Chapter 29: Burning Bao Pan An

  There are still six days until New Year's Eve. A snowfall came quietly and fell densely throughout the night. It wasn't until the sun came out in the morning that people discovered a thick layer of snow had covered the ground.

  The Hundred Flowers Building has also become a small building with a silver and white wrapping, not showing the slightest bit of the vibrant colors of spring and summer when hundreds of flowers bloom together, leaving only a patch of white.

  Its owner quietly takes a broom and goes outside to sweep the snow after getting up in the morning, and can't help but smile when hearing the footsteps and voices coming from across the street.

  He got up really early, that boss...

  Since the owner of that stall changed, every day before dawn there would be people waiting in line, and it's always bustling until almost noon when they close up shop. Half a month ago after the new boss's family came, business got even better, with men and women, young and old, lining up in large groups to wait for freshly baked buns.

  Who would have thought a few months ago that today's scene would appear?

  A blind but not heart-blind young man smiled and thought, Lu Xiaofeng sent a letter saying that he heard there was a P'an An who sold baked cakes here, the boss looked very handsome, and had a lovely daughter like an immortal child, he must come to take a look, and also asked him to help queue up, he really wanted to know how good the legendary White Cloud Cake tasted.

  After Lu Xiao Feng arrives, I'm sure you'll be happy.

  Hua Manlou swept away all the snow at the door, clearing a path for visitors to walk through. She smiled and went back inside, quietly waiting for her old friend's arrival.

  At noon, Lu Xiaofeng with his four eyebrows arrived at the Baifang Building in a flurry of dust and wind. Without any courtesy, he pulled out a chair to sit down, poured himself a cup of tea, gulped down several mouthfuls, and then asked with great interest: "Huamanlou, I heard that not far from here there is an early-riser's food stall that makes excellent shaobing?"

  Hua Manlou smiled and nodded, recalling the taste of that family's roasted buns, honestly praising: "It's really good."

  Lu Xiaofeng took another sip of tea and asked, "I heard that the boss is as handsome as Pan An? Which fallen noble's son was forced by his stepmother to flee to the rivers and lakes, and had no choice but to sell pancakes on the street? His poor daughter was also driven out of the house by her evil grandmother and came to seek refuge here. I heard that the girl is extremely lovely, just like the Dragon Girl under the Guanyin statue?"

  Hua Manlou remained silent for a moment before responding, "I've heard that although the young lady is still very young, she already shows signs of becoming a great beauty in the future. Recently, many families have sent matchmakers to propose marriage..."

  Lu Xiaofeng was taken aback, then reacted.

  Ordinary families are different from those of the rivers and lakes, where many female knights remain unmarried even after their 20s. However, in ordinary families, girls are often engaged by the time they are in their teens, and the better-off the family is, the earlier the engagement is arranged.

  He suddenly felt a bit uninterested, but still continued asking along the previous line of questioning.

  "Oh? Which family did that girl end up with in the end?"

  The flowers on the building smiled quietly, slowly turning the teacup and smiling without answering.

  This meaningful smile suddenly lifted Lu Xiaofeng's already low spirits, because he was very clear that Hua Manlou was not a person who would rejoice in others' misfortune. Unlike himself, Hua Manlou was a humble gentleman with a kind heart and would never laugh at someone else's misfortune. Even such a person would have an attitude of smiling and watching from the sidelines, which shows that this matter must be very interesting.

  Lu Xiaofeng immediately asked: "What happened? Tell me quickly!"

  The flowers are still in the building, and after a moment, he smiled and looked towards the direction of the bustling stalls, saying: "Hearing is not as good as seeing, why don't you take a look with your own eyes?"

  Lu Xiaofeng was the most unable to bear curiosity, being teased to the point of almost scratching his heart, and immediately stood up.

  "Let's go, we'll go together."

  Hua Manlou agreed with pleasure.

  From the Hundred Flowers Building to the pancake stall, it's not a long distance at all. It's just a diagonal distance. Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou walked out of the door and arrived at the stall in no time, only about 100 meters away from the stove where the pancakes were being baked.

