BXBX NOVEL Chapter 40 The Deal 2
’This is not a real court room...does he call us just for an interrogation?’ TanTan doesn’t need to wait for the answer coz right at that moment Prince Li explains the purpose of the meeting.
"I think all of you know why are you all being called here!" Prince Li stares sharply to everyone, especially to TanTan. He continues,
"I don’t want to extend the case so why don’t we just go to the point! Lady FengHuang!!" He shouts her name in sharp tone, "DO YOU KNOW YOUR WRONG?!" It is making Lady FengHuang shocks and nervously respond,
"Prince...please please forgive me...I just..."
"HOLD ON!" TanTan unexpectedly stops her words. It surprised everyone and they all look at TanTan.
"I want to know what are our status here? Are we criminals now? What is the case?" She asks boldly to the Prince .
’What is this woman talking about?! Wasn’t she the reason of this investigation!!’ Prince Li glances to TanTan in curiosity,
"HuaMuTan, it’s not your turn to be asked...please silent and wait for your turn!"
"No, I won’t silent because before you judge someone, don’t you need to clarify the case first so we all understand the reason why we are here?!"
Everyone on the room, especially LadyFengHuang are puzzled for HuaMuTan’s attitude to Prince Li.
"I am the one who has authority to ask here..HuaMuTan!" Prince Li feels irritated for TanTan obviously try to disturb the intterogation.
"Well, there is no investigation unless you explain the case first..." TanTan stands firmly for her words.
The old man who keep silent since beginning, sudden chuckle a little bit. Prince Li glances to him with upset, the old man coughs to cover his chuckle,
"Ehm..I think Young Madam is really curious about the reasons, Prince Li. Maybe you should explain to her so this investigation can continue..."
TanTan observes the old man, and seeing how brave he speaks his opinion to Prince Li, he might be not an ordinary man. TanTan also observes the respond of Prince Li. Somehow he shows respect to this old man. He just silent staring to the old man but saying nothing.
"Fine..." He looks to HuaMuTan, "Like I said before I really don’t want to extend the case but coz you really want to know the case...I’ll tell you...," he sighs and continues,
"You!" He points to HuaMuTan, "And You!" He points to QingQing, "had make a chaos in the street, in front of the restaurant...and then with this guy.." He points to TaGou, "You all also make a scene in the house of gamble...disturbing the public places like that is enough to be the case!!"
"Its ridiculous! It wasn’t us who started it first!" defend TanTan right away, but she then continue asks "And then what is Lady FengHuang’s wrong?"
Prince Li seems embarrassed to continue explaining it, coz its about his own dignity.
"She knows for herself what is her wrong!"
And TanTan notices it easily, that’s why she pushes him to speak out,
"Well, she doesn’t...right, Lady FengHuang?" TanTan winks to Lady FengHuang as a sign, Lady FengHuang just can nod her head uncertainly.
TanTan continues,
"For the trouble we caused at street and in the gamble house, you should know that we are not the one to blamed coz we aren’t the one who started it...there were some scumbags who schemed people on the street, QingQing in fact should be rewarded for discovered their evil scheme....Ta Gou and I didn’t do anything wrong than just played in the gamble house, you know, the place where everyone come there to play their luck...?"
TanTan smirks to Prince Li,
"And for Lady FengHuang, if you can’t explain her case...that means no case at all and we all suppose free to go now..."
Everyone in that room, listened her and then thinking all her words seems make a sense especially Prince Li who stares to TanTan in suspicious and thinks, ’Since when this woman becomes so good in giving an argue?’
But he doesn’t want to lose,
"According to the report I got, you and..." He glances to TaGou.
Realizing that Prince Li wanna to mention his name, he proudly says it,
"TaGou...my name is TaGou...it means..."
But Prince Li interrupts him,
"TaGou, I heard that both of you were captured by Lady FengHuang, she even drugged both of you...was it right, TaGou?!"
TanTan and Lady FengHuang glances to TaGou, hoping he doesn’t change his mind. TaGou just winking back to them,
he then said,
"I am sorry but I think you got the wrong report, Prince Li...Lady FengHuang didn’t do anything wrong to me."
Prince Li surprises to hear it, he gives a questioning look to ManQi and ManQi just rises up his shoulders a little bit gesturing he has absolutely no idea.
Prince Li asks again to TaGou,
"I ask you one more time, TaGou! Did you won quite some amount of money at the house of gamble?"
"I did! Thanks to XiaoDi...eh...I mean to Young Madam HuaMuTan...I am sorry, Prince Li...I didn’t know at that time...she was very good to disguise as a young man..."TaGou so nervous to miscall TanTan...afraid that Prince Li unhappy for he had being closed with TanTan in man disguise.
