The man on horseback did not dismount or say anything. With a few simple gestures, soldiers quickly carried everyone's luggage onto the horse.
All the women, even Li Laosi and others, were helped onto the horses and rode alongside the soldiers.
Hua Ruyue intentionally or unintentionally approached Xintinghou, wanting to be with him, but was picked up by a cavalryman and thrown behind her.
The crowd arrived in a grand manner and left even more swiftly, without any hesitation. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the foot of the mountain was empty.
Hua Ruyue sat behind the soldier. She didn't want to hold on to the soldier in front of her, but there was no saddle where she was sitting. If she didn't hold on tight, she would fall off, which made her frown and grit her teeth.
It was only five or six miles, but with a fast horse, they arrived at the dock in the blink of an eye.
There were already seven or eight large boats waiting on the riverbank. The group dismounted and began to board the boats.
The women probably felt safe, and their legs were so weak and they didn't want to move anymore.
Hua Ruyue lost her hairpin and a shoe while riding the horse, and now she looks disheveled and in a sorry state.
They wanted to sit down and rest, but the soldiers shouted, "Get on the boat now! Do you want to die? What was the point of rescuing you? Don't you know the barbarian army is already advancing? Get out of here!"
The women were frightened by what they heard and struggled to their feet, but couldn't help complaining.
"Why are you being so fierce? The person is already exhausted. Would it kill you to help them up?"
"Yeah, my legs are weak, please carry me on your back."
One was being coquettish, another was complaining; twenty-odd women together were more noisy than a flock of ducks.
The twenty soldiers who had followed them into the mountains had now hidden far away, wishing they could stay away from these troublesome women forever.
The squad of soldiers responsible for looking after the women were furious, their faces dark with anger. Without any politeness, they lashed out with their whips.
"Get on the ship right now! If you dare utter another word, we'll throw you overboard! You'll regret it when you fall into the hands of the barbarians!"
Hua Ruyue looked around and, seeing that Xintinghou was nowhere to be seen, became anxious and urged everyone, "Get on the boat, we'll talk about it when we get to Jiangnan."
The women then boarded the ship and collapsed onto the deck, refusing to move.
On the boat next door, Young Master Ye was talking to Old Man Li, “You’ve been delayed for too long this time. Your aunt was worried about you, so she and Second Brother came to welcome you. They just arrived around noon, and they brought Fu Niu with them.”
Feeling guilty and worried about being scolded, Li Laosi quickly said, "I didn't expect this trip to take so long. My lord, you must plead for me, otherwise my mother will definitely not let me leave again."
Young Master Ye laughed upon hearing this, "I can't help you. When Auntie starts nagging, I can't help but give up. You'll have to figure it out yourself."
Jiayi and Liu Yang were exhausted, but they became cheerful again, sometimes going into the cabin to check on things, and sometimes touching Young Master Ye's big black horse.
Meanwhile, Hua Ruyue on the neighboring boat finally noticed them. Seeing Li Laosi and Young Master Ye chatting and laughing like this, she suddenly felt extremely regretful.
They had initially thought that this Li Laosi was just a steward at the Marquis's estate, but judging from his appearance, they were probably all wrong.
This is clearly a very familiar and intimate feeling!
If she had known this would happen, she would have lowered her stance to gather more information and make more friends along the way.
Thinking of this, she blamed her sisters for not being able to seduce Li Laosi along the way.
But it's too late to say anything now; we can only slowly plot our way out to Jiangnan.
The boat arrived at the dock on the other side in less than 15 minutes, where people immediately came to greet them and help unload the horses and their belongings.
Jiayin hugged her second uncle's neck, her little feet stepping on his palms, trying to climb up as high as she could, wanting to see further.
Finally seeing her father, she called out loudly, "Father, Father!"
Hearing the commotion, Li Laosi glanced at it and immediately jumped onto the dock, running over at full speed.
"Mother! Second Brother! Fu Niu!"
As soon as he got close, his mother grabbed his arm.
Old Mrs. Li was furious. She took off her cloth shoes and started hitting her son on the back.
My son was supposed to come home in two or three days, but it turned into almost a month.
For the past month, my family has been too afraid to eat or sleep, and they've been so worried that their hair is turning white.
Madam Cui sent someone on horseback to inquire three times before she could no longer bear it and brought her son and granddaughter to look for the person.
To my surprise, my son showed off his big white teeth and even had the nerve to smile!
How could she not be angry!
Jiayin was relieved to see that her father was only a little thinner and darker than usual, and watched with a smile as her grandmother waved the soles of her shoes, occasionally clapping her little hands in approval.
Li Lao Er chuckled, patted his little niece, and then asked Jia Yi and Liu Yang, who were hunched over, "How are you? Are you hurt?"
"No, no!" Jiayi and Liu Yang quickly shook their heads and took two steps back, afraid that they would also get their shoes stuck in their mouths.
At this moment, Hua Ruyue and the others also disembarked. Seeing the commotion on the Li family's side, Hua Ruyue pushed a woman.
The woman tidied her hair, strode forward, and blocked Li Laosi's path. With a look of anxiety, she shouted at Li Laotai, "Who are you? Why did you hit my brother Li Si? Brother Li Si is our benefactor. If you want to hit him, hit me first."
Old Mrs. Li couldn't bear to hit her son. She heard a loud noise, but it didn't hurt at all when it hit him. It was more like being dusted off by a shoe.
But just as she was about to put away the shoe sole, she was suddenly interrupted and stood there stunned, holding the shoe sole up.
Who is this woman? And why is she protecting the fourth brother?
Jiayin's eyes widened in surprise.
What exactly happened this past month?
Father has cheated on his wife and is having an affair!
Li Lao Er thought of her younger siblings at home, busy with things in the valley, and also worried about her husband; she had lost a lot of weight recently.
Unexpectedly, his younger brother was flirting with other women, which angered him. He glared at him and asked, "Fourth brother! What's going on? Have you been doing something bad outside?"
Li Laosi was completely dumbfounded.
Although the woman had tried to get close to him quite a bit on the way out of the mountain, he hadn't said a single unnecessary word or given her a single unnecessary glance.
Suddenly, the woman came up to me, acting all friendly. What's going on?
He instinctively grabbed the woman and threw her aside, then grabbed his mother's shoe sole and started hitting himself with it, yelling, "Mom, keep hitting him! Keep hitting him! I don't know this person!"
Seeing her son's face turn red with anxiety, Old Lady Li put on her cloth shoes and glared at him fiercely, saying, "You useless thing, I'll deal with you when we get home."
The woman was thrown to the side, tears streaming down her face from the pain, but before she could speak, Jiayin had already burst into tears.
"Dad, waah, you don't want me and Mom anymore, waah, you're a bad person, a bad person!"
When Li Laosi saw his daughter pointing at him with her chubby little finger and crying with tears streaming down her face, he was almost heartbroken. He hugged his daughter and comforted her.
"Daddy was wrong, Daddy was wrong, Fu Niu, don't cry. Daddy didn't abandon you and your mother, really, Daddy was wrong!"
Unfortunately, Jiayin wouldn't listen. She clung tightly to her father's neck and continued to cry at the top of her lungs.
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