421 Incompatible?
As soon as Xiaoguo arrived at the entrance of the courier station, she realized that everyone looked very busy.
Usually, the people at the courier station could at least take occasional breaks, but at this moment, they were scrambling to complete their tasks.
The usually quiet courier station was now bustling with activities. There were various types of carriages parked within the station and outside its gates.
The couriers all looked exhausted with sweat dripping from their foreheads. Despite the cold weather, everyone looked hot and sweaty. Judging from their appearances, one might have thought that they were in the midst of summer.
!!
Avoiding the crowd, Xiaoguo parked the donkey cart in a spot that wouldn’t cause obstruction. After that, she walked into the station.
Xiaoguo was feeling a little hesitant. This place had become so busy all of a sudden. Could they be hosting some esteemed guests? Would her presence be intrusive at this moment?
Just as she was hesitating, she saw someone familiar.
“Xiaohai!”
Xiaohai was the courier who usually delivers the letters to Xiaoguo. She had only found out his name when she heard someone calling him.
She called out to him softly, not daring to make too much noise for fear of alarming the others who were busy.
Perhaps because her voice was too soft, the other party did not respond and continued with his work.
After much hesitation, she decided to go forward and speak with him.
At this moment, Xiaohai was so focused on moving the wooden boxes that he did not notice Xiaoguo approaching him.
He didn’t see her until she tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hey, Madam!”
Xiaohai was very surprised to see her here, so he waved his hand and found someone to help him move the boxes. He then walked Xiaoguo to a spot where they could talk.
“Have you been busy lately?”
When Xiaohai heard her ask this, he nodded shyly and said, “Recently, all the surrounding stations have been quite busy.”
It was inconvenient for him to tell her the reason, and Xiaoguo understood why. Being tactful, she didn’t ask any further.
Xiaoguo asked hesitantly, “Are you familiar with… the capital?”
“The capital?” Xiaohai didn’t quite understand what she meant, but hearing her question, he thought carefully before saying, “I just went to the capital last month.”
“Then… is there any event going on in the capital?”
Xiaoguo hesitated and switched the word ‘change’ to ‘event’. If she didn’t choose her words carefully, people could misunderstand her question and think that she had ulterior motives.
“Event?” Xiaohai scratched his head and said in realization, “So you have also heard about the banquet in the capital…”
“Huh? Oh Haha… That’s right, that’s right…”
Xiaoguo blinked a few times and immediately put her adept acting skills to good use. Although she didn’t know anything about the banquet, it seemed that the capital must have been quite busy lately.
“My visit to the capital coincided with the banquet. In order to enter the capital, I had to go through three inspections. They asked for my place of departure and also the purpose of my visit. Security was very tight…”
It turned out that another banquet had been held in the capital, and from his description, it seemed particularly grand and unprecedented. As a high-ranking official, Jiang Danhe was certainly indispensable in such an occasion, so it was understandable that he was busy.
“Oh…”
Xiaoguo listened to him and nodded to show that she was listening attentively.
Xiaohai also shared the news that Xiaoguo wanted to hear the most.
“By the way, Madam, I also saw the general. He looked very busy and was moving around a lot on his horse. But on second thought, it makes sense. How can the general be relaxed at such an occasion? The emperors and envoys of the various countries were all present, so safety issues must be crucial at the event. I heard that there were even military exercises…”
When Xiaoguo heard the words “Jiang Danhe”, she instantly felt relieved. As long as he was safe.
“… Under the wise leadership of our emperor, the Shao Nation is becoming more prosperous. The emperors of various countries are visiting our country more frequently as well. This is concrete proof that our Shao Nation has become the top country in the east…”
For some reason, Xiaohai suddenly became emotional and started speaking excitedly. His whole being was glowing so brightly with pride and patriotism for the Shao Nation that it made Xiaoguo’s eyes hurt a little.
Xiaoguo could only smile along with him as she quickly sorted out the news she had heard.
Apart from feeling relieved, she also felt a little annoyed.
This Jiang Danhe was actually so busy that he had forgotten about her. How detestable… When he replies, she will make sure to torture him.
No matter what, knowing that Jiang Danhe’s life was not in danger, Xiaoguo finally felt relieved.
After bidding farewell to Xiaohai, Xiaoguo walked out of the post station, still secretly holding a grudge against Jiang Danhe.
How detestable of him to make her so worried…
However, Xiaoguo had forgotten that Xiaohai had gone to the capital last month. No matter how grand the banquet was, it couldn’t last for more than a month.
In the capital…
The banquet was pulled off without a hitch. After the kings and ministers of the various countries left safely and happily for their homes, peace returned to the capital.
However, this applied only to the commoners. In the palace, another “family banquet” was being held in the Shao Nation.
In his seat, Jiang Danhe was looking disinterested and wearing a moody expression. On his right was Li Shouji, and the next official in rank was sitting to his right, with everyone taking their seats in order.
Since this was a family banquet, there weren’t many rules. The atmosphere was relatively more relaxed.
Shao Zhan sat at the highest seat in the center. Seated beside him was the rarely seen empress. Seated on his right was a military official, and on his left was a civil official.
Some officials with families brought their wives to the banquet, but because of the occasion, they dared not misbehave and could only bring their spouses to the event.
As for the ministers who had no family, they could only sit in their chairs and drink alone.
Coincidentally, most of the military officials present were not accompanied by their families.
Unlike the civil officials who were much more carefree, the military officials spent most of their days in the wind and rain. On a daily basis, they spend most of their time with groups of rough men, leaving them with no time to interact with the colorful world beyond the military camp.
Listening to the women’s voices urging their husbands to stop drinking from time to time, the military officials were all feeling envious.
While it was called a banquet in the section where the civil officials were seated, it was at most a party for a group of rough men on this side where the military officials were seated.
...
The song and dance performances in the hall could not dispel the resentment in the air.
“Do you want more of this small fried fish?”
“…”
“Okay, I’ll eat it then.”
Talking to himself, Li Shouji took the plate of small fried fish in front of him and moved it all to his own table.
Jiang Danhe couldn’t even be bothered to look at Li Shouji. Although the man was taking away everything on his table, he completely ignored him.
“General is the only one among us who is married here. Why didn’t he bring his wife along?”
The man beside Li Shouji leaned forward and whispered in his ear.
This person had a full beard and dark skin. He was tall and burly. If not for the fact that he had just become an adult, he looked more like a general than anyone else.
Li Shouji retracted his gaze in disdain. As he chewed on the small fried fish, he said, “Da Mao, pay attention to your image. You should really try shaving. The general and I don’t really like to bring you along when we go out.”
After saying that, he gestured at the three of them. “Look at you, then look at me and the general. The three of us looked so incompatible.”
...
The young man named Da Mao scratched his head in embarrassment and asked, “Then how can we match up to the general?”
“We only have to… What do you mean by ‘we’? It’s you, you, you, you, you. You don’t look compatible with us!”
Li Shouji was trying to give the man some serious advice. When he suddenly heard the latter grouping himself into the same camp as him, he couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
“What a joke.” Although Li Shouji wasn’t as good-looking as Jiang Danhe, he was still a handsome young man. Moreover, he was still unmarried, and a robust, well-built young man at that.
The woman brought by the Miaojiang envoy kept winking at him alone. Wasn’t this enough to prove his charm?
Who would be in the same camp as this silly fool?
After giving Da Mao a long lecture, Li Shouji drank his sake while trying to catch his breath. At the same time, he did not forget to throw a sidelong glance at the man.
“I’m so angry. This stupid fool!”
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