Light Dance Jiajing

After finally making sure that no one was chasing them, Meng'er breathed a sigh of relief and said to herself that she would never talk nonsense again. Zaihou panted and said dissatisfiedly, "Sister, why did you pull me to run?"

Meng'er glared at him and said, "Stupid, it will be terrible if we are discovered. Just imagine that we are surrounded by so many people. If you don't run quickly, you will wait for people to watch the fun." Zaihou understood and nodded.

At this moment, a light laugh suddenly came from the dark corner of the wall, and a man's voice said, "Little girl, you hid it from your family and sneaked out to play with your brother, right?"

Meng'er was startled, pulled Zaihou behind her, and asked vigilantly, "Who?"

Then a man in his twenties walked out from the shadows. He was wearing a straight, wide green robe and a square scarf on his head. This attire was exactly what the scholars nowadays usually wore. However, he was very tall, with a broad waist and shoulders, a sharp facial contour, thick eyebrows, a square mouth, and a pair of bright eyes. He was very different from the weak and elegant demeanor of the Jiangnan scholars. Meng'er became alert and countless thoughts ran through her mind. She thought that since he was sure that she had sneaked out to play, she might as well go along with what he said.

Meng'er said, "I will take my brother back now. Please don't tell my family, or I will be scolded."

The man said, "Okay, but you have to agree to one condition."

Mei'er frowned and asked, "What are the conditions?"

The man said in a flattering tone: "Tell me the story again."

Meng'er was shocked. It felt like she had come here to listen to the story. She was really unlucky today. Just telling a story had caused her so much trouble. But seeing the curious expression of the man in front of her, Meng'er was discouraged. It was nothing. She just had to waste some more words. She had to get rid of this big trouble first. Meng'er learned her lesson this time. She looked around to see that there was no one around. She lowered her voice and repeated the story of White Snake. Meng'er was so dry-mouthed that she rolled her eyes at the man and said, "I'm done. Can I leave now?"

But the man didn't let her go. He frowned and asked, "Can you really see a meditating monk if you peel off the crab shell?"

Mei'er continued to roll her eyes and snorted, "Why don't you go buy a crab and eat it and you'll know." The man didn't believe her but nodded anyway. Seeing that he didn't stop her anymore, Mei'er quickly pulled Zaihou away.

Mei'er thought that it would be better not to visit the West Lake today. It would be troublesome if she met one or two people who had not heard enough stories. Although it was not satisfying, Zaihou was still very happy to come out for fun. On the way back, Mei'er talked about the ten scenic spots of the West Lake, each of which had its own style. Zaihou pouted his mouth with regret. Mei'er smiled and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? We still have to stay here for a while. I will take you to play again in a few days." Zaihou became happy again when he heard it.

Jiangnan is really a place of scenery at every step. You can see small bridges and flowing water everywhere. Meng'er led Zaihou to walk around every day. The two servants just followed behind from a distance. Since she promised Zaihou to see all ten scenes of West Lake, a few days later, Meng'er brought Zaihou to the West Lake. The West Lake was full of literati and scholars chanting poems and writing essays. Meng'er walked along the way and had no interest in these pedantic literati. She just heard a few scholars making couplets. The first line was "mountains and rivers". Someone made "green and lush", but felt it was not right. The others were not satisfactory. Zaihou suddenly said, "Poetry and wine."

Everyone's eyes turned to them. Meng'er didn't expect Zaihou to make couplets, and was quite surprised. After tasting it again, she found that the couplets were quite meaningful. The people over there were also quite surprised to see that Meng'er and Zaihou were just two children. Men of letters attract each other regardless of age, so someone came to invite them to come over and talk, but Meng'er refused. She said a few humble words and took Zaihou away. Meng'er frowned and said, "How many times have I told you to be low-key when you go out? What are you showing off? Even if you have some ability, no one asked you to make couplets. You just want to show off. You are so impatient. If we are discovered, my aunt's family and Zhao Mama will be implicated. Do you know that you are wrong?"

Zaihou was a little unconvinced and said, "Aren't we out here to travel? I'm just making couplets. What's wrong with you, sister? You're so scared to talk to strangers. What's the point of traveling like this? We might as well go back."

Mei'er didn't know how to answer, but her expression softened. She took Zaihou's hand and said softly, "Hou'er, do you trust me?" Zaihou nodded. Mei'er looked at him seriously, "Then just listen to me, okay? I won't harm you." Zaihou nodded without hesitation. Trusting and obeying Mei'er was a habit he had since birth. Seeing Mei'er relax her brows, Zaihou seemed to be relieved.

望的风景，唱“我們的梦儿，還有著時間的梦儿，從此明於梦儿，從今時間，這個人間有著時間的梦儿，覺灣。 English: The brother and sister continued to boat on the lake. This was a perfect season for sightseeing. In early spring, the south of the Yangtze River was covered with mist, willows were turning green, peach blossoms were in full bloom, and the charming and gentle temperament of the West Lake was fully revealed. Hand in hand, they walked aimlessly following the scenery, and the boat lasted until evening. At the western end of Bai Causeway, on the southern foot of Gushan Mountain, Meng'er took Zaihou up the tower to watch the moon. This was the best place to view the mountains and rivers, so when Meng'er and the others came up, there were already quite a few people here. Meng'er explained to Zaihou, "This scene is the Autumn Moon over the Pinghu Lake. It's a pity that today is not the fifteenth day of the lunar month. Although it's not a full moon, just enjoy the artistic conception." Zaihou was young and not as absorbed in the scene as Meng'er. He only felt that a long string of moon shadows on the lake, moving with the waves, was very beautiful. The lights around the lake, near and far, had been lit, reflecting the moonlight and mountains and rivers, like a simple and elegant ink painting of the Jiangnan region.

Mei'er said, "I've asked you to memorize so many books, but have you memorized a few Jiangnan poems? Recite them to me." During the past two years in the palace, although Mei'er paid attention to Zaihou's education, her own cultural level was limited and she couldn't hire a teacher. So in addition to practicing calligraphy, she asked Zaihou to recite books. It didn't matter if he didn't understand the Four Books and Five Classics, poems, and songs, just memorize them first. Fortunately, Zaihou had a good memory, and he could recite most of the poems very fluently, whether he understood them or not. Now Zaihou racked his brains to recite Tang poems, with a very serious expression, one after another. Mei'er was very touched. Zaihou was less than eight years old. What a good child he was. Why was his life so turbulent?