Bingbing and Mimi stood by the stream and thanked Zhang Fan for helping them out of the predicament.

Zhang Fan patted his chest and said, "You're welcome, you're welcome." He was more than willing to help the beautiful woman out of a predicament. If it weren't for the fact that they were just strangers and it would be abrupt to ask her what Bingbing and Mimi's real names were, where they lived, and whether they were married.

In Xiliang, plumpness is considered beautiful. The two women, with their slender figures and delicate limbs, clearly came from poor families and naturally couldn't fatten themselves up. They were the kind of people who would be unwanted and would have a hard time finding partners. So, they leaned on each other and developed feelings for each other.

Damn it!

The men of Xiliang are all blind!

If you don't want it, I'll take it, you bastards!

However, Zhang Fan resisted the urge to ask them for their home address and waved goodbye to them.

Let's not disturb their beautiful moment.

Only when Bingbing and Mimi's beautiful figures disappeared into the shadows of the distant lights did Zhang Fan reluctantly turn his gaze away.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Zhang Fan turned around and found that Qiu Wanlan was staring at him from behind.

"It's nothing." Qiu Wanlan opened her jade fan and fanned herself a few times; her mood was unusually better tonight.

"Come on, I'll take you to a nice place."

Where to?

"Just come with me."

After Qiu Wanlan finished speaking, she walked straight ahead. Zhang Fan quickly followed, and Butler Yu also ran up quickly and walked beside Qiu Wanlan.

Qiandeng Lake.

This is an inner lake within Xiliang City, fed by the city moat. The lake is not large, and the scenery is not particularly beautiful, but it is valuable because it is located in the most prosperous area of ​​Xiliang City. The lakeside is full of brothels, and there are pleasure boats and painted barges floating on the lake, with throngs of tourists on the shore.

Because the lake is not deep and there are many rocks exposed on the surface, boats often run aground and capsize at night. Therefore, Xiliang City invited craftsmen to build stone lanterns on the exposed rocks, which are then lit by the boatmen at sunset.

When passing pleasure boats and painted barges see the lights, they know there are stones nearby, allowing them to maneuver and avoid danger. When all the stone lanterns are lit, it's like stars falling into the lake, hence the name "Thousand Lanterns Lake".

Standing at the bow of the boat, Zhang Fan looked at the shimmering lake light under the thousands of lanterns, and for a moment he felt as if he were on the banks of the Qinhuai River in Jiangnan.

Before long, the bow of the boat approached a painted boat with a red lantern. The boatman skillfully pushed the bamboo pole, and the boat immediately came alongside the painted boat. The boatman then threw down the lasso and fixed the bow of the boat to the rock under the stone lantern.

"Walk!"

Qiu Wanlan was excitedly about to board the painted boat.

"I'm not going!"

Zhang Fan frowned. He now knew that the painted boats with red lanterns hanging on the lake were all boats belonging to the pleasure quarters along the lake, and the people inside were, in modern terms, prostitutes.

In other words, it's just two sissies, what's so interesting about that? Zhang Fan naturally didn't want to go.

"Don't worry, it's not male porn stars inside." Qiu Wanlan seemed to know what Zhang Fan was thinking. "I called a female entertainer. She sells her art, not her body. She doesn't do sex work."

"Um?"

Since it was a woman, Zhang Fan became interested. The Wei and Jin dynasties were known for their romantic escapades, and many high-ranking officials kept male actors; so it was perfectly normal for a beautiful woman to be found here.

Seeing two gay men holding hands made Zhang Fan feel disgusted, but seeing two beautiful women kissing was acceptable, so he also jumped onto the painted boat.

Pushing open the cabin door and stepping into the painted boat, one sees that sake and snacks have already been prepared inside, with two female entertainers, one playing the zither and the other holding a pipa, sitting gracefully inside.

Zhang Fan and the two female prostitutes looked at each other, both stunned.

How did you get here?

The two women in front of me were none other than Bingbing and Mimi, whom I had just seen.

"I saw you were reluctant to part with those sisters, so I called them here." Qiu Wanlan said with a smile, waving her jade fan.

"Miss Qiu, Butler Yu."

Bingbing and Mimi stood up and bowed. It seems that Qiu Wanlan and Butler Yu are regulars here and know each other.

"Greetings, young master." Bingbing Mimi bowed to Zhang Fan at the end. "Please sit here, young master, but do not sit near the window."

"Huh? Why can't I sit by the window? I think the lake breeze is quite refreshing and nice."

"Don't let gossipy people see us from the window," Mimi reminded them.

Zhang Fan was initially confused, but then he thought about it carefully and realized, "That's right! His coming to this pleasure boat is like an ancient woman visiting a brothel. If other boatmen see him, wouldn't that be a stain on his chastity?"