  Lu Xiaofeng stared at the dense, shoulder-to-shoulder crowd in front of him, and was shocked for several seconds before he came back to his senses. He turned to his friend beside him and said with great surprise: "The baked buns from this store must be really delicious! I haven't seen such a long line in years, not even for Shanxi's mutton soup or the old Beijing alleyway's fungus cakes... No wonder Baiyun Baked Buns became famous in just a few months."

  The flower on the building smiled and said: "The pancake sold here is very interesting, one for one coin, two for five coins, three for ten coins, four or more, each twenty coins, ten or more, each one or two silver, twenty or more, each one or two gold."

  Lu Xiaofeng listened to the price in front of him and thought it was still normal. When he heard that there was another one priced at one or two silver, he swallowed his saliva and felt unbelievable. He didn't expect that behind him, someone would actually sell one for one or two gold, and he was suddenly shocked with his mouth wide open.

  "It's always been the more you buy, the cheaper it is, but this store gets more expensive the more you buy?"

  The girl in front of the queue burst out laughing and turned around, saying, "As soon as I heard this, I knew that little brother had just arrived here. Ah," she only then noticed that there were two more handsome young men standing behind her, hastily tidying up her hair and continuing to say with a smile, "The pancakes are sold like this here. If it weren't for this rule, we people who have been queuing hard wouldn't be able to buy them. Early in the morning, those people would have bought them all. At first, the boss didn't set this rule, and I don't know how many times I queued up in vain, only to find that the boss had sold out and closed the stall before I could even get to the front. It was lucky that Seventh Sister set this rule, after which things got a lot better. If someone really wanted to spend all their money to buy them all, then we wouldn't have anything to say about it."

  That's right.

  Giving someone 100 coins to buy a single pancake, and hearing that others need 100 taels of gold to take away 100 pancakes. Even if you can't buy one in the end, the feeling is still different.

  Lu Xiaofeng nodded, "So that's how it is... This 'Seventh Sister' is really interesting."

  The enthusiastic girl heard this and slightly changed her complexion, lowering her voice to ask: "Are you here specifically to see Seventh Sister? Be careful not to mention anything about a concubine, or you'll provoke Seventh Sister and regret it. A few days ago, the third young master of the Wang family in the east city brought people to try and forcibly take Seventh Sister away, but they all ended up leaving with their tails between their legs."

  "Abducting a civilian woman?" Lu Xiaofeng was slightly surprised. "Isn't he afraid of the authorities investigating?"

  The girl shook her head with a poor complexion, "If he was afraid of being pursued, he would not have robbed several girls in the past. The official is his uncle..."

  Bullying others with power and influence is most detestable. This kind of situation is precisely the most difficult problem that ordinary people cannot solve.

  Lu Xiaofeng hummed heavily and suddenly thought that this would get "Qī Gūniáng" into big trouble, so he hastily asked: "What happened to Qī Gūniáng afterwards..."

  The girl burst out laughing with a "heh".

  "It's strange to say, but the third young master of the Wang family was brought by our 'Master Qīng Tiān' to kneel down and apologize to Seventh Young Lady. It wasn't easy for him to leave with his tail between his legs. Everyone says that Ye Gongzi and Seventh Young Lady must be some kind of noble masters, and now they're in some kind of trouble... Anyway, it's a rare opportunity, so let's make the most of it and see each other as often as possible. Ye Gongzi makes great pancakes, is handsome, and Seventh Young Lady is like a fairy descended from heaven. Since she arrived, those local rascals have been much quieter. Everyone likes them and hopes they'll stay here for good, but at the same time thinks that such refined people should return home to enjoy their luxurious life."

  Lu Xiaofeng seemed to be deep in thought, and casually exchanged a few words with the other person. After the other person turned around, he turned his head towards Huamanlou and said with great satisfaction: "I knew it! So that's how it is! I thought it was just a widower and his young daughter relying on each other for survival, but it turns out to be a hidden expert... Even if the girl herself doesn't take action, you, Huamanlou, wouldn't just watch that young master succeed in his evil plans, would you? They set up their stall here, what good luck indeed."

  Hua Man Lou smiled and shook her head, "Lu Xiao Feng, what you said is not right."

  "Really?" Lu Xiaofeng's face was full of disbelief, and he tiptoed forward to take a peek at the team in front.

