After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xu Jiang chose an auspicious day to set off.
She changed into the clothes that Liu Mei had prepared for her, and with a little makeup, she looked like a leaf that had just been dyed red by the autumn wind, with a bit more color and vitality than usual.
Xizhi looked at her, feeling both fond and reluctant to leave. Her face was wet again and again, but she still went out the door personally with Wansheng and Wan Qingmiao.
The carriages, horses, and luggage had been packed yesterday. The things Xizhi and the Wan family father and son prepared for Xu Jiang had all gone with the caravan ahead. Even so, her carriage was still packed to the brim.
All the books and paintings that Xu Jiang brought were left to Xizhi in exchange for the maple forest and the person in the maple forest that she had painted over the years.
The two hands clasped tightly together, then reluctantly let go. Xu Jiang wiped away Xizhi's tears and said, "Remember your promise to me. Take care of yourself and wait for me to come back and pick you up."
Xizhi nodded, "I remember."
In public, the two of them were reluctant to call each other mother and daughter, but their behavior and attitude revealed an unusual closeness.
Wan Qingmiao lost her usual cheerfulness, her eyes twinkling, "Sister, have a safe trip. Don't forget to write to us when you return to Beijing."
"I definitely will." Xu Jiang smiled at him.
Wan Sheng said: "Don't forget your family in Chongzhou in the future. Come back often when you have time."
"Okay." From the initial mutual guarding to the current mutual acceptance, it has only been over a month, but it feels like a long time. Now they can get along with each other at ease, all because of the person they care about the most.
Xu Jiang wiped his face, and bowed to everyone with Liu Mei. Then he smiled at Xi Zhi and said, "I'm leaving now."
Xizhi nodded with tears in her eyes.
Xu Jiang took a few steps and heard her call out, "A Jiang."
Turning around, she saw Xizhi coming forward, holding her hand, and putting something cold in her palm. "Wear it, and it will bless our Ajiang to be safe and sound."
Xu Jiang looked down and saw that it was a jade ring.
The word "ring" and "return" are synonymous. Mother and daughter have been separated for decades, and now they are reunited, as if heaven has returned them to each other. Her mother gave her the jade ring, and it was also her way of telling her not to forget the way home.
“Mother,” Xu Jiang called silently.
Xizhi wiped away her tears, smiled and waved at her, "Go."
Xu Jiang held Yuhuan in her hand and got on the carriage with her eyebrows raised. After she sat down, she lifted the curtain and saw Wan Sheng wiping Xizhi's tears, while Wan Qingmiao was waving at her.
Xu Jiang raised her hand and replied, "Zhenji, take good care of the family."
"Don't worry, sister." Wan Qingmiao finally couldn't hold back her tears.
Shan Bo said to Wan Qingmiao, "Wan's boy, see you in the capital next March." Then he got on the carriage.
Wan Qingmiao nodded and waved at him, crying and laughing, "Uncle Shan, take care of yourself too."
The guard whipped the horse and the carriage moved slowly. The three members of the Wan family followed it for a hundred steps until the carriage turned into the main street, then they stopped and watched for a long time without looking back.
Seeing the Wan family's house disappearing in the streets, Xu Jiang could no longer hold back her tears. She lowered the curtain of the carriage, hugged Liu Mei and cried.
Liu Mei's eyes were red from her crying. She patted her back and advised, "Don't worry, we will see each other again soon."
Xu Jiang's crying gradually stopped, and she lay in Liu Mei's arms for a long time before she stood up, wiped her tears, and carefully tied the jade ring that Xizhi gave her around her waist.
"Now that I have found her, recognized her, and know where she is, I am no longer afraid of not seeing her." But from now on, I have an extra worry, but she is willing to accept it.
"It's better to be open-minded."
"I can let it go, but it's hard to let go." As the carriage drove out of Chongzhou City, Xu Jiang opened the curtain and looked back. Looking at the city gate that was getting farther and farther away, she felt a surge of longing in her heart.
Liu Mei sighed slightly. The mother and daughter had just recognized each other, and now they had to separate again. It was really hard to bear.
It was not until the carriage entered the official road and Chongzhou was no longer in sight that Xu Jiang reluctantly lowered the curtain.
Liu Mei held her hand, and the two of them leaned on each other in silence.
After a long while, Liu Mei said, "We've been away for so long, I'm sure our families have been waiting for us. I wonder how the Madam is doing and how things are going at home."
After being out for so long, she was always thinking about her home and Mrs. Lou.
Hearing this, Xu Jiang couldn't help feeling guilty. She was only concerned about her own sadness and forgot about Liu Mei.
Liu Mei was brought into the Lou residence by Madam Lou. She not only regarded Madam Lou as her master, but also as her closest relative. She put Madam Lou first in everything and obeyed her orders.
So when Mrs. Lou asked her to follow her out of Beijing to find her relatives, she came without hesitation. Even though she was vomiting all over due to the bumpy journey, she never complained.
They have been out for so long, how can she be so worried about Mrs. Lou?
She pulled Liu Mei's eyebrows to comfort him, "After we go to Yongsui and then go to Fuzhou to visit Mr. Du, we will be able to go home soon." Then she said regretfully, "I'm sorry to have troubled you and Shan Bo by following me all the way here."
Liu Mei had never left Kyoto and seldom left even her house, but now she had crossed mountains and rivers to come to this remote place for her. Xu Jiang was both moved and grateful, but also felt guilty.
Liu Mei stroked her back and smiled, "Although it's tiring, it's worth it."
Although the journey was not easy, it offered beautiful views of the mountains and rivers, exotic customs, and many unheard-of and unseen wonders, which broadened Liu Mei's horizons. This was an experience unimaginable for a woman living in the imperial court, and she probably wouldn't have it again. Now that she was leaving for Beijing, although she was eager to return, she was also reluctant to leave.
"Besides, we should do all these." She and Shan Bo devoted themselves to Xu Jiang, not only because of their master's orders, but also because they had long regarded Xu Jiang as a family member, just like the master, the mistress, and the young master.
Xu Jiang leaned against her and sighed, "How could I have done such a thing?"
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