Chapter 236: I Want a Home
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The girl was pretty with an exquisite face. She looked tender and charming, about 15 or 16. There was a comely little maid behind her and they were wandering on Book Street.
The two girls were dressed in men’s clothes, but Junior Leopard could tell at a glance that they were disguised as men. He believed that not only he, but also many people on Book Street had seen that.
Fortunately, on Book Street was a Book Fair, so the people who came here were genteel. When they saw the girls disguised as men, they pretended not to notice. Instead, they enthusiastically promoted books to them as if they were seeing two fat sheep.
Of course, there were some malicious eyes. Junior Leopard simply laughed.
The two girls dressed up as men must have had a good background. Now at least five or six experts at Level Five or Six on the dark side of the street were protecting them. At this time, if anyone dared to find the trouble with the two girls, he would definitely suffer a loss.
At this moment, the girl who was wandering about raised her head and met Junior Leopard’s gaze.
Seeing Junior Leopard, the girl was stunned for a moment, and then a little bewilderment appeared on her face. She began to pull the little maid beside her, pointing at Junior Leopard. The little maid also looked up at Junior Leopard and was stunned for a moment as well. Then there was an incredible look on her face.
They know me!
Seeing their expression, and then associating with those experts who were hiding in the vicinity, Junior Leopard suddenly understood. He was a very well-known man now!
Was there not such a saying that said that popularity tended to cause trouble?
There were no cameras in this world, but there were many masters of painting. As far as he knew, his portrait had already spread to many powerful influences. Some of these influences did not want to cause misunderstanding because they did not recognize him; others had ulterior motives.
It was obvious that the two girls had such expressions because they had seen his portrait.
Now that they recognized him, Junior Leopard smiled and walked toward them. “Excuse me, two Young Masters!”
When Junior Leopard suddenly approached and spoke to them, they seemed a little flustered, obviously not prepared.
“Are, are you talking to us?” the pretty girl asked.
“Of course. I think both of you are graceful and charming. So I want to make friends with you. I’m Zhou Bao from Yunzhou. May I have your names, please?”
“Zhou, Zhou Bao? Are, are you really Zhou Bao from Yunzhou?”
“Yes!” Junior Leopard answered with a smile, but his attention was focused on those experts around. As he approached the two girls, those experts who had hidden in the shadows were evidently stirring, but none of them came out.
“Are you really Zhou Bao from Yunzhou?” The maid dressed up as a footboy behind the girl could not help asking as well.
Junior Leopard had to nod again.
“I’m Yan Fei. He’s my attendant, Little, Little Huang!” The pretty girl imitated Junior Leopard to cup her fist on the other hand before her chest.
“Mr. Yan, nice to meet you!”
Junior Leopard froze a moment after he heard the pretty girl’s words. Yan was the imperial surname. Was the girl the emperor’s relative?
Then Yan Fei came back from the initial confusion and began to chat with Junior Leopard.
Gradually, she was relaxed. They talked and laughed as if they had been friends for years. This made the footboy, Little Huang, somewhat puzzled. She did not understand what Junior Leopard had done to make the princess be so affectionate to him.
Junior Leopard was good at pleasing, not to mention facing an unsophisticated girl. Those little jokes that he had seen on the Internet in his previous life were at his fingertips. Therefore, with a few words, he drew Yan Fei’s interest.
The three of them strolled along Book Street while chatting.
“It’s better to meet than hear. Rumors in Jianghu say that Brother Zhou is as fierce as a wild beast. Unexpectedly, you’re so gentle and educated!”
“Rumors aren’t necessarily groundless. It’s just that I’m in a good mood today. If I’m in a bad mood someday, I’ll be like a wild beast!” said Junior Leopard with a laugh. “Brother Yan, do you come here to buy books?”
“Yes, did Brother Zhou also come here to buy books?”
“I like to read miscellaneous books. I like all the strange books. There are few bookstores in Yunzhou. This time, I certainly want to enjoy myself to the fullest in the capital city!”
“Enjoy yourself to the fullest? You go to bookstores just for enjoying yourself to the fullest?”
“Not really, I’m going to buy books!” Junior Leopard walked into a bookstore with Yan Fei. “I’ve been hanging around Book Street for several days, and I’m kind of familiar with it here. This Hongwen Bookstore has the most books and the books are the most diverse, so I like to come here.” Then he picked up a book to read.
Yan Fei looked around and suddenly saw a book lying on the shelf. Her eyes lit up and she pulled out the book and read it just like Junior Leopard did.
