In the evening, the dusk was heavy, the wind was strong and the waves were high.
Pei Liang stood alone at the stern, deep in thought.
I don't know when, a touch of white clothes appeared next to me under the umbrella.
"Young Master is so elegant and happy."
The woman in white was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.
There was a look of surprise in Pei Liang's eyes.
The woman in white seemed to be very considerate, and after one glance she revealed Pei Liang's doubts.
"Master, do you think that a woman like me shouldn't be here and behaving frivolously?"
Pei Liang began to look at this mysterious and beautiful woman with interest.
If you are a child of the Jianghu, that's it. As long as you are open-minded, you don't need to care about these rules between men and women. But the person in front of you is from a scholar-bureaucrat class with strict etiquette and a scholarly family who has read poetry and books. It is true that he made this move. People are surprised.
"I would like to ask, is the one beside the young master your wife?"
What the woman in white said was even more bold.
Pei Liang immediately shook his head.
"Is that the young master's confidante?" A slight smile appeared in the eyes of the woman in white.
Pei Liang felt that it was not polite to keep nodding and shaking his head, so he had to say:
"She is a poor person who I saved halfway. She is not a confidante."
The woman in white nodded.
"I saw that the young master came from the Jianghu, and he had a heroic and unruly aura. I was temporarily heartbroken and wanted to know more about the Jianghu. I wonder if it would be convenient for the young master?"
"Madam, are you still interested in this world?" Pei Liang asked in surprise.
"To be honest, I have been fascinated by the Jianghu in storytelling since I was a child, and I have read many books on this subject. I just wish I had not had the opportunity to meet a real Jianghu person..."
When the woman in white said this, she lowered her head like a shy girl.
"The guard next to Madam is not weak in martial arts. Is he considered a member of the martial arts world?"
"Brother Yuan is from the Wudang sect, but he entered the mansion very early and doesn't often move around the world, so... he can only be considered half a member of the world."
"Jianghu? The real Jianghu is not like what is depicted in novels. The heroes just do chivalry and fight and kill. They dare to travel around the world without any money. If they save a beautiful girl, they will give her life to her..."
Before Pei Liang finished speaking, the woman in white gasped, covered her mouth with her sleeves, and laughed.
Pei Liang was stunned at first, and when he realized it, he felt a little embarrassed, so he quickly smoothed things over.
"Madam, I haven't heard any storyteller say that heroes don't take baths for many years, so they have lice! I haven't heard of any hero who doesn't pay after drinking, and even if someone cuts him with a knife, he grins in pain!"
The woman in white smiled and shook her head.
"In reality, everyone has their own way of living and is subject to various constraints. No one is truly free." Pei Liang sighed.
"Master, do you want to tell me that everyone has their own troubles, so there is no need to envy others."
Pei Liang found that the woman in white was really smart and could tell.
"Yes, the canary in the cage is born delicate and has no worries about food and clothing. But over time, it will inevitably yearn for its kind flying freely outside. But it doesn't know that once it is released, the eagles and natural enemies in the sky will It will be eaten, and many birds who are tired all day long just for a bite of food are envious of its life."
When the woman in white heard the words, she remained silent for a long time.
"Please forgive me for any offence, madam." Pei Liang hugged his fists sincerely. After saying this, he actually regretted it. The two met by chance and shouldn't have said so much, but there were some things he didn't like to say.
The woman in white shook her head: "Young Master is right, I am just sad about the world. If there were more chivalrous and righteous people like Young Master in the world, the people's lives might be easier."
"In troubled times, human lives are as cheap as grass. The power of individuals in the world cannot match the words of a minister in the court. The general trend of the world is still in the hands of those kings."
The woman in white heard the dissatisfaction and criticism of the imperial court in Pei Liang's words, but no matter who was in the world or the cruel officialdom, no one could change anything.
When Pei Liang returned to the cabin, Yaoniang was eating and seemed to have a good appetite.
"Don't you think it's a pity that you've been having a private meeting with a married woman for so long, but you didn't even ask her name or family?"
Yaoniang put down the bowl and chopsticks and served Pei Liang a bowl with a smile.
"How do you know I didn't ask?" Pei Liang sat down with a smile.
