Volume 2 Chapter 13: A Hundred Turns of Heart
Lin Jianlan couldn't help but look back outside the door. Sure enough, there were two carriages parked there that looked quite elegant in appearance. There were about a dozen servants and maids beside them, all of them holding long swords. It seemed that the people in the carriages were quite impressive.
After a while, a person stepped out of the carriage. It was an old lady. She gave some instructions to the little girls under her. The little girls immediately stood on both sides of the carriage, holding swords in a circle.
Lin Jianlan quickly hid himself in the darkness and listened to the old lady coming into the room and said in a deep voice: "Put out your specialty dishes. If they are well cooked, all the silver will be rewarded to you."
Someone exclaimed briefly, and then there was a flurry of activity. The old lady was probably very generous, so the waiters and cooks naturally did their best to serve her. After about an incense stick of time, the waiter shouted, "Okay! Sir, please have dinner in the elegant hall!" But the old lady said coldly, "No, we are not going in to eat."
Lin Jianlan peeked over and saw the old lady walking around the large table of dishes. The shopkeeper pointed at a dish and said, "Madam, this is our signature dish, first-class roast goose. It tastes delicious and not greasy."
The old lady ordered a maid to take the dish out and put it in another carriage. After a while, a girl in the carriage sighed and said, "Mother, this dish is meant to cover up the fat with a strong flavor, but it's a pity that the flavor is too strong and I still can't eat it." After that, the maid brought out the dish intact.
At this time, some people in the hall saw that the old lady was of high status, so they quietly paid the bill and left. Some people who were not afraid of trouble had already started to discuss in a low voice.
After hearing these words, the old lady was furious and said, "My daughter can't eat a single bite! How dare you order first-class roast goose?" Then she overturned the dishes on the table! The diners in the hall all screamed in surprise. When they listened carefully, they heard a flurry of footsteps and then suddenly became quiet. It seemed that the guests had all fled in the chaos, and most of them had not paid yet.
Seeing that the loss was not small, the shopkeeper said angrily, "Madam, since your daughter can't eat it, forget it. Why are you so angry? Our shop's cooking skills are not good enough. We are not worthy of your money. Even if we are unlucky, we dare not ask you for the broken dishes and the lost money. Please go to other places!"
The old lady said, "Humph, you dare to show off your skills like this? I'd be so ashamed! From now on, you are not allowed to start a cooking business anymore!"
The woman in the car said anxiously, "Mom, it's my daughter who has a poor appetite. Why do you have to be so hard on them and ruin her life?"
The snobbish waiter sneered, "Madam, it's fine if you are not used to the food, but why don't you allow us to do business?" Just as he finished speaking, there was a crisp "pop" sound, and the waiter covered his face, staggered back a few steps, and fell to the ground.
Lin Jianlan quickly shrank back into the shadows, and heard the old lady whispering a few words to the maids. The maids holding swords drew their swords and rushed into the back hall aggressively. There was a crackling sound of porcelain breaking and people screaming. After a while, the maids came out again, and the old lady said, "If you dare to do the catering business again, and I find out, it will not only destroy the kitchen, but also the casualties will not be just a few waiters!"
After saying that, he stepped out of the door. Hearing a few sounds of cars and horses, the group of people actually left. Lin Jianlan slowly walked out from the shadow under the stairs and saw that the hall outside was in a mess. Several cooks and handymen came out from the inner hall one after another, all with bruised faces and noses. They rearranged the chairs, and some people had already taken ointments and oils to help each other apply them.
The shop owner was sighing at the misfortune, and when he turned around, he saw a young man standing in the middle, looking around. He walked over and said, "Sir, we are closed today, please go somewhere else." The waiter recognized Lin Jianlan and said in surprise, "Hey, you are so brave that you didn't run away like the others. You haven't paid yet, right?"
Seeing that the waiter was snobbish but loyal to the store, Lin Jianlan saw that his face suddenly became flat on one side and swollen on the other. He smiled and put some silver in the waiter's hand and said, "Is it enough?"
The waiter gritted his teeth and took a deep breath as he counted out a few coins from his bag. He handed them back to Lin Jianlan and said, "Here's the change. You're still a good person, unlike those scoundrels who took advantage of the chaos to eat and drink for free."
Lin Jianlan said: "That old lady is really amazing, are you really not going to run this restaurant anymore?"
