The entire water god ceremony takes more than half an hour to complete.

When He Yan and Xiao Jue came down, it was already late. Ling Xiu and Yan Min'er had long disappeared, so Aunt Wei said, "You have been walking around all day without eating. Young Master and Miss Yuyan must be hungry, right?"

He Yan touched her belly and said, "It's okay."

"Then let's go have dinner first." Cui Yuezhi said, "There are several good restaurants in Jiyang, which one do you want to go to, Yuyan?"

"I think..." He Yan pointed to the black-sailed boat in the river, "Let's go eat there."

She had just seen that many people were riding in a small boat with a stove at the bow. She didn't know what was cooking inside, probably soup or something. The remaining food and wine could be bought by paying at the shore or at the vendors on the river. People could eat on the boat while watching the lively scene on both sides of the river and the riverside customs. It was very special.

She had never been to Jiyang before, and thought it was new and exciting, so she wanted to give it a try.

"That's a firefly boat." Aunt Wei explained with a smile, "In the evening, the boatman will row the boat to the Firefly Spring. The weather in Jiyang is warm, so there are fireflies even in summer. In the woods near the Firefly Spring, if you row the boat past at night, you can see fireflies all along the river bank in the dense forest. It's very beautiful! I was lucky enough to go there with you once a year, and now when I think about it, I still think it's so beautiful."

When He Yan heard what she said, he wanted to go even more, so he looked at Cui Yuezhi and said, "Uncle, how about we take this fire boat?"

"Girls all like these," Cui Yuezhi smiled and waved his hand, "I won't go. This fire boat is only prepared for couples or lovers. Two people per boat. There are so many of us, we can't take one boat."

He Yan was stuck in his words, thinking that this Jiyang Water God Festival, could it be the Qixi Festival in the Central Plains? It was too unfriendly to those who didn't have a lover. Without a lover, did that mean I was not qualified to see the legendary Luoying Spring? How could that be possible!

"Since Miss Yuyan wants to go, you can go with Master Qingqing." Aunt Wei said with a smile, "There are many boats going with you around. There should be a water stage on the road tonight, and it should be very lively."

He Yan was struggling. She really wanted to go and see it for herself, but Xiao Jue... might not be willing.

She turned to look at Xiao Jue and asked tentatively, "Young Master?"

"Don't even think about it."

"Master, I really want to go."

Xiao Jue pulled the corner of his mouth, "I think you are really pushing your luck."

"I've never seen what a large field of fireflies looks like," He Yan whispered, "Since we're here, don't you want to take a look? Don't treat me like a woman, just like a subordinate. We're just passing by here, so let's appreciate the local customs and people."

"Master, husband?" He Yan called him flatteringly again.

Xiao Jue's mouth twitched: "Speak properly."

"If you don't agree to me, I will keep talking like this."

Aunt Wei smiled with her hands covering her mouth, as if she couldn't stand watching the two children quarreling. She whispered a few words to Cui Yuezhi, who nodded. Aunt Wei then asked someone to go to the river to wave and find a boat. She said to He Yan and Xiao Jue, "The master has already paid the money. Tonight, the master on this boat will take you to travel all over the Jiyang River. If you come across anything delicious or fun, just buy it. When the time comes, he will also take you to Luoying Spring." After a pause, she continued, "I wanted to ask you to bring a few guards with you, but there are city garrisons patrolling the Luoying Spring, so there shouldn't be any problems. But if you are worried, you can..."

"Thank you, Aunt Wei! There's no need for guards..." He Yan said happily, and suddenly remembered something, and asked Xiao Jue: "What if Lin Shuanghe and Chi Wu also want to go and see it?"

Xiao Jue looked back and saw that Chiwu and his men had all taken a few steps back and shook their heads at him, indicating that they didn't want to watch.

Well, rough men generally don't like things like fireflies. Even if they like them, they dare not show it here.

"Then let's go up first." He Yan was very happy and got on the awning boat first.

