"She is not your possession. She is Yin Na, the sister of General Wang and daughter of the Ex-General of the Han Empire. How dare you touch her with your filthy hand?" Huo Jin shouted at Zhou Xuweng.
"What?" Zhou Xuweng was shocked to hear that.
The Royal Inspector with a few soldiers, who got informed about the commotion. The Royal Inspector had recognized Huo Jin as he had seen him in the Palace. He asked him about the matter.
"Royal Inspector, this Fourth Rank officer was harassing the sister of General Wang. I would like you to take stringent action against him," Huo Jin requested and pushed away Zhou Xuweng.
"I did not harass the sister of General Wang. She is Yi Jiali, a courtesan," Zhou Xuweng asserted and looked at Yin Na. "Tell them the truth," he told her.
"Shut your mouth," Huo Jin scolded him when Yin Na intervened.
"Let's go back," she told Huo Jin as she grasped the end of his sleeve. She had lowered her eyes. "Please," she urged him.
"Apologize to Miss Yin Na," Huo Jin told Zhou Xuweng, who bowed instantly and apologized for his behavior.
"I will let it slide this time. However, I want you to not act this way with any woman," Huo Jin affirmed. "If I catch you ever again behaving this way with ladies, you will spend your entire life in prison," he threatened him and walked away with Yin Na. The Royal Inspector told Zhou Xuweng to be cautious the next time.
"How come I did not do anything about this? Since when did she become the sister of General Wang? I have to bear so much humiliation," Zhou Xuweng muttered and turned to look.
"Who is Huo Jin?" He asked the Royal Inspector who was beside him.
"Huo Jin holds a high rank in the military. He is loyal to His Majesty," the Royal Inspector informed him, who was bewildered to hear about Huo Jin. He thought Huo Jin was some random guy… probably a servant. He regretted arguing with Huo Jin.
Oppositely, Huo Jin and Yin Na stopped by a local food shop. He took her towards a table and made her sit on the bench. A young boy came to take their orders. "A bowl of noodles," Huo Jin said. "Could you please bring a glass of water?" He asked him.
The young boy nodded and walked away. Huo Jin found Yin Na's hands trembling in fear. He put his hands over hers and caressed them. "Everything is fine," Huo Jin told her and then outstretched hand towards her cheeks. Wiping the tears using his thumb, he thanked the young boy, who put the two glasses of water on the table.
He picked the glass and brought it near Yin Na's mouth. "Drink the water," he said softly. His left hand automatically moved around her shoulder as he caressed her arm. Yin Na sipped the water while Huo Jin put the glass down on the table.
Yin Na looked into his eyes and thanked him. "You don't need to thank me. It was my duty," he said. "Tell me, do you want General Wang to know about this?" He asked her.
"I don't think that I shall tell my Brother. Things might turn worse," She said with a worried expression.
"In my opinion, Yin Na shall tell her Brother in the morning. Why? Because that arrogant man should get punished. I won't ask how he knows you but the way he was speaking to you was not appropriate at all," Huo Jin proclaimed.
"Zhou Xuweng is his name. I used to s-serve him when he came to the Courtesan's House," Yin Na said with a stutter. The young boy placed a big noodle bowl on the table and walked away.
Yin Na fell silent and from her facial expressions, it was clear that she had fallen into a shock. "You don't need to tell me. It must be the worst memory. However, you are no longer a Courtesan. Do not let it take this over your mind," Huo Jin advised her. He looked at the table and brought the bowl filled with noodles towards Yin Na.
"Eat this. This is my treat to you at this festival," Huo Jin said as he picked the chopsticks and checked the noodles.
"Your treat?" She astonishingly looked at him.
"Hmm. You are the first one with whom I celebrated such a festival. So, I must treat you to a good meal. This shop is the famous food shop of Luoyang," Huo Jin stated and smiled. He rolled the noodles around the chopsticks and told Yin Na to eat them.
Yin Na took the chopsticks from his hand and asked him why he did not order one bowl for him. "I will. Start eating," Huo Jin said and pulled his arm back from around her shoulder. He called the same young boy, who was taking orders from the other tables.
"Young Brother, please bring one more bowl of noodles," he said humbly. "Thank you." He turned to look at Yin Na, who was amusingly gazing at him.
"What happened?" Huo Jin asked.
"You talk so politely with not only older people but also the people younger than you," Yin Na said. "It's a great trait of yours," she stated.
"The Fourth Prince is the one from whom I learned this. Politeness is one of the jewels of a man. We shall not demean any person whether he's young, old, or of the same age; or whether he is high in status or low in status. During my stay with him, I learned some of the most beautiful things about life from him. He called a 'nobody' like me his Brother," Huo Jin asserted and recalled the old days.
"Start eating. The noodles will get cold," he told her and looked towards the counter. The young boy brought his order and placed the bowl on the table.
He also started to eat along with Yin Na, who had turned stable. It relieved him. They heard the whispers from the other tables. "Look, today's moon is so bright," they heard a voice. Both of them looked towards the sky and found the full shining moon above them.
"It's pretty," Yin Na murmured and then shifted her gaze to Huo Jin.
