Chapter 111: Boarding the Boat

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Night fell.

Outside the Qin residence, the servants and six guards escorted a carriage out of the alley.

Song Ruyue and her daughter were sitting in the carriage.

The others followed the carriage on foot.

Other than those scholars, many high-ranking officials and nobles attended the banquet this time.

Therefore, some rules had to be followed.

When they got into the carriage, Qin Weimo invited Luo Qingzhou to join them. However, Song Ruyue reprimanded her sternly with a straight face.

“It’s fine if you don’t know the rules at home, but you’re still behaving like this outside. You’re a joke! If people see this, they’ll say that the Qin family don’t know how to educate their children!”

“You’re his sister-in-law, and I’m his mother-in-law. He’s married into the family. Can he sit with us?”

“To think that you study in the house all day long. You have basic etiquette, integrity, and shame. Don’t you know the rules and morals?”

Qin Weimo’s face turned red from being reprimanded. She did not dare to say anything else and hurriedly lowered her head to get into the carriage.

Song Ruyue got into the carriage and muttered in a cold voice, “It’s fine if you guys flirt with each other at home. As long as you don’t do anything out of line, I’ll pretend that I didn’t see anything. However, you two better behave yourself outside. If you sneak around and cause gossip, you’ll be punished!”

Qin Weimo’s weak voice came from the carriage. “Mother, what are you talking about? Brother-in-law and I didn’t… didn’t flirt…

Song Ruyue snorted. “Do you think I’m blind? Or do you think I’m easy to deceive?”

Qin Weimo’s voice softened to the point where it almost could not be heard.

Luo Qingzhou slowed down and followed behind the carriage.

There was no curfew in the inner city today.

At this moment, lanterns were hung on both sides of the street. The vendors were shouting, but the pedestrians did not stop. Instead, they rushed toward the MO River where the poetry gathering was held.

That place was naturally even more lively.

Although not everyone could board the boat, before dark, the road by the river had become a lively market.

All kinds of vendors were gathered here.

There was an endless stream of pedestrians.

There were men and women on dates.

Some relatives and friends were shopping after dinner.

Some people brought their families along to join in the fun.

There were even dispirited people standing by the river, looking at the luxurious and lively pleasure boat in a daze.

Two pleasure boats docked together.

It was decorated with lanterns and colorful banners, and there were many people. It was very lively.

On the shore leading to the pleasure boat, wooden planks were set up temporarily for the people to easily board the boat.

At the same time, there were guards with sabers at their waists.

At the entrances of the two pleasure boats, there were specialized personnel to check their identities to prevent others from sneaking onto the pleasure boats.

Apart from the daughter of the City Lord Manor, other nobles in MO City also had a hand in organizing this poetry gathering. Hence, they had to make sure that nothing went amiss.

When the group of people from the Qin residence arrived at the riverside, there were already many guests on the two pleasure boats and they were chatting happily.

Song Ruyue and her daughter alighted from the carriage with the help of a maidservant.

Then, under the escort of the maidservants, grannies, and guards, they arrived at the welcoming area by the river.

The woman and middle-aged man who were welcoming the guests saw their carriage from afar. When they saw them coming, they hurriedly smiled and said, “Madam Qin, welcome! Madam Zhang and Madam Wang have just arrived too. They were just asking where you were.”

At this moment, Meng Yulan from the City Lord Manor happened to step out of the pleasure boat. When she saw them, she immediately walked over from the bridge and said warmly, “Aunt Song, Weimo, why are you so late?”

“First Young Miss.”

When Meng Yulan appeared, the guards and the butler who welcomed the guests lowered their heads respectfully toward her.

Meng Yulan was dressed in a purple dress. As usual, she had a short saber strapped at her waist. She looked suave and heroic.

She quickly went ashore and walked to Qin Weimo’s side. She supported Qin Weimo and smiled warmly. “Let’s go, Weimo. I’ll help you up. The wooden bridge is not very stable. You have to be careful.”

Luo Qingzhou saw that she walked like the wind. Her legs were long and straight, and she was extremely strong. Although her figure was slender, she had an imposing aura. Her gaze was also extraordinarily confident. Clearly, she was a martial artist.

Initially, he could not tell. However, now that he cultivated his soul, he had eagle eyes and a sharp sense of smell. He could tell at a glance that Meng Yulan was a martial artist.

Qin Weimo smiled and greeted her. Then, she reminded her gently, “Yulan, my brother-in-law is here too.”

Meng Yulan smiled and turned to look at Luo Qingzhou. “Yes, I saw him. Are you blaming me for not greeting him?”

As she spoke, she turned around and solemnly cupped her hands at Luo Qingzhou. She smiled and said, “Young Master Luo, forgive me for being rude earlier.”

Luo Qingzhou cupped his hands and lowered his head without saying anything.

Meng Yulan glanced at the maidservants and guards surrounding her. She looked at Song Ruyue apologetically and said, “Aunt Song, I’m sorry. You can only bring two maidservants up. No one else can be brought up. As for the guards, that’s even more impossible. There’s a rule tonight. Other than the guards on our ship, no martial artists are allowed to board the ship. I hope you can understand.”

Song Ruyue cared a lot about her image in front of outsiders. She smiled and said, “That’s fine. There’s no need to bring guards here anyway.”

