Chapter 14 Dragon Boat Festival

The sun was setting in the west, and the afterglow was shining on the tables and chairs in front of the hall. It was deserted as usual even without wine.

On the roadside, the laughter of several children spread far away, and Shen Kuang and Shi Yu heard it from a distance. When they got closer , they saw Senior Han sitting on the steps in front of the door, smiling at the group of naughty boys. When he saw them coming back, he stood up and dusted himself off.

The group of children also knew Shigure, so when they saw her coming back, they all swarmed over her and ran over, chattering around her and calling her sister. Shigure took out a few candies from his pocket and gave them to them. After receiving the candies, they went to play obediently.

"Did you buy the things?" Senior Han asked after the children ran away.

"I bought them all, master."

After saying that, he turned around and asked about Shen Kuang's injury. "How are your injuries?"

"Thanks to your medicinal bath, senior, I'm almost healed now." As he spoke, Shen Kuang patted his chest, indicating that he was almost healed. It is indeed much better. I walked around this afternoon, my blood circulated, my muscles and bones stretched, and even the pain in the morning disappeared.

Senior Han naturally noticed the hairpin on Shigure's head. He knew the little girl's temperament, so he guessed where the hairpin came from. He didn't ask, just smiled and praised a few words, making Shigure's face turn red. After all, the girl was still thin-skinned. After hearing a few words, she couldn't help but run in with her things.

After Shi Yu left, Senior Han looked at Shen Kuang warily and said, "You are just like your master. You are so fair and pure that you don't look like a martial artist. Don't even think about kidnapping Shi Yu for me." Well, I’m just such a precious apprentice!”

Shen Kuang didn't notice Senior Han's eyes at first, but when he heard his voice, he saw Senior staring at him with unkind eyes.

No matter how thick-skinned he was, he still paused after hearing what Senior Han said, "Senior, where are you thinking? I came to see Shigure as a younger sister. Shigure has taken care of me these days. As an older brother, you can't There’s nothing to show for it!”

"Hehehe , you are so thick-skinned that your temperament is different from that of your master. The rest are really carved out of the same mold. Just don't pay attention to Shigure. That hairpin is not cheap, it's a fine mutton-fat white jade!"

"Ah? Is it really mutton-fat white jade?" He agreed with Senior Han's vision, so he was not immune to surprise when he heard the senior said it was mutton-fat white jade.

"Why, isn't it?" the senior asked.

"Not really. I thought the store was bullying me and exaggerating the price, so I actually only spent...three taels."

Hearing this, the senior laughed and said, " Hahaha , you got a big bargain, but now Shigure is getting a bargain!"

The hearty laughter of the senior reached Shen Kuang's ears. At this moment, he had a much better impression of the sloppy old man on Dama Street. People in the Wei Dynasty do not deceive people in the Wei Dynasty. The old man's credibility is indeed admirable. .

When he went to Yunmeng Mountain before, Senior Han said that he would treat him to a drink if he could survive , so in the evening, he had a few drinks with Senior. It was Shen Kuang's first time drinking, and his alcohol capacity was extremely low. Less than half an hour after changing glasses, he was already drunk and unconscious.

After getting drunk, he started talking nonsense again, just mumbling a lot, and no one else understood a word.

When Shen Kuang woke up early the next morning, his head was heavy and he was groggy. He only remembered what happened last night and he and Senior Han were drinking together, and he had no memory of what happened after that.

The injury on his body healed, so he continued practicing swordplay as usual!

When he opened the door in the early morning, he smelled the unique smell of grass. Shigu had already gotten up, holding many grass roots in his hand. When he opened the door, he greeted him with a smile, "Brother Shen, you're awake. I made a hangover soup. I'll wait until I finish planting these wormwood plants." Bring it to you."

Hearing Shi Yu talk about mugwort, Shen Kuang knew where the smell came from. He estimated the day and it seemed that the Dragon Boat Festival had arrived. In front of the door of each room, Shigure either placed or inserted a few mugwort plants.

He was practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard, and Shigure was busy running up and down for a long time. After practicing a set of swordsmanship, Shigure happened to bring a bowl of sobering soup over . The gray-brown medicinal soup had a slightly bitter taste. Shen Kuang drank it in one sip and frowned. After belching and spitting out some turbid alcohol odor, he suddenly felt much more awake.

Seeing Shen Kuang finish his drink, Shiyu added, " It will be very lively by Luoshui tonight. Brother Shen, would you like to go and have a look too!"

"Okay! I'm going back to Plum-Mist City in two days. I'll go over in the evening and get a bottle of wine for my master to take back." Shen Kuang agreed with a smile, but Shi Yu looked a little confused when he heard him say he was leaving. Lost. But she hid it well and didn't show it.

People still take festivals very seriously. In the morning, there were many more vendors on the street than usual, but by the afternoon, they were almost gone again. In the past, although there were not many vendors in the afternoon, there were always some scattered on the street. Today, everyone closed the stalls early and were waiting to buy good wine and food to go home for the festival, so there were few vendors.

