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Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at the new strange-looking cake they pan-fried with butter, both were radiant with delight. But when the former scooped up some, the cake, which aroma was so tempting, torn apart immediately. The two boys wanted to cry, but they had no tears.

They have worked hard all afternoon, but until the sun set over the western hills, they still did not have any cakes.

The most annoying thing was that Liang Qian, Big Sister Fu and Lan Gu repeatedly sent their people to urge them, adding urgency to this matter.

The good ol’ cake seemed to give them more headaches than Wanwan.

Kou Zhong said, “We might as well make these cake ingredients as stuffing, wrap it in dough mixed with bean flour. After flattening it, we’ll use peeled sesame seed to pick it up and evenly deep fry its egg in the wok; I guarantee it will be sweet smelling, crispy and tasty.”

Xu Ziling crossly said, “What’s the difference from ‘molded flaky pastry’ then? We’d better use the steamer basket; after heating the spices, it will also emit sweet aroma without compromising its natural flavor.”

This moment Lan Gu entered the kitchen. Feigning surprise look, she said, “What’s that in the ladle? Are you going to make deep-fried cake, or thin porridge?”

Kou Zhong struggled hard to restrain the fire in his belly; he glowered at Lan Gu, making the latter immediately felt chill all over her body, so that she was trembling uncontrollably. Like a defeated hen she went out obediently.

Regaining his composure, Kou Zhong said, “Perhaps we should separately try pan fry, deep fry, roast, and steam, four different methods, making four different cakes. As long as there is one that that poniang [woman (derog.), b1tch; see Book 1] think it’s tasty, won’t we be able to redeem our face? Once I think about Lan Gu, that b1tch, I feel like we should not lose this battle.”

Xu Ziling agreed, “Let me make some deep-fried pancake with fresh savory taro flavor. You think about the other three flavors.”

This moment Xiao Juan came; the two boys hurriedly pleaded with her to get more ingredients.

By the time the two boys sat down, both mentally and physically exhausted, four different new cakes emerged.

Xiao Juan clapped and cheers. Picking the tray up, she said, “I’ll take this to Fu Dajie. Mmm! Smells really good! Just by looking at them I know they sweet, crispy and tasty.”

The two boys sprang up at once. One on her left, the other on her right, they walked out with her.

Stunned, Xiao Juan halted her steps, “What are you doing?”

Kou Zhong laughed and said, “Such a precious thing, how can we not escort it personally? If someone should add any strange material to it along the way, won’t we be finished?”

Xiao Juan laughed tenderly and said, “It is well covered; how could anybody play a trick? Who would have such guts? But if you want to roam around, just come with nujia [I, your servant] then.”

A shadow flashed, Liang Qian barred their way, and said crossly, “I have not tasted it, where are you taking it?”

Sticking out her silky breasts, Xiao Juan said, “This is Fu Dajie’s order; as soon as it is done, I must bring it to Changzhu while it is still warm. It’s none of your business.”

Obviously Liang Qian was rather afraid of Big Sister Fu; as soon he heard that, he was stunned and could only stare blankly.

Lan Gu’s voice was heard from the side, “You two forgot the rules? Who gave you permission to roam around randomly?”

Xu Ziling replied indifferently, “We are people who abide by the rules, right now we have Xiao Juan Jie leading the way, how can it be regarded as roaming around randomly?”

The three people boldly marched forward, leaving the angry-until-their-faces-were-devoid-of-any-color Liang Qian and Lan Gu standing behind.

Ranch Master Shang Xiuxun’s residence was called the Flying Horse Courtyard, located in the middle of the Inner Castle. It consisted of more than thirty buildings, surrounded by wind-and-fire wall all around, constructed of brick and wood.

The two boys followed Xiao Juan into the courtyard via the back door, passing through a nine-bend corridor attached to the buildings. As they walked along, their eyes feasted on garden sceneries, one seemed to be more beautiful from another. Far and near the buildings were of different heights, strewn at random among the wooded area, a picture of elegance and rustic blended in harmony.

The most unique aspect was that due to the manor’s elevation, occasionally they were able to catch a glimpse of the beautiful pasture below the Flying Horse City extending endlessly into the distance. Under the dim light of the crescent moon, it looked even more serene and peaceful.