The anger in Yaoniang's eyes flashed away, but there was still a smile on her face: "Then what's her name?"
"Lu Qingyan"
Pei Liang answered simply.
"Where does she live?"
"I didn't ask that."
"Ask quickly, go now"
Yaoniang snatched the chopsticks that Pei Liang had just picked up...
After Lu Qingyan sat down in her room, she looked at the maid in green named Xiao Wan next to her who was hesitant to speak. How could she not know what she was thinking.
"When my lord asks, just tell the truth." Lu Qingyan took off her veil, took the bronze mirror, and looked at her beautiful face.
"My lady! You really did a great job this time!"
Xiao Wan, who had a sad face, stamped his feet angrily and anxiously.
"I'm afraid he'll be angry." Lu Qingyan didn't care.
"Miss, even if you don't think about Mr. Liu's face, if I hear about it, I won't be able to spare you."
"My father is in Yujing and has no control over here." Lu Qingyan put down the bronze mirror in her hand and said.
"It is urgent. There is only one way. Master Yuan will definitely not say that those boatmen and officials can only be bribed with money. I will scare them and give them some benefits, which should keep them quiet."
Xiaowan started talking to himself.
"You underestimate the ability of this current number one scholar. He can't pry open the mouth of a dead man."
Lu Qingyan had a faint sneer on her face.
Xiaowan's face changed with fright, and he stuttered when he spoke: "What you... mean..."
"Where did you want to go?"
Lu Qingyan smiled and rolled her eyes at the maid: "Madam, when have I ever been so vicious-hearted?"
"You don't have to do anything. If you do, it will show that there is something wrong in our hearts. Let him go wherever he asks."
Hearing what Madam said, Xiaowan frowned but could only nod.
During the meal, Xiaowan thought about it and had no appetite, but Lu Qingyan was in a good mood and ate a whole bowl of rice.
The maid saw the change in the lady. After confirming that no one was around, she came over and asked carefully.
"Madam, tell the truth, have you fallen in love with that prodigal son?"
Xiao Wan, who often listened to the knight's storytelling with his young lady when he was a child, was no stranger to the word "liar".
Lu Qingyan stopped her silver chopsticks, raised her head and glanced at the maid, and said with a straight face: "You're too presumptuous."
Xiao Wan did not accept this trick, he pulled up her sleeves and said coquettishly: "What do you say!"
Lu Qingyan really couldn't display the majesty of her master in front of this maid who behaved like a sister.
"I can't say that I like him, I just think he is very mysterious and the two of them are very relaxed together. It feels like they met each other at a late date."
"It's over, it's over, you were abducted." Xiao Wan shook his head repeatedly after hearing this.
"What do you think of him?" Lu Qingyan suddenly asked.
"I don't like it very much. I feel that others are relatively cold and don't care much about anything. It would be very boring to be a partner with such a person."
"You just like those who are glib and can make you laugh."
"No, at least he has to be an upright hero."
"Will the words hero and good man be written on your face?"
"Anyway, I don't think he looks powerful enough. He also has a lazy look on his face. He has a wooden sword on his waist. Which great hero do you think has a wooden sword?"
"Maybe it's just a hobby. There are so many strange people in the world."
"I think you are just fascinated by him, so you can only say good things for him."
When Xiao Wan said this, he suddenly rolled his eyes: "Don't blame me for not reminding you. People in the world are the most insidious and ruthless. You didn't notice that he had such a beautiful woman with him. He must have snatched her away. We must do it." Draw a clear line with such people.”
The maid's analysis was clear and logical, but the master just smiled.
Some people are indifferent on the outside but have mountains and seas in their hearts.
———
At night, Pei Liang and Yaoniang were brought to a room on the second floor by Xiao Wan.
"This is arranged by my wife. You two can stay here for one night. The boat will arrive in Chengdu at noon tomorrow."
After Xiao Wan said what he needed to say, he turned around and left without even looking at the two of them.
"Is there any room available? I want one for myself!" Yaoniang coldly blocked Xiao Wan's path.
"This is not a ferry that everyone can take. There are not so many seats." Xiao Wan said unceremoniously.
Yaoniang hit a wall and sat on the bed angrily.
"Thank you madam for your kindness."
