Capture the Jade - Chapter 3

The Ziyun building is right by the river, opposite of the Moon Lantern Pavilion. 

After what had just happened, no one dared to take the shortcut again, bypassing the bamboo forest to the main road. It took a long time to get to the riverbank. 

Through the light outside the window of the carriage, Teng Yuyi looked at the wound on her biao jie (cousin)’s palm. The bloodstains have not healed and were extremely thin and deep. Originally one thought that it was caused by the monster, but now the more one looked at it, the more it seemed to be caused by a pair of embroidery scissors. 

“yi mu (aunt), look” 

Madam Du held Du Tinglan’s hand to examine it back and front, in a trembling voice: “When going out this morning, there was no injury. Most likely was injured by the monster.” 

Teng Yuyi was full of doubts as the monster’s claws were as big as a palm- leaf fan. If the monster deliberately wanted to injure her, her biao jie’s hand would have been covered with blood and flesh. How could it just leave a thin scar?

“yi mu, before A jie (older sister) left, did she tell you that she was going to leave the nunnery?” 

Madam Du teared up and said: “When has she ever told me? I went to the front to watch the acrobatic performances. Your A jie felt bored and decided to stay at the Yun Hall to rest. I was thinking about going back to the city after the acrobatic performances were finished. Who knew that at a turn of a head (in an instant), this child would leave the nunnery and to also have bumped into such a strange situation.” 

She was hesitant for a moment, grabbed Teng Yuyi’s hand and said in a low voice: “You are a good child. You and your sister have contacted each other through writing letters. Has your sister ever mentioned a young wealthy noble in the letters?”

Teng Yiyu had already thought about this question for a thousand times, but when the accident happened, she had not contacted her biao jie for more than half a year. The two were separate and with the cautious nature of her biao jie, she would only talk about private matters in person and would never write it down at will. 

“Sister would often give me some novelty objects and has never mentioned anything else. However, I would like to ask yi mu, is there anything unusual about my sister these days in the mansion?” 

Madam Du’s heart jumped, thinking back and forth for quite a while: “It is not like you don’t know your sister, always steady and comprehensive. Even if she encountered something unpleasant, her face would never show it. These days, I have seen her look a bit depressed. Intentionally paying attention to her life these days, nothing seemed wrong or improper. These past few days, hearing that you were coming to Chang’an, your sister moved all your bedding quilts to her room. All the food that you have mentioned to her, she one by one presented them out for you. I saw that she was very happy and did not seem to be dealing with any stressful matters in her heart, so I decided to let this thought go.” 

She beat her chest in regret: “I am so stupid, there are good and bad people in the nunnery. How could she be left alone in the back of the courtyard! If she can not be saved, I won’t live either.” 

Teng Yuyi grabbed Madam Du’s shoulder: We have invited the Taoist priest, Qing Xuzi. You’re still afraid that sister can not be saved? Sister is now only waiting for the treatment and everything still needs to be decided by yi mu. If yi mu has a disordered state of mind now, how will things from now be done efficiently?” 

Madam Du was startled for a moment, wiping her tears and nodded: “good child, you still understand. Yi Mu was just anxiously and mentally disorganized just now.” 

After speaking, she slowly tried to calm herself down and ordered her servants: “Send people to the city to quickly deliver news to the old master and the eldest master. The sooner, the better!” 

Teng Yuyi recalled back to the situation in the forest with a gloomy face, just as the carriage passed the Moon Lantern Pavilion, she subconsciously turned her head to look out.

The lights inside the building were very bright and the Jinshi banquet was held. 

The guests were already seated and the door of the attic was tightly closed. From the outside, one would not be able to see anything useful. She carefully looked at it for half a moment and no matter how suspicious one was, one could only give up. 

Before arriving at the Ziyun Building, an elderly servant from the palace greeted her and said: “The Taoist Priest was drinking in the building, but once he heard that the Jinshi Banquet was about to start, he immediately disappeared. 

