Chapter 313: Exceptionally Good Lady
The young men downstairs looked at each other, then the man at the very front cupped his fist and bowed to Tang Doudou. “This brother, I don’t seem to have seen you around?”
Tang Doudou could tell that they were interested in making friends, so she replied straightforwardly, “This one is Tang Longbiao. I only arrived in Hibiscus Garrison yesterday, so it’s not strange that you guys haven’t seen me before.”
That man replied with a smile, “So it’s like that.”
Then he said, “Brother Tang, this one is Lin Shuxuan. Seeing as Brother Tang also enjoys cultural pursuit like us, would you grant us the honor of having a drink together?”
“Haha, I was just worrying about what to do today. Since Lin gongzi has extended such a cordial invitation, then this Tang will gratefully accept!”
“Brother Tang’s personality and words are both straightforward, you are truly a refreshing person. It seems that it was a good choice to head out today! It is our fortune to have been able to meet Brother Tang, don’t you guys agree?” Lin Shuxuan laughed, then flipped open his fan.
The other young men nodded in agreement.
Tang Doudou pressed one hand on the windowsill and jumped out gracefully. Lin Shuxuan’s group exclaimed praise at this sight.
Lin Shuxuan’s eyes lit up. “So Brother Tang was actually a martial arts expert!”
Tang Doudou cupped her fist with a smile. “Brother Lin is joking. I only learned a little bit from my master, how could I count as a martial arts expert?”
“Aiy, Brother Tang, it has actually been my dream since childhood to learn martial arts, but sadly… Haa…” Lin Shuxuan sighed and shook his head.
One of the other young men said, “Aiyah, Young Master Lin, you have so many people protecting you whenever you head out, so why put yourself through the torture of learning things like that?”
“Tsk, what do you know?” Lin Shuxuan shot a disdainful look at that person before saying with a laugh, “Brother Tang, come this way. An encounter is fate, so let us drink until we are drunk!”
The two were just about to walk forward when someone said, “Young Master Lin, we, we…”
“Say it already!” Lin Shuxuan was annoyed.
“Hehe, could it be that Young Master Lin has already forgotten about Lady Hibiscus?” That person laughed vulgarly.
Lin Shuxuan shot him a look and frowned. “Speak more decently. Don’t make a fool of yourself in front of Brother Tang!”
That person hastily said with an apologetic smile, “Yes, yes. Young Master Lin’s chastising is correct.”
Lin Shuxuan nodded with satisfaction and snapped his fan closed as he asked Tang Doudou, “Brother Tang, so you came to Hibiscus Garrison this time…”
Tang Doudou laughed heartily and shot a wink towards the group. “Of course it was for… Hehe…”
Lin Shuxuan, who had just scolded the other guy for not acting decent, immediately nodded understandingly with a vulgar smile. He tapped his fan on Tang Doudou’s chest. “I never would have thought, so Brother Tang was also a kindred spirit ah!”
“Haa, sweet, fair, and graceful beauties, noblemen truly… wishes to collect ah!” (The correct ending of this phrase is noblemen truly desire.)
Another burst of vulgar laughter rang out on the street.
After getting to the matchmaking event area with these people, Tang Doudou looked around and found that it was truly a sea of people.
She hadn’t expected for a matchmaking even in a small town like this to be so popular.
“Ah Cai, where’s the private room? Where’s the private room I had you prepare ahead of time? It couldn’t be that you want this young master to sit with this crowd of country bumpkins?” Lin Shuxuan, that picky rich kid, looked around and immediately became displeased.
Ah Cai hastily replied, “Young Master, don’t get angry, the private room is right over there. Ah Cai will lead you there right away.”
“Quit dawdling, otherwise this young master will fire you!” Lin Shuxuan shook his fan. When his gaze shifted over to Tang Doudou, he smiled warmly again. “Brother Tang, this way please.”
Tang Doudou nodded and started walking forward with vigorous steps.
Lin Shuxuan’s eyes whirled, then he glanced meaningfully at the men following him. One immediately said, “Young Master Lin, this Tang Longbiao doesn’t seem like a normal person. There’s no nearby large family that has the surname Tang either, so could it be that he came from the Imperial City?”
“Send someone to his inn to ask around about him. All of you, be careful and don’t mess up in front of him. If he really is here for Hibiscus, that’s fine, but if he isn’t…”
Tang Doudou, who was walking in front, smiled slightly when she heard what they said. It seemed like this small Hibiscus Garrison actually contained a lot of secrets!