Seeing Pei Liang about to see off the guests, Xiao Wan snorted and walked out.
Pei Liang closed the door.
Yaoniang immediately untied the curtains.
The official ship was smooth and comfortable, and even the mattresses were new. Listening to the noisy rain outside the window, Yaoniang wrapped herself tightly in the quilt. After a while, she couldn't help but lift a corner of the curtain and look at the man drinking tea alone in the gap. juvenile.
Suddenly a feeling of guilt came to her heart, and Yaoniang felt her nose was sore.
Yaoniang unknowingly became dependent on this savior who escorted and cared for her all the way. When this dependence reached a certain level, she would regard him as her own personal belongings and be very afraid that others would suddenly snatch her away. Even if Yaoniang understands Pei Liang's character, she can't help but have a little temper.
Lu Qingyan was lying on the bed at the moment, listening to the wind and rain outside the window,
Suddenly I remembered two lines from Li Shangyin's poem: "Why should we cut the candles from the west window together, but talk about the rainy night in Bashan?"
Perhaps the luckiest thing in a person's life is to find a loved one with whom he can cut the west window and listen to the rain at night. You can spread paper and grind an inkstone for him, and he will give you a beautiful face in the mirror.
This is the life that Lu Qingyan envies most, but things in the world can't make it easy for people to get what they want.
Even though his father was the prime minister of the dynasty and he was the apple of his parents' eye since childhood, he still could not escape the fate of political marriage.
Yaoniang got up to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and saw Pei Liang sitting there in high spirits. I couldn't help but wonder: "Don't you have to sleep at night?"
"You don't have to sleep for that long." Pei Liang replied.
"I want to go to the toilet, you go with me." Yaoniang whispered.
Pei Liang nodded, took off his clothes and put them on Yaoniang.
A flash of joy flashed between Yaoniang's brows, and she stepped off the ship's building. It was pitch black outside the deck, and the howling wind and rain pounded on it. Yaoniang couldn't help but shiver in the wind.
"Why don't we go back and wait until daybreak?"
There is a distance of more than ten meters from the ship building to the guest house at the stern. If you run over, you will definitely get wet.
"I'm holding you."
After Pei Liang finished speaking, he asked Yaoniang to hold up the oil-paper umbrella, put one hand through the bend of her legs, and held her waist with the other, lifting her into her arms. Yaoniang's eyes suddenly became dazed, and she and Pei Liang were showing off alone. The first encounter in the museum was like this.
Yaoniang gently hugged Pei Liang's neck and pressed her face against the familiar chest that gave her an unparalleled sense of security.
When Xiaowan returned to the room, he suddenly saw the lights in the room opposite turned on again.
After knocking on the door, Xiao Wan followed his master and sat on the bed.
"Why aren't you sleeping, madam?" Xiao Wan said with a smile.
"If you can't sleep, get up and listen to the sound of rain." Lu Qingyan said with a smile.
"What's on your mind, madam? Why do you feel that things have changed since you got on the boat!" Xiao Wan asked.
"You do not understand."
Lu Qingyan's understatement made Xiao Wan pout.
"I don't understand something. Is it because of that man?"
Lu Qingyan ignored her this time.
Xiaowan came closer and said, "I went downstairs just now for convenience. What do you think I saw?"
"What?" Lu Qingyan seemed to be a little interested.
"I saw that prodigal son!" Xiao Wan said with a mysterious face.
"What's wrong with him?" Lu Qingyan immediately answered.
Xiao Wan glanced at the hostess, seeming to complain that she shouldn't have such a big reaction.
"Speak quickly." Lu Qingyan pushed the maid.
"I saw him carrying the pretty beauty next to him to go to the toilet, as if he was afraid that she would get caught in the rain. The two of them were so tired and crooked, it was really disgusting."
After Xiao Wan finished speaking, he immediately added: "Don't take it seriously. People like this are really not good people. I really regret letting them get on this ship."
Lu Qingyan rolled her eyes at her: "You can talk about such boring things."
Xiao Wan nodded, it was indeed boring.
"I'm sleepy, you should go to bed early." Xiaowan waved his hand and yawned.
After sending Xiao Wan away, Lu Qingyan turned around and blew out the candle on the table.
In the darkness, a sigh came out after a long time.
