In the bustling small town, the hawkers" cries could be heard everywhere forming a lively scene.
"Young Miss, wait for me!"
Xiao Lan was chasing the figure in front of her who was milling in the crowd of people. Only when she saw the figure in front of her stopped at the stall selling jade ornaments, did she let out a sigh of relief. At the corner of her eyes, she spotted a young boy in shabby clothing about eight-years-old trying to sneak close to her Young Miss and she quickly cried out a warning.
"Young Miss, be careful!"
Long Qian Qi was holding up jade ornaments with both her hands to compare the coloring when she heard screams behind her. She put down the jade pieces in her hands in puzzlement and was about to turn around when suddenly she felt someone crash into her which caused her to stand unsteadily and fall onto the ground in front of the stall.
"Who is the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who dare to crash into me?!"
Long Qian Qi screamed and looked back but could not find the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who had run into her.
"Young Miss, are you alright? Let"s give chase! That little boy stole your money pouch!"
Xiao Lan hurriedly rushed forward to help her up. After making sure she was fine, Xiao Lan pulled her hand and the two women chased frantically after the little boy, at the same time, shouting along the way.
"Thief! Don"t run!"
"Help! Please stop the thief!"
The two women shouted as they ran and came to a secluded alley. They did not expect that the little boy who had stolen their money pouch would be waiting for them in the alley. Beside him were several young boys aged between thirteen and fourteen-years-old and they were also shabbily clothed.
"Hey, brat! Quickly return my money!"
Long Qian Qi did not notice their battle array and swore at the little boy who had stolen her money pouch.
"Young Miss......"
Xiao Lan pulled at her Young Miss"s sleeve. These people looked like they have evil intentions and the two of them were trapped in this secluded alley. Whether they could leave this alley safely was already a problem and her Young Miss was still concern about her money pouch.
"You two bad women! Hand over all your valuables otherwise don"t blame me for selling you to the brothels!"
Standing beside the little boy, apparently were a few young boys who looked maliciously at the two women.
"So brave! Do you know this Jun........"
Long Qian Qi"s spoilt temper rose, ignored Xiao Lan"s warning and swore at the young boys with the thought of teaching them a lesson. Halfway through her speech, her mouth was covered by Xiao Lan and pulled behind Xiao Lan.
"Our money has already been stolen by you, what other valuable things are left? If you dare to create trouble then I"ll call for help."
Xiao Lan used her eyes to plead with her Jun Zhu to stop angering the boys. She was really born under an unfortunate star. When her Jun Zhu runs away from home, the most pitiful person would be her. If the Jun Zhu was to lose even a strand of hair, Xiao Lan knew she would not be able to return to Jing w.a.n.g Mansion alive.
"Talk less! If you don"t take out your valuables then don"t blame us for being impolite!"
"Help!"
When Xiao Lan saw the situation had turned dangerous, she used her body to shield her Jun Zhu and she shouted for help.
"No need to shout. This is my territory. No one will meddle in this kind of business that will cause them their lives."
The leader of the youths lifted up the corners of his mouth with a sneer and seemed to enjoy the panic that was displayed on the faces of the women.
"Is it? What if I want to meddle with this business that will cause my life?"
Suddenly a crisp cool voice sounded and everyone looked around for the source of the voice. Then they saw a man lying on top of the roof and they did not know when he had arrived. The man was dressed in creamy white brocade robes and handsome in appearance. His face displayed a smile, yet not a smile with a lazy look and looked down at the crowd with a hand supporting his head.
When the young boys saw him, they sucked in their breaths, their faces turned pale and suddenly scattered like little birds.
"Don"t run!"
The man flipped his body over, stood up and lightly swooped down. His hand which was holding a sword obstructed the path of the leader of the young boys and his other hand blocked the path of the little boy.
"Dong Fang Brother......." The little boy looked at him with a guilty conscience and bowed his head.
"Zhang Zhen, Zhang Sheng! What did you promise me two months ago? Do you really like the free food in prison so much?"
Dong Fang Jie"s eyes severely swept over the two brothers and finally, her eyes fell on the face of the youth, Zhang Zhen.
Two months ago, when she pa.s.sed this area, she found these two brothers were stealing and robbing from other people in the same scenario as just now. After she had taught them a severe lesson, she found out that these two brothers needed money for their sick mother"s medical expenses. They did not hesitate to do illegal things and due to the cold reception of other people, they had developed extreme characters. So before she left, in addition to asking the doctor to visit their sickly mother, she had also left them some money. When they promised to turn away from crime, then only did she leave with her heart at ease. Unexpectedly, two months later, she saw the same thing happen again.
