He woke up early in the morning and exercised a little, practicing a set of Taiji Fist. When the breeze blew on the deck, the shores of the canal were outlined beautifully in the morning light. Blue clouds in the sky, white and yellow in the morning light. The sounds of chickens crowing and dogs barking could be heard from the villages on both sides of the canal. Women carrying wooden buckets fetched water from the bluestones by the river and looked up at the passing boats. It was a common sight. Then, they turned around and went back.
The lights on the pleasure boat were already turned on and the people on it gradually got up. Xiaochan walked past with a water basin in her arms. She felt that the white-robed son-in-law's boxing was really elegant and beautiful. Of course, there were also people with different opinions.
"Is the son-in-law of the Su family practicing boxing?"
She cupped her hands in greeting and walked over from the side. It was the Hangzhou scholar, Lin Tingzhi, who accompanied Lou Shuwan. He was dressed in a scholarly robe. Under the morning sun, he looked handsome and elegant. Ning Yi looked at him and smiled, "It's just a show to strengthen the body." He switched from the Needle from the Bottom of the Sea to the Shantong Arms.
Lin Tingzhi smiled as well. Seeing that he was focused on practicing boxing, he didn't speak anymore. When he turned around, he saw Shu Wan looking down from a window on the second floor of the pleasure boat. She had probably just woken up. She had put on a thin layer of makeup and her head was tilted as she put a pearl flower into her hair bun. Lin Tingzhi gave her a knowing smile. She didn't smile back, but her expression softened slightly. Then, she disappeared from the view of the window.
Knowing her personality, Lin Tingzhi didn't find it boring. He waved his fan and looked back at Ning Yi, who was still practicing boxing, and walked into the cabin. At this moment, he saw the beautiful Juan 'er walking out. He smiled and cupped his hands in greeting. Juan' er bowed and then went out to do her own things with a calm expression.
"Brother-in-law seems to be practicing boxing downstairs."
In the room on the second floor, Lou Shuwan bent down in front of the dressing table, fiddled with her hair, and talked to Su Tan'er, who got up from the bed. Su Tan'er looked at the window and smiled. "He likes those things."
The pleasure boat had departed from the Changzhou pier yesterday morning. Going against the wind, it was a little slower, but it had already passed Wuxi yesterday and passed Suzhou in the early hours of this morning. Right now it was on the waterway from Suzhou to Jiaxing. According to Ning Yi and Su Tan 'er's original plan, they were supposed to stay in Wuxi or Suzhou for a while before going to Lake Tai to play for a few days. Now, the itinerary was naturally changed, mainly to deliver some goods for Lou Shuwan.
Originally, Su Tan'er and Lou Shuwan did not have a deep friendship. They had only known each other when they were young. Both of them were strong women, so they had a rather deep impression of each other. Now that they met an old friend in a foreign land, there was a feeling of deep sisterly affection. For the past two days, the two of them basically talked together without anyone else. Naturally, they also stayed together at night, chatting about this and that. They talked about everything.
In reality, on this boat, the only person Lou Shuwan could chat with was probably Su Tan'er. The two of them had similar statuses, and Ning Yi was her husband who had married into her family. Naturally, Lou Shuwan could not think too highly of him. At this time, there were outsiders around, so it was not appropriate for her to act intimate with Lin Tingzhi. As for Ning Yi, she already had a rough idea of his situation. He was a scholar, married into the family, and had no scholarly honors. Although Su Tan 'er had mentioned that he had no intention of taking the examination for scholarly honors, Lou Shuwan naturally understood what she meant. There was no scholar who didn't want to take the examination for scholarly honors. It was just that he wasn't talented enough, and with his status of marrying into the family, there was no way he could take this path.
Lou Shuwan was already married. When she mentioned it to Su Tan'er, only then did Su Tan'er know that her husband was also married into her family. He was quite talented, but just from talking about him, the impression she got from his words was similar to Ning Yi's. Lou Shuwan occasionally mentioned her husband. Although she said good things, Su Tan'er could naturally hear that she did not think much of it. She treated herself like a sister who had the same experience. She would occasionally sigh and express an attitude of "it's all the same, you know." Then, she would not say anything more.
Actually, just like what Su Tan 'er had done in the past, she had chosen a man to marry into her family because she had no other choice. A man who would choose to marry into her family was just like that. In terms of the values of the times, people would always feel that he was lacking in moral integrity. Lou Shuwan was naturally aware of this. However, after getting married, she could not help but think about how good it would be if her husband was the most outstanding.
Moreover, her husband was usually passionate about literary and poetry events. On the boat, Ning Yi, or rather, on the boat, or rather, on the attitude that the people on the boat showed, was only amiable and approachable. However, he liked to talk about the legends of chivalrous immortals, and liked to practice boxing and martial arts. He seemed even more unambitious. Lou Shuwan expressed that she understood Su Tan'er's difficulties, so she did not talk much about this aspect. After all, Jiangning and Hangzhou were separated by thousands of miles. After all, Lou Shuwan was not very passionate about poetry and literature. She did not know about Ning Yi's reputation, so it was not appropriate for Su Tan'er to talk too much about how great her Husband was. Otherwise, it would seem like she was showing off. She wanted to understand more about the situation in Hangzhou from Lou Shuwan, so it was not appropriate for her to talk too much about this aspect.