Then, she turned around and ordered, “Qiu’er, Zhu’er, the two of you will take care of Weimo. The rest of you will disperse. If you want to go shopping, you may do so. Otherwise, wait here.”

“Yes, Madam.”

When the maidservants heard this, they were secretly excited.

They finally had a night of freedom.

“After you, Aunt Song. Weimo and I will follow behind.”

Meng Yulan said politely.

Song Ruyue did not decline. With Zhu’er’s help, she walked onto the bridge and boarded the boat calmly.

As soon as she boarded the boat, the noblewomen who often gathered with her welcomed her with smiles on their faces.

Meng Yulan and Qiu’er helped Qin Weimo onto the boat.

Luo Qingzhou followed behind and boarded the ship alone.

A few noblewomen were chatting happily. When they saw the weak and sickly Second Young Miss Qin, they immediately surrounded her with pitiful looks. “Weimo is so beautiful. Sigh, it’s just that her body isn’t too good.”

“Ruyue, I’ve said long ago that the doctors in MO City aren’t good enough. You should go to the capital to take a look. Think of a way to find an imperial doctor. Perhaps she can be cured over there.”

“That’s right. Bring Weimo over next spring. Isn’t your eldest in the capital? There must be a way to contact a good doctor. Look at this child. She’s so delicate and weak. My heart aches just looking at her.”

Song Ruyue knew that they had good intentions, but her face still darkened when she heard that. She did not want them to mention her daughter’s illness.

Meng Yulan hurriedly pulled Qin Weimo away and said, “Aunt Zhang, Aunt Song, you guys chat first. I’ll bring Weimo upstairs. Zixi and the rest are waiting upstairs. They were just asking me why Weimo isn’t here yet.”

As she spoke, she helped the gentle Second Young Miss Qin away with Qiu’er.

Qin Weimo hurriedly turned around and called out gently, “Brother-in-law, come along…

She did not dare to leave that youth here alone. Her mother and her clique would definitely not respect him and might even make things difficult for him.

Of course, Luo Qingzhou did not dare to stay here alone and hurriedly followed.

Song Ruyue glanced at him and raised her hand as if she wanted to stop him.

After hesitating for a moment, she lowered her hand.

“Oh, Ruyue, is your son-in-law here too?”

“That’s the young man? Tsk tsk, he’s indeed handsome and talented. No wonder Qingwan has been praising him non-stop ever since she returned.”

“Ruyue, did he really write those poems and stories you mentioned? You’ve been spreading them for so long, but we’ve never seen him write them on the spot.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Coincidentally, he’s here tonight. We have to see it with our own eyes later.”

“It’s not that we don’t believe you. We just feel that such a poem and story is not something an ordinary scholar can write…”

All the noblewomen were talking at once. Even after Luo Qingzhou went up the stairs, they were still discussing.

Song Ruyue looked calm, but she sneered inwardly and did not argue immediately.

There was no need to argue now.

When that brat showed his ability later on, they would naturally stop talking.

“Weimo, you seem to care a lot about your brother-in-law. Must you bring him wherever you go?”

When they went upstairs, Meng Yulan glanced at the young man following behind her and teased the young girl beside her kindly in a low voice.

Qin Weimo smiled and explained gently, “Yulan, my brother-in-law usually

scholars, he doesn’t socialize and has never participated in such a poetry gathering. If I leave him alone down there and he doesn’t have any friends to talk to, he will be at a loss for what to do. Moreover, Mother will make things difficult for him.’

Meng Yulan smiled and said, “You do care about him a lot.”

Qin Weimo knew that she was deliberately teasing her. She raised her eyebrows slightly and turned around to steal a glance at Luo Qingzhou before saying in a low voice, “Of course, I care.’

Meng Yulan was stunned when she heard this. A look of surprise appeared on her face. She did not expect Qin Weimo to admit it.

How could she admit such a thing so openly?

Meng Yulan was stunned for a moment. She helped Qin Weimo up to the second floor and walked toward the window seat in the corner. She leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Silly girl, you can’t say this in front of others. If others hear this, they will laugh at you inwardly.”

Qin Weimo smiled and said, “It’s fine. I don’t care how others laugh at me. But, of course, I won’t tell anyone. I don’t care, but Brother-in-law will be implicated.”

Meng Yulan frowned and stared at her deeply. Then, she turned around and looked at the young man behind her. She said in a low voice, “Weimo, you can’t possibly really…”

“I don’t know either.”

Qin Weimo knew what she wanted to say. Her expression was calm and her gaze was gentle. She muttered softly again, “I really don’t know…”

“Weimo! You’re finally here!”

“Come quickly, our delicate little beauty. Hurry up and sit here. There’s no wind here. It won’t blow you away.”

“Hahahaha…”

Just as Meng Yulan was about to say something, a few young girls’ enthusiastic greetings and bell-like laughter suddenly came from the corner.

However, when the few girls who were laughing and hugging each other saw the young man following behind them, they immediately stopped laughing. They were stunned for a moment before they quickly sat down and tidied their clothes and hair.

Some girls blushed unconsciously because they had laughed too loudly and coarsely just now.

“What a handsome Young Master!”

A girl’s eyes darted around as she whispered to her companion.

The noisy atmosphere instantly quietened down.

A few girls sat upright with reserved smiles on their faces. All of them were secretly making guesses about who this Young Master was..