His Majesty, the King feared that there would be a delay and ordered this old servant to wait here, and find the Taoist Priest at the Moon Lantern Pavilion.” 

Madam Du couldn’t care why an old Taoist Priest who was nearly seventy years old, would be interested in ji qiu (golfing in the ancient times) She hurriedly got out of the carriage and said: “Thank you Your Majesty for the trouble with everything.” 

The old servant ordered a few people to lift up the palanquins: “His Majesty the King often remembers General Teng for his life-saving grace that year. Coincidentally, there was an opportunity tonight and it is common sense for people to repay acts of kindness, not to mention that the people in your mansion are all very worried about their safety. Even if there was no friendship made that year, His Majesty would still not sit idly by.” 

At this moment, the evening wind blew the curtain of the palanquin. Du Tinglan choked due to the swift wind and her face was a scary ashy gray color. 

With the twitching of her nose, she vomited out a mouthful of dark blood. 

The situation became so scary that words could not describe it. Teng Yuyu and Madam Du’s hearts were trembling while wiping off the blood with a handkerchief and said: “It is probably because of the cold wind blowing, so would Gong Gong (eunuch) please try to quickly bring us inside.” 

The old servant only knew that they had encountered some evil thing and did not know that the situation was this urgent and dangerous, so he hurridenly said: “quickly follow this old servant, the second lady of the Dong family of the Wannian County also suffered a blow. Originally, I was supposed to rush back to the city to provide medical treatment, but heard that His Majesty, the King had already called for the Taoist and had him temporarily take care of those who were injured. He had also already entered the Ziyun building.” 

Madam Du nodded, His Majesty usually only invited the officials of the third rank and above to accompany him for a drink. Without an invitation from the wealthy nobles, ordinary officials could not enter the Ziyun building. 

The Ziyun building, other than the floor for the big officials, also had many annexes of all sizes, covering a very wide area that was enough to hold a thousand people. 

The old servant did not take them into the main building and directly took them to an annex in the back. 

Most of the females from official families were in the main building, enjoying the feast, but there were still a lot of noble ladies, who were vigorously decorated with pearls. If the noble ladies were to not be careful and become drunk, they would often leave in a palanquin by themselves. In order to not draw eyes (attention), the old servant specifically prepared a few palanquins.  

While passing by the central hall, the musical orchestra played in a full swing and the opera performers gracefully walked to the center and started to dance. 

Teng Yuyi did not glance sideways and followed closely behind the old servant. 

In a blink of an eye, they have arrived at Lanxia Pavilion. This place was located in the northwest corner of the back courtyard. There was a rockery garden in the front and behind it was a wall. Everyone thinks that the scenery is not good, only the noble ladies that became drunk would be willing to come here to take a look.

The old servant knew that this place was a lot more peaceful and quiet than any other place, so he deliberately reserved it for the injured victims. 

A group of people was just about to enter the courtyard when someone suddenly exclaimed: “Why is there a man hidden in the palanquin?”

Everyone stopped. It turned out that a servant from the palace fell when he walked down the steps and accidentally caused Duan Fu’s leg to be revealed. Just by the look of the boots on his feet, one would know that it was a male servant. 

Teng Yuyi and Madam Du both looked at each other. Previously, they were afraid that something unexpected would happen, so they purposely tightly covered the palanquin that Duan Fu was in. Reasonability, it should not expose any flaws and one did not know why a palace servant would suddenly fall. 

The people who spoke were a group of ladies who were wearing flowers and jade hairpins. Their faces showed signs of drunkenness. From the looks of it, they were about to go to the Lanxia Pavilion to rest. 

“Wen Gong Gong (Eunuch), how could the back courtyard have such a roughed up servant, hurry and throw this thing out of here!” 

