The next day, Xingxing and his group boarded a ship and left the island. Erfu, Sifu, and Wufu stayed behind to supervise the work, while the third and fifth senior brothers also stayed behind to assist.
"If the Japanese and Koreans invade and you are unable to handle it, then have the Snow Hummingbird deliver the message," Zhu Qiuyu whispered to his two junior brothers.
"Senior Brother, please get on the boat quickly. Everyone is waiting for you. Fifth Junior Brother and I know what we're doing. If we encounter any problems that we can't solve, we will definitely ask for your help. Don't worry." Zhu Xichen raised his chin and pointed ahead.
Zhu Qiuyu looked back and saw a large group of people standing on the deck, led by his junior brother and the princess, looking in their direction, waiting for him to board the ship and prepare to depart.
"Erfu, Sifu, and Wufu, you three brothers must also be careful. Safety is the most important thing." Zhu Qiuyu's subtext was that life is more important. If something really happens, don't hold onto the silver mine; escaping is the priority.
“Master, think positively. We’re lucky, nothing will go wrong, we’ll definitely be able to protect the silver mine, and we can go home as soon as possible. Everything will go smoothly, and you all will have a smooth journey as well,” Wu Fu said optimistically.
"Fifth Brother is right, Master, stop nagging and get on the boat quickly, don't be late." Erfu urged him to hurry up.
Zhu Qiuyu raised her hand and pointed at Erfu a few times, then shook her head. "You little rascal, you really have no conscience. I've spoiled you for nothing, humph."
"Master, please take care," Zhou Sifu said in a loud voice as he bid farewell to everyone. "Father, Mother, eldest brother, third brother, Xingxing and Lin'er, have a safe journey. Once things are settled here, we will be back soon. Don't worry."
"Okay, Fourth Brother, take good care of yourself. Second Brother, Fifth Brother, and the two senior brothers, you all need to be well too. We're waiting for you to come back." Xingxing shouted, making a megaphone shape with her hands.
"Son." Zhao Guihua called out, her eyes red and her voice choked with sobs, but she couldn't say anything else. As a mother, she truly couldn't bear to part with her child.
"Alright, alright, stop crying. They'll be back once this mine is finished. We'll go back and find them a few girls, then force them to get married," Old Zhou said in a deep voice, his arm around his wife.
Even though they were reluctant to part, they had to. The boat sailed further and further away, and soon the people on both sides could no longer see each other. The sadness in their hearts gradually dissipated.
"Come on, let's go up the mountain and hunt some game for a late-night snack." Erfu, full of energy, put his arms around his two younger brothers' shoulders and started walking back.
After taking a few steps, he turned back and called out, "Third Master, Fifth Master, don't just stand there like an idiot! Let's go up the mountain, do you want to come with us?"
"Get lost, you disrespectful brat! Your fifth senior brother and I are too old to do much. The three of you can go. Remember to bring back some game when you come back." Zhu Xichen laughed and scolded as he walked back.
Zhu Yueran tugged at the corners of her lips, seemingly unaffected by the situation, and even managed a rare smile.
The group returning consisted of a thousand-strong naval force, followed by Commander Zhao Mingyue, a group of secret guards, and Xingxing and others.
The return journey was smooth. We did not encounter any hurricanes or torrential rains, nor did we run into any pirates or Japanese. So we returned to Anyang Prefecture as quickly as possible. What would have been a journey of at least two months was completed in just one and a half months.
It truly feels like we've crossed from the beginning of the year to the end of summer. A whole year has passed since the stars set sail. Time waits for no one; a year has gone by in the blink of an eye.
When Xingxing saw the chubby, white baby in Zhang Xiantao's arms, she cried and laughed excitedly, saying repeatedly, "When I went to sea, your belly was just showing. I didn't expect that when I came back, the baby would be so big. So cute, waaaah!"
Xingxing hugged the chubby little dumpling tightly, rubbing and squeezing him with a mix of crying and laughing, which gave Zhao Mingyue a headache. Finally, she couldn't bear it any longer and snatched her own chubby son from Xingxing's arms.
