Chapter 27 "Brother" or "Sister"?

  Against Chen Yi's expectations, the one who came in with the voice was not a charming woman, but a young "man" whose handsomeness surpassed He Lan Sheng by several degrees. Or rather, someone dressed as a man. With an outfit similar to He Lan Sheng's, white clothes and white shirt, their appearance was also quite similar. A slender neck, pale skin, beautiful eyebrows and eyes, so beautiful that Chen Yi felt a bit "dazzled". In comparison, this person was slightly shorter and much younger. He Lan Sheng was very tall, taller than Chen Yi who was almost 1.78 meters by a little bit. The height of the young man who just came in should be around 1.7 meters, but his figure was a bit slender and weak, as if like a woman's, his face looked slightly immature, yet gave people a lively feeling.

  The face of this person looks a bit familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, and the voice is also familiar, which is the main reason why Chen Yi was shocked. This person looks a bit like He Lansheng, but when Chen Yi saw He Lansheng and heard him speak, he didn't have this feeling, and he couldn't understand!

  Chen Yi was taken aback and stood up, followed by He Lan Sheng who hastily introduced with a smile: "Mr. Chen, this is my younger brother He Lan... Min, He Lan Min Lan..." He Lan Sheng gave the newcomer a signal while introducing Chen Yi, then continued: "Min... er, this is Brother's newly acquainted friend, Chen Yi Chen Ziying, from Jiangnan, Yuezhou, who on that day at Drunken Immortal Pavilion, shocked everyone with his poem 'Youthful Journey'!"

  The man called He Lan Min was taken aback, looked at He Lan Sheng with a puzzled expression, seemed to understand, walked over in small steps, stood in front of Chen Yi, glanced at him a few times, smiled slightly, and bowed his hands: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Chen. I saw your poem at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion that day, and after reading it carefully, I have great admiration for you. I didn't expect to see you again here today, it's really an honor!"

  He Lanmin's voice was clear and pleasant, with a hint of magnetism, as if Chen Yi had heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it. It didn't sound like a man's voice, but rather a woman's. For a moment, Chen Yi was confused - could this He Lanmin be a woman? His confusion couldn't be expressed in words, and he didn't dare ask directly. Hearing He Lanmin speak, he hastily replied with humility: "He Gongzi is overpraising! That day I just happened to think of a little poem, wrote it on impulse, didn't expect... such a commotion would arise, truly embarrassing!"

  "Is that Lord He?" He Lan was taken aback for a moment, looking at Chen Yi with some confusion, then at He Lan Sheng, but quickly regained her composure and smiled brightly. She raised an eyebrow at He Lan Sheng, who had been making eyes at her, and returned the courtesy to Chen Yi, laughing: "Lord Chen is too modest, your poem has left me with a fresh impression, my brother discussed it with me after he got back, we both think it's a rare masterpiece, the rhyme and meter are excellent, it will surely cause a stir in the streets, don't you agree, brother?"

  Chen Yi, who was a bit stunned, finally reacted and walked over to He Lan Sheng's side with his head held high. With a smile, he said: "Brother, you invited Chen Gongzi for a drink today, why didn't you tell me? Mother thought you went out to play again and asked me to take a look..."

  When Chen Yi saw He Lan Min's "proud" action, a spark of light flashed in his mind like a flint, and he finally remembered that this was the white-clothed youth who had stood up for him at Zui Xian Lou, taking charge of justice. The person in Zui Xian Lou also had this proud action, exactly the same, but unfortunately, they were too far apart that day, and he didn't get a clear look at He Lan Min's face, only a general impression!

  It was this action just now that made Chen Yi suddenly wake up and confirm that his judgment would not be wrong.

  He Lan Sheng looked at He Lan Min with a doting gaze, "Min'er, brother is taking you and mother out to have fun, how could he possibly abandon you two to run around wildly?"

  He Lan Min grasped He Lan Min's arm and looked at Chen Yi beside him, saying: "Brother, I feel like Chen Gongzi is a bit familiar, as if I've seen him somewhere before. Do you think he looks familiar? Didn't we know him before?"

  This remark made Chen Yi feel quite surprised, he saw He Lan Min and felt that this person seemed to have been seen somewhere before, his face was a bit familiar, unexpectedly He Lan Min also said so, it couldn't be that they had really met before? Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a feeling.

  He Lan Sheng patted He Lan Min's arm and shook his head: "Brother didn't have that feeling, but with Chen Gongzi, it was like they had known each other for a long time, hehe..."

  When Chen Yi saw He Lan Min holding onto He Lan Sheng's arm and the intimate gesture of He Lan Sheng patting He Lan Min's hand, he was shocked again. Brothers shouldn't be so close, could it be that He Lan Min wasn't actually He Lan Sheng's younger brother? Was someone disguising themselves as a man?

  Confusion under Chen Yi re-examined He Lanmin, now after the Qingming Festival, the weather is a bit hot, men and women's clothes are a bit thin, if it were a woman, the chest would definitely not be hidden, unless there was no development or very poor development. However, He Lanmin's figure is slender and thin, somewhat like a woman, but there is nothing special about her chest, and because of wearing loose clothes, there is no feeling of protruding in front and back. This person is so tall, saying that he has not developed is not convincing, but from appearance, behavior, and speech, it does not look like a man. And the two still call each other brothers, Chen Yi was confused!

