The spring rain was pattering outside the window. In March, the water level of Qinhuai River gradually began to rise. The rain came so fast that a duck was tossing and turning on the surface of the water. The maid Kou'er was putting away the clothes outside. Yuan Jin'er stood on the edge of the balcony facing the river and poked it with a branch. Then she turned her head to look at the flower boat sailing on the river.
The window of the flower boat was open. There were also banquets and songs inside. The girls and scholars who were disturbed by the heavy rain ran to the window and looked around. Some of them even teased and hugged each other. Yuan Jin'er leaned against the railing and looked at the scene. After a while, Yunzhu also came out to look at the rain. The wind blew the hair of the two girls on the balcony. Some scholars on the boat were attracted by the wind and looked over. At the same time, they received hostile looks from several girls.
Yuan Jin'er pressed her hair and snorted. She pulled Yunzhu back to the room and only opened the side window to look at the rain.
This was Yunzhu's room. There were needles and some clothes on the bed. Obviously, before they went out, Yunzhu was sewing and mending here. These were the old clothes for the adopted children. Some of them were torn. Yunzhu had nothing to do, so she took them back to mend them. Jin'er had no attainments in needlework. It was not a problem of personality, but she had not learned much. Women in the brothel had to learn folk art, dance, and all kinds of skills to please men. If they sewed clothes for the guests at night, it was a trend to redeem themselves and get married. The mothers did not forbid them to learn, but they would not deliberately teach them either. What Yunzhu knew was the craft left behind when she was a daughter of an official family.
"I wanted to go to Qingyuan to have a look, but it's raining. It's so boring."
Yuan Jin'er knelt on the chair and swayed back and forth in boredom.
"Come and mend clothes with me if you're bored."
"I don't know how."
Yuan Jin'er nodded and smiled, feeling a little shameless. Yunzhu smiled and leaned against the bed to pick up the needle and thread. She was dressed elegantly and had a graceful figure. Leaning against the bed, she looked like a painting of a lady. Jin'er watched for a while and became bored again. She drank tea, rolled around, and jumped for a while. She fiddled with the zither for a while, but she was not very skilled. Then she took the pipa and sat by the window. the strings gently moved.
"The rolling Yangtze River flows eastward, the waves wash away heroes, right or wrong, success or failure, everything is gone … the mountains are still green, the sunset is red several times …"
Although Yunzhu was good at all kinds of folk art, Jiner's voice was also melodious and fresh when she sang casually. Yunzhu raised her eyebrows and glanced at her. Jiner sang half a song by herself and stopped when she reached the part of White-haired Fisherman's Reef. After that, she started humming more casually. When she finished, she looked at Yunzhu with the pipa in her arms. "Sister Yunzhu, don't you feel bored?"
"Bored?" Yunzhu bit off the thread and changed into another piece of clothing.
"It's boring to be quiet all day. Sister Yunzhu, you always enjoy yourself …"
"If you feel bored, let's play Shuanglu. You can also call Kouer in." Yunzhu laughed.
"It's boring to play that all day." Jin'er shook her head and put down the pipa. She walked to the bed and tidied up a piece of clothing for Yunzhu. Then she spread her hands and lay on the bed. After a while, she asked, "Sister Yunzhu, what were you like when you were a daughter of an official family?"
"I read female training, did needlework, played Shuanglu with others, played hide-and-seek, and so on." Yunzhu paused. "Actually, it was similar to now. But I was still young at that time. Everything was fun."
"Did you want to get married?"
"How old was I at that time?" Yunzhu rolled her eyes. "But later, I did. Although I didn't know what it meant, I roughly understood that it was to be like my parents, to live with one person … for the rest of my life. But boys are boring. At that time, I thought that maybe if I got married, I would find a boy and talk all day long. It would be fun too."
"Talk all day long."