"Zhang Zhen, are you not going to answer me?!" Dong Fang Jie asked in a low tone.
"Our mother is dead."
Zhang Zhen said with grief flashing across his eyes. He also did not want to let his idol Dong Fang Jie feel disappointed but once their mother pa.s.sed away, the two brothers had no one to depend on and were left all alone. In order to survive, Zhang Zhen had no choice but to continue to commit crimes with his younger brother.
"Dong Fang Brother, please don"t blame Elder Brother. Everyone had always scolded us for being beggars and also hit us."
Zhang Sheng"s small face showed grief and could not help but complain tearfully to Dong Fang Brother whom they worshipped.
After hearing Zhang Sheng"s words, Dong Fang Jie"s face showed a trace of distress. She did not expect matters would change so drastically and the two brothers were still young. They had lost all their dependencies and if she did not help them, it was foreseeable that they would definitely walk down the path of no return in future.
"Do you believe in me?"
Dong Fang Jie bent down in front of the two brothers and held their hands. In her heart, she already had plans for them.
"Yes!" The two brothers said without hesitation and simultaneously.
In the eyes of the two brothers, Dong Fang Jie was the only person who was truly good to them.
"Good. Then follow me."
Dong Fang Jie did not speak and led the two brothers out of the alley. From beginning to end, she did not even look at the Long Qian Qi and her maid, Xiao Lan.
"Xiao Lan, I didn"t expect to meet Dong Fang Jie here. Let"s follow them!"
Long Qian Qi"s eyes shone brightly! She snuck out this time, other than going on a sightseeing tour, she had wanted to see Dong Fang Jie again. Ever since Dong Fang Jie had saved her in Jing w.a.n.g Mansion that night, his face was etched in her mind. When she thought of his charming and elegant appearance, she blushed. She quickly followed up behind him.
"Jun Zhu! Wait for me!"
Before Xiao Lan could respond, her Jun Zhu had walked away and she hurriedly quickened her footsteps to follow up.
***#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#***
Long Feng Restaurant is one of Dong Fang Family"s business. There are about 50 branches spread across the country and the annual profit for each branch is very impressive. It can be considered as the most profitable business under the Dong Fang Family.
(In ancient times, an Inn is a rest house where travelers can stay and have a meal. Inns are usually small double-storeyed buildings and are found in towns or in the suburbs.)
Long Feng Restaurants mentioned here are three-storeyed buildings and also operates as rest houses albeit on a bigger scale since the dining areas are located on three floors.)
Dong Fang Jie had brought the two Zhang brothers to this Long Feng Restaurant in Gangling City. It was meal time and looking at the long queue of people that had spilled onto the streets, it was not difficult to gather how good the business was.
"Dong Fang Brother, why did you bring us here?"
The eyes of Zhang Sheng displayed his desires. This Long Feng Restaurant is the largest restaurant in Gangling City and it is heard that inside this restaurant, there are all kinds of dishes, pastries, wine and tea. The service here is also first-cla.s.s and of course, the prices are not cheap. This is definitely not affordable for them.
"Are you two hungry? Do you want to go in and have a meal?"
Dong Fang Jie looked at the drooling expressions on the faces of the two brothers, in addition to feeling distressed for them, she was now more determined to help them.
The two brothers nodded their heads like the pestle pounding garlic and Dong Fang Jie laughed.
Dong Fang Jie did not join in the queue but directly walked into the restaurant. As expected, she was stopped by a waiter in the restaurant.
"This guest, I"m sorry. Please queue up."
"The sun rises in the Dong Fang.....Be merciful in the world.....Only me, Dong Fang."
Dong Fang Jie casually said a coded slogan which was fabricated by his Elder Brother. The purpose is to allow a member of the Dong Fang Family, wherever the person is, to remember his ancestral teachings and for identification. But for him to use this coded slogan to enjoy free food and drinks was most convenient.
The waiter"s face suddenly changed and with a look of excitement, looked straight at him.
"Please, may I ask, which of the four masters are you?"
"I am Dong Fang Jie."
"Fourth Young Master, please come this way with me."
The waiter politely led the three people up to the second floor. Many people along the way were curious about the waiter"s respectful att.i.tude and some of them glanced a few more times at the three people.
