Chapter 306: Painting Boat
As night fell completely, large and small pleasure boats were moored on Ziyan Lake, and colorful lanterns were lit one after another on the boats.
Standing by the river and looking around, you can see countless lights and stars floating on the surface of the river, shining brightly, like the lights of thousands of homes.
Another ship was coming from afar. That ship was bigger than all the ships docked at the shore. It was clearly still far away from the shore, but it was so big that it seemed as if it was already right in front of us.
Various lanterns are hung on the boat, some hanging on the side, some hanging at the stern, and some dotted around the pavilion on the roof, illuminating the entire ship.
The people on the shore also saw the peony flower carved on the bow, and someone shouted:
"Look, that's Miss Shi Yan's boat!"
The crowd suddenly became excited, and even He Fang couldn't help but look up, gazing at the cabin covered with a layer of gauze curtains from afar with a dreamy look on his face.
"This Miss Shi Yan is a famous talented woman in the capital. If I have the chance to meet her today, it would be worth my life."
Chu Xin looked at He Fang's lustful look and couldn't help but secretly give him a blank look.
"Talented girl?" Qiao Youyou was a little unconvinced, "My Lanlan is the most talented girl."
"Hush..." Zhu Lan covered his lips and said to Qiao Youyou, "The selection of talented women in the capital city is not only based on academic knowledge, but also on proficiency in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. I heard that this Miss Shi Yan was born in the underworld. Not only is she as beautiful as a fairy, but her music playing and incense making skills are also unique in the capital, and she has many other skills. It would be great if I could have the opportunity to meet such a person."
"She's as beautiful as a fairy, is that true?" Qiao Youyou's eyes lit up and she couldn't help but stand on tiptoe to look at the boat. After all, who doesn't like to look at beautiful women?
It’s a pity that the big ship stopped far away and seemed to have no intention of docking.
The crowd crowded on the shore began to move, and He Fang waved to everyone, "Let's go, it's time to get on the boat."
The pleasure boats at the shore opened their doors one by one, and people waiting on the shore began to board in groups of three or five. Soon, some of the boats had hung big red lanterns, which meant that the boat was full and no longer accepted passengers.
Qiao Youyou was a little curious, "Are all these people going to participate in the poetry competition?"
"Of course not." He Fang raised his chin with some pride. "See? There are big and small boats on the shore. Only the three-story pleasure boats are the boats for poetry competitions. Of course, not just anyone can get on these pleasure boats."
Chu Xin immediately said, "Yes, yes, it's all thanks to Mr. He!"
He Fang was in a better mood and didn't notice the sarcasm in the words at all.
Several people followed He Fang onto one of the three-story pleasure boats. After entering, they found that the interior space was very large, enough to accommodate thirty or forty people. However, the stairs leading to the upper floor were locked, so everyone sat on the first floor.
When the first floor was full, the waiter on the boat came out with a big red lantern and hung it on the bow. Not long after, the pleasure boat started to move slowly.
The first floor of the pleasure boat is decorated very elegantly. The air is filled with the delicate fragrance of orchids. The sound of pipa music behind the screen is like pearls falling on a jade plate. The cool river breeze blows in from the window, making people feel relaxed and happy.
There was an empty space in the middle of the first floor, and people sat around it at tables of four or five.
He Fang and his five companions sat at a table. Qiao Youyou murmured quietly, "Everyone is on the first floor. It's too crowded. The pleasure boat clearly has three floors. Why can't they let us go up?"
He Fang smiled profoundly and said that it would not be crowded soon.
A young man wearing a Confucian scarf walked to the center of the cabin and introduced the rules of the poetry competition on this lake cruise.
The first round is a warm-up, guessing riddles, and the five tables of guests who guessed the most riddles can move to the second floor to participate in poetry. The winner of the poetry competition can go up one floor and come to the pavilion on the top of the boat to enjoy the unique night view of Ziyan Lake.
There are a total of ten pleasure boats participating in the poetry competition. In the end, these ten pleasure boats will dock around Miss Shi Yan's big ship, and Miss Shi Yan will set the questions herself.
