20demayo Chapter 147 Another confrontation
Chapter 147 Another confrontation
After the three of them cruised along the Ganlan River, they went to Chunri Mountain to admire the camellia flowers. The bamboo tube rice bought by Zhao Xuan became a simple and delicious dinner for the three of them. It was already dusk when they returned to the inn.
When the innkeeper saw the three people coming in, he ran to Gu Zhanghua in a panic, fell to his knees on the ground, kowtowed and shouted.
"I, the humble commoner, pay my respects to His Majesty the Wise King. May Your Majesty live a thousand years, a thousand thousand years, and a thousand thousand years!"
Gu Zhanghua was stunned by the innkeeper's sudden action, but Zhao Xuan was quick-witted and stepped forward to help the owner up.
"Uncle, has anyone come here to look for my prince?"
The boss tremblingly took out a big red invitation with gold characters from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Xuan with both hands.
"Miss, the Tiandao League sent someone this afternoon, saying they were delivering an invitation to His Royal Highness the Wise King. I was completely shocked, but later I learned they were looking for you three. Miss, the Tiandao League is not to be trifled with."
The boss stopped talking, handed the invitation to Zhao Xuan, and went back to the counter to busy himself with his own business.
Zhao Xuan opened the invitation, took a look at it, smiled, and handed it to Gu Zhanghua.
"Xijiang Moonlight, Jinjiang City's finest restaurant, the Shancha Private Room on the third floor, tomorrow at 3:15 PM."
"Why does it sound so scary at this hour?"
The secretary reminded him, "Your Highness, the beheading outside the Meridian Gate is usually done at 12:30 PM."
"What on earth is this Hu Yiba up to? Why did he choose such an unlucky time?"
Zhao Xuan snorted coldly, "Who cares what he's up to? At this point, it's just him making the move and us taking it. It's that simple!"
The secretary quietly asked Gu Zhanghua: "Your Highness, are you still sleeping with the princess tonight?"
In public, Gu Zhanghua blushed. He went up the stairs and went straight into the guest room he and his secretary shared. He did not disturb Zhao Xuan for the whole night.
Now Zhao Xuan couldn't fall asleep. She thought about her master, her father, the troubles in Jiaoyang Valley, and the happy times of her childhood. She was happy and worried. She tossed and turned and fell asleep only when it was dawn. Then she was awakened by a rapid knock on the door.
Zhao Xuan was getting grumpy. "Who is this? Are you looking for death? Why are you knocking? Are you going to let me sleep?"
Gu Zhanghua's anxious voice came from outside the door.
"If you don't get up now, it will be too late. It's already 15:15, and we may not be able to reach the restaurant in 25:15."
Zhao Xuan woke up immediately, got up, put on her clothes, wiped her face with cold water, and opened the door.
Gu Zhanghua stood at the door, holding a peeled egg in his hand and handed it to Zhao Xuan.
"Eat an egg first to fill your stomach."
Zhao Xuan grabbed the egg and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing it hard.
Gu Zhanghua looked at Zhao Xuan's long braid which was a little messy after a nap.
"Come to my room and eat slowly, drink some hot tea, and I'll help you comb your hair."
Zhao Xuan was choked by the egg yolk. She ran into the guest room next door, picked up the teapot and took a few sips of tea.
Gu Zhanghua pressed Zhao Xuan's shoulders, asked her to sit on the chair, loosened her braids, and gently gathered her hair with his fingers.
Zhao Xuan was very curious: "How come you can still comb your hair?"
"I'm just braiding your hair. My mother spends almost an hour every morning doing her hair. The buns she does are really complicated. There are all kinds of buns, such as the Spirit Snake Bun, the Soaring Cloud Bun, the Shocking Hong Bun, and the Double Bun. In short, they are almost never the same every day. Even if she does the same hairstyle two days, she will never wear the same hairpin twice. I just watch her from the side and after so many years, I have basically learned how to do it. Braiding a hair is not a difficult task."
"My goodness! Your mother really has so much free time. She takes so long just to do her hair. Does she also want to put on makeup?"
"Yes, it will take about another hour."
Zhao Xuan muttered, "No wonder he likes to act like a troublemaker. Turns out he's just bored."
"What did you say?"
"nothing."
Gu Zhanghua tied a hair tie around the end of the braid, then turned to Zhao Xuan and took a closer look.
