Chapter Sixteen: A Boat Ride on the Lake

  Wearing a elegant white robe, Jinzi was truly a handsome and unparalleled young master. His three thousand black hairs were tied into a bun, with a matching colored hairpin on his head, his crystal clear face without any makeup, a pair of amber-colored eyes like autumn water, cherry lips shining, long eyelashes slightly trembling, under the sunlight, as if a pair of fluttering butterflies.

  Xiao Xiao changed into a small servant's attire, with a light blue collarless shirt and gray-blue pants, tied at the waist with a gray belt, wearing a household hat. A pair of eyes curved like crescent moons, revealing neat white teeth, smiling foolishly all the way.

  "Haven't had enough laughter?" Jinzi elegantly flipped open his folding fan, gently fanning himself, his eyes revealing a hint of emptiness as he casually swept his gaze over the passersby on the street.

  Smiling and covering her mouth with her hand, she suppressed the excitement in her heart, turned to Jinzi and said: "Wife, aren't you excited? You haven't been out for over a decade, this attitude seems too calm!"

  Jinzi tweaked her eyebrows, closed her fan and tapped it casually on her palm.

  Smiling and following Jin San Niang, I suppose the opportunity to leave the mansion is not much more than Jin San Niang's. Even if there is, it's just to buy daily necessities for Qingfengyuan, rushing out and rushing back, where is the time to go sightseeing? As for herself? This reaction is also normal, she's not really Jin San Niang after all. Before her rebirth, she had wandered around Taoyuan County a few times, no matter how strong the excitement was, it has faded a lot by now.

  "You're walking down the street with a silly grin on your face, don't you think it's weird? Smile, I understand that you're excited, but we're dressed as men now, we need to be calm and composed, can't let people take us for fools, got it?" Jinzi said.

  The girl's words make sense!

  Smiling and nodding in agreement. Looking at their current attire, he hastily reminded, "Then we should change our forms of address, shouldn't we?"

  "Hmm, you can just call me Ah Lang then!" Jin Zi replied.

  Two people walked together, the market was bustling with people, and the crowd flowed like water.

  Jinzi was fascinated by the clothes, expressions and manners of the common people.

  Taoyuan County belongs to the southern region. The dressing style of the people is basically the same as the Tang Dynasty costumes in Jinzi's memory, with men's clothing having cross-necked straight-collared long gowns and round-necked narrow-sleeved shirts. This is like modern popular dressing styles, elegant and refined, free and easy-going coexisting!

  Women's clothing styles are also diverse, including cross-collared robes, high-collared robes, straight-skirted long gowns, two-piece suits with jackets and skirts, short jackets and horse-face skirts, as well as armor-like garments, belly-wrapping clothes, half-sleeved shirts, etc.

  Kanako walked around the market with a smile and picked out a few small accessories she liked before leaving the commercial area.

  "The city is so noisy and chaotic, it's giving me a headache! Let's go for a walk in the neighborhood near the market," Jinzi suggested.

  "Elsewhere it's just the usual black tiles and white walls, small alleys made of bluestone. Ah-lang, why don't we go take a look at West Lake instead?" Xiao Xiao suggested with a smile.

  "West Lake?" Jin Zi's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he thought, could it be that the modern Hangzhou West Lake was evolved from this Peach Blossom County?

  "Ah, the scenery there is really beautiful, many people from other counties bring their families to take a look. Even the officials from the prefecture like to go on a boat ride on West Lake and listen to music!" She smiled with infinite longing in her eyes.

  Kanako thought to herself, this is a completely natural and undeveloped scenic area, it must be different from modern times, more primitive. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a thrill in her heart.

  "Is it far from here?" Jinzi asked.

  "It's not far, just within our county. If we take a horse carriage, it should only take about an hour to get there!" Xiaoxiao said with a smile.

  Jinzi reached out and flipped over the money bag hanging from her waist, which was the silver given to her by Jin Yuan for shopping. There were as many as ten taels, heavy enough to estimate that hiring a carriage wouldn't cost much. Jinzi immediately ordered XiaoXiao to find a carriage to come over. In the market where people did business, carriages as a means of transportation were indispensable and could be seen everywhere.

