Time Travel: Brothel Maid

In summer, the days are longer and the nights are shorter. A day still lasts twelve hours, without changing, but it gives people the illusion that there is more time for no reason.

Xiao Guoer opened a second lottery shop this summer.

The new shop was located within an hour's walking distance from Yongxing Street. Tang Jingchen assisted in the selection of the shop's location and the hiring of two new assistants. To be precise, he was in full charge of the matter.

Xiao Guoer trusted him very much. With him around, she saved effort and worry.

She didn't realize that she had unknowingly become more and more dependent on this man who was always around her.

The relationship between the two became closer and closer. No one deliberately said that sentence, but the way they got along was already the way only lovers would.

Xiao Guoer is in high spirits, achieving success in both career and love. The purse in the secret compartment of her wardrobe is getting fatter and fatter, and her mood is getting better and better.

There is only one thing that has always been a knot in Xiaoguoer's heart, and that is the matter between Yingniang and Zhou Fangye.

Zhou Fangye seems to be very busy recently. He does not come to Zhuxian Lane very often. He comes once every two or three days and never stays overnight. He just sits for a while before leaving in a hurry.

Xiao Guoer could see that Yingniang's attitude towards Zhou Fangye was no longer as cold and hard as when she just left Zuihualou. Although she was not warm, it was obvious that every time Zhou Fangye came, her eyes would emit a faint glow. When Zhou Fangye left, her expression would become lonely again.

Xiao Guoer saw this and sighed in her heart. How could she help her?

Xiao Guoer didn't want to be stuck in this little world of Zhuxian Lane all day, spending her time doing needlework, as if she was just waiting for Zhou Fangye to come and see her.

She advised her to go out more often, so that people's horizons can be broadened, their minds can be broadened, and their thoughts can be more open.

Yingniang, however, had no intention of doing anything else. She turned a deaf ear to what was happening outside and became more and more indifferent.

Xiao Guo'er was afraid that she would get sick from being bored, and since that day happened to be the Lotus Viewing Festival, she forced her to go out and play with her.

Yingniang couldn't persuade her, so she had to pack up, put on the new clothes Xiaoguoer bought for her, and went out with Yueya.

Yueya was very excited. She was young and it was time for her to have fun. She was extremely happy to be able to go to Qingshui River to celebrate the Lotus Viewing Festival.

Crowds of people were coming and going on the banks of the Qingshui River, and the people of Li Dynasty, who lived and worked in peace and contentment, naturally wanted to have a great time on this day.

The Lotus Viewing Festival, commonly known as the "Lotus Birthday", is a day where people go to places where lotus flowers are grown, make lanterns out of paper, put candles inside, light them, and place them on the water, letting them float away, to express celebration.

However, people mostly come to release lotus lanterns at night, when the sun is bright and the shore is filled with people hiding under folded paper umbrellas, admiring the lotus flowers that cover half of the river surface.

Some people also take a small boat and row into the depths of the lotus flowers to watch them up close, which is interesting and very romantic.

At this time, there are large and small boats in the Qingshui River. The luxurious large boats are probably occupied by princes and nobles, while the simple small boats are for ordinary people. You can spend a little money to travel around the lake.

If you just look at the lotus flowers, it will inevitably lose some interest, so scholars and literati held a grand poetry gathering on the day of Lotus Viewing Festival.

Men and women alike can write poems at this poetry gathering. Many famous poems and elegant verses originated from the Lotus Viewing Festival.

More than ten years ago, there was a talented woman who fell in love with the man who wrote a poem she saw at a poetry meeting. Later, they ended up getting married and the story became a beautiful one.

Gradually, the poetry gathering during the Lotus Viewing Festival developed a different flavor. Many unmarried men and women dressed up in their best clothes on this day in the hope of meeting their own soul mates.

Many mothers also come here to look for future sons-in-law or daughters-in-law.

After hearing Yueya's scientific knowledge, Xiao Guoer couldn't help but sigh, isn't this a large-scale blind date scene?

She and Yingniang had lived in Zuihua Tower in the past, but had never experienced such a lively occasion. She was very curious and was just waiting for the poetry meeting to begin so that she could watch it carefully.

I don’t know if people in this era would ask about the house and income when they go on blind dates like they do today.

Just thinking about it, Xiao Guoer found it very interesting. Not to mention this era, even in modern times, she had never seen a blind date scene. Having such an opportunity today, she naturally couldn't miss it.

While the battle has not started yet, Xiao Guoer pulled Yingniang onto a small boat. The boat slowly sailed into the river and turned into a speck of dust in the vast sky and earth.

The boat was drifting, and the people were looking at the calm river and the large lotus flowers, feeling very relaxed.

Yueya saw lotus pods being sold on a small boat, which was very appropriate, so she clamored to buy some.

Xiao Guoer asked the boatman to sail near the small boat and was about to buy it when a very luxurious ship slowly approached. A serious-looking man stood on the deck of the ship and said arrogantly to the vendor selling lotus pods, "I want all of these lotus pods."

Just when Xiao Guoer felt that this man looked familiar but couldn't remember where he had seen him, she heard him say that he wanted to buy everything, and she felt a little depressed.

Turning around, Yingniang looked a little dazed, and Yueya looked reluctant. Xiaoguoer didn't want to spoil their fun, so she shouted to the vendor, "Shopkeeper, can you leave a few for us?"

At first, the man did not pay attention to the people on the boat. He thought they were ordinary people who came here to appreciate the lotus. Only when he heard the boy's shouting did he look over.

When he saw the faces of the people on the boat clearly, he was stunned.

The shopkeeper was a little hesitant. He would sell to anyone, but he was afraid of offending the man on the big boat, so he looked towards the big boat. The man's expression was indeed very serious, and he was staring at the people on the small boat.

The shop owner guessed that the man was probably unwilling to give up a few lotus pods. He didn't want to lose the business because of the man on the boat. If this man bought all of his lotus pods, wouldn't he be able to go home earlier and play with his baby at home?

"My dear brother, I am so sorry, but that nobleman has already taken all of them. Please go and have a look at other boatmen. There are many selling lotus pods today, so you may be able to find some."

Xiao Guoer was feeling a little discouraged when she saw a tall and mighty man with a resolute and tough face walking out from the deck of the big ship. As soon as the man came out, the man on the deck retreated behind him.

The man had a solemn and murderous aura that was very different from others. As soon as he came out, Xiao Guoer recognized him as a general named Chen Fengyao who had asked Yingniang to accompany guests in Zuihua Tower. The man behind him was the follower who had stopped her outside the elegant room. No wonder he looked familiar.

Chen Fengyao had just been in the cabin and had seen Yingniang, so he came out.

He fixed his eyes on Yingniang, and then said to the boatman selling lotus pods, "Leave a few lotus pods for them."

The shop owner could naturally tell that the man who had just walked out was the real noble man, and he hurriedly responded.

Xiao Guoer and Yingniang were both a little surprised. They stood there at a loss for what to do. Only Yueya happily took the lotus pods handed to her by the vendor and paid for them.

After Yingniang recovered from her shock, she knelt down and saluted in the direction of the ship from a distance, "Thank you, General Chen."

There was no change in Chen Fengyao's expression, he just nodded.

In fact, he should have left Shangjing City and returned to the northwest a long time ago, but the Eighth Prince was assassinated and disappeared some time ago, and His Majesty ordered him to send troops to search for him, so he was delayed.

Although the Eighth Prince returned safely later, the political situation was turbulent at the time, so His Majesty did not issue an order for him to return to the northwest.

He has stayed in Shangjing City until now.