Chapter 22: Qin Huai

  The Qinhuai River was originally called Huai Shui, and its original name was "Longcangpu". According to legend, when the First Emperor of Qin toured the east, he saw a purple gas rising from the city of Jinling, which he took as a sign of imperial energy. Therefore, he excavated Fangshan Mountain and cut off the long ridge to form a bay, leading into the Yangtze River. Later generations mistakenly believed that this water was opened during the Qin Dynasty, so it was called "Qinhuai". From the time of the Eastern Wu Kingdom in the Three Kingdoms period, when the capital was established here, the Qinhuai River became a prosperous area, and after thousands of years, its prosperity has not declined. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the Jiangnan Gongyuan Academy was built on the north bank of the river, attracting scholars and talented people to gather in Qinhuai, and stories about talented men and beautiful women have been passed down for centuries, gradually making the Qinhuai River a cultural center of Jiangnan. The same was true during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

  On this day, the golden crow sank in the west, and a high-wheeled nanmu wood carriage came to the Peach Leaf Ferry on the banks of the Qinhuai River. Four young men with bright clothes got off the carriage. The one who led them was slightly fat, with a smile on his face, loudly calling for the nearby pleasure boat to dock at the ferry terminal. The other three had different expressions, with a bookish air, looking either at the Qinhuai River in front of them or at the numerous pleasure boats coming and going on the river, their faces slightly dull. The one with a darker complexion and the tallest stature seemed to have thought of something, glaring fiercely at the short young man standing in front of him. That short young man was not very old, facing the rippling Qinhuai River, like an old monk entering meditation, lost in thought. Needless to say, these four young men were Cao Fang and others who had come out of the Weaving Mansion.

  Affected by Yongqing's scolding, Cao Gong had lost his appetite for going out to eat. Unfortunately, Ning Chun was a thick-skinned person, and it wasn't good to argue with him, so he could only let him push him away. After Yongqing scolded Cao Gong as "a slave", he remembered that there were still imperial guards at the entrance of the hall, and he began to feel afraid afterwards. Although the emperor was kind and wouldn't blame him for his mistake, it was inevitable to be evaluated as "not knowing the rules". For a moment, his heart was in a mess, his eyes were dull, and he didn't notice Ning Chun pulling him onto the carriage. As for that legendary place where beauties gathered, several young men had some curiosity in their hearts. Since the carriage had already started moving, who could still insist on not going? They came to the Qinhuai River with a mixture of reluctance and willingness.

  The water surface in front of the ferry terminal was divided, and a two-story high painting boat slowly approached the shore.

  As the painted barge drew near to the shore, a beautiful woman emerged from it. She was dressed in a green jacket and skirt, although her entire outfit was of only one color, yet because the deep and light greens were well-matched, she did not appear to be wearing monotonous clothing.

  The woman smiled before speaking, her waist swaying gently as she moved to the bow of the boat and bowed slightly: "I am Mudan, paying my respects to Master Ning and the other gentlemen!"

  Ning Chun saw two boat women on the painted barge lower the gangway and take Cao Fu and several others aboard.

  Cao Guang glanced at the woman, although her figure was slender and her face was beautiful, but the fine lines at the corners of her eyes showed that her youth had passed, apparently she was an old procuress. Cao Guang couldn't help but think of the old procuresses in ancient costume TV dramas, who were all fat, with thick white powder on their faces, and glittering gold and jade in their hair, it seemed they were all misleading, misleading. Thinking about this mother, most of them were former prostitutes who used the money they saved from selling their bodies when they were young to buy property, become bosses themselves, how could they be so unbearable.

  Ning Chun saw Cao Guang looking at the peony and introduced, "This is the peony sister of Ruyi Huafang. On the Qinhuai River, who doesn't know that Peony Sister is not inferior to men in terms of loyalty and does things even more efficiently than men?"

  Then, Ning Chun continued from Cao Kun and introduced to Peony: "This is the eldest son of the Weaving Mansion. Although he's not very old, he's both literary and martial, even the Emperor praised him when he saw him."

