Encountering Rain at West Lake

Although it was the beginning of autumn, it was still within the dog days of summer. As the saying goes, "The heat wave after the Autumn Equinox can kill," the sweltering heat hadn't subsided, but was instead surging to its peak. Even the West Lake seemed to be steaming with a layer of mist. Fortunately, the lake was cooler than the land, and the breeze in the boat was relatively refreshing. The boats opened their windows, drew up their gauze curtains, and drifted slowly on the lake surface.

Those who received invitations to today's gathering were mostly people with family backgrounds. Even if there were some relatively poor individuals, they were usually scholars and literati with extensive social connections. At the shore, people were already greeting each other, but it was still early and the afternoon weather was hot, so not many people had arrived yet. After a while, as the boats gradually appeared on the lake, the scale of the gathering became apparent. Each boat was marked with the insignia of its respective family, such as the Cao family, the largest rice merchant in Jiangning, the Long family, the cloth merchant, the Chen family flower house, which ran brothels, and even official boats that had weighed anchor, and so on.

Although it wasn't the most suitable time for a lake tour in the scorching summer afternoon, it was enough to show the prosperity of Hangzhou as a water town in the Jiangnan region. Occasionally, two boats would approach each other, and people on the decks would clasp their hands in greeting. They were all from the same circle, and many knew each other.

It was a bit hot, and it wasn't yet time to go ashore, so those who arrived early preferred to float on the lake for a while. Occasionally, when they saw someone they knew, their small boats would move closer to the larger ones. Since many people came together, small gatherings were already taking place on the painted boats, either two or three wealthy merchants or three or five scholars, talking and laughing, commenting on current affairs. There were also ships of the Wude Army stationed around Suzhou and Hangzhou, which had already transported some soldiers to Xiaoying Island to clear the area and stand guard, awaiting the arrival of the Hangzhou prefect and others.

Since some of the merchants and poets brought their families, the women from the brothels couldn't be openly invited. However, apart from the Chen family, whose business was this kind, with two courtesans accompanying them on the flower boat, there were ways for the others to participate on the island. Some talented scholars who didn't bring companions invited their red-sleeved confidantes from the brothels as personal companions. However, these people had to form their own circles, making it difficult to mingle with those who brought their families.

The women of these families might usually enjoy listening to stories of talented scholars and beautiful women, but once they saw them in person, they would naturally feel unhappy and spontaneously resist and ridicule them. The clear division between the two sides was one of the interesting things about these occasions. Romance and family affairs were always difficult to integrate.

When the Lou family's big boat arrived, the weather had cooled down a bit. Those on board at this time were mainly Lou Jinlin and his children, Lou Shuwan and Lou Shuheng. His eldest son, Lou Shuwang, was not in Hangzhou at this time. Originally, Lou Shuwan's husband, Song Zhiqian, had also been following along, but when some friends greeted him, Lou Jinlin stated, "Shuwan and Zhiqian should go and join their friends." At home, Lou Jinlin seemed gentle, but when he mentioned the two of them, Lou Shuwan's name was always before Song Zhiqian's. The son-in-law's status was already low, so no one found it strange.

Song Zhiqian had always been somewhat fearful of his father-in-law. Hearing this, he felt as if he had been granted amnesty. Lou Shuwan rubbed her forehead, "It's too hot at noon, I'm a little sleepy. Husband, go ahead." Song Zhiqian hesitated for a while, but was finally persuaded to switch to another boat to travel with his friends.

In addition to the three main members of the Lou family, there were also several members of the Lou family's collateral branches who followed. These were mainly people Lou Jinlin had been cultivating to be his children's right-hand men, and he brought them out this time to meet people and see the world.

Earlier, on the shore, Lou Jinlin had exchanged greetings with a local wealthy merchant. Now that the boat had left the shore, it wasn't long before someone called out loudly, asking to come alongside. The Lou family had connections in Hangzhou, and although they weren't a top-tier family like the Qian family, they had accumulated enough over generations to be reckoned with. Therefore, many people came to pay their respects, and some scholars came to greet Lou Shuheng.