Along the way, they encountered numerous maids, servants and mansion guards; all were staring at them politely, but with Xiao Juan, a maid close to their Ranch Master, leading the way, plus the two boys were wearing pastry chef attire, everybody knew that they were the newcomers and thus nobody was giving them any trouble.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were not people who had not seen the world, but seeing the hall and the other main buildings construction, their style and raised beam type and the roof beam structure, with their fitting delicately carved eaves beam components and the gorgeously ever-changing trim of the corridors, which strengthened the sense of depth, the landscape garden lining it, has sparked the penetrating, serene feeling hidden deep within their hearts.

The three of them walked through gates and passed doors, sometimes one or two atriums and winding corridors, until finally Xiao Juan took them into a reception hall. Putting the cakes down on a round table, she said, “You sit here for a moment, I going to notify Fu Dajie.”

After Xiao Juan left, Xu Ziling sat down quietly, while Kou Zhong looked around everywhere. He looked at the western garden scenery outside the window on the other side of the room; he also looked at the structure of the buildings, as well as leaning out of the window to look at the adjacent room, which happened to be a study room.

The study room was furnished with mahogany furniture; there were Four Treasures of the Study on the table [i.e. brush, ink stick, paper and ink-stone]. Leaning against the wall was a shelf full of antique knickknacks. Under the illumination of a palace-style lantern, he could see a roll of rhyming couplet hanging on one side of the wall, on it were written ‘There is delight in the Five Confucian relationships [ruler-subject,

father-son, brother-brother, husband-wife, friend-friend]; apart from the Six Classics [Book of Songs, Book of History, Book of Rites, Book of Music, Book of Changes, and Spring and Autumn Annals], there is no other literary works’. But he did not see anybody.

Walking back to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong sat down by his side and said, “Looks like not only this Changzhu is a poetic individual, she has some scholarly knowledge as well. But there is also a tiny bit of ‘lone flower admiring itself’ feeling on her. I just hope she does not look like Zhai Jiao!”

Displeased, Xu Ziling said, “Being born ugly is not a sin. Zhai Jiao’s fate is pitiful, it would be best if you don’t joke about her.”

Kou Zhong nodded to acknowledge the admonishment, “Yes!” he said, “I was wrong!”

Xu Ziling was emotionally moved. “This is perhaps one of your strengths,” he said, “You are willing to admit mistake, and can learn something from it. Just like recently you love to talk about compassion, duty, propriety and integrity, just because I often accused you of being too exploitative; is that right?”

Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, “You, this kid, are making fun of me.”

Xu Ziling looked out the window, at the garden reflecting the moon and the lantern light; smiling, he said, “You are right. This Shang Xiuxun is definitely not an ordinary person. Just look at the layout of the rockery and amazing stones, and the ingenious arrangement of the wintersweet [chimonanthus praecox], the Japanese banana [musa basjoo], the wisteria, the osmanthus flowers; none did not appear as stereoscopic image standing right in front of the window, making people ponder endlessly. From this you could tell that she is brilliant.”

Kou Zhong laughed and said, “And don’t forget that she really knows how to eat.”

And then he turned around and leaned over and said in a low voice, “If she is as beautiful as Shan Wanjing, would Xu Ye give her your consideration? Based on your moral standing, outward appearance and martial art skill, you should be a good catch. Hey!”

Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, “It would be best if I married both Shan Wanjing and Shang Xiuxun; that way, by the time you are striking the world, when you need weapons you’ll get weapons, and when you need warhorses you’ll get warhorses!”

Having his fox’s tail revealed, Kou Zhong’s big eyes lit up as he said, “Good idea! Aiyo!”

Xu Ziling withdrew the fist he struck Kou Zhong’s thigh with and said, “You should know what’s called vortex power by now, ha! How can I be as unethical as you are?”

Suddenly they heard barely audible sound of footsteps.

The two boys looked at each other, and both could see the surprised look on each other’s face.

Turned out the sound of footsteps came from the Riders Building connected to this reception hall, which was less than a zhang away from the door. That is to say that the newcomer was within two zhang from them before they started to detect her presence.

Definitely it was not the sound of Xiao Juan’s familiar footsteps. This adorable girl has come and gone their pastry kitchen no less than twenty times today; they could even replay it in their mind.

This person’s qinggong was superior, definitely not below Fu Junyu’s.

At this thought, the two boys’ scalp went numb as they watch the door, thinking that it would be really terrible if Fu Junyu really showed up.

Then the two boys’ eyes lit up.

