Yearning For Love

As soon as the cannons were launched, the Shao Nation quickly built hundreds of them and produced large numbers of cannonballs.

Most of them were safely stored in the military camp which was heavily guarded by soldiers. A small portion was distributed to the various border troops.

Within a short period of time, countless carriages equipped with cannons and bombs set off from the capital. As soon as they crossed the capital gates, they dispersed towards their destinations.

Jiang Danhe stood on the city wall with Li Shouji and looked at the spectacular scene in the distance. He was filled with emotions.

“Brother! Good job!”

Jiang Danhe’s face was filled with joy. He patted Li Shouji’s shoulder firmly. He had almost gotten in the way of his success.

“Hmph, do you see it now? I wonder who said…”

“Alright, alright. I’ll buy you a drink.”

Li Shouji snickered. “That’s what I was waiting for.”

“Let’s go.” Jiang Danhe led the way and the two of them left the city tower.

“By the way, why didn’t you talk to the emperor about your reward?”

Jiang Danhe had been curious about this matter. During the official launch some time ago, the emperor was overjoyed and wanted to reward Li Shouji on the spot. However, when the emperor asked him what he wanted, he hesitated for a long time but did not say anything. Therefore, the emperor told him to think about it carefully and bring it up when he’s ready.

“I… haven’t thought about it yet. I need more time.”

Li Shouji was reluctant to talk about this matter. Jiang Danhe was not completely insensitive, so he quickly changed the topic.

Li Shouji looked at Jiang Danhe with a vague expression. “I really have to think carefully about it…”

As soon as they returned to the residence, they were stopped at the entrance. The two of them turned around and saw Eunuch Su.

Jiang Danhe looked at what he was holding and quickly understood the reason for his visit.

“Eunuch Su.”

“Hello, General.” Eunuch Su smiled at Jiang Danhe, then looked at Li Shouji. “I’m here to bring good news…”

As he spoke, he gestured to the imperial edict in his hand.

The two of them did not hesitate and immediately bowed to receive the decree.

“By the grace of the heavens, the emperor has decreed that Li Shouji has created an extremely lethal weapon for the country and has contributed to the strength and wealth of the Shao Kingdom. Therefore, he is specially rewarded with a hundred taels of gold. Please receive the decree.”

Li Shouji stepped forward and accepted the imperial edict with both hands. “Thank you, my Lord.”

After the two of them got up, Eunuch Su said to Li Shouji, “Since you haven’t thought of what you wanted, the emperor said that he will reward you with something practical first. You can take your time to think about your reward. There’s no hurry.”

“Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty.” Li Shouji smiled and nodded. It was fine as long as the request was still valid. Earlier on, he thought that the request had been converted into gold.

After chatting for a while more, Eunuch Su left.

Just as the two of them were about to enter the house, they bumped into a courier who had just arrived. Jiang Danhe was delighted when he saw the familiar uniform. He could not help but look up. The courier was a handsome young man.

Li Shouji, who was instructing someone to bring in the box, glanced at Jiang Danhe and turned his head away. He pursed his lips. “Tsk, tsk, look at that pining look on his face.”

If he continued looking at his face, he would go blind. Hence, he urged the soldiers carrying the boxes to hurry up and get away from this disgusting man.

Jiang Danhe was only focused on the courier who had arrived. As he watched him take out the envelope and package from the carriage, his heart started beating faster and faster. He seemed to have lost his hearing. All he could hear was his own thumping heartbeat.

The courier asked for verification as usual. He had to ensure that everything was correct before handing over the delivery.

“Excuse me, are you Jiang Danhe, General Jiang?”

“…”

“Hello?”

“…” How could Jiang Danhe hear him? He was completely deaf now. All he could see was the envelope and package in the courier’s hands. His eyeballs were glued to the items.

“…Hello, you are…?”

“He is.” The soldier beside Jiang Danhe couldn’t stand it anymore, so he spoke up for the general.

“Okay.” The courier exhaled. “Then do you know Qin Xiaoguo from Peach Blossom Village, Madam Qin?”