Among the Lou family's children, although Lou Shuheng seemed like a lazy playboy, his talent in poetry and prose was also very good. He was once known as a child prodigy in the Hangzhou area. He had a natural talent, but later didn't work hard, but he still achieved some success. As the youngest son of the Lou family, he was deeply loved by his father, and if there was some arrogance in his character, others took it for granted.

After growing up, he became more interested in women than in poetry. With the family's money and power, even if he didn't talk about poetry or openly bully people, picking up girls was easy. Later, his father had opinions, so he occasionally went to manage the business. He was a clever person, and with the assistance of capable people in the family, things went smoothly. From then on, in the eyes of everyone, he became a famous scholar with a detached personality. Even if he didn't write poetry or lyrics often, he was still considered a great talent. He was also good at business, naturally a symbol of the able being able to do everything.

This kind of reputation accumulation was relatively orthodox. Compared to Ning Yi's reputation in Jiangning, he could write poetry and scheme, but he was relatively low-key, and coupled with his status as a son-in-law, it made people subconsciously feel that he was somewhat miserable. If Lou Shuheng's story was a growth history of a favored child of heaven, Ning Yi's reputation was somewhat like a dark grassroots struggle history.

There were some people sitting in the boat, eating iced drinks. Before long, someone started talking about the Su family, mainly because they heard that the Su family had some relationship with the Lou family.

"I saw over there just now, it seemed like the Su family's small painted boat passed by on the lake. I took a look, and I didn't see many people moving on it. On the window side, the people on the boat seemed to be sleeping, haha..."

"In this kind of weather, the lake is indeed a good place for a nap. Those Su family members really know how to enjoy themselves."

"I did see the two young masters of the Su family... Speaking of which, these two are also talented people, but I don't know why the Su family let a woman take power... Does Brother Lou know about this?"

The person speaking was also a cloth merchant from Hangzhou named Luo, asking curiously. Lou Jinlin smiled, "The daughter of an old friend, she came to visit me once. But if you want to talk about familiarity, my daughter Shuwan interacts with her more. Old Luo, if you're curious, you might as well ask Shuwan, I'm not very clear."

Lou Shuwan, who had previously said she was sleepy, had been standing behind her father as a vase. Hearing everyone talk about it, she smiled slightly. She poured a cup of tea for the middle-aged man surnamed Luo, "The Su family was originally in Jiangning, so I didn't inquire too clearly about the matters there. But my younger sister Tan'er is a truly capable person, and I, as her older sister, can't compare to her... Well, Uncle Luo, do you know Luo Tian?"

The man nodded, "Of course I know him. His cotton is top quality in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Why is my niece asking about this?"

"Luo Tian and Tan'er have already made a deal, Uncle Luo should have heard about it, right?"

The merchant surnamed Luo thought for a moment, "It was just these past two days, I did hear that there was a small deal, but not much business. To be honest, that Luo Tian is notoriously stubborn. Although it's just a small transaction, thinking about it now, I don't know how that Miss Su convinced him. Does my niece know?"

Lou Shuwan smiled. The Su family hadn't caused much discussion in Hangzhou. When everyone talked about it at this time, it was just treated as after-dinner conversation. However, Lou Shuwan's figure was beautiful and her smile was sweet. At this time, everyone was intrigued by her, and couldn't help but wait for her to continue. Lou Shuwan turned around beautifully with the teapot:

"I do know the inside story. Luo Tian is stubborn in business, but he has a wife whom he dotes on extremely. This wife was originally the daughter of an official family. Later, she came into contact with Luo Tian, developed feelings, and Luo Tian spent a great deal of effort to marry her. However, in recent years, his wife's temperament has become increasingly melancholic and she has fallen ill. Sometimes she can't even eat, she has a psychological illness, but many doctors have been consulted but they haven't been able to cure her. My younger sister Tan'er made a connection with Luo Tian through her."

