The beauty of West Lake is breathtaking.
Along the lakeside, there are many vendors and tourists, making it very lively and bustling.
Luo Qingzhou and his companions crossed the road, arrived at the lake, and walked directly to the stone bridge, preparing to walk on the stone bridge first and then take a boat trip.
There are also many tourists on the stone bridge.
There were groups of scholars wearing Confucian robes and holding folding fans; there were families of all ages enjoying themselves and laughing; there were also some young boys and girls who were just beginning to fall in love and spoke shyly.
As soon as Luo Qingzhou and his companions stepped onto the stone bridge, they heard a woman on the pleasure boat below the bridge twisting her waist and waving her hands and calling out, "Young Master, come up and play for a while. It's fun on our boat, and we have all kinds of girls."
Luo Qingzhou looked straight ahead and walked forward quickly to avoid being stepped on again.
Miss Qin Er stopped, stood at the railing, and looked at the pleasure boat below.
Nangong Meijiao stopped beside her, looking down coldly, and explained: "That is a brothel's painted boat, on which there are women performing arts and selling their bodies. This is the kind of place that scholars like to go to the most. Those who are slightly talented can go there to play for free and will also be fought over by various women."
After saying that, she turned her head and looked at someone.
Seeing them stop, Luo Qingzhou didn't dare to move forward any further, so he stopped as well and looked towards the lake in the distance.
Miss Qin Er turned her head and looked at him and said, "Brother Qingzhou, is what Sister Meijiao said right?"
Hearing this, Luo Qingzhou looked at her and said, "Second Miss, I don't know either. I haven't been to that kind of place."
Miss Qin Er smiled and said, "You've never been there?"
Luo Qingzhou said calmly: "I haven't been there."
He was arrested that time because of something else. He had already explained it to the second young lady, so he definitely couldn't admit it now.
Nangong Meijiao added meaningfully, "The most popular poem in brothels nowadays is the "Shui Tiao Ge Tou" that came from Mo City. If the talented man who wrote "Shui Tiao Ge Tou" came to Kyoto, he should be able to play in all the brothels in Kyoto for free."
Miss Qin Er was surprised and asked, "Really?"
Nangong Meijiao said: "That man's reputation in brothels everywhere is higher than that of the most popular courtesans. Not only in Kyoto, but also in other places. He can go to brothels all over the country for free. Even those self-righteous courtesans in brothels are obsessed with him."
"How did Sister Meijiao know?"
"Listen to what Xue Yi said."
"How did Sister Xueyi know?"
"I guess I heard it from others."
The two of them sang in unison, as if they were really talking about other people's affairs.
Luo Qingzhou stood aside, looking at the lake in the distance in deep thought.
At this moment, a surprised voice suddenly came from behind: "Hey, isn't this Brother Luo?"
Luo Qingzhou turned his head and saw a young man wearing a Confucian robe and a Confucian cap, holding a folding fan, walking towards him with a look of surprise on his face.
Behind him, there were three other elegant scholars holding folding fans.
At this moment, the three scholars all looked at Miss Qin Er and Princess Nangong with burning eyes, their faces full of astonishment.
Luo Qingzhou was stunned for a moment before he remembered.
The scholar in front of him who was calling out to him seemed to be called Han Jin. When he first learned about Yuan in Mo City, this Master Han and several other scholars had visited him at the Qin Mansion.
"Brother Luo, don't you remember me? I am Han Jin. I went to visit Brother Luo in his mansion with Brother Zhou and the others."
Han Jin came closer, bowed with a smile on his face, and glanced at the two girls beside him.
Luo Qingzhou bowed and said, "So it turns out that it's Brother Han. Of course I remember."
Han Jin smiled and said, "I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that Brother Luo is also in Kyoto. By the way, I'll introduce a few friends to Brother Luo."
Then, he pointed at the three men behind him and introduced them one by one: "This is Brother Zhang Jiuyuan from Ningzhou, this is Brother Xu Fang from Jiangnan, and this is Brother Shangguan Hong from Kyoto."
All three of them bowed politely.
Luo Qingzhou also bowed.
Han Jin smiled again and said, "By the way, Brother Luo, there is a poetry gathering on West Lake today, on the painted boat over there. Brother Luo, why don't you join us and join in the fun?"
Luo Qingzhou declined politely: "I have something else to do today, so I won't go."
Hearing this, Han Jin glanced at the two girls beside him and said with a smile: "Brother Luo, these two are..."
Luo Qingzhou said briefly: "My young lady."
Han Jin was slightly startled when he heard this, and asked in confusion: "Your young lady? Didn't Brother Luo marry into the Qin family? These two..."
Luo Qingzhou didn't waste any more time talking to him. He just bowed and said, "Brother Han, you guys go to the poetry gathering. I still have to accompany my two young ladies on a boat trip."
