The winter morning light shone on the Xiao family's manor, dispersing the white fog. Two carriages were parked outside the Xiao family's ancestral house. Xiao Ting, who had not woken up yet, was dragged up by a maid, stuffed into the carriage, and continued to sleep.
Xiao Ting was going to Jinling to attend a poetry meeting, and Xiao Qi and Xu Buling were also going to Hangzhou to attend King Wu's birthday banquet, so they set off together.
In the temporary residence, the girls had just gotten up and washed up. Lady Lu was already dressed, instructing the maids to send all kinds of things to the boat at the Huai River ferry. She had already returned to Jiangnan, and her maiden home was in Jinling, which was three hundred miles away. It was on the way, so they went back together.
In the wing room of the backyard, Xu Buling was wearing a robe in front of the bronze mirror, with a smile on his face.
Xiang 'er's face was slightly red, and she couldn't get up. She curled up in the quilt, took a small plate, and carefully carved a "one", then put the plate under the pillow, and raised her eyes.
"Come back early, I'm waiting for you to pay off your debt."
Xu Buling nodded, turned around, kissed Xiang 'er on the forehead, and pulled the quilt tighter. "Sleep a little longer, I'll be back in a few days, if you're hungry …" He raised his hand, picked up the golden quail egg made by Baby, and put it in her hand. "Comfort yourself, I don't mind."
"You're the one who's hungry, do you think I'm Hong Luan?"
Xiao Xiang 'er threw the quail egg aside with slight disgust, turned her back, and ignored him.
Xu Buling blinked his eyes. "Aunt Lu is still doing that?"
"How would I know? Ask her yourself."
"How should I ask …"
Xu Buling shook his head, turned around, and left the room. After a little tidying up, he led the wind-chasing horse to the gate of the mansion.
It would probably take a month to go back and forth to Hangzhou. He couldn't take all the girls to King Wu's birthday banquet, so only Lady Lu and Xiao Qi went with him.
Hearing that Xu Buling was going out, Zhu Manzhi was very reluctant. She ran over to Xu Buling and whispered.
"Young Master Xu, come back early. I'm still waiting to go to Suzhou with you to see the sea of flowers. If it's too long, it'll be next summer."
Xu Buring raised his hand and rubbed the branches. "I'll be back soon. Accompany Qing Ye and Yu Fu around Huainan for the next few days. Note down any good places and wait for me to come back."
"Oh …"
Zhu Manzhi actually wanted to tag along, but it was obviously not possible to bring her along. It would be inconvenient to bring all of them to the birthday banquet, so she was considerate and did not say much.
Ning Qing Ye came out to see him off. Her expression was still cold, and her eyes were looking elsewhere. It seemed that she had nothing to say.
Song Yufu was a little embarrassed. She hadn't recovered from what happened last time, so she kept her head down and didn't speak. Seeing Xu Buling and Qing Ye greeting each other and Ning Qing Ye's indifferent response, she secretly muttered in her heart, "They're really good at pretending. They even slept together …"
Ning Qing Ye naturally knew nothing about it. Standing in front of Xu Buling, she frowned and said, "Xu Buling, did you make Master angry? Master has gone to the Taoist temple these days and refused to see me … "
Xu Buling led the wind-chasing horse, feeling a little embarrassed. He whispered, "Don't think too much. There are many people in the mansion, and Master is not used to it. She just went to cultivate for a few days."
Ning Qing Ye was Xu Buling's Senior Sister now, so it wasn't appropriate for her to say more. She just said, "Be careful on the road." Then she looked away.
Xu Buring walked in front of Song Yu Fu and also wanted to say goodbye. However, Song Yu Fu's face turned red and she hurriedly lowered her head. She even let out an inaudible "hmph ~".
Xu Buling had no choice but to whisper in her ear, "Don't talk nonsense about what happened last time."
"Tsk …"
Song Yufu leaned back slightly to avoid him, and no one knew what she meant.
Xu Buling was a little worried. He was afraid that Fu Bao would set the backyard on fire, so he wanted to say a few more words, but Lady Lu, who was waiting next to the carriage, couldn't stand it anymore.
It was fine to say goodbye to a girl, but why did he have to whisper in her ear? There were maids and coachmen around …
Lady Lu folded her hands on her waist, looking very dignified. She whispered,
"Ling 'er, let's go."
Seeing this, Xu Buling could only give up. He turned over and mounted the horse, escorting the carriage with Nightingale and leaving quickly.
In front of the stone lions outside the mansion, Zhu Manzhi watched the white clothes and fierce horse go far away. She was a little reluctant to see them go, and sighed softly,
"Xiao Ning, Young Master Xu is going to roam Jianghu alone and doesn't want you anymore. Are you very unhappy?"