There are fewer vendors, but there are more pedestrians on the street. As we stayed until dusk, there were even more people walking through the city. As night falls, the bright moon shrouds the city, and the city is as lively as it is during the day.

As usual, we ate realgar wine and rice dumplings, and the festive atmosphere was here. Naturally, Senior Han would not join in the excitement on the edge of Luoshui River . So when Shen Kuang and Shi Yu left, they only asked them to come back early.

When she came out at night, Shigure changed into a sky-blue floral dress. Although it was still a bit chilly at night, she didn't wear much because of the festival, but she looked very good. The hair has also been combed back, and the white jade hairpin inserted in the long hair is particularly conspicuous.

In contrast, Shen Kuang was much more casual, still dressed in his usual clothes, and apart from his face, there was nothing special about him.

one of the most prosperous places in Qiuluo City and home to numerous brothels and taverns, the two sides of Luoshui River were extremely lively tonight.

Walking along Yongfeng Street and passing Chengyifang, they soon saw the brightly lit Luoshui River in front of them. On the river, pleasure boats shuttled back and forth, and the boats of various shapes flashed lights of different colors, which combined with the moonlight and the lights along the shore made the surroundings as bright as day.

The riverside was bustling with people coming and going in an endless stream. I guess they were all here to have fun like Shi Yu and Shen Kuang.

There is a bridge over the Luo River . Because the bridge has nine holes, the literati and scholars from the south and north called it the September Bridge. Rows of lanterns were lit along the river bank, and the fences beside the bridge were decorated with brocade ribbons. They walked all the way to the bridge and looked down at the two sides of the river. There were many pedestrians and it was very lively.

Shi Yu obviously liked this scene very much, so he kept looking left and right along the way, very excited.

However, as Shen Kuang walked along, he felt more and more that he was a little out of tune with such a scene. Most of the people coming and going were dressed as scribes, and there were very few people like him carrying swords on their backs. Therefore, people passing by him would look at him a few times. When they saw the little girl Shigure, they would smile politely and behave like a gentleman. But when they saw him again with a sword on his back, they would walk away with disdain.

Shigure said that during the Dragon Boat Festival, some poetry gatherings and other activities would be held along the river. Shen Kuang didn't know much about poetry, but he also knew that those were liked by literati, while martial arts practitioners like them rarely liked them.

"Brother Shen, let's keep going forward. There's a performance ahead!" Shigure said and pulled him to the other side of the bridge .

Shen Kuang looked along the direction Shiyu pointed just now and saw a large stage set up on the shore. At this time, several graceful women were singing, swaying and dancing on it.

There are many similar stages along the river, which are probably the means for attracting customers. The shop owners know that the banks of Luo River are bustling tonight, and it is naturally a good time for them to make money. There are many generous young men tonight, and if they serve them well, it will be easier to make a lot of money than usual.

Although it seems prosperous on the surface, there are undercurrents behind it.

Nan Qiao also came to Changlefang tonight. In addition to having fun, she also came to handle a case. Naturally, she didn't have to do it herself, she just needed to watch from the side. Just a few days ago, someone from the Jiantian Division suddenly visited the General's Mansion, saying that a wanted criminal of the court had recently fled to Qiuluo City , and asked the General's Mansion to cooperate with them.

Nan Qiao had no good feelings towards those people who came and went without a trace, and even his father did not want to provoke them, so he promised to cooperate with their actions. All the officials of Qiuluo City naturally agreed. The people of Jiantiansi did not need the help of local officials or yamen runners, who had almost no fighting power in their eyes. They just notified them to avoid hindering their work.

the Tiansi were like the King of Hell who was taking lives, and almost no one was willing to have contact with them.

My father told me that the leader of the team this time was a little celestial official in black. The highest official in the Tianjian Division was called the Division Master, and below the Division Master was the Great Tianjian in red , and below the Great Tianjian was the Little Tianjian in black . Although Nan Qiao didn't know much about the Tianjian Division , she knew that sending out a little celestial official meant that the court attached great importance to the arrest of the important criminal.

Nan Qiao had no idea who was being arrested, so he asked his father, but his father shook his head and said he didn't know.

the Tianjian Division were deployed almost everywhere in the city , and some officers, soldiers and runners were sent to some unimportant places.

Nan Qiao was currently in a restaurant on the shore. She had nothing to do, she just came over to take a look. With her status, the people from the Tianjian Division did not dare to order her to do anything.

She also dressed up tonight and put on a more girlish dress. She was already pretty, and after changing her clothes, anyone who saw her would think she was a lady from a wealthy family, elegant and beautiful.

She sat by the window, looking at the poetry gathering held by the great scholars and talented people in Qiuluo City on the shore. They splashed ink to express their feelings and wrote with great vigor . Occasionally, a beautiful line was heard and everyone applauded.

She picked up a piece of cake and put it into her mouth, her eyes slowly looking into the distance. Tonight, the Luo River was filled with bustling scenes.