319 Overnight Stay
The doubts in her heart could only be answered by Jiang Danhe later.
Not long after, Xiaoguo felt the carriage start moving again. Jiang Danhe had also returned. This time, he did not ride a horse. Instead, he rode the carriage with her.
Seeing the sweat on his forehead, Xiaoguo automatically took out a handkerchief and wiped it off. “Why are you sweating so much?”
She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she thought he looked sick.
Jiang Danhe could get used to her intimate behavior and he leaned towards her deliberately. When he heard her question, he said without thinking, “It’s a little hot outside.”
Xiaoguo listened to the wind rustling the leaves and nodded in a daze. “The winds are so strong and he is feeling hot?”
“Why are we in a small fishing village?”
“Because we are boarding the ship in this village. The wind is strong today, and the sea is not calm. The Imperial Astronomer said that there will be heavy rain soon, so we can only rest here for the night.”
Jiang Danhe explained it to her, but Xiaoguo was a little curious. Although there was wind outside, there were no clouds for thousands of miles. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear. Could there really be a sudden change in the weather?
Feeling puzzled, she continued to ask, “Since we are boarding the boats in a small fishing village, why didn’t you let me wait for you at the village? After all, it’s in the neighboring village and it’s close.”
Unexpectedly, after Xiaoguo finished speaking, Jiang Danhe was amused. He pinched her cheek affectionately. “Who told you it was close?”
“That’s what they say!”
Xiaoguo slapped his hand away indignantly.
Jiang Danhe was done laughing. Seeing her angry expression, he quickly explained, “The two villages are close to the mountains, so they are called neighboring villages. However, there’s still some distance to cover in order to reach the fishing village. There are countless small villages in between. If a person drives a carriage from Peach Blossom Village to the small fishing village, it will take a day. However, they will have to cut through the mountains—it will be fast, but they can only make it on foot. The carriage can only travel up a short distance. It’s impossible for the carriage to travel beyond that. By walking, It will take more than half a day to reach the back of the small fishing village.”
“That’s why I wanted to see you and Zhuang Zhuang sooner.”
Xiaoguo had been listening attentively at the beginning, but when she heard the last sentence, her face turned red.
“So suddenly?”
Xiaoguo blushed and pretended to be calm.
Jiang Danhe was equally shy, but he continued, “I wanted to see you guys earlier, and the distance is about the same, so I chose to meet you guys on this side.”
Xiaoguo looked away and nodded in acknowledgment.
“By the way, you said in your letter that you would pick us up in about fifteen days. You were two days late and came on the seventeenth day. Aren’t you worried about us not being ready? Or that I didn’t have time to pick up Zhuang Zhuang?”
Xiaoguo had wanted to ask him about it the day before, but she never got the chance.
“Are you someone who only knows how to read numbers?”
Jiang Danhe did not answer her question and asked her instead.
Xiaoguo understood immediately and chuckled. “Of course not.”
“I know that you’re not.”
Jiang Danhe said the same thing.
After saying that, the two of them looked at each other and smiled. There was mutual understanding between them.
The reason why Jiang Danhe wrote down the number of days was just to give Xiaoguo a rough idea of the number of days. The rest of the words told Xiaoguo that the number of days was uncertain. It was hard to say if it would be sooner or later.
Xiaoguo understood his intentions, so she made preparations in advance. It didn’t matter if they came late. She just had to prepare earlier.
He knew that she was not someone who would sit around and wait for things to happen. She also knew that he understood her.
Although the two of them had not spent much time together, and they were still very unfamiliar with each other, even though they had a four-year-old child.
However, this did not stop the two hearts from getting closer to each other.
Both of them were individuals who would take responsibility for each other once they decided to make a commitment.
At this moment, the carriage stopped. Jiang Danhe asked Xiaoguo to stay inside and wait for him before he got out of the carriage. However, Xiaoguo wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she saw his shoulders trembling while he was getting off the carriage.
Before she could take a closer look, the man left.
Xiaoguo blinked as she watched him walk away. Did she see wrongly?
Not long after, Xiaoguo got out of the car with the bag while Jiang Danhe helped her alight from below.
This was the fishing village, but it wasn’t what she had imagined at all. There was no sea, no beach—only the occasional salty sea breeze reminded her that she was now by the sea.
Jiang Danhe took the bag and led her to the place where they would rest for the night.
The salty sea breeze was cool and comfortable on her body. The people around her were also busy moving luggages and unloading carts. There were also people dressed like commoners who were ushering the crowd. For a moment, the place was bustling with activity.
Apart from the convenience of boarding the boats, there was another reason why they chose to stay in a small fishing village. There were many empty houses and also fewer people here. Most fishermen would be away from home for seven to eight days. There were enough rooms for them to spend the night.
If there was heavy rain tonight, the sea would definitely be choppy. Even if they wanted to set up camp, it could only be by the beach. Otherwise, there were no other locations with flat ground around. However, the seawater would rise when there was heavy rain, so it would be too risky to set up tents at the beach. The tents could get washed away any time.
Jiang Danhe and Xiaoguo came to the house. According to his introduction, there was a young lady living here. The elders in the family had gone out.
“Why are you so familiar with this place?”
Xiaoguo asked curiously.
“I had come to inspect the place before.” Jiang Danhe knocked on the door and turned to smile at her. “We can’t possibly come here without knowing the surroundings.”
Xiaoguo didn’t say anything. She just laughed sheepishly. She had almost forgotten. This was the emperor’s trip. He would definitely check out all the places they would pass through along the way. There should be several contingency plans in place as well. She really couldn’t wrap her head around it for a moment.
At this moment, the sound of running footsteps came from inside the house. Then, a young, dark-skinned girl appeared at the door.
Looking at the two strangers outside the door, she said cautiously, “Hello, please come in.”
“Hello, sorry to disturb you.”
The little girl was stunned for a moment before her face turned red. She looked at Xiaoguo shyly. She didn’t expect her to be so nice despite her beauty.
Xiaoguo had a good impression of the little girl in front of her. Although she was dark-skinned, the wit in her big eyes was very likable.
This time, it was Jiang Danhe’s turn to follow behind Xiaoguo. He looked helplessly at the two people in front of him. He was extremely jealous. This woman had abandoned him so quickly. Why was she pestering a little girl to chat with her?
...
The little girl’s name was Xiao Zhu. She was only 12 years old this year. Previously, she had heard from the village chief that the people who were coming this time were extraordinary. He told the villagers to treat them well and not be rash. He had asked them to prepare their rooms a long time ago. If the guests could come, he would give them the best conditions to stay in. If they did not come, it was fine.
After a long time, the esteemed guests did not come. She thought that they would not be coming, but here they were. When she opened the door earlier, she was extremely afraid. She was afraid that her appearance would conflict with the guest’s. She was also afraid that the esteemed guests would despise her. However, reality was completely different from what she had imagined. In a daze, she only relaxed her hands after arranging for the two of them to enter the room, revealing her palms that had turned red from being clenched in nervousness.
Xiaoguo sat on the clean bed and looked around. She was very satisfied. The wooden hut was very clean.
“By the way, where’s Zhuang Zhuang?”
“He’s with Xiaoyi. He’ll probably be sleeping with him tonight. Xiaoyi refused to let him leave.”
Before Jiang Danhe called Xiaoguo, he had gone to look for Zhuang Zhuang. The boy had already moved to another spacious house with Xiaoyi. Zhuang Zhuang wanted to follow Jiang Danhe, but Xiaoyi refused to let him go. Helpless, he could only give up and come over himself.
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