This boat is not as gorgeous as the boats on the Chunlai River in Shuojing City, and it can even be called simple in appearance, but it is spacious inside, with a floor and a small stove for cooking. If you sit here, eat something, feel the river breeze, and look at the lights of the night markets along both sides of the river, it is truly a beautiful thing in the world.

He Yan bent over and walked in, then sat on the couch and looked toward the river.

The Jiyang Canal is very long and runs through the city. Today is a festival, so many lanterns are lit on both sides of the river. Everyone is shouting and laughing, making it very lively. The boatman is a middle-aged man wearing a straw hat. He is very strong and has powerful arms. He paddles the boat with great effort.

He Yan was lying on the bow. She was originally a little afraid of water, but now it was so lively around her, and maybe because Xiao Jue was by her side, her previous fears had faded a lot, and only the novelty remained.

She was watching happily when suddenly a small boat passed by. There was also a couple on the boat. The woman suddenly threw a handful of water at her. He Yan was splashed all over her head and face and was completely stunned.

The boatman laughed: "You are from another place, don't you know the rules of Jiyang? On the canal, if two boats meet, they will have a water fight. People say that the canal water feeds the people of Jiyang. What is splashed is not water, but blessings and luck!"

The girl also smiled at her, kindly and with a little cunning, which made it difficult for people to get angry. He Yan thought, what kind of rule is this? Aren't they afraid that their clothes will get soaked and they won't be able to go out?

He Yan's idea was actually really unfair to the people of Jiyang. Anyone who knew that they would go on the boat to have a water fight tonight would have brought several sets of clothes for easy changing. Only she foolishly came wearing only one piece of clothing. Cui Yuezhi might not have been on a fire boat for a long time and had long forgotten about it, so she acted like this.

Perhaps because they saw that she was particularly fond of splashing, several boats came over from the surrounding area. Regardless of whether they were men or women, they all bent down and scooped up a handful of water from the canal and threw it at He Yan.

He Yan: “?”

She shouted, "Boatman, please row the boat farther away!"

Before she finished her words, a handful of water hit her face. He Yan was startled. The next moment, someone stood in front of her and pressed her head into his arms to block the oncoming water.

Xiao Jue glanced at the opposite side. The one who threw water at He Yan was a man, and he was a man without any sense of sympathy for women, and he was smiling foolishly at He Yan. Xiao Jue curled the corners of his lips, and the next moment, the teacups in the boat made a large floating mark in the water, and a large amount of water flowed with a "splash" sound, soaking the man from head to toe.

The person next to the man, who was either his wife or his lover, asked anxiously, "How could you do this?"

Xiao Jue looked at him with a half-smile, and said slowly: "I'm sending you some more blessings, no need to thank me."

He Yan: “…”

She raised her head from Xiao Jue's arms and said, "Actually, there's no need to worry about it." She looked around again and was speechless for a moment, "Look how scared I am."

There were a few boats surrounding them, probably because they thought He Yan's reaction was very interesting. But after seeing the man's previous experience, they dared not approach him and asked the boatman to quickly move the boat away, as if they were avoiding the god of plague.

Xiao Jue laughed: "Are you still in the mood to care about others?"

He Yan looked down at herself, half of her body was soaked by the water. Xiao Jue stood up, walked to the stern, took a handkerchief for her and threw it over, then sat down beside the small stove where tea was boiling, "Come here."

He Yan went over as he was told, and Xiao Jue said, "Roast your hair dry."

He Yan responded obediently, put her long hair on the stove, and said while roasting it in the heat: "Captain, are you hungry?"

"Are you hungry?"

He Yan touched her belly and said, "Very."

Her appetite has always been amazing. Xiao Jue sighed, went to the front and said something to the boatman. Soon, the boatman rowed the boat to a water market.

It was called a water market, but in fact it was just dozens of boats put together, with snacks, hot tea, various snacks, and even roasted chicken and roasted goose on the boats, which smelled delicious. The boat stopped at the water market, and Xiao Jue asked He Yan to come to the bow: "Pick your own."