  The peony bowed and said: "I have paid respects to the young master on behalf of my family!"

  Cao Gong nodded in response, but was somewhat surprised in his heart. Just now, when Peony heard "Weaving Mansion", there were clearly other things in her eyes. Could it be that she wanted to curry favor with him and borrow the prestige of the Cao family?

  Ning Chun introduced Yongqing: "This is General Yongqing of the General's Mansion, a real royal relative and a Manchu noble."

  Peony listened and swung her handkerchief over her shoulder, performing a Manchu girl's courtesy: "Your humble servant has seen the master, Master is at peace!"

  Yong Qing saw Ning Chun introduce Cao Guang, and was somewhat displeased, but didn't want to lose his composure in front of everyone, so he forced a smile and shook his fist as a way of returning the favor.

  Finally, there was Ma Jun, who was said to be the young master of the Zhifu family. The smile on Peony's face grew even brighter. This Zhifu Ma De was a famous Confucian scholar who looked down on prostitutes with great disdain. In his early days in office, he had taken a knife to the brothels along the Qinhuai River, throwing them into chaos. If it hadn't been for someone seeking help from higher authorities and speaking out, many brothels would have gone bankrupt.

  It's said that the newcomer is the son of Ma De, and Peony couldn't help but feel a little playful and teasing. She straightened her chest and leaned in: "Oh my! It's actually the young master of the Fu family who has arrived, what an honor for me!"

  Ma Jun was already shy, and at this time he didn't dare to lift his head, his body straightened up against the back, but also couldn't avoid the pungent fragrance of cosmetics.

  Yongqing was slightly older than the others and was not unfamiliar with the land of fireworks. Seeing Peony's attitude at this time, he suspected that she was bullying honest people. He took a step forward, blocked Ma Jun in front of him, lowered his head and said to Peony: "No matter whether it's drinking or listening to music, there's no reason for the boatman to wait on guests. This mother is too garrulous!"

  "Peony heard this, her expression unchanged, covering her mouth with a handkerchief and smiling: 'It's all my fault, humble door and humble house, shallow eyelids, seeing several noble guests made me careless. Several gentlemen please come in quickly, wine and dishes have been prepared early.'"

  Ning Chun invited several people onto the painted barge. Peony shouted outside for the boatwomen to pull in the gangway and set off.

  The interior of the boat was tastefully decorated, with a round table placed against one side and four high-backed chairs. Ning Chun invited several people to take their seats, while he himself stood on the outside waiting on his guests.

  The painted barge had windows open on all four sides, with layers of silk curtains fluttering in the gentle breeze, like a dream. Inside the barge, high-quality incense was lit, and the smoke curled around, adding to the mystery. Beside the staircase at the rear of the barge was a small room with beaded curtains hanging down. Several figures dressed in red and pink appeared and disappeared behind the curtains, as the sound of the qin and se (zithers) echoed through the room.

  On the table were four plates of fresh fruit, four plates of dried fruit and four plates of candied fruit. Cao Mou rubbed his own belly, "A full stomach is a warm thought", no matter how beautiful the girl, no matter how melodious the tune, one must fill their belly before they can appreciate it.

  The painted barge slowly left the ferry terminal, and Peony called out to Xiaoyu to serve tea to everyone.

  "Which comes first, listening to the opera or opening the banquet?" Peony asked softly, holding a program in her hand.

  Seeing Cao Yun and the others not speaking, Ning Chun smiled and said: "Sister Peony wants us brothers to listen to music on an empty stomach? It's not yet time for lunch, let's start with a meal first. Good wine and dishes are coming up, don't expect us to have mountain delicacies like Lin Xiaozhai, but also don't just go through the motions. We few brothers are all from good families and have seen the world, if you treat us poorly, I won't pay the silver."

  Peony smiled and agreed, taking a little maid to serve dishes.

  Four cold dishes, four small stir-fries, and four bowls of soup. Except for two seasonal vegetable dishes, the rest were all river delicacies: sautéed fish belly, fried fish slices, roasted shrimp, braised crab meat, red-braised fish tail, steamed fish head, and so on. After serving the dishes, they brought out two plates of pastries, then a maid brought in two jugs of bamboo-leaf green tea, which Peony personally poured for everyone.