The old servant smiled and went forward to salute: “This old servant acted out of proportion. This is the lady of the General Teng’s family of the Huainan province. This is the wife of Doctor Du of Guozixue (National imperial Academy). On the way to the banquet tonight, one accidentally bumped into an accident. At the moment, one was in a hurry to save the injured. The King Of Chun’an County heard that many people were injured, so he went to invite the Taoist priest. Before leaving, he ordered this old servant to help the injured here, but because the situation was too urgent, there was no time to notify everyone. Hope that the ladies do not blame one.” 

The women’s faces lightened a bit: “So this is what happened, I have always been timid and suddenly saw that there was a servant hiding the palanquin. I mistakenly thought that someone had tried to trespass the back courtyard, so that is why I acted out of proportion. We apologize for it.” 

Teng Yuyi lightly laughed, lifted up the side of the veil and politely greeted back: “Absolutely can not afford it, this situation happened unexpectedly. It is all our fault.” 

When the group of women saw that she was delicate and graceful, their hearts had a good impression. Someone said in a low voice: “A few days ago, I heard that there was an evil spirit doing evil deeds and in the end, several ladies died. Because there were no physical injuries, the judiciary department thought that they died without any illness, until more and more people came to report it to the officials, only then did it alarm the Imperial Court of Judiciary. 

Teng Yiyu was shocked. In the previous life when her biao jie was murdered, they was no news of any evil spirit doing evil deeds in Chang’an city. Biao jie’s neck had extremely obvious traces of being strangled. It was clear that she was murdered by someone. Why was it that the bodies did not have any signs of injuries? Was it that the monster she met in the forest tonight was not the one that murdered her biao jie in her previous life. 

“Since you have invited the Imperial Court of Judiciary and Taoist priest, Qing Xuzi into this matter. Whatever is causing this misfortune, will probably soon be figured out. Lady Teng, bring this male servant outside to wait for the treatment, don’t need to deal with it in the courtyard.” 

Madam Du smiled: “They can’t be blown by the cold wind. If they were to stay outside, one is afraid that before the treatment has arrived, they will have already lost their lives. They only got injured because they were protecting their master, how would it be right to ignore them.” 

The women looked hesitant: “But there are many ladies here that are drunk and to have this male servant just lie here in the courtyard. What if a noble lady came here to have a rest and happened to bump into this servant, then what can be done?” 

Wen Gong Gong spoke: “Everything happened because this old servant did not think carefully. I only thought that the injured victims were all women, but only realized that there was a male servant that was also injured when this one arrived to greet Lady Teng and Madam Du. Earlier, I had already had the second lady of Dong County rest in the Lanxia Pavilion. She won’t be able to go out of the courtyard for a while, so I decide to go along with this. This old servant has already cleared it up with the ZhaoLe Pavillon next door, at most it will take a quarter of an hour to settle down.” 

The women softened a bit, and suddenly someone said: “What are you doing?” 

A beautiful woman appeared and lazily walked into the courtyard, looking around at everyone with a pair of quick-witty and beautiful pupils as she walked. The woman’s hair on the temples was attached with a bluish-green flower, having a very graceful and extraordinary demeanor. 

The noble ladies all walked forward and greeted: “Mrs. An Guogong.” 

Teng Yuyu’s previous stay in Chang’an was not long, but she had known a lot of the ladies from aristocratic families. She vaguely remembers that after the death of the original wife, An Guogong married Zhao Junli’s widowed sister. 

Madam Li had a beautiful face and was very skillful in music growing up. Old Lady Li regarded this daughter as a pearl in her palm, listening to her play the zither everyday. 

Madam Li was also filial and obedient. She was raised by her mother until she was in her twenties. It was originally a rare and good marriage, but unexpectedly after three years of being married, her husband fell while riding a horse and passed away.” 

Madam Li unhappily ended up returning to Chang’an to travel. She met An Guogong by chance and was shocked at the sight of each other (basically love at first sight). The next day, he ordered people to go and propose a marriage to her. 