A young woman, with multifarious bearings, whose jet-black and beautiful hair cascaded down like two streams of waterfall on her fragrant shoulders, which looked like they were carved by a knife, whose beauty was extraordinary, which probably was comparable to Wanwan’s, who was dressed in tight warrior outfit, stepped into the room. She did not seem surprised at the two boys’ presence.

Her simple and elegant outfit highlighted her outstanding face and her shiny sun-bronzed skin and tender and lovely flesh, which exuded a burning hot youthfulness and enviable health.

Her pair of beautiful eyes was unfathomably deep, her thick eyelashes were adding more mystery to her phoenix eyes, which were rippling like the most fragrant and richest wine brewed by the immortals.

While Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were looking at her, dumbstruck, she gracefully walked over to the best seat across from the two boys and sat down. Stretching out her slender lily-white hand under her gauze dress, she opened the lid of the tray, took a quick look of what’s inside, wrinkled her pretty, straight, and small nose, and said, “The aroma is ordinary, but the outward appearance is very unique, because I have never seen an ugly delicatessen like this.”

Greatly surprised, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other, and then they scrambled to stand up and salute her. “Changzhu!” they exclaimed, “Please forgive our disrespect!”

Without even looking at them, Shang Xiuxun put the lid on the side, and grabbed one of the cakes, put it in front of her fragrant plump and glossy lips, and then with her neat and snow white small teeth, which color complement her skin color well, she gingerly took a bit on the corner, and carefully sampled the cake.

The two boys nervously looked at her cheeks, which movements were barely perceptible. However, even after the movements ceased completely, this peerless beauty outside of Wanwan still did not speak, and still did not react to either their stare or their salute.

Since she did not speak, the two boys did not dare to ask.

It was not that they did not have the courage; rather, deep down they were afraid to know the answer, especially recalling Lan Gu’s loathsome look.

Chapter 6 - Part 2

In this life-and-death-decisive-battle like moment, a smile, like a glimmer of the moon breaking through the dark clouds, escaped from her mouth; her pair of big eyes, which looked as if they affectionately contained her feeling, swept the two boys over. She nodded and said, “Can still be considered edible. Although not top grade, the creativity is commendable, it surpasses those so-called famous chefs who are hidebound by convention. Sit down!”

The two boys cried out ‘close-call’ in their hearts; they gladly sat down across from her.

Shang Xiuxun sized them up and down, her definitely-not-simple sharp eyes made the two boys uncomfortable.

They struggled hard to curb their true qi, so that it would not leak out via their eyes and thus exposing their true identity.

Shang Xiuxun’s pair of jet-black eyebrows was suddenly knitted together, making her pretty forehead appeared like beautiful rippling waves of the ocean. Looking perplexed, she asked, “You don’t look like people who do this kind of thing for a living, am I right?”

Kou Zhong regained his composure, while in his heart he groaned, ‘This fairy is formidable!’ Nodding his head, he said, “Changzhu is formidable. Making cakes is indeed our side occupation, our main line of work is salt trading.”

“Pfft!” Shang Xiuxun covered her mouth as a tender laugh escaped her mouth.

It was quite some time later when she finally let her hand down. As if she had just seen Kou Zhong for the first time, she looked at him for a good while with graceful smile on her face before speaking softly, “You are forthcoming and witty; you amused me that I am also going to be frank with you. Just by looking at this cake, I am going to give you half a tael of gold per month per person; is there any problem? It should be more or less the same as profiting from salt trading, isn’t that right?”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly surprised. They had never imagined that Shang Xiuxun would be this straightforward; even more surprising, they never expected that pastry chef income could be this lucrative. A strange feeling welled up in their heart.

Without waiting for their response, Shang Xiuxun went on, “These days I am going to have a lot of guests. Just like your cake, your outward appearance is not bad, but your eyes lack a bit of spirit. But I don’t mind that at all, I just want you to come out and greet the guests for me during the banquet, or perhaps I’ll have you explain how to make these strange cakes.”

Without much choice the two boys nodded their agreement.

After stretching her alluring limbs, Shang Xiuxun stood up.

The two boys hurriedly paid their respect and sent her off.

Shang Xiuxun casually said, “Every ranch has its own rules, violators will be severely punished, even Er Zhishi will be helpless to defend you. The Housekeeper will be responsible to explain this aspect to you clearly.”

Finished speaking, she left without even looking back.

