As Huo Tingshan had said, the day was blessed with a gentle breeze and clear skies, perfect for an outing.
A light wind slightly lifted the carriage curtain, and as it brushed in from outside, Pei Ying was momentarily taken aback by the refreshing gust.
She couldn't help but lift the curtain to look out. The street was bustling with traffic and lively chatter. Looking further into the distance, she could see the grass by the houses had taken on a layer of withered yellow.
So, summer had passed, and autumn had arrived.
It was in the early autumn of the year before last that she had arrived in this era. Counting directly from that year, this was now her third year here.
Unconsciously, she had already been here for so long.
"What is my lady looking at?" Huo Tingshan wasn't riding his horse today; he was lounging lazily inside the carriage.
Pei Ying answered truthfully, "It's autumn already. Time flies. In the blink of an eye, it's been almost three years."
Hearing her say "three years," Huo Tingshan understood. He chuckled softly, "It's just one three-year period. In the future, my lady will spend many more such periods here with me."
After another three years, surely that so-called boyfriend of hers would be left far behind.
As they conversed, the carriage arrived at their destination.
Sha Ying, who was driving, announced, "Great General, Madam, we've arrived."
Huo Tingshan alighted from the carriage first. After helping Pei Ying down, he said to Sha Ying, "This is a simple, private outing. No need for formalities."
Sha Ying understood and promptly changed his address. "As you command, Master."
They were now on a street beside the river canal. On the river side, a neat row of willow trees was planted. Their once emerald leaves were now tinged with gold, rustling in the autumn breeze like a faint, flowing golden curtain.
It was just past noon, the busiest time. People out enjoying themselves began seeking restaurants, while teahouses and eateries were enthusiastically soliciting customers. The sounds of hawking and invitation filled the air, unfolding the prosperity of Luoyang before their eyes.
Pei Ying had ventured out quite often before, but mostly to take the carriage to the steelworks in the outskirts. They left early, and she would catch up on sleep during the ride. They returned late, and by then she would be exhausted in the carriage, her mind solely on getting home, with no energy left to notice the scenery outside.
Outings like this, at a proper hour, were exceedingly rare.
Seeing her looking everywhere, her eyes barely keeping up, Huo Tingshan couldn't help but smile. "It seems we really don't go out enough. I'll take you out more often in the future."
Pei Ying declined this official-sounding offer. "Going out with you usually means work. I'll explore on my own."
"After this matter is done, there won't be other pressing matters," he said.
Pei Ying highly doubted the credibility of that statement. He still wanted to take Yanzhou; how could there be no other matters?
However, bathed in the cool autumn breeze, with the shimmering canal carrying boats on her left and rows of distinctive shops large and small on her right, Pei Ying felt cheerful and didn't bother arguing with him.
The purpose of this trip was a river cruise. The group walked to a riverside "dock."
The place featured a specially constructed crescent moon-shaped wooden archway, from which hung a gilded plaque reading "By the Waterside," gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight and exuding an air of extravagance. On the canal behind the dock floated several painted pleasure boats of varying sizes.
A group of young men had gathered at the dock, their attire marking them as scions of wealthy families.
"She's coming!" a young gentleman exclaimed excitedly. "The Fair One is coming."
"I've saved my allowance for two months. This time, I should finally get to enjoy the Fair One's charms all to myself."
"How can you call it 'all to yourself'? We're in this together."
...
At first, Pei Ying thought the "Fair One" they mentioned was some singing girl on a pleasure boat. After all, since a certain emperor of this dynasty established camp courtesans for soldiers without wives, their numbers had skyrocketed, and brothels had sprung up everywhere.
But Pei Ying soon realized her mistake. The "Fair One" the young men spoke of was not a lady, but a particularly large and ornate painted pleasure boat.
