Chapter 717
A Letter from the Capital
Chapter 717 A Letter from the Capital
She's staying here and not going back to the modern world.
After making this decision, Hong Xiaoduo felt refreshed and clear-headed, and the feeling of sadness she had felt for many days at the thought of parting completely disappeared.
“Big brother, after we go to the Tianquan family, let’s go to the capital to pick up Kaiyang and accompany you to visit your master, okay?” Hong Xiaoduo said to Quan Jinghuai.
What? Quan Jinghuai thought he had misheard. He held his wine cup and looked at her. Tian Shu and the others also looked at her in surprise. Was she going home late?
"Is it okay?" Quan Jinghuai asked uncertainly, because he couldn't ask her directly, "What, you're not leaving?"
"Of course you can, otherwise why would I ask you? Or do you feel that your seven disciples are not presentable enough and you are embarrassed to bring them back?" Hong Xiaoduo asked with a grin.
"What are you talking about? I was just worried about delaying your important business," Quan Jinghuai replied cryptically.
Hong Xiaoduo picked up the coconut water and took a sip: "I'm neither an official nor a businesswoman. If there's anything urgent, I can continue to wander around after visiting your master."
"We've explored enough of Fengliang Kingdom. Now I'll take you to some foreign lands to see their customs and practices their languages."
"Xiaoduo, are you serious? Or are you just talking nonsense because you're still drunk?" Quan Jinghuai asked in a deep voice, suppressing his excitement.
Tian Shu Fei Yan and the others also pricked up their ears, afraid of missing a single word.
Inside the private room, there were nine people, young and old. Little Yao Guang, before she could understand the true meaning of her master's and mother's conversation, was overjoyed. She was excited to see her older brother, her master's master, and to travel to foreign lands.
After looking around, Hong Xiaoduo met her older brother's eyes again and said slowly, word by word, "Of course it's true. I'm perfectly sober right now. Although I, Hong Xiaoduo, am a woman, my words are my bond."
Besides, why would I lie to you?
Quan Jinghuai stared intently at Hong Xiaoduo's expression, thinking about what she had just said, and it seemed to make sense.
He grinned, downed the drink in one gulp, then poured himself another full glass, downed it again, poured more, and drank it all in one go—three glasses in a row.
"Mother, when I reach the age for marriage, please help me choose a spouse," Tian Shu said.
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo looked at Hao Da'er with a half-smile. "Well, you actually know how to test me in this way?"
“No problem, just take good care of me and let me live a long life. That way, I can not only help you choose a wife, but also help your son choose a wife.” Hong Xiaoduo said to Tian Shu, and then saw the boy grinning foolishly.
In the past, if Tian Shu talked about getting married, this kid would blush with embarrassment, but now, there's not a trace of shyness on his face.
"Mother, when I get married in the future, will you prepare a dowry for me?" Yuheng asked, mimicking her mother's tone.
"Yes, yes, yes, it's just a dowry, no big deal. We'll go to some unstable places later to earn your dowries and bride prices," Hong Xiaoduo readily agreed.
Looking at Tianxuan, the others also wanted to confirm. Hong Xiaoduo, feeling a bit overwhelmed, said, "No need to test anymore, that's enough. Let's eat quickly so we can set off."
I wonder how my luck was on the way to the boss's house, and whether I'd get any unexpected gains. Besides, you guys haven't had many opportunities for real-world practice lately.
Her words finally put everyone at ease.
I could also sense that she was completely different now compared to how she was a while ago.
The meal was enjoyable and relaxing.
After finishing our meal and leaving the restaurant, we did some shopping as usual before setting off.
On the carriage, Hong Xiaoduo distributed the toys that had been sold to them in modern times. After secretly showing Fei Yan her underwear, Fei Yan blushed and hurriedly stuffed it into the pile of quilts behind her.
Quan Jinghuai, riding on horseback outside, listened to the laughter and commotion inside the carriage, and the corners of his mouth never left his lips.
She hadn't gone far from the town when someone on horseback quickly caught up with her. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was someone from Duobao Pavilion delivering a message.
When Hong Xiaoduo received the letter, she thought it was written to her by Pavilion Master Lan Zechen. The messenger only said that he was from Duobao Pavilion and did not say who wrote the letter.
So Hong Xiaoduo opened the sealing wax and muttered to herself, "I gave him ten cans of Maltesers before we parted. Did he finish them all?"
Tianji, who was sitting next to Hong Xiaoduo, leaned over to look at her, because he also thought it was written by that pavilion master.
Hong Xiaoduo unfolded the letter, saw the words on it, then quickly closed it again and looked at Tianji, who quickly moved it away.
Even so, Hong Xiaoduo was still worried. She asked Tian Shu to stop, got off the carriage, and walked a distance before looking at the letter in her hand.