The two boys looked at each other in dismay.

After making sure that she has really left, Kou Zhong heaved a sigh and said, “This beauty is both pretty and formidable. Do you think she has seen through us?”

Xu Ziling smiled wryly and replied, “This is extremely hard to say. But one thing I know: this poniang is capable of enticing any man to his death.”

Kou Zhong felt the same way. “She is blessed by the Heaven,” he commented, “Not only with exceptional countenance, but also with naturally touching gracefulness. As for wealth, power and martial art skill, not a single one is lacking. Hey! Are you interested?”

Xu Ziling irately said, “Your own heart is moved yet you still say such thing. Do you believe that I can beat you up?”

Kou Zhong sat down disappointedly; he said, “For the sake of Song Yuzhi, I have lost the eligibility to pursue the deer, to chase under her skirt. This is the high price one must pay for the sake of vying over the world!”

Familiar sound of footsteps was approaching, the elated Xiao Juan, like a burst of fragrant wind, stormed in. “Changzhu is willing to hire you!” she called out with her tender voice, “And now I am taking you to see the Housekeeper.”

Xiao Juan took them to the Housekeeper Mansion, and signaled them to stop just in front of the main gate, while she herself stepped over the threshold and continued toward a chair at the inner end of the hall, where she said respectfully, “Da Guanjia [great housekeeper], the two Xiao Shifu are here.”

The two boys took a furtive glance, and saw smoke filling the air; not only tobacco smoke spouting out of the pipe, but also spiraling fragrant smoke from the sandalwood stove on a small table at the corner of the room, blending into some kind of scent filling the room.

A tall and sturdy man with bald head was reclining on the couch, with two pretty and flirtatious women on each side, giving him massage.

This big housekeeper of the Flying Horse Ranch was swallowing clouds and blowing out fog from the long tobacco pipe in his hand in a laid-back manner. His head was supported by a pile of soft pillows, his eyes were on the beam overhead, and he spoke glibly, “So young yet have good skill; it is indeed rare.”

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only listen quietly; they both thought that this man’s airs was above Shang Xiuxun’s.

Looking from the side, this Housekeeper appeared to be around fifty, his nose straight, his upper lip arched slightly over his upturned lower lip, giving him some kind of charm, showing his very strong personality and self-confidence.

A bit like he was talking to himself, Shang Zhen continued, “Entering our Ranch, you must observe our Ranch’s rules. Offender to the rules is subject to severe punishment. Do you understand?

The two boys promptly acknowledged.

Shang Zhen turned his head to cast them a quick glance before his gaze returned to the roof. Letting out a dry cough, he said, “We rarely employ outsiders, but this is a special case, plus you have a manager-level recommendation, so I have nothing to say.”

After a short pause, his eyes gleamed with cold flashes as he turned his head toward the two boys again and said, “Although what you are wearing now bears Flying Horse insignia, you are still considered outsiders. Unless within three years you go the distance in compliance to our rules, receive a manager-level recommendation, and receive Changzhu’s approval, you can’t be considered Ranch people. Understand?”

Just by looking at his fierce and sharp gaze, one would know that his internal strength had reached a first-class master level. No wonder the Flying Horse Ranch was able to stay aloof from the dispute of the outside world.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only nod their heads in agreement.

Shang Zhen’s gaze returned to the ceiling. Suddenly he sucked in a mouthful of smoke, and then slowly blew it out, “Outsiders also have outsider’s rules to follow. First of all, you must never engage in an illicit sexual relationship with any Ranch women. You want women? Take a leave and go to neighboring cities and towns to solve your problem. Otherwise I will castrate you.”

Xiao Juan, who was standing across the threshold from them, lowered her head; even she was blushing to the roots of her ears. The two boys’ embarrassment need not be mentioned.

As if nothing happened, Shang Zhen calmly continued, “Unless receiving special approval, usually you are not allowed to leave the Inner Castle. As for other rules, Liang Qian will explain to you in details. You are dismissed!”

By the time they finished with Liang Qian and returned to their living quarters, it was already the first watch of the night [between 7-9pm]. It was only then did Xiao Juan happily bid her farewell from the two boys and returned to the Ranch Master mansion.

After sniffing at himself and then sniffing at Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong proposed, “We are covered in greasy smell, and then we’ll have to crowd into one bed; how could we sleep? We might as well go to the bath house and enjoy a good his mother’s cold water bath. I wonder if there is any house law prohibiting us from sleeping this his granny’s late at night.”