“Oh, is Brother Yan interested in medicine?” Junior Leopard turned some pages of the book and set it aside. He glanced at the book in Yan Fei’s hands with the corner of his eyes, and then he asked with a smile.
“No, I’m just trying to find a folk prescription for headaches.”
“A folk prescription?” Junior Leopard laughed. “If it’s a headache, it’s better to find a good doctor and not to use folk prescriptions.”
“Why?” Yan Fei asked with puzzlement. “I heard some folk prescriptions are very effective!”
“They’re called folk prescriptions because they’re produced by chance. They have different effects on different people. They can cure some people immediately. However, for others, they might be deadly poisonous drugs!”
“Huh?” Yan Fei was startled and hastily threw the book to the side. Seeing Junior Leopard looking at her with a smile, she blushed. “You are kidding me!”
“No, I’m telling the truth!” Junior Leopard laughed. “Do you know how folk prescriptions came about? I thought of a joke!”
“A joke?” Junior Leopard told her a lot of jokes along the way, which made her very happy. Now hearing that there was a joke about folk prescriptions, she became curious. “What joke is it? Tell me about it!”
“Okay!” Junior Leopard nodded. “One man in Central Shu learned literature at first, but he hadn’t been admitted for three years. Then he learned martial arts. However, he shot an arrow at the schoolyard and hit the drum official, so he was expelled. Then he began to study medicine and had some achievements. He created a prescription, but after he drank it, he died.”
As soon as Junior Leopard finished this, Yan Fei and Little Huang were both laughing with their hands covering their mouths. It took a few moments before they stopped. Yan Fei gave Junior Leopard a black look. “There is no such person in the world. You made it up!”
“Why not? If not, how can there be so many folk prescriptions in the world?” Then the three of them laughed again.
After a few jokes, they walked into a row and got close to each other. With a profound family origin, Yan Fei had acquired in-depth knowledge. Junior Leopard had more life experience, and had read many miscellaneous books. In addition, he did well in observing and talking. Unknowingly, he used some of the tricks from secret books of picking up girls that he had seen in his previous life. The more they talked, the more congenial and happier they became. They even had a feeling of regretting not having known each other before.
Beside them, Little Huang was sweating all over with worry. As a servant in the imperial palace, her life was even worse than a dog’s. It was because the princess was a good person, treating her like a sister, that she lived so well. If the princess eloped with a man, she would die.
However, the princess and Zhou Bao talked so happy that she dared not disturb them and could only worry.
Junior Leopard took Yan Fei around the entire street two times and bought seven or eight books. Finding that the sun was directly over their heads, he proposed, “Brother Yan, it’s getting late. How about finding a place to eat something?”
“Great!” Yan Fei raised her eyebrows and a flicker of excitement flashed across her eyes. “I heard that Fragrance Lounge is the first restaurant in the capital city. Let’s go there!”
“Fragrance Lounge?” Junior Leopard shook his head repeatedly. “No, no, no, it only has a good reputation, but the food isn’t delicious. If you really want to eat well and eat until you’re full, you have to go to Ditan Street. The food there is cheap and delicious, and it has the characteristics of the capital city!”
“It’s not been long since you arrived in the capital city. But you’re so familiar with this city!”
“Well, I can’t help it. I have no hobbies but food!” Junior Leopard chuckled. “How about it? Let’s go together!”
“All right!” Yan Fei did not refuse and went to Ditan Street led by Junior Leopard.
…
…
In Shanglin Imperial Park, the Royal Capital—
The bright moon shed a white light. The whole Shanglin Imperial Park was covered in it, as if it were enveloped in frost and snow.
In the Blighted Pavilion of Shanglin Imperial Park, the Great Jin Emperor Yan Yuntian, who conquered the northern prairie, sat at a stone table, holding a teacup in his hand. He stared fixedly at a black figure in front of him.
“What? Zhou Bao? The one from Yunzhou? He and Fei-er spent a day on the street?”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Why didn’t you stop it?”
“… Zhou, Zhou Bao and the princess had an agreeable conversation. He didn’t seem to know the princess’s identity. And he didn’t do something outrageous. They just strolled about together, so…”
“Nonsense!” The teacup in his hand landed on the face of the black figure. “Young as he is, he entered Jianghu at an early age. He’s an old con. How could he not tell that Fei-er disguised herself as a man?” “They had an agreeable conversation without outrageous actions? Strolling together all day is the most outrageous action. Would he do that if he had no attempt on Fei-er? Are you all pigs? Can’t you even tell that?” The Jin Emperor roared, without any trace of the king who did not show his emotions and was calm in the court during the daytime.