"Yes, talk." Yunzhu laughed and then lowered her eyes. "Later on … I hoped that someone could save me. Who knows what marriage is all about? I just heard that it's a happy thing to get married. At that time, I hoped that someone would help me redeem my freedom and marry him, so I worked hard to learn the zither and sing. But after seeing so many things, I don't feel that there's anything to be happy about anymore … Anyway, no matter when I think of these things, they all seem simple now, so I don't feel bored now. "
"Uh …" Jin'er rested her head on her arms and looked at the mosquito net above her head in distress. Yunzhu smiled. "You just want to go to Qing Yuan to see what those scholars are talking about, right? I've never seen you so bored before. "
"Hehe." Jin'er grinned.
The two of them were actually talking about something that happened at Qing Yuan yesterday. Yunzhu and Jin'er were there and accidentally bumped into a group of scholars flattering each other and writing poems. Of course, this was a common thing. But when the flattery reached a certain level, they started talking about Ning Yi. They said that Ning Liheng was a coward and didn't have any real talent. They also said that he didn't have any new poems recently and that he was out of ideas. So when they were writing poems and singing about the past and the present, Yunzhu went to the courtyard next door to play the piano and sang the song "Immortal by the River". "The Rolling Yangtze River Flows East".
This was naturally a good poem, but Ning Yi didn't usually show it to others. He only told it to Yunzhu in the form of a song. She deliberately let the people next door hear it. After she sang the song, there really was no sound. When a group of scholars was asking about whose new work it was, Yunzhu called the people in Qing Yuan and told them that it was Ning Yi's work. Then she pulled Jin'er away.
She was not a person who liked to show off. She only reacted like this occasionally when it was related to Ning Yi. Jin'er wanted to hide there secretly to see the expressions on the faces of the scholars. She hugged the pillar and refused to leave. But in the end, she was pulled away by Yunzhu.
Jin'er had always been a playful and noisy person. Yesterday, she didn't enjoy the pleasure of pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger. This morning, she was going to tell Ning Yi about it when he came over. But Ning Yi probably had something to do and didn't come in the morning. She wanted to go to Qing Yuan during the day to see if the news had spread. But then it rained heavily. This was really depressing. After laughing, she blinked her eyes and said, "Sister Yunzhu, he didn't come this morning. Do you think that his wife gave birth?"
"Ah..." Yunzhu accidentally pricked her finger with a needle. She put it in her mouth and sucked it. Then she hit Jin'er, who was looking at her with interest.
"Sister Yunzhu, you care about it too."
"Of course I care." Yunzhu replied softly.
"Men are so annoying." Jin'er turned her gaze to the top of the mosquito net and said slowly, "He didn't even say that he would marry you. Why do you still like him..." This was not a question. The two of them had talked about similar things many times. They were not feminists. It was really difficult for Ning Yi to marry her. But they always had some expectations in their hearts.
Yunzhu was quiet for a while. "Jin'er, you know that Liheng is good at everything, right?"
"Yes, I admit that."
"But he is not good at this at all."
Jin'er's eyes widened. She suddenly turned over and lay there. She twisted her hands and looked at Yunzhu. "Sister Yunzhu, you guys did that?"
Yunzhu pursed her lips and kicked her lightly. "I didn't say that! What I'm saying is... keeping a woman outside isn't a problem for those scholars that you and I know, right? "
"Hehe, yes."
"He is very annoyed. He doesn't know what to do. He also feels bad in his heart. Although you can't see it on the surface... "
"Uh... maybe a little." Jin'er thought for a while. "Tsk, a man is so useless."
