Little VIP

Ruyi was sure that she saw it right. Moreover, she had grown up in the county and had seen countless carriages. Whether it was her own carriage or those passing by, she could identify them clearly. The carriages she saw this morning looked quite different in terms of their designs and decorations. That was why she could remember them so clearly.

“What are they doing in Peach Blossom Village?”

Ruyi asked curiously as she watched the carriages enter the village.

Qin Anming shook his head. How would he know?

“Such carriages usually belonged to those who were either rich or noble. Every horse is tall and strong. Moreover, they are either made of rosewood or sandalwood. Most commoners could not afford to use such materials.”

Ruyi was still looking in the direction that the convoy had left.

“From what you’re saying, I can tell that you have a strong desire for this type of carriages,” Qin Anming said with a smile.

Hearing the man’s smile, Ruyi came back to her senses and snorted. “Who wouldn’t want it? Yellow rosewood is my dream. If I could own such a carriage, I would laugh even in my dreams.”

“It’s not like you can’t afford it. We’ll go and get a rosewood carriage later.”

Qin Anming sounded like he was going to help fulfill her wish immediately.

Knowing that he was teasing her, Ruyi patted Qin Anming. “Unless I’m crazy. How can I use rosewood on an entire carriage?”

Qin Anming laughed when he heard this. He knew that Ruyi was a penny-pincher. Once money comes to her, it will be hard to separate her from it.

“Go ahead and laugh. Be careful, you could get cramps.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Anming suddenly inhaled a mouthful of cold air and started coughing.

Ruyi lowered the curtain and returned to the carriage, laughing.

—-

After the luxurious convoy entered Peach Blossom Village, they arrived at Xiaoguo’s house.

One of them got out of the car and knocked on the door.

Xiaoguo was tidying up the house when she heard someone knocking on the door. She was puzzled. She had just closed the door. Who could it be?

“Mother, I’ll get it!”

“Don’t go out. I’ll go.”

Xiaoguo called out to Zhuang Zhuang, who had just finished speaking and was running out. He was going out without putting on any clothes. Was he looking to fall sick?

She put down the broom, wrapped herself up tightly, and walked out.

“Coming!”

As soon as she reached the courtyard, there was another knock on the door. Xiaoguo quickly yelled out and walked swiftly to the door.

“You are?” Xiaoguo opened the front door and saw a man dressed in commoner’s garb.

The man took a few steps back and didn’t speak. He just smiled at Xiaoguo.

“Eh? Guanxi?!”

Xiaoguo saw who it was and searched through her memories. “Wasn’t this the commander of the Imperial Guards, Guanxi? The same person who had escorted her to the capital’s palace?”

“Madam, you still remember me.”

“Of course I remember!” Xiaoguo smiled and looked at the convoy outside. She was puzzled.

Guanxi could tell that the person in front of him was puzzled, so he explained, “Sorry to disturb you, but I’m actually here because I am escorting someone.”

“Who?”

Xiaoguo looked at him. Who could it be? This person who needed an escort, and was acquainted with her? In any case, it wasn’t Jiang Danhe. If it was him, he would have come on horseback. He wouldn’t need anyone to escort him here.

“Of course it’s me!”

Before Guanxi could speak, a young and lively voice came from a carriage not far away.

As soon as she heard the voice, Xiaoguo’s eyelids twitched and she looked in the direction of the voice.

A rounded figure which looked indistinguishable, lifted the curtain and stood boldly outside the carriage. His hands were on his hips and he looked at Xiaoguo with his big round eyes. He had a big bulging bag on his back. From time to time, laughter could be heard coming from his covered mouth.

“Well…”

Xiaoguo narrowed her eyes and moved closer. No way, no way. “Xiaoyi?!”

She called out his name tentatively. As expected, the little furball laughed. “That’s me!”

With that, he jumped down. The people around him were so frightened that they quickly rushed towards him to check if he was injured. Xiaoyi impatiently pushed them away and pounced on Xiaoguo, hugging her.

Xiaoguo squatted down and hugged him back. “Long time no see, Xiaoyi…”

Xiaoyi hugged Xiaoguo and breathed hard, afraid that he would cry in the next second. He missed her so much.