The waiter took them to a table placed near the window with a big smile on his face and his tone was respectful and polite.
"Fourth Young Master, please take a seat here. What would you like to eat? I"ll get the food prepared immediately."
"Bring me the best you have here and also bring some pastries as well as a pot of tea and wine."
Dong Fang Jie smiled casually and looked indulgently at the excited expressions on the face of the brothers.
"Yes, Fourth Young Master. Please wait for a while. The dishes will be served soon."
When the waiter had left, Zhang Zhen could not contain his excitement and immediately asked.
"Dong Fang Brother, are you really their Fourth Young Master?"
Zhang Zhen had only heard of Dong Fang Jie"s name, Jade Face Hunter and did not know he was a.s.sociated with Lung Feng Restaurant. Today was really a shock to him.
"That"s right. Next time, don"t call me Dong Fang Brother, just call me Fourth Brother."
It sounded more pleasant to her ears. Out of the blue, two younger brothers had dropped from the sky but she did not mind at all. She was the youngest in her family and has been "cared for" by her three elder brothers for so many years. Now that there are two more young brothers, she felt happy that she had two more people at her disposal.
"Is it really possible?"
The two brothers" eyes shone brightly and asked in unison. They never dreamed that they would have such an opportunity.
"Of course. Quick, you must greet me."
Dong Fang Jie laughed. A feeling of being watched made her casually swept her pair of eyes across the entire second floor and suddenly met a pair of dark, deep penetrating eyes.
A table away from them, two men with different appearances were sitting as them, next to the window. The more striking man out of the two was the man dressed in a blue brocade robe. A handsome face with distinctive features, his eyebrows displayed his irritation and his imposing manner. Although he tried to hide his aura of magnificence, however a person with a discerning eye could still detect the extraordinary ident.i.ty of this person.
This was really coincidental. Unexpectedly they were to meet here but it was better to pretend not to recognize this person to simplify matters.
"Fourth Brother!"
The two brothers were excited and in unison shouted out which was loud enough for the entire second floor to hear.
"Good boys."
Dong Fang Jie smiled and with both her hands touched their heads. The feeling of being watched still persisted which resulted in her wrinkling her eyebrows.
Suddenly there was the sound of hurried footsteps on the stairs which attracted everyone"s attention. Then a thin, long figure appeared with the waiter carrying dishes with both his hands following behind him. On seeing Dong Fang Jie, he quickly walked over and said in a slightly excited voice.
"Fourth Young Master. I am the shopkeeper here, w.a.n.g Qin. I did not know of Fourth Young Maser"s arrival and if there is any matter you are dissatisfied with, Fourth Young Master, please forgive us!"
"It"s alright. Don"t be so nervous. You"ve come at the right time. I want to put these two brothers here to help out, is there any problem?"
Dong Fang Jie said straight to the point. This was the main purpose of her coming here. She believed that letting the two brothers stay here would be better than for them to wander around outside.
"It"s not a problem." w.a.n.g Qin replied without hesitation. Then he thought of something and said anxiously. "Fourth Young Master, ten days ago, Elder Young Master had issued notices to all the branches of Long Feng Restaurants throughout the country. The notice stated that no matter which branch sees Fourth Young Master, we have to remind you that you must return to Dong Fang Residence for the Mid-Autumn Festival or else the Elder Young Master will personally come for you."
When w.a.n.g Qin got the notice, he was deeply surprised. What had Fourth Young Master done that would make Elder Young Master come personally for him? Even though Fourth Young Master was now right in front of him and he was very curious, he still did not dare to ask more questions.
"I understand."
Dong Fang Jie twitched her mouth. Did Elder Brother need to create such a fuss to remind him? Really ruthless! Elder Brother was deliberately making it difficult for her.
"Then Fourth Young Master, please enjoy your meal. I"ve already instructed the kitchen to prepare Fourth Young Master"s order first. If Fourth Young Master has no more instructions then I will take my leave."
w.a.n.g Qin secretly had observed that after Fourth Young Master had heard what he had to say, Fourth Young Master"s expression had become ugly. This even made him more curious about what was going on.
"I have no more instructions. You may take your leave."
Dong Fang Jie waved her hand to get rid of w.a.n.g Qin and signaled to the two brothers to start their meal. She has now lost all her appet.i.te.
It seems that this time she is unable to act stupid to deal with this matter. It was just that she was reluctant to put an end to her carefree days.
"What a coincidence, Dong Fang Jie. I did not expect to meet you here."