Xiao Baoshan was the last one to eat. There was no meat, only some pieces of vegetables left in the plate.
But Xiao Baoshan didn’t lose his temper, instead, he still remained calm and acted as if nothing was wrong.
Wang Wu couldn’t stand it any longer. He tried to intercede with Tarico, but was stopped by Xiao Baoshan. He didn’t want to cause trouble for anybody, after all, nobody had forced him to follow the camel caravan.
Tarico was just trying to provoke Xiao Baoshan in order to plough around his ins and outs.
But when he saw that Xiao Baoshan didn’t seem to care about anything, he just gave up doing so. It felt like a rock hitting on a pile of cotton; there was no aggressive response.
……
When they arrived at Beihui city, Xiao Baoshan was arranged to live with the two brothers, Wang Wen and Wang Wu.
Xiao Baoshan didn’t know much about business and hadn’t participated in making deals. Seeing how bustling the city was, he just decided to tour around the city.
As he strolled around, he got this feeling of deja vu. He felt that he had been to this kind of busy street before. He knew which ones were teahouses and which ones were restaurants. When he saw some snacks on the street, he could also name them out.
Later, he entered a teahouse and ordered a pot of tea and a snack.
At this time, an old man and a young man were singing about current affairs in the teahouse. The old man was acting as an emperor, the young man was a minister. The minister was offering advice to the emperor, but the emperor was irritated and wanted to exterminate the minister’s whole kindred.
At first, Xiao Baoshan just listened quietly. ‘This kind of things happens in every dynasty throughout the history. It’s not surprising at all.’
However, after they finished the performance, many people were cheering, even some people tipped the performers. Xiao Baoshan had no money to spare, so he didn’t tip them.
After the performers left, Xiao Baoshan overheard the discussion from people in the next table:
“Humph, the current imperial court is too weak. The enemies have already invaded our territory, the f**king emperor is still hesitating to fight. Not only that, he even killed the prime minister’s whole family!”
“Exactly! At the beginning, he was being kind and fair, pardoning this one and that. We all thought that he was a great emperor. But now you see, the security of the northern region had to count on a woman!”
“Lower your voice! The government might arrest you for your words.”
“Why would I be afraid? There are so many righteous men out there protecting the prime minister and his grandson. I did nothing but complaining.”
“…”
Now Xiao Baoshan understood that the performers were not singing about the past, instead, they were suggesting what was happening now.
The guests in this teahouse seemed to be particularly just and brave. They were even willing to stand up for loyal minister.
After a while, he heard someone say, “I heard that the Emperor actually wants to fight, but because of the current situation, he couldn’t fight. Now our country is lack of good general. After the Fourth King passed away, General Xiao Baoshan was framed as a rebel. Even though his name is cleared now, he will definitely not serve the court anymore. Besides, the Emperor will not dare to grant him power. Also, for General Qian and his family, they are now guarding the northwestern border. There is no skillful general left.”
When Xiao Baoshan heard someone mention his name, he started to pay more attention to the conversation.
He knew that these people must be talking about him, as Wang Wu had mentioned this to him before. Also when they were in Baoning city, the Sixth King and the Seventh King also brought this up to him.
Now someone else sighed and said, “As ordinary citizens, we don’t have much clue of this matter. We say that we have no generals in the court. But aren’t the generals selected from the common soldiers? The imperial court collects so much taxes every year, and can’t train one or two generals to lead the army? Who would believe that? Let’s just say the imperial court is useless.”
“Now that the Heihe city is lost. I don’t know if Beiqing will continue to march south. If they march south, it won’t be long before they reach the capital. Alas, the imperial court doesn’t recruit new soldiers. If it does, we can still answer the call and join the army so that we don’t have to just sit in the teahouse and complain.”
“…”
Xiao Baoshan fell into his thoughts.
……
He went out for a stroll again. When he past by a stall, he immediately was attracted by a emerald hairpin.
As far as he remembered, he seemed to have bought a emerald and pearl hairpin before. He just couldn’t recall when.
“Lord, do you want a hairpin? You have a good taste. This one was newly made. Check the quality and material. It’s the best. Whether you want to give it to your wife or your lover, you would be appreciated. Or you can also give it to your mother, it is suitable for all ages…”
The owner of the stall greeted Xiao Baoshan enthusiastically. Xiao Baoshan then asked the price of the hairpin.
The owner showed him five fingers and said, “5 taels.”
Xiao Baoshan only had one tael of silver on him. He said, “I don’t have enough money. Sorry about that.”
“Then how much do you have?”
There was only one tael given by Li Hongmei. He had just spent 20 wen for the tea. He said, “I have 900 wen.”
“Ok, 900 wen will work. Just give me some change. It is the last hairpin, otherwise it won’t be this cheap.”
This meant that the price had dropped by more than five times.
Xiao Baoshan didn’t bargain. He paid and left.
He looked at the hairpin as he walked. Suddenly, some memory pieces popped up in his mind: He once gave such a hairpin to a woman, and that woman should be Ye Xiaoxian.
He didn’t remember exactly what had happened, but he remembered the feeling of giving the hairpin. He was nervous, excited, unsettling. He was worried that she might not like it, and worried that he was too deliberate, so he bought two other gifts and gave them to his mother and sister, which irritated the woman.
‘No wonder before I came, mother had asked me to only buy the gift for the woman only, not for anyone else.’
……
Xiao Baoshan carried the hairpin and went back to the inn, At the entrance, he happened to bump into Tarico and his brothers who just finished counting and were going out to eat now.
Tarico suddenly looked unhappy when he saw the hairpin in Xiao Baoshan’s hand.
Mcginon asked, “Hairpin? Gift? Woman? ”
Xiao Baoshan understood what Mcginon meant, so he nodded.
Tarico patted Mcginon on the shoulder and said, “It’s not your business. Let’s go eat now!”
Mcginon knew that Tarico didn’t like Xiao Baoshan, so he didn’t dare to ask more questions. He just followed Tarico and left.
Tarico and the others went to a small restaurant. He asked for a pot of wine and started drinking by himself.
Mcginon and the others knew that Tarico was not happy, and it was because of Ye Xiaoxian. Tarico had treated Ye Xiaoxiao so well before. Although he didn’t make it clear, everyone could still tell that Tarico was fond of Ye Xiaoxian. And now, her husband came back. How could Tarico not be angry?
Even though Xiao Baoshan didn’t rememeber anything, he was not dumb. He understood why Tarico was picking on him.
Ye Xiaoxian was an excellent woman. Both the Xiao family and the Liu family praised her; the Sixth King and the Sixth Imperial Concubine also praised her for being so capable; the Seventh King also seemed to know her well. It was not surprising that Tarico liked her.
Xiao Baoshan’s heart started beating fast again.
