With lanterns and colorful decorations, looking around, the Wanshui in the evening is more colorful than the brilliant sunset. Groups of young men and young ladies dressed in gold and jade stood at the head of the bed, holding wine glasses in their hands, admiring the brilliant Wanshui, talking and laughing. When Shi Xing came, he composed a poem, and Shi Jia praised it loudly. , the poem is mediocre, a laugh, it can be used as a toast.
There were seven people in the painting boat where Shen Li and Zhu Hongni were, and the other five people came together. They took out the prepared wine and food one by one, sat in the cabin of the painting boat, and pointed out through the window whose painting boat was the best tonight.
In Wanshui, there are not only painted boats rented by boatmen, but also purchased by wealthy households in the city. The whole family can take a boat trip at night and have fun.
The number of painted boats is endless, just like the stars in the Milky Way in the sky.
"Young Master, young lady, why don't you come here and have fun together?"
The young man among the five asked with a smile.
Shen Li replied: "Wouldn't it disturb your elegance?"
"Ha, the young master is serious and the place is lively when there are many people. A few of us like to make friends with young handsome men."
The girl at the table was full of smiles. She stood up and went over to hold Zhu Hongni's arm. She said with a smile: "Young lady is the most beautiful person I have ever seen. I don't know whether she is a lady from a prominent family in the city or a heroine passing by Wanshui to watch."
Women in the Northern Sui Dynasty especially loved heroines. The rich ladies traveled far away, wearing tight clothes and armed with three-foot green swords. Unlike the women in the Southern Wu Dynasty who were warm and tender, most women in the Northern Sui Dynasty had a strong temperament and were not inferior to the men at all.
The girl holding Zhu Hongni's arm had a jeweled scabbard hanging on her waist, with a red tassel on the hilt, which she carefully trimmed with skillful hands.
Zhu Hongni glanced at Shen Li and asked for his opinion.
"Since you have extended your hospitality so warmly, it would be shameful for us siblings to refuse."
The young man laughed heartily, reached out and grabbed Shen Li's shoulders, and kindly asked him to sit down.
The girl also held Zhu Hongni's arm and sat on her side.
Pour in the sake, the aroma of wheat is rich.
"Good wine!" Shen Li praised.
The young man laughed and said, "Young Master, you have good eyesight. This wine is called Chunhui. It is a fine wine from Yanchun Pavilion in the city. It is one of the best in Wanshui. Please see, Master, there are endless boats on the water. All the wines prepared must be Chunhui wine. It's about to happen." The poetry gathering at the beginning, the drinks among the distinguished guests, are also the radiance of spring."
Zhu Hongni curiously picked up the wine glass and took a sip. According to her taste, the Chunhui wine was light in taste, but had a refreshing aroma of wheat. It was indeed good. In Luojing, where famous wines are everywhere, Chunhui wine can still stand out.
Names were announced to each other, and everyone exchanged glasses. The girls here also had a good drinking capacity, and they kept drinking one glass after another. Only the wine in the wine jar dropped, and the food on the table did not decrease.
Drink until the atmosphere is strong.
One person asked: "Where are the young master and young lady going?"
"Luo Jing, we have decided to travel around the world, and it's time to return home." Shen Li said with a smile, ahead of Zhu Hongni.
"I, Luo Jing of the Sui Dynasty, am the best in the world. Mr. Shen and Miss Zhu have extraordinary conversation and elegant manners. They must be from high families in Luo Jing."
"Don't dare, don't dare. We are just a small rich family. How dare we claim to be from a high family? There are hidden dragons and tigers in Luojing. There are endless strange people and strange things. Famous families are everywhere. In their eyes, we are just ordinary people in the market." Shen Li said modestly.
"Young Master Shen is so polite. Since the two of you can travel around the world without incident, you must have some skills. You must be both a dragon and a phoenix in order to be able to raise such a godly person as you two."
This is too much to boast about.
Shen Li and Zhu Hongni smiled softly and ignored such topics.
"Mr. Liu, I heard that there were kidnappers in Wanshui City? They actually kidnapped a rich lady. Fortunately, she was rescued."
It refers to Chen Qifeng’s beloved daughter Chen Wanyue.
According to someone from the Xingxiu Sect in Wanshui City, Chen Wanyue was kidnapped by the kidnappers. After rescuing her and returning home, she never forgot the leader of the kidnappers. It was really strange. Chen Qifeng had no choice but to spend a lot of money to hire the Xingxiu Sect to kidnap the kidnappers. The leader found it and brought it to Chen's house.
"Oh? There is such a disaster in Wanshui City? I have never heard of it."
A girl answered: "I heard my father say something, saying that a group of kidnappers came to Wanshui City recently and committed evil crimes one after another, but they only took money and did not harm anyone. The kidnapped people only need to pay the ransom from their families. , and sent it back intact."
Shen Li frowned slightly. What the girl said was different from the information provided by the Xingxiu Sect. The waiter at the inn said that Chen Qifeng invited experts to rescue Chen Wanyue with great difficulty. Listening to the girl's words, it seemed that the kidnapper was quite reasonable. , only slaughter the rich households and leave the poor untouched.
"Yes, I remembered it. My father also warned me, asking me to be more careful in recent days and take my servants with me when I go out. But Mr. Liu invited guests to visit Wanshui tonight. He was in a hurry to go out and forgot to call his servants."
Mr. Liu was surprised when he heard this and said: "This matter is really happening in Wanshui! Where did Mr. Shen hear about it?"
"Just now someone on the shore mentioned it and said that the kidnappers often haunt Wanshui and take advantage of the countless boat boats at night to find their targets." Shen Li said.
