Chapter 101 Old Friends (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
The next day, before dawn, Fu Mingzi got ready and came to the front yard.
As soon as he arrived, he saw that the old man and Fu Mingsong were standing under the corridor, and Fu Mingzhu was also seen off by Madam Wen as they left through the second gate, as if he had arrived the latest.
Fu Mingzi was immediately a little embarrassed and touched her nose: "I overslept."
"It's alright." The old man was unusually gentle and did not scold him. "You are leaving home today. Be careful when you are out and about. Try not to stay overnight on the road. It would be best to stay at an inn. If that's not possible, an inn or a guesthouse will also be fine."
Fu Mingzi nodded in agreement.
Then the old man nodded behind him, and a man led a horse out.
Fu Mingzi recognized it at a glance; the horse was the old man's most cherished Akhal-Teke, the Great General.
"I was going to give it to you when you came back, but now that you're going out, I need to be prepared. So I'll lend you this horse for now. If you don't perform well, I'll take it back when you return."
Fu Mingzi was already overjoyed, not listening to the old man's last words.
"Don't worry, I will take good care of the General and ensure my eldest sister is safely delivered. I will definitely not let you down," Fu Mingzi said loudly.
Seeing the joyful smile on Fu Mingzi's face, the old man's eyes couldn't help but sting. He didn't know if he would ever see her again.
The old man couldn't resist and hugged Fu Mingzi tightly, patting him on the head before quickly letting go: "You brat, all you do is talk big." The old man seemed to be smiling as he spoke.
Fu Mingzi was initially surprised by the old man's hug, but after hearing the old man's scolding, he realized there was nothing wrong with it, so he smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Dad, just you wait, I will definitely prove it to you."
"Okay, okay." The old man's hands, hidden in his sleeves, trembled slightly, but he still had a smile on his face.
Fu Mingzhu then stepped forward to say goodbye to the old man. She no longer needed to hide it; her eyes were already red and swollen. She said goodbye to the old man with a sob in her voice. The old man helped her up and solemnly instructed her, "Mingzhu, you have always been a very perceptive child. You must remember what I told you about this matter."
Fu Mingzhu knew that the old man meant for her to protect her younger brother and herself. She felt even more grief-stricken and couldn't speak, so she could only nod with difficulty.
The old man closed his eyes, sighed, turned his face away, and dared not look at his two children again. He simply said, "You go ahead, I won't see you off."
At this moment, Fu Mingsong seemed much calmer. He gave Fu Mingzi some instructions, even helped him tidy up his luggage, and then personally escorted him to the city gate.
When Fu Mingzi arrived at the city gate, he waved goodbye to Fu Mingsong, then excitedly jumped onto the general's back and galloped away.
Fu Mingsong stood there, watching his younger brother's joyful laughter. The fake smile on his face slowly faded. He closed his eyes, his eyes seeming a little wet, but in the end he didn't say a word. He only said in a deep voice, "Let's go back."
**
After riding for a while, Fu Mingzi got bored and turned back to Fu Mingzhu's group. When Mu Zhenyun saw his fifth uncle return, he excitedly approached him: "Uncle, can I ride the Great General for a bit?"
Fu Mingzi tapped his forehead: "You brat, dream on. I've been waiting for the position of General for many years."
Mu Zhenyun's face immediately fell, looking extremely disappointed.
Fu Mingzi looked at him, but couldn't help thinking of Zhou Xiaoyan. He reached into his pocket and touched the letter he had read a hundred times, as well as a small jade carving tucked inside the letter.
That was Zhou Xiaoyan's reply to him last night. He could have expected to receive a reply, but he didn't expect Zhou Xiaoyan to include a jade carving in the letter. It was a jade carving that he had made himself and originally intended to give to Fu Mingzi on his birthday. However, Fu Mingzi had left the capital and his birthday celebration had been delayed this year, so he could only give the jade carving to him now.
Last night, Fu Mingzi held the jade carving in her hand and looked at it under the lamp for an hour. She also held the jade carving in her arms when she went to sleep.
Although the jade carving technique is immature and the lines are not smooth enough, it is something made by Zhou Xiaoyan himself, which is enough to be comparable to all the treasures in the world.
Fu Mingzi felt his heart was full. He thought that when he returned from Yun'an, he must stay overnight at the Prince of Jin's residence. This time, no one could stop him.
In an instant, Fu Mingzi felt something was off, and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Mu Zhenyun, watching from the side, asked curiously, "Fifth Uncle, what's wrong with you? What are you grinning about?"
Fu Mingzi snapped back to reality, feeling a little embarrassed. She subconsciously ruffled Mu Zhenyun's hair and said forcefully, "Little kid, what are you asking? Hurry up and go to your mother's side. We need to rest in the town ahead before tonight."
After saying this, Mu Zhenyun left somewhat reluctantly, but Fu Mingzi was a little stunned. He remembered that the small town in front of him was the place where he had arranged for Miss Yang Liu to stay.
By the way, Li Wei hasn't replied to his messages in a long time either, and he doesn't know if Li Wei is still there.
Thinking of this, Fu Mingzi became somewhat interested. Since she was passing by today, she decided to find an opportunity to go and take a look.
**
They hurried along and finally entered the town before dark. When they arrived at the town's inn, there was only one superior room and one ordinary room left. Fu Mingzhu and Mu Xuexi shared the superior room, but the ordinary room was not big enough for two people. Fu Mingzhu was a little embarrassed and couldn't help but say, "Let Yun-ge'er and the servants stay in the shared room. It's only for one night anyway."
Fu Mingzi smiled and waved her hand: "No need for that, let Yun-ge stay here, I'll just book a room at an inn outside."
