CHAPTER 636: EPISODE 338: TURNING THE TABLES

She had not slept well all night and had barely made it until dawn when Hua Xiaomai settled little Walnut and bid Meng’s mother a quick hello. Then, with dark circles under her eyes, she hurried to Daoxiang Garden.

At this hour, the clerks had just taken down the door planks. The greasy air that had been trapped inside the lobby all night seeped out, certainly not pleasant. Chun Xi, covering her nose, instructed Qing You and the others to hurry and tidy up. She turned around, saw Hua Xiaomai, and said with a smile, "Yo, how come you’re so diligent today? Here I thought you’d forget about the shop now that you have a child, thoroughly addicted to tossing the responsibility to someone else, never bothering with this end of things!"

Wang Zhanrui, who usually arrived early each day, also came over to say a few words when he saw her.

"About the Eight Treasures Conference, I think you need to decide sooner rather than later. If you decide to go, we should quickly find out what this year’s theme is, to better prepare, right?"

Hua Xiaomai was not in the mood for small talk, and she nodded absentmindedly before turning around and signaling to Ji Xiang.

"Run an errand to Lianshun Escort Agency for me." She pondered and instructed, "Go see if Yuhuai is there and what the situation is; tell him I have something important to discuss with him, and I’m waiting at home. Tell him to make time to come back today. When you speak, do it away from others, not loudly in front of everyone. Pull him aside and speak quietly, remember?"

Meng Yuhuai was not the type to be irresponsible or ignore his family. If he hadn’t come home last night, either Han Hu hadn’t relayed the message, or more likely, he had been tied up with something and couldn’t disengage for the moment. Therefore, she was more anxious than annoyed.

The matter from yesterday didn’t seem to need urgent attention after all; Han Hu and the others hadn’t departed for Lizhou yet, everything was still manageable. But keeping those two unpredictable powder kegs close within the Escort Agency still made it impossible for her to feel at ease.

"Alright." Ji Xiang nodded heartily, "And if he’s not there, should I just come back?"

"If he’s not there..."

Hua Xiaomai pondered for a moment: "There’s a Han in the Escort Agency; do you recognize him? Yes, he has been to our Daoxiang Garden several times, I reckon you must remember him. If Yuhuai isn’t there, go find that Brother Han, inquire about the situation, and ask him when they are setting off."

Ji Xiang did not know her purpose, but seeing her somber expression, he realized this was no joking matter and turned to run toward the west end of the village.

Hua Xiaomai managed to sit in the restaurant and chat with Chun Xi and La Mei for a while, then she visited Zhou Yunyun, examining the fresh vegetables and fruits that were delivered that day, before she too headed home, fully focused on waiting for Meng Yuhuai to return.

Close to noon, a sweaty Ji Xiang finally brought Meng Yuhuai back, ushered him through the gates of the Meng Family’s courtyard, grinned at Hua Xiaomai, then turned around and went back to organize things at Daoxiang Garden.

Hua Xiaomai was sitting in the courtyard holding little Walnut; seeing the man casually tie Old Black to the front door’s large tree, obviously not planning to stay long, she promptly stood up.

"Didn’t I leave you a note yesterday asking you to come home? Why didn’t I see you?"

She was somewhat anxious; striding up to Meng Yuhuai, she began without waiting, "Didn’t Brother Han tell you?"

"I was delayed at Magistrate Tao’s yesterday, and there was a gathering in the evening. Han Hu couldn’t wait and went home first; I only found out this morning that you were looking for me."

Meng was hurried along by Ji Xiang all the way here, equally covered in sweat. He quickly scooped up a dipper of cold water by the water tank and gulped it down before he finally had a chance to touch little Walnut’s face and give Hua Xiaomai a smile, "Didn’t I tell you I would be staying at the Escort Agency these days because of urgent matters?"

And he still had the nerve to smile!

Hua Xiaomai glared at him fiercely, sidestepping to keep him away from little Walnut, pouting, "And you can still laugh after scaring me into a cold sweat yesterday! Let me ask you, doesn’t the Lianshun Escort Agency check the backgrounds of new recruits beforehand? What if it let those cunning and deceitful, ill-intentioned people in, wouldn’t it lead to endless trouble?"

Meng Yuhuai was steadfastly reaching out to play with little Walnut and paused abruptly when he heard her words.

"What’s this all of a sudden, why are you thinking like that? Did you... see something?"

He asked with a smile, his face showing a bit of puzzlement, yet his demeanor remained completely calm, as if even if Hua Xiaomai told him there was a monster at home, he would not find it surprising at all.