Princess Jinyi breathed a sigh of relief after returning home with another bountiful harvest. Though she wasn't involved in court affairs, she knew from various sources that this voyage wasn't widely supported. Now that the cargo had been plentiful and the silver mine had been confirmed viable, it was time to return.
Leaving behind dozens of guards and supervisors, Princess Jinyi and Xu Lin boarded the return ship. Besides the silver balls, the boat also contained a wealth of new-to-nothing fruits. Durian, in particular, Princess Jinyi gathered ten full baskets, intending to return to the capital as quickly as possible.
The return voyage was smooth after a few minor storms. Seeing the Quanzhou dock from a distance, Princess Jinyi smiled with tears in her eyes and said, "It's great that we are all back."
Xu Lin, who had been standing beside her, reached out his hand to comfort Princess Jinyi, but paused mid-air. Then he pretended to scratch his head and said, "Yeah, you're back. Aren't you glad you're back?"
The original atmosphere was completely lost after being asked this by Xu Lin. Princess Jinyi glared at Xu Lin and said, "I'm happy. I'm going back to the capital soon, so of course I'm happy. But Master Xu will be alone in Quanzhou now, so please don't be sad."
Xu Lin felt a little bitter in his heart. He tried to force a smile but couldn't. He turned his head to look at the gradually clearing dock and said, "I am serving in Quanzhou. Princess, please take care of yourself."
Princess Jinyi felt empty inside and turned to look at the pier not far away.
"Welcome Her Royal Highness the Princess." As soon as the boat stopped, a group of officials rushed over and knelt down to salute.
Princess Jinyi held the hand of her maid and walked down from the boat. She raised her hand and said, "Everyone, please stand up."
Before getting on the carriage, Princess Jinyi glanced back at Xu Lin, who was surrounded by the crowd, and then lowered her head to get on the carriage. Xu Lin, who was surrounded by people, looked back as if he had something in mind, but he only saw the carriage starting to move.
The next day, Princess Jinyi waited for Xu Lin for two quarters of an hour but he still hadn't shown up, so she boarded the carriage back to Beijing. She had originally planned to be seen off by officials and their wives, but time was of the essence, so Princess Jinyi decided to leave on her own.
When the carriage reached the outskirts of the city, the sound of horses galloping could be heard from behind. Ah Er, riding back, looked back and laughed, "This kid, he finally caught up."
Ah Da, still with a cold face, did not reply, but rode his horse silently to protect the princess' carriage.
The sound of horse hooves approached. Princess Jinyi curiously lifted the curtain and looked behind. A handsome man in black robes rode a black horse and came rushing towards her. Looking at the man's face, Princess Jinyi suddenly felt shy and blushed, hastily lowering the curtain.
Xu Lin, having reined in his horse, dismounted gracefully and landed on the ground. He then walked to the side of the stopped carriage, bowed, and said, "Princess, I'm here to see you off."
Princess Jinyi, blushing, covered her face with her hands and hummed softly. Afraid that Xu Lin couldn't hear her, she lowered her voice and said, "I understand."
Xu Lin was a little disappointed when he didn't see Princess Jinyi come out, but he didn't dare to force it. He took out a peace amulet from his sleeve pocket and said, "This is a peace amulet I got from the Mazu Temple last night. Please accept it, Princess."
He gave the maid Zhuang Meng a wink, and she lifted the carriage curtain, stepped forward and held out her hand. After a pause, Xu Lin handed the amulet to the maid.
After receiving the amulet, Princess Jinyi touched her still hot face and quietly opened half of the curtain to take a peek at Xu Lin. As soon as she opened the curtain, she saw a pair of dark eyes. Princess Jinyi quickly lowered the curtain and said, "Xu, Master Xu, goodbye."
Then he told Zhuang Yun, "Let's set off."
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