In Teng Yuyi’s impression, Little An Guogong’s wife was physically weak and did not like to tour around. Because she had never met Madam Li in her previous life, upon seeing it tonight, one realized that Madam Li is a very bright person (the nature of being cheerful and lively). 

Someone told her about what had just happened and Mrs. An Guogong raised half of her eyebrows: “Tonight, all the courtyards are occupied, only Lanxia Pavilion is not. Don’t let us be sobered up here, where else we go then? In the morning, they forced me to drink a lot of wine and I became  very agitated. If I don’t rest soon, I’m afraid that I’ll become sick.”  

Wen Gong Gong’s expression became tense. Tonight, the wind was very strong and the curtain of the palanquin could not block any wind. He had just found out now that the lady of the Du family had taken in a breath of wind and her face became that much more terrifying. If this male servant was laying out in the wind, it would be expected that he would lose his life very fast.

Madam Du went inside the palanquin to look at Du Tinglan. Her breath showed signs of weakness, hands and feets were ice cold, and now must immediately be carried inside to receive treatment, but looking at the position that Mrs. An Guogong had, how can they vacate the courtyard easily.” 

“What are you waiting for? Quickly throw him out, he won’t die. He is just a vulgar servant, but actually seems to be even more valuable than his master.” Mrs. An Guogong seemed very drunk, and after saying these words, she pressed her hand on her forehead and slowly walked toward the inside of the courtyard. 

Madam Du was so angry as if fire was burning inside of her. Thinking about what to say, Teng Yuyi smiled and spoke before her: “Mrs. Guogong did not know that Wen Gong Gong arranged for the injured victims to be in the same courtyard. First, it was convenient for the Taoist Priest to come here. Second, it was also for quickly being able to find the origin of that evil thing as soon as possible. This evil monster appeared out of nowhere and has powers that are very outstanding. If we don’t stop them, one does not know who the next lady that gets hurt will be.” 

The group of women’s expressions changed, and Mrs. An Guogong stopped and turned back to look at Teng Yuyi. 

Teng Yuyi continued to speak: “Just now, everyone here was not at the bamboo forest, and would not know how fierce and scary that evil spirit is. Its claws are so big that one grab can take someone’s life away. When it attacks people, there is not a slightest sound.” 

The people in the court looked at each other in dismay, their eyes deepened with fear. 

Teng Yuyi spoke: “If this evil creature is still out there for one more day, then there would be no peace in Chang’an for one more day. If the ladies go out, they may collide with it at any time. Now we only hope that the Taoist can quickly come and capture this monster as soon as possible. However, even if the Taoist has the ability to reach the heavens, he still must save the life of this old servant first. The reason is——”

Mrs. An Guogong was aroused: “With all due respect, I still can’t not see what capability this old servant has. So tell me, when the Taoist Priest comes, why must he save this old servant first?” 

Teng Yuyi smiled and said: “The Taoist Priest has never met the monster before. If the Taoist Priest fails to find the weakness of the monster when fighting, then there would be a likely chance that the monster will escape by chance. However, with this old servant, it is different. Not only has he seen the appearance of the monster, but also knows the monster’s abilities and how he attacks. Just as the so-called knowing yourself and the enemy, if you want to catch this monster, then you must save this old servant’s life and not only that, but also find a way to help him quickly wake up and regain consciousness.” 

The noble ladies loosened a bit. Mrs. An Guogong’s face changed into an unpredictable expression and from the looks of it, she had no intention of stopping it any longer. 

“Forgot to say something.” Teng Yuyi added solemnly, “If it was not for this old servant risking his life to try to withstand the monster, one would be afraid that the monster would have already come to Ziyuan to cause chaos. To ruin the banquet is a small matter, but to have injured people is a big matter.” 

The group of people felt a chill down their backs. Hearing these words, they almost cried out and lowered their heads and got up. Teng Yuyi’s gaze swept from light to right and saw that everything was settled. She naturally asked Wen Gong Gong to carry the injured victims inside and turned her eyes to the corridor. She turned around and knelt, “Thank you Madam for granting permission.” 