Kneeling on the ground, the black figure dared not say anything, letting the angry father swear to vent his anger.
Angrily, the Jin Emperor Yan Yuntian stood up from the stone bench and walked up and down in the Blighted Pavilion. Suddenly, he stopped. “Ask the Imperial City Department to report to me a detailed account of Zhou Bao’s whereabouts over the past few months. And ask the Secret Department to send all the information of Zhou Bao to the Imperial Study!”
“Yes!”
Junior Leopard had no idea that he would get such attention from the Jin Emperor after wandering around the street with Yan Fei for a day. Thus, he was in good mood.
He had a favorable impression of Yan Fei, whom he met today. Not that he fell in love with the girl. He just had a crush on her. After all, love at first sight only happened in fairy tales.
The girl was beautiful, in line with Junior Leopard’s taste. She was sweet and mild and her gentle voice sounded very comfortable. She must have been from a good family, perhaps the emperor’s relative. Of course, the main thing was her beauty. The delicate facial features, the lovely nose, and the small mouth that would slightly open once she smiled all fit perfectly within Junior Leopard’s standards for his wife.
“Well, the first meeting was really good. I must have made a good impression on her!” Junior Leopard was very satisfied with his performance today, but he was worried about what should he do next.
“Chasing a girl requires perseverance. Obviously, Yan Fei lives in the capital city, while I’m leaving in two days. How am I going to chase her? Stay here for her? That’s not going to work. I have a lot of things to do. Moreover, if I stay here, I’ll definitely attract the attention and suspicion of many people!”
The capital city was not like the other places. Experts like Junior Leopard would get much attention in the city and every time they entered the city, they needed to put on record. This time, he came to the capital city because of the reward, which was a very good reason. However, once it was over, he had to leave. Staying here too long would cause trouble for him. If he said he stayed here for a girl, no one would believe him, and he would be laughed at.
However, he did not want to give up. Having been in this world for so many years, he finally met a girl he liked very much. Giving up was out of his character. Besides, he was not young anymore. In this world, people of his age, even if they were not married, had already been engaged, unless they were really poor. Most people had children at the age of 17. Now, though he was not in a hurry, his family was in a hurry. Even subordinates like Zhu Ba were very concerned about this matter. From time to time, they would like to introduce their cousins and nieces to him, which made him quite fretful.
“Oh, aren’t there a lot of finger men of the Immortal Palace in the capital city? The enfeoffment is such a big deal, but they knew it half a year in advance. They must be able to find out the background of Yan Fei. Why don’t I ask them to check it for me? If she’s the right one, I can prepare some lavish gifts to propose a marriage!”
Then he thought it through. He was not in China in the 21st century. Basically, people did not believe in free love. You did not need to chase the girl you liked. You should carry the bride-price directly and find a respectable person to propose a marriage. If you were rejected, there were still second and third chances. In a word, you could always go to propose a marriage until you succeeded.
Anyway, Junior Leopard had a rank of nobility and a fief with a 300 km radius in the northern prairie. He might be called a little vassal. With such an identity, even if Yan Fei was really a relative of the emperor, he was barely worthy of her.
“If she were a princess, things would be a little more difficult!” It was a matter of his lifelong happiness. He certainly had to think more and plan for it.
Actually, the arranged marriages of this era could bring a lot of convenience to guys like him. Likewise, it could also cause a lot of trouble, which was even more than the convenience.
Because in this world, it was the woman’s parents who really made the decision. If Yan Fei’s parents were scheming, they would bring up harsh demands to Junior Leopard when finding out about his great value, and he would be embarrassed too.
“How about taking her away?”
Junior Leopard thought about it and gave up on the idea. Nothing forcibly done was going to be agreeable. Unless he really did catch Yan Fei, it was very bad to take her by force.
He thought about it all night like that and had not come up with a solution. “Well, I’ll go to the contact point of the Immortal Palace tomorrow so they can help me check the true identity of Yan Fei!”
…
…
“What? The Imperial City Department is investigating me!”
On the second day, Junior Leopard came to the secret contact point of the Immortal Palace in the capital city. He was one of the 28 constellations of the Immortal Palace now and was eligible to borrow the resources of the Immortal Palace. Unexpectedly, as soon as he came to the contact point, he received such a message. He had not even had time yet to make his request.
