Around half an hour later, just as Long Boyuan and Ding Wanjun were chatting in the Lotus Garden, a pleasure boat was drifting slowly on the West Lake, following the blue waves.
This was a comfortable pleasure boat specially built for traveling on the lake. The boat had one floor, and its entire body was exquisite, but it did not seem ostentatious. The roof was wide and thick, with about two or three interlayers, and it had a slight heat insulation function. Although the weather was hot at this time, after the afternoon, the wind on the lake was strong. The boat had thin curtains and thin muslin, and it was ventilated on all sides. There was only a cool and refreshing feeling in the cabin.
Afternoon, pleasure boat, West Lake. In western time, it was only around two in the afternoon. Even though the spacious cabin was not hot, and one could occasionally see the shadow of a boat on the surface of the lake, it was enough to bring about a sleepy atmosphere. If other boats passed by, they would discover that the master of the pleasure boat had already fallen asleep on a bamboo bed. The tables and chairs in the cabin were all low, and a chess scale with black and white chess pieces was quietly placed by the entrance of the cabin, showing that someone had been playing chess not long ago. The chess players were probably two young girls dressed as maidservants. At this time, the two of them were leaning against the walls of the boat, already asleep. One young girl was hugging the waist of the other young girl, her head resting on the latter's shoulder. The young girl being hugged held a fan in her hand, and occasionally fanned it.
In front of the window on the other side of the cabin, there was also a young girl sitting on a low stool. She was lying on a small table in front of her, and her eyes were blurred as she organized the matters at hand. She was probably the only person awake in the cabin. She held a brush in her hand, and was handling matters in what looked like an account book. Occasionally, she would sketch something, but it was probably not something very important. After sketching for a while, she would yawn and lie on the table for a while. Then, she would force herself to wake up and raise her head in a daze, one hand propping up her chin while the other hand continued to flip through the book.
On a hot summer day, this leisurely scene of the gauze fluttering on the pleasure boat was enough to enter a painting. There were naturally boatmen and others on the pleasure boat, but they would not come here to disturb the master's sleep. After a while, the maidservant arranging the account books by the window finally could not hold on any longer, and fell into a deep sleep.
At some point in time, a figure walked over and tied up the thin gauze that was flying around the window. Then, he took a thin blanket and covered the bodies of the three servant girls. After all, the wind on the lake was strong. Since he had fallen asleep, he had to take some precautions.
The servant girl who had been organizing the account books opened her eyes slightly. In her blurred vision, she saw a tall figure twisting and turning at the bow of the boat, doing something called warming up. After a while, there was a splash, and the figure plunged into the lake.
Perhaps it was time to get up. The maidservant thought to herself, but not long after, another white figure walked over from the side of her vision. It was the figure of the mistress. She went to the bow of the ship and squatted there to tidy up the outer robe that the male master had taken off. Then, she sat down at the side of the ship and leaned against the railing. Although she was awake, she still seemed to be in a bad mood.
The wind blew past, and the white skirt gently fluttered. A few strands of hair that had come loose from her afternoon nap floated in the air.
Indistinct voices came from the front. The mistress hugged the railing and shook her head. Even from the back, it could be seen that the mistress was in a lazy and happy mood. The son-in-law had probably sent her into the water to play again.
The relationship between the mistress and the son-in-law was very enviable. Even though as a servant girl, she had seen many matters of large families, she had never seen a husband and wife with this kind of relationship anywhere else. It was not something that could be described as harmonious and respectful. Under the premise that the son-in-law was a husband who had married into the family, it was enough to be called strange. Every time she thought of this, the servant girl named Xing 'er could not help but imagine what her future husband might be like. If he could have this kind of feeling, then it would be good. If not, then they would not marry. Perhaps it would not be a problem. In any case, she would be in the Su family for the rest of her life. The young miss and son-in-law were also very good to her.