Frowning, Xu Ziling said, “But where is the bath house? Right now everybody is hiding under his quilt looking for a dream; we won’t find anybody to ask for directions.”

“Just now I still saw some rooms with lantern lights in them,” Kou Zhong said, “Besides, bath house can’t be several li away from here, we can always look around while trying to find somebody to ask. Hey! We can always use some warm-up exercise before looking for the ‘Duke Yang Treasure’. This one will do!”

Xu Ziling finally agreed. The two boys picked up two sets of clean uniforms, and groped their way around out of their room.

The huge courtyard was quiet with no one in sight. Apart from their room, the other rooms were dark without any lantern or light, some even transmitted sounds of people snoring. Fortunately the main gate had a lantern hanging above it to provide illumination.

The sky was full of stars, but the moon was not showing its face. From the direction of the pasture came the sound of sheep bleating and horses whinnying, interspersed with the dogs barking, creating a unique atmosphere of a mountain town.

Kou Zhong unleashed his natural gift of geography, “To the left is Changzhu’s mansion, the Flying Horse Courtyard, to the rear is the kitchen building, to the right is the rear mountain, only the direction of our exit that I don’t know where it leads to. If we want to try, we should try this direction.”

Xu Ziling pricked up his ears and listened carefully, he said, “But the sound of running water actually comes from the rear mountain, perhaps there is a seasonal spring in there somewhere. Only we will have to blindly grope and bump our way to it. If we break many taboos of this place, taking sticks or whips is totally not worth it.”

Kou Zhong agreed, “You are better than me in being a servant; I have never thought about sticks or whips. Ha …”

While talking and cursing at each other in low voice, the two boys walked quietly on tiptoe toward the exit leading to the rear mountain.

Only after entering a moon gate that they found another garden behind the courtyard. The most amazing thing was that there was a corridor that wind back to the outside, that extended into the garden, opening up the depth of field, bringing about beautiful scenery as one walked along the corridor toward the garden. There was a lily pond on the left, with a small hexagonal pavilion built in the middle, and a small bridge connecting it to the bank.

The moon appeared on the horizon to their right, bathing the serene rear courtyard in its silvery light; the scenery was extremely moving. The two boys forgot about bathing, they stood still, full of praise.

Kou Zhong looked up toward the sharply bent cliff behind the courtyard, where on a crack in the rock an old tree defiantly grew with its branches dancing lightly in the wind. He could not help sighing and said, “Since our debut, this is the first time I am having the intention to shun the world and retreat to secluded place; a clear indication of how strong the influence of this place to me.”

Xu Ziling deeply shared his sentiments; he said, “Whoever built this landscape garden in the Inner Castle must be a master builder. Even Yang Guang’s imperial garden doesn’t have this kind of intoxicating effect.”

Kou Zhong nudged him and said with a laugh, “Do you see that gracefully winding clear creek? It must have come from a spring on the rear mountain. If we can find its source, we could take a quick bath and go back to the hexagonal pavilion to cool off and admire the moon; won’t that be fun?”

Xu Ziling was also in a good mood; he stepped forward as soon as Kou Zhong finished.

With a tourist mind, the two boys turned to the left and wound to the right along the winding corridor, where more and more beautiful sceneries emerged on both sides. After passing a bamboo forest, they heard the crashing noise of water. Turned out at the end of the path was a square pavilion, overlooking a hundred-zhang high cliff, where a stream of waterfall flew down with irresistible momentum. Were it not for the bamboo forest separating the two places, the thundering sound of the waterfall could have been heard from the courtyard.

The two boys gasped in amazement.

To the left there was a gravel path leading toward the square pavilion, winding along the edge of the cliff, extending toward the depths of the forest, creating in their hearts the desire to explore this secluded area.

Following the path, the two boys turned to the left and wound to the right, until suddenly a wide panorama opened up before their eyes. There was a small two-story building strategically situated on the tableland overlooking the cliff.

This moment they could still see light coming from the second story, indicating that not only this building was inhabited, but also that the inhabitant had not gone to sleep yet.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had never expected that there would be a place of charm and beauty at the end of the path. They were about to turn around and walk back when an old-sounding man’s voice was heard from the upstairs, “Noble guests have already arrived, why not come up and meet Laofu face-to-face?”