Chapter 333 Give my horse back
He Danggui froze for a moment and then looked back. That was a child in a red jacket and green pants. He was wearing a pair of tiger shoes. His hair was a bit yellow, and he was slightly younger than Chubby Zhu. In He Danggui’s opinion, he was a “colorful” child. She bent down and asked, “Kid, did you see anyone take away a bay horse tied here?”
The child nodded and pointed to the north, “A man just left with your horse.” He Danggui hurriedly thanked him and ran in that direction. Thief is unforgivable! Stealing her horse in her place was even worse! The wind blew her ear while the yelling of the child came from behind. However, He Danggui maturely used Mysterious Footwork with full strength, and she even ran several times faster than riding a horse. Therefore, she did not catch the child’s words.
Children usually asked candies for adults. Next time she could ask Bai Yangbai to sell her some medicated sweetsand send them to that kid.
At the time, she chased the horse on the street and ran faster and faster. Then, she saw her bay horse with a man riding on it. He was about 30 years old and was wearing a night cloak, moving rapidly with the horse.
He Danggui slowed down and followed the man far behind. As the speed slowed down, she could better observe the man on the horse. His posture was skillful. While holding the rein with the left hand, he bent his elbow forward to the front-left. However, he didn’t hold a whip in his right hand because He Danggui hung the whip on her nocturnal clothes after she got off the horse. The man’s right arm was as flexible as a whip. He slapped the horse to make it run faster.
He Danggui felt that this posture looked very familiar. It seemed to be used by people in the army. Because in military exercises, the quiver and the hard bow were hung on the left side of the horse’s mane. To take out arrows, cavalries would develop a posture with the left arm tilted on the horse’s back. Besides, the posture of lying low on the horse’s back could make the rider better avoid arrows from all directions. Weird! He did not look like a thief according to his riding posture and the expensive black lint cloak. Although she should not judge a book from its cover, this man was not like a thief.
After chasing him several streets in this way, that man suddenly turned around and glanced at her. He stopped but did not dismount. He looked at her condescendingly and asked curiously, “Are you running after me? What do you want?”
He Danggui felt hilarious. A thief did not allow the owner to chase her property. She pointed to the horse under him, “It is mine.”
“Yours?” The man was stunned before retorting, “No. It’s mine.”
He Danggui did not expect that this man was a rogue. He had been captured by the owner but he still did not admit it. Therefore, she had to point out the characteristics of the horse, “This horse has a brownish-red coat, but there are two clusters of white hairs behind its bell. It loves Zongzi sugar and rice cakes. Besides, it likes to listen to me singing. ” Said so, she started to sing, “The night falls, the stars follow, the people you are missing...”
Listening to the song, the front hooves of the horse lifted. The horse started to walk around in a circle like dancing. When its neck was raised, two clusters of white hair behind the bell were different from that of other parts, and it was a kind of snow-white long fur. Now, it was undoubted that who was the owner of the horse.
However, that rogue insisted, “Girl, this horse is mine.” He couldn’t control the horse going around in circles, so he got off it and explained to the masked little girl who was full of accusations. “You must be the previous owner of this horse, right? But it is mine now. Your little brother has sold it to me.”
“Little brother?” He Danggui frowned, “I don’t have a brother.”
That rogue froze again and finally explained the details to her, “Sorry, this might be a misunderstanding. I was having fun in Yi Hong Brothel, and suddenly I got an emergency to handle. I went to the stable and found that my horse was missing. I was anxious, and then I saw a horse tied to the back door at that time.”
“But that’s my horse.” He Danggui added ruthlessly.
That rogue smiled. He tilted his head and said, “Little girl, let me finish talking. I went out and saw a boy squatting next to the horse. I thought he was watching the horse for his master, so I threw him 20 liang of silver before I left with the horse. I didn’t expect to pay the wrong bill and let the real owner chase me this far. What bad luck!”