This boat had a full three decks. The main deck connected to the gangway was relatively spacious compared to the second deck, enclosed on the sides by vertical lattice railings of red wood. Outside the windows were roll-up rain tarps treated with tung oil, with inner layers of light gauze curtains. From the outside, one could vaguely see exquisitely arranged tea tables inside.
The second deck was designed like enclosed rooms, the most sheltered of the three levels. The third deck featured a pavilion with upturned eaves at each corner, offering a high vantage point for viewing the scenery.
Compared to the other boats, this "Fair One" was like a dazzling pearl glowing on the river, or a graceful beauty strolling slowly under the rain with an oil-paper umbrella.
The boat quickly approached the shore.
The young man in the green robe at the forefront stepped up immediately, but before he could speak, the dock attendant seemed to recognize him. "Young Master Shi, my apologies. The Fair One has been privately booked for today. Regarding your deposit, the proprietor has instructed us to refund you triple the amount."
Shi Chenglei was stunned. Recovering, he flew into a rage. "Is this about money? Do you think I lack that? I don't care! Even if the King of Heaven comes today, we are getting on that boat!"
The other young men beside Shi Chenglei chimed in agreement.
"We booked the boat first, and for once, we even followed your rules and paid a deposit in advance. Why won't you let us board?"
"Let me make this clear: if you don't let us on today, your 'By the Waterside' proprietor can forget about doing business in Luoyang City anymore!"
"I advise you not to be ungrateful."
These gentlemen were regulars and personages of high status, visiting perhaps ten times a month. The attendants at By the Waterside knew them all.
To put it simply, their fathers indeed held power and influence in Luoyang City.
The leader, Young Master Shi Chenglei, his father was the Prefect of Luoyang. That Young Master Liao Wenbai, his father was the Inspector of Luoyang, an official dispatched from Chang'an, the imperial capital, specifically to oversee the Prefect's work.
Given how closely these two young masters associated, their fathers' relationship probably wasn't bad either, despite one being the supervisor and the other the supervised.
As for the other young men with them, their fathers held positions like Chief Clerk or Registrar—prestigious posts and, being close to the Prefect, making it all too easy to whisper in his ear.
In a nutshell, the cream of Luoyang's second generation had gathered here today.
In the past, the attendants would have respectfully invited these young masters aboard and ensured they were well taken care of.
If they had a dispute with other guests, the attendants would have unconditionally sided with Young Master Shi. But now...
"My sincerest apologies. The Fair One must receive distinguished guests today. The proprietor also instructed that, in addition to the triple deposit refund, for your next five visits to By the Waterside, you may choose any pleasure boat for a cruise at half price." The attendant bowed his head, his demeanor growing even more deferential.
But the fire in Shi Chenglei's chest hadn't subsided one bit: "I repeat, I don't lack silver, and I don't care for your so-called triple deposit compensation. I want to board this 'Fair Lady' pleasure boat today."
Liao Wenbai's eyes shifted. "Who booked the 'Fair Lady'?"
"Has the person who stole our boat arrived? If he has, I'll definitely beat him black and blue today!"
The commotion up front was loud. Pei Ying stood not far behind, finding it impossible not to hear.
Her gaze drifted to the man beside her. She saw he still wore the same languid expression he had in the carriage, clearly not taking the words of these young men seriously.
Huo Youzhou strode forward casually. Seeing this, Pei Ying had no choice but to follow.
Initially, they weren't conspicuous. However, after entering the circle of people surrounding the boat attendant—and especially after Huo Youzhou pushed aside a young gentleman blocking his way—
The young man initially just frowned and muttered, "Who is it? Don't push me." Turning his head, he saw a middle-aged stranger in dark robes, of imposing stature, with a lady wearing a veil hat beside him, her features unclear but her figure very graceful.
A thought flashed through the young man's mind. "Was it you who booked the 'Fair Lady'?"
As soon as he spoke, everyone in front looked over, their eyes blazing, gazes sharp.
Shi Chenglei gritted his teeth. "You booked it?"
Huo Youzhou: "Enough nonsense. Move aside."
