Although he usually had a peaceful attitude, Old Qin was a person who did great things, and people who did great things had to have a great spirit. Although he was also a person who valued relationships and did not believe that his friends were like his hands and feet, and his wife was like his clothes, when it came to his attitude towards women, the old man still had the common characteristics of men in this era. He was not so shallow as to think that women did not have their own tempers, but to be serious, two women did not require too much effort.
However, he did not think much of Ning Yi's personality. Of course, in the end, he could only add it to the eccentric part of his personality.
For this private banquet, he asked Yunniang to invite Yun Zhu, but did not tell Ning Yi. On the other hand, he invited Ning Yi, but did not tell Yun Zhu. After all, his reason for the invitation was very good. That day in Takeshi, Ning Yi had saved his life, and Yun Zhu and Jin'er had also helped. It was no big deal for them to be so close. In reality, he was using this as an excuse to shove the two of them together.
The moment Yun Zhu saw Ning Yi, she naturally understood that the person she liked was going to be in a difficult position. She smiled playfully, but after that, she did not show any special expression. Her expression was elegant, and she did not want to cause trouble. In the beginning, Old Qin only smiled because of this. Later on, he did not interfere.
The next banquet was divided into men and women. It was said that Yuan Jin'er was more lively and chatted with Su Tan'er about business. She wanted to be a strong woman, so she did not hesitate to learn from real strong women. Tan'er asked about the situation of her shop and really gave her some ideas. The two talked in detail.
On Ning Yi's side, Qin Shaoqian talked about the military camp, and then asked about the outing in two days. When mentioning Li Shishi and Fan Lou, he laughed, "I am familiar with Fan Lou, and I have seen Li Shishi before. Let's go and meet her together."
Qin Shaohe was confused, "You have been to Fan Lou a lot, but Li Shishi just came out a few years ago, how do you know her?"
"Ahem, the year before last, I went to Bianjing and gathered a group of my old friends. They said that Miss Shishi was the most famous, so I went to Fan Lou. Before I met her, I saw Gao Qiu's fake son bully others and tried to touch a girl who was selling fruits. I... uh, I, I hate this kind of thing the most. We quarreled on the spot, and then we fought on Fan Lou. If it wasn't for his lackey named Lu Qian, who was good at martial arts, I would have given him two punches. "
At this time, in addition to the three sons of the Qin family, there were Ning Yi and Xu Xiaohu beside him. Hearing his youngest son talking about this kind of thing, Qin Siyuan put down his chopsticks, handed the bowl to the servant next to him, and frowned, "Nonsense." But there was not much reproach in his words. At this time, Gao Qiu already held the position of Grand Commandant in Tokyo, but he was promoted by flattery. Although it could be said that he was good at manipulating power, he was not well received among the high-ranking civil and military officials. Although Qin Siyuan said the word 'mischievous', it seemed that he did not think too highly of Gao Qiu.
Qin Shaoqian naturally understood his father's temperament, and spread out his hands, "How is it nonsense? We can't just watch it like this. We used to make trouble in Bianjing, but we only fought with those gangsters and hooligans who bullied the market, and fought when we saw injustice. Dad, you haven't been to Bianjing for a long time, you don't know how foul the atmosphere there is because of those second generations. Two years ago, when I left for a few months, I heard that the High Yamen convicted a coach surnamed Lin in the imperial army, and then... "
He paused, "Hey, later, this coach Lin's wife died in the High Yamen's room, and coach Lin was exiled. Last year, I heard that he rebelled and went to Liangshan. Damn... ask people on the streets of Bianjing, eight out of ten people know what happened. Unfortunately, I haven't heard too much about his evil deeds, otherwise, even if Lu Qian and Uncle Geng stop me, I will pull out a knife and chop him... "
Qin Siyuan looked up at him, "Xi Dao is also here?" Geng Xi said, it was Geng Nanzhong.
