The Feast Part One

Chapter 8: Ominous premonition

Oh, this is going to be fun. But he should be patient and watch quietly.

Once he thought of these, he looked out of the window. It is quite dark now. He muttered to himself, "Forget it, I will let you sleep in peace tonight. But tomorrow....."

"What did you just say?"

Si Ping was stunned at this weird behaviour, and asked.

Duan Tingxuan appeared visibility annoyed as he sneered, "I was saying, what should I bury with you after you have passed away from starvation!"

Si Ping immediately bowed his head, and dare not to utter another word.

**** Back in the Courtyard *****

"Xiang Yun, help me watch the stove. Also, help to cut the two salted eggs. I will go to fetch some water from the well. Missy should wake up soon."

In the kitchen of the courtyard, Hong Lian had already prepared everything. When she saw Xiang Yun, she immediately assigned the rest of the chores to her.

Hong Lian heated up some water and approached Su Nuan Nuan's room. As expected, there are some voices muttering inside.

Hong Lian knocked on the door, and enter, and poured the kettle of warm water into a basin. Then she smiled as she greeted, "Missy woke up so early today, and immediately muttered so many things in the morning. What makes you so happy this morning?"

"Happy?"

Su Nuan Nuan walked towards Hong Lian, and pointed at her right eye, "Look, look at my right eye. Did you discover anything?"

Hong Lian looked hard and shook her head, "No, what happened to your eye?"

"Look again! Try to be more observant!" Su Nuan Nuan looked at her with vexation. "How many times have I told you, you must be more observant! You are the eldest maid, and you must set a good example for Xiang Yun."

"Missy, your servant could not see anything, you do not even have eye boogers. What exactly do you want me to see?" Hong Lian tried her best. Maybe her eyelash had entered her eye? But try as she might, she could not see anything.

"You did not notice that this eye keeps twitching?" Su Nuan Nuan heard Hong Lian' word and sighed as she rubbed her eyes.

"Your servant could not see it." Hong Lian widened her eyes. Su Nuan Nuan pairs of beautiful eyes were fair and even, and there was no twitching.

"Sigh, you are right. It had stopped twitching." Su Nuan Nuan twisted her face, "This is really strange. Just now it is twitching like crazy!"

Hong Lian immediately passed her a towel to wash up, and shook her head as she remarked, "Even if it is twitching, Missy need not be so vexed."

"Left eye twitch means fortune coming your way. Right eye twitch means misfortune is coming! Did you not hear of this phase before?" Su Naun Nuan asked. She was surprised. This is an idiom in modern day that was handed down from the ages. Don't tell her that there is no such idiom at this time?

"Oh, I did hear about this when I was young, but I have not experienced anything weird, and I forgot about it." Hong Lian smiled. She looked at Su Nuan Nuan washing her face then sitting at the dressing table and immediately walked up to comb her missy's hair.

"If it is a misfortune, what could be a greater misfortune than the time you starved yourself? Now that the misfortune had gone, and your servant feels that the days are quite good. Although life is a bit hard, it is much better than the period of darkness."

Su Nuan Nuan remarked, "Men are men because they have aspirations. We are not animals, who feel happy just because we have some food and sleep well. You are so easily contented - what is the difference between you and beasts?"

"Your servant feels that her life is pretty good and do not aspire for more. To have food to eat, and a room over her head - that is all she wants." Hong Lian thought and replied.

Su Nuan Nuan was surprised, "What? You think this is good? No way? Don't tell me that you are no different from a beast?"

"Missy, what is your aspiration?" Hong Lian smiled as she asked.

"My aspiration is to eat the world's finest food!" Su Nuan Nuan proudly replied.

Hong Lian whispered under her breathe, "Isn't this the same as that of beasts?"

Su Nuan Nuan looked at Hong Lian with eyes of despair, "How could that be the same? Do beasts know how to cook? Know how to cook the finest food? Know how to cut a fish so that the fish meat is tender? Know how grass... Er... They only know how to eat and shit. How could they be compared to such a foodie like me, who desire to cook and eat the finest food in the land?"

Hong Lian remains silent as she added a silver colour hairpin on the silky, black hair.

"Now, do you know the difference between me and a beast?" Su Nuan Nuan looked at Hong Lian proudly. Seeing that Hong Lian nodded her head slowly, she was unsatisfied and immediately asked, "En, then tell me, what is the difference between me and a beast in your own words. You are not allowed to repeat the words I used."

Hong Lian almost cried. If she knew about this, she will ask Xiang Yun to serve Missy. That girl really knows how to flatter Missy. Not like me, I can't even lie well.

She looked at Su Nuan Nuan and in very low voice, whispered, "Difference between Missy and a beast? ..... Missy is a much stronger and more powerful beast than an ordinary beast?"

"Choke! Cough! Cough!" Su Nuan Nuan did not have any water in her mouth, that's why she could only spat out some saliva. But the rest of the saliva was struck in her throated and made her choke for a while.

"It is hopeless! Hong Lian, you are hopeless!" Su Nuan Nuan shook her head and looked at Hong Lian with pity, "You could only drift around like this for the rest of your life."

"Your servant is just a maid, and is content with her life. Don't tell me you expect your servant to take the imperial examination and become a court official?" Hong Lian giggled, "Oh yes, speaking of the imperial examinations, you could converse with the Lord. The Lord had once hidden his identity when he took the ......"

"Stop, shut up! Within this place, that rascal name is taboo! Understand?" Su Nuan Nuan folds her arms in annoyance, "Do you know the story of the crow beak [1]? Do you know the story of the woman who invited the wolf into her home [2]? Hong Lian, do not mention this name, lest it invites trouble."

"But this the prince's mansion. This place may be remote, but it belongs to the lord. If he wants to come, he could do so at any time. Your servant could not stop him..."

"You still dare to say some more?" Su Nuan Nuan was furious. Then she immediately walked around in circles, "We are doomed! We are doomed! Just now my eyes keep twitching. And you added a crow beak! Looks like there will be big trouble! We cannot escape this calamity!"

Xiang Yun suddenly shouted out, "Breakfast is ready, Missy! There is tasty porridge and fragrant salted eggs...."

1 second later, Su Nuan Nuan disappeared from the room.

Looking at the fleeing shadow, Hong Lian remarked, "Didn't she just said that the calamity cannot be escaped? Then why did Missy run so fast? Even in the face of a calamity she still wants to eat?"