The anger in Madam Hua's eyes subsided somewhat.
"So, Hua An and Tang Bohu have an irreconcilable feud!"
Li Huan said, "Exactly! Moreover, Tang Bohu still owes me three paintings and calligraphic works. If I see him, I will definitely make him repay them!"
Qiu Xiang breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "Madam, this afternoon in the garden, Li Huan painted the 'Four Beauties' picture for me, Chunxiang, Xiaxiang, and Dongxiang. He also played the flute and the guqin."
"Oh?" Madam Hua became interested. "Li Huan is not only skilled in cooking, but also proficient in calligraphy, painting, and musical instruments?"
Li Huan laughed and said, "It's purely a hobby, nothing to mention."
Qiu Xiang said, "Li Huan is too modest. His calligraphy and painting skills are extremely profound, and he plays musical instruments very well. Madam, why don't we let Li Huan teach the two young masters to read and play musical instruments in his spare time?"
The lady nodded: "That's excellent, Li Huan, do you agree?"
Li Huan said, "I am truly incapable of teaching these two young masters! I mustn't jeopardize their future!"
Qiu Xiang said, "Madam, Li Huan is too modest. If he were willing to give you his guidance, the two young masters would surely become pillars of society!"
"Yeah yeah!"
Chunxiang, Xiaxiang, and Dongxiang unanimously agreed and strongly recommended Li Huan.
Madam Hua said, "Li Huan, I will give you another three hundred taels of silver every month as payment for tutoring my two sons. What do you think?"
Li Huan knew that Madam Hua's two sons, Hua Wen and Hua Wu, were exceptionally gifted and had unusual physiques, but were actually mentally challenged.
If I'm not mistaken, Madam Hua and Grand Tutor Hua were related by blood, which led to problems for their two sons.
If Li Huan were to teach Chinese literature and martial arts calligraphy, painting, and musical instruments, it would definitely infuriate him; he was unwilling to take on any trouble himself.
“Madam, I am not greedy for these three hundred taels of silver. I just want to focus on cooking good boxed meals so that you and the Grand Tutor are satisfied and the business of selling boxed meals at the stall is even more prosperous.”
Seeing that Li Huan was determined to refuse, Madam Hua did not press the matter further.
"Martial Arts Champion, send these four villains to the authorities for punishment!"
"Yes!" The martial arts champion obeyed the order and led his servants to escort the "Four Great Silver Knights of Jiangnan" out of the hall.
Madam Hua got up and returned to her bedroom to rest.
Qiu Xiang looked at Li Huan with gratitude in her eyes.
Suddenly, Sister Pomegranate stumbled in.
Her collar was disheveled, her body was covered in footprints, and her face was dirty.
"What happened? What did I miss?"
Sister Pomegranate watched as the "Four Silver Knights" were taken away, her face full of confusion.
Li Huan said, "Sister Pomegranate, the Four Great Silver Knights, famous throughout Jiangnan, broke into the Hua Mansion, and that's where you were knocked unconscious!"
Sister Pomegranate exclaimed in surprise, "I was knocked unconscious by the Four Silver Warriors! Oh my god, oh my god... How come I don't remember anything about something so exciting..."
Li Huan said, "What's so exciting about that? They just knocked you out and walked over by stepping on your face; they didn't do anything violent to you!"
Sister Pomegranate was displeased upon hearing this: "How dare they! The Four Great Silver Warriors look down on me!"
Li Huan said, "Your outfit tonight is really too seductive. Under the moonlight, you look like a female ghost!"
Sister Pomegranate said, "No way! I just bought some rouge and face powder today. The makeup effect is great, but why do I look like a female ghost? Qiu Xiang, do I look like one?"
Qiu Xiang covered her mouth and laughed.
Sister Pomegranate looked at Chunxiang: "Tell me the truth, do I really look that ugly tonight?"
"Yes!" Chunxiang nodded.
Xia Xiang and Dong Xiang both nodded.
