Safe Journey

After getting off the ship, the three of them arrived at a quiet spot. Jiang Danhe kissed Xiaoguo’s forehead and squatted down to kiss Zhuang Zhuang.

Then, Jiang Danhe looked at the two of them reluctantly and instructed them, “Go home early. Let me know when you get home. I’ll send you a letter when I reach the capital. Zhuang Zhuang, study hard and listen to your mother. I’ll be back soon.”

Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang nodded in acknowledgment.

“Be careful on the way.”

At this moment, someone had already disembarked and entered one of the carriages. Xiaoguo knew that Jiang Danhe had to leave, so she reminded him worriedly.

Zhuang Zhuang followed closely behind Xiaoguo and said, “Father, be careful. I’ll be good. I’ll definitely miss you!”

Jiang Danhe smiled in relief and nodded. “I’ll miss you too.”

Then he looked at Xiaoguo and gave her a look.

The tips of Xiaoguo’s ears turned red. She looked around and said, “I’ll miss you too.”

Jiang Danhe wrapped his arms around her in satisfaction. From afar, it looked like he was just leaning closer. Up close, one would realize that Jiang Danhe was holding her waist and also secretly kissing her cheek while whispering in her ear, “I’ll miss you even more.”

Xiaoguo’s body went numb when she heard that. Jiang Danhe held onto her and rubbed Zhuang Zhuang’s head before walking towards the leading horse.

At this moment, Li Shouji walked over and specially bade farewell to Xiaoguo. “Sister-in-law, the next time I come back with Brother Jiang, make me a couple more meals.”

“Okay!” Xiaoguo smiled and nodded. “Have a safe trip!”

Li Shouji heard someone calling out to him from behind, so he nodded at Xiaoguo. He leaned over and touched Zhuang Zhuang before leaving.

At this moment, Xiaoyi ran towards Xiaoguo without any resistance. At first, Zhuang Zhuang thought that Xiaoyi was reluctant to part with him. Feeling touched, he stretched out his arms in anticipation of his hug. Unexpectedly, Xiaoyi ran right past him.

Zhuang Zhuang retracted his arms awkwardly and turned around in disbelief to see what Xiaoyi was up to.

Xiaoyi had already said goodbye to Zhuang Zhuang, so this time, he was here for Xiaoguo. He jumped into her arms and snuggled against her.

Just before he landed on her, Xiaoguo squatted down and hugged him.

After a long time, Xiaoyi looked up. “Can you kiss me like you kissed Zhuang Zhuang?”

This was something he had always dreamed about. This time, it took a lot of courage for him to say it. After saying it, he was afraid that she would refuse, so he buried his head and did not dare to look at her.

Xiaoguo was stunned when she heard this. Then, she smiled and cupped his little face in her hands. She kissed him on the forehead and on each cheek. Her loud kissing sounds made Xiaoyi blush.

“Can you write me more letters like Zhuang Zhuang always did?”

Under such an atmosphere, he made a second request.

“Of course!”

Xiaoyi’s eyes lit up even more. Then, he continued with his third request.

“Will you miss me? Just like…” It was a little difficult for Xiaoyi to say this. Finally, under Xiaoguo’s loving gaze, he mustered his courage and said,” Just like how I will miss you. ”

“Of course. I miss Xiaoyi so much every day. If Xiaoyi could live with me and Zhuang Zhuang, I would wake up laughing in my dreams.”

Xiaoguo knew that Xiaoyi was yearning for love, and she did like him a lot. Whenever she was cooking, she would think about how nice it would be if the boy was around.

Xiaoyi heard a voice urging him from behind. Having received a satisfactory answer, he got ready to go back. But as soon as he let go of Xiaoguo, he gathered his courage and kissed her on the cheek. Before she could react, he ran away with a snicker. When he passed by Zhuang Zhuang, he even waved at him.

Zhuang Zhuang’s lips curled up. “Is that all?”

“So it’s not that you can’t bear to part with me. You actually can’t bear to part with my mother.”

Xiaoguo smiled as she watched Xiaoyi get into the carriage, then she met Shao Zhan’s gaze. The two of them nodded at each other from a distance as a form of farewell.

As the convoy started walking, Jiang Danhe turned around and waved at her. Xiaoguo laughed. She knew he would turn around.