  Are these two in front of me brothers or siblings?

  He Lansheng saw and guessed Chen Yi's doubts, but he didn't explain anything. Instead, he shook off He Lanmin's hand and gestured to Chen Yi: "Chen Gongzi, my brother just disturbed our drinking mood, let's continue..." As he spoke, he refilled Chen Yi's cup and his own, holding the wine jug hesitantly, looking at He Lanmin with inquiring eyes.

  "Brother, I want to drink with you guys, I'll just have a little less and mom won't scold us!" He Lanmin said with a playful smile, then smiled sweetly at Chen Yi, "Chen Gongzi, where there's wine, there's poetry. Later, my brother and I will ask you to recite another poem for us to appreciate!"

  He Lan Min's coquettishness made Chen Yi feel a little dizzy, this expression must have left no man unmoved. If He Lan Min were really a man, Chen Yi thought that he would be the kind of man who would make other men fall for him, and in an instant, he understood the ancient love between men, if there really was a man as beautiful as a woman, it wouldn't be strange at all for another man to fall for him.

  The legendary Murong Chong should be a similar figure... And also Longyang Jun from back then!

  Chen Yi felt that he had never been so confused before, being messed up by the two brothers in front of him. He would occasionally stare blankly and feel a bit rude, making him feel embarrassed. After He Lanmin's words came out, he also stared for a moment before responding: "Two young masters He, I really just wrote poetry on impulse, thinking of it and reciting it as I went along. As the saying goes, 'articles are naturally born, and wonderful hands occasionally get them'. Only with inspiration can there be poetry, I don't like to write poetry at specific times or follow specific rules. If I think of a poem, I will definitely recite it to the two young masters. If not, please don't blame me..."

  This was the excuse he had thought of when he decided to plagiarize Tang poetry, thinking that he could use it to explain how he came up with such a great poem out of nowhere, and also to decline others' requests for him to compose poems, in order to avoid being found out and revealing his true nature.

  Chen Yi's words left He Lan Sheng and He Lan Min staring at each other in surprise, unable to believe that this person was so eccentric. However, He Lan Min refused to give up, "Young Master Chen, your poetry is so outstanding, if it gets out, it will quickly cause a sensation in Chang'an. I'm sure that within a few days, your poem 'Youth's Journey' will be circulating among the people, and your reputation will rise with it. Why don't you seize this opportunity to write a few more poems?"

  This person is a bit strange, seemingly doesn't care about their reputation!

  "What Mr. He said is not bad, it's probably what many people are after, but in reality... I didn't think of that, writing poetry just to add elegance to everyday life, expressing emotions, not for fame or gain!" This reason made Chen Yi a bit ashamed, speaking very eloquently, but actually it was completely different. He was just a fake literary man, if he really had to rely on his true talent and learning to write poetry and essays, he would rather die than produce a masterpiece. Because of his guilty conscience, he didn't dare speak loudly, so he could only use a very high-sounding reason to explain himself!

  But he didn't expect that this false statement would make the He brothers respectful and look at him with new eyes.

  "I didn't expect Mr. Chen to be so indifferent to fame and wealth, hiding his talents without being proud of them at all, it's really admirable!" He Lansheng said, raising his wine cup to toast Chen Yi: "Mr. Chen's words make us feel ashamed, I'm a few years older than you, but I don't have your mindset at all, I admire you! Come, let me toast you, today is indeed a lucky day, I'm honored to meet Mr. Chen..."

  "Mr. He is overpraising me, I'm so embarrassed! Please...” Chen Yi hastily raised his cup and clinked it with He Lansheng's, then also clinked cups with the similarly raised, yet strangely expressioned He Lansen, as a way of showing respect, and downed the drink in one gulp.

  He Lan Min also drank the grape wine in the cup dry, and very generously raised his wine glass to Chen Yi, with an unspeakable charm in his eyes.

  He Lan Min's lovely appearance made Chen Yi distracted again, this person is really too attractive, not pretending to be coquettish at all, her movements are completely casual and natural, it's exactly this kind of natural movement that doesn't have any affectation or pretentiousness, making people feel very comfortable watching her!

  But Chen Yi suddenly had another idea, and in an instant the idea was very firm: this He Lanmin might really be a woman, and today she just disguised herself as a man, intentionally covering up her feminine features. Thinking of his previous inference, He Lansheng's identity, Chen Yi became somewhat excited, the person in front of him who wore men's clothes but whose specific sex was unknown, might really be a famous beauty in history!

  He Lan Min seemed very pleased that Chen Yi had spaced out several times in front of him, a slightly proud expression revealing itself, while He Lan Sheng on the other side stared at Chen Yi, his face showing a slight displeasure, but it was quickly gone.

  Chen Yi caught He Lan's strange expression and immediately calmed himself down, smiling as he raised the wine cup that He Lan had just refilled for him. "I've only just arrived in Chang'an," he said, "and I'm already fortunate enough to have met two young masters of the He family! Let's not bother with formalities, shall we? Let's speak freely and drink to our hearts' content, haha..."