He Danggui thought to herself, “I have worse luck!” In just one day, she had heard that kind of voice of men and women three times in a row. However, she couldn’t find Gao Jue but bumped into a lot of skunks. Besides, she had even lost her beloved horse. She coldly looked up at the tall man and asked, “Sir, you forced a deal without even knowing who the owner was, nor did you ask whether I agreed to sell my horse. Now, who do you think should be responsible for the result?”
The tall man glanced anxiously at the road ahead and replied, “I’m in a hurry. Stop pestering me!” He took out two ingots, each of them was ten liang of silver, and handed them over to her. “Twenty plus twenty can afford three horses. Now ask your horse to stop dancing.” Anyway, he had no time to spend the money in the brothel, so he would just kindly reward it to her. Besides, this little girl seemed to be a beauty.
He Danggui refused to accept his money. She tried to persuade him, “Do not do to others what you do not want to be done. Didn’t you feel angry when your horse disappeared from the stable? If it was not a thief but a self-righteous guy ‘robbed’ your horse with a bag of silver hung on the stable railing, would you be happy because of the money? When you go out, horses are transportation tools. It is inconvenient for anyone without a horse. I don’t want your money, please give me back my horse.”
Although she had not been raising this horse for a long time, she still had feelings for it. Even an object would get important after using it for a long time. This man looked fierce and slapped the horse with his hand roughly. He Danggui took a closer look and found the hip the horse had turned to red. How could she entrust a mare to such a vulgar person? He was indeed a beast.
The man shook his head and reiterated, “I am the owner now.”
He Danggui also shook her head, “The horse is mine because I did not take your money. The best solution now is to go back to the back door of Yi Hong Brothel to find the boy and get your money back. If we couldn’t find him, I can pay you the money. Anyway, I can’t sell you my horse.”
The man said irritably, “I have told you that I am in a hurry! Just take the silver. If you keep pestering me, I will even take you away!” Then, he went to lead the horse that was still dancing there.
However, He Danggui took a step forward to grasp the rein. She negotiated with him in a soft tone, “Sir, you look a decent guy with heroic spirit around you. Are you the man who would rob a horse from a little girl? I have been with my horse for many years, and I can’t give it to someone else. I beg your mercy! Since you are so rich, why don’t you buy a horse from others? As for the money you gave that boy, if you trust me, I will help you get it back, otherwise, I will pay you the money myself. Just leave me an address. I will deliver the money myself.”
She was so earnest and she was also an innocent victim. Therefore, the man could not be so tough anymore. Plus, the girl had watery and touching eyes, which made him feel like drinking the Gaoliang wine.
The man lowered his head and thought over for a moment and said sincerely, “I’m in a hurry. Otherwise, I won’t mistakenly recognize the horse’s owner. I do have money, but I find nowhere to buy a horse in the middle of the night. Please, lend me your horse tonight, okay? I don’t need you to pay back the money, and I’ll give you another ten liang as a deposit. My name is Du Yao. Tomorrow, you could get your horse back in Binghua Suburb of Shi Li Po. I’ll treat you with candy-wrapped cakes, okay?” At the time, he forced the money on her and warned, “Don’t follow me again. Otherwise, you will regret it!” He said in an ill-disposed tone.
Horses were human-like animals. The bay horse felt that the hand holding its rein was strong, so it no longer danced and even lowered its head to be tame. The man laughed and muttered, “An untamed horse is still a horse.” Then, he unexpectedly took away the horsewhip from He Danggui’s waist, stretched his arms and jumped on the horse, and then waved the whip, “Go! Go!” Soon, he got far away.
He Danggui didn’t chase him anymore. Holding the exquisitely carved silver of ten liang, she thought of something.
Binghua Suburb of Shi Li Po? Shi Li Po was exactly the place she planned to go. Binghua Suburb was to the east of Shi Li Po, and Xuehua Suburb to the west. She planned to go to Mocha Mountain Villa in Xuehua Suburb, where the head office of the imperial guards sat in Yangzhou City. Not long ago, Meng Ying told her that Duan Xiaolou had come to Yangzhou City as well. Was he in the Mocha Mountain Villa now? She must go there if she was looking for Gao Jue?