Qin Shaoqian nodded, "Yes, Uncle Geng asked me to greet dad. He came out to be the peacemaker, so we could only give him face. Fan Lou's Mama Lee also came out with that Miss Shishi to stop the fight. After that, everyone found a parlor and sat down, we were on one side, and the guys surnamed Gao were on the other. Miss Shishi played and sang in the middle, tsk, it was not interesting at all... so we parted on bad terms. "
After he finished, he shrugged, buried his bearded face in the bowl and started to eat. The rest of them laughed, and Qin Siyuan nodded, "Xi Dao is quite good at being a peacemaker."
After that, everyone chatted about random things. When it came to Xu Xiaohu, only then did they know that this young man was a real martial arts expert, the kind that practiced real superior internal martial arts. Qin Shaoqian did not have this kind of experience, he fought a lot just because of his bravery. Qin Siyuan smiled and talked about how Ning Yi used to yearn for martial arts. Then, of course, Ning Yi couldn't help but say things like "It's an honor to meet you, I'm called the Bloody Hand Butcher" to Xu Xiaohu.
According to Qin Shaoqian, Xu Xiaohu's martial arts style was firm and fierce, he was best at Slap Fist and White Ape Arms, but his character was very simple, even a little shy. Ning Yi had practiced martial arts for a long time, and it just so happened that he had many questions about martial arts. He asked Xu Xiaohu all he knew, but in the end, it was more or less the same as what Lu Hongti said. Martial arts, after all, is learned through fighting. If you practice too many routines, it won't be meaningful if you can't reach the stage where your mind is unprepared and your body moves first. In other words, the most important thing is to form a conditioned reflex.
After this meal, the guests and the host were all happy.
Another day passed, and it was the day of the outing. This was two days before the Qingming Festival. In ancient times, it was called the Cold Food Festival to commemorate the Spring and Autumn Period. Before the Three Kingdoms, people didn't cook for a month before and after the Cold Food Festival and ate cold food. Later, because the old and weak often couldn't endure this one month period, Emperor Cao of Wei abolished the custom of eating cold food. Later, the outing to worship ancestors on the Cold Food Festival was moved another two days, and was placed together with the Qingming Festival.
The weather was good that day. There was a fog in the morning, but it dissipated after sunrise. In front of the small building by the Qinhuai River, Yunzhu and Jin'er were dressed as men, each holding a fan and waving it, preparing to go out.
At this time, the spring wind was warm. The clouds in the sky were like white dragons dancing in the air, and the willow trees by the Qinhuai River were green. It was a good time for an outing. The residents of Jiangning were rich, so there were more activities like this than in the poorer areas. These days, on the road to the suburbs, one could often see families in twos and threes, dressed in clean and tidy clothes, happily going out for an outing. Children holding the hands of adults, swaying back and forth in high spirits.
Today, there seemed to be more people going out for an outing than in the past. On the Qinhuai River, one could occasionally see one or two painted pleasure boats sailing out of the city. Among the fluttering willow catkins on the road, there seemed to be more scholars heading in the direction of the city gate. The place that Chen Luoyuan chose for the outing today was near the Egret Island outside of Jiangning.
In the past few years, Yunzhu had not gone out for an outing like this. In the early years, she only had such an opportunity when she was at the Golden Wind Pavilion. At that time, even if she went out for an outing, it was not for herself. In the first two years after redeeming herself, she enjoyed the feeling of freedom, but she rarely went out. It was as if she had returned to the official's daughter who was afraid to see outsiders. Later, she began to sell century eggs, but it was only as a necessary business. Otherwise, she would still feel more comfortable at home. She still had a traditional and conservative temperament. As a woman, if she wanted to go out and play like this, she always felt that it was better to go with her family. When she was young, she followed her parents, and in the future, she could only follow her husband. Therefore, when Ning Yi called her out, she was happy in her heart and dressed as a man, but she could not help but feel a little nervous.