The shopkeeper sighed, "There are many noble people in Chang'an City. If we offend one of them, they can crush us into pieces with just a flick of their wrist. She seems to be quite influential. Compared with making money, the lives of the whole family are more important. I will discuss this with my family tonight. If it doesn't work out, I will just go back home."
Seeing the fear on the faces of the people around him, Lin Jianlan smiled and said, "To be honest, I know a thing or two about martial arts. Unfortunately, I have had some dealings with that old lady before. Perhaps I can still say a few good words for you. You can just go about your business as usual."
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper turned around and said in surprise: "This young master must have special skills! Please take a seat quickly. Waiter, you are so ignorant that you don't even make a pot of the good tea in my room!" After that, he took Lin Jianlan to the elegant hall and said: "Young master, our inn is also a relatively famous inn in the neighborhood. I have been running it for four generations. Our family's best dish is the ancestral "First-class Roast Goose", which is also a well-known dish in Chang'an City. To be honest, many wealthy families in Xicheng District come from far away to order it. The old lady just now blamed us for her daughter's poor appetite. She is unlucky for no reason!" At this point, he showed expectation and said: "Young master, if you can mediate, I, I..."
After saying this, he was about to kneel down. Seeing this, Lin Jianlan hurriedly stopped him and said, "I will do my best, innkeeper, but I am a guest in Chang'an, and it is not a good idea to always stay in an inn. I wonder if you know where there is a quiet house for rent, and the price is negotiable. I am unfamiliar with the place, and I have been looking for a whole morning but to no avail."
The waiter rushed to say, "What a coincidence! Our owner is expanding the old store and an old house has become vacant." The owner continued, "It's not big, it's in a remote place. Since you want to rent it, I'll take you to have a look."
Lin Jianlan waved his hand and said, "I have to chase the old lady's carriage first. I will come to discuss it with you later." After that, he bowed and went out. He looked at the sky. After some trouble, it was already past afternoon, so he hurriedly chased in the direction of the carriage.
The afternoon sun was dazzling, shining through the layers of bamboo forest and falling on the steps of the courtyard, making them mottled. Lin Jianlan gently fell from the wall and stood in the backyard. He saw that the two carriages had stopped here and there was a flurry of activity everywhere. Only the girl in the carriage was sent to this small house, but no one dared to disturb her. Even if someone passed by occasionally, they would tiptoe past. He looked sideways and saw two maids sitting under the corridor at the door. They didn't say much, but just dozed off against the pillars.
At this time, the surroundings became more and more quiet, and the busy sounds in the front yard gradually disappeared. Lin Jianlan gently pulled the back window, but did not bolt it. It opened all of a sudden. There was a very thick curtain blocking the window. Lin Jianlan did not dare to act rashly. He listened for a while, but there was no sound inside. He gently opened a corner of the thick curtain and looked inside. He saw that the door opposite was also hung with thick curtains. There was only a candle on the table that kept jumping. If he hadn't lifted the curtain to let in a little light, the day would have been as dark as night.
Lin Jianlan climbed in through the window and closed the curtain again, only to see several piles of books stacked in the corner. They were very neatly arranged, but looked familiar. He picked up the one that floated up and took a look at it in the candlelight. There were four words neatly written on it: "Spiritual Wind Sword Technique". He couldn't help but feel overjoyed. He picked up a few more books and read them one by one. Sure enough, they were the books left behind in the inn in Jinzhou when he fled in a hurry that day.
Looking back, I saw a carved wooden bed against the opposite wall, with the gauze curtain half-drawn and a branch placed diagonally beside the bed. The girl was lying on the bed, sleeping silently. If it weren't for the black gauze on her face rising and falling slightly with her breathing, one would have thought she was dead.
Lin Jianlan walked gently to the bed and sat quietly on the chair. He looked at the branch next to him. Both ends were tied with silk ribbons, and one end was tied with a lavender cord. The craftsmanship was very ingenious and complicated. He looked up and saw a long sword hanging in the tent. The hilt was also tied with a cord of the same color, but the style was different.
Lin Jianlan's eyes couldn't help but become moist, and countless questions came to her mind, but they only merged into one sentence in her heart: "Miss Wan, why are you in Chang'an?"
The girl sleeping peacefully on the bed was none other than Wan Xiu. Lin Jianlan was having a meal at the inn and recognized Madam Wan's voice. He took a peek and saw that it was indeed Madam Wan who was determined to cure her daughter's illness and would do anything to achieve her goal.
