"We need to investigate this matter. Hwi-moi. The security is incredibly tight, so I'll personally investigate the mansion tonight to see if the princess is inside or not. Just wait for me at the inn, Hwi-moi." Siang Hwi nodded, acknowledging that his skills were still far from being able to infiltrate the mansion undetected. If he were to join, he would only be a burden. Perhaps he could use his ginkang to sneak in, but if caught, he would have difficulty escaping unnoticed, considering the great number of skilled warriors within the commander's mansion.
The food arrived and both ate in silence. At that moment, three men in Kin officer attire swaggered in and loudly ordered high-quality wine and roast duck.
"Quickly bring the best wine! Roast the duck until it's crispy and delicious!" they shouted. They were between thirty and forty years old.
Tiong Li glanced to his left. There sat an elderly man in his sixties, alone. His wide hat was placed on the table and his long hair was rolled up. He saw the dissatisfaction on the elderly man's face as he looked at the three officers.
The youngest officer happened to cast a glance at Siang Hwi and smirked, "Wow, there's a beauty here!" he said to his companions. They all turned to look at Siang Hwi.
"Impressive! If you can bring her to drink with us, you can truly call yourself a man!" one of them taunted the youngest officer.
"Hmm, why not? Just watch me!" the officer said, getting up from his seat. Stumbling a little due to his half-drunken state, he approached Siang Hwi and Tiong Li's table.
"Beautiful lady, we invite you to drink with us and enjoy the roast duck. Please don't refuse, we will reward you generously."
Siang Hwi furrowed her brows. She wanted to punish the officer, but Tiong Li's gaze stopped her and she replied curtly.
"I have had my meal and drink," she said, pointing to the table.
"Ah, how could vegetables compare to our offer? We're officers of the Commander-in-Chief. Come!" The officer grabbed Siang Hwi's left arm and tried to pull her up. Annoyed, Siang Hwi fought back, scratching his arm with her fingernail and said.
"I'm not interested. Let go of me!"
Tiong Li rose and saluted the officer.
"Sir, my wife has already had her meal with me, her husband, and she doesn't want to have a meal with you, please don't insist." The officer released Siang Hwi and glared at Tiong Li, "Your wife? What's wrong in accompanying us for a meal?"
At that moment, the elderly man from the table on the left said, "Hmm, it seems Commander Wu Chu can't discipline his subordinates. I wonder what would happen if I reported this to him!"
The officers startled and looked at the elderly man. They didn't know him, but his words apparently scared them. They whispered among themselves then left the restaurant without waiting for their order.
Tiong Li and Siang Hwi glanced at the elderly man, but he just drank his wine and ignored them. Feeling uncomfortable about the attention, they quickly finished their meal, paid, and left the restaurant.
They then visited the beautiful public garden of Lok Yang. However, as soon as they entered, they saw the same old man sitting on a bench in front. Seeing them, the old man tipped his hat and smiled.
Quietly, Tiong Li felt shocked. The old man had reached here so quickly that it was astonishing. He decided to make the acquaintance of the old man, feeling the latter was tailing them. He asked Siang Hwi to approach the old man sitting on the bench. Luckily, there was no one else around, so they could talk freely.
"Excuse us, uncle. We want to thank you for your help at the restaurant, driving away those disrespectful officers," Tiong Li said, raising his hand in salute, followed by Siang Hwi.
"Hmm, you guys are not husband and wife, so why pretend to be?" the old man mocked.
The young couple was taken aback.
"How could you know that..."
Siang Hwi started.
"Your behavior shows that you aren't or haven't become husband and wife yet!" the old man retorted.
"That was just an excuse to refuse the officer's invitation, uncle," Tiong Li quickly explained.
"You don't need to thank me. You can take care of yourselves well. Without my help, those three wouldn't be able to do anything to you. But why was the lady so cruel? The officer was indeed rude, but did she need to wound him with such a dangerous poison?"
Tiong Li was taken aback. He hadn't seen his lover attack anyone. How could it be said that she had inflicted a dangerous poison? He looked at Siang Hwi, who seemed equally surprised and confused. "What did you see, uncle?"
"Hmm, you scratched his arm with your fingernail and I saw the scratch turned bluish-red and swollen!" "Hwi-moi......!!" Tiong Li looked at his lover in disbelief.
Siang Hwi smiled. "Your perception is indeed sharp, uncle. But don't worry, koko. I only scratched the skin of his arm and he'll just suffer a painful swelling on his arm, it won't endanger his life. What did you think? That I would easily kill people? Let it be a lesson for him, so he won't disrespect women next time. And he won't know that I caused his arm to swell."
Tiong Li turned to the old man and saluted again. "Apparently uncle is very skilled, forgive us for not recognizing you."
"That's okay, but my advice to you is to be careful here. There are many skilled warriors with high level of martial arts. If the lady's actions earlier were noticed by any of them, you would be suspected as spies of the Sung Kingdom and the situation could get dangerous. Goodbye!"
Having said that, the hat-wearing old man got up and left swiftly. Because many people had started coming to the park, Tiong Li and Siang Hwi didn't dare to follow him.
"Ah, we've already run into a disrespectful officer and a skilled old man," said Tiong Li. "From now on, we have to be careful and alert, and avoid unnecessary conflicts." "But what if someone disrespects me, koko? Should we just let it pass?"
"Of course not, but it's better to leave than confront them."
"What if they chase us and insist?"
"Ah, in that case, I'll handle them myself. I don't want anyone bothering you, Hwi-moi!"
Only after hearing this did Siang Hwi feel satisfied. "I will follow all your advice, koko."
"Well, tonight I will conduct an investigation at Commander Wu Chu's mansion, and you wait for me in the inn."
"Yes, koko."
0o0-d-w-o0o
Tiong Li's shadow flitted like a night bird as he hopped around outside the wall of Commander Wu Chu's mansion. Easily he jumped over the unguarded wall and into the mansion's compound. After hiding for a while in the garden, and seeing that the situation was safe with the guards on their rounds, he slipped between the trees and flower bushes, heading to the rear of the mansion. If the princess was indeed there, she was likely to be in the women's quarters at the back. After surveying the surroundings and seeing no guards, he jumped onto the roof. But after only a few steps, his foot got caught in a trap. Immediately, noises erupted, followed by the sound of a gong and trumpet.
Damn, his foot had triggered a noise-making trap. His arrival was discovered! Naturally, he didn't dare to take the risk. From the rooftop, he saw many guards running around, some even nimbly jumping onto the roof.
Glossary
- Hwi-moi - a term of endearment or nickname, used by Tiong Li for Siang Hwi.
- Kin officer - military officers belonging to the Kin ruling class.
- ginkang - a martial art technique for swift and stealthy movements.
- koko - a term of endearment or nickname, used by Siang Hwi for Tiong Li.
- Lok Yang - presumably a location in the story setting.
- Commander Wu Chu - a high-ranking military officer in the story.