The wind is gentle and the fun is endless

The cold winter is gone, spring is here, the warm breeze is blowing, and everything is renewed. The annual outing feast allows people to feel the vitality of spring while having fun, and it also provides an opportunity for young men and women to get to know each other.

The outing banquet in Shanghuai City, the seat of Yizhou Prefecture, was still held after Qingming Festival this year. The host this time was the family of Lord Li of Yizhou Prefecture, so everyone was very respectful and the scene was more lively than in previous years. Almost all the prominent families in Shanghuai City came, and some families came from other areas of Yizhou Prefecture. The whole place was full, and the wealthy and prominent families each took a seat based on their family, with dozens of seats in total. Those slightly smaller families could only sit together at the scattered banquets. Everywhere was a prosperous scene of joy and excitement.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd. It turned out that a group of young men who had reached the age of twenty appeared in the shooting and chess area, and were about to have an archery competition. These young men were dressed in gorgeous clothes and were very elegant. If they appeared alone, it would be hard not to look at them. When they appeared in groups, they looked even more youthful and elegant.

The carefully dressed young ladies sitting at the table, some brave enough to stand up on tiptoe to look around; some shyly covered their mouths and noses with round fans, but still scanned the boys intently to see which one would make their heart beat; others gathered in twos and threes, whispering about their clothes, accessories, arrows and crossbows, guessing who would come out on top.

"Whose family is that young man wearing the white narrow-sleeved brocade robe? He looks like he has everything planned out."

"That's the son of Tang Yuanwai's family in the west of the city, and the one next to him is the second son of Mr. Li's family in the prefecture."

"The one holding the golden crossbow is the eldest son of Lord Shen Zhongjun? Isn't he your fiancé?"

"Oh, don't say that anymore."

"The young man in the green robe is so calm and composed. I wonder which family he is from?"

……

Compared with this group of people, a young lady sitting at the banquet looked particularly absent-minded. She was Feng Huanhuan from Heyang City, Yizhou Prefecture. At this moment, she was whispering with her maid Xiaoyu.

"Miss, I have asked around in the east of the city. There is a singing house, a wine shop, and two tea houses in the east of the city."

"Xiao Yu, you never forget to eat. I told you to ask around in the west of the city and ask around in the east. Did I ask you to ask around in the taverns? Can the taverns sell our goods?"

"Miss, I think it was not easy for the young lady to find us an invitation to Shanghuai City through her connections, so we came to Shanghuai City. We still have to stay for a few days and have something to eat..."

"We don't have that much time. Let's go to a place in the west of the city tonight. I've already made inquiries."...The two were still discussing, completely unaware that they had already entered into someone else's conversation.

"Whose family is the girl in blue clothes and with beautiful features after the banquet? I have never seen her before." A young man named Zhang Wenxi asked among the young men at the shooting and chess place.

The slightly fat young man named Ge Se sitting on the side unfolded his folding fan and leaned back, saying slowly: "That is the daughter of Mr. Feng who returned home from Heyang City on the other side of the mountain. She is called Huan Huan."

"You know everyone." Someone in the crowd laughed.

"It is my duty to pay attention to beautiful girls." Mr. Ge suddenly sat up straight, folded his folding fan, tapped it in his other hand and continued, "The wife of the governor is my aunt. I have seen the visiting card in advance and have already inquired about it. It is said that Miss Feng is already 20 years old and still unmarried. Do you know why?"

Someone in the crowd took over the conversation and asked, "Why? Are you relying on your beautiful appearance and high standards to get close to the rich and powerful?"

"No, at least not the main reason."

"Why is that?"

"Hehe" Master Ge opened his fan and fanned himself, but was not in a hurry to continue speaking.

"Hey, Brother Ge, stop keeping us in suspense and tell us now."

Master Ge then continued, "Before returning home, Mr. Feng was only an eighth-rank county magistrate. He resigned due to illness and returned home in recent years to teach, play chess and drink, and enjoy his old age. Although the Feng family is a poor family, it is not impossible to marry into a wealthy family. Even if they cannot marry into a wealthy family, there are poor families of equal status to match them. The problem is that Miss Feng has a brother who is only a juren and has not yet held an official position, but he married a woman from the Pei family of Zhuoyang."

"Oh? The Pei family is a noble family, why would they marry their daughter to a son from a poor family?"

Mr. Ge replied, "I heard that Mr. Pei's father and Mr. Feng had a teacher-student relationship. Mr. Feng was calm, talented and elegant, and was Mr. Pei's favorite student. That's why he married his daughter to Mr. Feng."

"But won't Pei be laughed at if this happens?"

That Master Ge continued to answer, "That's right. In today's world, marriage is based on family background. Even the Prime Minister regrets that he can't marry a daughter of a noble family. How honorable it is for a son of an eighth-rank official to marry a daughter of the Pei family. Therefore, the Feng family tried their best to show their sincerity and gave away all their wealth as a betrothal gift to match the status of the Pei family. With the current financial resources of the Feng family, it is impossible to prepare a suitable dowry in a short time."

"Miss Feng comes from a poor family and has no dowry. No wonder such a beauty is still waiting to be married." Someone responded.

Master Zhang Wenxi said, "You care about people, and you also care about dowry." The other masters also joined in the fun. Master Ge was very calm, closed his folding fan, stood up, pointed at the others and said, "As the saying goes, men marry women based on family background, and women marry based on dowry. Not to mention me, even you, you, and you, I just don't say it, who in this world really doesn't care about dowry?" After saying that, he unfolded his folding fan and fanned it freely.

At this point, the gentlemen began to smooth things over and shift the focus of the discussion. "Oh, it's really lively this year, even the beautiful Xu Xiangyue is here."...