"I like it very much." After a while, Yunzhu stopped her needlework. She lowered her head and smiled. She said softly, "I'm afraid he doesn't realize it. But I like it very much. I think it's natural for him to be good at something. Of course, it's not a big deal even if he is not good at it. But I really like the fact that he is not good at it, Jin'er. "
She blinked her eyes and said, "Liheng is always calm and composed. But … maybe he really stayed in Golden Wind Brothel for too long. But this is the only thing that I could see from the beginning. Maybe he could see it too. But even if he could see it, he couldn't do anything about it. I think, to be able to see him like this, not to mention I am the Nie Yunzhu who has turned over a new leaf. Even if I am still the daughter of an official, I will accept it no matter what happens next... "
After saying this, she lowered her head and continued to sew clothes. It was still raining. Jin'er lay there and looked at her for a long time. Finally, she sighed. "You..."
The spring rain submerged this small building and the entire Jiangning City in a mist. In the Su Residence, the small courtyard where Ning Yi and his wife lived experienced half a morning of chaos. Because in the morning, Su Tan'er had abdominal pain. She thought she was going to give birth. When the midwife came over, she found it was a false alarm. But the real birth would probably happen in one or two days. So, the midwife was asked to stay in the mansion. Ning Yi was also in the room comforting his wife. At the same time, a strange rumor was spreading among several people in the second and third branches of the Su family. It was about Ning Yi having an affair with a famous prostitute. The source of the rumor was temporarily unknown.
"Is it true?"
"I don't know..."
"If this is true..."
"It can be big or small. Think carefully..."
"This is the last chance to break the stalemate..."
The small rumor in the darkness did not disturb Ning Yi and the people in the first branch for the time being. And it was also in the afternoon, when the rain was getting heavier and heavier. At one end of Jiangning City, under the cover of the rain, a fight was taking place in a few courtyards in the city.
Where there were people, there would be Jianghu. These few courtyards belonged to a large gang in Jiangning City. The gang leader was called Cheng Lie. The name of this gang was only one word different from the once popular Tyrant Blade Alliance in Tiannan. It was called "Hundred Blade Alliance".
But their strength was obviously much weaker.
Currently, the courtyard of the Hundred Blade Alliance was covered in corpses and blood. The ones who had killed their way in were more than ten men in black straw raincoats. Some of them even carried bags on their backs. It seemed that they were travelers. The generals under Cheng Lie had all died in the fight just now. Now, half of his body was covered in blood. Holding a long saber that had already been broken, he leaned against the pillar of the main hall and looked at the strong man who was approaching with a pair of broad axes in his hands. "You, who are you..."
"Hey, after you die, remember my name... My name is Li Kui! You dare to touch my brother, pay with your life! "
The huge axe suddenly chopped down!
On the side of the street outside the door, there was a thud, and the signboard with the words "Hundred Sabers Alliance" fell to the ground in the rain. Xi Junyu, who was also wearing a straw raincoat, turned his head to take a look, and then turned his head to chat with a man beside him. When he turned his head again, a horse carriage came from the other side of the street, and a few more people got off the carriage. They were also wearing black straw raincoats that could protect them from the rain and hide their features. The one in front was tall, wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a long spear on his back. Although he had a rather handsome face under the bamboo hat, it seemed that there was always a hint of worry hidden within.
Xi Junyu cupped his hands. "Brothers, you are here too. Brother Lin, you are from Tokyo. What do you think of Jiangning? I am familiar with this place. Later, I will find a good restaurant to hold a welcome dinner for you brothers. "
The few of them cupped their hands in greeting. The man in the lead nodded his head in acknowledgment and turned to look at the courtyard at the side. Although the courtyard door was closed and it was raining heavily, he could still hear what was happening inside.
"Brother Xi, this time we came to Jiangning for proper business. I have nothing to say about you seeking revenge on your own, but remember not to delay the proper business."
"Of course, of course. Thank you, Brother Lin, for your teachings..."
"It's fine." The other party stretched out his hand and patted his shoulder. Then, he walked past him.
Xi Junyu let out a sigh of relief. Although everyone had been calling each other brothers these days, for a long time, he still had an inexplicable sense of fear and respect towards some people. For example, the Military Advisor, and this person in front of him who used to be —
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