Chapter - 305 Havoc In the Jin Palace (7) (1/2)
”Humph,” Huang Rong snorted, ”Early on I have seen this brother of yours is not a good thing. You still said that he is a descendant of a hero. You have been deceived. Now you understand his real intention. If he is really a good man, how could he fool around with those two scoundrels?”
Guo Jing was very much bewildered, ”I don't understand,” he said. Thereupon Huang Rong told him everything she heard at the Fragrant Snow Hall of the Zhao Palace. She said, ”Wanyan Honglie gathered Peng Lianhu and the other fellows, his intention is to steal the Master Yue Wumu's Legacy. They suddenly came over here so perhaps this Legacy is in Lin'an. If they succeed then our Great Song's common people will suffer great calamity.”
Guo Jing shivered with fear, ”We simply cannot let them succeed,” he said.
Huang Rong said, ”The problem is that the Western Poison is traveling with them.”
”Are you scared?” Guo Jing asked.
”Aren't you?” Huang Rong asked back.
Guo Jing replied, ”Naturally I am scared of the Western Poison, but this is not a small matter; we … even if we are scared we simply cannot overlook it.”
Huang Rong smiled, ”If you must take care of it, then naturally I will follow you.”
”Very well,” Guo Jing said, ”Let's go after them.”
Leaving the pavilion they did not see tracks of Wanyan Honglie's three people group and were forced to look around the city randomly. Hangzhou was a big city, how could they find what they were looking for in a short period of time? After walking for half a day the sky was turning dark; two people arrived in front of the 'wu lin yuan' [martial art garden] at Zhong Wazi [lit. the middle of a tile, I think it is a place]. Huang Rong saw a shop that hung a lot of masks in the entrance, with their features drawn vividly. She was amused and remembered her promise to buy something fun for Zhou Botong; thereupon she spent five silver coins and bought 'zhong kui' [I think it's the king of ghosts], 'pan guan' [the judge of hell], 'zao jun' [kitchen god], 'tu di' [earth god], 'shen bing' [soldier of heaven] and other ghosts/supernatural beings, more than a dozen masks.
While the shopkeeper was wrapping the masks with paper, there came the sweet smelling fragrance of food and wine from a restaurant next door. Two people had been walking for half a day and by that time they were already starving. ”What restaurant is that?” Huang Rong asked.
The shopkeeper smiled and said, ”Turned out you two are new to the capital, no wonder you don't know. This 'san yuan lou' [three-primary tavern; 'lou' refers to the second floor of a building or a multi-story building] is very well-known in our Lin'an. The wine, the food and the utensils are number one under the heaven. You two cannot not go and try it.”
Huang Rong's heart was moved by what he said; she took the masks and then pulled Guo Jing to the front of 'san yuan lou'. They saw the building was decorated with colorful paints and a row of red and green fence. Underneath the second floor roof hung flower-patterned lanterns. The interior was inlaid with luxuriant wood; the pavilion looked elegant and unconventional. It was truly an exquisite tavern.
As two people walked in, they were welcomed by the waiter with a face full of smiles and were led through a corridor to a chamber already set with bowls and chopsticks. Huang Rong immediately placed her order and the waiter left to prepare the food.
Under the candlelight Guo Jing saw in the nearby porch more than a dozen of women ['ji4 nu3' – courtesan (courtesy of Ren Wo Xing), lit. 'prostitute' or 'hooker'] with heavy makeup sitting in a row. He wondered who they were; he was about to ask when suddenly from the next door chamber he heard Wanyan Honglie's voice called out, ”That's fine! Let's have somebody sing to accompany us drinking the wine.”