"What a failure..." Sister Pomegranate quickly wiped her face with her sleeve and muttered to herself, "No wonder even the villains weren't interested in me. It turns out I failed to show my beautiful side. Looks like I'll only be able to ask Li Huan to admire the moon with me tomorrow."
Then, Sister Pomegranate said to Li Huan, "I'll come find you tomorrow night, let's enjoy the moon together. Don't go to bed early, wait for me!"
Li Huan said, "Sorry, I'm really not interested in moon gazing. You should ask Hua An; he's very interested!"
After saying this, Li Huan hurriedly left.
Tang Bohu said helplessly, "Tomorrow night, I'll accompany you to admire the moon and have a heart-to-heart talk."
Sister Pomegranate's eyes darted around, and a smile appeared on her face: "Being close to the water tower gives you an advantage. If I ask you out first, I'll have a chance to ask Li Huan out too..."
...
The next day at noon.
Li Huan handed the boxed lunch to the servant and returned to the room with Tang Bohu to eat.
Tang Bohu said, "I was very disappointed that I failed to win Qiu Xiang's heart last night. Tonight I have to accompany Sister Shiliu again... Sigh, I feel like I'm just not lucky..."
Li Huan comforted her, "Don't be discouraged. At least you know that Qiu Xiang likes your writing and admires your character."
Tang Bohu said, "That's exactly why I'm so frustrated! I'm right in front of Qiu Xiang, but I can't prove that I'm Tang Bohu. It's driving me crazy!"
Li Huan said, "The key point is that we didn't know beforehand that Madam Hua actually hated you to the core!"
Tang Bohu said, "I once heard my mother say that my Tang family has two great enemies! One is the deadly scholar, and the other is my mother's rival in love!"
"It wasn't until last night that I realized my mother's rival in love was actually Madam Hua!"
"Alas... the confidante I love is actually Qiu Xiang, Madam Hua's personal maid. What a cruel twist of fate!"
Tang Bohu sighed again, picked up the beer in his glass, and drank it all in one gulp.
Just as Li Huan was about to say a few words of comfort, he heard someone shouting outside.
"The martial arts champion has captured Tang Bohu! Go and see!"
Tang Bohu was startled and put down his beer: "The martial arts champion has caught me?"
Li Huan suddenly realized that the person the martial arts champion had captured was not Tang Bohu, but Zhu Zhishan!
This guy impersonated Tang Bohu, selling calligraphy and paintings on the street, and happened to be spotted by the martial arts champion.
Li Huan hurriedly said, "Let's go check out the situation!"
Tang Bohu followed Li Huan and quickly arrived at the hall.
Sure enough, Zhu Zhishan was bound hand and foot, kneeling on the ground with a pile of calligraphy and paintings in front of him.
Madam Hua sat in the hall, her face full of anger.
The martial arts champion said, "Madam! I was secretly protecting the servants who were selling boxed lunches on the street when I happened to run into this man who claimed to be Tang Bohu and was selling many calligraphy and paintings!"
Madam Hua took the calligraphy and painting and examined them closely.
"It is indeed a genuine work by Tang Bohu!"
Zhu Zhishan said, "It's a misunderstanding! I'm not actually Tang Bohu; I'm just impersonating him to make it easier to sell my calligraphy and paintings!"
Tang Bohu whispered to Li Huan, "Damn it, this kid dares to impersonate me!"
Madam Hua said, "If you are not Tang Bohu, how do you have so many genuine works by Tang Bohu?"
Zhu Zhishan explained, "Yesterday, while Tang Bohu was not at home, I secretly sneaked into his study and stole these calligraphy and paintings."
"Damn it!" Tang Bohu glared angrily, then whispered to Li Huan, "No wonder I couldn't find Zhu Zhishan anywhere yesterday; he was hiding in my house!"
Madam Hua questioned, "If you're not Tang Bohu, then who are you?"
Zhu Zhishan replied, "I am Zhu Zhishan, one of the Four Great Talents of Jiangnan, without a doubt!"
Madam Hua still didn't believe it and said to Li Huan, "Li Huan, you and Hua An come here and acknowledge Tang Bohu!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