Prince Li doesn’t concern about it, he focus to his question,
"But you didn’t get the victory money, right?"
"eh...that’s right..." Being remembered about the money makes TaGou doubting a little bit,
Prince Li continues to lure his mind,
"Because Lady FengHuang didn’t want to pay and coz of that, she drugged you so she didn’t have to pay the money!"
"Well...that..."Ta Gou is thinking for what Prince Li said gives out a right point. TanTan sees what is going on so she interrupts TaGou before he says anything wrong.
"The money were just being delayed to be paid, right, Lady FengHuang? Actually Lady FengHuang only asked both of us to wait for a while before getting the money" TanTan explains, she gestures Lady FengHuang to follow her words.
"That’s true...I will give the money...right away when we return to my place!" Lady FengHuang smiles widely to ensure TaGou, who smiles back to her.
"Brak!!" Prince Li hits his chair to show his upset. Everyone are nervous to see it. "HuaMuTan, don’t you think I won’t dare to punish you for keep disturbing this investigation!!"
"How did I disturb this investigation? From the beginning there is no case to be investigated!" TanTan doesn’t feel afraid to Prince Li, she even enjoying this procedure.
"You...!!" Prince Li can’t say anything more as TanTan and other insists there is no case. The old man seems amused with the situation, she smiles to Prince Li,
"If...no one gives any charges, should we close this investigation, Prince Li?"
Actually at the beginning Prince Li didn’t too care about this small investigation, he just want to punish Lady FengHuang who had drugged him and threaten HuaMuTan to not doing any troubles again. He didn’t expect that HuaMuTan had plotted with others to humiliate him.
He stared angrily to HuaMuTan,
"We are not done yet...I still need to charge Lady FengHuang!"
"For what accusation?" TanTan challenges him boldly.
Prince Li feels uncomfort to tell it actually but he just doesn’t want to lose to TanTan,
"For drugging me..." he answers shortly.
"Ooh? Do we have a witness by the way Prince Li?" TanTan widens her eyes, pretending to look dumb and it makes Prince Li upset more.
He stands in upset,
"Don’t pretending fool, HuaMuTan. You saw what happened!!"
TanTan sudden turns to Lady FengHuang and asks her like a defender in a court,
"Lady FengHuang, do you have any grudge with Prince Li till you were trying to harm Prince Li?"
"Of course..I don’t have any grudge and I wouldn’t harm Prince Li !!" Lady FengHuang feels the question is so weird and very opposite with what she feels to Prince Li.
"You hear it, Prince Li? Lady FengHuang has no reason to drug you anyway..." TanTan smiles victorious to Prince Li.
"Sure she has, she...!!" Prince Li stops, its too embarrassing for him to expose Lady FengHuang’s feeling toward him directly from his mouth. So he just can continue, "...has a reason. After all you, HuaMuTan... don’t deny what you saw in that room!!" He stared to TanTan sharply
Looking to Prince Li’s eyes, TanTan suddenly feels embarrassing to remember what exactly happened in that room, but she knows that she can use what happened to argue back so she throws her eyes to the floor, gathers her courage and becomes speaking very carefully,
"...If what you mean that you were almost attacking me in that room but then I stopped you by kicking..."
"STOP!!" A loud shouting comes from Prince Li who also suddenly rushes to TanTan and covers her mouth to stop her from continue her words.
"Kicking?" The old man and others in the room are curious for the continue words from TanTan but Prince Li keep covering her mouth,
"Its nothing!!! Excuse us for a while..." Prince Li pulls TanTan far away from others, leaving all staring at them in puzzled.
Prince Li then whispers to Tantan,
"As a woman, are you not feeling shameful to tell them about it?!"
"Mm..mmm" TanTan stared to him as Prince Li doesn’t take off his hand from her mouth yet. Prince Li notices it and then frees TanTan’s mouth. TanTan whispers back to him harshly,
"You are the one who pushes me to speak it loud! Then as you want, I can tell them everything in detail..."
As a high-dignity man, Prince Li finally gives up by TanTan’s threat, but he can’t bare his confusion for TanTan’s deed,
"Ok, what do you want HuaMuTan?"
TanTan immediately gives her answer,
"Release all of them, no charges at all or I will tell them of how I make you conscious last time..."
Prince Li actually already knows TanTan’s answer and he can do that rather than letting everyone knows how he can be drugged so easily by woman and also be conscious in a shameful way. Prince Li just confused of what is the reason she lets them free? Does she make some kind of deal with them?
In curiosity, he asks again...
"What had you done, HuaMuTan? Why did you defend these people after they kidnapped and drugged you?! What deal do you have with them huh?!"
"Well, its my own business, but don’t worry...Lady FengHuang had promised not to force you again in the future...its part of the deal..."