Zhu Hongni stared at him strangely. No one said this, and she didn't know why Shen Langjun suddenly became concerned about the kidnappers. Could it be that after eradicating the bandits and doing harm to the people, Shen Langjun fell in love with chivalrous people? With his skills, he is no match for that group of fierce bandits. Dealing with this group of kidnappers will be as easy as picking something out of a bag.
After thinking about this, he put aside his doubts and listened quietly to Shen Li's questions.
"Sigh, I don't know how many people's lives Wanshui is involved in. Once this matter is publicized, the number of people coming here will inevitably decrease. The rich households will have no expenses, and the poor people who make money will be able to support their families? Now that Mr. Shen has learned about this matter, please stay calm for the time being. From the bottom of my heart. Come to think of it, the government has already taken action, so we can just sit back and wait for news that the government has successfully captured the kidnapper."
"Young Master Liu thought carefully, but I was reckless." Shen Li said with a bow.
Mr. Liu laughed and said, "To be honest, my family's fortune relied on Wanshui. The hardships and grievances involved are not open to outsiders."
Filling Shen Li with wine, Mr. Liu raised his glass and said, "With this wine, I wish Wanshui prosperity every year and laughter every day. It also wishes me a prosperous Sui Dynasty, an early unification of the world, and perfect gold!"
The tune was so high that everyone at the table picked up their wine glasses, chimed in a few words, and drank the wine in one gulp.
The night was dark, but Wanshui was as bright as day. The bright stars in the sky and the colorful colors of Wanshui complemented each other. Gradually, there was a crowd of people, and many women sang songs. For a time, the entire Wanshui seemed to be a peach blossom garden free from the sufferings of the world. Everyone smiled and blended in. , it’s hard to extricate yourself.
Zhu Hongni really didn't expect that Wanshui would be extremely lively at night. She stared blankly at the boats coming and going outside the window of the painting boat, and she was actually fascinated.
The sound of different musical instruments sounded, and slowly drums began to beat on the shore. The drums roared, as if they were deliberately attracting everyone's attention.
Mr. Liu clapped his hands and said with a smile: "The poetry meeting has begun. Mr. Shen and Miss Zhu, you have never seen the Wanshui Poetry Meeting. You can feast your eyes on it tonight."
A girl got up excitedly, walked to the bow of the boat, turned around and shouted, "Come out and watch! Fireworks!"
Several people left their seats and looked up at the fireworks, which were full of brilliance and beauty.
Shen Li lowered his head, and Zhu Hongni unknowingly held his hand.
Their faces were illuminated by the fireworks, especially Zhu Hongni. She didn't know whether she was shy because she held a man's hand for the first time, or she was excited by the dazzling fireworks.
No matter what, her heart felt like it was soaked in a honey pot, so sweet that she forgot all about it, as if she was in a sweet dream that she didn't want to wake up from.
Rows of people on the shore shouted in unison: "The poetry meeting has begun! The poetry meeting has begun! The poetry meeting has begun!"
On the painted boat they were riding on, a boatman came up to them with a gong and said with a smile: "Masters and ladies, if you have any poems, you can write them on paper and let me read them out. If the poems are excellent, you can win the first prize in one fell swoop." Great reward.”
Shen Li asked: "Do you have any poems that you don't comment on?"
The boatman said: "Of course there are poets and poets. The poetry meeting tonight is very grand. There are twenty poets and poets here. Whoever's poems are more recognized by the poets and poets will be ranked first."
Mr. Liu smiled and said: "Although the reward is not that much, the person who takes the first place will definitely be well-known in Wanshui City. With such a reputation, what can't be done?"
Shen Li nodded in approval.
Zhu Hongni blushed and whispered: "If Mr. Shen writes a good poem, I will promise you something."
"You just said that." Shen Li said.
"I'm afraid you won't remember."
"No, my memory has always been very good. It's a pity that the promise of beauty is right in front of me, but I'm not good at poetry. I'm used to playing with a knife or stick."
"You..." Zhu Hongni said angrily, "Just compose a random song."
"How can humble poetry offend a beautiful woman!"
"Hmph, I think you're angry with me on purpose." She squeezed Shen Li's hand tightly, as if she wanted to try her best to integrate his hand into her body.
Of course Mr. Liu and others noticed the ambiguity between the two. They smiled and said nothing, knowing it all.
It was nothing more than that they agreed to make peace, but were opposed by their families. After repeated struggles, they only left in pairs.
This kind of story book is the favorite of the storytellers in the city's teahouses, and many people like to listen to it. When the rich lady is put into it, I feel that if she were herself, she would definitely make the same choice as the woman in the story. Although the clothes and food are good, If you don't have a good person to accompany you, your food will be tasteless. It is better to work hard for your own happiness.
There are more and more stories like this in the bookstore. A few days ago, Mr. Liu saw his sister holding hands with tears on her face. When he asked about it, her sister looked at Ivy with resentful eyes and said sadly, "I wish the world Lovers will eventually get married, so don't be miserable lovers.
"Look!"
A magnificent giant ship sailed slowly from top to bottom. There were countless lanterns on the giant ship, which reflected the laughing men and women standing on the ship like immortals in the sky.
Mr. Liu pointed to the huge ship and introduced to Shen Li: "The twenty poets who commented on this poetry meeting are on the ship, and this ship took Wanshui City three years to build. There are noble people in Luo Jing who have heard about it. I have traveled thousands of miles to see this ship. After the poetry meeting ends tonight, this ship will be transported to Luojing, and the hopeful family will spend huge sums of money to buy it."
Shen Li sighed softly: "The wealth of Wanshui is even more amazing than that of Nanwu Yuzhou City."