Having said that, he prepared to leave.
Seeing this, the other three men became anxious and quickly blocked their way.
Among them, the slightly plump young man named Xu Fang smiled and said, "Brother Luo, we just happened to meet today. Let's make friends. Why don't we leave in a hurry? You just happen to be going on a cruise, so why don't you join us to attend the poetry reading on the pleasure boat? The scenery there is much better than on the boat."
Luo Qingzhou glanced into his eyes and heard him secretly say in his heart: So this boy is a son-in-law, that will be much easier. No matter what, we must bring these two beauties to the boat today.
The tall man named Shangguan Hong also bowed and smiled, "Brother Luo, this is our first meeting, are you so disrespectful to me? Although I, Shangguan Hong, am not from a powerful family, I still have some face in the literary world of Kyoto."
Having said that, he raised his chin slightly, looked at the two girls beside him, and said lightly: "My father is...ah..."
"Bang!"
Before he could finish his words, Luo Qingzhou kicked him directly in the stomach, knocking him to the ground.
The other men were immediately filled with astonishment.
"Brother Luo, you..."
Han Jin was about to speak when Luo Qingzhou kicked him to the ground with a bang.
"What are you doing? We are all scholars, and gentlemen use their mouths instead of their fists..."
The other two men's faces suddenly changed, and they retreated while shouting angrily.
Luo Qingzhou chased after them and kicked them both to the ground.
He used just the right amount of force.
All four of them lay on the ground, holding their stomachs, their faces pale, their mouths wide open, unable to speak in pain, and unable to curse even if they wanted to.
Luo Qingzhou ignored them and turned to Miss Qin Er and said, "Let's go, let's take a boat."
At this time, the four men, along with their servants and page boys, all ran over from the nearby shore.
The man named Shangguan Hong finally spoke and shouted angrily: "Beat him, beat him to death!"
Seeing seven or eight strong servants running over, Luo Qingzhou quickly pulled Miss Qin Er and hid behind Nangong Meijiao, saying, "Princess, it's up to you."
Nangong Meijiao turned her head and looked at him and said, "I'm not feeling well today and can't move. Besides, we are both weak women. As a man, shouldn't you protect us desperately when encountering such a thing?"
Zhu'er immediately walked to the front and took out a flying knife from her waist: "Master, Miss, don't be afraid. With Zhu'er here, they won't be able to touch you!"
Qiu'er grabbed her and said, "Zhu'er, someone will die."
Zhu Er said confidently, "It's okay, I'll stab them in the thigh."
Qiu Er could only whisper, "Put it away. Now is not the time for you to show off. Give your son-in-law a chance."
Zhu Er was stunned when she heard this, and said in surprise: "My son-in-law is a weak scholar. It's okay to beat scholars, but how can he beat those thugs? He will be beaten to death."
Qiu'er still pulled her back and took the flying knife from her hand.
"It's this guy! Beat him to death!"
The man named Xu Fang also covered his stomach and shouted angrily.
Seven or eight thugs, sharpening their fists, rushed over from the bridge head aggressively.
Other tourists on the bridge panicked and moved away.
"Princess, call your guards quickly."
Luo Qingzhou said hurriedly.
Nangong Meijiao looked at him coldly and said, "I didn't bring any guards."
Luo Qingzhou said: "Aunt Mu and..."
Having said this, he suddenly stopped talking.
Nangong Meijiao sneered, "Auntie Mu and Aunt Jiu? They are both coachmen, weak as a kite, and even weaker than you. How can you tell that they are my guards?"
Luo Qingzhou: “…”
Nangong Meijiao looked at him with a sneer on her face: "Luo Qingzhou, have you ever seen them fight?"
"No, no..."
Luo Qingzhou denied it.
Nangong Meijiao raised her eyebrows and said, "That's it. Go ahead, for Wei Mo, stop them. This is what you should do as a man."
Miss Qin Er also said softly: "Brother-in-law, Wei Mo needs your protection."
Luo Qingzhou looked at her strangely.
Why did he feel that Miss Qin Er had been helping Princess Nangong today
Aren't the two of them a united front
Seeing that group of people rushing towards him with ferocious looks, he didn't dare to hesitate any longer, fearing that the second young lady would be hurt in the chaos. When he was about to step forward to stop them, there was a loud "bang"!
The entire stone bridge shook suddenly!
The bridge deck where the group of thugs were running suddenly broke and collapsed!
"ah-"
The seven or eight thugs and the servant boy who followed behind them all screamed in terror and fell into the lake below.
“Plop!”
“Plop!”
“Plop!”
There were screams and water splashing everywhere!
What was extremely coincidental was that only that section of the bridge was broken, and apart from those thugs and the servants, there were no other tourists on that section of the bridge.