"Okay, this looks much better."
Zhao Xuan made a face at Gu Zhanghua in a playful manner.
"We'll arrive a little late on purpose, leaving Hu Yiba to wait for his head to be chopped off at three o'clock in the afternoon!"
Gu Zhanghua burst into laughter.
The silly girl in front of him really didn't understand the meaning of a man combing a woman's hair. He used his fingers as a comb to convey his love. He was just doing what he felt like. One day, this silly girl would understand his feelings.
When the three of them arrived at Xijiang Yuese Restaurant, Hu Yiba was indeed already waiting in the private room.
Gu Zhanghua bowed to Hu Yiba.
"Sorry, sorry, I kept Alliance Leader Hu waiting for so long. I was too tired from playing yesterday and got up late this morning."
Hu Yiba smiled and said, "I don't have anything important to do today, so it's okay to wait a while."
Hu Yiba looked at Wu Li who was standing beside him and said, "Let the waiter serve the food."
Wu Li agreed, opened the door and left the box.
Gu Zhanghua and Hu Yiba exchanged a few pleasantries about the scenery of Jinyang City and then got straight to the point.
"Alliance Leader Hu, to be honest, I came to Jinyang City this time to return the Evil-Slaying Blade to the Tiandao Alliance. The other reason is to deal with the Jiaoyang Valley robbery case. I came here specifically to seek your advice."
"Jiaoyang Valley? Why haven't I heard of this place?"
Gu Zhanghua knew that Hu Yiba was pretending to be confused, but he still explained patiently.
"Two years ago, in the martial arts competition held by the Tiandao League, a girl named Huang Huacai ultimately won and obtained the Evil-Slaying Blade. She is the head of Jiaoyang Valley. Alliance Leader Hu won't forget her, right?"
Hu Yiba patted his head and said, "Look at my memory. If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten that Huang Huacai is the head of Jiaoyang Valley. So what about the robbery case you mentioned?"
Gu Zhanghua was furious. "Pretend! You just pretend! I wonder how long you're going to keep pretending!"
On the surface, Gu Zhanghua still pretended to be calm.
"Huanghuacai secretly became the Xiezhe Knife, and later the Xiezhe Knife fell into the hands of Liang Changping. Leader Hu, you were so angry that you issued a hunting order for Huanghuacai and offered a high reward to kill her. Is this true?"
Hu Yiba looked calm.
"If Your Highness is asking about this, then I have nothing to fear from you. However, since Your Highness has already sold me the Evil-Slaying Knife, I will no longer pursue the matter of using the daylily as a knife. After dinner, I will return home and order the arrest warrant against the daylily to be revoked. From now on, the Tiandao League and I, Hu Yiba, will have nothing to do with the daylily. Your Highness, do you think this approach is a good one?"
Good! Of course it's good! Gu Zhanghua hadn't thought of this. Hu Yiba's initiative to withdraw the Jianghu killing order was a pleasant surprise, but that familiar feeling came back. His purpose in the negotiations was to clear Jiaoyang Valley of its stigma. This time, he couldn't let Hu Yiba lead him around by the nose.
At this time, Wu Li pushed the door open and came in, followed by two waiters serving dishes.
Gu Zhanghua had no intention of looking at the dishes on the table. He waited until the waiter left and closed the door of the private room before he shouted.
"Alliance Leader Hu..."
Hu Yiba stuffed a pair of chopsticks into Gu Zhanghua's hands.
"Your Highness, please eat quickly, or they'll get cold. These are all specialties from Jinyang City. I'm treating them to a welcome dinner for Your Highness. Thank you for coming all this way just to get the Evil Slaying Blade. You're so thankful for your hard work!"
Over there, Wu Li had already filled the two people's wine bowls with wine.
Gu Zhanghua pushed the wine bowl aside and looked at Hu Yiba: "Leader Hu, I want to say..."
Hu Yiba picked up the wine bowl and gestured to Gu Zhanghua.
"Your Highness, come, let's finish this bowl first and talk while we eat. By the way, I've specially ordered a table of delicious food for you on the first floor. Your guards and maidservants should follow my entourage and come downstairs to eat."
Seeing that Hu Yiba repeatedly changed the subject and tried to send others away, Gu Zhanghua could no longer suppress his anger and put his chopsticks on the table.