The so-called private room was just a stage that had about two dozen chairs separated by tables.
“Oh, isn’t this Nephew Lin? You had the time to visit Hibiscus Garrison today?” The moment Lin Shuxuan’s group walked over, a fat man that looked around fifty walked over to greet them. This stage wasn’t for just anyone to sit on, so this man’s status in Hibiscus Garrison probably wasn’t low. However, despite his seniority, he was facing Lin Shuxuan with an ingratiating smile, so it caused Tang Doudou to become curious about Lin Shuxuan’s identity.
“Uncle Tao.” Although Lin Shuxuan spoke respectfully, he didn’t actually show any trace of respect. It looked as if he didn’t want to bother with this Uncle Tao at all.
However, the other young men behind him started greeting Uncle Tao politely. Through their words, Tang Doudou found out that this guy was actually the country magistrate of Hibiscus Garrison.
However, the grand county magistrate was actually so polite towards this young man. Tang Doudou rubbed her chin thoughtfully, and her motion attracted County Magistrate Tao’s attention. “Nephew Lin, this is?”
“Oh, look at this memory of mine, I almost forgot to introduce you. Uncle Tao, this is Tang Longbiao, Brother Tang. We hit off at first sight.”
After he said that, he turned around and said to Tang Doudou, “Brother Tang, this is the county magistrate of Hibiscus Garrison, Tao daren. “
“This junior greets Tao daren,” said Tang Doudou in a manner that was neither overbearing or servile as she cupped her fist.
When County Magistrate saw the way she cupped her fist, he came to the conclusion that she was just a barbaric man of the Jianghu and must have used some sort of scheme to get close to Young Master Lin.
Once his thoughts reached this point, scorn appeared in his eyes and he didn’t even bother to return Tang Doudou’s greeting and just turned to Lin Shuxuan. “Nephew Lin has walked far, you must be tired? Let’s go, come sit here and taste the new tea I just got.”
There was no way Lin Shuxuan could miss the scorn County Magistrate Tao had towards Tang Doudou. Displeasure appeared on his face and he rejected County Magistrate Tao’s invitation. “Many thanks for Uncle Tao’s kind invitation, but I’d prefer to stay with Brother Tang. Young men tend to have a lot to talk about, so I hope Uncle Tao won’t mind.”
County Magistrate Tao hadn’t thought that Lin Shuxuan would reject him in front of everyone just for the sake of a Jianghu man. His expression turned a bit unsightly, but when he saw that no one around seemed to have noticed, he forced a smile and said, “Since that’s the case, I won’t disturb you young ones. But, my family’s girl…”
“Don’t worry Uncle Tao, I’ll definitely pay a visit once I have time and visit my little sister Yurong while I’m at it.” How could Lin Shuxuan possibly miss County Magistrate Tao’s intentions? If it weren’t for that fact that his daughter, Tao Yurong, had pretty good looks, why would he call this county magistrate uncle?
“Those with dog eyes can’t help but look down on others.” Lin Shuxuan sneered at County Magistrate’s back, then looked towards Tang Doudou apologetically. “Brother Tang, this county magistrate is just ignorant. I hope you won’t take offense!”
“Brother Lin is joking. Just because he’s ignorant doesn’t mean that I should be petty as well.” Tang Doudou’s sparkling eyes filled with a profound smile as she emitted a casual but powerful aura. She glanced around, then picked a comfortable looking seat and sat down. Her relaxed and self-assured manner made Lin Shuxuan even more certain that she wasn’t an ordinary person.
An ordinary person wouldn’t have such an aura.
In addition, when he looked closely, he noticed that though Tang Longbiao had thick eyebrows, his eyes were unusually beautiful. Actually, it should be said that his entire appearance was very handsome and beautiful. It was just that his two mustache strips added a coarse gruffness to his appearance and the moles on his face messed with that image of beauty. Then there was the fact that though his figure was large, his movements were as smooth as if he was gliding. Once one looked closely, one would be captivated.
Tang Doudou was aware that Lin Shuxuan was sizing her up, but she paid no attention to it and just lifted the cup of tea to take a light sip before placing it back down.
The movement was fluid as water. If the person hadn’t lived in such a comfortable and relaxed way for a long time, they wouldn’t be able to exude such grace.
The more Lin Shuxuan thought about it, the more depressed he felt. Not even he could affect such graceful bearings. Who exactly was Tang Longbiao? And why did he come to Hibiscus Garrison? Could it really have been to investigate that matter?