Ning Qing Ye was puzzled. She walked beside Man Zhi and frowned, "Why would I be unhappy?"
"What if Young Master Xu meets a girl outside who is more beautiful than you …"
Ning Qing Ye tilted her head slightly and raised her hand to touch her cheek. Her clear eyes showed a bit of arrogance. Obviously, she thought that there was no girl in the world who was more beautiful than her.
"…"
Zhu Manzhi didn't want to talk to Ning Qing Ye anymore. She turned to look at Song Yufu, who was still standing behind them and refused to leave. She asked doubtfully,
"Miss Song, is there anything else?"
Song Yufu's expression was a little strange. She thought for a moment and walked behind the two with a smile. Her eyes were always on Ning Qing Ye's buttocks,
"It's nothing. I'm just a little tired after walking for a whole day last time …"
Zhu Manzhi naturally didn't doubt it. She giggled and said, "Then you have to practice more. A girl should know some martial arts …"
Ning Qing Ye's martial arts were very high and her six senses were quite sharp. She noticed that Song Yufu had been secretly staring at her for the past two days. Her gaze was also very strange. She immediately turned around and said warmly,
"Miss Song, why do you keep looking at me?"
"Uh …"
Song Yufu's face slightly blushed. She quietly looked at Ning Qing Ye — her expression was calm with a bit of doubt. There was nothing strange.
She really acted well, humph …
Song Yufu didn't say anything. She just smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just feel that Miss Ning's figure is very beautiful. I'm quite envious."
Ning Qing Ye slightly tilted her head and looked at her figure a few times. She nodded slightly,
"Miss Song is not bad either."
Song Yufu smiled shyly and didn't answer …
…
The sun rose in the east. The sunlight shone on the ferry of Huai River. The anchored ships set sail one after another.
The guards escorted all kinds of things to the Xiao family's ship. Lady Lu and Xiao Qi walked side by side on the deck, talking about family matters.
Xu Buring followed behind them, his expression calm and unsmiling. Xiao Ting, who was beside him, looked drowsy and grumbled about how it was still early.
Huainan was a large city, and it was located at the throat of Zhongzhou. Shipping and land transportation were very developed. Nearly a hundred ships of various sizes were anchored at the port, and there was no end to them.
On the west side of the port, far away from the Xiao family's ship, Wang Ruiyang, the legitimate son of the Wang family of Hangzhou, also boarded his family's ship with his entourage. Behind him was a group of students from Shungeng Academy. They were all going to Jinling to participate in the year-end Jiangnan Literature Meet.
As the legitimate son of an aristocratic family, Wang Ruiyang was not like Xiao Ting, who was unambitious and had no interest in poetry. This time, he came here purely to wait for Xu Buling to go to Jiangnan and ask about the whereabouts of the jade.
Seeing that the Xiao family's ship was starting to set sail, Wang Ruiyang raised his hand and told the boatman to set off.
Before the boat could put away the steps, Wang Ruiyang's guard walked over with a letter in his hand. He pointed at the middle-aged man in a Taoist robe standing below the ship and whispered a few words into his ear.
Wang Ruiyang raised his hand and took the letter. He turned around and opened it to take a look. On it was simply written: "Try to befriend him. Give him jade as a birthday gift."
The meaning was simple. Try to befriend Xu Buling and encourage Xu Buling to give the jade as a birthday gift to the King Wu.
Wang Ruiyang glanced at it and put away the letter. He returned to the cabin to find a strategist to discuss the matter.
The ship slowly left the shore. The middle-aged Taoist who had come to deliver the letter did not pay attention to Wang Ruiyang. Instead, his gaze lingered on the Xiao family's pleasure boat in the distance. He looked at the man in white standing next to Xiao Ting and frowned.
The Taoist was Wu You, a wild Taoist who had just returned from Northern Qi.
After sending little peach blossom to the capital city of Northern Qi to be apprenticed to the Imperial Advisor Zuo Qingqiu, Wu You returned to Jiangnan and continued to work for the Eagle Striking Tower.
There were many hidden talents in the Eagle Striking Tower. Even a famous swordsman like Chang Shijian could only run around teaching new people. Although Wu You's qinggong was exceptional, her fighting ability was average. Her most suitable job was naturally to run errands and deliver letters.
She handed the letter to Wang Ruiyang. Her mission was complete. Now, she did not need to worry about the safety of her brothers, wife, and daughter. She was alone and had nothing to worry about. She had to do what she needed to do …
Wu You looked at Xu Buling's figure and hesitated for a moment at the ferry. Finally, she turned and walked towards a ferry heading for Jinling …