The food on the boat all had Jiyang characteristics, which were very different from those in Shuojing. He Yan was greedy for this, but couldn't bear to give up that, so he picked a little of each, and then he hugged a large pile of oil paper bags. Xiao Jue was silent for a moment, and asked, "Are you a glutton?"

"If you can't finish it, you can take it back to Lin Shuanghe and the others," He Yan said with a smile, "I have been very restrained."

Xiao Jue was speechless for a moment, picked out a few items, paid the money, and helped her carry the things wrapped in oil paper into the boat.

With these food and drinks, He Yan was very happy. Sitting on the couch, looking out of the boat, she happily opened the paper packages to eat and drink. She had a good appetite to begin with, and after being hungry for a day, she ate without any image. Xiao Jue endured it and said, "Pay attention to your manners."

He Yan hummed nonchalantly and continued to do as he pleased. After reminding Xiao Jue twice with no results, he gave up.

She leaned her hands on the small window of the boat, and suddenly remembered that when she was young, she also took a boat to Jinling with her classmates from Xianchang Hall, and Xiao Jue was also there. It was her first time on a boat, and she was seasick. She vomited several times on the boat and almost died on the boat.

He no longer suffers from seasickness, but the young men back then have gone their separate ways, and in the end, Xiao Jue is still by his side.

The world is unpredictable.

"There seems to be a water stage over there." He Yan said in surprise, "Boatman, can you please move the boat over there?"

The boatman said, "Okay," and paddled the boat to the side of the floating stage.

Under the stage, I don't know what it was supported by, only some wooden piles on the water, and on top of the wooden piles, the stage was built. The spectators around could only sit on the boats and look up, and saw the actors with painted faces singing vigorously. The Wusheng dance was very beautiful, with humming and humming. Although I couldn't quite understand it, it was very lively.

There was also a boat selling delicious honey water. He Yan ran to the bow to see that many girls were buying it. Seeing that He Yan was absorbed in watching, the vendor smiled and explained, "Girls, they are all fresh. Why don't you have a sip when you are tired of watching the show? We have everything here, lychee syrup, bayberry thirst quenching water, apricot drink, plum wine, sugarcane juice, pear juice, sweet bean soup..."

He Yan saw a small cup that looked snow-white and cold, with red dumplings on it, so he asked, "What is that?"

"This is sugar ice cold yuanzi. It's sweet and cool. One bite is definitely worth it. Girl, would you like a cup?"

He Yan was a little greedy and was about to speak when Xiao Jue asked, "Is this cold?"

"It's cool," the vendor replied warmly, "The ice hasn't melted yet, it's very cool!"

"Don't want this one, try a hot one," he said.

He Yan was stunned, but the vendor said enthusiastically: "How about the sweet bean soup? We just cooked it, it's very warm in your hands. Hey, did you get wet just now?" The vendor smiled and scooped a spoonful of sweet bean soup from the bucket into a bowl and handed it to He Yan, saying: "Then you have to drink more hot water to warm your body, you are really considerate!"

He Yan was confused and didn't care what the man said at this moment. He just asked Xiao Jue: "Don't you want to drink something?"

"I don't drink sweet things." He turned and walked into the boat.

He Yan asked the vendor, "Is there anything that's not sweet?"

“Basil drink is not sweet.”

He Yan took out a few copper coins from his sleeves: "Another glass of basil drink."

She followed Xiao Jue into the boat with a bowl of sweet bean soup in one hand and a glass of basil drink in the other. She handed the basil drink to Xiao Jue and said, "This isn't sweet. I asked. Drink it. It's my treat!"

Xiao Jue was speechless: "I gave you the money."

"It's the thought that counts. How can you be so fussy?" He Yan scooped a spoonful of sweet bean soup for herself. The syrup was sweet and warm. She squinted her eyes and said, "It's really delicious!"

Xiao Jue sneered: "It's really easy to keep alive."

"You don't know," He Yan said, "I seldom ate sweets before, but I actually like sweets very much." She said, "Jiyang is really great, I also want to be a Jiyang person."

