The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#682 - Grandma Tea

“That scholar was also a pitiful man,” Xia Huai sighed, “He fell in love with someone he shouldn't have, and kept deceiving himself. In the end, he not only lost his entire fortune, but also his life.”

“……”

Lu Jing found this topic a bit difficult to continue.

Fortunately, Xia Huai didn't continue, but turned to ask Constable Fei, “Where is that Hongzhu girl now?”

“Hongzhu was bought by a wealthy merchant as a concubine not long after the scholar surnamed Zeng died,” Constable Fei said. “The merchant's surname is Gong, and he runs a spice business. He's not a local of Wujiang. He only spends one or two months here each year. After buying Hongzhu, he spent money to buy a house to keep her.”

“Can you take us there?”

“Of course.”

As the constable of the city, Constable Fei was very familiar with every household. After speaking, he led the way.

Lu Jing and Xia Huai followed behind him.

After walking for a while, Lu Jing suddenly stopped in front of a small stall, took out twenty copper coins from his pocket, threw them to the stall owner, and then called out to Constable Fei, who was walking in front.

“Constable Fei, let's have a bowl of tea before we go.”

Constable Fei stopped when he heard this, and walked back with a smile, “Okay, I certainly can't refuse tea from Grandmaster Lu.”

After speaking, he said to Xia Huai, “Miss Xia, you should also try it. This is our famous Wujiang Granny Tea, made by frying chestnuts, sesame seeds, olives, and walnuts together. It's different from ordinary tea, very fragrant.”

Xia Huai originally stood aside with her sword in her arms, but after hearing Constable Fei's words, she hesitated for a moment. It wasn't good to refuse his kindness, so she walked over as well.

Constable Fei might not be good at martial arts, but he had been in the officialdom for so long that he was already a veteran. He could feel that although the young man and woman behind him were traveling together, the atmosphere between them was a bit awkward.

The events that happened in Zhuangyuan Restaurant hadn't yet spread back to Wujiang City, and Constable Fei didn't know what exactly happened between the two, but this didn't prevent him from actively acting as a peacemaker to ease the relationship between the two.

“Is this Miss Xia's first time in our Wujiang City?” Constable Fei asked, taking the Granny Tea handed over by the stall owner.

“No, it's not,” Xia Huai lowered her head and blew on the hot tea in her hand.

“Oh, when was the last time you came?”

“More than three years ago, I guess.”

Xia Huai's wrist trembled slightly, and the tea in the bowl almost splashed out.

That night, she hadn't completely lost her mind. She could vaguely remember some of the scenes at that time.

Including Senior Brother Wei Zixian, everyone in the restaurant had gone crazy, dancing and shouting, as if everyone had obtained a divine skill secret manual.

Xia Huai looked at the booklet in her hand again, which seemed to record a divine skill that could increase cultivation without practice.

So she couldn't help but be moved and couldn't wait to look through it and practice it.

However, at this moment, her hand was grabbed by Lu Jing.

The young man's expression looked very anxious, his lips opened and closed, but Xia Huai couldn't hear what he was saying.

And the next moment, she was hugged in his arms and hurried away.

At that time, Xia Huai only had the secret manual that she couldn't open in her eyes, and she didn't react to being hugged. But now, thinking back, she only felt a burst of heat all over her body.

She couldn't remember what happened after that, only some fragmented pieces.

Until she completely woke up and found herself still in the restaurant.

There had always been different opinions in the martial arts world about what happened that night. Some people said that Xie Liancheng had developed a very powerful hallucinogenic drug, which made all the heroes who attended the meeting that night dizzy.

But later, he was defeated by a passing martial arts senior, who saved everyone. Some people also said that Xie Liancheng didn't control the dosage well and knocked himself out as well… In short, there were all kinds of guesses.

At that time, Lu Jing wasn't very famous, just a small character, so everyone didn't associate this matter with him.

But Xia Huai vaguely remembered that at that time, only Lu Jing was still conscious in the entire restaurant, so if anyone was most likely to save everyone that night, it would have to be Lu Jing.

Moreover, after entering the academy, Xia Huai knew about the existence of strange objects and specifically investigated the events of three years ago.

She found that the Department of Celestial Observation only sent people to investigate afterwards. There was no supervisor present at the time, and after evaluation, they concluded that the strange object had disappeared.

That is to say, Lu Jing was likely to have resolved the obsession on that strange object that night and saved everyone in the restaurant.

And counting the time she was injured in the broken temple before, Lu Jing had saved her twice, and hugged her twice.

But now, thinking about these things seems meaningless.

Xia Huai couldn't fail to feel Lu Jing's feelings for her, especially since the latter seemed to be trying to repair their relationship.

But Xia Huai could also feel Lu Jing's feelings for Yan Yun and Wen Xiaoqian. This matter had already shown signs when they went to Zang Xun together to find that strange object.

Xia Huai also felt the crisis at that time.

She had thought about rising up and fighting for her own happiness. Although she, Xia Huai, didn't have the big names of the Wen family's seven daughters and the eldest senior sister of Yunshui Jici Pavilion, she was confident that she was no worse than anyone.

Many people just underestimated her determination and perseverance because she had a baby face.

So after hearing about what happened in Zhuangyuan Restaurant, she didn't feel despair, but instead stimulated the fighting spirit in her heart, but she changed her mind at the last moment.

It wasn't because she felt that she couldn't win against Yan Yun or Wen Xiaoqian.

It's just that she didn't want to see Lu Jing in this dilemma anymore.

Even if… she won, what could she do?

It would only make that person even more embarrassed.

Xia Huai could wrong herself, but she was unwilling to force that person to make a choice he didn't want to make.

The girl silently finished the bowl of Granny Tea in her hand. Seeing Lu Jing leaning towards her, seeming to have something to say, she spoke first, “Constable Fei, it's getting late. Let's go see that Hongzhu…madam as soon as possible.”

Constable Fei wiped his mouth after hearing this, “That's right, it's going to be dark if we're any later. There are only female relatives in Master Gong's house, so it wouldn't be appropriate to visit again.”