Volume 6, Chapter 32: The Taste of Rancid Mouse (1/2)
Volume 6, Chapter 32: The Taste of Rancid Mouse<sup>1</sup>
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In the eighth tai, the twenty-fourth year of the sixty-year cycle, the King held a royal wedding and conferred upon Lady Cai—the second daughter of the Minister over the Masses, Cai Kai—the title of Queen On the sa was confir assue and ordered the royal palace to receive presents and congratulations Blessing all inside and outside the palace, he did not behead criminals and pardoned all
— Min of Chu
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In the seventh nan, the te The river flowed east, the ti But underneath a largetree by the river, a young woh she didn’t look to be in her teenage years yet, she was elegant beyond words Her crystal clear, pearly eyes captivated people The clothing she as the type of sunan liked to wear, si eyes with a winning look and picturesque appearance hter fro her knees, her li up and down the riverside as co sun overhead, her eyes full of doubt
The young e Although his appearance was tender and puerile, he already exuded a heroic presence But right now, he was roa around, his face anxious and urgent
The green-clothed young woman finally couldn’t restrain herself any, “Second brother, didn’t you hire a boat? Why isn’t it here yet?”
The youngface and replied, “I clearly said ould behere today I paid half the boat fee upfront, so how come they’re so untrustworthy?”
“It’s all your fault, forcing me to come with you to Shouchun to see my sister-in-law And you didn’t tell Mother about it, othere could’ve gone with stepuncle and wouldn’t be here baking in the sun,” the young wo man’s eyes, but he quickly hid it “But you said Mother wouldn’t let us go to Shouchun I had planned to go to Zhongli to see big brother, to go with him into battle and kill the ene with me, I could’ve strutted off and wouldn’t have needed to hire a private boat here”
The young woentle and refined noblewoh she had fantasized about the vast world before, she didn’t have the courage to leave ho and ridiculing her while secretly encouraging her, she would never have had the bravery to go outside with hi of this, she wanted to curse him roundly, but as she wasothers, she was so angry she couldn’t say anything
All of a sudden, the young man pointed at the river and said, “Great, the boat’s here” The young wo a s over the waves toward theon the bow, “Uncle, why did it take you so long?”
Theot an upset stomach today and couldn’t work aboard the boat This humble one can’t pilot the boat hi hand at the lastman’s face relaxed “So that’s the case Is third brother all right?”
“It’s nothing He probably ate so ed boatlanced at the stern of the boat The youngster helhtforward He looked back and said, “Mei’er, co wo, but she was graceful to the extrereat deal, he couldn’t help praising her under his breath Putting down the gangplank, he allowed the brother and sister duo to board the boat Neither the youngwo the burst of light in his eyes
After boarding, the sainst the current, the sun blazing in the sky The river breeze was scorching hot The two boatmen piloted the skiff for over ten li,<sup>2</sup> then turned into a small tributary This river ide, and wind careen s on both banks created a shady shelter, the branches and leaves blotting out the sky and reflecting in the water The envelop boats to rest on a suer shi+ps, or perhaps cargo shi+ps, both big and seous pleasure boat a and narrow, beautiful hull was shaped just like the sli froh they weren’t currently lit, the four large words of “Dragons Flying Phoenixes Dancing” could still clearly be seen Catching a gli woman intoned in a low voice, “The Drea on her face, she said, “Second brother, this is such a pretty pleasure boat It’d be great if we could go aboard and look around”
A wry s o outside the house and stayed indoors all day On most days, he wandered around the interior and exterior of the city of Jianye, so he knew about the Dreamy Pleasure Boat Embarrassed for a o”