"You can stay here."

"How can that be possible?" He Yan sighed, "There are always many other things to do."

As they were talking, another small boat came by, and someone exclaimed in surprise. He Yan climbed over to take a look and saw a craftsman sitting at the bow of the boat, making dough figurines. He made dough figurines based on what the opera singers were singing. The straw pile was already filled with dough figurines, and they looked exactly like the female and male actors in the opera. His craftsmanship was truly outstanding.

He Yan lay on the bow, watching the dough ball change rapidly in the man's hands without blinking. The old man who was making the dough figurine smiled and asked, "Miss, if you like it, can you buy one? I can make a dough figurine just like you for you."

"really?"

"Of course."

He Yan was somewhat tempted, but hesitated for a moment, "Forget it."

Xiao Jue was cooking something on the small stove for making tea. Hearing this, he looked up at her and asked, "Why not?"

He Yan turned around and whispered, "I am a woman now, so I can buy it. But if I go back to the guardhouse, I will have to dress like a man. It is not convenient to carry this person with me. It would be inappropriate if someone finds it as evidence. If I lose it anyway, why bother to own it?"

Xiao Jue stared at her, then suddenly smiled and said calmly, "You are a short person, but you have a lot of ideas." He clicked his fingers, and a string of copper coins flew onto the craftsman's table, "Make one for her."

The old man smiled and put away the copper money: "Okay."

He Yan turned around hastily and walked to Xiao Jue's side: "Why did you buy it? I can't take it with me when I leave Jiyang, why waste money?"

"You don't like it," he sneered, "If you like it, buy it. In this world, if you don't fight for it because you are afraid of losing it, it would be too boring."

Seeing that He Yan still didn't move, his eyes were full of sarcasm, but his tone was very calm, "Miss He, this is Jiyang, you can do whatever you want today, don't worry about the consequences. You are what you are. You can say what you like and what you hate directly. You don't have to wrong yourself, and you don't have to lie to everyone."

He Yan was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.

After a while, she said, "Can I really do whatever I want?"

Xiao Jue shrugged, "Do whatever you want."

He Yan sat down.

The old man who was making dough figurines had excellent skills. In just a few moments, he had finished making one. He called out to He Yan from the other end, "The girl's dough figurine is ready!"

He Yan thanked him and took the dough figurine from him. The figurine was made very delicately, even the lace on the skirt was exactly the same as the one on her body, and the figure was also pretty. She was mesmerized by it, and after a while, she held up the dough figurine and asked Xiao Jue: "Commander-in-chief, do you think she looks like me?"

Xiao Jue replied coldly: "Much better than you."

He Yan was used to being squeezed by him, so she didn't mind. She just said happily, "It turns out that I really do look like a woman."

She saw Xiao Jue taking something out of the pot on the stove and putting it in a bowl. He Yan went over to take a look and saw that Xiao Jue had cooked a bowl of clear soup noodles without knowing when. The noodles were snow-white with a little soy sauce, no green onions, only an egg inside, and some green vegetables, giving off a fragrant aroma.

He Yan was stunned. She was busy looking at the scenery outside and eating. She didn't know when Xiao Jue cooked a bowl of noodles. She asked, "Captain, are you hungry?"

Xiao Jue didn't say anything, just pushed the bowl in front of her and handed her a pair of chopsticks: "Eat."

"For me?" He Yan took the chopsticks and was flattered. "Why? I bought a lot of food, but you didn't..."

Before she could even utter the word "hungry", she heard the man in front of her say calmly, "Isn't today your birthday?"

He Yan was stunned.

After a while, she asked, "...how do you know?" Even though she was in front of Cui Yuezhi, she was talking about...a few days after the vernal equinox.

"Miss He," Xiao Jue said slowly, "Do you know that your ability to deceive people is unpredictable and sometimes full of loopholes?"

He Yan didn't say anything. After a while, she spoke softly: "So the reason why you are so nice to me today is actually because you know that today is my birthday, right?"

