuan:

"Do you know who sits up there? If it weren't for the fact that Peony Pool is full of important guests and unsuited for violence, today I would certainly teach you a thing or two about how the world works! I'll give you one chance now — apologize to the young masters above and beg their pardon. Otherwise…"

But unfortunately, Xie Jinhuan paid Bao Fei no attention at all, his gaze fixed on the window above:

"My father was transferred to Nanning County in Ruizhou — he was not exiled for embezzlement. In future, watch what you say and mind your measure. If there's a next time, that man will serve as your example."

Lin Wanyi, seeing things going wrong, hurriedly tried to drag Xie Jinhuan — who was wielding a 'Fine Weapon of the Martial Arm' — away, but it was already too late!

(End of chapter)