"I'm a little nervous." She slightly tidied up the corner of her clothes, turned her head and said to Jin'er as she walked. Jin'er was fanning herself with a folding fan as she walked. When she heard this, she shrugged. "What's there to be nervous about? Come, Sister Yunzhu, hold my hand and walk."
Yunzhu smiled. "I'm a young master like you now. There's nothing to hold."
The two had originally agreed to meet Ning Yi near the Egret Island. At this time, they chatted and laughed for a while. When they were near the city gate, they boarded a carriage and went in the direction of Stone City.
Ning Yi only treated today's outing as watching a concert, so he was not in a hurry. Before leaving the city, he first went to Yu Shan Academy to arrange some homework. When they arrived at the agreed place, there were already many people on the riverbank near the Egret Island.
At this time, the Egret Island was actually not in the same location as the Egret Island Park in Nanjing. The current Egret Island was the original location in Li Bai's poem, "Three mountains and half fall beyond the blue sky, two rivers divide Egret Island in the middle." It was located in the Yangtze River outside Stone City, dividing the Yangtze River into two. There were many reeds on the island, so egrets often gathered there. Later, the Yangtze River silted up, and the Egret Island was connected to the south bank of the Yangtze River, and it gradually disappeared in the future.
At this time, the scenery near the Egret Island was very good, but an outing was not a picnic. There was no need to go to the reeds on the island to take a stroll. Most people would walk in the mountains on both sides of the Egret Island. There were many kinds of outing activities in spring. A family of three flying kites in the wild was considered an outing, and a few people strolling around was also considered an outing. A more formal activity was usually in the form of a literary meeting. A group of young scholars would receive invitations from many famous literary figures or high officials in the scientific field. The big shots would set a topic in the mountains, and they would temporarily show their talents through literature. It could also be called an outing. For example, the famous Orchid Pavilion Meeting of Wang Xizhi, Xie An, and the others were called Xiu Luo. It was not too much of a problem to categorize it as an outing.
The outing this time was not too strict, but most of the participants were scholars. There were also many merchants and officials, but they were naturally well-versed in literature. As the organizer, the great Confucian Chen Luoyuan had his own garden here, so the location was naturally set there to prevent many irrelevant people from coming to participate. But to be honest, the number of scholars gathered nearby who were not invited was already quite considerable. Naturally, they would not say that they came for Chen Luoyuan's party. They just wanted to see if they could sneak in. Or if they had more ideas, they wanted to organize an even bigger literary gathering here to completely suppress the limelight of Chen Luoyuan and Li Shishi.
In this way, when Ning Yi arrived, there were many irrelevant people on the riverside, and there were also some pleasure boats docked there. Probably the women on those boats were also invited. Ning Yi had a vague appointment with Yunzhu and Jin'er. It took him a while to find them. The two girls dressed up in men's clothes, so Ning Yi did not find them at first. In fact, he was attracted by the confrontation over there. Several people stood under the tree, and the atmosphere seemed to be very bad. On one side were Yunzhu and Jin'er, and on the other side were three scholars and a brothel girl who seemed to be an escort. Among them, Ning Yi also knew one of them. That was the great scholar Liu Qingdi, who used to admire Jin'er very much. When he saw Ning Yi being intimate with her, he went crazy.
But now it seemed that Liu Qingdi's face was a little arrogant, and Jin'er's expression was not very pleasant. Probably after Liu Qingdi realized that it was impossible for him to get the girl, he had already begun to have a rebellious mentality and decided not to give this fickle girl a good look. So the two sides quarreled …
Tut, it was really embarrassing to get the girl like this. Jin'er wanted to get Yunzhu, but her attitude was much better than his …
Ning Yi sighed in his heart. When he was about to go over, suddenly, a hand stretched out from behind and grabbed his shoulder, "Brother Ning! You are also here? "
The tone was quite surprised.
Ning Yi looked back and saw that the person behind him with a surprised face was indeed someone he had seen before. That day when he saw a woman named Wang, what was the name of the attendant beside her?
Ning Yi thought for a while.
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