It was late at night, and only the crickets around the inn could be heard chirping occasionally.
Xia Xiaoxian and Ma Sanbao stood side by side in the corridor of the backyard.
"Sanbao." Xia Xiaoxian called softly.
"Your Highness." Hearing Xia Xiaoxian calling him, Ma Sanbao immediately turned around, and unexpectedly found himself standing opposite Xia Xiaoxian.
Ma Sanbao, with his back to the moonlight, just happened to see Xia Xiaoxian's beautiful and pretty face illuminated by the moonlight.
He lowered his head guiltily, his ears feeling a little hot.
Ma Sanbao thought, fortunately it was late at night, otherwise his blushing face would definitely be discovered by Xia Xiaoxian.
He took a deep breath, lowered his eyes and asked, "I wonder if your Highness the Princess has any instructions?"
"Sanbao, I will be leaving here soon." Xia Xiaoxian felt a little sad for some unknown reason at the thought of parting with Ma Sanbao.
"Leave? Where to?" Ma Sanbao asked puzzledly.
"I can't tell you this, oh!" Xia Xiaoxian sighed, "Even if I tell you, you won't understand."
"Did someone propose to the princess?" Ma Sanbao really couldn't think of any other reason why Xia Xiaoxian left.
"No." Xia Xiaoxian shook her head.
"Then where are you going?" Ma Sanbao's voice began to sound a little impatient.
“It should be somewhere far away.”
"Impossible! There is no way a princess in my Great Xia Dynasty can marry a foreign princess!"
This clause was included in the late emperor's will, and future monarchs of the Great Xia Dynasty would never allow the princess to be married off in exchange for peace on the border.
"Well... let's not talk about me anymore, let's talk about you." Xia Xiaoxian walked to the stone bench in the backyard, sat down, and waved to Ma Sanbao, saying, "Sanbao, come sit down and chat."
"I respectfully obey the princess..." Ma Sanbao cupped his hands, but was interrupted by Xia Xiaoxian, "Stop calling me princess and call me Xiaoxian like we did when we were little."
"Okay." Ma Sanbao wasn't Mo Ji's friend, so he smiled slightly. "Xiaoxian, what did you mean when you said you were leaving?"
"Let's not talk about that," Xia Xiaoxian waved her hand. "Sanbao, I want to ask you, if one day you were asked to choose something you like to do, what would you do?"
"What for?" Ma Sanbao's eyes were filled with suspicion. He unconsciously pressed the long sword at his waist. "Of course, I stay in the palace and protect the emperor."
"Don't you have a place you want to go or someone you want to see?" Xia Xiaoxian saw that Ma Sanbao didn't understand what she meant at all, so she hurriedly reminded him again.
"Where do you want to go?" Ma Sanbao asked.
"Well! Close your eyes and think about where you most want to go?" Xia Xiaoxian replied.
"Hmm... the place I want to go most..." Ma Sanbao closed his eyes obediently and murmured to himself: "The place I want to go most..."
"The sea!" Ma Sanbao's eyes suddenly opened. "I want to see the sea and its end."
"It's true!" Xia Xiaoxian said to herself.
"What?" Seeing that Xia Xiaoxian didn't look surprised, Ma Sanbao asked unsurely, "Xiaoxian, do you also think it's a fantasy?"
"Of course not!" Xia Xiaoxian said this with an unusually certain tone, "If I said this was your fate, would you believe it?"
Ma Sanbao clearly didn't believe it. He continued, "Actually, ever since I was little, I've often dreamed that I have a home on the sea. My home is actually a huge ship that can hold tens of thousands of people. It's 44 meters long and 18 meters wide!"
“Whenever I arrive at a new and interesting place, I will stay there for a while and go ashore with the crew to take a look…”
Xia Xiaoxian smiled slightly and said softly to Ma Sanbao, "Not only that, you will cross the ocean seven times and stay at sea forever."
"Haha, if I could really stay at sea, wouldn't that be my best destination?" Ma Sanbao was overjoyed when he heard this, but after a while, the light in his eyes dimmed. "Xiaoxian, you are trying to comfort me, right?"
"How about making a bet with me?" Xia Xiaoxian smiled brightly, and before Ma Sanbao could agree, she said, "I bet that in three years, you will set out to cross the ocean."
"Really?" Ma Sanbao said with a smile, "If it's true as Xiaoxian said, and I can start sailing in three years, then I will definitely come to your home in person and bring you all kinds of goodies, no matter where your home is!"
"Then don't regret it." Xia Xiaoxian said with a smile, "Maybe I'm somewhere very far away."
"A gentleman's word is as good as gold. No matter where you are, I will be there for you!" Ma Sanbao looked into Xia Xiaoxian's eyes and said solemnly.
"Okay!" Xia Xiaoxian suddenly felt a pang of sadness she had never felt before, and tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. "No matter where I am, I will wait for you!"
When Shen Yuyao woke up, it was still dark.
"Zi Su, did you hear any crying last night?" Shen Yuyao didn't know whether she was dreaming or really heard the faint sound of a woman crying. When she wanted to listen more carefully, she suddenly woke up.
"I fell asleep as soon as I lay down, and didn't hear anyone crying." Zi Su was bringing a small basin of water, ready to help her wash up.
"Xiaoxian lives next door to us, right?" Shen Yuyao asked.
Zi Su was slightly stunned. Today, Shen Yuyao always made her feel a little different from usual.
"Yes, it was you, my lady, who asked Ma Sanbao to move the princess's room next to yours yesterday."
Shen Yuyao has always had a good memory, so how could she forget something that just happened yesterday?
"I have been dreaming a lot recently." Zi Su handed over the handkerchief to Shen Yuyao to wipe her hands.
Shen Yuyao looked back at her and asked curiously, "What did you dream about?"
Zi Su smiled and said, "They were all strange, sporadic dreams. I can't remember most of them, but I only remember that time when I and the young lady returned to the Duke's Mansion. The young lady took me to the backyard of the Duke's Mansion to fly kites. The flowers in the backyard were in full bloom, and it was so beautiful."
Listening to Zi Su's story, Shen Yuyao also smiled. She was carefree at that time, "It seems like it was just yesterday."
"Well, I still remember that the young lady loved to sit on the swing in the flower-filled garden, reciting poems that I had never heard of."
"And winter's Gudong soup."
"Yes, in winter, the whole family gathers in the backyard to cook Gudong soup." Zi Su's smile widened. "The young lady loves it the most."
Shen Yuyao suddenly remembered the days when she and Xu Yunxuan ate Gudong soup together. She choked up and said, "Zi Su, go tell San Bao to get ready to leave. He must be waiting anxiously."
Zi Su knew that the person Shen Yuyao was talking about who was afraid that he would get impatient waiting must be the current emperor, Xia Yu!
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