Lin Jianlan wanted to avoid it, but the familiar voice in the sedan made his heart jump. The various scenes in the dungeon that day, including the lonely and thin figure, were swaying in front of him. Mediation with the store owner was just an excuse. There were countless inns and wine shops on the streets of Chang'an City. Madam Wan was just looking for trouble when she was upset. How could she take it seriously? I'm afraid she won't even remember where the store is when she looks back.
Why did Madam Wan bring her to Chang'an again? What happened to Wan Jianhong and the Jinzhou branch? Did Uncle Qing know?
But these were not what Lin Jianlan wanted to know most. When he heard Wan Xiu talking, he felt that she was weaker than when he first met her in Jinzhou that day. It seemed that Wan Xiu's illness had never been cured, but seemed to be even more serious. Could it be that the golden crown clam had no effect at all?
Lin Jianlan just stared at Wan Xiu blankly, with all kinds of thoughts surging in his mind, but there was always a warmth in his chest. Whenever he encountered difficulties and frustrations, he could always get some care, from helping Lin Longqing, who they met by chance, to the unfamiliar Jiangnan area, even though Doctor Cheng had ulterior motives, he still took good care of him at the time, and Duanmu'er also made great efforts to treat him.
This time, due to his carelessness, he lost Lei Kan's life in vain. He looked around at a loss and felt extremely frustrated. He didn't know where to go, but suddenly he met Madam Wan and her daughter. No matter how wrong Madam Wan was, all her old things in the boudoir and the branch she used to say farewell to her were cherished by Wan Xiu like treasures. As he grew older, his childhood playmates had already married and had children. How could he not understand?
Lin Jianlan picked up the branch and played with it carefully. The tassels swayed gently in his hand like soft silk, and it was like a stream of clear water stirring in his heart. He gently reached out his hand to the black veil in front of Wan Xiu and felt a slight heat.
The hand stayed there for a long time, and then it pinched a corner of the black veil with two fingers. Just as it was about to lift it up, it heard footsteps from the far porch. Lin Jianlan hurriedly put down the black veil and dodged into the shadow beside the bed. His heart was beating wildly, as if it was about to jump out. He secretly blamed himself, "Lin Jianlan, Lin Jianlan, are you crazy? How can you sneak into a woman's boudoir and do this?"
The footsteps stopped outside the door, and someone scolded, "I warned you long ago not to contact me unless necessary, so why did you come to Chang'an without permission?"
Madam Wan said softly, "Your medicine worked at first, but it doesn't work anymore. She is sleeping longer and longer every day. What should I do if I don't come to Chang'an? You promised me that you would have another way to cure Ah Xiu, otherwise I wouldn't have given you the clam."
Lin Jianlan was extremely shocked that the person who scolded Madam Wan was actually Doctor Cheng. After thinking about it for a moment, he understood a little. He thought that the person Ah Xiu imitated that day must be him. Although he learned it 90% well, Ah Xiu was a girl after all, so he didn't recognize it.
Doctor Cheng said, "I am doing this sincerely for Ah Xiu. I have been a doctor for so many years, and I know clearly which medicines are useful and which are useless. If that clam can really cure all diseases and restore youth, I will be the first to grab it and swallow it."
Lin Jianlan was stunned, thinking: "That's true. There is no panacea in the world that can cure all diseases. This golden crown clam, ah, maybe it's just a gimmick to win favor. Sister Man and I have caused so much trouble in vain."
Madam Wan asked anxiously, "What should we do then? Is Ah Xiu really so unlucky?"
Doctor Cheng sighed and said, "Not really. My master knows someone whose medical skills are better than mine, but he has a very strange personality, so we haven't had any contact for many years. Even if my master came forward, he might not be willing to treat Ah Xiu."
Lin Jianlan's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "I wonder which famous doctor Doctor Cheng is talking about?" He listened carefully and heard Doctor Cheng say, "I have a way. This person has a good impression of Lin Jianlan and even used up his internal energy to open up his meridians. If Lin Jianlan comes forward, Ah Xiu can be saved."
Madam Wan asked, "Doctor Cheng, are you kidding? You also know that Lin Jianlan was poisoned by us that day, and you also ordered me to keep him imprisoned. How could he come forward to help? Besides, where can I find him now?"