Having thrown his weight around in Luoyang for so long, this was the first time someone had told him to move aside, and with such an arrogant attitude.
Yes, to Shi Chenglei's ears, this man was extremely arrogant, his tone flat, taking it for granted not to regard them seriously.
"Where did you crawl out from, daring to snatch my pleasure boat?" Shi Chenglei gave a cold laugh. "Don't tell me you're another petty official from Chang'an?"
Those petty officials had no sense. Chang'an was not what it used to be, and a powerful dragon cannot crush a local snake. Since they've come to Luoyang, they should follow Luoyang's rules.
Hah, the last two were half-blind, today's one is completely blind.
Huo Youzhou didn't take them seriously at all, his mood undisturbed. Youthful arrogance was understandable; at their age, he had been far more arrogant. So, ignoring them, he took a small gilded wooden token from his robe and tossed it to the boat attendant. "Arrange our boarding."
This utterly dismissive attitude thoroughly enraged Shi Chenglei and his circle of second-generation heirs. The exclusive token issued by 'By the Riverside' had just reached the boat attendant's hand when it was snatched away.
Shi Chenglei used brute force to snap the wooden token in two, then threw it to the ground with a "smack." "If you can board this boat by stepping over me today, I'll take your surname."
Huo Youzhou raised a long eyebrow slightly. "Want to take my surname? That won't do. Such a useless son, I wouldn't take you even if you were given to me for free."
Shi Chenglei was nearly choked with rage. "Which family are you from? Do you know who my father is? State your name."
Huo Youzhou shifted his gaze away, bored. This play of stating names and then beating the other party until they cried for their parents and begged for mercy was something he had grown tired of by age fourteen. "Who your father is, didn't your mother tell you? Kid, scram. If you really want to talk to me, have your father come."
Pei Ying's brow twitched, thinking things were about to go badly.
Sure enough, the already furious young men were now incensed.
In their teens, the age most prone to impulse, Shi Chenglei immediately rolled up his sleeves, wanting to step forward and teach the man a lesson. Just then, a light breeze blew, lifting a corner of the lady's veil hat.
Liao Wenbai, who had been ready to charge, froze, his eyes glued.
The fleeting image was imprinted in his mind: the watery gauze lifted, revealing the lady's face from the nose down.
Her lips were as if painted with rouge, richly red. Her luminous, fair skin glowed with a delicate sheen in the sunlight, yet also carried a healthy peach-blossom tint. The thin gauze of the veil hat lightly covered her face, hinting at delicate features.
Hazy, not entirely clear, yet making one's heart itch all the more.
Shi Chenglei caught Liao Wenbai's sudden pause from the corner of his eye. He was about to ask the reason—was he scared of the other party?—when he heard Liao Wenbai suddenly say, "Hey, the lady beside you isn't bad. Have her come sing a tune for us, and maybe you can pass now."
While it wasn't exactly a fashion to frequent courtesans nowadays, it was common for powerful families to keep dancing girls, and for officials to travel with beautiful companions. So, encountering another "petty official" with a beauty, Liao Wenbai automatically applied past experience.
However, after these words fell, the surroundings seemed to instantly fall silent.
A terrifying chill crept up from behind. Shi Chenglei shuddered inexplicably.
Looking again at the middle-aged man a few steps away, he saw the same man with dark hair and dark robes, the ring-pommel sword at his waist unmoving. Only the faint, ever-present curve at the corner of his mouth had now slowly straightened.
It was the same person, but his aura had completely changed.
Those narrow, dark eyes that had earlier seemed not to deign to look at them properly now swept over each of them in turn. The deep black pupils reminded Shi Chenglei of the deep chasms beneath cliffs, where venomous snakes might lie coiled in silence, or perhaps some large carnivorous beast.
Shi Chenglei didn't know why, but his legs felt somewhat weak. The previously noisy young gentlemen all fell silent as one.