The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. This interaction was watched by someone who was watching from the beginning to the end. This person was Xu Qu, the brother of the so-called great beauty Xu Xiangyue. He was wearing a navy blue robe, tall and thin, with a handsome and charming demeanor. His eyes were deep, wise and spiritual. At this moment, his eyes were slowly moving away from the group of people talking, and seemingly inadvertently fell on Huanhuan and her little maid.

His servant next to him, Chengzheng, was joking with him, "Sir, look how popular our Miss Xiangyue is. This year, there will be so many people coming to propose marriage. Miss Xiangyue made a vow in front of the lady that she would never talk about marriage until her brother got married. You won't let her become an old maid waiting to be married, will you? If there are more people coming to propose marriage this year, do you still plan to let me reveal the "news"? Sir, I can't make up any new excuses this year. What are you thinking of? Sir..."

------

That night, the lights were just coming on, Shanghuai City was brightly lit, traffic was bustling, and pedestrians were walking in groups of three or two, making it very lively.

"Miss, we are both in Yizhou, but why is it that Shanghuai City, which is separated by a mountain, is so warm and prosperous? Even the melons here are sweeter than those in Heyang." The little maid Xiaoyu was holding a small melon and chewing it.

"What's the big deal? As the saying goes, 'Oranges grown in the south of the Huai River are oranges, while those grown in the north of the Huai River are tangerines.' Shanghuai is close to Heyang, but the water and soil are different from ours, so the products are naturally different. 'Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows? The spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass.' Don't complain."

"Miss, look at this Shanghuai City, it's really big. Not only is there no curfew, but it's also so lively."

"Miss……"

"Hush..." Miss Huanhuan gently signaled the little maid and said, "Xiaoyu, look at our current attire. You should call me Master now."

At this time, the master and servant, dressed in men's clothes, were standing outside a large attic full of lights and wine, with the words "Yihong Pavilion" written on the attic.

The little maid asked, "Little... no, 'Master', where is this?"

He whispered slowly and softly to the little maid, which frightened her enough. "Ah, what? No, no, this is not the place we should come to. My legs are weak..."

The woman dressed as a handsome young man glared at the maid and said, "You are so timid. I've asked around and found that the potential demand for our goods is the greatest here. You stay outside, I'll be out soon." As she said that, she took the small bag from the maid, straightened her clothes, and walked into Qinlou Xieguan, the largest house in Shanghuai City.

All of this was seen by Master Xu and his servant not far away. Yes, it was the Master Xu from the outing banquet in the daytime. It was just such a coincidence that he and his servant came back from an outing at night. Sitting in the carriage, Xu Qu saw Huanhuan and the other two from afar through the small window of the carriage. Although they were wearing men's clothes, Xu Qu recognized them at a glance as Miss Feng Huanhuan from Heyang City in the daytime. After that, he sent the coachman back to the mansion first, and he followed them quietly with his servant, and arrived at, uh, outside the Qinlou Xie Pavilion.

The two of them talked outside for a while, and then the maid waited outside. Only Miss Feng went in, and she didn't come out for a long time. The servant next to him saw his master staring at the door of Yihong Pavilion for a long time, so he waved in front of him and asked with a smile, "Master, do you want to go to Yihong Pavilion today?" Master Xu didn't answer. Everyone would be curious, what is a girl doing in this place dressed as a man? After thinking for a while, he also went in.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw two drunks fighting over a singing girl. In the dim light, he saw Feng Huanhuan, who was walking out, stumble and pounce on him.

After Huanhuan finished talking about things, he walked all the way to the door. Along the way, a woman kept holding onto Huanhuan's arm and said as she walked, "Young man, do you want to listen to a little song?" Seeing that Huanhuan had no intention of doing so and was walking towards the door, she had no choice but to say, "Dear handsome man, please come again next time." Huanhuan responded perfunctorily while walking hurriedly towards the door. When he was almost at the door, he saw two drunken men fighting over a singer.

She dodged in various ways and managed to avoid the drunk man, but she stumbled and fell on a thin man. What surprised Huanhuan was that she didn't knock the man down. She thought that the man had some strength, so she pressed his chest with her hand. Just as she raised her head, she was bumped by the thugs and servants who came to persuade them to stop fighting, and fell back again. The man took advantage of the situation and used his arm strength to protect Huanhuan. The two turned around, and the man put his hands against the wall and used his arms to encircle Huanhuan between himself and the wall, blocking out the noise of the fight.

She slowly leaned her head against the man's shoulder and waited quietly. For a moment, time seemed to slow down in a trance. She could not move for the time being, so she could only quietly look at the gilded jade belt hook on the man's waist. The belt hook was carved into a winding snake, and the snake's eyes were decorated with red gems, which was very delicate and unique.

When the thugs of Yihong Pavilion separated the two drunkards, she realized that her hands were still on the man's chest and she could still feel the outline of his chest. She blushed immediately. She bowed her head and said "Thank you, brother" while running away.

After going out, Feng Huanhuan breathed a sigh of relief and touched her hot cheeks, thinking that the man had helped her just now, and she didn't even have time to see the man's appearance clearly, which was a pity. But then she thought again, what good things could a man who came to Qinlou Xieguan have? Thinking of this, she felt relieved.

Huanhuan called over the maid dressed as a servant, and the two of them talked as they walked. Xiaoyu asked her, "Miss, why is your face so red?" She casually said, "It's hot," and told Xiaoyu about the fight with a drunk man. Xiaoyu said timidly, "Miss, let's not come to places like this in the future." Huanhuan did not comment, and the master and servant returned to the inn with their own thoughts.

Here, Master Xu had also come out of Yihong Pavilion. He stood on a step with a calm and deep gaze, watching the figures of the master and servant slowly blending into the hustle and bustle of the night.