Then, she waved at him with equal enthusiasm.

After the convoy left, the shore instantly fell silent.

Xiaoguo had no chance to feel sad because Yu Ling and Zhao Yuyan were still behind her. At this moment, the village chief of the fishing village had also just walked over.

He was present all this while. It was just that there were too many people around and he did not approach them.

“Madam, the general has told me that you will stay at my house for the time being.”

Xiaoguo looked at the uneasy Yu Ling and Zhao Yuyan and thought for a moment before asking, “Do you know if Xiao Zhu is at home?”

“Xiao Zhu?” The old village chief’s expression froze, but he quickly covered it up. “She should be at home.”

No matter how subtle it was, Xiaoguo still spotted the change in his expression. She frowned slightly. “What was going on?”

Seeing that she was silent, the old village chief’s heart was beating wildly. After a while, he said vaguely, “This child has been having trouble with someone recently. She has not left the house for a long time.”

“What kind of trouble?”

Xiaoguo quickly asked. Xiao Zhu was not the type to cause trouble.

Seeing how worried she was, the old village chief weighed the pros and cons and told her everything.

When Xiaoguo heard his account, her heart ached for the girl and she felt furious. This Yu Zhizhi was really up to no good!

In the end, Xiaoguo declined the old village chief’s request to stay at his place. She decided to stay at Xiao Zhu’s house for the time being.

On the way, Zhuang Zhuang asked curiously, “Who’s Xiao Zhu?”

“Mother will tell you later.”

Zhuang Zhuang could tell that Xiaoguo was frustrated, so he nodded obediently and followed her.

Yu Ling and Zhao Yuyan were also very discerning. They did not say anything and followed behind her quietly.

They had heard the village chief’s words just now. Although they didn’t know the reason, just hearing it made their hearts ache.

When they arrived at Xiao Zhu’s house, Xiaoguo took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock.

After a while, when Xiaoguo’s hands were starting to hurt, she finally heard movement in the house. It was the sound of something heavy falling to the ground.

Xiaoguo was feeling anxious as she thought Xiao Zhu had fallen. She pounded on the wooden door even harder.

As she knocked on the door, she called out, “Xiao Zhu, it’s me. Sister Xiaoguo is back. Xiao Zhu? Xiao Zhu?”

Soon, there were hurried footsteps coming from behind the door. They stopped when they reached the other side of the door. Immediately after, there was a series of jingling sounds as the door was unlocked. Xiaoguo took two steps back. At the same time, the door was pushed open from the inside.

Xiao Zhu, whose eyes were red and swollen, appeared in front of them. She looked no less horrifying than a female ghost in a horror movie.

As soon as she saw Xiaoguo, Xiao Zhu’s swollen eyes began to tear up again. She didn’t say anything and only cried silently.

Feeling heartbroken, Xiaoguo wiped her tears. “Don’t cry anymore. I know everything.”

“Sister Xiaoguo…”

Xiao Zhu couldn’t hold it in anymore and cried even harder. Her tears were flowing freely.

Xiaoguo patted her back, feeling sorry for her. Having not seen her for a while, Xiao Zhu seemed to have become thinner. Besides that, she was just taking a cursory look across the room when she noticed the bloodstains on the girl’s knees. Looking into the house and seeing the fallen stool, it was not difficult to guess how she had tripped and scraped her knees.

Xiaoguo helped Xiao Zhu into the house. Yu Ling swiftly helped to pick up the stool, so that the girl could sit.

Zhao Yuyan and Zhuang Zhuang opened their bags and looked for the first aid kit. After which, they handed the kit to Xiaoguo to apply medicine for Xiao Zhu. At this moment, Yu Ling also scooped a ladle of water from the water bucket.

Xiaoguo gently rolled up the girl’s trouser legs, revealing her swollen knees. She used a handkerchief to dab at her wounds and wiped them clean. After cleaning her wounds, she sprinkled some medicinal powder on them evenly without bandaging them. It was better to leave such wounds to air dry for faster recovery.

Xiao Zhu accepted everything in a daze. Then, her eyes focused on Xiaoguo as she spoke in a hoarse and choked voice.

“I… I don’t have a father and mother anymore…”