Chapter 4 At the Fair

The girls stepped out of their carriage after arriving, it was only an hour past noon and the whole place was already so vibrant.

They decided to walk into the town square where the major entrepreneurs were advertising and selling from,

This was the best place to start from as the small entrepreneurs were flocked by the much poorer buyers who were rowdy at times.

It wasn't intentional for the girls to avoid those stalls and kiosks, they just wanted a classy place to do all their shopping without feeling crowded.

There was no need for any kind of registration as the trade fair was a come and go business, it was hard to even keep records of who came and left.

The guards carried out body and handbag checks at the entrance and exit to curb all smuggled goods and possibly weapons of any kind.

Ku Dan held Yin's hand showing her the number of handsome men walking around, who were rather irritated by what she was doing.

"Silly girl...."

The men mumbled as they noticed how she looked at them daringly.

She kept whispering her thoughts about each different guy she liked to Yin's ear but Mu Lan got disgusted and moved over to Yin's side.

"So foolish."

Mu Lan muttered but Yin defended Ku Dan, after guessing what was possibly on her mind.

"Sister, (referring to Mu Lan) Ku Dan is just joking. Please don't take it to heart, rather let us have a good time."

Mu Lan ignored everything and continued to walk beside Yin while looking around,

Ku Dan was so excited to the point of making eye contact with some gentlemen.

"I am sure we are not going to go back single, so many hot guys here."

Loving the feeling it gave her to admit this,

Ku Dan looked at both Yin and Mu Lan expecting disapproval but Yin only laughed at her,

After all she was always daydreaming but never reaching any of those dreams.

"Maybe you are the one who is going to be lucky."

Yin teased Ku Dan but Mu Lan stayed quiet, walking egotistically displaying an arrogant face,

This sudden new look captured quiet some attention from onlookers before her sister (Ku Dan) and friend (Yin) got curious too,

"Mu Lan, Are you looking for something?"

Both girls asked her politely fearing to irritate her, it was known that she was a short tempered girl and if you had to deal with her,

A slow way was the best start, but Mu Lan paused, turned her face to both girls with a big smile and spoke straight to their faces,

"Wait and see."

"Okay." The girls replied realizing she was less interested in talking with them.

Minding their own business, they continued to walk on their own admiring the goods on display while Mu Lan walked in the same proximity as them.

They had to keep an eye on one another to make it easier when it was time to get back home.

For a while, something was troubling Mu Lan that both Yin and Ku Dan had not seen.

In the previous nights, she had been receiving the same nightmare at different hours of the night regarding this day (of the trade fair).

The dream gave her both joy and fear as it revealed unexpected turns, to which she believed was a call from the above to accomplish something.

In that dream, a number of what looked like rulers stood up majestically when their supreme leader walked in, heading towards his throne that was adorned with the very best decor,

He was holding a golden scepter in his right hand but blood kept oozing out from his heart area.

There was no visible wound or any sign of struggle on his body, all his clothes looked the very best and properly ironed.

So what was wrong with him?

He looked completely unbothered by his wound and so did his subordinates, who only paid their respects as he passed by them.

No single tear came out of his eyes though they were red and a bit swollen,

He walked slowly till when he reached for his throne, sat down and waved for everyone to sit.

No one dared to speak without his permission except for his son, who was standing a little far from the throne holding a scroll,

It looked like the young man was trying to speak to his father but something was blocking him.

The man later waved for his son to come over, feeling rather embarrassed at his behavior.

After a while, the young man was allowed to come closer to hand his father the scroll, and he knelt down immediately saying a few things that surprised everyone.

The man opened the scroll slowly, read the contents while bluffing which made the young man have some gleam of hope on his face.

But shortly, the father winked and tore the scroll into two pieces throwing them to the floor which annoyed the young man, prompting him to act adamant to whatever was happening.

He ran over and picked the pieces of the scroll from the floor which made everyone turn their head towards him and throne,

He started to plead with his father but received only a silent treatment, the rest of the people were disgusted by the son's behavior based on the way they looked at him.

When he realized his plans were not going to happen, he stood up and walked back to his standing pew and waited for an answer,

The father looked at him with anger and pointed at him with his other rod,

The words coming out of their mouths were not audible but after a while, the son was ousted, guards were called to take him out.

The remaining people stood up to honor the supreme leader's decision, bowing to him as he looked on,

Still his face was not satisfied, something was perhaps missing.

Once his son was out of the gathering, an image of the preceding events regarding the trade fair were visualized in the center of the hall for everyone to see.

This is when Mu Lan usually woke up from her dream, breathing heavily and would grab an extra bedding to comfort herself.

What was the meaning of this dream?

Was it even possible that she would meet this man at this trade fair?

Because he was present according to the dream she was having regularly.

He sure looked handsome, wise and most of all responsible.

Should I say she liked seeing him in the dream everyday? Maybe

Let us find out slowly.

In that dream, the ousted man meets her at the trade fair and smiles apologizing for knocking her over,

They have a brief conversation before he runs off to join his brothers, promising to come back,

Mid way, he rushes back and tells her his name,

"Just call me Yi Tian, I will be in the love shrine."

He runs back to his brothers and together they disappear into the crowds.

But will all of this come to happen?

As the girls walked around, a number of traders and brokers invited them over to their tents but Mu Lan was interested in going to the Diviners tavern (referred to as the love shrine) by many,

Her sisters tried to delay her interests wanting to have another look around the next kiosks but she insisted, pleading with them to come over.

She had spotted one of the Tavern brokers who had the peach lemon sign on his arms.