Chapter 214 Breaking the Ethic
“Oh?” He Danggui picked up the rabbit, which would be slaughtered. She asked in an induced way, “What’s the difference? Are there any differences between his daily habits and behaviors in the past? Does he act more mature and steadier?”
“Daily habits? Oh, you took me wrong. I don’t mean that he has changed. But his attitude to the women is completely different from before.” When Chang Nuo saw she taking the rabbit, he stretched out his hands to take away it. He smiled at her and said, “It is the meal. If you want to play with it, I will catch one for you later. Its legs are broken by stones, and it won’t live long. So, give it to me.”
He Danggui snorted. She held the rabbit and walked to the other side of the cave. She asked, “Will it not be living long because of its hurt legs? What a ruthless person! Its eyes tell me that it wants to live. You have killed its friend and a pheasant. Do you really want to make your hands reek with more blood? Please let it go.”
Chang Nuo was vexed and amused. He said, “Miss, you are the one who said you were hungry just now. So, I killed the pheasant and rabbit just for you. What’s ruthlessness? Have you never eaten meat?”
He Danggui was speechless. But as a woman, she could defend herself. So, she said, “I just asked for something to eat, but it doesn’t mean the food is meat. Why don’t you dig some bamboo shoots and bake them for me?” She rummaged around the white-robe and found a brocade box. She cleaned the wound in her palm with water from the bamboo tube. Then she took out the medicine in the brocade box and sprinkled it on the wound. Next, she tore off the clean part of the robe to bind up her wound. After that, she tore off more cloths to bind up the hurt legs of the rabbit.
Chang Nuo could not bear this anymore. He pleaded for the robe, “Do not tear off the clothes on the chest. How can I wear the robe? When it’s daylight, I will wear the robe to visit Madam Luo. Don’t let her think that I have joined the Beggars’ Organization.” As he spoke, he washed the rabbit and pheasant with water. Then he sprinkled them with some spices, and put them on a bamboo grill.
He Danggui was surprised and asked, “Why are you in such a hurry to see Madam Luo? Feng Yang, who was pretended by Bai Yangbai, just appeared tonight. If you show up in such a short time, I am afraid that we will be exposed.”
“I’m afraid that you won’t eat after I tell you, so let’s eat first.” Chang Nuo said and turned the bamboo sticks. The tender rabbit meat and chicken were roasted very crispy, suffusing an exquisite fragrance all around.
He Danggui suddenly realized that she didn’t have dinner yet. In the afternoon, she wanted to eat several times when she joined the Feast of Qushui Liushang, but Qing’er let her keep hungry and wait until the Yi Hong Brothel’s dinner. The sound of her stomach seemed to be a protest.
Chang Nuo told to her provocatively, “I remember you want bamboo shoots, right? So, let me share your worries. After I finish these roasts, I’ll build a new stove to roast bamboo shoots for you. What do you think?”
He Danggui said crossly, “You don’t have to worry about me. I will have supper when I go home. My closest maid is a better cooker than you, and her cooking can set my mind at rest. If I were as casual as you, I would have suffered from diarrhea.” As a swordsman, he should bully a woman with words. What a shame. Why did he want to meet Madam Luo? Were there any things that prevented her from eating after knowing it?
Chang Nuo turned the bamboo sticks, and tried to extract more information from her, “Sister He, why do you get so friendly with Taoist Sage? You are a young lady. How can you know such a great man?” Moreover, when she was under the misapprehension that he was the Taoist Sage, she started bossing him around. How could she have such a friendship with Taoist Sage?
He Danggui winked her eyes and said slowly, “Before I explain the relationship with Bai Yangbai, I will talk about the deal what I had mentioned to you. In brief, I know a little about the astronomy and geography. And I can accurately predict the water potential of the Grand Canal, the Yangtze River and the Yellow River in the coming year. Childe Feng, you can mistrust my words, but you must believe Taoist Sage without any doubts. To be honest, Taoist Sage looked at me with new eyes because of my talents in astronomy and geography. So, he took me as his mentor and asked the situations about each river course.”
Chang Nuo didn’t believe a word of it, “You said that Taoist Sage took you as his mentor? Girl, you cannot say such words again. Otherwise, you will be marched through the streets if you ruffle Taoist Sage and his followers.”
He Danggui just kept talking, “I know Yangzhou Caobang Organization is living on water business. As I know that though you are rich in talents and your business is brisk, there are at least 4 minor accidents and one big sinking accident in your fleet every year. And it loses more than 50 thousand liang silver every year. Loss money is a slight matter, but more than ten of sailors, who are fostered by a lot of money and time, were drowned into the river every year. This is the tragedy of nature that brings to our life. What I think is that if you give me the 20% of your loss the 50 thousand liang sliver every year, which is 10 thousand liang sliver, I will tell you the information about each river course. You are no longer to worry about which route to take every day. How do you think about it?”
Chang Nuo listened silently to her boasting here and turned over the roasted chicken. When he found a crisp chicken wing, he drew out his saber and cut off the chicken wing. Then he handed it to her and said with a smile, “Aren’t you thirsty? Take a sip of water from the bamboo tube first. It’s clean.”
He Danggui thanked for the chicken wings. When she looked at the water, she frowned and said, “Is its raw water? It is too cold that will make me feel uncomfortable.”