These thoughts all took place in just the span of a few moments. He soon reached Tang Doudou and sat down near her. As he opened his fan, he asked, “Does Brother Tang know the origin of this Hibiscus?”
Everything Tang Doudou had done earlier was for the sake of impressing Lin Shuxuan so that he would take the initiative to offer information.
“Oh? Lady Hibiscus isn’t someone of Hibiscus Garrison?”
Lin Shuxuan smiled mysteriously, then leaned over to whisper, “Hibiscus is only a title, it’s not actually pointing to a specific lady.”
Tang Doudou nodded in understanding. “So it was like that. Then why are these ladies taking on the title ‘Hibiscus?’ Could it that there’s some story behind this?”
Lin Shuxuan smiled as he fanned himself slowly. “There is a story. It’s said that about twenty years ago, a beautiful woman with looks stunning enough to overturn a city came to live in this Hibiscus Garrison. When people asked her for her name, she just said with a smile, I had cut off ties with my past, so from now on, just call me Hibiscus.”
“She was definitely a woman with stories.”
“I don’t know if she had stories in the past, but I know that ever since she came, Hibiscus Garrison became exceptionally beautiful.”
“Beautiful?”
“En. It’s said that not only was she beautiful, she knew a lot and would teach the residents for free.”
There actually existed this kind of woman? A woman that possessed beauty and talent, and was also that kind?
Tang Doudou became interested and asked, “She sounds wonderful. She definitely had a lot of admirers, didn’t she?”
“Hehe, that’s only natural, but those are all small things. The thing most worthy of mention is that she was very skilled in medicine!”
Tang Doudou was even more stunned. “Beautiful, talented, kind, and is skilled in medicine? Tsk tsk, if this kind of woman was in the Imperial City, she’d probably be pursued by the entire country.”
Li Shuxuan’s eyes lit up. “Brother Tang is very familiar with the Imperial City?”
Tang Doudou’s heart dropped. Crap, she had been too engrossed in this news and ended up making a slip.
However, she remained unperturbed on the surface. “My ancestors had once moved out of the Imperial City, so I often hear my elders talk about the Imperial City and their customs. However, it isn’t enough to be described as familiar.”
__________
Chapter 313: Exceptionally Good Lady
The young men downstairs looked at each other, then the man at the very front cupped his fist and bowed to Tang Doudou. “This brother, I don’t seem to have seen you around?”
Tang Doudou could tell that they were interested in making friends, so she replied straightforwardly, “This one is Tang Longbiao. I only arrived in Hibiscus Garrison yesterday, so it’s not strange that you guys haven’t seen me before.”
That man replied with a smile, “So it’s like that.”
Then he said, “Brother Tang, this one is Lin Shuxuan. Seeing as Brother Tang also enjoys cultural pursuit like us, would you grant us the honor of having a drink together?”
“Haha, I was just worrying about what to do today. Since Lin gongzi has extended such a cordial invitation, then this Tang will gratefully accept!”
“Brother Tang’s personality and words are both straightforward, you are truly a refreshing person. It seems that it was a good choice to head out today! It is our fortune to have been able to meet Brother Tang, don’t you guys agree?” Lin Shuxuan laughed, then flipped open his fan.
The other young men nodded in agreement.
Tang Doudou pressed one hand on the windowsill and jumped out gracefully. Lin Shuxuan’s group exclaimed praise at this sight.
Lin Shuxuan’s eyes lit up. “So Brother Tang was actually a martial arts expert!”
Tang Doudou cupped her fist with a smile. “Brother Lin is joking. I only learned a little bit from my master, how could I count as a martial arts expert?”
“Aiy, Brother Tang, it has actually been my dream since childhood to learn martial arts, but sadly… Haa…” Lin Shuxuan sighed and shook his head.
One of the other young men said, “Aiyah, Young Master Lin, you have so many people protecting you whenever you head out, so why put yourself through the torture of learning things like that?”
“Tsk, what do you know?” Lin Shuxuan shot a disdainful look at that person before saying with a laugh, “Brother Tang, come this way. An encounter is fate, so let us drink until we are drunk!”
The two were just about to walk forward when someone said, “Young Master Lin, we, we…”
“Say it already!” Lin Shuxuan was annoyed.
“Hehe, could it be that Young Master Lin has already forgotten about Lady Hibiscus?” That person laughed vulgarly.