  Yongqing is a Manchu, and the family's diet mainly consists of beef, mutton, chicken, and duck. He couldn't get used to eating these, so he picked up a gold-threaded rice ball, but before it reached his mouth, his face changed color, and he got up, covering his mouth and went out. This guy is actually seasick.

  Listening to the vomiting sounds coming from the bow of the boat, Cao Yun suddenly lost his appetite. Then, smelling the river fresh flavor filling the whole room, his stomach started churning. He got up, poured a cup of tea, left the painting boat, and walked to the bow.

  Yong Qing's face turned pale, his body tightly pressed against the ship's side, with more than half of his body protruding out. Cao Guang watched from the side and couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards him. He handed over the tea cup in his hand: "Here!"

  Yong Qing felt nauseous and hearing Cao Yun's voice made her even more annoyed. She waved her hand to push him away: "Get out!"

  Cao Gong didn't expect Yong Qing would take action, his body tilted, and he slid down the boat. With a "splash", countless water splashes were stirred up.

  Everyone in the painting boat heard that something was wrong outside and rushed out.

  Seeing Cao Kun struggling in the water, Peony's face turned pale with fright. Before anyone could react, Yongqing had already jumped into the water, seemingly to save Cao Kun. Just as everyone let out a sigh of relief, they saw Cao Kun gradually losing strength, and Yongqing had sunk underwater.

  "Damn it!" Ning Chun cursed, tearing off his clothes to reveal a white and tender body. The maids and servants around him retreated in fear, only Peony stared at Cao Gong in the water, her face full of worry, her handkerchief twisted into a ball. Who knew that the Weaving Bureau had only this one young master? If something happened on her pleasure boat, who could bear the responsibility? But there were no male servants on this pleasure boat, only maids and servants, who had the ability to dive in and rescue him?

  With a splash, Ning Chun jumped into the water, naked and smooth, first diving to the bottom of the water, picking up Yong Qing, then swimming to Cao Guang's side and pulling his braid.

  With two people in tow, even if Ning Chun's swimming skills were excellent, he was still exhausted and panting. Seeing the crowd standing at the bow of the boat, he yelled: "What are you standing there for? Throw down the rope!"

  Everyone on the boat finally woke up, those who were letting out ropes let out ropes, and those who were pulling people pulled people. Yongqing was unconscious, his belly had grown a circle, it seemed that he had swallowed a lot of water. Cao Kun was small in stature, floating on the surface of the water, although he also swallowed some water, but still with half a clear mind. He struggled to get up and look at Yongqing, but a figure rushed to Yongqing's side first, it was Ma Jun.

  Ma Jun laid Yongqing on his side, opened his mouth, and pressed his abdomen with both hands. After pressing for over ten times, a "huh" sound was heard, and Yongqing spat out half a mouthful of dirty water. Ma Jun continued to press until Yongqing had almost finished vomiting, then stopped and patted his back.

  Cao Gong stared blankly at the side, and Ma Jun's posture of saving people was vivid.

  Although it was the end of March, the water surface didn't feel warm either. Cao Kun only felt uncomfortable with his wet clothes sticking to his body when he heard a loud "ah-choo" and Ning Chun let out a heavy sneeze, causing everyone to look at him.

  Ning Chun started with a slightly embarrassed smile, then thought of herself not wearing a stitch, let out a strange cry, covered her lower body with both hands, and ran back into the painting boat.

  Yong Qing slowly woke up and saw the back of Ning Chun: "That guy is really natural!" After finishing, he turned his head to see Cao Yun unharmed, let out a sigh of relief, and said to Ma Jun who was still busy: "Great kindness doesn't need to be thanked, in the future if Master Ma needs anything, please don't hesitate to speak up."

  Ma Jun hastily shook his head and pointed to the painting boat, saying: "I don't dare take credit for it. The fact that Yongqing brother and Cao brother can escape safely is all thanks to Ning brother's efforts."