In the end, Ziru resigned herself to not sit on that rag. For the sake of his own comfort, Baby gave the tattered flying carpet to a stray dog as a mat.
The next day, the three of us sat on the ‘genuine’ flying carpet and arrived at Zhen Ming Kingdom. I was especially thankful for this flying carpet, as it saved me a lot of travel expenses and time! If it weren’t for my sense of hygiene, I would have definitely kissed this flying carpet.
The branch of the Tianxia First Hall was still called Tianxia First Hall, still operating with four halls.
Mo Ran had previously recruited a batch of elite workers, from which I selected four hall managers. Xiao Yuan was transferred to be the general manager of this branch, while I chose one newly recruited worker to manage the Lian Xing Hall at the main store.
It took considerable effort to divide the workers into four grades. The Tianxia First Hall branch matched the main store in land area, with only slight architectural differences, yet both were incredibly luxurious. On the opening day, I went all out, hosting a wine tasting at the Qing Zhi Hall, where guests mingled regardless of status, enjoying free drinks and food.
That night, the streets of Zhen Ming Kingdom’s capital were empty, as everyone gathered at the Tianxia First Hall branch.
Drunk, I was carried to my room by Mo Han. After he dealt with my mess, I was taken back to the palace. Baby and Bei Bei slept in the same big bed with me. I drowsily slept until late morning, awakened by their cries.
I rubbed my sleepy eyes and struggled to sit up, aching all over from the previous night’s festivities. As I opened my eyes, I saw Baby and Bei Bei hiding behind me, with my two dear godfathers standing in front of us. “Uh, Jade Emperor Godfather, King of Hell Godfather, good morning!”
The two godfathers walked to me with teary eyes, each holding one of my hands. “Han’er, why are you still saying this at this time?!” I played dumb, “Oh, it’s this late already? Hehe~ Good afternoon!” They were speechless and stood up to grab their children, ready to head towards the door. “Damn! How can you two be so unethical?!”
The two godfathers turned in unison, “Our precious goddaughter, how is it unethical to take our own children home?” I roared: “Put Baby and Bei Bei down!” The godfathers, most afraid of my angry look, quickly let go of them.
Baby and Bei Bei ran crying into my arms. I hugged the two tightly, “What’s wrong with eloping? Why can’t the daughter of the King of Hell be with the son of the Jade Emperor? Tell me!”
“That girl is not good enough for my son!”
“That boy is not good enough for my daughter!” The Jade Emperor Godfather and the King of Hell Godfather blurted out simultaneously, then glared at each other angrily. “How are they not a good match? A little boy and a little girl, how are they not a good match? I say they are a match! You two go back! Otherwise, don’t blame me for getting angry!”
“But…” the two godfathers hesitated.
“But what? If you don’t go back, I’ll dig out all your private money and hand it over to your wives!” With me as their backing, the two little devils also stuck out their heads and said: “Daddy, why won’t you let us?”
“Mommy already agreed~!”
“You two shut up!” roared the Jade Emperor Godfather, and the King of Hell Godfather sternly added: “You two go home right now! Dare to take Baby and Bei Bei away, and see what happens?!” I widened my eyes and shouted louder than them, “Baby and Bei Bei are under my protection. Do you doubt that I can protect them?”
The two godfathers shook their heads, “No, no, no…”
Continuing to roar when a visitor came, I asked, “Will you still let Baobao and Beibei be together?! Do you dare to oppose them?!” This time, I was much louder, and my throat hurt a bit. “Don’t dare, don’t dare…”
“Then get out of here! Go back to where you came from! If you don’t leave in three seconds, I’ll make you pay ten times the debt!!” I shouted fiercely. In less than a second, the two elders disappeared. Baobao and Beibei burst into tears in my arms, wiping their tears and snot all over my clothes. “Woo… Sister Xiao Han! We love you!!! Woo woo woo…”
“Okay, okay. Don’t cry, let’s change our clothes, and we’ll go play at Huashan Sect with Brother Baoxin, alright?” I tried to soften my voice. Baobao and Beibei obediently nodded and went to change. For some reason, while holding them, I couldn’t help but think of the children in the orphanage, and my heart ached. I wonder how they are doing… I really miss them…
After tidying myself up and making sure I was presentable, I packed my bags and set off towards our destination – Huashan Sect.
At this moment, I was sitting on Baobao’s flying carpet, with Beibei holding my left arm, Baobao patting her back, and Baoxin clinging to my right arm like an octopus. The key point was that the beautiful woman behind me was sipping tea. To my dismay, this beautiful woman was Princess Qingping.
I felt incredibly uncomfortable, like a small lamb guarded by a glamorous female hunter.
The flying carpet was about to land safely when it was suddenly stabbed with several holes by a sword, and my bottom was almost pierced in the process.
Angry, I shouted: “Damn it! Don’t you have eyes down there?! Is this how you practice sword?! If you pierce this young lady’s precious bottom, who’s responsible?!”
As soon as I finished speaking, the sword flew towards my face like an arrow. I quickly pulled my head back into the flying carpet and stood up with Beibei and Baobao, ‘dancing disco’ on the flying carpet.
In the blink of an eye, the flying carpet was full of holes, with swords standing like seedlings planted by a farmer. We stood in a golden rooster stance, while Princess Qingping continued to leisurely drink her tea.
“My dear aunt, can you go down and drink tea? Your behavior doesn’t match the current atmosphere,” I frowned at her. She didn’t answer, just smiled slightly and gazed into the distance, seemingly looking at a far-off UFO.
Seeing the group silent and sweating coldly, I quickly knelt down, covering my chest with one hand and extending the other hand to the ceiling. I should be using chopsticks to rhythmically tap on cups and bowls, mimicking the great posture of a star, and raising my voice:
“Oh my lord! My family has only a thatched house, with no crops in the fields, the landlord chasing debt with a knife, forcing me to sell my old ox. With a seriously ill elderly mother at home and a virtuous husband cooking vegetables, I till the land and thank heaven and earth, yet still kowtow and beg, but the master refuses to spare me, taking my land and my husband.”
My old mother dies, the chicken dies, I come out to perform arts and get robbed, now penniless and seeking refuge. I only hope you’ll grant me a silver coin and let me stay here for a few days…
I finished speaking, and everyone’s heads were moving to my rhythm. It seemed this performance was powerful. Scanning the crowd with a pitiful look, I twirled the chopsticks and started tapping on cups and bowls in a Cantonese opera tone: “Aiya, my lord~~ Lord~~”
An elderly man’s eyebrows twitched severely, waving his hand, “You can stop now, or we’ll start vomiting blood.” Hearing this, I tossed the chopsticks and ran to him, massaging his legs, acting submissive, “Grandpa, will you let me stay here for a few days?”
My big, watery eyes looked at the grandfather, who blinked hard. Finally, he nodded vigorously, “Fine, fine, just stop looking at me like that.” I jumped three zhang high, hugging his waist and rubbing his belly, “Grandpa! You’re the best!”
An elderly woman then spoke up, “Yue Lao, I saw this girl first, you can’t compete with me.”
“Wife, you never told me you saw her first. I’m taking this girl,” the old man replied.