Huo Youzhou stepped forward. Under the inexplicably tense gazes of Shi Chenglei and the others, he kicked Liao Wenbai into the river.
With a "splash," water flew.
Shi Chenglei and the others snapped out of their daze, inwardly annoyed at how they had been intimidated just moments before.
"Get him! Show him what's what—"
Before the sentence was finished, Shi Chenglei also received a kick. The force was so great he felt his internal organs shift. He was airborne for only an instant, then he too heard a "splash" as water quickly flooded his nostrils.
In a few swift moves, Huo Youzhou swept all the young gentlemen at the ferry into the water.
Pei Ying wasn't the only one wide-eyed; the servants waiting on the shore for Shi Chenglei were all dumbfounded.
This... this man actually tossed the cream of Luoyang's second-generation elite into the water?
He really wasn't afraid of trouble coming for him later.
Huo Youzhou returned to Pei Ying's side, reached out, and drew her close. His expression had already returned to its previous amiable state. "My lady, let us board."
The gangplank connecting the 'Fair Lady' pleasure boat to the ferry had long been set up. They boarded. Pei Ying stood on the deck of the boat looking down, unable to hide her worry. "You didn't... cause any fatalities, did you?"
Regarding those youngsters whose every other phrase was "Do you know who my father is?", she didn't need to think to know they came from influential backgrounds. Their fathers likely held important positions in Luoyang.
They had occupied Sizhou for less than half a year, and having been based in Jingzhou before, if they provoked the officials in Luoyang to secretly unite against them, that would be unfortunate.
Huo Tingshan stood beside her, looking down together. However, compared to Pei Ying's worry, his lowered eyes held a cold indifference without a single ripple. "It's fine. The servants are watching."
There was another sentence he didn't say: If they die, they die. Their deaths are of no consequence.
By the time Shi Chenglei was finally fished out of the canal by his family servants, he was soaked through. River water streamed continuously from his clothes, quickly forming a small puddle beneath him.
Water blurred his vision. Shi Chenglei wiped his face in a wretched state, his hand brushing against a foreign object mid-motion. His heart skipped a beat as he yanked it off—it was a drooping willow leaf that had landed on his head.
"How outrageous! That man is far too arrogant," Shi Chenglei spat, throwing the long willow branch fiercely to the ground.
Liao Wenbai watched the distant pleasure boat, clutching his stomach, too pained to speak. But the fierce glint in his eyes clearly said: This matter cannot end here.
The other young masters were also fished out one after another. Those who could swim were somewhat better off. Those who couldn't, once pulled from the water, all had round, distended bellies and were vomiting uncontrollably on the ground.
"Go find out immediately, what is that petty official's name!"
"I'll tell my father as soon as I get back today that someone dares to look down on him."
A servant's expression shifted several times, but seeing the rising fury of the second-generation group, he finally steeled himself and said, "Young Master, that man's servant just said his master's surname is Huo, from Youzhou."
The servant's voice trailed off towards the end.
Shi Chenglei and the others were all stunned. Immediately, someone's face changed color; already pale from the soak in the canal, it now lost the last trace of blood.
The surname "Huo" wasn't particularly rare, but coupled with the phrase "from Youzhou," it thoroughly shocked Shi Chenglei's group of second-generation elites.
Their fathers held the official posts, but that didn't mean they were completely ignorant of the current situation.
They all knew that Sizhou had changed hands. The former Sizhou Governor, Li Xiaotian, was now a thing of the past. The new ruler of Sizhou was Huo Youzhou from the northern lands.
And this Huo Youzhou was not merely the master of two provinces...
A young master swallowed hard, his face as pale as gold paper. "Chenglei, wh-what should we do now?"
Shi Chenglei said with regret, "What can we do? Go home early and confess to our families."
"That'll get us beaten to death."
"Do you think delaying will make it as if nothing happened? Besides, that man said if we want to talk to him, our fathers should go. It's a blow whether we stick our necks out or shrink back. Better to confess early and not implicate our families."
