Zhao Douan sneered:
"This beautiful scenery, marred by the noisy crowd. Hou, hang the banner and tell these people to scram! Within a quarter-hour, I don't want to see another boat on the lake!"
From the first deck, Hou Renmeng responded:
"As you command!"
Then, under the horrified gaze of the dock officer, a Jinyi government officer took out a black court flag and hung it up, bellowing in a deep voice to drive the boats on the river away.
The scholars and beauties who had been enjoying themselves, along with the foreign traders, all froze, some unable to react right away.
Seeing these people disobeying, Hou Renmeng shouted:
"By order of the Lord, disperse all idlers within a quarter-hour!"
Thereafter, this Lihua Hall ruffian bent his knees slightly and suddenly leapt onto the neighboring boat.
Swinging a sheath, he thrashed about, and kicked a scholar who had stepped forward to argue into the lake.