Fu Mingzhu disagreed: "At this hour, the inn is probably closed by now."
Fu Mingzi smiled and said, "Big sister, don't worry about it. Even if the inn is closed, someone I know is staying here. I can stay there for one night. Don't worry."
Fu Mingzhu knew that Fu Mingzi had many friends, so she didn't suspect anything and just nodded: "Okay, but if you don't have a place to stay, remember to come back, even if you have to squeeze in."
Fu Mingzi smiled and nodded: "I understand."
After settling Fu Mingzhu and her group in, Fu Mingzi quietly left the inn and headed towards the residence of Miss Yang Liu, which she remembered from before.
As Fu Mingzi and the others approached, they realized that someone seemed to still live inside. However, Fu Mingzi wasn't sure if it was still Miss Yang Liu inside, so she hesitated for a moment before deciding to knock on the door.
After knocking three times, the door was suddenly opened, startling Fu Mingzi.
"Fifth Master! What are you doing here?" Li Wei's voice came from inside the door.
Fu Mingzi finally breathed a sigh of relief, surprised that they were still there: "I was seeing my older sister off from Beijing and was passing by when I thought I'd come and visit."
"Please come in quickly, it's getting dark and the dew is heavy outside, be careful not to catch a cold." Li Wei hurriedly welcomed him in.
Fu Mingzi finally got a good look at Li Wei. Compared to before, his originally cold face had softened a bit, and the clothes he was wearing were no longer the cold guard uniform, but casual clothes. He looked like an ordinary man, except that he was a bit tall, there was nothing wrong with him.
"Looking at it this way, you seem to be living quite well here," Fu Mingzi said with a smile.
Li Wei's face froze for a moment, and he suddenly knelt down on the ground: "Miss Yang agreed to let me protect her in public. In order to make things easier, I pretended to be her husband. Please forgive me, Fifth Master."
Fu Mingzi was taken aback; he hadn't expected this. He couldn't help but look at the person who was kneeling down and begging for forgiveness.
But before he could say anything, Miss Yang's gentle voice suddenly came from inside the room: "Brother Li, who is it? You still have a few pieces of luggage that haven't been packed yet. Do you need me to help you with them?"
Fu Mingzi raised an eyebrow and looked in the direction of the voice, only to see that it was indeed Miss Yang, who slowly walked out of the house.
Li Wei, kneeling on the ground, looked increasingly pale.
As soon as Miss Yang came out of the house, she saw this scene. She was startled at first, but then she quickly came to her senses, slowly walked forward, and bowed to Fu Mingzi: "So it is Young Master Fu who has come. I am honored to greet you."
Fu Mingzi smiled and raised her hand to help her up, saying, "Miss Yang, there's no need for such formalities."
Miss Yang stood up and glanced at Li Wei kneeling on the ground. She said softly, "I wonder what mistake Guard Li has made to kneel on the ground?"
Fu Mingzi raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I was confused too. I only asked one question, and this kid suddenly knelt down and begged for forgiveness. Speaking of which..." Fu Mingzi suddenly changed the subject, "Is Miss Yang leaving?"
Miss Yang smiled, but her eyes still couldn't help glancing at Li Wei kneeling on the ground. Her tone was somewhat absent-minded: "Yes, after living here for a while, I still think it's best to go far away, otherwise I'll be on tenterhooks."
“Miss Yang is absolutely right.” Fu Mingzi nodded in a perfunctory manner.
"Guard Li..."
"When is Miss Yang leaving? I should at least prepare some travel gifts for her." Fu Mingzi interrupted Miss Yang's question, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Miss Yang blushed slightly and sighed, "Young Master Fu, please stop teasing me. Let Guard Li get up. To be honest, it's my fault for being immoral, and it has nothing to do with Guard Li."
Hearing this, Fu Mingzi finally couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Miss Yang, weren't you quite bold before? Why are you shy today?" After saying that, she looked at Li Wei: "Get up quickly, otherwise Miss Yang will think I'm bullying her."
Li Wei looked somewhat bewildered, but he still stood up and said in a low voice, "It has nothing to do with Miss Yang; it was I who overstepped my bounds."
Fu Mingzi chuckled and patted Li Wei on the shoulder: "Alright, alright, I was just joking with you guys earlier, why are you taking it so seriously? I don't care about what's between you and Miss Yang. Although you are my bodyguard, now that you have your own ideas, I won't keep you by my side. If you want to leave, then go ahead. Do you think I'd stop you?"
Upon hearing this, Li Wei's eyes immediately reddened. Although he was not a servant of the Fu family, he was an orphan taken in by the Fu family. Because he had some talent for martial arts, he was selected and trained by the Fu family to be Fu Mingzi's bodyguard. It can be said that if it weren't for the Fu family, he would be a skeleton in a grave by now.
"Thank you for your kindness, Fifth Master." Li Wei looked at Fu Mingzi solemnly: "If there is anything I can do to help you in the future, I will repay you with my life."
Fu Mingzi smiled and waved her hand: "You don't need to be destroyed. As long as you live well, that's the best way to repay me."
After saying this, Fu Mingzi looked at Miss Yang and said, "I also congratulate Miss Yang on her new life."
Miss Yang's face was still slightly flushed, but her eyes were bright and sparkling: "Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Fu."
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Author's Note: Well, it's almost finished. My next book might be a double release of "I Inherited a Planet [Transmigration]" and "Senior Brother Isn't a White Lotus". If you're interested, you can pre-order them. "Planet" is a story where the protagonist is the receiver, and "Senior Brother" is a story where the protagonist is the attacker.
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