"Oh?" The merchant surnamed Luo frowned. Among those present, one person said in surprise, "I've also heard about Luo Tian's wife that Miss Lou is talking about. To be honest, many people want to establish a relationship with the Luo family, and they've all thought of this, and many have asked doctors to prescribe remedies, but it's never been effective. What method did that Miss Su use, could it be that she cured Mrs. Luo?"

"My younger sister Tan'er sent something." Lou Shuwan turned around and smiled, holding up one finger, "I'm not very familiar with this thing, but Uncle Luo must be very familiar with it, Uncle Luo, do you want to guess?"

The merchant thought for a long time and smiled, "Niece, don't keep me in suspense, I can't guess this."

Lou Shuwan lowered her eyes, and a trace of recollection and contemplation flashed in her eyes, "She sent, a box of silkworms... Hmm, that's it." The woman nodded and walked towards her father. Everyone was stunned for a moment, and for a while they didn't quite understand what was being said. Silkworms? Golden silkworms or silver silkworms? After a moment, they began to discuss. Lou Jinlin was also frowning at this time, wanting to speak, but Lou Shuheng thought for a while and was the first to say, "Little sister, don't keep us in suspense, what's with the box of silkworms, what's going on?"

Lou Shuwan raised her eyebrows, looked at her elder brother, and her voice became clear, "I was also strange, I only heard these past two days that the Luo family had discussed some business with Tan'er. After inquiring carefully, my younger sister Tan'er only sent a box of silkworms, just a few, packed in a wooden box, covered with gauze. The box was just for viewing, but the silkworms inside were very cute. Mrs. Luo was originally a young lady from a wealthy family, and had never been in contact with these things. Seeing the silkworms eating mulberry leaves, she felt a sense of pity and affection. Later, my younger sister Tan'er also told her that across the street from the Luo family's gate, there was a mulberry tree. Mrs. Luo now goes out every day to pick mulberry leaves to feed those few silkworms, and she is happy to eat and is willing to leave the courtyard. Luo Tian originally wanted to transplant a mulberry tree into his wife's courtyard, but my younger sister Tan'er stopped him, and so the business was settled. That's it."

She said it clearly this time. After Lou Shuheng and the others heard it, they were all stunned for a long time. Lou Jinlin was also stunned for a while, and then whispered, "If that's really the case, then your younger sister Tan'er is really not simple..." Lou Shuwan nodded. In fact, she spoke mysteriously just now, and now she spoke clearly, as if she had a sense of pride, but at this time, her thoughts were not on this, but in some things that she kept in her heart.

She remembered that the Su Tan'er couple hadn't been in Hangzhou for long when they settled on a courtyard and began to visit each family. On Luo Tian's side, she had gathered some information and asked her about the other party's information. Lou Shuwan then casually mentioned Mrs. Luo's matter. Luo Tian's temperament was relatively eccentric, making it difficult to build relationships with him, and therefore there were not many competitors. This was the reason why Su Tan'er was interested in this matter, but Lou Shuwan also understood that Mrs. Luo's side was basically unsolvable, she didn't know much about Luo Tian

not much, so she just mentioned it in passing.

She remembered that at that time, Su Tan'er's strange husband, Ning Yi, was passing through the living room, accompanying them for a while, drinking a few sips of tea, and after listening to her, asked: "The official's daughter?" Then he casually said: "Then send a box of silkworms." At that time, she and Su Tan'er were both confused and thought they had misheard.

She still remembered the lightness with which that person said that sentence. At that time, that Ning Liheng really didn't look powerful. He even liked martial arts, and at that time, she didn't know what things he had done, he drank tea, finished speaking, and left. From beginning to end, she didn't take this matter to heart. Until two days ago, when she suddenly heard that Su Tan'er had made a deal with Luo Tian, she inquired for a while, and then until today, she had been thinking about that sentence.

That man waved his hand: "Then send a box of silkworms..."

"Send a box of silkworms..."

God, they really sent a box of silkworms...

While they were discussing, someone spoke on the side of the boat, Qian Xiwu from the Qian family's painted boat, was approaching... (To be continued.) Vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)

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