The tourists standing on both sides of the broken bridge screamed when they saw this scene, fearing that the bridge deck under their feet would suddenly collapse.
Nangong Meijiao and Miss Qin Er, who were standing at the broken part, were also startled. They all turned pale and retreated in haste.
Luo Qingzhou directly picked up Miss Qin Er's delicate body to prevent the bridge surface under their feet from suddenly breaking.
However, other places remained solid without even a shake.
Seeing this horrific scene, the tourists by the lake also screamed.
The pleasure boats and tourist boats that were sailing on the lake all rowed over quickly, ready to rescue the people who fell into the water and the tourists trapped on the broken bridge.
"Luo Qingzhou..."
Nangong Meijiao looked at the broken bridge in front of her, with a look of shock and suspicion on her face. She suddenly turned her head and looked at him and asked, "What's going on?"
Even a martial artist at the martial arts master level couldn't possibly break a solid stone bridge with just one kick, right? At most, it would just create a hole.
Is this guy...
Seeing her staring at him intently, Luo Qingzhou quickly said with an innocent look, "How should I know? The princess won't suspect that I broke it, right?"
Miss Qin Er also looked at him and said, "Brother Qingzhou, what a coincidence, it was just them who fell down, you don't have to risk your life..."
Luo Qingzhou: “…”
Zhu'er also looked at him and said, "Son-in-law, you are so lucky."
Qiu'er also looked at him suspiciously.
At this time, the four men who were kicked to the ground by Luo Qingzhou all climbed up with pale faces, hurriedly climbed to the railing, waved at the pleasure boats and small boats below, and shouted for help in fear.
The tourists trapped on the broken bridge all shouted loudly at the railings.
Because no one knows whether the stone bridge under your feet will break again.
In addition to those pleasure boats, many cruise ships also came over to take the opportunity to make money.
Many cruise ships threw ropes upwards for people on the bridge to tie to the railings and then hang down along the ropes.
"Brother Qingzhou, what should we do?"
Miss Qin Er looked at the cruise ship below and asked softly.
She was not afraid or anxious because she knew that her brother Qingzhou would never let anything happen to her.
Luo Qingzhou glanced at the broken bridge again and said, "We can only slide down along the rope. It will take a while for the bridge to be repaired. Don't be afraid, Miss. I will carry you down later."
Zhu Er quickly asked, "Uncle, what should we do?"
She only knows how to throw knives, and nothing else.
The bridge is quite high from the ground below.
Luo Qingzhou looked at her and said, "Don't be afraid. Just hold on to the rope and slowly slide down. It doesn't matter if you fall into the water. There is a boat down there to save you."
Then he said to Qiu'er, "Qiu'er, don't worry, I will carry you down later."
Zhu Er: “…”
Qiu Er suppressed her laughter and said, "Thank you, uncle."
Luo Qingzhou lay on the railing and looked down at the boat.
Miss Qin Er whispered beside her: "Brother Qingzhou, have you forgotten Sister Meijiao? She is not feeling well and can't go down alone."
Hearing this, Luo Qingzhou glanced at her side and whispered, "Second Miss, men and women should not be intimate with each other. I can't hold her. Let Aunt Mu rent a boat to pick her up."
Nangong Meijiao looked at him coldly.
Luo Qingzhou pretended not to see it and continued to look down at the ship below.
A tall and beautifully decorated pleasure boat slowly approached. The women on board, wearing gauze and dressed in fancy clothes, waved their handkerchiefs and called out in a tender voice, "Gentlemen up there, we are here to pick you up."
Luo Qingzhou took a look and said, "Second Miss, the pleasure boat is quite high, we can go directly to the second floor, or..."
Before he finished speaking, Miss Qin Er, Nangong Meijiao beside her, Qiu'er and Zhu'er all looked at him meaningfully.
Luo Qingzhou continued: "But it will definitely be expensive... Let's take a small boat..."
“Swish!”
A rope was thrown up and flew right towards him.
Luo Qingzhou subconsciously stretched out his hand and caught it, then looked down and saw a black-sailed boat parked below, with a girl in green holding a bamboo pole standing on the bow.
The girl had an ordinary look, with a slim figure and a pair of bare snow-white feet. There was a red rope tied around one of her ankles, and there seemed to be a bell hanging on the red rope.
"Sir, one tael of silver per person, do you want to come down?"
The young girl in blue on the boat raised her head and shouted in a clear voice.
Luo Qingzhou glanced at her slender feet, silently tied the rope to the railing, then turned around and said, "Second Miss, I'll carry you down."
Miss Qin Er said: "Brother Qingzhou, it's so expensive."
Nangong Meijiao on the side sneered: "Wei Mo, for some people with foot fetish, they are willing to pay no matter how expensive it is."
Luo Qingzhou said: "..."