Her family's situation, compared to the situation of other large families, was relatively special. She was the head servant girl under the young miss. Under normal circumstances, she would also be a servant girl who shared a room with the young miss. However, the son-in-law had married into the family, so the possibility of her being arranged to the son-in-law was not high. Usually, the young miss of a large family would not arrange three servant girls by her side. Her young miss had later appeared in public to manage the business, so she had asked for two more. The young miss and the son-in-law had a good relationship. Now that Xiaochan and the son-in-law had most likely been settled, she and Juan 'er did not know what would happen in the future.
In the past, they were quite clear.
For people like them, the young miss also had a position in the family. In the future, they would only be betrothed to a capable servant or shopkeeper in the family. They would continue to be a servant girl in the Su family. At that time, their husbands would also be looked upon favorably by the Su family. They themselves also had a position and would not be bullied. Compared to the other servant girls, they were the most likely to have a happy and happy life.
Everyone's life path was similar, so there was no need to think too much about it. But in these two years, after seeing some better things, their hearts instead felt a little empty. The future seemed to suddenly not have a future.
The young miss waited until very late to get married, but now she and Juan 'er were old. She didn't know when the young miss would call her over to talk about these things. She didn't know if Juan' er had thought about it, but she occasionally thought about these things recently.
Since the young miss had already gotten up, she couldn't sleep again. But with the atmosphere in front, she couldn't get up like this, so she lay here and squinted her eyes to watch. After a long time, it was about the time of the fifth hour. The afternoon sky became obvious. The son-in-law came out of the lake and went to the cabin on the side to change clothes. Over there, Chan 'er and Juan' er, who were sleeping together, had also woken up. The servant girls went to the back to prepare the white fungus and lotus seed soup. They also took the box with ice cubes and knocked the ice out of it. Then the cabin became lively.
For more than a month, the family often swam around the West Lake for an afternoon.
At this time, transportation and information were not developed. The business circles of a place were much more regional and exclusive than in the future. Ning Yi accompanied his wife to visit the businesses, and they usually chose to do it in the morning. Starting from Long Boyuan, there were arrangements every day. Of course, after the visit, they were relatively free. If there was nothing necessary, they would usually find a place to go sightseeing to pass the summer.
They were all a family, so there was no need to socialize. Naturally, they could be more casual. After trying a few places, Su Tan 'er spent money to buy a gaily-painted boat. Occasionally, when she came out from other people's homes, she would directly board the boat, have lunch on the boat, then take a nap. In the afternoon, she would spend her time chatting, playing chess, and discussing business decisions. Nowadays, the information that Ning Yi and Su Tan 'er came into contact with was about the same, so there were quite a lot of topics to talk about. He always kept silent in other people's homes, but when it was just the two of them, he would talk about his views after today's visit, how the other party's attitude was, what kind of gifts he should give, what to do in the future, and so on. In this way, they had formed a few small cooperative businesses.
It was just that they had just arrived in Hangzhou, so it was difficult to do big business for the time being. In this kind of exclusive market, Ning Yi and Su Tan 'er's idea was to use a few months to let everyone understand that "I'm here" and "there's one more business in the market, but we're no different from other businesses". When everyone more or less got used to it, it would be the time to promote Jiangning Textile Art.
Relatively speaking, the money spent on buying pleasure boats, houses, and other kinds of sightseeing was already more than the initial business investment. However, it was just a small amount of money in the initial stage, so Su Tan 'er didn't mind.
She and her husband, Ning Yi, had a good time. They were quite harmonious in all kinds of things, which made people who saw them couldn't help but be envious. Now, under the pressure of his sister, Wen Ding and Wen Fang, who had temporarily stopped helping others, would occasionally come to the pleasure boat to spend an afternoon. So, Ning Yi asked them to get off the boat and swim.
Speaking of swimming, Su Tan 'er actually had some objections. This was the era. People with families, jobs, and identities would feel that it was not good to do this kind of thing in public. Su Wen Ding and Su Wen Fang also had the same thoughts, but when Ning Yi heard that they could swim, he kicked both of them off the boat. Su Tan 'er couldn't do anything about it. Moreover, she had been tossed into the water by Ning Yi once. As long as there weren't any pleasure boats around, she could only let Ning Yi's hobby of swimming be.