The letter was written by Murong Jing, containing only two sentences: "I see all living beings as grass and trees, but only you are a green mountain." The letter contained only sixteen characters, yet Hong Xiaoduo felt as if her intelligence had run out; she couldn't quite grasp what it meant.
Without waiting, she used her mind to enter her spatial dimension, turn on her computer, and ask her mother.
The answer came quickly: these fourteen characters mean: I only like you.
Hong Xiaoduo immediately felt her heart race and her cheeks flush.
After leaving the space, he enjoyed the breeze and waved for the messenger to come over.
"What's the story behind this letter?" Hong Xiaoduo asked.
"Miss Hong, I don't know the specifics, I only know it's an urgent message from the capital," the messenger replied.
"Isn't this something that requires payment?" Hong Xiaoduo asked again.
The messenger nodded and said, "For us at Duobao Pavilion to send a letter in such urgent condition over such a long distance, with the recipient's location uncertain, requiring us to investigate ourselves, this letter must cost at least a thousand taels of silver."
"Is this guy crazy or stupid? He sent a letter for a thousand taels of silver and only wrote fourteen characters. What a waste! He spent so much money and couldn't he write more? Is it because they can't buy ink in the capital?" Hong Xiaoduo cursed angrily.
"Now that Miss Hong has read the letter, has she replied so I can take it back?" The messenger waited for a while before asking.
If no reply is needed, then he should return.
"Does it cost a thousand taels to reply?" Hong Xiaoduo asked curiously.
"Oh, Miss Huihong, according to the rules, the recipient's address is fixed when replying to a letter, and the fee is only three hundred taels," the messenger told him.
Hong Xiaoduo was about to say that three hundred taels was expensive. Even if she didn't lack money now, she shouldn't be so wasteful, especially since it wasn't something urgent or life-threatening.
He traveled all that way, spending a thousand taels of silver, just to tell her that he only liked her?
He likes her, and she already knows that! She's not senile, so she doesn't need to be reminded again.
Just as Hong Xiaoduo was wondering whether she should spend the three hundred taels of silver, the messenger spoke up again: "Our master instructed that if Miss Hong wants to write a reply, the three hundred taels of silver will be waived, and a few more jars of candy will suffice."
What the heck? Candy to offset?
Well, I really do want Maltesers!
Hong Xiaoduo is now regretting that she gave that pavilion master this thing back then, and look how addicted he is to it!
The image of a renowned pavilion master in his forties eating Maltesers made Hong Xiaoduo both laugh and cry. What a terrible thing!
"I won't reply to your letter yet. I can't let you go back empty-handed. Take this jar to your sect leader and tell him that it's not that I'm stingy, but that eating too much of this is not good for his health."
"And this is for you to have some wine and drinks, don't think it's too little." Hong Xiaoduo took out a can of Maltesers from her spatial storage and handed it over. Then she took out a twenty-tael silver ingot from her purse.
"Thank you very much, Miss Hong." The messenger accepted the letter without ceremony, then turned and rode away.
Quan Jinghuai and the others watched as Hong Xiaoduo returned to the car, but they didn't dare to ask any questions.
After Hong Xiaoduo got into the carriage, she started to drift off into thought. It wasn't that she didn't want to write back to Murong Jing.
However, it was so sudden that she didn't know how to respond.
She has already decided to stay here and not return to the modern world; that's a done deal.
However, she was still unsure whether to accept Murong Jing.
Although she had already thought that if she was going to get married, she would get married. If they really couldn't love each other and stay together for a lifetime, she would just get a divorce. She wouldn't wrong herself by staying with one person forever.
But this is a major life event, a matter of lifelong happiness, and it should be carefully considered before making a decision!
When it comes to marriage, who doesn't dream of growing old together in happiness?
But why would he write such a letter?
Inside the carriage, Tian Shu and the others, who had just confirmed that Hong Xiaoduo wouldn't be going home and could stay with everyone, were now seeing her remain silent after seeing the letter. She seemed preoccupied, but it didn't seem like anything bad was on her mind, so everyone couldn't help but speculate: who wrote the letter, and what did it say?
In the evening, we stopped in a wide open space by the roadside and set up our tents to prepare for camping.
"Xiaoduo, are you alright? Don't keep things bottled up inside. If there's something you can't tell them, tell me," Feiyan said to Hong Xiaoduo, taking the opportunity after being asked by the children...
Thank you so much to 20240127210841695 for the monthly pass! (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
Thank you so much to 20170511171800737 for the monthly pass! (′‵)I L
It's snowing here, but only on the very high mountain peaks. Many people will be climbing the mountains tomorrow. My husband said he'd take me hiking to see the snow, saying I'm not used to exercise and my physique is too poor. But I don't want to go! I can't climb! I've decided to pretend to be asleep tomorrow morning. Hehe, I'm so clever!
(End of this chapter)