CH 88.1

“Run! Run!”

The fine horse galloped down the street, pedestrians on the streets scurried to make way, wondering this time which noble family’s son was in a bad mood and went to run a fast horse to vent.

Rich people did not shrink at the fine of a hundred liangs for speeding horses in the city. The world of rich people was not what ordinary people like them could understand.

Shi Jin rode out of the city, he searched around but could not find his sister’s trace. He turned back and asked the guards on the city gate, “Have the female prisoners heading to The Western left the city?”

The one he asked was a new guard, being asked by someone with an imposing air and dressed in luxurious brocade, he hurriedly replied, “It has left two shichens ago.”

“Two shichens ago?” Shi Jin grabbed the guard’s lapel, “They said the prisoners were going at wu shi?”

“Gong….. Gongzi, that’s not what zaixia was told.” The gongzi was as mad as a lunatic, the guard was afraid to make him angrier, he very carefully said, “The paperwork zaixia received from the upper says the batch of female prisoners for The Western were to depart on the first quarter of chen shi.”

* Wu shi 午时 = 11 am – 1 pm. Chen shi 辰时 = 7 – 9 am, first quarter of chen shi = 7 am.

“Chen shi……” Shi Jin released the guard in a daze, the earth instantly felt like spinning under his feet.

“Master!” At that moment Shi family guards finally caught up with him, “Master Minister said to return immediately.”

“Get lost!” Shi Jin kicked the guard closest to him, he looked as if he had lost his soul. After staring coldly at the guards for some time he said, “All of you go back, I am going out.”

“Gongzi…..” The guards he kicked climbed up from the ground, hurriedly said, “The Minister said gongzi is not to be impulsive, whatever gongzi says and does affect the whole clan.”

Apart from Shi Chonghai’s lineage, Shi clan had many other branches, all of them were living under his wing. If Shi Chonghai fell, everyone fell with him.

Trembling all over, Shi Jin laughed a bitter laugh. He led his horse into the city without looking back at the guards.

Since he was born Father had been telling him that the clan was on top of everything. His eldest sister was married to the Crown Prince, the second sister was brought up rotten by his parents. He himself had to follow his father’s every wish to the letter, otherwise he would be called unfilial, because he would have put Shi family’s glory and wealth at risk.

Carrying the burden of the clan was too tiring.

—

Walking into the loud and noisy crowd in the city, among people coming and going around him, Shi Jin felt choked and breathless.

A little girl was on the side of the road with her hand clasped in her father’s. She was clamouring for her father to carry her, the father bent down and whispered something, then took the little girl in his arms. Little girl wrapped her arms around his neck happily, the dimples on her cheeks were really cute.

This….. this was how a family should be, right?

Shi Jin stood without moving, only until the pair of father and daughter were far that he withdrew his eyes. He turned around and saw an elderly woman selling silk flowers. Compassion suddenly surged in his heart, he took out a handful of money to buy the entire basket of silk flowers.

T/N – This old woman selling silk flower is from Chapter 63. Ban Hua and Rong Xia met her when they were fooling around on a date on the street.

“How come gongzi is alone today?” The old woman handed him the basket while smiling gently, “Your fiancee is not with you?”

Shi Jin halted, did the old woman mistake him for someone else?

The old woman’s hair was white and her face wrinkled like creases on an old tree bark. He thought it better not to explain, he smiled and accepted the basket, preparing to leave.

“This old woman, me, has been selling flowers here for a long time, I have never seen anyone more handsome than you.” The old woman put the money into her purse very carefully, “Next time you are here, I will give you flowers for free. My flower isn’t worth this much, the money you gave me last time was enough to buy a piece of land back home, my family is living better now.”

“Old lady, you are mistaken…..”

“Just as we speak of her, and she is here.” Her smile grew even warmer, “Your fiancee is a good girl, and she has a lucky face. You two will be happy together in the future.”

Shi Jin followed the old woman’s eyes.

It was Ban Hua on the horseback. She was dressed in a sombre coloured dress embroidered with plain white clouds, her hair was pulled into a lily bun. She looked beautiful in a tender and simple way.

Shi Jin looked at Ban Trang in a trance, wisps of bitterness filled up his heart.

Shi Jin frantically looked away when Ban Hua turned to their direction.

