319 Overnight Stay


    The doubts in her heart could only be answered by Jiang Danheter.


    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 vige?”


    “Because we are boarding the ship in this vige. 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 exined 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 vige, why didn’t you let me wait for you at the vige? After all, it’s in the neighboring vige 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 pped his hand away indignantly.


    Jiang Danhe was doneughing. Seeing her angry expression, he quickly exined, “The two viges are close to the mountains, so they are called neighboring viges. However, there’s still some distance to cover in order to reach the fishing vige. There are countless small viges in between. If a person drives a carriage from Peach Blossom Vige to the small fishing vige, 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 vige.”


    “That’s why I wanted to see you and Zhuang Zhuang sooner.”


    Xiaoguo had been listening attentively at the beginning, but when she heard thest 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 dayste 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 orter.


    Xiaoguo understood his intentions, so she made preparations in advance. It didn’t matter if they camete. 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 amitment.


    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 vige, but it wasn’t what she had imagined at all. There was no sea, no beach—only the asional salty sea breeze reminded her that she was now by the sea.


    Jiang Danhe took the bag and led her to the ce where they would rest for the night.


    The salty sea breeze was cool andfortable on her body. The people around her were also busy moving luggages and unloading carts. There were also people dressed likemoners who were ushering the crowd. For a moment, the ce 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 vige. 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 t 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. ording to his introduction, there was a youngdy living here. The elders in the family had gone out.


    “Why are you so familiar with this ce?”


    Xiaoguo asked curiously.


    “I hade to inspect the ce before.” Jiang Danhe knocked on the door and turned to smile at her. “We can’t possiblye here without knowing the surroundings.”


    Xiaoguo didn’t say anything. She justughed sheepishly. She had almost forgotten. This was the emperor’s trip. He would definitely check out all the ces they would pass through along the way. There should be several contingency ns in ce 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, pleasee 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 vige chief that the people who wereing this time were extraordinary. He told the vigers to treat them well and not be rash. He had asked them to prepare their rooms a long time ago. If the guests coulde, he would give them the best conditions to stay in. If they did note, it was fine.


    After a long time, the esteemed guests did note. She thought that they would not being, 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 waspletely different from what she had imagined. In a daze, she only rxed 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 ande over himself.