368 Goodbye, Little Island!

Those girls who were unmarried covered their faces and chuckled. Their faces were flushed with embarrassment. They were clearly embarrassed by Xiaoguo’s straightforward confession.

Every time Xiaoguo and Jiang Danhe publicly displayed their love, countless ministers would get hurt as a result. Don’t ask why. If you did, you would be despised by the women beside you.

Xiaoguo blushed and hid behind Jiang Danhe in embarrassment, hiding from the teasing gazes around her.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before they had to board the ship. Everyone gathered together and walked towards the beach. Xiaoguo looked behind and saw that Zhao Yuyan and Yu Ling were also following the group. She was relieved to see that.

They didn’t come as a big group when they arrived, but when they left, there were many more girls joining them.

Walking in front of her was the same group of people, but behind her were many new faces, most of whom were young and beautiful girls. Oh, they shouldn’t be called girls anymore. They had most likely become adults after that night.

She was wondering why she had not seen the ministers for so long. It turned out that they were all fooling around in these girls’ rooms. Looking at the blushing faces of the girls behind her, she knew that they must have been working hard during this period of time.

Xiaoguo was not interested in those ministers who had spent their time indulging in wine and women. She took a few glances at them before retracting her gaze. Turning to look at the man beside her, she couldn’t help but exclaim to herself. Her man was indeed obedient and pleasing to the eye.

After some thought, Xiaoguo leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, “If you dare to eat on the sly, I’ll cut it off.”

“What?”

Jiang Danhe really didn’t hear her clearly this time, so he asked again.

“It’s nothing.”

Xiaoguo snickered and shook her head.

Jiang Danhe looked at her strangely. Under normal circumstances, when he didn’t pay attention to what she said, she would nag at him for a long time, but today she was not being her usual self.

Zhuang Zhuang, who was walking between the two of them, looked up at them. He was confused. “Eating on the sly? Cutting what?”

His big eyes were filled with doubt.

Xiaoguo lowered her head and gave him a nudge. “Watch where you’re going,” she said softly.

Zhuang Zhuang nodded in confusion before looking straight ahead again.

The ship had already stopped by the shore. The boarding platform was lowered, waiting for people to board.

As usual, the men and women were separated. Xiaoguo wanted to carry her luggage herself, but Jiang Danhe wouldn’t let her. Hence, she held Zhuang Zhuang’s hand with her free hands and walked towards the stern of the ship.

They were still seated at the same spot as before. Although the view from the bow was the best, the stern has its own plus points.

After boarding the ship, Xiaoguo looked at the boarding gate. As soon as she saw Yu Ling and Zhao Yuyan, she waved her hand, signaling them to come to her side.

This was the second time Yu Ling and Zhao Yuyan were boarding a ship. The last time they were on a ship, they had chains around their necks. They were in no mood to admire the beautiful scenery while out at sea.

This time round, it was different. From the moment the two of them stepped onto the boat, they had mixed feelings. Holding each other’s hands, they walked to Xiaoguo’s side. They were both feeling curious and nervous about their surroundings.

Zhao Yuyan was much more mature than Yu Ling so she didn’t keep looking around, but she couldn’t help but tear up.

“I’m finally out! I’m finally out!”

Zhao Yuyan was so excited that her grip on Yu Ling’s arm tightened unconsciously. When she heard the other party’s cry of pain, she came back to her senses and loosened her grip. Her heart instantly ached for her daughter. She quickly hugged her and apologized. “I’m sorry, Yu Ling. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Mother, it’s fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

Yu Ling smiled and shook her head. Although it was painful, she was fine with it, because this person was her mother.

Xiaoguo did not wish to intrude on the mother and daughter at this moment. Knowing that two of them were filled with emotions, she decided to leave them alone.

Zhuang Zhuang glanced at the two strange people and tugged at Xiaoguo. He whispered in her ear, “Mother, who are they?”

Although he had seen the two of them before, he didn’t know them very well. Xiaoguo had never told him about them.

Hearing Zhuang Zhuang’s question, Xiaoguo leaned over and whispered back, “Sister Yu Ling and Aunt Yuyan are leaving with us. I’ll explain the details to you later, okay?”

Zhuang Zhuang nodded obediently and said, “Can I go look for Xiaoyi?”

