The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

Water transportation is indeed much safer than land transportation.

At the end of February, the Grand Canal was calm, with few waves on the river surface. The passenger ships had a deep draft, so the shaking was almost imperceptible when sailing.

When you push open the carved window lattice during the day, you can see the weeping willows on both sides turning from fresh green to green leaves, and the farmers changing from thick cotton clothes to thin shirts.

At night, I fall asleep to the sound of gurgling water, and occasionally hear the boatmen's calls in various local dialects as other boats pass by.

But even the smoothest journey cannot withstand the passage of time.

An Lingrong remembered that on the third day, she would enthusiastically argue with Liu Zhu about what kind of bird it was because of the white shadow that flew across the water;

On the seventh day, she could still recite the poem "The monkeys on both sides of the river cry incessantly, while the light boat has already passed through thousands of mountains" facing the green mountains on both sides;

By the fifteenth day, even the Wu dialect books that Shen Yunfei had specially found were boring to read.

In the last few days, she asked almost every day "When will we arrive?", so much so that the boat girl subconsciously turned around when she saw her.

When the sails were dyed red by the morning glow for the thirtieth time, the lookout on the mast suddenly shouted loudly: "We have arrived at Suzhou!"

An Lingrong walked quickly to the deck. The outline of a huge dock gradually emerged in the morning mist. On the bluestone quayside, the four large vermilion characters "Gusu Changmen" were a little mottled, but still majestic.

Finally arrived.

Only when her feet touched the ground did An Lingrong feel much more at ease.

Shen Yunfei quickly caught up with An Lingrong: "Cousin, where are we going?"

An Lingrong tilted her head and thought for a moment: "To be honest, I don't know where to go. Why don't we find an inn and have dinner first?"

Shen Yunfei was also a person without a plan, so he nodded.

Nothing is more important than eating.

They found an inn, put their luggage in it, washed up, and then, following the innkeeper's recommendation, came to Deyue Tower, one of the best restaurants in Suzhou Prefecture.

The waiter led them to the private room on the second floor.

Pushing open the carved window lattice, the prosperity of Suzhou City comes into view - the bluestone streets are crowded with people, the flower girls' bamboo baskets are piled with freshly picked flowers, and the sound of Suzhou Pingtan comes from the teahouse opposite.

An Lingrong pulled Liu Zhu to sit down. "What would you like to eat? You're welcome. Just order whatever you want. The Third Young Master will treat you."

Liu Zhu smiled and said, "I can eat anything. But you've been tired for so many days. You should rest early today and eat something easy to digest, right?"

Shen Yunfei nodded in agreement, ordered a few dishes, and then asked with interest: "Is she your sister or your maid?"

"younger sister!"

"Maid!"

They both answered at the same time and then smiled at each other.

Shen Yunfei couldn't help but laugh out loud and stopped asking questions.

This cousin looks like she comes from a wealthy family, but she is not arrogant or pretentious and is a very easy person to get along with.

After the waiter had served all the dishes, An Lingrong took out a piece of silver from her purse and said, "Brother Xiaoer, I want to ask you something."

The waiter took the silver and smiled even brighter: "Madam, please ask, I will tell you everything I know."

"Which part of Suzhou City is most famous for its flower boats?"

The waiter's smile froze on his face, and his eyes shifted between the few people.

The chopsticks in Shen Yunfei's hand fell to the ground with a clang.

"My cousin..." An Lingrong suddenly covered her lips with a chuckle, and as her eyes flickered, she changed her words, "He admires the talented scholars of Jiangnan the most. He heard that there are many elegant gatherings of scholars on the flower boats in Suzhou, so he wanted to go there to find some inspiration for poetry."

The waiter said attentively, "Sir, you may not know that although there are many pleasure boats on Jinji Lake, most of them are places where merchants gather. If we talk about elegance, the flower boats over at Tiger Hill are the best. They often have musicians and singing girls performing, and even people from Jiangning Prefecture and Hangzhou Prefecture often come here!"

"Thank you, little brother."

After the waiter left, the air in the private room suddenly became stagnant.

Shen Yunfei's face was so gloomy that water seemed to drip out of it, and the joints of the folding fan in his hand were crackling from being squeezed.

"I just said that to deal with the waiter. Don't take it to heart!"

"Not because of this!"

"What's that for?"

"You want to go to the flower boat?"

"Yup!"

"What are you doing there?"

"Seeking pleasure!"

"You are a lady from a wealthy family, how can you go to that kind of place?" Shen Yunfei squeezed out these words from between his teeth, with veins faintly visible on his forehead.

An Lingrong took a piece of food with her chopsticks and said, "I've looked through the Great Qing Code. Where is the rule that prohibits women from boarding a brothel?"

"That..." Shen Yunfei was speechless for a moment, "That's not the case! But a woman going on a flower boat is simply horrifying..."

“Freedom is what is not prohibited by law!”

Seeing that he still looked constipated, An Lingrong asked, "What's wrong?"