  The master and servant got on the carriage and galloped westward in the direction of West Lake.

  As the carriage slowed down, Jinzi lifted the curtain and saw a distant lake with a greenish-blue color.

  The water shines brightly on a sunny day, and the mountain scenery is also wonderful in the rain.

  To compare West Lake to Xi Zi, both thick and light makeup are suitable.

  At this moment, Jinzi truly understood the artistic conception of the beautiful scenery of West Lake depicted in Su Shi's poem.

  After getting off the horse cart and paying four coins, Jinzi hurriedly ran towards the lake.

  A gentle breeze blows, and the lotus stem sways gently. It's not yet summer, and the lotus flowers have not bloomed. If it were a summer day, the endless green of the lotus leaves against the sky and the unique red of the lotus flowers would be an infinite and extremely pleasant scene.

  Kaneko gazed at the lake, its surface as calm as a mirror, with a vast expanse of sparkling water. In an instant, he felt all his pores opening up, as if he had entered a paradise on earth.

  She pulled Xiao Xiao and ran into the Lake Heart Pavilion, watching the fish swimming in the water chasing each other, playing freely, and feeling happy in her heart. The two of them were like they were in a world without people, pointing at various scenery and discussing it in detail.

  In the middle of the lake there is a lonely boat, which looks particularly small on the vast surface of the lake.

  Two people can be vaguely seen on the boat.

  The boat remained still, steadily moored in the center of the lake. A young servant sat at the bow, wearing a blue turban and a narrow-sleeved shirt of the same color, grasping the oar tightly as if afraid that letting go would cause the boat to rock.

  On the other side of the boat, a fishing rod was set up, with the line hanging down into the lake. Next to a low bamboo stool, a woven bamboo fish basket was placed. The stool was empty and there was no one fishing. The handle of the fishing rod was fixed in place by something at the bow of the boat.

  Jinzi watched this scene and couldn't help but laugh, thinking that there were still people in the world who were so lazy? Even fishing was done lazily, it would be strange if fish actually bit.

  In the cabin of a small boat, a man lay quietly.

  This man was undoubtedly tall, even though he was lying down at the moment. A black straight-collared long gown fit him perfectly, with a slender and symmetrical figure. His build was actually slightly lean, so it looked even more broad-shouldered and long-legged. His skin was extremely fair, with high cheekbones, thick eyebrows that were as black as ink, and thin lips that were pursed together. His face was absolutely handsome and extraordinary, but his whole body emitted a cold and intimidating aura that warned strangers to keep their distance.

  His head rested on his overlapping arms, his eyes tightly closed, his long legs slightly raised and leaning against the cabin, feeling carefree and lazy, elegant and unparalleled.

  Drifting aimlessly, smelling the fragrance of lotus leaves and just about to fall asleep, the boat shook violently, followed by a loud cry piercing the sky.

  "Oh... there's a dead person..."

  That scream was accompanied by an endless terror, sweeping past Jinzi's ears, and she subconsciously looked towards the lonely boat in the middle of the lake.

  Is anyone dead?

  The forensic doctor's keen nerves stimulated her, she had just heard it right, that little servant said there was a dead body, was someone thrown into the lake?

  "Come on, Xiaoxiao, let's go take a look!" Jinzi stretched out his hand to pull Xiaoxiao, but after a long time, he couldn't budge her. Only then did he realize that after hearing the word "dead person", Xiaoxiao's small face had turned pale with fright.

  Thank you so much to all the friends who have rewarded and supported me! Although I'm not around, your support has been constant, it's really touching! Thank you guys! I'll definitely come back to thank each of you during the Spring Festival! Here's a little scene: o(n_n)o Hehe~ The black-robed gentleman frowned and said: "Damn it, I was just about to make a grand entrance, who knew that this would happen? How could there be a dead body in the peaceful lake, ruining my leisurely mood..."