Xiaoguo tried to pick him up, and managed to lift him up quite easily.

In fact, when she first saw him, she noticed that Xiaoyi and Zhuang Zhuang were both as round as balls. However, when she picked him up, she realized that Xiaoyi was not as heavy as expected. He looked fat because he was wearing thick clothes, but Zhuang Zhuang was a solid round ball.

“Xiaoyi, why are you here?!”

Xiaoguo was very excited. It had been a long time since she had seen this child. She really missed him.

“Isn’t it Zhuang Zhuang’s birthday today? I actually set off from the palace a long time ago. It took me a long time to get here,” Xiaoyi whined to Xiaoguo.

Xiaoguo’s heart ached for him. How could such a young child be let out alone?

In her eyes, she was disregarding the luxurious carriage and the large number of guards. She was only thinking about Xiaoyi. He had actually traveled all the way here just to celebrate Zhuang Zhuang’s birthday. Other than being surprised, she was touched and her heart ached for him.

“Zhuang Zhuang will be very happy to see you!”

Xiaoyi nodded and suddenly thought of the star of the day. “Where’s Zhuang Zhuang?!”

As he asked, he looked around for his friend.

“He’s in the house. Go in!”

As she spoke, Xiaoguo pushed open the door and let Xiaoyi in. Zhuang Zhuang, who was observing the door through the window, finally saw who had just come. He rubbed his eyes excitedly to make sure that he was not hallucinating. Then, he shouted excitedly, “Xiaoyi, Xiaoyi, Xiaoyi!!”

“Zhuang Zhuang! Zhuang Zhuang! Zhuang Zhuang!”

Xiaoyi called out Zhuang Zhuang’s name as he ran. When the two children met, their screams shook the house. The cries of all the animals sounded through the courtyard.

Xiaoguo was happy to see this, but since she wanted to find out more from Guanxi, she could only close the door first to reduce the noise.

“Guanxi, what’s going on?”

Xiaoguo asked the man standing quietly beside her.

“A few days ago, the crown prince kept making a fuss about leaving the palace to look for Zhuang Zhuang to celebrate his birthday. He begged the emperor for a long time before the emperor reluctantly agreed to let us escort the crown prince over.”

After Guanxi explained, Xiaoguo hesitated. “When are you guys going back?”

She asked this purely to find out more. There was no other meaning to her words.

“My preliminary estimate is three days later.”

At this moment, Guanxi took out a large bag from somewhere and handed it to Xiaoguo.

Xiaoguo subconsciously reached out to receive it, but before she could get a firm hold, it slipped off. She had to use both hands to catch it. When she saw Guanxi lifting it up with one hand, she thought that she could do the same. However, she had underestimated the weight and almost made a fool of herself.

“Be careful, Madam.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Seeing that he was concerned about her, Xiaoguo felt even more embarrassed.

“Madam, this belongs to the Crown Prince. It contains his clothes and other necessities. I’ll have to trouble you to take care of him in the next few days!”

After Guanxi explained everything, Xiaoguo nodded. “What about you guys?”

“Oh, we won’t disturb you anymore, Madam. I’ve already asked the village chief to arrange a place for us.”

Xiaoguo nodded when she heard that. “That’s good. My house can’t accommodate so many people.”

After Guanxi finished conveying everything to XIaoguo, the village chief came over. The convoy then left with the chief.

After watching the convoy leave, Xiaoguo sighed. Should she be happy about this?

Did the emperor trust her so much?! What if something happened to XIaoyi here? Even if she had three heads and six arms, she might not be able to withstand the pressure…

No matter how worried Xiaoguo was, she was still quite happy. Since Xiaoyi had come so readily, she would definitely take good care of him.

She lifted the bundle with all her might and carried it on her shoulders. She closed the door tightly and hummed a tune as she walked into the house. Since she already had to take care of Zhuang Zhuang, one more child wouldn’t make much of a difference. It was not like she had never done it before.

In the capital, when she was at Jiang Danhe’s mansion, she had done a pretty good job taking care of the two kids. So there was no pressure at all. Easy peasy…