That time, she naturally didn't go into the water willingly. Of course, it wasn't like when she was kicked off by Ning Yi like her two younger brothers. At that time, Ning Yi had already practiced several times, and his memory of swimming had gradually recovered. He told Su Tan 'er several times to try going into the water, but Su Tan' er refused. Even if they used business matters as a wager, she would never use this matter as a wager. At that time, Ning Yi had only gone into the water for a short while. He thought about it and suddenly pretended to sink. He flopped a few times, saying that he had a cramp. On the pleasure boat, the boatman and the staff were not in sight. At that time, only Su Tan 'er was there. She was stunned for a moment, then jumped down in her dress.
She had only swum when she was young. Although she said that she could swim, her swimming ability was limited. In her panic, she almost drowned herself and choked a few mouthfuls of water. It was only after Ning Yi caught her that she realized that she had been tricked. She looked at Ning Yi's cold face. It was a stern face that he rarely showed when he flipped out in front of his staff. Ning Yi held her face and kissed her lips. She also struggled with all her might.
Su Tan 'er was a woman with a strong personality and strong opinions. She was gentle in front of Ning Yi because of her upbringing. At this time, her mood was fluctuating, and normal comforting couldn't fool her. Later, she wanted to get on the boat, but she was still dragged by Ning Yi to swim a few laps in the water. At first, she struggled a few times, but later, she accepted it. When they got on the boat, she kept a straight face and kept quiet, which scared Chan 'er and Juan' er. She stayed like this until night. After washing up, she went to the table to deal with the account books with a straight face and refused to go to bed. Ning Yi went over and took away one book after another. When Su Tan 'er glared at him coldly and was about to explode, he said, "Go to sleep."
"Don't sleep …" Su Tan 'er straightened her neck and said word by word. Before she could finish, she was thrown onto the bed by Ning Yi. Then, the two of them started fighting.
The three maidservants who were listening from the outside felt their hearts palpitate. Chan 'er was so anxious that her hands had already clenched into fists. Fortunately, Su Tan' er didn't shout and shout for others to enter. After a while, the room quieted down. The three of them didn't know what was going on. On the bed in the room, both of Su Tan 'er's wrists were pressed down by Ning Yi's left hand. She bit down on Ning Yi's right arm. This bite was quite heavy and blood seeped out. She stared at Ning Yi from below.
Ning Yi let her bite him. After a while, he said, "Tigress."
Su Tan 'er clenched her teeth in anger. She bit down harder and blood seeped out again. Ning Yi didn't even move his eyebrows. The two of them stared at each other for a while. Ning Yi smiled and bent down. "I know a person who trains tigers. His hands are full of bite marks. It's obvious that people in this line of work will get bitten." As he said this, he kissed Su Tan 'er's eyes. Su Tan' er's eyes were still open. When he leaned down, she could only close them. She felt humiliated. She originally wanted to bite harder, but her lips had already tasted the sweetness of blood. She unconsciously let go. She gritted her teeth and said, "Let go, get out!"
"I won't let go."
"You this … you this …"
"Married into the family?"
"…" Su Tan 'er originally didn't know what to say. At this time, her face suddenly paled. She looked at Ning Yi's face. Her eyes were a mess of emotions. She didn't know what to say. "I, I didn't …"
The three servant girls who were eavesdropping outside the window faintly heard the words "married into the family". Their faces also paled. Su Tan 'er and Ning Yi had been married for two years. This was the first time they had quarreled. However, the three servant girls understood that they could quarrel about anything, but if they quarreled about this word, the consequences would be unbearable.
Su Tan 'er didn't know if her emotions had shifted to this. She looked at Ning Yi's smiling face, and her heart became cold. However, even though she had experienced so many business dealings, she couldn't tell what Ning Yi's emotions were at this time. Ning Yi smiled and still didn't let go of her. "It's useless. I still won't let go." He put his bleeding right hand next to Su Tan 'er.
