Chapter 38 (1/2)

Chapter 38 Rising Wind: Elder Brother

It was a moment of salvation for Feng Luodi and the workers of Autumnal Ombre, as they stood on helplessly in front of the shop. The crowd that had blocked off the shop parted automatically, and Jiang Moyin strolled in with two of his attendants behind him. A man looking to be in his forties was dragged in by his collar, held by one of the attendants.

Feng Luodi glanced at the burly man who was creating a ruckus just moments before. The man’s eyes darted around when he saw the middle-aged man dragged in by his collar, as if unsure of what he was doing. There was a loud smash as he dropped the flask of wine he was holding, shattering on the floor. Feng Luodi quickly stepped away, but some of the wine had splashed onto her skirt.

Jiang Moyin’s saunter turned into an urgent dash as he quickly went to Feng Luodi and grabbed her hand, checking her thoroughly for any injuries. “Are you alright? Did you get cut by any of the clay fragments?” He signalled to the other attendant, who quickly came forward and pinned the burly man down, ignoring his shouts and protests.

“I’m fine. But I think my skirt is a little dirty now.” Feng Luodi shook her head, and gently withdrew her hand from Jiang Moyin’s grip. “What brings you here?”

Jiang Moyin smiled and handed Feng Luodi a handkerchief. “Jianqiu and the rest are waiting for you at Manchun Tang. I’m just here to deliver the summons.”

“Oh, I see.” Feng Luodi did not think much about it and turned back to the burly man.

“Now it all makes sense. I believe that this is your employer?” Feng Luodi gestured to the middle-aged man. “Mmmmm, seems about right. I can smell alcohol coming off your clothes, and it doesn’t have the fragrance of our wines. You don’t look drunk, yet your clothes smell strongly of wine. You must work in a liquor store!”

“Bulls.h.i.+t!” The middle-aged man quickly shook his hand in denial, looking at the burly man pinned by Jiang Moyin’s attendant. “Who’d want to hire someone like him?!”

The burly man’s face flushed red, but he kept silent.

Jiang Moyin turned and smiled at the crowd. Someone in the crowd shouted. “I recognise this man! He’s the owner of the liquor store in the West quadrant of Chang’an city!”

“I can confirm that! I went to his shop once, but his wines were so bland! They were diluted without any flavour!”

More and more voices chimed in and confirmed the ident.i.ty of the middle-aged man, who was now slick with sweat, panic written all over his face. Li Tengfei calmly swept up the broken fragments strewn across the floor, and levelled his gaze at the middle-aged man.

“Young miss, Master Jiang, let’s not waste our words on someone like that. Just send them both to the yamen and let the authorities handle it. Quarrelling with him will only bring bad luck to our shop.”

The burly man quickly panicked when he heard the word “yamen” again. “Don’t! Don’t report me to the authorities, I’ll tell you everything! This man gave me three taels of silver in exchange for causing a ruckus at your shop to disrupt the business! Don’t bring me to the yamen!” He pointed a shaking finger at the middle-aged man.

Jiang Moyin smiled, and turned to the crowd. “Everyone, now that the truth has been revealed, please queue again to purchase our wines.” Jostling ensued again, as the crowd scrambled to be at the head of the queue. Then, he turned to Li Tengfei and Scarlet, the latter whom stuck close to Feng Luodi.

“You two, go on ahead with your duties. It has been quite an eventful day. Just finish selling the wines to these people in the queue and close earlier for today.”

“Yes, Master Jiang.”

As for the two troublemakers, Jiang Moyin’s attendants had thrown them out into the streets, and they quietly slinked away amidst insults hurled at them by the crowd.

“Do you want to go and get changed, before we head to Manchun Tang to join the rest?” Jiang Moyin smiled at Feng Luodi.

“No need for that, it’s just a small stain. It isn’t even obvious unless you look directly at it.” Feng Luodi dismissed his proposition and led the way towards Manchun Tang.

Jiang Moyin caught up quickly. “It’s not about whether it would be seen by the others, but about whether you’ll be comfortable in your clothes.”

Feng Luodi was taken aback by his words and shook her head. “It’s alright.”

Jiang Moyin shook his head and quickly walked in front of her, blocking her way. He turned and held her shoulders down firmly, stopping Feng Luodi from walking any more. His face was serious.

“Why do you still look so unhappy, even when the problem has been solved?”

Feng Luodi widened her eyes, surprised by Jiang Moyin’s sudden actions. She forced a smile onto her face, but kept silent.

Jiang Moyin released his hold on her and furrowed his brows. “You don’t have to smile like that if you don’t want to. Let’s go; Qi Jianqiu has been waiting for you to come ever since she’d sat down at the table.”

Feng Luodi nodded and followed behind him, her face calm and composed as always.

When they reached the dining room on the third floor of Manchun Tang, they opened the door to see quite the amusing sight.

Qi Jianqiu and Gan Qingjia sat on opposite sides of the table, but both heads were turned to face the opposite direction. Qi Jianqiu looked deeply annoyed, her cheeks puffed up fully as she sat sipping her tea. Meanwhile, Gan Qingjia had his usual flirtatious smile on his face as he drank wine from a cup leisurely.

Xue Yiqi and Situ Muye sat close together, apparently in the midst of an intense discussion. From what they could hear, Xue Yiqi was consulting Situ in the arts of war, animatedly sharing his ideas and plans and looking for affirmation.

Half a year ago, I would never have thought that I would have the fortune to sit with the most famous Four Gentleman of Chang’an and the Beauty of Chang’an at the same table, dining and chatting amiably.

“Aaaaaaaah! Luodi! You’re finally here!” A scream of joy echoed through Manchun Tang as Qi Jianqiu pounced on Feng Luodi. With a bemused expression, Feng Luodi caught her good friend in mid-flight and was dragged to sit at the table. Feng Luodi looked around the table. Now, the Feng Luodi and Qi Jianqiu were seated together on the western side, while Jiang Moyin and Gan Qingjia sat across from them. Xue Yiqi and Situ Muye shared the southern side of the table.

“I would have finished the wine if you guys came any later.” Gan Qingjia smiled and slung an arm over Jiang Moyin’s shoulders, pouring his friend a cup of wine.

Qi Jianqiu mumbled under her breath. “What a debauchee.”

Xue Yiqi smiled. “We haven’t ordered any dishes yet; we only drank some wine and had some snacks while waiting for you.” Jiang Moyin nodded as he took the cup from Gan Qingjia, the latter about to pour it down his throat for him.

“You don’t look so well.” Situ poured himself a cup of tea and commented lightly, glancing at Feng Luodi.

Feng Luodi was about to reply when Qi Jianqiu tugged on her elbow, her tone full of concern. “Luodi, why is there wine on your clothes? You aren’t required to ladle out the wine in the shop, are you?”

Feng Luodi looked to Jiang Moyin for help, but he was engaged in a struggle with Gan Qingjia, the latter trying to ‘bottle-feed’ Jiang Moyin another cup of wine.

“Why are you looking at him?” Qi Jianqiu tugged on Feng Luodi’s sleeve again, making the girl look at her. “Did someone cause trouble at Autumnal Ombre again?”

Jiang Moyin froze, then desperately tried to catch Qi Jianqiu’s attention, winking and waving frantically. The other three took notice of what was happening, and looked at Qi Jianqiu in amus.e.m.e.nt.

Feng Luodi narrowed her eyes, confused. “Again? Did someone cause trouble at Autumnal Ombre before? Why wasn’t I informed about this?”