The elder sisters still doted on their little brother. Especially sister Qiaoqiao, she held Zhao Hao in her hands for fear of dropping him, and held him in her mouth for fear of melting him. Besides, it was really cold that day, so she had no choice but to agree with a blushing face.

Anyway, they have kissed and soaked in the bath, so it doesn’t matter if they sleep together.

"My two sisters, please get under the quilt quickly!" Young Master Zhao happily lifted the quilt and invited the enemy into the trap.

"Forget it. I will snatch your quilt when I fall asleep..." Qiaoqiao felt as hot as a shrimp, and her whole body was so tense that her toes were about to cramp.

"Haha, you wish..." Sister Ma finally spoke. She scratched the tip of the young master's nose, which seemed to have grown longer, wrapped him in the quilt again, and said with a smile, "Cover yourself."

"Yes, yes, yes, cover yourself." As soon as Sister Ma opened her mouth, Qiaoqiao immediately became decisive and hurriedly wrapped the other side of him with the quilt.

Then he glared at Zhao Hao fiercely and said, "Don't push your luck, or no one will sleep with you!"

"Oh..." Seeing that his extreme pressure didn't work, Zhao Hao had to roll his eyes at Sister Ma and let the two sisters wrap him up like a dumpling.

Then the two sisters brought quilts and spread them out on both sides of him. Then they covered the three quilts with a thick cashmere quilt to press his feet.

From the outside, it really looks no different from sleeping in the same quilt.

After doing all this, the sisters blew out the lights, quietly took off their coats, changed into thick pajamas, and got into bed.

The bedroom returned to silence. The whistling sea breeze completely covered the breathing sounds of the three people. Zhao Hao felt as if he was lying in bed alone.

How could this be possible? He was about to open his mouth to say something when he suddenly felt the quilt on his left side move, as if something had crawled in.

Zhao Hao reached out to touch it, and ended up touching a slightly cold hand. The hand was slender and thin, and felt soft and boneless when held. It made people feel as if they were holding a handful of clear spring water, and any irritable mood could be calmed down.

It’s Sister Ma. Zhao Hao was immediately happy.

He turned his head to look at Ma Xianglan, but he couldn't see anything in the dark. But he knew that Sister Ma must be there, looking at him lovingly with her charming peach blossom eyes.

She always controlled the rhythm so naturally, making his heartstrings rise and fall, and he was led by the nose without realizing it.

Just as Master Zhao was about to move forward and kiss Sister Ma to regain some initiative, his right hand was suddenly grabbed.

This hand feels completely different, warm and soft, just like holding a baby's hand, making people feel happy and peaceful.

I didn't expect Sister Qiaoqiao to come too...

Although Zhao Hao was happy, he had to give up his plan to sneak attack Sister Ma. He could only lie flat and carefully stroke his sisters' two little hands.

Only then did he realize that there were tiny cuts on the backs of the hands of both sisters. They were caused by freezing from washing clothes and cooking for him every day on the boat. Even though Sister Ma had dozens of ways to take care of her hands, and even though she used hot water as much as possible, on the freezing sea, as long as her hands were wet, they would inevitably get cuts from freezing.

When they were at home, there were more than a dozen maids in the inner courtyard to assist the two sisters in serving Master Zhao. There were cooks and women in the kitchen, as well as special laundry women. But when they were away from home, these things were all taken care of by Sister Ma and Sister Qiaoqiao. Zhao Hao had to pay more attention to the impact of this sea battle.

If he took forty or fifty maids and old women with him, plus his guards, there would be no need for the flagship to carry anyone else. How would the soldiers view him?

There were so many people looking for him to eat all day, and it was winter now, so he could tell how hard his sisters were working. Zhao Hao couldn't help but hold his two sisters' hands tightly and said softly, "Sister Xianglan, Sister Qiaoqiao, you have suffered a lot during this period."

Sister Ma seemed to be asleep. After a while, she replied vaguely, "Yeah, it's not hard."

"I'm happy every day and I love being on the sea." Seeing her speak, Qiaoqiao responded.

"Sister, it's great to have you." Young Master Zhao said softly, "We want to be together forever."

"Well, we won't be apart for even a day..." Sister Ma's voice came closer and closer, and she kissed him silently on his left cheek.

With a "bang", he was kissed on the right side as well.

"Oh, there's a mosquito!" Qiaoqiao said jokingly. I didn't expect the noise to be so loud at night.

The three of them laughed happily, feeling warm in their hearts. The long night didn't seem so hard to endure.

The whole room is full of spring.