After Miss Shi Yan selects the person with the best poetic talent, she will go to the pleasure boat where that person is and play a song on the piano in front of him on the top floor.
After hearing the rules, Qiao Youyou immediately frowned.
Xiaobai is in a wheelchair and it is inconvenient for him to go upstairs. Wouldn’t it be very embarrassing later?
"I think the view on this floor is great, so I won't go up later. Xiaobai, can you accompany me to the deck to enjoy some fresh air?"
Wenren Yuebai smiled at her, "The view up there will be better. It doesn't matter to me."
Before Qiao Youyou could say anything, the young man in the middle had already announced the start.
The first round of guessing riddles was not difficult. Zhu Lan and Qiao Youyou also saw that He Fang was indeed knowledgeable. He reacted quickly and guessed several questions first.
Seeing that He Fang had guessed enough questions correctly for several people to advance to the next round, Zhu Lan sat quietly and admired the night view outside the window.
At the end of the first round, five tables of guests, including He Fang and his group, won and were invited to enter the second-floor cabin, while the rest of the people stayed on the first floor to enjoy the rest of their time on the lake.
Qiao Youyou was hesitating about what to do with Wenren Yuebai when the young man in the center of the scene came over and whispered to Wenren Yuebai to move behind the stairs.
Qiao Youyou walked over and saw a small door behind the stairs in the cabin. Behind the small door was a straight up and down passage, with a special rope pulling the wooden board carrying people, which turned out to be a device similar to a modern elevator!
Facing Qiao Youyou's astonished gaze, the young man explained that this was all designed by Miss Shi Yan, with a hint of pride in his words.
When Qiao Youyou accompanied Wenren Yuebai to the second-floor cabin, He Fang, Zhu Lan and Chu Xin had already arrived.
He Fang seemed to have met a business acquaintance and was chatting with him in a very happy mood. When he saw Qiao Youyou, he even took the initiative to introduce her to him.
"Mr. He is so lucky that he has several beauties to accompany him on his lake cruise. He is really the envy of others."
He Fang enjoyed listening to this so much that he didn't notice that Chu Xin behind him was rolling his eyes.
The acquaintance saw Wenren Yuebai in the wheelchair and asked, "Is this also Mr. He's friend?"
When He Fang saw that Ren Yuebai had also gone up to the second floor, a trace of disgust and contempt flashed in his eyes, and he perfunctorily said that he just knew him.
He lowered his voice a bit and said that he took him along because he felt sorry for him and was afraid that he would never have the chance to board a pleasure boat like this in his lifetime.
The acquaintances understood: "Mr. He makes many good friends, he is really a good person!"
The second floor of the cabin is also very spacious, with only five tables of guests seated. It is no longer as crowded as the first floor, and the scenery is even better. It makes people look forward to how fun it would be to climb up to the pavilion on the third floor and look out over the lake.
The young man who was on the first floor just now also came up, holding a tray with many sachets neatly placed on it, and distributed them to the guests.
"This is a scented sachet made by Miss Shi Yan herself. It not only has a pleasant fragrance, but also has the effect of repelling mosquitoes and insects. Since you have come to the second floor, this is a gift from Miss Shi Yan to you."
He Fang took the sachet with both hands excitedly, put it to his nose and sniffed it with an intoxicated look on his face.
Zhu Lan could not help but take a sniff and felt that the scent of the sachet was exceptionally mellow, not as pungent as the ordinary refreshing incense. It was not only because of the rare fragrant materials used, but it also seemed that Miss Shi Yan's perfume-making skills were truly well-deserved.
"Here is an upper line of a couplet. Please come up with a lower line. The judging criteria will be neat parallelism and smooth meaning. As for which one is better, please discuss it among yourselves. The winner can bring three companions to the third floor to participate in the final game." The young man said.
This round was still a word game, and some people were already urging him to tell the topic quickly.
The young man smiled slightly and shook off the scroll in his hand. On it was written an eye-catching first couplet:
"The bow is strong but the stone is harder."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
