When Ban Lan gets impatient, he swears; when he gets angry, he swings a bench; when he's happy, he puts his arm around his junior brother's shoulder; when he's sad, he can sit alone with a jar of Zhuyeqing liquor and drink until he's rolling around in a daze.
Everyone seems to have forgotten that Ban Lan is a woman.
It wasn't until Wen Moyin sent an invitation to Fish Eye Valley, inviting Ban Lan to be her bridesmaid, that Ban Lan realized her gentle and lovely senior sister was about to get married! Looking at herself, she realized she was destined to be a "lonely widow" for the rest of her life.
Despite her disappointment, Ban Lan was genuinely happy for Wen Moyin that her most respected senior sister had found happiness. However, she never imagined that while she was grinning all the way, she would lose her senior sister halfway through the journey.
Although the fault did not lie with Ban Lan, the bandits who kidnapped her did not even give her a chance to fight back, allowing her to run back to Kongshan Ridge unharmed and say that Wen Moyin had evaporated. I'm afraid she will never be able to set foot in Kongshan Ridge again for the rest of her life.
Thinking this, Ban Lan finally got angry.
She slammed her riding whip to the ground and cursed, "Damn his ancestors! How dare he snatch someone right under my nose!"
Upon hearing this, Cen Ji turned around and looked at the nine-year-old girl for the first time.
Thin, light eyebrows, crescent-shaped eyes, round nose, and slightly upturned lips.
It's neither stunning nor jarring.
She seemed like a girl from a modest family, but her words were a complete surprise.
If it were Cen Ji, those furious words would never have come from his mouth.
After a glance, Cen Ji had just turned around when he heard a voice behind him call out, "Who are you?" Knowing that she was asking about him, Cen Ji hesitated for a moment before telling Ban Lan his real name: "I am Cen Ji."
He did not turn around.
His first impression of the girl was terrible. If he hadn't seen her at Kongshan Ridge and known that she was Wen Moyin's junior sister, he wouldn't have told her who he was.
Oh...Cen Ji? The name sounds familiar. Ban Lan jumped off his horse and ran to Cen Ji.
Cen Ji frowned slightly, a hint of impatience in his expression.
He wasn't an extremely handsome man, but he was definitely a man with a lot of charisma.
His eyes were bright, with a relaxed and unhurried gaze. His dark eyebrows slanted upwards, like a drunken old man wielding a brush, casual and unrestrained, adding the finishing touch. His lips were just the right thickness, but slightly dry. A few unruly, stiff hairs stuck out at his temples, and the fine stubble on his chin made him look like he wasn't very good at grooming himself.
This man reminded Ban Lan of the jar of Xuepei Dew that she often secretly drank from Wei Li. It was cool and refreshing, with a sweet and refreshing taste that rolled down her throat and into her stomach, but after a moment it turned into a burning spiciness.
"You seem to know who kidnapped Senior Sister Wen." Ban Lan looked up at the man who was much taller than her.
“It’s Crane Feather Palace,” Cen Ji said.
"Oh, so you knew! Are you going to rescue your senior sister?" Ban Lan asked.
“If you hadn’t called me back, I might have already caught up with the enemy,” Cen Ji replied.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Let's go quickly!" Ban Lan said.
“Us?” Cen Ji frowned.
Ban Lan grabbed Cen Ji's sleeve and walked away, saying, "What are you all standing there for? Senior Sister must be anxiously waiting for us!"
Cen Ji was displeased. He flipped his wrist and casually pushed Ban Lan's hand away.
"What's wrong?" Ban Lan asked, puzzled.
“I’ll go after them, you go back to Kongshan Ridge and get help,” Cen Ji said.
Ban Lan turned his head and instructed the sedan chair bearers: "You must return to Kongshan Ridge within one hour to report the news, or you will have half a year's salary deducted!"
"Alright," Ban Lan shrugged. "Can we go now?"
——
Where is Crane Feather Palace? Only the people inside Crane Feather Palace know.
Who are the people of Crane Feather Palace? No one knows except the people in Crane Feather Palace.
However, there are always exceptions.
Zhai Huan is an exception.
Zhai Huan is a source of information. He says there's no information he doesn't know, only information he won't sell.
Upon hearing this, Ban Lan burst into laughter: "I guess you're not going to sell all the information you don't know, are you?"
Zhai Huan wasn't angry when he heard this. He simply put his hands into his sleeves, rolled his eyes, and said, "I really don't know. I hope you two will find someone more knowledgeable."
Cen Ji took out two gold leaves from his pocket and gently pinched them in his hand.
“It is one. She is her, and I am me. I wonder if these two gold leaves can change your ‘not for sale’ to ‘for sale’.”
When Zhai Huan opened her eyes, there were no two gold leaves on the table, only one! But it looked thicker and heavier than a single leaf, as if two leaves were glued together without any gaps.
Zhai Huan absentmindedly fiddled with the gold leaf for a while before saying, "Go and steal Xiong San Niang's undergarment."
Dudou (minor retouching)
Xiong San Niang is actually a man. How could a man use a bellyband?
Cen Ji didn't know, and Ban Lan couldn't possibly know either.
Cen Ji, however, mostly kept silent and frowned when he didn't know, while Ban Lan often mentioned not knowing.