Chapter 118: Drum and Music

  For Lu Xuan, for many people, life is a process of constantly proving one's worth to the world. If you don't have any capital and still want to keep a low profile, hiding your advantages, that's what foolish people do.

  Often, in this vain world, a person has to work hard to create capital, or even fabricate false capital. The purpose is to make people look at you with new eyes, so that those who want to get close to you, use you, obtain you, or like you, can see you as more impressive and important.

  In today's world, how many girls are there who, despite being extremely poor and having nothing, still take out loans to buy luxury cars and splurge on extravagant birthday parties? What is the purpose of all this? Isn't it just to create an impression for others - that I have a good background, I'm rich, I'm noble, I'm valuable, and I'm not someone who can be easily bought off with a little money... And, as it often turns out, by doing so, she will quickly find an excellent "buyer" and completely leave her original social class behind.

  Everyone dislikes poverty and loves wealth. Packaging oneself is not right or wrong, it's just one of the ladders to success in this materialistic world.

  It will soon be nighttime.

  Traveling by boat at night, the firelight in the boat is swaying, and the two banks are a vast expanse of blackness. The towering mountain peaks seem like giant beasts lurking there, quietly watching the flow of people coming and going, watching as dynasties rise and fall.

  Along with the gurgling sound of the river water, there is also an unspeakable silence in this night wind.

  Tonight, the bright moon is invisible, and the stars in the sky are like a belt.

  Luoyin standing at the bow of the boat, her clothes fluttering in the wind, yet she didn't seem like a celestial being.

  Because she is worried, tonight, she will share a cabin with a nobleman ah ah ah!

  The space on the boat is limited, with dozens of people crowded together, and most of the time they can stay outside. Lu Xuan stood at the bow for a while, and then another burst of footsteps and laughter came, and in the blink of an eye, there were already seven or eight people standing behind her.

  "Ah, is that you?" The big-eyed little girl saw Lu Yue and opened up a sweet smile to her, it seemed like yesterday's disappointment had already faded from this girl's heart.

  Lu Yue hooked her lips and looked at the boys and girls behind the girl, asking: "Where are you all going?"

  "We're going to Hangzhou." a young man replied.

  After finishing speaking, he looked at Lu Xuan with great curiosity and asked: "Young man, are you from Luoyang?"

  "I am from Chengdu."

  "Aren't you afraid of being in the river water during the day?"

  Lu Xiangdao said: "I was indeed afraid, but knowing fear is useless, so I'm no longer afraid."

  "Really?" "Hehe, you're really bold."

  Among the laughter and chatter, dozens of bright lights suddenly appeared in front of the dark river path. These lights were densely packed, just like stars falling into the river water.

  Everyone's attention was drawn by the bright light, and one by one they stopped talking and turned their heads to look.

  As they watched the lights getting closer and closer, someone said: "These are from that tributary in the southwest. Look at this fleet, there must be dozens of ships."

  It's a spring day, just when the spring rain is continuous and the river is swollen. Suddenly, I saw so many boats coming in the dark, and the young people were shouting loudly, but the boatmen didn't care at all. One of the boatmen called out: "What's this? Further downstream, there are countless boats."

  Another boatman said: "These boats should be loaded with iron grain salt and money for the imperial court."

  Lu Xuan also became curious, she opened her eyes and looked at those increasingly close light spots.

  Gradually, those ships got closer and closer.

  At this moment, the southwest wind was blowing, and these ships coming from the branch road were in the upwind position. Smelling a rusty smell wafting from the ship, Lu Xuan felt an inexplicable strong unease, and furrowed his brow.

  She turned and walked into the cabin.

  After not seeing the noble person in the cabin, she walked towards the back of the boat again. Before she could get close to the back of the boat, Lu Xuan's arm was suddenly tightened, and it turned out that someone had grabbed her.

  Feeling this familiar body temperature, Lu Ying didn't panic, but instead softly called out: "Master."

  "En." In the darkness, this person's voice was still magnetic and sinking, as if it could hold up even if the sky fell. Lu Yue stood beside him, imitating his posture to lean against the ship's side, her eyes fixed on those ships getting closer and closer, glancing at the crowd far away from the bow and stern of the ship, she said in a low voice: "Master, those ships have an iron rust smell."

  In the darkness, he lowered his head and looked at her. Even though the night was as dark as water, his eyes were still bright like stars.

  Lu Ying stepped forward, continuing to lower her voice and said seriously: "I feel that something is not right, Master. Those ships have a problem." After a pause, she glanced at the increasingly approaching fleet and said solemnly: "They will be unfavorable to us!"

  This statement is absolutely right!

  As soon as Lu Xuan spoke, she heard someone gasp in the darkness.

  Lu Xuan quickly turned her head to look in the direction of the sound, but the person seemed to have merged into the darkness. She stared for a while before seeing a vague shadow. She had been there for so long and hadn't even noticed that someone else was there. And this person was none other than the green-clothed guard.

  The Yangtze River is a treacherous place, and over the years, countless ships have sunk and lives lost. Just from what Qingyi knows, the river bandits on this waterway have divided into several factions. Lu Xuan's words seemed to remind him of these things, and for a moment, he was a bit tense and forgot himself, taking a deep breath before speaking out loud.

  The nobleman was also taken aback, he thought for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and ordered: "Go call the boat owner over."

  He ordered, naturally, was that guard.

  Before long, the boat owner hastily got up in the faint light.

  Nor did he know what the guard said to the boat owner, but when the boat owner came over, he made a big bow to the noble and stuttered: "Your humble servant, your humble servant didn't know it was Your Excellency."

