I Can’t Bear to Part With You Too
Seeing how confident she seemed, Jiang Danhe asked curiously, “What are your plans?”
“Do you want to know?”
Jiang Danhe nodded curiously.
“Do you remember the two cows at home?”
“I remember.”
“Do you remember what I said about milk being edible and that it could be made into various sweet snacks?”
Jiang Danhe nodded to show that he did.
Xiaoguo smiled at that. “My plan is…”
After Jiang Danhe heard her plan, he nodded in admiration. “Not bad.”
“Of course!” Xiaoguo had confidence in her plan. When the time came, it would definitely become a big hit in the entire Shao Nation.
“You’d better do a good job. I’ll be waiting for you to provide for me.”
Jiang Danhe looked at her with a smile in his eyes. Without thinking, Xiaoguo nodded in agreement and said jokingly, “Don’t worry. I promise to feed you until you’re fair and chubby.”
After saying that, she couldn’t help but laugh. If Jiang Danhe became a fair and chubby man, he would definitely be very cute.
“Hahahaha…”
At the thought of a fair and fat Jiang Danhe looking very serious, Xiaoguo couldn’t help but laugh. If that was the case, it would be too cute.
Jiang Danhe looked helplessly at the woman, who was laughing and tossing around. He said, “If you’re not going to sleep, let’s have a baby girl.”
“I’m sleepy. I’m going to bed. Good night.”
This time, it was Jiang Danhe’s turn to laugh. However, looking at Xiaoguo, who was all covered up, he suddenly said mischievously, “Sigh… what a pity…”
—-
Unknowingly, they had been staying on the island for more than two months. They had not realized it, but when they did the math, it really shocked them.
It was almost time to harvest the grains at home, and the vegetables in the courtyard should be mature now.
Xiaoguo was feeling extremely anxious to leave the island. How she wished that she could get home right after waking up. She had thought that she would return in a month or so. To think that she had stayed here for more than two months.
After doing the calculations, Xiaoguo’s heart had already flown home. She would probably be busy harvesting the crops once she got back.
“Where are you going?”
Jiang Danhe, who was packing his luggage, stopped Xiaoguo and asked her curiously.
Without stopping, Xiaoguo said, “I’m going to visit Yu Ling and her mother.”
Jiang Danhe looked like he understood. He nodded and continued to pack his clothes.
The day after tomorrow was their departure date. Everyone on the island was getting busy. As soon as Xiaoguo came out, she bumped into a few groups of people carrying boxes. After carefully avoiding them, she arrived near Yu Ling’s residence.
The two of them lived in a simple servants’ room. It was surrounded by rows of single rooms. Yu Ling and Zhao Yuyan lived in a room at the end of a row.
The other servants had all gone to work. It was quiet here. Xiaoguo only heard some slight movements when she came to their room’s door.
Xiaoguo knocked on the simple wooden door. Soon, the sounds in the house disappeared. Instead, she heard footsteps approaching.
“Madam, you’re here!”
Yu Ling was the one who opened the door. She started speaking to Xiaoguo even before the door opened.
“How do you know it’s me?”
Xiaoguo smiled when she heard Yu Ling greeting her, and so she asked her in response.
“Hehe, because no one else will come here except for you.”
With that, Yu Ling made way for her to enter.
Xiaoguo smiled and entered the house.
In the house, Zhao Yuyan was packing her luggage. When she saw Xiaoguo, she stopped what she was doing and greeted Xiaoguo happily, “You’re here.”
Xiaoguo smiled and nodded. She observed her carefully. Her face had regained some color. She didn’t look so sickly anymore, and was looking much healthier instead.
“We’re leaving early the day after tomorrow. How are your preparations?”
“We’re almost done.” Zhao Yuyan looked at the bag on the bed cautiously and whispered, “We don’t have much stuff.”
Xiaoguo also noticed the deflated bundle on the bed and she quickly looked away. “Yes, yes. Don’t leave anything behind. You won’t be coming back in the future.”
“Yes!” Zhao Yuyan nodded excitedly.
At this moment, Yu Ling came over with a glass of water and asked curiously, “Madam, where are we going after we leave this place?”
