The birthday banquet of the Governor’s mansion was extremely luxurious, it can be seen from Xiaotong Guan’s road leading in the entrance.
People were not qualified to enter the mansion at the gate and could only line up. The line of people who were eager to give gifts stretched two blocks back. The mansion was decorated with lights and was more lively than during the Chinese New Year.
But besides the bustle, there was a somewhat discordant sound, which came from the side door, where a few servants tied up an old man and threw him out.
The old man was in rags, his face was covered with bruises, and he cried and cursed, “Damn you, Wang Ronghuo! You’re a pervert who robbed my daughter! You’re eating the flesh and blood of the people! I, I wish you a long life in hell!!”
A butler-like man in fancy clothes shouted at the servants fiercely, “What are you guys still dawdling about? He’s talking nonsense, why don’t you block him with mud?”
Then someone grabbed a handful of dirty black soil and stuffed it into the old man’s mouth and nose. The old man whimpered and struggled but had no power to resist. The butler said, “Drag him to a far place, beat him up, and throw him away! Don’t let the Governor see this, it brings bad luck!”
In a few seconds, the old man was dragged away.
This little commotion did not even cause any ripples in front of the Governor’s Mansion, which was crowded with people.
Gu Fangfei was wearing an old-style embroidered skirt with plum blossom edging and buttons today. Xu Hang was behind her. The two of them showed their invitations and entered the banquet.
At this time, the banquet had not yet started. People were making friends and exchanging compliments with each other, while there were also others who were strolling in the garden of the mansion.
“Has Mr. Xu been here before?” Gu Fangfei asked.
“No. The Governor’s Mansion is such a noble place. It’s not easy for a commoner like me to get in.”
“The artificial cave in the garden here is a unique one. No other garden has one this big. I’ll take Mr. Xu to have a look today.”
The cave was built by the people below at the time when the Governor’s mansion was being built. It can accommodate hundreds of people at the same time. There are narrow paths inside, and the karst rocks are clean and pure. At first glance, one can tell that it is obvious that it was built at a high price.
Xu Hang and Gu Fangfei entered from one side and exited from the other, walking along the corridor with fewer people, chatting happily: “When other people celebrate their birthdays, the birthday person will meet guests in the main hall, but the Governor doesn’t seem to like that?”
“That’s not the case. The Governor really loves to be in a lively atmosphere. But he is a very cautious person, fearing that someone might come to assassinate him, so he won’t come out until the banquet starts. Our family has had dinner with the Governor several times, and he always sat alone at a table at least ten meters away, with a group of soldiers following him.”
Turning the corner and walking up the steps, Xu Hang looked at the splendid garden and said, “It’s not surprising that the higher the official position, the more unscrupulous the means and the more enemies one makes.”
Gu Fangfei looked at her pocket watch and said, “It’s almost time, let’s go back.” She turned around and started to walk back, but before she could start, she was stopped by Xu Hang, who pointed to a street ahead and said, “Go that way, it’s closer.”
Those steps lead to a small door, but no one knows where the door leads to. Gu Fangfei was puzzled: “Didn’t you say that you have never been here before? How do you know?”
Xu Hang slid from one end of the garden to the other and pointed to Gu Fangfei: “This garden is neither square nor regular. On one side is a pond, on the other side are three high-rise buildings, and in the middle there is a cave running through it. No matter how you look at it, it’s not an orthodox layout.”
He gestured in the air with his fingers: “The water, the three horizontal lines and one vertical line here form the Chinese character ‘wang’. Therefore, both the entrance and exit can bypass the pond and return to the main hall. There is no need to go through the cave.”
Gu Fangfei followed Xu Hang out with some doubts and stepped through the small gate. Sure enough, a few meters away was the gate to the garden. She couldn’t help but exclaim, “Mr. Xu is so thoughtful. I only care about the beauty of the garden, but I have never thought about Feng Shui layout or anything like that!”
As the two were chatting and laughing, a fat man came up from behind and muttered, “Who are you two? Don’t squeeze in here, you’re blocking the road!”
They were startled for a moment and quickly moved away. The fat man passed by the two of them, glanced at them briefly, and immediately stopped.
He froze at first, feeling that something was wrong, then took a few steps back and stood between the two of them.
The man retracted his head, squinted his eyes, looked at Xu Hang, and then bowed: “Hello, Sir. The humble is Peng Bo, the Special Assistant from the Diplomatic Consuls. May I know who you are? You look very familiar.”
Xu Hang raised his eyes slightly, glanced back at Peng Bo, moved his lips, and replied coldly, “I’m just the owner of a medical hall.”
However, his attitude was neither humble nor arrogant.
Gu Fangfei thought Xu Hang didn’t like strangers, so she came out to smooth things over: “Hello, Special Assistant Peng, I’m Gu Fangfei from the Pengyun Chamber of Commerce. This is my friend. Maybe you’ve bought medicine from his medical hall before.”
“Oh… really?” Peng Bo touched his chin, his eyes wandering around Xu Hang’s body restlessly. He had seen such clear eyes and slender figure somewhere before, as if he had seen him in a painting, but now he couldn’t remember the name.
The more he can’t figure it out, the more he stares at him.
Perhaps that probing look was too rude, Xu Hang’s face became a little stiff, and Gu Fangfei could even see the slightly bulging blue veins on his temples, so she smiled awkwardly: “Ah, it’s getting late, don’t let the Governor wait for us…”
As she spoke, she pulled Xu Hang’s sleeve. Xu Hang realized that she was trying to help him out, so he lowered his head, turned sideways and quickly walked out.
But at this moment, the confused Peng Bo seemed to come to his senses all of a sudden. He slapped his own palm with his fist, turned around, and grabbed Xu Hang’s right arm. Because of his excitement, he used too much force and twisted Xu Hang back!
“I remember now! Aren’t you… the opera actor employed by Jin Hongchang in the Jinjia Tang?!”