“Maybe later.” Xiaoguo looked at the port. A group of people were trying to raise the platform. The ship should be setting off soon—it was not safe to walk around now. “The boat will be shaky when it starts moving. You’d better go later.”

“Yes, yes!”

Zhuang Zhuang nodded to show that he understood.

At this moment, Yu Ling looked at Zhuang Zhuang and guessed that he must be Madam’s son. She smiled and squatted down to ask, “Are you Young Master Zhuang Zhuang?”

“Huh?” Zhuang Zhuang was shy around strangers. He turned around and shook his head at her and said seriously, “My name is Zhuang Zhuang, not Young Master Zhuang.”

As soon as he spoke, the three of them laughed. Yu Ling was overjoyed. “You’re so cute!”

Zhuang Zhuang blushed and nodded graciously. “Thank you.”

At this moment, Xiaoguo said to Zhuang Zhuang, “Introduce yourself.”

“I am Zhuang Zhuang. My given name is Jiang Qingwen. I’m four years old this year. I have many hobbies.”

Yu Ling and Zhao Yuyan were overjoyed to hear such a refreshing introduction.

Zhao Yuyan said to Xiaoguo, “Madam, you taught the child so well. He’s shy around strangers and is so eloquent.”

She thought that she had quite a good upbringing when she was young, but when she was four years old, she didn’t even know half of what this boy knew.

Xiaoguo smiled modestly and said, “He’s alright. He was born with a love for books.”

“You can read?!”

When Yu Ling heard this, she looked at him in surprise.

Zhuang Zhuang nodded. “I am learning from a teacher.”

Although Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang had no intention of showing off, the other two were still grinning from ear to ear after hearing what the latter said.

Yu Ling’s eyes flashed with envy as she praised him sincerely, “You’re amazing!”

“I think I’m alright. There’s always someone better. This is nothing.”

Zhuang Zhuang always reminds himself to be humble and introspective, and not to be arrogant or complacent. He was only saying his thoughts. There were so many people in the Shao Kingdom who were better than him.

Although Yu Ling had never gone through a formal education, Zhao Yuyan had never slacked off in teaching her. Even without books, she could use the ground as paper and branches as brushes. She taught Yu Ling to read by writing the words out stroke by stroke.

Although Yu Ling was not as eloquent as Zhuang Zhuang, she was not illiterate.

“Just call him Zhuang Zhuang. Zhuang Zhuang, this is Sister Yu Ling.”

Xiaoguo didn’t like people using honorifics on her. Besides, she didn’t come from some prestigious family and she was not particular about such formalities. It was better to keep things casual.

Yu Ling was stunned and subconsciously looked at Zhao Yuyan.

Zhao Yuyan quickly shook her head. “No, Madam. We shouldn’t do away with the honorifics.”

“It’s okay.” Xiaoguo shook her head. She didn’t care for these things. “There’s only Zhuang Zhuang and me at home, and Jiang Danhe is away. Besides, I regard Yu Ling as my sister. You don’t have to be so reserved. You can call me Xiaoguo. Yuling can call me Sister.”

Seeing that Zhao Yuyan was about to say something, Xiaoguo continued, “My house isn’t in the capital and I don’t live in a mansion. Home is just a small farmyard. I don’t care about such formalities. After taking in Yu Ling, I’m her sister, nothing else.”

Zhao Yuyan looked up at her seriously. After realizing that Xiaoguo meant every word she said, her eyes were filled with tears again. She choked and said, “Thank… thank you!”

She was absolutely relieved this time!

Yu Ling looked at Xiaoguo in disbelief. She was her younger sister? She had an older sister now? An older sister?

“Sister? Sister Xiaoguo?” Yu Ling called out nervously.

“Yes!”

Xiaoguo nodded graciously and smiled at her.

Yu Ling called out to her many more times, but Xiaoguo responded every single time.

“Okay, hold on tight and get a firm footing, the boat is about to depart.”

Xiaoguo watched as the people at the port waved the flag. It meant that they were setting off. She quickly pulled Yu Ling back as she was still spinning around.

After everyone had gotten a firm grip on something, the ship slowly moved forward. After a few seconds of shaking, the ship regained its balance.

Xiaoguo looked at the island that was gradually disappearing into the distance and said in her heart, “Goodbye, island!”

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