Mrs. An Guogong smiled lazily: “Whose family’s daughter are you? I have never seen you in Chang’an before.” 

Wen Gong Gong and Madam Du were busy settling down the injured victims. Teng Yuyi wanted to go inside the room, but she had to put on a patient smile and say: “Replying to Madam’s words, this little girl’s surname is Teng, A’Ye (father) is the envoy of the Huannian province, Teng Shao.” 

“Turns out it is General Teng’s one thousand gold (honorific daughter). Just now, I was drunk and disrespectful. If I have done or said anything improper, I will apologize to Lady Teng first.” 

Teng Yuyi pretended to be generous: “Madam is exaggerating, everything was just a misunderstanding.” 

Mrs. An Guogong covered her mouth and smiled: “I know that Lady Teng is still displeased with me. Now that I am sobered up and figured out what had happened. How about this, I will give you a good item to make up for my mistake.”

She took off her embroidered pouch from her waist and took out a small jade-colored porcelain bottle: “Last year, Mr. An Guogong got this from the Taoist priest, Qing Xuanzi. Saying that it can resist a hundred different poisons. I am always very timid, so after receiving this elixir, I now always bring it with me. It is also a coincidence as a few months ago, I went to Weiqu to have fun with ru niang (nursing mother) and accidentally bumped into an evil spirit. My nursing mother was unconscious on the spot and her body changed color as if it was dyed with a layer of gold sand. I was very scared at the moment and thought of this elixir and immediately fed a pill to Ru Niang. With just half a pillar of an incense stick, everything was good.” 

Teng Yuyi was secretly shocked and upon listening to the description, it actually corresponded to her biao jie’s current symptoms.

Madam Du and the steward of the Dong county magistrate’s family were inside the room and hearing a few words, they hurriedly lifted the curtain and came out. 

“I don’t know what type of evil spirits you have met, but Qing Xuanzi, the Taoist priest, is very profound. His prescription is advanced and can exorcise evil spirits. You can take it and go use it, perhaps it can help one withstand for a bit.” 

Madam Du was overjoyed. Her daughter’s life was on the line (at risk). Qing Xuanzi, the Taoist priest, has not arrived yet. This elixir was undoubtedly a sweet rain and dew for them. She quickly hurried down the steps and bowed her head in gratitude: “Many thanks, madam”. 

Teng Yuyi’s mind was full of thoughts on how to save her biao jie and Duan Fu. Immediately putting away the pressuring thoughts and following Madam Du to respectfully and seriously salute.  

Mrs. An Guogong asked them to quickly get up and try to cover up the awkward situation: “Who told me to be so ill-mannered after being drunk, apologizing should only be right. If I don’t, one won’t be able to make good connections (friends). The more I look at it, the more I think that this child is very likable. Come here, take off the veil and let me see you.” 

Teng Yuyi lifted up the veil and inadvertently glanced down with her eyes suddenly fixed. 

Mrs. An Guogong’s movements were charming to the greatest extent, holding Teng Yuyi’s hand and saying: “In all of the world, to say in Guangling. I now have seen such beauty like Lady Teng, I now know where Yangzhou’s famous reputation comes from. I have wanted to come to Yangzhou for a long time already, but afraid that my body has not improved much. It is rare to be in this kindred spirit, so is Lady Teng willing to accompany me to talk about the local conditions and customs here?” 

The group of women laughed in surprise: “Usually only know that Mrs. An Guogong likes to drink and play the guqin. It is rare to see madam have this much interest in something else. The several injured people also already have a life-saving elixir, so why not go to the room next door to have a chat and drink wine. It is not too late to wait for the Taoist to come before leaving.” 

Having just received a gift, now one could not say the word, “no”. Madam Du anxiously entered the house to take care of the others and patted Teng Yuyi’s hand. In a low voice, said: “Go, yi mu will go inside to feed them the medicine. You are new to Chang’an and should take this opportunity to get to know more young ladies. It would also be more convenient to wander around the chamber in the future.” 