Lin Shuxuan shot him a look and frowned. “Speak more decently. Don’t make a fool of yourself in front of Brother Tang!”
That person hastily said with an apologetic smile, “Yes, yes. Young Master Lin’s chastising is correct.”
Lin Shuxuan nodded with satisfaction and snapped his fan closed as he asked Tang Doudou, “Brother Tang, so you came to Hibiscus Garrison this time…”
Tang Doudou laughed heartily and shot a wink towards the group. “Of course it was for… Hehe…”
Lin Shuxuan, who had just scolded the other guy for not acting decent, immediately nodded understandingly with a vulgar smile. He tapped his fan on Tang Doudou’s chest. “I never would have thought, so Brother Tang was also a kindred spirit ah!”
“Haa, sweet, fair, and graceful beauties, noblemen truly… wishes to collect ah!” (The correct ending of this phrase is noblemen truly desire.)
Another burst of vulgar laughter rang out on the street.
After getting to the matchmaking event area with these people, Tang Doudou looked around and found that it was truly a sea of people.
She hadn’t expected for a matchmaking even in a small town like this to be so popular.
“Ah Cai, where’s the private room? Where’s the private room I had you prepare ahead of time? It couldn’t be that you want this young master to sit with this crowd of country bumpkins?” Lin Shuxuan, that picky rich kid, looked around and immediately became displeased.
Ah Cai hastily replied, “Young Master, don’t get angry, the private room is right over there. Ah Cai will lead you there right away.”
“Quit dawdling, otherwise this young master will fire you!” Lin Shuxuan shook his fan. When his gaze shifted over to Tang Doudou, he smiled warmly again. “Brother Tang, this way please.”
Tang Doudou nodded and started walking forward with vigorous steps.
Lin Shuxuan’s eyes whirled, then he glanced meaningfully at the men following him. One immediately said, “Young Master Lin, this Tang Longbiao doesn’t seem like a normal person. There’s no nearby large family that has the surname Tang either, so could it be that he came from the Imperial City?”
“Send someone to his inn to ask around about him. All of you, be careful and don’t mess up in front of him. If he really is here for Hibiscus, that’s fine, but if he isn’t…”
Tang Doudou, who was walking in front, smiled slightly when she heard what they said. It seemed like this small Hibiscus Garrison actually contained a lot of secrets!
The so-called private room was just a stage that had about two dozen chairs separated by tables.
“Oh, isn’t this Nephew Lin? You had the time to visit Hibiscus Garrison today?” The moment Lin Shuxuan’s group walked over, a fat man that looked around fifty walked over to greet them. This stage wasn’t for just anyone to sit on, so this man’s status in Hibiscus Garrison probably wasn’t low. However, despite his seniority, he was facing Lin Shuxuan with an ingratiating smile, so it caused Tang Doudou to become curious about Lin Shuxuan’s identity.
“Uncle Tao.” Although Lin Shuxuan spoke respectfully, he didn’t actually show any trace of respect. It looked as if he didn’t want to bother with this Uncle Tao at all.
However, the other young men behind him started greeting Uncle Tao politely. Through their words, Tang Doudou found out that this guy was actually the country magistrate of Hibiscus Garrison.
However, the grand county magistrate was actually so polite towards this young man. Tang Doudou rubbed her chin thoughtfully, and her motion attracted County Magistrate Tao’s attention. “Nephew Lin, this is?”
“Oh, look at this memory of mine, I almost forgot to introduce you. Uncle Tao, this is Tang Longbiao, Brother Tang. We hit off at first sight.”
After he said that, he turned around and said to Tang Doudou, “Brother Tang, this is the county magistrate of Hibiscus Garrison, Tao daren. “
“This junior greets Tao daren,” said Tang Doudou in a manner that was neither overbearing or servile as she cupped her fist.
When County Magistrate saw the way she cupped her fist, he came to the conclusion that she was just a barbaric man of the Jianghu and must have used some sort of scheme to get close to Young Master Lin.
Once his thoughts reached this point, scorn appeared in his eyes and he didn’t even bother to return Tang Doudou’s greeting and just turned to Lin Shuxuan. “Nephew Lin has walked far, you must be tired? Let’s go, come sit here and taste the new tea I just got.”
There was no way Lin Shuxuan could miss the scorn County Magistrate Tao had towards Tang Doudou. Displeasure appeared on his face and he rejected County Magistrate Tao’s invitation. “Many thanks for Uncle Tao’s kind invitation, but I’d prefer to stay with Brother Tang. Young men tend to have a lot to talk about, so I hope Uncle Tao won’t mind.”