“Mrs. Jiang.” This time, there was no need for the soldier to answer on his behalf. When he heard the courier call her Madam Qin, he subconsciously came back to his senses. She was the one and only Mrs. Jiang.

“Oh… Your letter and package.”

The courier handed the things to him with a smile. “Whatever. Madam Qin or Mrs. Jiang. Either is fine as long as it’s the right person.”

The moment Jiang Danhe received the letter, he ran back to his room. That’s right, he ran with all his might.

On the way, he bumped into Li Shouji, who was looking for him. “Hey, where are you going?”

“Never mind…”

Woah, his voice was almost drifting.

Li Shouji sneered. “Where else could he be going? He is just going to hide and read his letter.”

He shook his head and returned to his room. He had wanted Jiang Danhe to help him think about where to hide the gold, but seeing that he wasn’t free, he decided to think of a way himself.

Jiang Danhe returned to the house and closed the door and windows tightly. He sat alone at the table and nervously put down the two items in his hands.

After much deliberation, he opened the envelope first. Although he wanted to open the package, reading the letter was more important.

“Jiang Danhe, you have become quite outrageous. You actually stole Xiaoyi’s dried pears…”

When he saw the opening, Jiang Danhe’s heart skipped a beat. “How, how did Xiaoguo know?”

“Don’t bother thinking about how I know. There’s no such thing as an impenetrable wall…”

“Oh?!” Jiang Danhe was stunned. “How did she guess?”

“As Mrs. Jiang, I have magical powers, so there’s nothing I don’t know…”

Seeing this, he smiled dotingly. “So it was because of her magical powers…”

“Has the letter arrived late? Hehe, that’s because I almost forgot about you…”

How could Jiang Danhe sit still when he came to this part? How could she forget about him? He wouldn’t allow it…

“Don’t be anxious. I’m just teasing you. Hahahahaha…”

There were countless “Hahaha”. Don’t be puzzled. This was because Xiaoguo was trying to make up for the word count. She felt that it was a little inappropriate to write a letter that was too short. After all, Jiang Danhe had written three full pages to her.

From the moment Jiang Danhe started reading the letter, the smile on his face had never subsided. It was only when he came to the end that he opened the package beside him.

Wrapped in the package were the dried bananas and roasted chestnuts that Xiaoguo had mentioned. She had made two pairs of fuzzy socks and a fitted woolen vest that came with wide straps. Xiaoguo made one for each of them—the black one was for Jiang Danhe.

Jiang Danhe happily counted the things in the bag as he went through everything inside. He also touched the items and tasted the snacks. Then, he picked up the envelope again and read it over and over again…

He took out the remaining dried pears and stored them with the roasted chestnuts and dried bananas. Storing the snacks this way made the amount of snacks look more substantial. Looking at them made him very happy.

Over the past few days, he had been rationing the remaining dried pears. Fortunately, he had hidden it well and did not let Li Shouji find it. Otherwise, there would be nothing left by now.

He also rubbed and kissed the fur socks and vest. After kissing and hugging them repeatedly, he kept them in the cabinet. He was planning to wash them tonight and put them on first thing in the morning.

After packing up everything, he sat back down at the table and gazed at Xiaoguo’s handwriting. Unable to take it anymore, he picked the letter up and started reading it again.

After reading it, he thought of the other letter in the envelope.

He reluctantly put down Xiaoguo’s letter and started reading Zhuang Zhuang’s letter.

Zhuang Zhuang’s tone was also mischievous. His words were filled with accusations against Jiang Danhe. He said that his father was biased and only wrote for his mother, not him.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “This little jealous boy, okay, okay. Next time, I’ll make sure to write the same number of pages to them.”

“Erm… no, two letters for Zhuang Zhuang and three for Xiaoguo.”

He read the letter over and over again until the sky turned dark. Then, he tidied up and kept the letter neatly in the closet before heading out to look for Li Shouji.

He had heard about Li Shouji’s collection of soaps. He was intending to borrow one for his bath.