Damn it!

To avoid trouble, Zhang Fan had no choice but to do as the Romans do, and sat down in a corner, feeling rather annoyed, while his feelings for Bingbing and Mimi's thoughtfulness increased considerably.

After everyone was seated, Bingbing played the piano, Mimi poured wine, and Qiu Wanlan tugged at Butler Yu's sleeve. Butler Yu glanced at Zhang Fan out of the corner of his eye, shook his head, and remained standing to the side with his hands at his sides.

These subtle movements couldn't escape Zhang Fan's eyes, but he just smiled and didn't say anything, instead giving the order:

"Steward Yu, please sit here and pour us some wine so that my little sister can play the pipa."

Since Zhang Fan had given the order, Butler Yu felt obliged. Zhang Fan sat in the corner, and Butler Yu naturally sat down next to Qiu Wanlan, pouring her wine and serving her food, so he couldn't really pay attention to Zhang Fan in the corner.

While listening to a tune, Zhang Fan's gaze swept back and forth between the two beautiful couples in the cabin. He sipped his drink, quite content.

Qiu Wanlan and Butler Yu looked at each other with the exact same expression as Bingbing and Mimi; only a fool wouldn't realize that something was going on between them.

The eldest daughter of the Qiu family, Qiu Wanyan, had already married Marquis Charles. The second daughter, Qiu Wanlan, was already thirty years old but had not yet married. It was not that the second young lady of the Qiu family was not outstanding, but that she had made a vow when her older sister got married that she would not marry anyone whose abilities and talents were inferior to her brother-in-law. This effectively put an end to the hopes of those who wanted to come and ask for her hand in marriage.

But now that Zhang Fan thinks about it, he realizes that the Marquis of Charles was just a shield; he actually already had someone he loved.

With the sounds of traditional Chinese string and wind instruments in the air and the beautiful scenery before one's eyes, a few cups of sake are consumed, and the boat sways gently on the lake, creating a feeling of being in a fairyland, making one feel drowsy.

No wonder scholars from Jiangnan linger on the Qinhuai River; it truly is a place where the successful indulge in pleasure and the unsuccessful numb themselves.

"Mi Mi, can you play 'The Song of the Pipa'?" Zhang Fan asked, laughing as he got a little tipsy.

"I am ignorant and have never heard of 'The Song of the Pipa'." The pipa music stopped, and Mimi shook her head.

"Do you know the Ballad of Mulan?"

Bingbing and Mimi exchanged a glance and then shook their heads.

"I'll read the words once, and you can play them out."

“We can give it a try,” Bingbing and Mimi replied.

Zhang Fan picked up a chopstick, gently tapped the porcelain cup in front of him, and softly recited:

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, Mulan weaves at her door, but no sound of the loom is heard, only the sighs of her child."

...

"The male rabbit's feet twitch, the female rabbit's eyes are blurred; when two rabbits run side by side, how can one tell which is male and which is female?"

bite--

The chopsticks tapped the porcelain cup one last time, the words were finished, and the lingering sound echoed in the air.

The boats to the east and west are silent, only the white autumn moon shines on the river.

"Is this a story?" Qiu Wanlan asked suddenly after thinking for a long time.

“Yes.” Zhang Fan nodded. “It’s about Hua Mu Nan, who disguises himself as a woman to join the army in place of his mother.”

Zhang Fan felt a headache coming on as she spoke, but saying it this way would make the story easier for them to understand from their perspective.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp..." Bingbing and Mimi played the zither and the pipa, respectively, and began to hum a tune.

In modern music terms, they were simply humming the lyrics and adding chords and harmonies, but the girls' voices were beautiful, and with the accompaniment, it was still listenable.

Why did I suddenly want to listen to "The Ballad of Mulan"?

Zhang Fan was simply a little homesick... He wondered how things were on Earth right now? Was China also enjoying the moon?

But this month is not the same as that month.

"Huamunan... is an extraordinary man. I'd like to toast him." Qiu Wanlan raised her glass and downed it in one gulp. "He is the second man I admire. I've remembered his name."

"Oh? The second one?" Zhang Fan sat up straight, very curious. "Then, in the heart of the second young lady of the Qiu family, who is the first person worthy of respect?"

"The person I admire most is the only male emperor who changed the fate of the Western Liang Kingdom."

"Oh!" Zhang Fan had heard of a king of a different gender in the history of Western Liang, but he hadn't looked into it in detail. "What was this emperor's name?"

"The name of the male emperor is known to everyone in the Western Liang Women's Kingdom." Qiu Wanlan cupped her hands in respect. "His name is..."

"Tang Sanzang".

puff--

Zhang Fan spat out a mouthful of wine.