Teng Yuyi stared at her hand that Mrs. An Guogong was holding. With uncertainty in one’s heart and after thinking back and forth for a little bit, she squeezed out a smile while agreeing. 

Surrounded in left and right, Teng Yuyi could only follow the group of women into the room. Unexpectedly after just taking two steps, a bang sound was heard and something fell from the belt that was on her waist. It rolled and rolled away until it reached the edge of Mrs. An Guogong’s feet and stopped. 

Turns out it was a round silver silk hydrangea. Teng Yuyi blinked her eyes: “Sorry, it’s my sachet.” 

She leisurely parted the group of women and went forward to pick up that thing. When she got up, she “accidentally” bumped into the right arm of Mrs. An Guogong, through the layer of lighty and soft fabric, only felt something stiff and uncomfortable underneath. 

As it had been struck by lightning, she looked around the courtyard. The steward of the Dong county magistrate’s family was in a hurry. Madam Du was anxiously distributing the pills to that woman. She stepped forward and grabbed the medicine bottle: “wait.” 

Everyone was stunned. 

Teng Yuyi looked at the medicine bottle, but her ears were kept on the movements around her. Without knowing when, Lanxia Pavilion became very quiet. There should have been a lot of cheerful music playing outside, but now not even a trace of sound could be heard. 

The situation right now was very strange and indescribable. Teng Yuyi suppressed the fear that surged in her chest and calmly said: “Madam, I have a headache and feel nauseous. To think about it, I was also probably infected by the evil energy of that thing. Don’t know if taking the elixir pill will help or not?” 

“Naturally, it will work.” 

Madam Du had just regained her senses and hurriedly came over to look a Teng Yuyi’s face: “Yu’er!” 

Teng Yuyi comforted her yi mu: “yi mu, don’t worry. Once I take the pill, I will be fine.” 

She tried to twist the bottle, helplessly said: “I can not open the pill bottle, can I ask madam to help me.” 

“How hard is this, just bring it here.”

Teng Yuyi pointed to the right hand that Mrs. An Guogong always hid in her sleeve: “Madam, even since you entered the courtyard, one has never seen you lift up this hand. Could it be that it is injured?” 

Mrs. An Guogong’s face suddenly changed colors. 

Teng Yuyi said sincerely, “I have learned some of the messaging methods from the Hu people (ethnic group in China) with my father. If madam does not mind, why don’t I take a look for you.” 

After speaking, she was about to step forward. Mrs. An Guogong’s tense face burst into a smile: “No need to trouble Lady Teng, I twisted it while drinking during the banquet and could not help it. I used to have this problem very often. I will be fine after taking a bit of rest.” 

Teng Yuyi quietly looked at Mrs. An Guogong: “Madam is very well-known for her piano skills in Luoyang. Being good at this, one would think that it would be more reasonable to cherish your hands. If you were injured, why not tell someone to take a look at it?”

Madam Du was startled and the crowd of people were puzzled. 

Mrs. An Guogong tilted her head and looked at her right arm. A smile appeared on her mouth, “What do you think the reason is?” 

Teng Yuyi said with a bit of difficulty: “It is exactly because I don’t understand the reason why, so I would decide to consult madam about it.” 

Mrs. An Guogong signaled with her left hand: “come here, I will tell you the reason.” 

Teng Yuyi glanced at the door of the courtyard, only then frighteningly  noticed that outside, the spring light outside the pavilion surrounded by water disappeared out of thin air. 

The door was as silent as a solitary grave. The wind outside could not come in and the sound from inside could get out as well. 

She sweated profusely and instead of moving forward, she secretly touched the jadeite sword inside her sleeve. 

Madam Du noticed Teng Yuyi’s movements, pulled the noble woman next to her and tenderly smiled: “Go, bring me the thing that is in her sleeve.”