When she mentioned Ning Yi's boxing, Su Tan'er laughed happily and amusingly without any ill feelings. Lou Shuwan thought that it was most likely a forced smile. After all, if her husband at home still liked to fight, she could only force herself to smile. However, she did not expose it.
After getting up, Su Tan'er first went to Ning Yi's room to take a look. Then, she went downstairs to eat breakfast with everyone. At this time, she sat together with Ning Yi and chatted about some trivial things. After breakfast, Lou Shuwan pulled Su Tan'er to the bow of the boat to bask in the sun. On the way, Lou Shuwan discussed some matters with a housekeeper. Su Tan'er pulled Xiaochan and said something. Xiaochan blushed and shook her head. After answering, she went back to her own matters.
After a while, Lou Shuwan still did not come. Someone approached from behind. Su Tan'er only felt warmth on her body. The person hugged her and bent down with a smile on his face. It was Ning Yi.
"Petty," he said.
Su Tan'er also smiled warmly. "No."
"Yes."
The two teased each other because Xiaochan slept in Ning Yi's room last night.
These two days, Su Tan 'er and Lou Shuwan were together. Yesterday evening, when Lou Shuwan left, Ning Yi was chatting and joking with his wife. He actually made a joke about how he was going to' stay alone in his room '. Su Tan'er knew that he did not mind. However, at night, she called Xiaochan over and pushed her into Ning Yi's room. She smiled and said, "Husband, sleep with Xiaochan. I don't mind."
Although she said that, in reality, when she passed by Ning Yi's room, she could not help but prick her ears a few times. This morning, she could not help but look at Ning Yi's bed. After breakfast, she called Xiaochan over and asked her in a subtle way. Only then did she know that although Ning Yi and Xiaochan slept together last night, they only hugged and chatted. They did not do anything else.
Betrothing Xiaochan to Ning Yi as a concubine was something that had been decided long ago. It would happen sooner or later. Su Tan'er had already prepared in her heart. However, when she heard Xiaochan say it this morning, she still felt warmth in her heart for no reason. At this moment, Ning Yi hugged her. Although there might be people behind them, she only felt warmer in her heart.
"Narrow-Mindedness is one of the seven things. Could it be that I have done something wrong, so my husband wants to divorce me?"
As a son-in-law, it was really difficult for him to divorce his wife. However, after their relationship deepened, Su Tan'er was used to showing such a well-behaved appearance in front of him. Of course, there was no need to make too many jokes about their identities. Ning Yi did not answer. He laughed for a while.
"This is not good for Xiaochan. Last night, I also told her that when we settle down in Hangzhou, we will officially marry her. At that time … Well, it has been some time. It is normal for you to care about it. I feel sorry for her."
Su Tan'er held his hand and shook her head. After a moment of silence, she laughed again. "Husband, you are worse than a beast."
The story of being worse than a beast and being worse than a beast was something Ning Yi had told in the past. At this time, Su Tan'er used it to make fun of him. Ning Yi let go of her with a bang. Then, he reached out to rub Su Tan'er's hair and walked away unhappily. Su Tan'er covered her messy bangs with both hands and just laughed.
This was just a small interlude in the journey. After that, the pleasure boat went all the way south. According to the plan, they would arrive in Hangzhou the next morning. However, some things that happened later made them stay in Jiaxing for one night.
That was just a small interlude.
*****
In the evening, near the West Post Pavilion of Jiaxing.
Ancient trees were lush, and willows drooped. On the canal, a gorgeous pleasure boat moved slowly. When the golden light shone down, there was faint music coming from the boat.
Since ancient times, the Jiangnan area was crisscrossed by water. Jiaxing was also a city that was built along the water. Among them, South Lake, West Lake in Hangzhou, and East Lake in Shaoxing were called the three famous lakes in the world. Since it was built on the water, there were naturally many pleasure boats in the brothels. This was the boat of one of the local brothels. Today, they were not touring the South Lake. A group of scholars were gathering and the pleasure boat moved along the canal. During this time, they sang and danced and recited poems.
Sightseeing was usually done in the morning. Visiting the brothels was usually done in the evening. This gathering started in the afternoon. It was not the best time to do such things. But at this time, the sun was setting. The scenery around the canal was also golden and pleasing to the eye. A few scholars looked out from the window. Occasionally, they would be inspired to compose poems. They talked about the country and reminisced about the past and the present. The boat moved for a while and passed by a few cargo ships. Then, a pleasure boat came from upstream and gradually approached. Suddenly, someone at the side exclaimed.
"Hey, come look, come look …"
"What?"
"Look over there."
