Chapter 132: Women Disguised as Men
Chunxi booked a private room in Zuixianlou for a banquet.
Near noon, Xiao Qinghe took Quezhi out to Zuixianlou.
Chunxi arrived early and ordered food.
Moreover, she was wearing men's clothes today.
In the past few days, the two of them had been having fun outside the city. Xiao Qinghe had long been accustomed to Chunxi bringing different surprises. When he saw her dressed as a man, he was not too surprised. Instead, he felt a little bit of anticipation in his heart.
After dinner, Chunxi stuffed a set of men's clothes into Xiao Qinghe's hand and said, "Hurry up and change. We'll go to a nice place later."
Xiao Qinghe now trusts Chunxi very much. She doesn't object to her dressing up as a man, but is just curious: "Aunt, where are we going?"
Seeing her master being led further and further astray by Chunxi, Quezhi couldn't help but remind her, "Madam, the eldest young master is going back home today. It's better for us to go back early."
If it was just a normal outing, why would she need to dress up as a man? Quezhi was worried that Chunxi was going to take her master to some indecent place.
Chunxi had sharp ears. When she heard that Wei Lingze was coming back today, she immediately said, "He can come back if he wants. The Wei family has so many servants, and they need him to feed and drink. Does he really want my niece to serve him personally?"
After spending a few days happily with Chunxi, Xiao Qinghe felt even more reluctant to go back and face Wei Lingze. She didn't give Quezhi a chance to dissuade her and said firmly, "Aunt, I'll go with you."
Xiao Qinghe quickly changed into men's clothes, took off all the accessories on his body and gave them to Quezhi for safekeeping. He tied up his black hair high with a jade crown and transformed himself into a handsome man with a jade face.
"Niece, you have such a beautiful face. If you were a man, which woman wouldn't be attracted to you?"
Chunxi sighed as she helped Xiao Qinghe wipe off her lipstick and paint her face darker.
After all, they are women dressed as men, so it is better not to be too conspicuous.
After changing, Chunxi dragged Xiao Qinghe out. Quezhi instinctively followed, but Chunxi stopped her: "You just stay here. If anyone from the Wei family comes looking for me, just say I got my period suddenly and soiled my clothes. Your young mistress is accompanying me back to the Marquis' Mansion to change clothes."
Chunxi had even found an excuse, and Quezhi became even more worried. She frowned and said, "No, this servant must follow the young lady."
Without waiting for Chunxi to refuse, Xiao Qinghe said solemnly: "Quezhi, listen to your aunt."
Xiao Qinghe is usually gentle and kind, but can be very intimidating when she is serious. Quezhi spends the most time with her, and she can hear the determination in her words, so she can only hold back what she wants to say.
Chunxi arranged another carriage at the back door of the restaurant. After the two got on, the carriage drove straight towards the west of the city.
After an incense stick of time, the carriage stopped by a lake.
There is a two-story pleasure boat in the center of the lake.
The sounds of zither and qin emanating from the pleasure boat, coupled with the cool lake breeze, are very poetic and picturesque.
Chunxi gave some small change to the coachman and asked him to find a teahouse for them to have some tea and wait, and then took Xiao Qinghe on a small boat.
Although the boat is small, it has everything.
There is a low table in the boat with snacks on it. Two crabapple flowers, one tall and one short, are placed in a thin white porcelain vase. White smoke rises from a bronze phoenix incense burner, which has a very elegant sandalwood fragrance. Bamboo curtains are hung on both sides of the boat awning. Outsiders cannot see what is going on inside, but while sitting in the boat, you can see the scenery outside through the gaps in the bamboo curtains.
"Hold on tight, niece. I'm going to row the boat."
Chunxi gave a reminder and used the oars to push the boat away from the shore. After some paddling, the boat came to the lake.
There were only the two of them on the boat, and Xiao Qinghe quickly relaxed.
She carefully looked at the environment in the boat and her eyes fell on Chunxi.
Chunxi's paddling movements were very skillful. In just a short while, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Chunxi had become a little tanned in the past few days, but it didn't make him look ugly. Instead, he looked full of energy and vitality.