TanTan releases herself from Prince Li,
but Prince Li still want to know more so he pulls TanTan’ hand to stop her walk
"Wait...what??"
What everyone sees is that Prince Li and TanTan seems having an argument between a couple so it makes all not comfort to see. The old man is the one who speaks to clear the situation,
"Ehm...Prince Li, should we pursue this investigation or...?"
Prince Li realizes of what he and TanTan look like in front of everyone so he release TanTan’s hand immediately, and clears his throat before he speaks,
"No...everyone may be released and go home now! There are no charges on them...for now!"
The old man narrows his eyes, to Prince Li and then to HuaMuTan, he speak humbly like a wise man,
"Very well, as your command Prince Li...everyone..." He looks to each of person in that room, and smiles "is free to go now..."
A happiness faces drawn on Lady FengHuang, QingQing and also TaGou. They walk out and glad there is no punishment on them. HuaMuTan also smiles happily approaching others at outside while Prince Li just stands and stares to TanTan at the door sharply.
The old man approaches Prince Li,
"You have a quite interesting wife, I see, Prince Li...she has changed a lot than she was before..."
"Do you think that too, Mr Shi?"
"But it is a good change..."
"I doubt it....she is nothing but a trouble maker"
"Well, my duty is done here..so if I may go..." Mr Shi excuses himself but before he goes, he has a time to recite this puzzling words and he purposely says it to Prince Li...
"...A pure gold needs to be sharpened first before it can shine...what a hard work to do for the owner..."
Mr Shi then also excuses himself to TanTan before he goes. TanTan just gestures back politely to pay his greet but wondering in her heart about who he is. But she doesn’t want to find out now as she needs to talk with Lady FengHuang before she goes,
"Lady FengHuang, before you go I want to speak with you...."
Although LadyFengHuang still doesn’t like TanTan especially after seeing the closeness between her and Prince Li just now in the room but Lady FengHuang starts to see TanTan in different way, she respects that TanTan as a woman can won in argument with Prince Li.
"What is it?" Lady FengHuang asks,
"Although I defensed you just now but it doesn’t mean I agreed for what you have done! You still need to apologize to me and pay the money that I and TaGou deserved to get!"
TanTan has prepared if Lady FengHuang got angry or attack her again, but unexpected, Lady FengHuang just smirks and says boldly to her,
"I don’t need to apologize for what I did...The house of gamble has its own rule, which in this case...the players can’t won too much, even more than the host..."
"What kind of rule is that?! Its unfair!"
"Too bad, nothing is fair about gamble...well, don’t we have a ’deal’? So if you insist want to get the money...I can give you it as a ’deal’ for your help today but that means you can’t get any information .. so do you want money or the information?"
"You...wicked woman!" TanTan had a little bit regret has helped Lady FengHuang,
Lady FengHuang smirks to her,
"Well, take your time..come to find me when you have decide it...come on QingQing!"
But QingQing doesn’t move from her position beside TanTan,
"Ehm..actually I think I will stay with HuaMuTan for a while, FengJie..."
"What?" Lady FengHuang widens her eyes.
"She has helping us, FengJie, don’t we need to keep her promise....beside I still not paying my debts yet to HuaMuTan...so I’ll stay with her till I help her to find the information that she needs..?" She looks to TanTan, "If Young Madam HuaMuTan doesn’t feel troubled?"
TanTan surprises for QingQing’s request,
"No..not at all" She can see how different QingQing from her sister, so maybe she can be a big help later.
"Fine! Whatever....QingQing, you never listen to your own sister and now you give side on your sister’s enemy huh! What a nice sister you are!!" Even though Lady FengHuang feels upset but she knows that QingQing did that just to save their dignity to fulfill their promises. In their family, nothing is more important than keeping the promise they say. So even though she doesn’t like QungQing to be with HuaMuTan but she still can agree of QingQing’s choice.
Then Lady FengHuang notices TaGou still stands in front of them, waiting for her. Lady FengHuang asks him harshly,
"What do you want? the money too?"
TaGou shakes his head,
"Although I do care about my victory money...but I prefer my reward that you promised if I helped you..." He rubs his hands and looks to Lady FengHuang with lust.
Lady FengHuang just smiles to him with some meaning...
"Sure...come with me...lets go to the gamble house to get your reward.."
Then TaGou follows Lady FengHuang go out from the place like an insect which flies into a venus-trap plant.
TanTan look to them in worry, she then asks QingQing,
"Will he be okay?"
"I am afraid he will going to the same trap my Sister made like before...but don’t worry, my sister is not a killer.... The worse scenario that can be happened is that he might be left naked outside the house gamble." QingQing tells to TanTan honestly. TanTan sighs,
"Well, can’t help him again...I hope him luck this time"