The young woman was puzzled at first, and then was stunned for a moment. 

The woman was dazed and started walking toward Teng Yuyi. The joints stiffen as she walked as if someone from behind was controlling her. 

Teng Yuyi was very terrified and rushed to draw the sword. Unexpectedly, there was a strange force that held both of her shoulders down, causing her to stay in place. After that, now matter how hard she tried to use her strength, the scabbard of the sword would not move at all. 

She squeezed out a smile and said: “Madam, what are you trying to do?” 

Mrs. An Guogong straightened the smoked-gray colored cloth in the crook of her arm. Looking very leisurely and said: “Lady Teng, I should be asking you this question. What are you hiding in your sleeve?” 

Teng Yuyi looked around her. Yi mu and Wen Gong Gong were not far away. However, her eyes were hollow and collectively stared blankly. She sneered, “The monster that was in the forest has already chased all the way here, so I plan to cut off its left claw as well.” 

As if Mrs. An Guogong was slapped in the face by someone, her eyes became sharp and soared with anger. 

The steward of the Dong Ming Mansion was too far away to see clearly what had happened, and only knew the life-saving pill was delayed from being in their hands. Mrs. An Guogong was very enthusiastic about giving this medicine, but Lady Teng insisted on violently stopping it. 

She stomped her foot: “Lady Teng, Mrs. An Guogong has good intentions. It’s fine if you don’t appreciate it, but why must you say something so rude?” 

Suddenly a person scornfully laughed: “Because she’s not that stupid.”

Before the words were heard, something shot from above the courtyard. As hurried as a shooting star, like an arrow, penetrating through the dark night, it aimed towards the face of Mrs. An Guogong.   

Mrs. An Guogong was shocked at first, then a look of arrogance appeared on her face, waiting for that thing to come closer. She smirked and took her pei bo (accessory worn on top, like a scarf) and effortlessly brushed off that thing. 

Teng Yuyi was greatly disappointed. That person’s imposing manner was rather excessive. To be unable to withstand a single bow, one would think that it was Qing Xuzi, the Taoist Priest, but it seemed to be someone else instead. 

She secretly glanced towards the direction. Under the bright moonlight, there was a person standing in front of the wall of the courtyard. With a lazy and calm look, it seemed like one did not suffer a setback. 

Mrs. An Guogong covered her sleeves and smiled: “I originally thought it was some spectacular type of magic weapon, but it turns out to be a polo ball. I often hear from the Duke that shi zi (prince) only knows how to have fun, so are you trying to have fun with me by sending this thing here?” 

The young man stepped on the moon (emotional sentiment) and smiled: “Are you worthy enough?” 

Mrs. An Guogong’s eyes were filled with spring water: “shi zi (prince) came uninvited and it can be considered very courageous. But it’s a pity that your skills are too weak. As soon as you stepped in my place, whether worthy or not, is it up to you to say?” 

The young man sneered and Mrs. An Guogong’s eyes swept across her feet. Suddenly, her complexion changed drastically, only to see that the nothing out of ordinary polo ball suddenly split in half. Between the electric light and flint, an all-over scarlet black insect appeared on the inside.

 The insects suddenly charged towards her multicolored cloud like qiu tou lu (a popular type of shoe in Ancient China where the front part is upturned) and twisted around her. Then swam around both of her feet. 

Mrs. An Guogong turned pale with fear. This type of trick was impossible to guard against. When it was in the air, with her abilities, she had already jumped outside the room. How could this person be so atrocious to use a diversionary tactic to confuse her. 

It was too late to escape, she hurriedly walked backwards with hatred. 

Helplessly, the insects seemed to be very spiritual. She jumped up an inch, the insect climbed up an inch more. Retreated back an inch, the insects moved forward an inch. Becoming very coarse, suddenly it turned into an iron chain that bound her from her head all the way to her feet.

“Is it fun?” The young man had a very beautiful voice and his laugh was full of mockery.