Returning home, Ah Luo was unable to fall asleep that night. She kept thinking that Li Jue would come and trouble her. She tossed and turned, yet couldn’t come up with a good idea. Then she thought about how she still hadn’t found a way to earn money yet and it would be a long time until she could leave the Minister’s residence. The days were passing by, so what could she do when the time came for Minister Li to package her up and sell her off? Would Zi Li be able to help her? Could she trust him? Ah Luo was very distressed.
The next morning, Zi Li’s xiao melody floated from the bamboo forest again. Ah Luo thought to herself, why was Zi Li so interested in the Third Miss of the Minister’s residence? Was it just because she had played the flute with him for two months? Facing Zi Li, she played two characters. Ah Luo found this too difficult. Moreover, male clothing only differed by accessories and colours, so how would Zi Li not figure it out over time? It was better to tell him earlier. She didn’t know if Zi Li would be able to help her. Ah Luo thought that there was not a single thing she could do by herself in Feng City.
Seeing Ah Luo walking towards the bamboo forest, Zi Li smiled softly. He had been waiting for Ah Luo to tell him of her own accord that she was Luo Shan and that Luo Shan was her.
Ah Luo asked Zi Li, “Why are you here again?”
Zi Li said, “You left in a hurry yesterday, and still hadn’t told me why you wouldn’t answer to my xiao.”
Ah Luo walked to the side and sat down on a rock, holding her head with both hands. She pondered to herself again, then raised her head and looked at Zi Li, “Elder Brother! I, I am Luo Shan.” After saying this, she lowered her head somewhat ashamedly.
Zi Li pretended to be surprised, “You’re Brother Shan?”
Ah Luo said, “I put on men’s clothes and painted my face dark.”
Zi Li walked slowly until he was in front of her, squatting down to look at her, “Let me take a closer look.”
Ah Luo stared at him with a serious expression. Zi Li looked at Ah Luo carefully, at her small palm-sized face with a pointed chin and a petal-shaped mouth. He couldn’t see her eyebrows, but her eyes on her snowy skin were sparkling and crystal clear. Without being so attentive, Ah Luo’s charm would be unnoticeable. Looking at Ah Luo’s eyes, Zi Li found they held mysteries he knew nothing of and they were like a whirlpool sucking him in. One couldn’t help but stare until they turned crazy.
Seeing that Zi Li didn’t speak for a long while, Ah Luo thought that he didn’t believe her and said, “Elder Brother, the first time we met was by the riverside. I came over and disturbed you while you were playing the xiao.”
Zi Li came back to his senses and smiled, “I know, you’re Brother Shan. It means third child in the family, right?”
Ah Luo nodded.
Zi Li sat down beside her and asked, “Brother Shan, oh, what should I call you?”
Ah Luo smiled, “Just call me by my name. Mother always liked to call me San’er and the other family members call me Ah Luo. My full name is Li Qing Luo. Call me however you want.”
Zi Li smiled and said, “A girl who lets others call her maiden name so casually, you really are brave.”
Ah Luo remembered that this was not the modern world where you could call anyone by their name so casually. She smiled and said, “Elder Brother, just call me Brother Shan. A name is just a symbol and it’s the same no matter you call me.”
Zi Li felt that Ah Luo was really refreshing and said with a smile, “Alright, Brother Shan, what are you worrying about?”
Gloomily, Ah Luo said, “I don’t know how to earn money.”
Zi Li asked curiously, “Why do you need to earn money?”
Ah Luo thought for a moment and said, “If I had money, I could leave the Minister’sresidence and freely go anywhere.”
Zi Li smiled and said, “Minister Li would never agree.”
“That’s why I have to earn money by myself,” said Ah Luo.
Zi Li frowned, “In truth, it’s very dangerous outside. You can protect yourself with your martial art skills against people who don’t know martial arts, but it won’t work if you meet someone who really knows martial arts.”
Ah Luo sighed, remembering how Liu Jue had Light Body and Acupressure martial arts skills, and how Zi Li had leapt so lightly over the courtyard wall while she was still stumbling around. She looked at Zi Li and said, “Elder Brother, I really want to go out and see things freely. Can you help me earn money somehow?”
Zi Li looked at Ah Luo who was staring at him pleadingly and just couldn’t refuse, so he said with a smile, “What are you good at then? Tell Elder Brother?”
Ah Luo instantly beamed, “I can cook better than those three unique dishes!”
Zi Li smiled slightly and shook his head in disbelief, “I’ll only believe this if you cook for me.”
Ah Luo leapt up excitedly and asked Zi Li, “Elder Brother, if my cooking tastes better than Qian Feng Lou, are you willing to open a restaurant and let me cook? We can split the earnings.”
Zi Li couldn’t help but laugh, “Alright, it’s a deal. Shall we go?”
Elated, Ah Luo bounced up, momentarily forgetting that Zi Li also knew Qinggong and pulled him over to the wall. Ah Lu hurriedly climbed over the wall and waved to Zi Li, “Elder Brother, come up, hurry!”
Zi Li raised his head to look at Ah Luo. At this moment, she was like a mountain spirit and the sorrow in the flute’s melody didn’t seem like it belonged to someone of her age. Her laugh was like the purest crystal without a trace of restraint. He felt moved and suddenly wanted to follow her and climb over the wall. At the top of the wall, Zi Li saw Ah Luo taking out a rope ladder and he finally burst into laughter. Holding her in his arms, he jumped down.
Ah Luo laughed and said, “I was so happy that I forgot Elder Brother knew Qinggong.”