Chang Nuo thought for a minute, and then caught the bamboo tube with one hand. He straightened his arms and kept it flat for a moment. When he was focusing on the bamboo tube, he looked quite affectionate. He Danggui wondered what he was doing. At the same time, the bamboo tube in his hand actually rose a white mist. He Danggui was surprised. She found that the bamboo tube in his hand had turned from green to dark yellow, and the cold water had turned into hot water with small bubbles.
Chang Nuo handed her the bamboo tube and said, “Be careful. Use your sleeve to take it.”
He Danggui took the bamboo tube and felt a little hot through the sleeve. She was puzzled and asked, “How do you make the cold water turn boiling without fire? Just like a magic.”
“Piece of cake.” Chang Nuo said carelessly, “My ability means nothing to you. You can accurately predict when the wind blows and when the ship capsizes. No one is better than you, including Taoist Sage.”
He Danggui ignored the sarcasm in his words. She nodded and said, “Yeah. I never boast. As for forecasting the waterway condition, 10 people like Bai Yangbai add up cannot surpass me. Your Caobang mainly takes the Grand Canal route. The Grand Canal was built in the Sui Dynasty. After several hundred years, many stretches of the Grand Canal are out of repair. Especially in the dry season, ships often hit the rocks and sink.” She gently blew the water and sipped. Then she bit the chicken wing and praised, “What a delicious food! I will look at you with new respect.”
Chang Nuo laughed, “Do I look like someone who can’t cook?”
He Danggui devoured the chicken wing and stared at his face for a long time. Then she said, “You have a baby face. It seems that you have never changed since you were a child. And it seems that your face won’t change though you are 40 or 50 years old in the future. But your eyes are getting older and older. Compared with your eyes three years ago, your eyes give me a cold and heartless impression now. And they look like your good friend’s eyes more.”
When Chang Nuo heard this, he felt a sense of panic that the deepest secret had been dug out. He quickly sidetracked, “You said that you can predict where there will be a water disaster. Why don’t you predict a water disaster that will happen recently?”
He Danggui shook her head and said, “You are wrong. I can only predict where and when the waterway is not suitable for sailing. And I can’t say for sure that there will be a shipwreck, otherwise I would not do the business such like this. If I could really predict that step, I would definitely prevent the accident instead of trading with you here. After all, saving people’s lives is more important than everything.”
Chang Nuo nodded and said, “Which waterway is not suitable for sailing lately?” Then he handed her a rabbit leg which smelled good.
He Danggui thanked and thought for a moment. Then she said, “From what I observed, the recent situation of the canal in Yinma Town, which is outside the capital, become complex. It is the most dangerous section of the waterway. The underwater silt deposition and the strong northwest wind make a big whirlpool underwater. This information is free for you, but next time, you need to pay for it.”
“Do you want me to pay for it?” Actually, Chang Nuo didn’t believe her words, “If I remember correctly, what you said before was to provide us three years of waterway information for free in exchange for your peaceful life?”
He Danggui nodded and said, “Do you want to exchange it with me? Can you represent the Lord Ning to make the decision? I am glad to exchange it at any time.”
Chang Nuo turned the meat and said with a bitter smile, “Well, I can’t. Yuan treasures you so much and refuses to make you feel sad. And he is going to find a best identity for you before he marries you. So, I guess, whatever your information is true or not, he will not agree with you. He intends to let you pretend as the youngest daughter of Princess Ningguo. And you can marry into the Lord Ning’s Mansion as a princess. It is bound to make the Xie Qiaofeng feel headache.”
He Danggui’s eyes dilated with fear and asked, “Princess Ningguo? Is Princess Ningguo his second sister? Is the youngest daughter of Princess Ningguo his niece? The uncle marries his niece? What an unreasonable thing!”
Chang Nuo was annoyed by her evaluation and coldness. What a rare identity Princess’s daughter was! Although it had not been successful, he could not help saying it. He hoped that He Danggui could understand the Lord Ning’s feelings for her. However, her first reaction was that she thought this identity was too close to Lord Ning!
Chang Nuo said angrily, “It’s just to cheat outsiders. And you are not the true niece. It’s not incest. Besides, the marriage of close relatives has existed since ancient times, and this kind of things are too many. Don’t you remember that Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty married his niece Zhang Yan? Anyway, Lord Ning is caring you so much. Aren’t you happy?”
Chang Nuo explained to her because he was afraid that she didn’t know the rank of the identity, “The mother of Princess Ningguo is the Empress Xiaocigao, whose status socially superior to the status of Lord Ning’s birth mother. During the 10th Year of Hongwu, Princess Ningguo was married to Mei Yin, the Huai’an commander in chief. And he is the second son of Runan Marquis Mei Sizu. Princess Ningguo has three daughters. The oldest daughter, Infanta Huaiyang, is 19 years old and has been married for three years. The second daughter died before she titled. The youngest daughter, Infanta Shaochan, is 15 years old. And her name is Mei Yuchan. Because of an accident, she has not been found. Lord Ning is actively negotiating with Princess Ningguo. He wants to help her solve some troubles. In return, Princess Ningguo will ask you to take the name of Infanta Shaochan and marry him.”
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