Right at that moment Shi family guards caught up with him. Shi Jin handed the basket of flowers to a guard and climbed up the horse without looking back.

Sometime there were people one longed for, and at the same time, also afraid to see. Perhaps it was better not to have met at all.

However things often did not happen as you wished them to be. Just as Shi Jin was departing, Ban Hua arrived in front of him.

“Greetings, Miss.” The old flower seller dug into her dress and took out a piece of red string. “I asked this from the temple of Matchmaker God, if Miss doesn’t mind, please accept it.”

T/N – The Matchmaker God / Old Man Under the Moon 月老, like in chapter 68.

Her hands were rough and the skin on the palms had thickened of old age, but the redness of the string still looked very vivid. Ban Hua didn’t know how long the old woman had been keeping the string, she jumped off the horse, accepted it, and solemnly said her thanks.

“You are too polite. Wishing you and the kind gentleman be married soon, and have a long life together.” The old woman smiled brightly, very satisfied that the beautiful young miss did not look down on her gift.

The moment he saw Ban Hua there, Shi Jin realised that old woman mistook him as Rong Junpo. She did not mistook Ban Hua who she apparently was most impressed with, the one who had now stowed the cheap red string into her own bossom.

—

“Just now…. she was mistaken.” Shi Jin saluted Ban Hua, “Apologies.”

“It’s not your mistake.” Ban Hua climbed up her horse, her tone flat, “What is Shi-daren going to do with these many guards?”

Shi Jin’s lips twitched. Thinking of the sister who was on the way to The Western, and at the bundle still hanging on his horse’s back, the bitterness in his heart grew heavier.

Ban Hua also saw the bundle, her eyebrows raised slightly, “They have left the city in the morning. You are going now, can you still catch up?”

Shi Jin did not reply right away, so a guard, afraid of trouble, hurriedly spoke up, “Fule Junzhu please don’t misunderstand, our Gongzi is not looking for the Second Miss.”

“What are you. How dare you interrupt your master speaking?” Ban Hua’s pretty eyes swept over the guard, scaring him not to speak further.

“What’s wrong with giving her something? Even prisoners going to the death row are still allowed to eat meals from home. A noble prime minister house is cowardly to this point. Ridiculous.”

Seeing the mocking in Ban Hua’s eyes, Shi Jin unconsciously said, “I thought it was noon….”

The guard he sent to enquire yesterday said it was noon. When he found that his sister has gone far today, he realised that Father had had him deceived. The person killed to be silenced was Hui-wang’s former retainer, Father must have been afraid, he was prevented from seeing his sister off to avoid the clan be incriminated.

But his sister had never been in any hardship since childhood, and she had nothing with her, how would she survive?

“As a man, only when you have power that people will listen to you.” Ban Hua’s smile was bland. “Shi-gongzi is truly a good son.”

Shi family guards sputtered in rage to hear this, but they dared not speak up. Their gongzi was silent, so all they could do was meekly shut up.

Out of the blue, Shi Jin abruptly bowed in a salute to Ban Hua, “Fule Junzhu is correct, zaixia accepts the lesson.”

Ban Hua’s eyebrows twitched. What has she said? She merely spat out a few careless words to mock Shi Jin. Was he too shocked?

She stole a glance at Shi Jin, but he did not seem to be joking. Facing such a solemn person Ban Hua became a bit uncomfortable, she made an excuse and said her farewell. Looking back after a distance away, Shi Jin was still staring at her.

Pulling at her sleeves, she could not help thinking, this Shi Jin……. shouldn’t be hating her, right?

“Junzhu,” One of Ban Hua’s guards said, “You need to go back for the meal time.”

Ban Hua sighed, threw a glance at the city gates, “En.”

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—

There was not much change in the Capital after it lost it’s number one beauty Shi Feixian. There was nothing from the Second Prince, nothing from Xie family, and also nothing from the Aipo prince who had once asked to marry Daye first beauty. He seemed to have forgotten all about it, still lingering in the Capital under the pretext of admiring Daye culture.

In everyone’s eyes, that woman was just a woman, however beautiful she was still a criminal. Mentioning her was already shameful, why would anyone admit a past admiration for a woman with the mouth of a buddha, and the heart of a snake ?