The one who suddenly looked as if he had discovered a treasure was naturally one of the scholars. He waved his fan and a look of longing appeared on his face. Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing and saw that there were also several people moving on the pleasure boat. On the deck at the front of the boat, a woman in a white dress was standing there with a round fan in her hand, looking at the nearby scenery. The wind blew past and fluttered her lotus-like skirt. The woman stretched out her hand and stroked the hair on her headphones. Sunlight shone down, sprinkling her figure with a magnificent golden rim.
Beside the lady, there was a lady dressed like a servant. The two of them chatted and laughed. As the two boats neared, the lady's appearance could be seen clearly. Whispers could be heard.
"Wow, which family does this lady belong to?"
"That boat doesn't look like it belongs to us. I'm afraid it's from Suzhou."
"Is it the wife of some official?"
"Hey, hey, hey. It's rude of you to look like that."
The crowd pointed and discussed. As they neared, the lady could also see the people on the pleasure boat. She frowned slightly. She was different from ordinary ladies. This lady was beautiful, but when she frowned, coupled with her standing posture, she had a cold aura about her. After looking at the scenery a few more times, the lady turned and walked towards the cabin. The servant also glanced at her and followed behind. On the other side of the pleasure boat, some people touched their noses, while others laughed.
"How rude of you."
"Why are you looking like that? Don't forget that Miss Qing 'er is still here."
"Looks like I can't compare to that lady."
"Don't say that. In my eyes, Miss Qing 'er is still much more beautiful …"
Amidst these conversations, someone suddenly said, "Ah, Lin Tingzhi."
"Who?"
"Look, isn't that Lin Tingzhi? Lin Yong, Lin Tingzhi …"
Jiaxing and Hangzhou were not far apart. They were connected by waterways and traveled day and night. As a result, the relationship between scholars was considered close. One or two of them recognized Lin Tingzhi, who had appeared from the window. Miss Qing 'er also recognized him. "Ah, it really is Young Master Lin."
"This Lin Tingzhi is famous for being a flirtatious butterfly. Why is he on that boat?"
"Is that so? I heard he's quite talented in poetry … "
"That's just a rumor. How can a scholar from Jiangnan not talk about romance? That Lin Tingzhi looks handsome, just like me …"
"Isn't he in Hangzhou?"
"That lady looks like a married woman. Could she be the woman that Lin Tingzhi hooked up with?"
There was another round of discussion. The two pleasure boats had already crossed paths. Everyone was talking about Lin Tingzhi. Suddenly, someone said in a low voice, "Ah, Lou Shuwan …"
At this moment, another beautiful figure appeared on the deck behind the pleasure boat. Everyone looked over. The person who said this name was a student from Hangzhou. His expression seemed to be somewhat complicated. Someone beside him heard him and asked, "Brother Chen, do you also know the people over there?"
"Brother Chen is originally from Hangzhou. No wonder."
As the people around him talked, Chen looked at Lou Shuwan and then looked in the direction where Lin Tingzhi had been. He lifted his chin and said, "I do know that lady. Her name is Lou Shuwan. She is the beloved daughter of Hangzhou's … Lou Jinlin of the Lou family …"
As he said this, a scholar poked his head out of the window and said, "Boatman, hurry up and follow them. Follow that boat!"
"Haha, that's right. We are so fated. I have to greet them."
Chen said, "But that Lou Shuwan is already married …" However, the crowd had already started to make a ruckus. His voice was also very soft. How could the others hear him clearly? Chen's expression was a little complicated. He seemed to want the crowd to stop shouting, but in the end, he didn't express too much.
"Lin Tingzhi! Brother Lin! "
"Brother Lin."
Under the light of the setting sun, the two pleasure boats gradually moved closer to each other. The scholars on the other boat cupped their hands and greeted, "Brother Lin, long time no see."
"Brother Lin, we met once at the South Lake Poetry Meet. Do you remember me?"
"Brother Lin, where are you from? If you have time, why don't you come over and meet us? "
They called out to their friends and were extremely friendly.
When Lin Tingzhi came out of the boat, he was initially a little startled, but at this moment, amidst the greetings, he turned his head to look at Ning Yi, Su Tan'er, Lou Shu Wan and the others. After a moment, he naturally cupped his hands and said, "Brother Wen, Brother Du, it's been a long time …"
Under the sunlight, he cupped his hands. In that instant, he did indeed have the aura of "Don't worry about the road ahead. Who in the world doesn't know you".
Along the way, Lou Shuwan wasn't very friendly with him. Ever since she met Su Tan'er and Ning Yi, she ignored him even more. He had his own plans. Initially, he thought that this was normal and didn't mind. In reality, if he didn't have such a carefree attitude, he wouldn't have been able to wander among the flowers. However, other people didn't know who he was. He didn't like the feeling of being ignored. At this moment, this sudden situation had become the most exhilarating moment for him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I have some matters to attend to with a few friends. I'm about to return to Hangzhou. I'm afraid I don't have time today …"
As he cupped his hands and smiled, he said so and very tactfully declined the offer …
*****
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