Ah Luo hadn’t changed into men’s clothing, so Zi Li asked his attendant to hire a sedan chair and said to Ah Luo, “Next time you wear men’s clothes, Elder Brother will teach you how to ride a horse.”
Ah Luo thought that it was also fine to sit in a sedan chair and she observed the scenery along the way. They arrived at Qian Feng Lou. She didn’t know what Zi Li said, however, the shopkeeper said to Ah Luo politely, “Young Miss, please follow me to the kitchen.”
Ah Luo glanced at Zi Li. Zi Li sat at a table and said, “I’m waiting to taste your craftsmanship.”
Ah Luo raised her head proudly and followed the shopkeeper to the kitchen. It took her a full two hours before the dishes were served.
Zi Li looked at it, “You were in the kitchen for so long, but you only made this cabbage soup? Did you just soak the cabbage in water and bring it out?”
Ah Luo smirked and said, “The three unique dishes can’t even look like this, appearing like boiled cabbage on a table and making people feel like this is really just cabbage in boiling water. Will you try it?”
Zi Li smiled and drank a little soup with a spoon. He frowned, then his expression gradually showed surprise and joy, “Qian Feng Lou can close down.”
Ah Luo smiled sweetly. Zi Li praised, “It’s pleasant to the palate and extraordinarily delicious. Brother Shan, how did you make this?”
Ah Luo began to show off, “In fact, only the tender yellow centre of the cabbage was used, and it must not be fully cooked. Don’t underestimate this pot of water, there is a mature chicken, a mature duck, a pork trotter, pork ribs, dried scallops and many other fresh ingredients in there. I added various seasonings and slowly simmered it until the taste came out, then I skimmed off the froth until it became clear. Two hours? I was just afraid that you would be tired of waiting so I reluctantly brought it out earlier.”
Zi Li smiled and said, “Were you taught this by the chef at home?”
Ah Luo smiled and said, “It’s a secret and I can’t reveal this.”
Zi Li began drinking the soup and eating the cabbage. Ah Luo thought of how she had eaten this dish in the modern era. Back then, she hadn’t understood the depth of the dish, thinking that a plate of boiled cabbage costing 80 yuan was too expensive and had almost made a ruckus at the restaurant. When she found out later, she learned how to cook it.
Zi Li sighed as he ate, “It’s too delicious. Alright, I’ll open a restaurant but you don’t need to cook, just teach the chefs to cook. One dish will cost 100 taels. Just serving ten customers a day will make a 1000 taels. We’ll divide it evenly.”
Ah Luo was shocked, “So expensive, will anyone eat it?”
Zi Li smiled, “Don’t worry, when something is rare, it becomes precious.”
Ah Luo quickly made some calculations. In this way, it would only take her a few months before she became a rich little woman in ancient times! She would be able to leave the Minister’s residence and walk around, she could be free! Ah Luo clasped her hands together, closed her eyes and thought to herself, “What was the most valuable thing in ancient times? Talent! Thank you to the person who said this, thank you to father and mother for not having time to look after me since I was a child, thank you to the hotel who took my 80 yuan! …”
Zi Li looked at Ah Luo amusedly as she prayed with gratitude. Her little face glowed radiantly and her eyelashes shook excitedly like flying butterflies. He felt pity in his heart. With a sigh, he pulled down Ah Luo’s hand and said sincerely, “Brother Shan, how about you let Elder Brother take care of you?”
Ah Luo looked at him blankly. There was something in Zi Li’s eyes that she couldn’t understand, something that seemed earnest, like pity. She opened her mouth and said with a smile, “I really hadn’t expected to meet an Elder Brother who would be so kind to me! Hehe, and to be my business partner!”
Zi Li was both angry and amused, thinking that she was still young and didn’t understand what he meant. He was about to speak when he heard someone sneer, “So you’ve found a strong backer to depend on, speaking so arrogantly, yet you dare to not turn up!”
Ah Luo was startled and turned her head, seeing who else but Liu Jue at the top of the stairs. He stood there lazily, a smile on his face and his eyes cold.
Zi Li said indifferently, “The Young Prince also came to eat at Qian Feng Lou?”
Liu Jue said lazily, “I did originally, though now I don’t want to, goodbye!” As he left, Ah Luo felt his gaze fall on her and all the hairs on her back stood up.
Seeing that Ah Luo was shocked and terrified, Zi Li asked quietly, “Did you miss the appointment with him yesterday?”
It took a long while before Ah Luo returned to normal, “At the Peach Blossom Banquet, I didn’t know who he was and I knocked him out, tied him to a tree and stole his money. He recognised me at the Mid-Autumn Banquet and we agreed to meet yesterday at the river south of the city to fight again, but I was delayed and didn’t make it on time.”
The more Zi Li listened, the greater the smile in his eyes. When he thought of how Liu Jue’s usual character had fallen at the hands of a little girl, and imagining the situation during that time, he couldn’t help but laugh loudly, “Brother Shan, you really are amusing! Don’t be afraid, Elder Brother will protect you well.”
Seeing that Zi Li remained calm and confident, Ah Luo felt even more guilty as she didn’t know his background. She was too shy to ask. Thinking about it, Liu Jue was still a prince of An Qing Palace and the nephew of Emperor Ning. Feuds were easy to start yet difficult to end. It would be best to explain things clearly to Liu Jue.
TN: ‘Li Xiang’ has been changed into ‘Minister Li’ and ‘Ning River’ will be ‘Dou Ning River’ from now on due to my misunderstanding of the character usage. Apologies everyone!
