Lost in thought, Wu Shuang couldn't fall asleep so quickly. Her little round body rolled around unintentionally. Chu Yao opened his eyes, pulled the little one back, and repositioned her in his arms, soothingly asking, "Why can't you sleep? Do you want some warm goat milk to calm your nerves?"
Wushuang opened her eyes, thought for a moment, and nodded with a smile.
Chu Yao got up and went to the outer room to give a few instructions. Soon after, a maid brought in a stew pot.
He took it and personally fed it to Wushuang spoonful by spoonful.
The goat's milk was warm and sweetened, and Wushuang drank it with great satisfaction. She smiled so much that her eyes curved into crescent moons, and she lay down, clutching her little belly. This time, she quickly drifted off to sleep.
On the same floor as the ship's wheelhouse, He Yao's cabin was still brightly lit, showing no sign of him preparing to go to bed.
He Yao, dressed in red, was yawning as he lay on the couch by the window.
In the chair opposite her sat a little boy who was tied up.
The little boy was only six or seven years old. His round face was filled with fear, and he looked at He Yao as if he were a ghost. His mouth was stuffed with a wad of burlap, so he couldn't speak, only making muffled syllables. No one understood what he was trying to say, and no one cared what he was trying to say.
“Princess, Qi Lan is still in the cabin on the lower deck of the Earth-class ship, next to the tutor from the Marquis of Runan’s family. She has a high fever and hasn’t woken up, so no one has mentioned kicking her off the ship.” The black-clad guard pushed open the door and respectfully reported to He Yao.
“In that case, let’s consider her to have temporarily completed her mission.” He Yao sat up, tilting his head, and said, “Take this guy down there, give him some food, just make sure he doesn’t starve to death. If he dies, I won’t be able to continue directing his sister to do things for me.”
The little boy was none other than Qi Lan's younger brother, Qi Zhu.
My sister returned home today with a silver ingot, saying that she received it as a gift from a benefactor. With the capital, she can start a small business, and the two of them will have no worries about their future.
Before they could even finish celebrating, a group of men in black burst in and dragged them to a girl who was about the same age as him but had a wicked mind.
She used Qi Zhu's life as leverage, demanding that Qi Lan find a way to board the ship and stay with the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Runan, awaiting further orders.
Children from poor families mature early. Although Qi Zhu is not old, he is much more mature than the girls and boys of the same age from wealthy families.
Upon hearing He Yao mention Qi Lan, he cried out even more urgently and struggled to break free from the control of the black-clad guards.
Qi Zhu knew she was a burden to her sister and wished she could die quickly so her sister wouldn't be controlled and end up in a terrible situation.
Unfortunately, he was small and weak, and was quickly subdued and unable to move.
Seeing him staring at her with intense hatred in his eyes, He Yao said softly, "Don't hate me. It's not like I came looking for you. If Chu Wan hadn't chosen your sister to give her charity, if Jun Wushuang hadn't not only flattered Chu Yao and his sister but also cleverly won over my maternal grandfather, and if it weren't for that Lu Zhenniang in her family causing me to be punished by my mother, you siblings wouldn't have been in this mess. So, if you want to hate someone, hate them instead."
Qi Zhu was confused, but she firmly remembered the three names He Yao mentioned.
If he is incapable until death, so be it. But if there is any possibility, he will take revenge on those who harmed him and his sister, including this county princess in front of him!
Wushuang was completely unaware of this and slept soundly until she woke up naturally.
When he opened his eyes, the person sleeping in the same bed had changed from Chu Yao to Chu Wan.
It turned out that Chu Yao had carried her back after getting up. Unfortunately, Wu Shuang was also the kind of person who "slept very soundly and wouldn't wake up even if she was moved," and she really didn't feel anything at all.
She snuggled shyly in the warm blankets, when suddenly a soft little body pounced on her.
"Shuangshuang, I'm so happy to sleep with you." Chu Wan yawned, her eyes still sleepy. "How about we sleep together every day from now on?"
From then on, the two girls were inseparable during the day, and at night... only Chu Wan believed that they actually slept together.
In short, it wasn't until four days later, when the large ship docked at the Hangzhou wharf, that Chu Wan and her brother went to stay in a mansion vacated by a local gentry, while Wu Shuang went to stay with her parents in the governor's mansion of her maternal grandfather, Yang Xi, before they reluctantly parted ways.
When the emperor arrived in person, local officials and gentry had to wait along the way to greet him, and the accompanying officials could not leave easily.
Therefore, Junshu could not accompany his wife and daughters. When Yang brought her two daughters to the Governor's Mansion, only Madam Yang and Yang's elder sister-in-law Zhao came to greet them at the gate.
Madam Yang had not seen her daughter for seven or eight years. Upon seeing her today, she couldn't help but hug Madam Yang and shed tears, calling out her childhood name repeatedly and refusing to let go for a long time.
“Mother, my sister has had a long and arduous journey, and she’s heavily pregnant. Why don’t we go inside and talk slowly?” Zhao felt a pang of sadness upon seeing her sister, wiped her eyes, and advised, “Didn’t Father say that the Emperor will be riding in Hangzhou for a whole month? There’s plenty of time.”
“Long? What’s so long about it? Staying with me for a month, and then not seeing me for years, isn’t that enough torment?” Madam Yang sighed, but then praised her daughter-in-law, “You’re so thoughtful. Come on, let’s go inside and sit down to talk.”
Madam Yang released Yang Shi and her gaze then fell on the two little girls beside her.
"Oh my, is this Wuxia? You've grown so much!" Madam Yang gestured to indicate her height. "Last time I saw you, you only reached my thigh. Now you're so beautiful that I wouldn't recognize you if you walked down the street."
She bent down and picked up Wushuang, saying with delight, "You're little Wushuang? Grandma has never seen you before."
"I look forward to seeing Grandma every day," Wushuang said coquettishly, hugging Madam Yang's neck.
Don't underestimate this short sentence; it comes from the bottom of my heart.
After her parents passed away in her previous life, Madam Yang personally went to the capital to discuss with the old lady the possibility of taking Wuxia and Wushuang into her care.
The old lady also doted on her granddaughters and was unwilling to let them go. The two met several times, but each held their own opinion and could not reach a conclusion. In the end, they could only respect the wishes of the two sisters and let them stay in the Marquis of Runan's residence.
Wushuang once wondered if she and her sister would have had different fates in their previous lives if they had made the opposite decision back then.
After running away from home, she considered seeking refuge with her maternal grandparents, but fearing being caught, she planned to hide for a while and then take a detour. Little did she expect that this would lead to her death and an eternal separation from her family.
The group went to the main room of Huian Hall. Madam Yang sat on the yellow pear wood couch in the middle, with one arm around Yang Shi on the left and the other around Wuxia on the right. Little Wushuang was placed on her lap. She couldn't take her eyes off any of them.
Zhao was sitting in the chair on the right. Seeing that her mother-in-law was about to shed tears again, she hurriedly asked about Yang's health.
How many months pregnant? Are you feeling unwell? What should I eat? So that we can prepare accordingly at home.
The string of words made Madam Yang forget her sorrow, and her attention was completely focused on Yang's belly.
“Judging from its pointed shape, it should be a boy,” said Madam Yang.
"Father said it doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl," Wushuang said, tilting her head back to repeat, afraid that Yang would be upset.
Madam Yang clicked her tongue and said, "That's childish talk." Then she turned to Madam Yang and said, "It's not that I don't trust my son-in-law, but the more he loves you and the less he cares about these mundane things, the more we should repay him. Tell me, what better way for a wife to repay her husband than by giving him a son?"