Xiaoguo took the glass and said, “Let’s disembark at the fishing village first. We’ll stay there for a day before returning to my house. It’s in Peach Blossom Village which is not far away.”
Yu Ling nodded cluelessly. Although she didn’t know the place that Xiaoguo was talking about, she still felt happy!
Zhao Yuyan looked at her daughter, who was smiling foolishly at the side. Her heart ached for the girl. She had lived with her in prison since she was young. When she got older, she was exiled to the border with her. Every day, Yu Ling only had access to the limited space within the island. Thinking about it, this was the first time Yu Ling was going to see the outside world.
Xiaoguo had told Zhao Yuyan about where she lived a while ago. When she came to look for her at that time, Xiaoguo thought that she had her eye on Jiang Danhe’s identity. She might have thought that Yu Ling would follow her back to the capital to settle down. Therefore, she told her immediately that she did not live in the capital to avoid misleading her.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yuyan was overjoyed when she heard this. It was even better to not go to the capital. She just wanted Yu Ling to live a peaceful life in the same place for the rest of her life. She must not go to the capital, lest she be blinded by the myriad of temptations there.
Yu Ling didn’t know anything about the fishing village, Peach Blossom Village, and Yonghai County that came out of Xiaoguo’s mouth. The longing in her eyes deepened as Xiaoguo spoke.
After Xiaoguo left, the mother-daughter pair’s excitement did not stop.
When night fell, the mother and daughter were still lying on the bed, looking forward to the scenery beyond the sea.
Zhao Yuyan had no answers to the questions that Yu Ling was asking her. It had been a long time since she had led a life in the outside world. While she was excited and happy, she was also a little melancholic and lost.
Yu Ling was not disappointed when she did not hear her mother’s response. She carried on imagining the outside world on her own.
—-
Soon, it was time to leave.
The island was bustling with activity again. The last time this place was so lively was when the banquet was held. Before that, it was when Xiaoguo had just arrived on the island with everyone.
Xiaoguo looked around reluctantly at her surroundings, and also the pavilion that she had visited frequently.
Jiang Danhe walked over with his bag. Seeing her reluctance, he said, “I’ll bring you here again in the future.”
“Bring Zhuang Zhuang along too.”
“Of course. We will bring Zhuang Zhuang along.”
Jiang Danhe smiled helplessly and agreed.
Xiaoguo smiled and looked outside. “Where’s Zhuang Zhuang?”
“I wonder where he went with Xiaoyi. He said he would be back soon.”
Xiaoguo nodded, thinking disconsolately that the two boys would definitely cry when they had to part upon getting off the ship.
“By the way, when you get off the ship, will you return to the capital right away?”
“Yes.” Jiang Danhe nodded, then he raised his eyebrows. “Why? Can’t bear to part with me?”
When Xiaoguo heard this, she blushed and said angrily, “Says who?”
“I can’t bear to part with you.”
“…” Xiaoguo almost suffered internal injuries from his answer. The anger in her chest instantly turned into bashfulness.
After a while, she mumbled something back.
Jiang Danhe heard her clearly, but he still teased her deliberately. He suppressed the corners of his mouth that were curling up uncontrollably and asked, “What?”
Xiaoguo looked around sheepishly at the people walking past them. She signaled him with her eyes that he should stop, but he still didn’t seem to hear her.
Left with no choice, Xiaoguo could only resist her shyness and repeat, “I… you.”
“What?”
“I… you!”
“What?”
Xiaoguo went all out and looked straight at him. Then, she activated her diaphragm and roared, “I can’t bear to part with you either!!!”
This time, Jiang Danhe was not the only one who heard it. The passers-by and the ladies who were standing around all heard her.
After a moment of silence, there was a flurry of whispers and snickers.
At this moment, Mrs. Yang had also arrived outside. She had clearly heard Xiaoguo’s roar and said teasingly, “I knew that you can’t bear to part with the general, Madam.”
The lady who had lent her the physician previously also walked out at this moment. When she heard the Prime Minister’s wife’s teasing Xiaoguo, she started teasing her too.