By this time, the carriage had stopped, Bai Zhi hurriedly pulled Ru’er out of the carriage: “There is a seller of sugar gourd outside.”

Hu Feng also went out of the carriage, he saw Bai Zhi pulling Ru’er in front of the seller of sugar gourds, and bought five pieces all together.

“I don’t eat this!” He looked at the sugar gourd that was handed in front of him. Only kids eat this kind of thing. Why does she have to give it to him?

Bai Zhi took a bite of sugar gourd and vaguely said: “You taste it. You must have never eaten it before.”

Hu Feng frowned, she was right. He had never eaten sugar gourd or candied fruit before, or anything that kids often eat.

Demons and gods at work. Hu Feng took the sugar gourd handed by Bai Zhi, he copied her action and also took a bite.

It was very sweet. When he took a bite, the sugar coat broke and the sour taste came out. He didn’t find the mixed taste of sweet and sour delicious, but he agreed, it tastes special, which he had never tasted before.

Across the road, there was a tea house, which looked quite lively. They could hear the laughter inside even when they were outside.

There seems to be someone telling stories.

Bai Zhi got interested, so she said to Hu Feng and Awu: “It’s still early, let’s go have some tea and listen to the stories, I’ve never tried it before.”

Awu didn’t have any opinion. He looked at Hu Feng and saw him nodded his head: “Alright, I feel thirsty.”

Awu pulled the carriage to the corner of the street and let the old man, who lead the way to Hu Feng and Bai Zhi before, to take care of it.

When several people saw Awu leave and mixed up with his companion, they were very jealous.

*

The tea house was almost full. When they found an empty table in the corner, they all sat down. A young waiter greeted them immediately: “What do you want to order?”

Bai Zhi replied: “Bring us a pot of tea and a few kinds of dried fruit.”

When the young waiter left, the other people inside the tea house burst into laughter.

Inside the tea house, there was a small stage in the innermost part. On top of it, a man was sitting on the table and talking hilarious jokes, which made the people laugh out loud.

When the laughter finished, the man picked up the teapot on the table and drank a cup. Then suddenly, someone shouted at him.

“Tell us something about the capital.”

“I’m tired of listening about the things in Jianghu. Tell us something new. Tell us something about the palace!”

Hu Feng pinched the sugar gourd in his fingers tightly, and his indifferent eyes swept at the man on the stage. His eyes looked as deep as the sea.

The man on the stage put down the teacup in his hand and said with a smile: “It’s not impossible to hear things about the imperial family…”

Everyone knows what to do, they took out copper coins and throw it on the table.

The man looked at the copper coins on the table. Seeing there was a considerable amount, he took up the gavel on the table and slammed it.

“Speaking of the imperial family, even after the emperor entitled Consort Chu as his empress, her son Prince Xiao is still merely a prince, the seat for the crown prince is still empty. The people in the capital are having a lot of arguments, saying that the emperor is still waiting for his missing son, Prince Jin, to sit on the throne as the crown prince.”

Hearing this, one of the audience immediately asked: “Didn’t Prince Jin died in the battle 3 years ago?”

Bai Zhi’s eyes swept on Hu Feng. His face still looked calm as ever, as if what the people talking about has nothing to do with him.

However, the bulging veins on his forehead and his hand that was tightly clenched into a fist betrayed his heart.

 

* Demons and gods at work (idiom) – unexplained event crying out for a supernatural explanation

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