A rain delayed their journey.
They stayed in the village at the foot of the mountain for three more days.
With nothing to do on rainy days, and the outside being a muddy mess, it wasn't convenient to go out, and they were almost growing mold indoors.
The farmhouse was narrow and cramped; if one wanted to stand up and move around, they could walk from one end to the other in just a few steps.
Yi Yancheng saw it as an opportunity, asked Aunt He for the Four Treasures of the Study, and made Xie Jiang sit down to practice calligraphy.
Xie Jiang would complain of a headache and sore hands after writing just two characters, and soon she would crawl onto the bed and pretend to be dead.
Yi Yancheng waited to see how long she could keep up the act.
Xie Jiang suddenly climbed out of bed, put on her shoes, and walked out, saying to him, "You can write my share for me. I'm going to the next door to make something delicious for you."
Practicing calligraphy could be done by proxy?
Yi Yancheng shook his head helplessly. Thinking that he hadn't seen her cook in a long time, he put down his brush and followed her.
From then on, Xie Jiang took over the kitchen.
The胖厨子 (fat cook), who had rushed to this poor and remote place to serve his young master's three meals a day, was now officially demoted to a stoker.
Xie Jiang took charge of five meals a day for herself and Yi Yancheng.
Don't ask why it was five meals a day.
Weren't the long, sleepless nights worth two extra meals?
By the way, Aunt He and Shan Bai also benefited a little.
Wen Feng felt like he was about to defect, no longer minding his master hanging himself on Miss Xie, only wishing his master would hang on steadily soon.
Otherwise, could he be transferred to Miss Xie's side for a few months?
Didn't his master not trust Miss Xie?
He would definitely guard Miss Xie with all his loyalty.
And, he would also keep an eye on Young Master Xu for his master.
Wen Feng, who had eaten two extra meals that day and was holding his belly, finally couldn't help but run to his master to request a mission.
Yi Yancheng told him to ask Xie Jiang.
As long as she was willing to take him in.
Wen Feng really went to ask.
Xie Jiang told him to scram.
Shan Bai patted Wen Feng's double chin as a form of comfort.
Aunt He passed by the two of them and kindly advised, "You should both try to persuade your master to join my young master soon. Wouldn't we be family then?"
Wen Feng was a little confused.
Wasn't it that as long as Miss Xie nodded, their master would be willing to marry her at any time?
~
Da Chui and the others also couldn't stay cooped up in the house and ventured into the mountains every day, even in the rain.
A few days ago, the villagers were distressed that wild boars had become increasingly numerous in the mountains in recent years, often coming down to wreak havoc on their crops.
Did they need to be distressed about such a thing? These were ingredients delivered to their doorstep, and the big iron pot was waiting for them!
Every evening, a young man named Du Yue would bang on a basin and call the villagers to the foot of the mountain to divide the spoils.
The wild boar and two wild deer distributed yesterday had not yet been processed, and today each household would receive two wild boars and one wild sheep.
There were also a pile of wild chickens and rabbits; whoever wanted them could take them.
The few tigers over there were not to be touched; they were reserved for Doctor Lou.
Those snakes were also not to be touched; they were also wanted by Doctor Lou.
Every day, the villagers were astonished to see the prey piled up like a small mountain at the foot of the mountain.
The men in the village also hunted in the mountains in their spare time, but it was already very good if they could hunt a few wild chickens and rabbits. Hunting a wild boar was considered extremely remarkable.
These people were simply…
Was this called hunting?
It was more like slaughtering the mountain!
However, it was not entirely a bad thing; the prey in the mountains was inexhaustible.
It was good that these people helped to clear them out; they could also sleep soundly at night, without always worrying about wild boars overturning into their yards.
What's more, these people distributed all the prey to the village.
The village was more lively than during the New Year.
Even during the New Year, not every household could eat meat for every meal.
After the rain stopped and Xie Jiang and her group left the village, wild boars in the nearby mountains were almost extinct, and no wild boars were seen for a long time.
~
Time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, it had been more than ten days since Yi Yancheng left the capital.
