It was supposed to be golden autumn. During the day, the multi-island waters of Nanyang were still cloudless, with blue seas turning green. It was only windier in the early morning and evening. The biggest difference was that once night fell, the autumn mist rose from the sea surface and shrouded the islands. The autumn moon night on the islands was always hazy, carrying a strange, distant charm.
Tonight was the fifteenth day, the full moon. Back in her hometown in the south of the Yangtze River, this was a day for family reunion. There was no such custom here in the foreign land of Nanyang, but even so, one could still find interesting things to enjoy oneself, so as not to waste this beautiful moon over the big island, which was as charming as a dream.
Thus, a boat's silhouette quietly glided out from the big island's dock area, gliding past coconut forests under the moon.
Once out at sea, it had quite the bold spirit of wandering the rivers and seas for the rest of one's life, and after all, life becomes precious only when spent drinking and feasting, playing the lute and singing freely.
At the Tower Master's command, the young servant maids immediately scrambled to set up this small jinglou boat that could hold about thirty people. They hung a whole row of delicate red silk lanterns with tassels, lighting up the jinglou bright as day. They laid out fruits and snacks, brewed tea and warmed wine, performed songs and dances for the autumn night, and did not forget to, following local custom, light bowls of sandalwood incense for blessing at the bow, stern and other places.
"I'm not afraid you'll be angry at me. If I were afraid, I wouldn't have done it in the first place. Once I make a move, there's no turning back." With one hand propping up her chin and the other holding a wine cup, Hua Duomei lay lazily on her side on the smooth floor of the boat's jinglou. Only two steps away from her, Lu Danhua sat demurely on a brocade cushion, her small shoes neatly placed behind her, unlike a certain Tower Master, who threw her shoes off as soon as she got on board, leaving all the picking up to her thoughtful servant maids.
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"I'm not angry." Lu Danhua shook her head and smiled faintly.
No one but the people involved knew what really happened that day in the stone house. Even though Lu Danhua had been panicking and angry right after it happened, these past days her mind had gradually calmed down.
Hua Duomei sipped her wine, her beautiful eyes hazy, and chuckled.
"Sis, you're quite brave. After how I treated you, you still dare come out to sea with me tonight. Aren't you afraid I'll trick you again?"
Lu Danhua said: "If the Tower Master truly wanted to play a trick on me, you'd always catch me off guard. Being afraid is useless." She had gone to run an errand at the old general store on Buddha Avenue in the afternoon, and only left in the evening. Then she dropped by the main warehouse in the dock area on the way back, and that was when she caught sight of the Tower Master and her group.
The Tower Master was incredibly capable, so capable that Lu Danhua could not help but admire her. She had only been in Nanyang for a few months, and she already spoke the local language quite well. No one knew where she got this jinglou boat, she even secretly hired boatmen, and negotiated the price quite well. Going out to sea on a moonlit night, she still did not forget to bring her twelve little servant maids and everything needed for a fun time.
Watching the servant girls play the traditional Nanyang bamboo dance in the jinglou, Lu Danhua could not help but laugh. They even brought bamboo poles taller than a person onto the boat...
"It's good that you came along, Danhua. Anyway, there's not a single soul at Feixia Tower tonight, you'd be lonely left there alone." Drinking another half cup of fine wine, Hua Duomei shook her head, a head of soft black hair spread over half her body. Anyone who saw her would be moved. She narrowed her eyes for a moment, then murmured lowly... "Anyway he hasn't come back to the tower for several days. I heard he sometimes just crashes at the main warehouse in the dock area overnight, or else goes squeeze in with the brothers at the Eastern Estate. He built that building for me, yet he won't even step inside..."
"Tower Master..."