"Princess, this is the dock. Let's go back first, lest we become a laughingstock." Zhao Mingyue hugged her son, her heart softening. She gave the princess a few words of advice and then left the matter alone.
“Imperial sister,” Prince Cheng addressed her somewhat awkwardly, clearing his throat to ease the embarrassment, “please return to the palace with your brother to rest. I have prepared a banquet to welcome you into the palace.”
The sky was now ablaze with rosy clouds, and the sun was about to disappear behind the mountains. After days of traveling, Xingxing was indeed tired, so she did not refuse any longer.
Once inside the carriage, Xingxing belatedly whispered, "Royal brother, royal sister!"
Alas, because she was captured and left to wander outside when she was young, and only returned to the palace after she could remember things, she was not close to the princes and princesses in the palace, and they did not like her.
Because of her father's favoritism, the princes and princesses were both jealous and resentful of her. Xingxing didn't want to please them, and they didn't treat each other as brothers and sisters. When they occasionally met in the palace, they would call each other princes and princesses in a sarcastic way. This was the first time she had ever heard such an intimate term as "royal brother" and "royal sister".
It's strangely novel.
“If you don’t like him calling you that, I’ll give him a hint later.” Zhang Xiantao didn’t care. Her thinking was simple: since the relationship wasn’t good, there was no need to pretend. She hadn’t been willing to feign flattery before, and there was even less need now; it would only annoy people.
The carriage was filled with women, while the men were in another carriage. The women huddled together, whispering about a lot of things to talk about.
Xingxing chuckled and shook her head. "No need. Let him call me whatever he wants. This time, I didn't sense any hostility or dissatisfaction from Prince Cheng. He was at peace. Prince Cheng has changed. He's not so annoying anymore."
“Although he has indeed changed for the better, it doesn’t make up for the bad things he did in the past. We still need to be careful. We can’t get too close to him, lest we be deceived.” Zhang Xiantao whispered to Xingxing.
"It's not that serious. Prince Cheng shouldn't do anything bad again. Besides, my relationship with him is just so-so. It's impossible for us to get any closer. Don't worry. In a few days, I'll be going back to Nanyang Prefecture with my parents. Do you want to come with me?" Xingxing blinked, looking at Zhang Xiantao's empty arms, and clicked her tongue twice in her heart.
Zhao Mingyue is really stingy. She just held the little dumpling for a little while, and he took her away without even letting the little dumpling share a carriage with her.
Heng'er was also bold and outgoing. Even though he hadn't seen his father for so long, he wasn't shy at all. He would giggle and happily follow along without looking for his mother.
“But Mingyue wants to stay in Nanyang Prefecture, and I can’t bear to part with him.” Zhang Xiantao didn’t feel ashamed at all and stated her position frankly.
"Whatever. I can't just separate you two and make the three of you live in different places." Xingxing shrugged indifferently.
“My in-laws are here too. Heng’er is the apple of their eye. They’re afraid to lose him if they hold him in their arms, afraid he’ll melt if they keep him in their mouths. If I dare to take Heng’er to Nanyang Prefecture, they’ll skin me alive.” Zhang Xiantao said with a frightened expression.
"He just likes to cause trouble. Your mother-in-law is such a good person, she won't make things difficult for you. But your father-in-law has a rather eccentric temper and isn't easy to get along with." Xingxing commented in a low voice. She couldn't let Zhao Mingyue hear this. No matter how strange Zhao Shui's temper was, he was still her own father.
Zhang Xiantao thought for a moment and then explained a few words for her father-in-law, "Actually, your father-in-law is a very good person. He's just not good at dealing with people and doesn't know how to say nice things. He's incredibly good to Heng'er and he's also good to me."
"Alright, you're all such a loving family, I won't interfere. If Zhao Mingyue hears this, she'll think I'm trying to sow discord." Xingxing stopped whispering with Zhang Xiantao and snuggled up to Zhao Guihua.
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