It was also time to return.
However, the events of this trip had left Yi Yancheng with psychological trauma.
He couldn't rest assured about Xie Jiang.
Even though she now had dozens of guards around her.
He would still worry about what she might encounter or what might happen after she left his sight.
Yi Yancheng escorted her all the way to Ninghe.
As they approached Ninghe county town, they saw several familiar figures ahead. Nie Tong rode his horse to the carriage.
"Young Master, up ahead it seems to be Young Marquis Ruan, the Fifth Prince, and Young Master Xu the Third."
Xie Jiang lazily hummed an "oh" to acknowledge, then tossed the chess piece in her hand into the chess basket and casually lifted the carriage curtain to look outside.
Aren't they all supposed to be in the capital, instead of forming a group to travel to Ninghe?
Yi Yancheng guessed that she didn't plan to play anymore, so he packed up all the chess pieces on the board.
"Young Master Xie—"
"Xie Jiang—"
Ruan Ziji and the other two, who had been waiting under the shade of the trees for a long time, perked up as soon as they saw Xie Jiang's carriage.
Xu Hengyi had just raised his hand to wave when Ruan Ziji impatiently spurred his horse and shot out like an arrow from a bow.
"Hey!"
Xu Hengyi, unwilling to fall behind, quickly urged his horse to chase.
Pedestrians on the road dodged to the side upon seeing this.
Xia Zeshi didn't know why these two were in such a hurry, and not wanting to fall too far behind alone, he could only be forced to urge his horse and chase after them.
Since the county town gate was not far ahead, there were many people entering and exiting the city at this time. The driver, Xu Tianqing, slowed down.
Ruan Ziji reined in his horse when he got close. Before the carriage could stop, he jumped directly from his horse onto the carriage.
Xu Tianqing didn't have time to stop him. Ruan Ziji had already opened the carriage door and was about to lift the curtain to enter.
Who knew that he would freeze in an instant, as if an invisible hand had tightly gripped his throat.
"Young Master Yi?"
Why was it Yi Yancheng again! Why was he everywhere!
"What, you want to rob me?"
Xie Jiang leaned back on the soft cushion, crossed her legs, and looked at him with a half-smile.
As soon as Xu Tianqing heard the word "rob," his knife was already at Ruan Ziji's neck.
Ruan Ziji's eyes were about to pop out. "Rob what? Can't you think of me in a better light?"
Yi Yancheng looked at him coldly, "What is there about you that's worth her thinking about?"
Nothing was worthy of her concern!
Ruan Ziji choked.
What was wrong with Yi Yancheng? Why was he speaking so sarcastically?
He wanted to say something, but felt a coolness on his neck. As soon as he opened his mouth, the blade was about to cut his neck.
Ruan Ziji turned and glared at Xu Tianqing, who had no sense. Didn't he realize that Young Master Xie was joking!
Xu Tianqing glanced at his young master. Seeing that his young master had no intention of dealing with Ruan Ziji, he expressionlessly put away his knife.
"Then do you want to come in and sit for a while?" Xie Jiang spoke to Ruan Ziji, but her eyes were on Yi Yancheng, guessing that Ruan Ziji wouldn't dare.
Ruan Ziji had a belly full of things he wanted to say to Xie Jiang, but looking at the imposing Yi Dafo standing inside, he struggled and still didn't dare to go in.
At this moment, Xu Hengyi and Xia Zeshi also rode over.
"Xie Jiang! Xie Jiang—"
"Stop shouting, I'm here."
The carriage door was blocked by Ruan Ziji, so Xu Hengyi leaned by the window, expressing concern while also complaining, "Xie Jiang, are you badly injured? Weren't you supposed to fall down with my second brother? My second brother returned to Ninghe long ago, why are you only returning now? We were going to look for you, but my second brother stopped us!"
Seeing Yi Yancheng sitting right beside Xie Jiang, Xu Hengyi suddenly felt that his second brother had stopped them from looking for Xie Jiang for their own good.
Oh, second brother really did care about him.