  Before he could finish, the nobleman said in a low voice, "Don't say such nonsense." He pushed Lu Xuan and said calmly, "From now on, you all fully cooperate with this subordinate of mine and follow his orders."

  In the dim light, he turned his head, patted Luo Yue's shoulder and chuckled: "Isn't Ah Yue a proud husband? Tonight I want to see how Ah Yue is as a husband."

  In the dim light, Lu Xuan raised her head to look at him. The four bright eyes met in the darkness for a moment before Lu Xuan said, "Good!"

  She took a step back and bowed deeply to the noble, saying in a clear voice: "How dare I disobey!"

  Having said that, she turned around and walked towards the boat owner.

  Lu Xuan walked up to the boat owner and asked, "Are there any musical instruments on the boat?"

  "Some have, some don't."

  "What should be done in case of an emergency?"

  "There is a bell and drum that can be played."

  "Can I have it on the boat?"

  "Some have, some don't."

  "Alright."

  "Order everyone back to their cabins," Lu Ying commanded. "No one is allowed to move about unless absolutely necessary, except for the sailors."

  The boat owner was startled for a moment and immediately replied: "Yes."

  After a pause, he waved his right hand and shouted loudly: "Everyone get back into the cabins, all return to the cabins."

  As soon as the captain's voice fell, several voices cried out in unison: "What happened?" "Yeah, is something wrong?" "Why go back to the boat."

  In the midst of the chaotic shouting, the boat owner was about to explain when Lu Xuan quietly warned, "Don't say anything."

  After finishing this sentence, she raised her head and shouted to the crowd: "In the boring night, after our discussion, I am willing to play with strings, talk with poetry, and spend the long and tedious night."

  As soon as the words came out, everyone really became interested. Seeing the people on the boat one by one returning to the boat, Lu Xuan ordered again: "Except for the person driving the boat, order the rest of the people to beat the bell and drum immediately, making the sound bigger and more festive."

  "Alright."

  The boat owner hastily called over his servant and gave a string of orders.

  At this time, Lu Ying ordered: "Light up fire torches at both the bow and stern of the boat, making sure that it is brightly lit here."

  "Yes."

  In just a moment, those ships were getting closer and closer, gradually, the torches burning in the cabins, the figures standing on the bow of the ship, had already become faintly visible.

  At this moment, Lu Xing's arrangement also took effect. With a burst of deafening drumbeats, the protesting young men and women heard Lu Xing say calmly: "Everyone, please calm down. This is the military drum. The person beside me is willing to perform a sword dance with the drumbeat." As she said this, she kicked the guard who was holding the sword and standing faithfully by the noble's side!

  He stood there for a moment, still not reacting, and the crowd had already burst out laughing. Amidst the laughter, voices of delight were heard: "Ah, husbands dancing too? Great!" "I've never seen a man dance before, hurry up!" The joyful laughter and eager cries soon surrounded the guard.

  Lu Xuan turned his head in time and didn't see the green-clad guard's pale face and dull eyes.

  She slowly untied her outer cloak, then loosened the collar of her inner garment, revealing her delicate clavicle. Lu Yue lazily snuggled into the noble's embrace at the brightly lit stern of the boat.

  She leaned against him, and Lu Yuan called over a maid to pour her and the noble each a cup of wine. She raised her cup in a languid toast to the noble, then slowly sipped it.

  She sipped her wine, tilted her face and chatted intimately with the nobleman, who was also very cooperative. His attention was focused on Lu Yue, without even raising his eyes, as if he hadn't noticed the dozens of large ships getting closer and closer.

  And in just a short while, the large ship with high sails that was walking at the forefront of the dozens of ships had already approached them to within a hundred paces.

  By this time, both sides had clearly seen each other.

  Luoyin, after being injured, was already beyond ordinary people's perception. Her eyesight was also extraordinary. She only glanced at it and saw that the other party's large ship had bloodstains near the cabin that had not been wiped clean.

  The night wind strikes.

  In the wind, whether it was the beautiful and cold young man Lu Yue or the noble and refined scholar-like aristocrat, their robes were all fluttering in the wind. The two men's temperament was originally one in a million, and now they stood side by side under the bright lights, leaning against the railing, sipping wine slowly, relying on each other, smiling at each other, every move exuding endless elegance and nobility.

  In the same cabin, equally bright and noisy, bursts of laughter were coming, mixed with the deafening sound of drums and bells, giving a sense of extravagance.

  "Big brother, do you still want to or not?" The short and sturdy man with a pendant earring standing at the bow of the large ship with black sails leaned in close to the refined young man, his right hand chopping downwards as he asked in a low and murderous tone.

  The young man was still squinting his eyes to size up this seemingly ordinary passenger ship. As he was lost in thought, a slightly near-sighted middle-aged man walked out of the cabin and approached him, looking at him with narrowed eyes. He asked: "What's wrong?"

  He said, "The goods we've obtained are of great importance. As soon as they entered the river, they encountered this boat. If someone with ill intentions were to investigate, it's likely that our involvement would be easily discovered. It's better to get rid of them."

  "Get rid of them? How can we get rid of them?" The young Confucian scholar sneered, "This boat is making a big noise with its drums and bells, and with the wind blowing in our favor, I'm afraid people tens of miles downstream will hear it. And with all these lanterns lit up, who knows how many people are paying attention? Take another look at those two, their appearance and behavior are both extraordinary. I'm afraid if we try to get rid of them now, their family guards will be on our tail the moment we do... Don't try to steal a chicken without losing your rice." He commanded decisively, "Sail right past! Extinguish all the torches at the bow and stern! Tell them to keep quiet, these people are enjoying themselves and won't notice us."

  "Yes."

  （）