Curiosity shone in the young woazed at her second brother “Second brother, you aren’t trickingman wanted to say he never tricked people in his defense, but he realized he couldn’t say it After all, every nine out of ten sentences he said to his little sister were lies He could only say in shame, “Mei’er, that’s the pleasure boat of the Most Popular Courtesan of Jiangnan, Liu Ru, but she’d heard of Liu Ruh she still didn’t understand ronificance She blushed and wanted to hide in the cabin Then a hauntingly beautifulplayed on a flute drifted over from aboard the pleasure boat The emotionalsu which a heavenly voice came from the pleasure boat
<blockquote class="Quote">“Planned to get together to pick bloonolia boatsWhen they co on their oars;Done plucking, ht fills the towers as they return to shoreFlowers are silent, water floithout eIf a ind blows strong the next day,How can red faces stop autu woflute Second brother, it’s rare to get such a golden opportunity these days Can I go littered in her eyes
Hesitation appeared in the youngwoht Lady Liu’s reputation reverberates through Jiangnan As long as you just meet her, Dad won’t blaed boatman drive toward the pleasure boat
Soon after, the skiff docked with the pleasure boat A pretty boatwoazed at the skiff and said in a distinct voice, “Little youngeyes, he said, “Please report to Lady Liu that Lu Feng and Lu Mei were passing through here, and upon hearing the lady’s ethereal singing, wanted to board the pleasure boat and ht about how he didn’t know if he had enough taels
The boatwoe, don’t be cracking jokes, please? What’svisitors at the lanced at his little sister, and replied, “To tell the truth, it’s actuallyand was enraptured Due to this, she wants to meet Lady Liu”
The boatwo in her eyes, she walked to the cabin door and said a fehispered words Not long after, she walked back and declared, “Her Ladyshi+p said that since you appreciate her talents, she is inviting you aboard for a respite”
The young , was relieved and whispered a few instructions to the boatht Lu Mei on the pleasure boat A pretty maid walked out of the cabin and pushed the bead curtain aside The two siblings walked in, feeling a refreshi+ng te looked around and stared The cabin was quite spacious, furnished in a siant and sophisticated fashi+on On one side was a rattan bed atop which sat a small square table Silverware rested on the table, chilled watermelons on the plates A basin of ice also sat in the cabin, explaining why it was so cool A wo white clothes that weren’t at allin front of her body Although she only had light makeup on, she had a special type of char dark robes in the cabin standing at theHe was gazing intently beyond the bead curtain at the wispy s on the riverbank His black robes touched the floor, and a banified aura
Lu Mei, on the other hand, wasn’t in thea few steps to arrive at the rattan bed, she joyfully said, “Are you older sister Liu? You sang really well!”
Liu Ruuests, but her acco Yu, had just indicated for her to s aboard However, when she heard Lu Mei’s delighted praise without any deceit, she was touched She said with a tender s Miss isme” She reached out with a slender white hand and pulled Lu Mei to her and sat her down Liu Ru about the young wo wo, she was a naturally beautiful girl She would be an unrivaled beauty once she grew to be thirteen or fourteen Liu Ru wo of pure innocence and even had an inherent disposition of delicate refinehter of a corew Liu Ru asked with a smile, “Is your name Lu Mei? The name truly fits Even I can’t help but love it Where do you plan to go?”
Lu Mei glanced at Lu Feng, seeing hihtly, then said, “Second brother and I are going to see eldest brother and his wife Passing by, I overheard older sister’s singing, so I pleaded with second brother to takedidn’t fail to notice the subtle looks between the two siblings, but in hershe didn’t notice was better “Do you like to sing as well?”
Lu Mei nodded and shyly said, “I don’t sing that well…”
Lu Feng was growing i on the man in black robes, he took a few steps forward and said, “I presu Yu Sir’s reputation precedes him How fortunate I am to meet you today”
Yulun looked back at the words and lightly said, “Second young er cub of a martial family Why did you take note of such a petty individual like h he was young, he was extraordinarily seable about the personages of Jianye, so knew of Song Yu’s talent and reputation and even knew the ye had received his assistance for the past few years, reaping huge spoils froer the shi+ftless son of an outstanding prime minister