...
Unaware that the young men were thoroughly frightened, Pei Ying, who had already boarded the pleasure boat, stayed on the deck for a moment before entering the inner cabin with Huo Tingshan.
In ancient times, the first to appear were fishing boats and wooden rafts for crossing rivers. Later, warships for transporting soldiers emerged. Eventually, warships were modified, giving rise to pleasure boats.
The pleasure boats and large warships of this era were primarily multi-decked ships.
Multi-decked ships, as the name suggests, had cabin structures stacked like floors on the vessel. Sails were erected on the deck or top level, primarily using wind power to propel the boat.
Pei Ying and Huo Tingshan first went down to the bottom hold to look around, then made their way up level by level. As the most magnificent and also the most advanced pleasure boat in Luoyang, the "Yiren" had many structural features far superior to other vessels.
However, upon reaching the second level, Pei Ying inadvertently noticed Huo Tingshan's complexion was different from usual—it seemed somewhat paler.
"Huo Tingshan, are you seasick?" Pei Ying asked in surprise.
The man didn't speak.
Pei Ying pulled him over to a brighter window. The window was open, making the area near it bright and allowing her to see his face clearly.
It was indeed paler than usual.
Pei Ying was exasperated. "Why didn't you say you weren't feeling well?"
"It's fine," Huo Tingshan merely said.
Pei Ying didn't believe a word of it. She turned to Sha Ying, intending to tell him to order the boatmen to dock, only to find Sha Ying also looking pale. Whether he was naturally a bit paler than Huo Tingshan or for some other reason, his complexion appeared even whiter.
Pei Ying: "..."
Sha Ying tried to stand firm, forcing his voice to sound more vigorous. "What are your orders, Madam?"
Youzhou had few waterways. In the past, they had always marched and fought on horseback. This was their first time spending an extended period on such a large vessel.
It was hard to adapt. They felt dizzy and disoriented, as if a heavy stone were pressing on their chests. Even though the rocking wasn't too severe, they simply felt nauseous.
Pei Ying looked at one, then the other, and sighed helplessly. "Have the boat dock first."
"No need for that," Huo Tingshan spoke up.
Pei Ying looked at the stubborn man and laughed in frustration. "In this state, why not dock? I already understand the general structure of the boat. Staying here serves no further purpose."
Huo Tingshan: "Wait a little longer."
Pei Ying roughly understood what he wanted to do—most likely testing his limits.
In the end, Sha Ying couldn't hold on and vomited. Huo Tingshan didn't vomit, but his face was deathly pale, as if from a serious illness. He even gave the order to dock while sitting down.
Pei Ying: "..." Stubborn mule.
After this ordeal, Huo Tingshan's mood upon returning to the residence was truly not pleasant.
"I've heard lying on your side helps with seasickness. Try it," Pei Ying said, pushing him onto the couch.
As Pei Ying started to straighten up, Huo Tingshan grabbed her wrist and pulled. Her robes fluttered, and the woman found herself on the couch, half-sprawled in his arms.
"Huo Tingshan!"
He held her and chuckled softly. "Keep me company for a rest, my lady."
Pei Ying couldn't win against his stubbornness. However, not long after they settled on the couch, a guard reported from outside: "Great General, Madam, Luoyang Prefect Shi Xiangsong, Supervisor Liao Pingwei..."
He recited a string of official titles before finally saying, "...and others have come with their sons who have come to plead guilty with bound branches. They say they wish to apologize to you."
The man on the couch opened his eyes. "I won't see them. Send them away."
Pei Ying frowned. "That's not very appropriate. That list of titles represents most of Luoyang's foundation. Even if you won't see them, let Mingji go."
He looked at her without speaking. Pei Ying knew he wasn't very willing.
Pei Ying glanced at him, her tone growing firmer. "Alright, it's settled then."
Huo Tingshan inexplicably smiled.
