Chapter - 405 Embroidered Couple Handkerchiefs (2) (1/2)

Reverend Yideng actually did not seem to mind; he continued his narration, ”As Zhou Shixiong heard me, he shook his head. I became angry, I said, 'If you love her, why don't you want her? If you don't love her, why did you do what you did? My Dali is a small country, but do you think you can just drop in and throw an insult like this?' Zhou Shixiong was silent for half a day. Suddenly he bent his knees and kowtowed to me several times; he said, 'Emperor Duan, I am guilty. If you want to kill me, just do it, I won't dare to hit you back.' I was taken aback, I have never expected him to say such thing; I was at a loss momentarily. Finally I said, 'How can I kill you?' He said, 'Then I am leaving!' He took out an embroidered handkerchief from his bosom, handed it over to Concubine Liu and said, 'I give it back to you.' Concubine Liu smiled sadly, she did not take the handkerchief. Zhou Shixiong let the handkerchief go and it fell near my feet. Zhou Shixiong did not say anything else; he turned around and stormed out of the palace. It has been more than a dozen years and I haven't heard anything about him ever since. Wang Zhenren apologized to me over and over again; and then he also left. I heard he passed away that autumn. Wang Zhenren was a brave and heroic man, there was nobody can be compared to him. Ay …”

”Wang Zhenren's martial art skill might be higher than yours,” Huang Rong said, ”But speaking of bravery and heroic spirit, I think he did not necessarily exceed Uncle. He had accepted seven disciples and they are all just average, there is nothing special about them. Anyway, what happened to the embroidered handkerchief?”

The four disciples were annoyed that Huang Rong cared so much about trivial things like handkerchief or clothes; but they heard their master said, ”I saw Concubine Liu was staring blankly, like her soul had left her. I was very angry; I picked up the handkerchief only to see a couple of embroidered mandarin ducks playing on the water. (Sigh), it was Concubine Liu's gift to her lover. I laughed coldly. I then saw next to the pair of mandarin ducks there was a line of poem …”

Huang Rong's heart was stirred, she hastily asked, ”Was it, 'Four weaving machines, the weaving of mandarin ducks desiring to fly together right away'?”

With a stern voice the farmer shouted, ”Even we do not know it, how did you know? Always talk nonsense and disturb the story!” Who would have thought that Reverend Yideng sighed and said, ”It was indeed that poem; you knew it?” At his words the four disciples looked at each other in astonishment.

Guo Jing sprang up and called out, ”I remember now! That day on the Peach Blossom Island Zhou Dage [Big Brother Zhou] was bitten by a venomous viper; he was delirious and he muttered this poem. It was, it was … Four weaving machines, a pair on mandarin ducks, and some head turned white. Rong'er, how did it go? I can't remember it anymore.”

With a low voice Huang Rong recited, ”Four weaving machines, the weaving of mandarin ducks desires to fly together right away. It's a pity not yet old but the hair on the head has turned white. When the green spring grass ripples in the deepest of dawn's cold; standing face to face taking a bath wearing red clothes.”

”Exactly!” Guo Jing slapped his thigh, ”Zhou Dage once advised me against good-looking women; he said he had seen one and as a result he offended a good friend and provoked his Shige [elder martial brother] to anger. He also said don't ever let her touch your acupoints, otherwise you'll be covered with germs. Rong'er, he even urged me not to be good to you.”

”Pei!” Huang Rong angrily spat, ”Old Urchin! Next time I see him I am going to twist his ears!” Suddenly she giggled and said, ”That day in Lin'an prefecture I teased him that he wasn't able to find a wife; the Old Urchin sulked for half a day. Turned out it was because of this matter.”

”When I heard Ying Gu recited this poem I thought I have heard it somewhere, but tried as I might, I could not remember where I heard it. Uh, Rong'er, how come Ying Gu also knew this poem?” Guo Jing said.

Huang sighed, ”Ay, it's because Ying Gu is that Concubine Liu.”

Among the four disciples, the scholar was the only one who had already guessed 50, 60%; the other three were extremely astonished, they turned toward their master at once. Yideng spoke in a low voice, ”Miss is really smart; truly worthy to be Yao Xiong's [Brother Yao] daughter. Concubine Liu's first name was 'Ying'. That day I tossed the handkerchief to her, afterwards I no longer called for her. In my depression I neglected the affairs of the country; I trained martial art every day …”

Huang Rong interrupted him again, ”Uncle, do you know that you loved her very much in your heart? If you did not, you would not be so unhappy.”