"How dare they be so arrogant?"
Wen’er smacked the table, furor brimming, resembling an irate adult.
Mu Zhongqing sighed, saying: "Wen’er, enough. When going out, it is best not to cause trouble. Let’s just leave."
Although Cai Wei was dissatisfied, she was with her parents and family, so she couldn’t make a scene. She reluctantly picked up Wu’er and followed her parents downstairs.
As they descended the stairs, guests who had been evicted from the private rooms were also coming downstairs, all with grievances, with a few relieved of having gotten a free meal.
Mu Zhongqing’s family, with the flow of people, arrived at the entrance of the restaurant. As they were about to leave, a group of Liaodan people arrived, snaking through the crowd.
The man at the front was tall and physically striking, dressed in a wide-waisted black robe lined with snow wolf fur. His left ear was pierced with an eagle ring, a curved knife hung at his waist and a savage scar crossed his left cheek, which had once sported an attractive face and now added an element of cold-blooded cruelty.
Behind the man, there was a group of Liaodan people, gaudy in their dress, laughing raucously. As they walked, they loudly discussed something in the Liaodan language, each also carrying the signature Liaodan curved knife at their waist.
Behind them were the strapping Liaodan guards, and in their midst, shockingly, were a dozen young ladies, vividly dressed in the style of Great Jin, apparently brothel girls.
This group, arriving at the entrance of the restaurant, encountered the guests who were trying to leave.
A Liaodan man bellowed at the customers in front of him.
Many guests were intimidated by their ferocious manner and, in spite of their discontent, dared not voice their protest. They had to swallow their anger and make way. Lady Du quickly pulled her children back. Mu Zhongqing glanced at his wife and children, sighed, and retreated as well.
Cai Wei, no longer a hotheaded youngster, stayed calm in the face of such provocations, holding Wu’er and sidling towards the door with her parents.
Soon, the entrance was cleared. The Liaodan man in the vanguard strode in, his flamboyant entourage hot on his heels. The courtesans, scurrying behind them, their heavy perfume permeating the entire restaurant. The Liaodan guards brought up the rear.
Once they were in, the original customers trickled out in dribs and drabs. Cai Wei walked out, cradling Wu’er. As she stepped over the threshold, an arm suddenly blocked her way.
She lifted her gaze to meet a Liaodan man in a Tibetan cyan silk robe with a string of honey-wax beads hanging from his neck. It was the same man who had yelled at everyone earlier. He spoke in halting Jin, stating: "Woman, our master invites you for a drink!"
Cai Wei turned to see the scar-faced man standing on the stairs, leering at her with piercing, arrogant eyes. When he saw her looking back, he grinned, his smile reminiscent of a wild wolf sighting a rabbit in the grasslands .
She flinched, not wanting trouble, and smiled apologetically at the man in the cyan robe, saying, "I’m sorry, but I don’t drink."
Seeing their daughter being hassled, Mu Zhongqing and Lady Du rushed over. Their faces were humble and pleading as they said to the burly man, "Sir, our daughter is still young and cannot drink. Please show mercy and let her go."
The humble demeanor of her parents distressed Cai Wei. Her ideal was to have her parents live with dignity and receive respect from all. But now she was seeing them groveling before a coarse foreigner for her sake, her heart aching with sorrow and worry.