The traveler stood at the door with his head down, raising his hand several times, but he hesitated to knock.
According to his investigation, the prince might have ended up in this fishing village and was staying in this family's house. But what if the information was wrong? He didn't even dare to imagine what kind of inhuman treatment his most loyal prince would suffer.
Just as I was struggling with this decision, the door in front of me suddenly creaked open.
Su Qingcai pulled open a narrow gap and looked warily at the man in front of her who was wrapped up tightly. "Who are you?"
Upon seeing Su Qingcai's familiar face, the man's heart pounded. He suppressed his overwhelming joy and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, it's me."
Su Qingcai's eyes widened, and her breathing became rapid.
"Ding Yi?"
Ding Yi was the captain of Su Qingcai's secret guard. In his previous life, he was loyal and died protecting Su Qingcai. Now, after being reborn, he met his old friend again, and Su Qingcai was filled with emotion.
Ding Yi looked around warily and said somewhat hurriedly, "It's me, Young Master Wang... I've been looking for you for a long time. Please come back with me."
To avoid causing any trouble, Ding Yi changed his words, but as soon as he heard the word "go back," Su Qingcai inexplicably pictured Su Xiaoning's face in his mind.
He remembered her voice and smile, those inexplicable feelings, and the simple and kind villagers of Carp Village. All of this held him captive.
Seeing that Su Qingcai remained silent, Ding Yi panicked and said with a serious expression, "Young Master, you have important matters to attend to and cannot linger in this small village. Moreover, there are people eyeing you covetously. If you stay here without protection, you may cause trouble."
“I understand what you’re saying, but I can’t leave right now.” Su Qingcai leaned against the doorframe and sighed helplessly but resolutely. “Give me some time.”
Neither of them noticed that Su Xiaoning was hiding in a corner not far away.
Because of the distance, she couldn't hear many of the words clearly, only vaguely hearing the words "go back" and "leave".
Could this strange man be Su Qingcai's family member, and is he here to persuade him to go home?
Su Xiaoning felt inexplicably sad. After spending so much time together, she had come to regard Su Qingcai as the closest person to her. Although she was reluctant to part with him, she respected his decision. If he chose to leave, she would never stop him.
Su Xiaoning glanced at Su Qingcai silently, swallowed the bitterness in her heart, and quietly left.
...
Late at night, the sound of an abacus clicking away could be heard as Su Xiaoning muttered to herself, calculating the various accounts of the village.
"Tourism in our village has been booming lately. Several aunties say they enjoy being tour guides. I need to figure out how to bring more tourists, and we can't let our sales in town stop either..."
"Still doing accounts so late? Aren't you afraid of tiring yourself out?"
A clear, crisp voice interrupted Su Xiaoning's thoughts. Su Qingcai, bathed in moonlight, walked in as usual, carrying a cup of hot tea.
He handed the teacup to Su Xiaoning, the warm tea dispelling the chill of the night. He glanced indifferently at the account book on the table and said, "Since you've been working so hard, why haven't you asked me for help lately?"
Strangely enough, Su Xiaoning used to treat him like a laborer without any qualms, but now that Carp Village is becoming increasingly busy and lively, she has made him more relaxed.
Su Xiaoning paused, staring at the few tea leaves floating in the teacup, and said in a low voice, "You...you are a guest after all. How can we ask you to do so much rough work? If you leave later, you'll go back and say that our village treated you badly."
“You’ve never treated me like a guest before,” Su Qingcai chuckled, affectionately tapping Su Xiaoning’s forehead. “When did I say I was leaving?”
Su Xiaoning remained silent, only looking down at the accounts. Su Qingcai, feeling awkward and the atmosphere in the room unusually heavy, left after a while.
He didn't close the door properly when he left, and it creaked loudly in the wind. Su Xiaoning shivered. As soon as she reached the door, she noticed that there were several people peeking suspiciously at her from not far from her room.
"who?!"
Su Xiaoning was not afraid at all and shouted sharply.
The people who were hiding realized they had been discovered. Without stopping, they fled in a flash. They staggered all the way back to the neighboring village of Wanxia. As soon as they returned to the village, a group of people came to greet them with torches.
"What's the situation like in Carp Village?"
"There are still people sightseeing there so late at night!" The man who had escaped slapped his thigh, revealing a jealous look in his eyes. "That little girl is really something. If we don't take some action, I'm afraid this woman will continue to lead Carp Village to dominate our village!"
Upon hearing this, the village chief was immediately enraged: "No, we can't let them have it so easy. We're all fishing villages, why are they so successful! Since those people like to go out at night, let's give them a little something extra..."
As the village chief spoke, the villagers grinned maliciously, put on the ghost masks they had prepared beforehand, and sneaked into Carp Village.
...
Rumors have been circulating in recent days that ghosts are haunting Carp Village, scaring several wealthy merchants into fleeing the village. When they returned, they embellished the story with others, causing a sharp drop in the number of people visiting Carp Village.
As time went on like this, Su Xiaoning immediately realized that something was wrong.
She was a modern person who had studied Marxism, and she was sure that someone was up to something. Su Xiaoning made up her mind and dragged Su Qingcai toward the back mountain where ghosts were said to roam.
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