"If my eldest brother knew I went to the flower boat, he would break my legs!"

"Then you rest at the inn, I'll go by myself!"

"If my father knew I let you go to the flower boat alone, he would skin me alive!"

"Then what do you say?" An Lingrong took a leisurely sip of tea. "I absolutely must go on this flower boat."

Shen Yunfei: ...

After dinner, we returned to the inn to rest.

The next morning, Shen Yunfei knocked on the door next door, but no one answered. He asked the waiter and found out that An Lingrong and Liu Zhu had already gone out.

Didn’t you say you were tired? Why did you go out so early and didn’t you call him to join you?

Shen Yunfei's heart tightened, and he didn't dare to delay and went out to look for him immediately.

He walked around Suzhou City several times but couldn't find anyone, so he had no choice but to walk towards the inn. His mind was full of thoughts along the way:

You won’t encounter any beggars, right?

You won’t leave me and run away, right?

Are you being targeted by your enemies?

In just this moment, he even thought about where to bury himself!

As soon as I walked to the door of the inn, I saw a familiar figure - who else could it be but An Lingrong?

She was leaning over a flower girl's load, looking intently at the flowers covered with morning dew. Liuzhu was chattering beside her, and the two looked very comfortable.

Shen Yunfei paused and let out a long sigh.

As he approached, he happened to hear An Lingrong softly ask, "How much is this jasmine?"

"Ma'am, you have a good eye. These were freshly picked this morning..." the flower girl introduced enthusiastically.

Shen Yunfei stood silently behind them, and only handed them a piece of silver after they had chosen their bouquets: "No need for change."

"ah!"

An Lingrong was startled by the sudden sound, and was even more surprised when she turned around and saw Shen Yunfei.

The man in front of him had a pale face and slightly messy hair. His usually neat robe was now wrinkled, and his cuffs were stained with dust from somewhere.

"You...were robbed?"

Shen Yunfei rolled his eyes at her in annoyance, slamming his folding fan against his palm. "Why didn't you call me when you went out? I've been looking for you all day!"

There was a hint of grievance in his voice.

An Lingrong felt a little embarrassed: "I'm sorry, I thought you must be tired after traveling for days, so I wanted you to have a good rest."

Seeing her apologize, Shen Yunfei raised his chin proudly: "Since you are considering me, I won't be angry this time, but be careful next time!"

"understood!"

"Come on, I'll treat you to dinner!"

"We've already eaten, you can go by yourself." An Lingrong said, pulling Liu Zhu with her and walking towards the inn. As she walked, she leaned in to smell the bouquet in her arms, "Liu Zhu, these flowers are so fragrant."

"Yes! It smells even better than the ones in the capital!"

Shen Yunfei, who was left there, opened his mouth and finally shook his head helplessly.

He ate some food casually, went back to his room to take a shower and change clothes, then came to An Lingrong's room and knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door creaked open. Shen Yunfei was about to speak, but the moment he saw the scene in front of him, he froze in place—the folding fan in his hand fell to the ground with a "clack".

"You...you guys..." His eyes widened and his voice changed.

An Lingrong was wearing a sky-blue brocade robe with cloud patterns, and a few clumps of green bamboo were embroidered with silver thread on the chest. A mutton-fat white jade belt was tied around her waist, outlining her slender waist. Her hair was braided and tied with a silk ribbon of the same color at the end. She wore a melon-shaped hat inlaid with emerald jade, and she looked like a handsome young man.

Liu Zhu also changed into men's clothes.

"How is it?" An Lingrong spun around, her sleeves fluttering as she carried a faint scent of jasmine. A sly glint flashed in her eyes, and she deliberately lowered her voice as she spoke, "I just bought this ready-made dress on the street and had it altered myself."

As he spoke, he bowed his hands, imitating the way a man bowed.

Shen Yunfei finally came to his senses. As he bent down to pick up the fallen folding fan, his Adam's apple rolled unconsciously. His voice was a little tense: "Nonsense... You are a lady from a noble family, how can you dress like this..."

"Who told you I'm a lady from a wealthy family?" An Lingrong raised her eyebrows and asked back. This action made her look particularly elegant when she was dressed in men's clothes.

Shen Yunfei said anxiously: "You are the granddaughter of my grandmother's family, of course you are a lady from a noble family!"

An Lingrong chuckled and suddenly took a step closer.

Shen Yunfei suddenly smelled a clear fragrance, not sure if it was the fragrance of the fabric or the scent of her body.

She blinked and lowered her voice, "Didn't you say it was appalling for a woman to go on a flower boat? It's more convenient to dress like this."

Then he walked away.

Liu Zhu hurried to catch up and made a face at Shen Yunfei before leaving.

Shen Yunfei stood there, his ears feeling hot, and he opened and closed the folding fan in his hand.

It wasn't until the two of them were about to disappear around the corner of the stairs that he woke up from his dream and hurriedly chased after them: "Wait for me!"

There was a hint of panic in his voice, and he even forgot to maintain his usual gentlemanly demeanor.