"I … you …" Su Tan 'er pursed her lips. "I … I didn't say that …"
"It's useless to say it. In any case, you're married to me … It doesn't matter to me whether you marry into the family or not. Your family might think it does, and the people outside might think it does, but in reality, it doesn't. No matter how I married you, in the end, it's the same thing. If I really want to do something, there aren't many people who can stop me. The people in Jiangning can't stop me, the people in Hangzhou can't stop me, the people in the Wu Family can't stop me, and father-in-law and grandpa can't stop me either … There are some things I don't do because I really don't want to do it. "
Ning Yi whispered in her ear without too much emphasis. "Today, I was very touched when you jumped down … You're my wife, not because I married into the Su family."
Su Tan 'er's expression instantly changed. She said in embarrassment, "What, what are you talking about …"
"Nothing. I just wanted to tell you that I was very touched today because you jumped down without thinking. When I was touched, you got angry. That's not right. You clearly swam very happily, but you kept a straight face … "
"I, I didn't … Let go of me …"
"Oh, also, I want to tell you that a man shouldn't let go when he says he won't let go …"
As she spoke, Su Tan 'er still wanted to struggle. Suddenly, she felt movement under her body. Her almond-shaped eyes widened, and her face suddenly turned red.
"You, you, you … You can't … do this …"
"But I think it's very exciting …"
"Your hand is still bleeding …" She was on the verge of crying.
After a long time that night, Su Tan 'er was finally able to bandage the wound on Ning Yi's arm. When the two of them lay on the bed and were about to sleep, Su Tan 'er recalled that she had been sidetracked by the other party and had gone astray.
"Ning Liheng, I haven't said it yet. I was very angry today …"
"But it's all shown."
"You didn't apologize …"
"…" Ning Yi was silent for a long time. He reached out to hold his wife and sighed. "That … A man won't apologize even if he's wrong."
"… You rascal."
"Actually, next time you can ask me why I want to marry into your family."
Su Tan 'er's body tightened. "Why?"
"You forgot. Did you forget that I lost my memory?"
"…" The woman was silent. "Let go of me."
"Huh?"
"I want to sleep with my back to you …"
So, she slept in Ning Yi's arms with her back to him for the night. The next day, when Ning Yi asked her about her feelings when she jumped, she refused to say anything. In fact, she couldn't remember her feelings at that time. Maybe she was not in the mood, so she just jumped. However, she couldn't tell these things to Ning Yi.
In fact, in the past two months, since she knew that Qin Siyuan had invited Ning Yi when he went to the capital, Su Tan 'er always felt conflicted and complicated in her heart. In the past month, Ning Yi accompanied her to visit many families. After the other party knew that Ning Yi was her husband, it was inevitable that she would look at him with all kinds of eyes. Even if she understood that Ning Yi didn't mind, she couldn't help having all kinds of thoughts in her heart. Especially in June, when she heard that Qin Siyuan had become the Right Prime Minister, she became more and more sensitive about marrying into his family.
However, after the quarrel, some emotions in her heart calmed down a little. After that, when Ning Yi wanted to get off the boat to swim, he sometimes asked her to. Anyway, there was no one around, so Ning Yi didn't mind his family doing some exercise. However, Su Tan 'er refused to go into the water no matter what. She was just a little worried about her Husband going into the water alone. Once Ning Yi went into the water, she sat on the side of the boat and watched. Sometimes Ning Yi came over and talked to her in the water, so he asked her to take off her shoes and sock and immerse her feet in the water. In fact, in this era, many women were more reserved about their feet than their bodies. If they saw a boat coming from afar, they would immediately withdraw their feet, hide them in the hem of their skirts, and quietly put on their shoes and socks.
Although they had been in Hangzhou for more than a month, apart from the daily routine visits, the husband and wife were actually living in their own world. They only had some contact with Lou Shuwan occasionally, and they also met her two brothers, Lou Shuheng and Lou Shuwang, a few times. Occasionally, when they returned home at dusk, Ning Yi would stand at the intersection and watch the group of strong men in the Liu Martial Arts Club practicing boxing. At this time, the setting sun would shine through the gaps between the trees. Xiaochan and the other family members would be by his side. Their days were leisurely and interesting.
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