"Good?" Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows: "You seem to have many misunderstandings about good. Am I good to you?"

No. He Yan thought to herself that, except for Liu Buwang, she had never met anyone as good to her as Xiao Jue. No one had ever remembered her birthday. In the past birthdays, they called her "He Rufei". That was He Rufei's birthday, not hers.

But today's bowl of shou noodles was made by Xiao Jue for "He Yan".

She raised her head and smiled at Xiao Jue, "Governor, you are so kind to me, thank you."

The girl's eyes curved up, and she was clearly smiling, but her eye sockets, which were swollen by the heat, were actually a little red. Xiao Jue was slightly stunned, and when he was about to speak, He Yan had already buried his head in eating noodles.

He didn't say anything.

The sky was completely dark, the sky was as black as ink, and thousands of stars were shining down. The water also formed a river of stars, pressing down on a boat full of old dreams.

The boatman rowed slowly, and before he knew it, he had left the busiest section of the river. There were fewer boats around, and a cool breeze blew, making him feel relaxed and happy.

A streak of dark green light passed across the water and stopped at the bow of the boat.

The boatman has stopped rowing and the boat is floating quietly on the water.

He Yan took Xiao Jue out to see what was happening. They saw countless bright and faint lights swaying by the spring and deep in the forest. They danced around the water and the trees, like a glittering rain. Thousands of lights were reflected in people's eyes.

"It's so beautiful." He Yan exclaimed.

It's not that I haven't seen beautiful scenery in the past, but I was in the army and didn't have the energy to appreciate it. It's been many years since I let go of everything like this.

She will never forget such a night. He Yan turned around and saw Xiao Jue lying on the bow, with his hands behind his head, looking at the fire in front of him. She thought about it and lay down beside Xiao Jue, imitating Xiao Jue's way of putting his hands behind his head, looking at the light that could not be extinguished by the night wind, as if the starlight was right at hand.

"Today is the happiest birthday I have ever had, Governor, thank you," she said.

Xiao Jue didn't comment, and said, "Don't we all make wishes on our birthdays? Well, there must be a beginning and an end."

"Make a wish?" He Yan said, "I don't have any wishes."

Praying for God's blessing is mostly a self-deception. If you want something, you have to fight for it yourself.

"So indifferent?"

"If I really have to say it, I hope there is someone in the world who is meant for me."

Not for He Rufei, not for General Feihong, just for her, I came for her.

"What kind of wish is that?" Xiao Jue sneered, "I thought you wanted to be promoted to a higher position and make great achievements. At the very least, you should be admitted to the Nine Banners Camp."

The lights in the forest sparkled as the night approached. Perhaps it was because the wind was so nice and the scenery was so beautiful tonight that she wanted to say a few more words.

She said, "Commander, have you noticed that ever since I've been with you, I've always been someone else's substitute. One moment I was Cheng Lisu, the next I was Wen Yuyan, and next time, I don't know what identity I'll be."

Xiao Jue asked: "Feeling wronged?"

"Not really, it's just..." She looked off into the distance with some disappointment, "Sometimes when you've been a stand-in for someone for so long, you'll inevitably forget who you are."

"Captain, you must remember my name."

"My name is ..."

"He Yan."

The girl turned her face towards the sky and smiled slightly. Xiao Jue turned his head to look at her and saw that her eyes were clear. In her happiness, there seemed to be a layer of dark sadness. The past brightness was gone, as if there were countless pains that were difficult to express in words, and in the end, they were swallowed one by one.

He turned his head and looked up at the sky. In the fields, bright wild lights were dancing, stars were streaming like waterfalls, cool breeze was blowing across people's cheeks, and the water surface was calm and uncertain.

I wonder how many people will fall into their sweet dreams tonight, and how many people have seen the glimmer of light in the middle of the night.

The young man raised his lips and said slowly, "Such an ugly name, I will remember it after hearing it once."

"Don't worry that I'll forget, Miss He."

"He Yan."