Xiao Qinghe couldn't help but sigh: "Auntie knows so many things."
A few days ago, Chunxi took her to pick fruits from trees and to the river to catch fish. After catching the fish, they grilled them with local ingredients and ate them. Now they even rowed the boat.
There are always new surprises every time we meet.
Chunxi thought she was interested and immediately said, "This isn't difficult. Why don't you try it too?"
The boat was shaking easily, but unable to withstand Chunxi's enthusiasm, Xiao Qinghe exchanged places with her.
When she got the oar in her hand, Xiao Qinghe realized that this was not as easy as she had thought.
The oars were heavy and created more resistance in the water. Xiao Qinghe was not as strong as Chunxi, but after a few strokes, she was exhausted and out of breath. Her palms also ached, and when she spread them out, she saw that her skin was worn out.
Is her body so useless?
Xiao Qinghe unconsciously fell into a depressed mood again. Chunxi came over to take a look and slapped his forehead suddenly: "Such a soft and beautiful pair of hands, I actually thought of letting you row the boat, what a waste of talent."
Chunxi blew on Xiao Qinghe's wound, found a lantern from the boat and hung it on the pole at the bow.
Xiao Qinghe looked at Chunxi and asked softly, "Aunt, don't you think I'm really useless?"
"No, I asked you to paddle, but you didn't blame me when you got hurt, nor did you cry out in pain. If I had a noble birth like you, I wonder how spoiled I would be."
Chunxi's words comforted Xiao Qinghe greatly. She pulled herself out of her low mood and was about to say something else when the boat swung and another small boat approached them. Then a gentle and soft male voice came: "There are lanterns hanging on the distinguished guest's boat. What instructions do you have?"
The voice was so pleasant that Xiao Qinghe couldn't help but take a look through the bamboo curtain.
At the bow of the next boat, an indigo figure stood facing the wind. The man was quite tall, but a little thin. The hem of his clothes and sleeves were swaying in the air in the lake breeze, and he exuded a gentle and scholarly air.
Chunxi poked his head out: "My friend accidentally scraped his hand a little. Is there any medicine?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man strode onto their boat.
He quickly glanced inside the boat, then said respectfully, "I am Lan Shu, a humble man with some medical skills. If you two distinguished guests don't mind, could I take a look at your injuries?"
Lan Shu is gentle and polite, without any aggressiveness at all, making her really hard to refuse.
Xiao Qinghe thought that she was now dressed as a man and had Chunxi with her, so she stretched out her hand.
Lan Shu bent down and entered the cabin. Because the space was too cramped, he knelt down and looked at Xiao Qinghe's hand through Chunxi. Then he took out a box of ointment and handed it to Chunxi: "The abrasion is not serious. Apply it to the injured area once every morning, noon and evening. It will heal soon. Don't worry, it won't leave scars."
"Thank you," Chunxi replied, taking the ointment. Seeing the label on the box, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Huh? This is Huichuntang's ointment. It's quite expensive, right? Do I have to pay extra?"
Perhaps because she had never seen a guest as straightforward as Chunxi, Lan Shu smiled and said, "No need to pay extra. It was our poor hospitality that caused the guest's injury. We should be fully responsible."
His smile was even more beautiful, and his words were very graceful. Chunxi gave him a thumbs up: "Your boss is really magnanimous. No wonder the business is so prosperous."
Lan Shu's smile deepened. He glanced at the lanterns on the boat and asked, "Is there anything else you need, my dear guest?"
"Not for now, go do something else."
"Then Lan Shu will take his leave."
Lan Shu left the cabin, took down the lantern hanging on the bow and put it back into the cabin, then left in the boat.
After Lan Shu left for a long distance, Xiao Qinghe whispered, "Aunt, that guy just now couldn't be a prostitute doing that kind of business, right?"
"Yes," Chunxi nodded without hesitation, scooping up a large amount of ointment and applying it to Xiao Qinghe's wound. "I've heard about it. They're going to choose the champion tonight. It's going to be very lively. I paid a high price to get the ticket."
Xiao Qinghe: "..."
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