Mudan was furious. She frowned and dodged Liu Chang’s grasp, sneering quietly, “You’re right. I do rely on my brothers and my family’s money. So what? Did I steal or rob? Should I pretend to be poor when I’m not, or act subservient despite having brothers? And you, what are you trying to prove by pursuing someone who doesn’t want you? That you’re a decent man? If you have any self-respect, if you want me to consider you a real man, stop clinging to me like a leech. You’re only inviting contempt.”
Though her words weren’t loud, they pierced Liu Chang’s ears like steel needles. The pain and humiliation were overwhelming. How had he fallen so low? For a moment, he felt everyone around was looking at him with disdain. Blood rushed to his head, contorting his handsome face. His eyes widened, pupils constricting. Gritting his teeth audibly, he glared at Mudan, intending to say something harsh to save face, but what came out was, “Don’t think I don’t know who you’re thinking about!”
Mudan was startled, realizing he was groundlessly suspicious of Li Xing. She smiled scornfully, “Don’t assume everyone is as dirty-minded as you.” It was laughable – did he think any man who was kind to her or stood up for her must be romantically involved with her? Was he trying to sully her reputation?
“Dirty-minded?” Liu Chang’s eyes turned bloodshot. Pointing at a group hurrying towards them, he rasped, “What do you say to this? Is this just a coincidence?”
Mudan turned to look. She saw six or seven burly men in coarse short shirts, arms exposed, escorting two people. One wore a gray round-collared robe, eyes flashing fiercely, with a protruding belly – it was He Silang. The other wore a pale blue round-collared robe with narrow sleeves, the two ends of his headscarf bobbing as he walked. His expression was serious, lips tightly pressed – it was Li Xing.
It was one thing for Li Xing to help, but Mudan didn’t want to cause him trouble. Suppressing her anger, she looked at Liu Chang earnestly, “I’ve only seen him twice since coming to your house. Trying to smear my reputation doesn’t make you look any better. We’re both losing here. What’s the point? We’re not meant for each other. Is it worth spending our lives in mutual antagonism over pride?”
Her intent to protect Li Xing was obvious. Liu Chang was in no mood to ponder her words. He just glared hatefully at Li Xing, old and new resentments surging. Killing intent flashed in his eyes as his hand slowly gripped the sword at his waist, knuckles whitening.
Seeing the situation turning dangerous, Pan Rong, who had been watching from the sideline, rushed forward and embraced Liu Chang. He signaled Xi Xia and others to help, pleading repeatedly, “Zishu, don’t do anything foolish! It’s not worth it! It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
He Silang also sensed the tension. He waved for his men to disperse the onlookers and block Li Xing. With his hands on his belt, he sauntered over, frowning at Liu Chang. “Where are you coming from, Lord Liu? My father was planning to visit in a few days to discuss Danniang’s matter with my brothers. Since we’ve met today, why not have a drink? I have some excellent Persian wine.”
Held tightly by Pan Rong and after a bout of persuasion, Liu Chang saw Mudan’s slightly furrowed brows and obvious irritation. Suddenly, his heart went cold, and he felt empty. It wasn’t worth it, of course, but how could he just accept this? His hand slowly released the sword hilt. He stiffly straightened his back and pointed at Li Xing, who was looking concernedly at Mudan, shouting, “Li Xingzhi! Was it you who meddled with the invitation Qinghua sent to the He family two days ago? If you’re a man, tell the truth!”
At these words, all the He family members turned questioning gazes towards Li Xing. Li Xing’s brow twitched, and he smiled lightly. Then, straightening his chest, he said frankly, “Yes, it was me. Danniang is blameless. I couldn’t stand by and watch you torture her to death. A real man owns up to his actions! I dare to admit it, do you?”
Hearing this, the expressions of He Silang and others quickly changed from shock back to normal, then became thoughtful. Mudan, however, grew worried. No wonder Liu Chang suspected her and Li Xing and hated him so much. There was this incident between them. She might have escaped the wolf’s den, but now Li Xing had put himself in jeopardy. She owed him a great debt of gratitude.
“I dare, do you?” Li Xing’s words were full of challenge. Liu Chang’s expression darkened, and he hissed through gritted teeth, “You’ve got guts! I won’t forget this!”
Pan Rong pointed at Li Xing and shouted, “Xingzhi, you’ve gone too far! This is both unethical and underhanded. You’re in the wrong here!”
Li Xing looked at Pan Rong seriously and bowed, “Young Master Pan, you know the situation best. Please tell me, what should I have done to be ethical? When people are incompatible, they should find new matches and let each other go. Why torture each other to death? Is there some blood feud between them?”
