At this moment, people were coming and going on the street. A person carrying candied hawthorns passed by, and Meng Yuxiu bought one and gave it to Chang Lili. Seeing her smiling as she accepted it, Meng Yuxiu couldn't help but smile as well.
"They're just like little kids who never grew up."
Chang Lili, with a candied hawthorn in her mouth and her cheeks puffed out, said with dissatisfaction, "Who's acting like a child?"
"Give them a little candy and they'll be happy. Aren't they just kids?"
"I'm only happy because you gave it to me. I wouldn't accept anything from someone else." Chang Lili crunched the rock candy loudly.
Meng Yuxiu shook his head slightly as he looked at her childish appearance.
Chang Lili was about to say something when she was suddenly bumped into, and the candied hawthorn in her hand almost fell to the ground.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."
When Chang Lili saw that the person rushing across the bridge was a child, she felt that he looked somewhat familiar.
"The master invites you to meet at Erli Bridge." The boy on the bridge, the same boy who collected money at the restaurant that evening, said this to Meng Yuxiu before running off with a grin.
Chang Lili looked at the child, then at Meng Yuxiu, and hummed in response.
Meng Yuxiu said, "Let's go."
Chang Lili understood who he was going to meet this time, so she didn't ask any more questions and silently followed behind him.
Meng Yuxiu asked casually, "I often pass through here and am quite familiar with the terrain. Erliqiao is very famous here. Can you guess what place it is?"
Chang Lili said, "Isn't it a bridge?"
Meng Yuxiu shook his head.
Chang Lili was a little curious, so she followed him. Before long, they arrived at a river. It was the moat of Duanzhou, which surrounded the entire city. The water was vast and blue, reflecting the lights on both banks, and the surface of the water shimmered.
However, on this very river, with its wide expanse of water, there wasn't a single bridge; the boats coming and going on both banks seemed to be the only means of transportation.
"There used to be a bridge here, but when the barbarians invaded, the local people smashed the boats connecting the two banks in order to protect themselves. They hid on the other side and barely survived for two days until reinforcements arrived."
The moat was dug imposingly, wide and deep. Without a bridge or boat, it would be extremely difficult to cross to the other side.
Chang Lili became even more interested and asked, "What kind of people live on the other side of the river?"
“Ordinary people. Everyone has a boat at home, so they don’t think much about building bridges. That’s why there has never been a bridge in Duanzhou. The place where we are standing is where the Erli Bridge used to be.”
What are we doing here?
As soon as they finished speaking, a small boat swayed across the black water and stopped in front of them. The boatman was the storyteller from the restaurant. He was thin and young, holding a long pole and wearing a bamboo hat. His smiling eyes looked over from under the hat, just like the surrounding rippling and unfathomable river water, both cool and gentle.
Chang Lili paused for a moment, then asked, "Who is he?"
“A friend of mine, come with me.” Meng Yuxiu boarded the boat first, then reached out his hand to Chang Lili.
Chang Lili grabbed his hand and stepped onto the swaying boat.
The boat was small, but under the awning there was a small table, a small lamp, and a pot of wine.
Meng Yuxiu had Chang Lili sit beside him and poured himself a glass of wine.
The wine poured from the narrow spout, stopping just short of the rim of the cup. The sound of Meng Yuxiu slowly pouring the wine blended with the gurgling of the river outside, creating a transcendent tranquility.
This was the first time Chang Lili had seen Meng Yuxiu like this. He wasn't carrying a knife or a sword, nor did he need to pontificate. He exuded a rare sense of relaxation and naturalness.
“Yuandao is a friend I’ve known for a long time. Would you like a drink? His homemade sweet wine is quite delicious.”
Chang Lili took a sip and found it wasn't as harsh as Tujia wine. Instead, it was mellow and slightly sweet, with a faint aroma of wine after drinking it, giving it a very unique flavor.
"It tastes good."
Meng Yuxiu smiled faintly, poured her a glass, and said, "I'll get you two bottles to take back later."
Chang Lili took another sip, her mouth watering, and said, "Isn't that a bit much? I just met your friend, I didn't prepare anything, and I'm taking some of his things with me."
"It's okay, we don't see each other often anyway."
As they were talking, "Yuandao" stopped the boat in the middle, lifted the curtain and came in, smiling at the two of them with a rather dignified air.
Chang Lili found it rather strange that in Duanzhou, a storyteller and a boatman both possessed an air of otherworldly elegance, and she smiled slightly at them.
"His name is Xu Yuandao, and this is Chang Lili, my wife."
Hearing Meng Yuxiu's frank explanation, Chang Lili blushed and smiled shyly at Xu Yuandao.
Meng Yuxiu handed the wine glass to Xu Yuandao and asked, "How is your mother's health?"
Xu Yuandao nodded and clinked glasses with Meng Yuxiu.
Chang Lili sat to the side listening to the two's back-and-forth conversation and realized that Xu Yuandao was probably tired of sitting as a storyteller, and he spoke very little, even less than Meng Yuxiu. The conversation in the small boat was almost inaudible, but it was also very pleasant.
"The Emperor has sent me to investigate the Three Pages Gate. You need to be careful lately," Meng Yuxiu said. "There's likely some trouble brewing in the capital as well."
Xu Yuandao said, "I know. I do have some information about the Three Pages Sect; they've been spotted here as well."
"How do you know all this if you don't just talk about your book properly?"
"You deal with all sorts of people in your daily life, so it's hard not to know them."
Xu Yuandao had a very handsome smile, and he didn't look like a storyteller from the streets at all. Chang Lili watched from the side and became more and more curious.
None of the people around her resembled this person. Xiao Lingshou was too gloomy, and Chu Moyu was too wicked. Neither of them possessed the leisurely and composed demeanor that Xu Yuandao exuded.
The two people who were talking were in the middle of the deserted river, calmly discussing the "Three Pages Gate" of the rebel party. If Chang Lili hadn't known beforehand that the Three Pages Gate was a rebel party, anyone else would have thought they were talking about the opera troupe about to put on a show!
But perhaps it was the calm demeanor of these two that affected Chang Lili. As she sat to the side listening to their conversation, her heart was as still as the silent river flowing outside, and even her thoughts became very calm.
When the boat docked, the child who had been dozing off on the shore immediately stood up and said happily, "Sir."
Meng Yuxiu got out of bed with Chang Lili, looked at the child, then at Xu Yuandao, and asked, "When did you pick up a child?"
“His name is Ruizhi, and he has been by my side for a year.”
After Xu Yuandao and Ruizhi rowed the boat to the other side, Meng Yuxiu waved to them and led Chang Lili onto the street, which was now mostly deserted.
Chang Lili said in surprise, "You actually have a friend like that?"
“Yuandao and I are bosom friends. We’ve known each other for over ten years. I met him before I was even the Meng Yuxiu I am now. He saved me, and I saved him in return.”
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