Chapter - 305 Havoc In the Jin Palace (7)

"Humph," Huang Rong snorted, "Early on I have seen this brother of yours is not a good thing. You still said that he is a descendant of a hero. You have been deceived. Now you understand his real intention. If he is really a good man, how could he fool around with those two scoundrels?"

Guo Jing was very much bewildered, "I don't understand," he said. Thereupon Huang Rong told him everything she heard at the Fragrant Snow Hall of the Zhao Palace. She said, "Wanyan Honglie gathered Peng Lianhu and the other fellows, his intention is to steal the Master Yue Wumu's Legacy. They suddenly came over here so perhaps this Legacy is in Lin'an. If they succeed then our Great Song's common people will suffer great calamity."

Guo Jing shivered with fear, "We simply cannot let them succeed," he said.

Huang Rong said, "The problem is that the Western Poison is traveling with them."

"Are you scared?" Guo Jing asked.

"Aren't you?" Huang Rong asked back.

Guo Jing replied, "Naturally I am scared of the Western Poison, but this is not a small matter; we … even if we are scared we simply cannot overlook it."

Huang Rong smiled, "If you must take care of it, then naturally I will follow you."

"Very well," Guo Jing said, "Let's go after them."

Leaving the pavilion they did not see tracks of Wanyan Honglie's three people group and were forced to look around the city randomly. Hangzhou was a big city, how could they find what they were looking for in a short period of time? After walking for half a day the sky was turning dark; two people arrived in front of the 'wu lin yuan' [martial art garden] at Zhong Wazi [lit. the middle of a tile, I think it is a place]. Huang Rong saw a shop that hung a lot of masks in the entrance, with their features drawn vividly. She was amused and remembered her promise to buy something fun for Zhou Botong; thereupon she spent five silver coins and bought 'zhong kui' [I think it's the king of ghosts], 'pan guan' [the judge of hell], 'zao jun' [kitchen god], 'tu di' [earth god], 'shen bing' [soldier of heaven] and other ghosts/supernatural beings, more than a dozen masks.

While the shopkeeper was wrapping the masks with paper, there came the sweet smelling fragrance of food and wine from a restaurant next door. Two people had been walking for half a day and by that time they were already starving. "What restaurant is that?" Huang Rong asked.

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Turned out you two are new to the capital, no wonder you don't know. This 'san yuan lou' [three-primary tavern; 'lou' refers to the second floor of a building or a multi-story building] is very well-known in our Lin'an. The wine, the food and the utensils are number one under the heaven. You two cannot not go and try it."

Huang Rong's heart was moved by what he said; she took the masks and then pulled Guo Jing to the front of 'san yuan lou'. They saw the building was decorated with colorful paints and a row of red and green fence. Underneath the second floor roof hung flower-patterned lanterns. The interior was inlaid with luxuriant wood; the pavilion looked elegant and unconventional. It was truly an exquisite tavern.

As two people walked in, they were welcomed by the waiter with a face full of smiles and were led through a corridor to a chamber already set with bowls and chopsticks. Huang Rong immediately placed her order and the waiter left to prepare the food.

Under the candlelight Guo Jing saw in the nearby porch more than a dozen of women ['ji4 nu3' – courtesan (courtesy of Ren Wo Xing), lit. 'prostitute' or 'hooker'] with heavy makeup sitting in a row. He wondered who they were; he was about to ask when suddenly from the next door chamber he heard Wanyan Honglie's voice called out, "That's fine! Let's have somebody sing to accompany us drinking the wine."

Guo Jing and Huang Rong looked at each other, they thought, "Just like the saying goes, 'wearing out the iron shoes to look around, finding the result without any effort'."

A call was heard, and a woman gracefully stood up and walked toward the next door chamber with a pair of ivory planks in her hand. A short moment later the woman started to sing. Huang Rong inclined her ears to listen to her song:

"The southeast appears victorious, the rivers and lakes (Jianghu) convene, Qiantang River always flourishes from the ancient times. The bridge looks like a painting of smoking willow; the wind blow the wine shop sign and the jade-green curtain, amidst a hundred thousand people. Cloudy trees wind around the sandy dike, angry waves roll up like frosty snow, the sky and the moat around the city are boundless. Rows of pearls line up in the market, the homes compete with each other to show their extravagance. The clear water lake surrounded by three autumn cassia buds and ten 'li's of lotuses. Along the clear alleys the water chestnut songs floating through the night, enticing old gentlemen to the lotus-like dolls. A thousand riders gather around the ivory tower, intoxicated by the sound of flute and drum, enjoying the rosy-cloud smoke. A particular day to paint fine scenery, as the phoenix returns to the pond of praise."

Guo Jing did not understand the yada, yada, yada of her singing, but he did enjoy the gentle tapping of her ivory planks and the melodious flute sound.

As the song finished, both Wanyan Honglie and Yang Kang exclaimed their praise, "You sing very well!"

The woman repeatedly expressed her gratitude, and jubilantly went out with the musicians, wishing Wanyan Honglie many enjoyments.

Wanyan Honglie said, "Son, do you know that this Liu Yong [eternal willow – I think it is a person's name] poem 'wang hai chao' [gazing the ocean tide] has a close relationship with our Great Jin?"

"Your child does not know," Yang Kang replied, "Would Father please explain?"

Listening to him calling Wanyan Honglie 'father' [tie tie – daddy/papa] in an affectionate tone Guo Jing and Huang Rong looked at each other. Guo Jing was angry and broken hearted; he wished he could go over and clutch him, asking for explanation.

He heard Wanyan Honglie replied, "During the prosperous years of our Great Jin, the Jin's Lord Liang saw this poem by Liu Yong, which praised the beauty of the West Lake's scenery. Thereupon he sent an emissary to go down south and at the same time dispatching a famous painter to paint the scenery around the City of Lin'an. The painter inserted the Jin Lord image in the painting, sitting on a horseback standing on the peak of Wu Shan [Hill Wu]. The Jin Lord wrote this poem on the painting, 'Ten thousands of 'li's riding on a chariot, how can there be another border to the Jiangnan? Dispatching soldiers by the million to the West Lake, on a horseback standing on Wu Shan's first peak!'"

"What a grand and heroic spirit!" Yang Kang praised.

Guo Jing was so angry hearing him that he clenched his fist so hard that his knuckles made cracking sounds.

Wanyan Honglie sighed, "Jin's Lord Liang's desire to dispatch soldiers to the south and on a horseback standing on Wu Shan did not come true, but his heroic spirit to cross the river is actually inherited by us, his descendants. Once he inscribed this poem on a folding fan: 'With a great fan in the hand, bringing cool breeze all over the world.' That's the kind of ambition he had!"

Yang Kang repeated that poem, "With a great fan in the hand, bringing cool breeze all over the world." He sounded like he was really impressed by it.