"We didn't do anything. We just couldn't accept that we lost to the girl, so we came here to save face," one of them said.
"Looking for face? If you want to save face, why don't you go to the Ghost Market to cause me trouble, instead of ambushing me at my house? And tell the truth!" Lan Yamei didn't believe this nonsense. The other party was carrying three knives, clearly there to take her life.
Aunt Guan had already taken out two kitchen knives from her home, holding them in both hands, and hurriedly ran over to help.
Seeing that they couldn't fool him or win a fight, the three men dropped their broadswords, knelt down in unison, and pleaded, "Hero Lan, we've come to you because we're desperate. Please save us!"
Another henchman pulled out a bag of money from his pocket, presented it with both hands, and said, "We will repay you a hundredfold for the kebabs we owe you, but you must return that jade pendant to me. If we don't get this jade pendant back, none of the three of us will live past tomorrow."
At this point, the three of them burst into tears.
Aunt Guan was half-believing and half-doubting, but she took the money bag, and sure enough, inside was a bag of snow-white silver coins.
Seeing that things were not simple, Lan Yamei had no choice but to take the three of them back inside and listen to their story.
It turned out that the three of them had tricked a girl out of the Murong jade pendant, but before they could sell it, Lan Yamei took it away. Now, the original owner of the pendant had found them and threatened to kill them if they didn't get it back. The three dared not ask for it openly, so they followed the girl to this place, intending to steal it back. After searching for a long time without finding it, they had no choice but to ambush her in the courtyard and try to take it by force.
"What's that person's name? What does he look like? Do you know?" Lan Yamei asked.
"That man was very mysterious. He sat behind the tent, and we couldn't see his face. He captured us at the Flower Pavilion," the three confessed honestly.
Why is it Flower Pavilion again? Lan Yamei was really curious about what kind of place this was. But she noticed that Aunt Guan's expression changed. She picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of water, and looked a little flustered.
"What do you know? Don't you?" Lan Ya Mei asked Aunt Guan.
Just as Aunt Guan was about to cover it up, one of the three petty thieves exclaimed, "You're Manager Mei! Aren't you right?" He then stood up and looked her up and down.
At first, Aunt Guan tried to dodge and hide, but she couldn't escape it. She had no choice but to admit, "Yes, I am Meilin Guan! But now I just want to be Aunt Guan! Selling kebabs and living an ordinary life."
"Manager Mei, save us! Save us!" The three men kowtowed repeatedly.
Lan Ya Mei was completely confused and asked, "What exactly is going on? I'm getting more and more confused."
Aunt Guan interrupted, saying, "Aren't we supposed to be digging lotus roots? We happen to be short-handed, so let the three of them go dig. I'll explain it to you slowly."
Even at this point, it's truly admirable that Aunt Guan is still thinking about tomorrow's barbecue skewers. She then said to the three of them, "If you want to live, go work at the entrance first. Dig up the lotus roots in the pond, and we'll talk about the rest later."
Since Doctor Mei had agreed to save them, the three of them, disregarding their pain, rushed towards the lotus pond.
As Aunt Guan watched the three people run away, she said to Lan Ya Mei, "They've been poisoned by the red spider. If they don't return to report within three days, they'll definitely die. Judging from the situation, tomorrow will be their last day."
"Poisoned?" Lan Ya Mei was completely bewildered. The three of them looked healthy and energetic, yet they had been poisoned for two days? This was no place for her in the martial arts world; she couldn't understand it!
“Red spiders are the Hua family’s signature poison, so it must have been done by someone from Hua Manlou,” Aunt Guan said quietly.
"How did you know? Aunt Guan, we've lived together for over three years, what are you still hiding from me? I can't understand you anymore." Lan Yamei was eager to know everything about Aunt Guan.
"I'm a doctor, a gambler, and I used to be Manager Mei at Hua Man Lou. Now I just want to be Aunt Guan, selling kebabs with you and living an ordinary life," Aunt Guan said softly, a hint of tears welling up in her eyes.
"You really don't have any family?" Lan Yamei is all alone here; she relies on Aunt Guan.
“I have no family! Apart from a little fame I used to have, I’m just old now.” Aunt Guan wiped away her tears and said, “It’s all in the past. I thought no one would recognize me anymore, but I never expected to be recognized on the spot today.”
Lan Yamei pouted and complained, "You old hag! We're starving to death, and you don't even know how to make some money by practicing medicine. You're really good at hiding it."
"Practicing medicine would expose me, so I don't want to live in the martial arts world anymore. I just want to live out the rest of my life in peace. And you're blaming me? You didn't even use your family's traditional skills to make money earlier, and you almost starved to death. If it weren't for me secretly taking care of you, with your diet, we would both be sickly by now. Instead of being grateful to me, you're complaining about me." Aunt Guan said with a laugh and a scolding tone.
They both chuckled, agreeing.
Lan Yamei pointed to the three men fussing about in the lotus pond and asked, "Who are they looking for that jade pendant for? What's it for? Why are they in such a hurry?"
Aunt Guan thought for a moment and analyzed, "The mysterious person who asked them to find the jade pendant must be at Hua Man Lou, and the people at Hua Man Lou also know who I am, which is why they didn't come in person. So, the person at Hua Man Lou who helped the mysterious person must be the current manager, Hua Yuhe. As for who the mysterious person is, I really can't guess. But since it's related to the jade pendant, it must be related to the Murong family."
"What is the Murong family for?" Lan Yamei was completely clueless about this era.
"The Murong Mansion is the government's management agency for gold refining and coin minting. It has both government personnel and martial arts masters guarding it, so ordinary people can't get in touch with it. However, the Murong Mansion's plaque is gold-inlaid with jade. What can a single piece of jade do?" Aunt Guan also began to wonder.
"Could it be that jade is valuable?" Lan Yamei boldly guessed.
“How could that be! I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the signboard of the Murong family once, and it was far more magnificent than this!” Aunt Guan immediately denied it.
"So what do we do now? What should we do with the three of them?" Lan Yamei had already figured out a way to get rich, and she couldn't accept that they would have to wander the world and run away for their lives just because they couldn't pay back a piece of jade.
“Get the jade back as soon as possible and have them report back first. We can deal with the rest later, what do you say?” Aunt Guan suggested.
Without further ado, Lan Yamei left Aunt Guan and the three others behind and took all the money, rushing to the pawnshop in the city that very night.
At this time, around 2 a.m., apart from the ghost market where there were still people, the city was quiet with its doors and windows closed.
That pawnshop was easy to find; there was even a horse on the hitching post at the entrance.
Lan Yamei crept closer and was about to push the door open when she vaguely remembered a scene from a movie where a razor blade was used to pry open a door. But then she heard footsteps coming from inside and hurriedly hid in a corner. Luckily, it was dark and she wasn't discovered.
Two dark figures came out when the door opened, their faces obscured.
One of the voices sounded familiar and whispered, "Just hand over the items to them, take the money, and come back quickly."
The man bowed in farewell, mounted his horse, and rode away.
Lan Yamei saw that the other party had closed the door and turned off the lights. Only then did she cautiously emerge from the shadows, listen to the sounds, gently pry open the latch with a thin blade, and tiptoe into the shop.
After searching thoroughly, they found nothing. They had clearly seen the old shopkeeper put the item into a rosewood box that day, but they couldn't find it. Instead, they found a piece of jade of similar quality. They could only put it in their pocket, restore the scene, and return to their home outside the city.
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