“If there were a blood feud, how could they have married? Ruining someone’s marriage is unacceptable.” Pan Rong blinked, refusing to answer Li Xing’s question. He turned to Mudan and said, “I’ve always underestimated you. You’re quite something!” Then he smiled at He Silang, “Since I’ve witnessed this, I’ll come another day to enjoy that Persian wine. Don’t forget!” With that, he ordered his people to follow, firmly escorting Liu Chang away.
Mudan remained silent. People indeed couldn’t be judged by appearances. Pan Rong had his way of surviving. With his jest, he had left room for future interactions between himself and the He family. If he came shamelessly to seek out He Silang another day, could He Silang turn him away? Such a person seemed close to no one, yet had connections with everyone, always leaving room for maneuvering.
As for Li Xing, he was even more decisive and opportunistic. He had just been asked for help, and upon encountering the Princess Qinghua incident, he immediately found an effective solution. This level of shrewdness was not something ordinary people could match.
Meanwhile, Zou Laoqi hurried after them, asking Xi Xia, “Do you still want my flower?”
Who had the mood to buy flowers at a time like this? He really couldn’t read the situation! Xi Xia impatiently waved him away, “Go away! Why are you causing trouble at a time like this?”
Zou Laoqi wailed, “How can this be? You can’t ruin my business and then say you don’t want it!”
“Xi Xia, take him to our shop to get the money,” Liu Chang stopped and turned, giving Zou Laoqi a cold glance. His eyes swept over Mudan, who was standing quietly, her light blue peony-patterned gauze dress gently swaying in the early summer breeze. She was gazing at the distant sky, lost in thought, not even sparing him a glance. Liu Chang turned away sharply. He wouldn’t let this pair of dogs off easily.
He Silang kindly suggested, “Danniang, do you want to rest at our shop for a while? We can go home together later.”
Madam Zhang also urged Mudan, “It’s quite hot now. Shall we go for a bowl of cold noodles?”
“No need. We should hurry and pay these people. We shouldn’t delay their journey,” Mudan was in a bad mood and wanted to go home immediately. But seeing the eager looks on the faces of the two brothers, who were just licking their lips, she changed her mind and said, “Alright, I’ve troubled everyone today. I can’t properly thank you, but let me treat you all to a bowl of cold noodles.”
He Silang had been in the middle of unloading spices when he received the news and rushed over. He said, “I’ve only unloaded half of the spices and need to get back to work. Have the shop send the food over.” He specially arranged for two burly men to escort Mudan and the others home.
Mudan agreed and asked how many people were still at his shop. After noting the number, she led her horse to the cold noodle shop strongly recommended by Madam Zhang.
Standing at the entrance, Mudan saw many elaborately decorated horses tied up outside the small shop, with servants in blue clothes tending to them. Madam Zhang smiled, “Their water flower cold noodles are very famous. Many young people from wealthy families come to eat here.”
Cold noodles were essentially cold soup noodles eaten in hot weather. This shop recommended by Madam Zhang was extremely famous, selling hot soup buns in winter and cold noodles in summer, with several flavors available. These included locust leaf cold noodles from Chengdu and water flower cold noodles. At the entrance were placed a kneading board, stove, and other equipment. A skinny, dark-skinned cook in his twenties stood at the board, skillfully slicing noodles with a cleaver. The noodle slices were thin and uniform, his knife skills no less impressive than Jiang Changyang’s fish-slicing technique. The sliced noodles were then soaked briefly in a basin of cold water, boiled over high heat, cooled, and served with meat broth and cilantro.
Madam Zhang pointed at the cold water basin where the noodles were soaked and whispered to Mudan, “There’s alcohol in there. That’s what sets this shop apart from others.”
Madam Sun added, “And there’s their cook. Other shops have started using machines, but here, he still cuts everything by hand.” As she spoke, the cook looked up and gave everyone a blank stare. He lowered his eyes impassively and said without a hint of enthusiasm, “The shop has been reserved today. Please come back tomorrow, customers.”
Remembering the many elaborately decorated horses at the entrance, Mudan knew he wasn’t lying. She tugged at Madam Zhang and Madam Sun, turning to leave.
Just as they turned, a purple horse stopped at the shop entrance. A man in a gray robe skillfully dismounted, tossing the reins to a blue-clad servant without looking. As he strode past Mudan, he paused, made a sound of surprise, glanced at the purple-spotted peony, and smiled, “Madam, are you here to buy flowers?”