Chapter 136 Unorthodox Views
"An'an, have some water."
Xu Jinnian held Sheng An in one arm and fed her water with the other, his face filled with unconcealed worry and heartache.
Sheng An was so seasick that she didn't dare open her eyes, but obediently opened her mouth and drank.
After drinking half a glass of water, her stomach felt a little better. She leaned weakly against Xu Jinnian's chest and complained, "I feel like my soul is floating in mid-air, and my head feels like it's stuffed with a wad of cotton."
In her previous life, Sheng An was prone to motion sickness, but when she did, she only felt sleepy and did not experience any physical discomfort.
Before setting off, she had thought she might get seasick, but she never imagined it would be this bad. She felt half-dead.
Xu Jinnian wiped the water from the corner of Sheng An's mouth and spread the bright red cloak over her: "Can you hold on? Why don't we have the boatman dock and we can take a carriage over?"
Sheng An shook his head: "Let's take a boat, the carriage is too bumpy."
The journey from Qingzhou to Pingzhou by water is not far, and if all goes well, they should arrive by evening. She was too lazy to go ashore and go through the hassle.
Sheng An stopped vomiting, probably because her stomach was empty. However, she felt extremely dizzy, couldn't sleep, and didn't want to talk, so she could only lie in the cabin.
Xu Jinnian didn't go anywhere; he just sat beside her and watched over her.
As noon approached, the boat's cook brought the couple their meal.
Besides a few simple vegetables available at the moment, there was fresh fish that had just been caught from the river.
The cook's cooking skills were mediocre; the vegetables tasted bland, barely edible once cooked.
Several fresh fish were made into a fish soup. Scallions, ginger, garlic and a little salt were added to remove the fishy smell, but the taste was very delicious and there was almost no muddy smell.
Sheng An's stomach was empty, but the aroma of the fish soup made him very hungry. He picked up the fish soup that Xu Jinnian had served and slowly drank it.
Seeing that she could eat, Xu Jinnian breathed a sigh of relief, put a few pieces of fish into her rice bowl, and carefully picked out the fish bones one by one: "Drinking soup alone will make you hungry easily, try eating a couple of bites of rice."
Having probably gotten used to the rocking of the boat, Sheng An was not as uncomfortable as she had been in the morning. However, she didn't have much of an appetite for rice. She managed to eat two bites of rice and two bites of fish before she couldn't eat anymore.
Xu Jinnian didn't force her, finished her leftovers, and left the fish soup for her.
With fish soup to fill his stomach, Sheng An didn't feel hungry and even had the energy to go up to the deck to sunbathe and enjoy the river view.
There was a breeze on the boat, and Xu Jinnian carefully draped a cloak over her shoulders: "The journey is going smoothly, and we will arrive in Pingzhou in two more hours."
Sheng An asked, "Have you ever been to Pingzhou? I heard that the people there, both men and women, are very good-looking. Is that true?"
Xu Jinnian nodded: "I went to Pingzhou with my father when I was young, which was six or seven years ago. The soil and water there are not much different from Qingzhou, and not everyone there is good-looking."
At this point, the man looked at Sheng An and asked calmly, "An'an, do you want to see a beautiful woman?"
Without hesitation, Sheng An replied, "Of course I want to. Who doesn't like to look at a beautiful woman?"
Xu Jinnian pursed his lips and remained silent.
Sheng An, oblivious to anything amiss, continued babbling on and on: "Half of the historically famous brothels were in Pingzhou, right? I've heard there's also the largest one, Nanfeng Brothel. Since I'm here, I absolutely have to go see it..."
She was really curious about the brothels of ancient times, and these places didn't restrict female customers; it was perfectly fine to go in and listen to music or watch a play if you wanted.
There were several brothels in Qingzhou. Once, when she passed by, she wanted to go in and take a look, but she was too poor at the time and couldn't afford it, so she gave up the idea.
Later, she did make money, but she was so busy every day that she didn't have time to rest. All she wanted to do was sleep, so she never got to go.
Now that she's going to Pingzhou for a trip, all she wants is to have fun, and she's getting restless again.
Seeing his wife getting more and more excited, Xu Jinnian's face darkened: "An'an, there are many fun places in Pingzhou. It's best not to go to places like that."
Sheng An asked, puzzled, "Why? It's just going to listen to music or watch a play; there shouldn't be any taboos, right?"
Xu Jinnian looked helpless and said in a low voice, "Those songs and plays are not what you think..."
At this point, he hesitated for a moment before using a barely appropriate word: "serious".
Sheng An opened her mouth in surprise, her eyes sparkling with excitement: "So it's not serious after all? Being unserious is good, I want to broaden my horizons about being unserious!"
Xu Jinnian: "..."
That was a miscalculation.
He rubbed his throbbing forehead and said helplessly, "I'll teach you your unorthodox views slowly. There's no need to deliberately go to those low-class places."
Sheng An was full of questions, looking the seemingly serious man up and down: "You know?"
The next moment, something occurred to her, and she exploded: "You've been there? How do you know it's improper if you haven't been? Did you go there to obtain improper scriptures?"
If this man has cheated on her before marriage, or cheated on her behind her back after marriage, she will definitely make him know what the word "regret" means!
Xu Jinnian could tell what his wife was thinking just by looking at her expression, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
A hint of helplessness flashed across his face. He stepped forward and hugged his wife, who was jumping up and down. "No, I have never been there. I have only heard Zhenlin mention it a few times."
Zhenlin? Tan Zhenlin?
Sheng An was utterly shocked, never expecting that such a sunny and cheerful young man would go to brothels to seek pleasure.
Come to think of it, the son of a prefect is not lacking in money or power, so it's not surprising that he would go in to broaden his horizons.
But are men really that open with each other? They can openly share those unorthodox views?
Hmm, I think I saw a news report in my past life about a department in a hospital that was involved in prostitution. After they were arrested, the hospital director personally went to bail them out.
Tsk tsk, men have always been very adventurous throughout history.
Sheng An glanced at Xu Jinnian, her eyes seeming to be calculating something.
Xu Jinnian felt that if he didn't explain things clearly today, he might have to be a monk for decades to come. He couldn't help but hold his wife's hand tightly: "Zhenlin went in to listen to music and watch the play. He wouldn't dare to do anything reckless inside."
The music in brothels carries certain indescribable implications, while the performances on stage are blatant and explicit, bringing erotic scenes to life.
This is why Xu Jinnian stopped Sheng An from going in to broaden his horizons, lest he have his eyes polluted.
Sheng An was dumbfounded, staring blankly at the man: "You haven't even seen it yourself, yet you dare to presumptuously lecture me?"
Xu Jin cleared his throat and whispered in her ear, "Haven't I been teaching you every night? Some things can be learned without a teacher, and I think An'an understands that well."
Sheng An: "..."
She truly understood; this guy's driving skills had improved dramatically, a world of difference compared to their wedding night. Her back was about to give out!
No, it was just a normal chat, how did it suddenly turn into a high-speed conversation?
Is that correct?
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