County Magistrate Tao hadn’t thought that Lin Shuxuan would reject him in front of everyone just for the sake of a Jianghu man. His expression turned a bit unsightly, but when he saw that no one around seemed to have noticed, he forced a smile and said, “Since that’s the case, I won’t disturb you young ones. But, my family’s girl…”
“Don’t worry Uncle Tao, I’ll definitely pay a visit once I have time and visit my little sister Yurong while I’m at it.” How could Lin Shuxuan possibly miss County Magistrate Tao’s intentions? If it weren’t for that fact that his daughter, Tao Yurong, had pretty good looks, why would he call this county magistrate uncle?
“Those with dog eyes can’t help but look down on others.” Lin Shuxuan sneered at County Magistrate’s back, then looked towards Tang Doudou apologetically. “Brother Tang, this county magistrate is just ignorant. I hope you won’t take offense!”
“Brother Lin is joking. Just because he’s ignorant doesn’t mean that I should be petty as well.” Tang Doudou’s sparkling eyes filled with a profound smile as she emitted a casual but powerful aura. She glanced around, then picked a comfortable looking seat and sat down. Her relaxed and self-assured manner made Lin Shuxuan even more certain that she wasn’t an ordinary person.
An ordinary person wouldn’t have such an aura.
In addition, when he looked closely, he noticed that though Tang Longbiao had thick eyebrows, his eyes were unusually beautiful. Actually, it should be said that his entire appearance was very handsome and beautiful. It was just that his two mustache strips added a coarse gruffness to his appearance and the moles on his face messed with that image of beauty. Then there was the fact that though his figure was large, his movements were as smooth as if he was gliding. Once one looked closely, one would be captivated.
Tang Doudou was aware that Lin Shuxuan was sizing her up, but she paid no attention to it and just lifted the cup of tea to take a light sip before placing it back down.
The movement was fluid as water. If the person hadn’t lived in such a comfortable and relaxed way for a long time, they wouldn’t be able to exude such grace.
The more Lin Shuxuan thought about it, the more depressed he felt. Not even he could affect such graceful bearings. Who exactly was Tang Longbiao? And why did he come to Hibiscus Garrison? Could it really have been to investigate that matter?
These thoughts all took place in just the span of a few moments. He soon reached Tang Doudou and sat down near her. As he opened his fan, he asked, “Does Brother Tang know the origin of this Hibiscus?”
Everything Tang Doudou had done earlier was for the sake of impressing Lin Shuxuan so that he would take the initiative to offer information.
“Oh? Lady Hibiscus isn’t someone of Hibiscus Garrison?”
Lin Shuxuan smiled mysteriously, then leaned over to whisper, “Hibiscus is only a title, it’s not actually pointing to a specific lady.”
Tang Doudou nodded in understanding. “So it was like that. Then why are these ladies taking on the title ‘Hibiscus?’ Could it that there’s some story behind this?”
Lin Shuxuan smiled as he fanned himself slowly. “There is a story. It’s said that about twenty years ago, a beautiful woman with looks stunning enough to overturn a city came to live in this Hibiscus Garrison. When people asked her for her name, she just said with a smile, I had cut off ties with my past, so from now on, just call me Hibiscus.”
“She was definitely a woman with stories.”
“I don’t know if she had stories in the past, but I know that ever since she came, Hibiscus Garrison became exceptionally beautiful.”
“Beautiful?”
“En. It’s said that not only was she beautiful, she knew a lot and would teach the residents for free.”
There actually existed this kind of woman? A woman that possessed beauty and talent, and was also that kind?
Tang Doudou became interested and asked, “She sounds wonderful. She definitely had a lot of admirers, didn’t she?”
“Hehe, that’s only natural, but those are all small things. The thing most worthy of mention is that she was very skilled in medicine!”
Tang Doudou was even more stunned. “Beautiful, talented, kind, and is skilled in medicine? Tsk tsk, if this kind of woman was in the Imperial City, she’d probably be pursued by the entire country.”
Li Shuxuan’s eyes lit up. “Brother Tang is very familiar with the Imperial City?”
Tang Doudou’s heart dropped. Crap, she had been too engrossed in this news and ended up making a slip.
However, she remained unperturbed on the surface. “My ancestors had once moved out of the Imperial City, so I often hear my elders talk about the Imperial City and their customs. However, it isn’t enough to be described as familiar.”
__________