Fragrance Lounge, the first restaurant in the capital city, was one of the contact points of the Immortal Palace. And the landlady, Li Wanxiang, was the only peripheral member of the Immortal Palace.
However, it was obvious that Li Wanxiang was so trusted by the Immortal Palace that she knew the true identity of Junior Leopard. Hence, Junior Leopard had just entered Fragrance Lounge, and before he could even think of how to contact Li Wanxiang, he was led to her room.
“The girl dressed as a man, who spent all day with you on the street, is named Yan Fei-er. She’s the favorite daughter of the Jin Emperor Yan Yuntian. Yan Yuntian stormed about what had happened yesterday. He thought you had an attempt on his daughter, so he sent someone to investigate you. I think you’d better leave the capital city early!”
Li Wanxiang was a beautiful woman in her 40s. She looked 30 years old due to good maintenance. Her big, watery eyes were fascinating. She looked at Junior Leopard with a smile, saying, “You know what, there were a lot of people who wanted to catch Princess Fei-er, but none of them succeeded!”
“Their failure doesn’t mean that I can’t succeed!”
Junior Leopard said with a smile.
“Don’t tell me you really want to catch Yan Fei-er!”
“What, can’t I?”
“It’s not impossible, but it’s very difficult!”
“That’s why I came to you!” Junior Leopard leaned lightly on the back of the chair. “I’m one of the 28 constellations of the Immortal Palace. I have the right to get support from the Immortal Palace, don’t I?”
“Are you sure you want to use the support from the Immortal Palace for this? Even if you’re one of the 28 constellations now, you can only use the resource of the Immortal Palace for free once a year. Are you really going to use this opportunity to do this boring thing?”
“Well, is there anything more important to me than this?” Junior Leopard touched his nose and stood up. “I’m leaving the capital city, but I don’t want to give up the girl. I want her to be my bride. So, please!”
“Now that you say so, I can’t change your mind. You can rest assured, I’ll be here to help you!”
“Then it relies on you!”
“A troublesome boy!” After Junior Leopard left, Li Wanxiang mumbled helplessly, her head leant on her hand, “alas, after all these years, has the Immortal Palace really fallen to help such a boy to pimp?”
…
…
“Commander, are we leaving the capital city tomorrow?” When he returned to his residence, Junior Leopard gave orders to his men to leave the capital city, with a sulky face.
“Of course, we’ve lived in the capital city for so long and have gotten all the things whether we should have gotten them or not. What are we doing here?” said Junior Leopard grumpily.
It was as Li Wanxiang had said. As soon as he left Fragrance Lounge, he found himself being targeted. But the cultivation of those people who followed him was not very high and some of them even only knew a little about martial arts.
Junior Leopard knew that those people were from the Imperial City Department. Although he made light of those people, he could not handle them at will. After all, those people just secretly tracked him and did not do anything too much to him.
However, it was not a good thing to always be followed. It was not difficult to get rid of these people with Junior Leopard’s ability, but it only made them suspicious. The less trouble, the better. Now that the matter had been handed over to the Immortal Palace, it would make no sense for him to stay here. Anyway, he believed in the power of the Immortal Palace.
Therefore, as soon as he came back, he gave the order to leave.
“Your Excellency, where are you going, Jiang City or Yunzhou?”
Although it seemed that Junior Leopard was very powerful now, but thinking carefully, he really did not have an exact residence. Anyuan Store was in Jiang City, Zhonghe Prefecture, but that was where he did business and was managed by Wang Tianlei. It was the home of Zhou Hua’er and Wang Tianlei. What about Yunzhou?
There was the Wu Family in Yunzhou and he was an Elder of the Wu Family, but his last name was not Wu. As for the two, Zhou Mansion in Qingyang Market and the mountain village, his parents and brothers lived there. Though he was also the master, he did not want to live with them now.
Blackstone Valley in the northern prairie belonged entirely to him. However, he had never been there. He found it on the map after looking for a long time. Thus, he could not live there as well.
He thought for a long time, finding that the only place he could live now was perhaps the little courtyard in Zhonghe City. But he no longer worked in Zhonghe City presently. Furthermore, a group of people was following him. These people were different from him because they lived with their families. They had to have a place to settle!
He had a headache when he thought of this.
“Damn it! It seems that I still have to get married. Otherwise, everywhere is home, and then everywhere isn’t home. It is really unpleasant!”