The large boat had docked at the same place as before. The two of them followed behind a few guests who were boarding the ship and quickly got on the deck.
"Young Master Song, it’s been a few days since we last met and your face looks much more radiant than before," the boat mistress greeted them, her face all smiles. "Jun’er is still dolling up. Why don’t you take a seat first and listen to some tunes to relieve the boredom while waiting? We’ve got a few new singers here who’re very good at what they do."
Song Zhenguo’s face remained stern and did not return her smile.
"I want to ask about something. Two days ago I brought a friend here--a young master named Wang Ziquan. I heard that he came to this pleasure boat again afterwards. Please ask the lady who accompanied him two nights ago to come out. I have some questions for her," he dropped a few pieces of silver into the boat mistress’ hand.
[1] TL/N: The word ‘Die’ in “Die’er” here does not have the same pronunciation as the English verb ‘die’. Rather, the Hanyu Pinyin ‘die’ is pronounced somewhat like ‘di-eh’. ED/N: You can think of it like the phrase "the end", but without the sounds "n" and "d"--as if someone was about to say "the end" but got cut off before they were able to say the last "nd" part. That's pretty much how her name is pronounced.
[2] TL/N: The Chinese character “Sheng” (胜) in Lu Sheng’s name can be taken apart to form two words – “Yue Sheng” (月生) – which became his other name. It was common for people in ancient China to have two names.