He Danggui lowered her head to meditate for a while and then walked slowly back to Yi Hong Brothel. The back door was empty, and the boy in a red jacket and green pants had gone. She walked into the brothel as the tranquil backyard exposed the singing and laughter of the front yard. Was the theme of Yi Hong Brothel’s New Year party was held under the theme of “Enjoying the Moment”, which was another Qing’er’s unique creation.
Luo’s Family had a strict curfew, so He Danggui seldom could stay over outside. Therefore, she did not have her room here but Qing’er had a weirdly furnished room in the backyard. The decoration style inside, in He Danggui’s words, was “cold and impersonal”. However, as Qing’er said, it was called “post-modern metal style”. Right now, she had to rest here until dawn. Tomorrow, she would hire a carriage to go to Shi Li Po. Tonight, she still had time to think of a reasonable excuse to ask Gao Jue for a cure of the cold poison.
She entered the room, lighted the candles, and pulled a strange “Waterwheel powered wind chime” twice. Soon, two of Qing’er’s maids Jin Jia, Yin Yi, Man Bing, and Nei Ding appeared together. He Danggui occasionally had confused them several times. Later, she found that the four maids seemed to be interested in “role-playing” because they often wore others’ clothes and imitate each other’s behavior, and they looked similar. They enjoyed being misrecognized by guests. So, He Danggui gave up remembering their names.
After a brief cleaning up, she ordered the two maids to send a message to Tao Yao Yard in Luo’s Mansion that Miss Liao invited her to live in Guan’s Mansion today. She would go back home the next day or the day after tomorrow. If Madam Luo came to Tao Yao Yard looking for her, the maids and servants in her yard should reply the same way. Anyway, there were a lot of snacks in her room, and Meng Xuan would not die from starvation. Besides, her company would affect his rest. She only hoped that his injury would not get worse before she found the antidote.
Then, she found something to eat and laid down on Qing’er’s strange water bed. Her mind was preoccupied with matters, so she didn’t sleep deeply. She dreamed of many old events. The faces of people were showing in front of her. Everyone’s mouth was moving, but no voice was uttered. She gradually fell asleep, but when she thought that Meng Xuan was waiting for her to treat his wounds, she woke up immediately. She couldn’t remember any of the messy dreams she was having just now.
She walked to the bronze table in soft slippers and drank two large glasses of water, feeling that she had recovered a lot. She looked at the sky outside the window while eating frosted persimmon cakes. It had not been the dawn. But, when she left the city, the dawn would break.
Thinking about this, she dressed up and made a haircut similar to that of maids. Then, she cut a half-opened autumn hibiscus flower bud as a hairpin. She should have changed the nocturnal clothes, but Qing’er’s clothes were all too large for her. The nocturnal clotheswere suitable at night, but it was too striking during the daytime. Therefore, she had to take a shorter silver-grey cloak to wrap her body, and she replaced the black veil that covered her face with a silver-grey black sateen veil.
When she left the door, the front yard of Yi Hong Brothel was silent. This was the time when everyone here started sleeping deeply because the day and night in the brothel were reversed. She went to the stable and picked a short brown horse that looked slightly fat. If she remembered it right, the owner of this horse, Lord Wang, had been living there for more than half a month. Besides, he must be sleeping now. She guessed that borrowing his horse would not be a big problem.
So, she mounted the horse immediately, “Go! Go! Go!”
She rushed to Shi Li Po following the instructions of the man named Du Yao. When she arrived at Binghua Suburb in the east of Shi Li Po, she saw a wild inn, where her horse was tied outside.
“Stop—!”
She stopped there and got off the horse. After tying the short brown horse next to the bay horse, she went into the inn to return the man’s ten liang deposit. However, just at the time when she was about to lift the thick door curtain made of cotton fiber, a burst of familiar laughter came from inside. There was a stranger once the most familiar to her. He shouted, “Haha! Two more jars of the loquat wine. It tastes good! Let’s get drunk today!”
This was... Duan Xiaolou’s voice! She would never mistakenly recognize this clear sound.
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