  It seems that the rule of buying more and paying more is quite effective, as most people only buy two buns and leave, making the queue move quickly. In just a short while, they have already moved closer to the stall.

  "I'll believe it when I see it!"

  The flowers fill the building, smiling but saying nothing.

  A moment later, Lu Xiaofeng saw it with his own eyes.

  Standing just under a zhang away from the breakfast stall, Lu Xiaofeng could clearly see every move his opponent made.

  This pancake seller is indeed no ordinary person, truly a young master from a noble family.

  Her face is like a jade crown, her eyes are like cold stars. Even if she wears coarse linen clothes, it can't hide that noble and divine air that seems to come from the gods.

  If this person wasn't slightly smiling with the corners of his mouth raised, but instead had a cold and proud expression, even if he was unarmed and not wearing white clothes, Lu Xiaofeng would never have misrecognized him.

  The problem was that this person actually had a hint of a smile in his cold and calm expression, which gave Lu Xiaofeng a shocking feeling like a thunderstorm on a sunny day.

  Lü Xiao Feng had seen Ximen Chuixue smile before, but he had never seen Ye Gu Cheng smile.

  He saw him today.

  The street vendor who looks like Pan An in this rumor is actually Ye Gu Cheng, the master of White Cloud City.

  The impression of Yeh Luo City was too deep, so Lu Xiao Feng couldn't help but stare at the smiling man in front of him for a long time. After a while, he slowly turned his head to look at the "daughter" beside him, who was said to be like an immortal fairy descending into the mortal world.

  Yes, her black hair cascades like a waterfall, her skin is as white as snow, and her features are perfectly proportioned. Her beauty is truly ethereal, making it easy to imagine her as an immortal fairy. While other girls of the same age may possess a similar innocent quality, she has an additional air of quiet serenity about her. At first glance, one might think her still young, but upon further observation, there arises a strange illusion that she seems born with innate wisdom.

  For some reason, upon closer inspection, Lu Xiaofeng always felt that this girl looked somewhat familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he had seen her before.

  The girl seemed to have noticed Lu Xiaofeng's gaze, turned her head and glanced at him, then continued counting the copper plates as if nothing had happened, letting the people behind hurry up.

  Just then, a horseshoe sound came rushing over, and in an instant, a robust man dismounted his horse, carrying a long sword with a fierce aura, walking towards them with big strides. The people who were originally queuing quietly made way for him, watching as he chopped the wooden board into two segments with one swing of his sword, causing the small bowl containing copper plates and silver fragments to fall to the ground, with the copper plates rolling out and making a clattering sound.

  The Great Han looked up at the sky and laughed maniacally, saying in a loud and boisterous voice: "I thought it was just joking, but I didn't expect it to be true! White Cloud Castle Master, you actually have this day too! In the past, you said I wasn't worthy of using a sword, now look at yourself, selling pancakes? Being protected and supported by a little girl?! Hahahaha! A fool who is no longer worthy of being called a Sword Immortal! Today, I will kill Ye Gu Cheng and make a name for myself!"

  The author has something to say: Rumor in Jianghu 1: There is a pancake seller who looks like Pan An, and he also has an adorable daughter, yada yada.

  Rumors in Jianghu 2: There is a pancake seller who looks like Pan An, and also has a low-key daughter, etc.

  Rumors from the Jianghu 3: There's a rumor that a pancake seller is suspected to be the master of White Cloud City, and seems to have gone crazy, being kept by someone to eat soft rice...

  The sparkle in the money: ...??????

  。

  Girlfriend A said: Shaobing Pan'an is abbreviated as sb Ye Guocheng.

  Lady Friends A died.

  。

  Girlfriend B: How can the lord of the city be middle-aged! You explain clearly!

  Lotus seed: Hmm, that's how it is, the city master is obviously older than Ximen Chui Xue, probably ten years or so. Ximen Chui Xue is already in his twenties, and the city master must be over thirty? In ancient times, people had shorter lifespans, a woman in her thirties could call herself "old self", and a man in his thirties was considered middle-aged, which is quite normal, right?

  Girlfriend B: Hehe.

  Lotus seed died.

  。

  Here is the translation:

  Let everyone see an advertisement (......), from the hand of Minghe Jujube. The day the advertisement was broadcast, Minghe Jujube passed away.