~~

That night, all three of them slept soundly.

As soon as the sky was light, Qiaoqiao woke up on time. She wanted to prepare breakfast for Zhao Hao. She yawned with her mouth covered, rubbed her eyes and woke up.

Come, and suddenly blush.

She realized that she had already crawled into Zhao Hao's quilt, with one leg draped over her, sleeping in a wicked manner...

"It's so embarrassing..." Qiaoqiao covered her face, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. Fortunately, Sister Ma also put an arm on the young man, as if she was holding a toy, and was sleeping soundly.

She quickly and carefully pulled back her legs, then with great willpower, got out of bed, tucked in the corners of Zhao Hao's quilt, and covered him with a foot quilt. Then she quickly dressed and went out to prepare breakfast.

As soon as the dormitory door was closed, Sister Ma's long eyelashes fluttered a few times, and she slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were very clear, and it was obvious that she had woken up a long time ago.

But she was not as jumpy as Qiaoqiao. Instead, she changed into a more comfortable position, prepared to hug him and enjoy this rare peace, and then got up to help Qiaoqiao in the kitchen.

Zhao Hao suddenly turned over and faced her.

Sister Ma was startled and quickly pretended to close her eyes, only to find that he was still sleeping soundly. After sleeping with Zhao Hao for so long, she could tell from his breathing whether he was really sleeping or pretending to sleep, and whether he was sleeping well.

Ma Xianglan opened her eyes again, looked at her beloved little man and smiled.

Before I knew it, he had grown a lot. The hair at the corners of his mouth was getting thicker and his Adam's apple was starting to develop.

She couldn't help but think about how she felt when she received Mr. Zhao's invitation letter and the poem "Parrot".

Unconsciously, more than two years have passed. The sounds of piano and lights by the Qinhuai River have become blurred. The parrot of the past has long since flown out of the cage and gained the freedom it had always dreamed of.

Although it was not quite the same as what she had imagined, with a talented scholar and a beautiful woman, and the life of studying and playing the zither together, and the young master had been writing less and less poetry over the years, Sister Ma deeply felt that her life now had real meaning.

Just like the freedom of a parrot and the freedom of a swan, they are two completely different things.

"It's really a stroke of genius to stick to him so persistently." Ma Xianglan felt sweet in her heart. She suddenly wanted to see how mature this little man was, so she reached out to touch Zhao Hao's... Adam's apple.

At this moment, Ma Yinglong's voice suddenly rang out from outside: "Good morning, Miss Qiaoqiao. Is the young master awake?"

Sister Ma stuck out her tongue, withdrew her hand, and quickly stood up quietly. The young master can sleep in, but his all-day escort secretary can't...

~~

When Secretary Ma came out to meet Ma Yinglong, she had returned to her image of a cold and frosty female police officer.

Because she had to follow Zhao Hao everywhere, in many ways, it was definitely inappropriate for her to wear a skirt. Sister Ma took matters into her own hands and changed Zhao Hao's spare police robe into a female style, wearing long leather boots, gold-rimmed glasses, carrying a whip... Oh no, holding a folder and following behind Master Zhao, it was much more convenient to go anywhere.

But it is inevitable that she will attract attention, because she is unwilling to compromise on her feminine charm.

Ma Yinglong didn't dare to look at this relative any longer. He quickly took out the negotiation draft from the folder and handed it to Ma Xianglan with both hands.

Sister Ma took it and thanked him for his hard work. She informed Zhao Hao of his schedule for the day and asked him to go back first.

She returned to the bedroom, opened the thick curtains to let the morning light shine into the room, and then gently woke up Master Zhao. While helping him wash and dress, she repeated the contents of the treaty to Zhao Hao.

"…Our conditions this time have basically been met." Sister Ma handed Zhao Hao mouthwash and whispered softly, "But the other party said that they are short of money and the output of gold and silver mines is limited. They hope to use more materials to pay off the debt. Commissioner Ma, in accordance with the instructions of the young master, allowed them to use wood and sulfur to pay off the debt."

Sulfur is a big deal. Kyushu Island has many mountains and dense forests. Although there is no suitable oak, Japanese cedar, cypress, and larch can be used to build ordinary merchant ships and cargo ships. Moreover, they can be shipped back to China to build houses, make furniture, and make paper... In short, given the demand of the Ming Dynasty, it is absolutely like a black hole, and it can swallow up any imports.

"Well, I can." Zhao Hao spat out the green salt he used to brush his teeth, opened his mouth and gargled with saliva, saying, "But I have to bargain as hard as I can. It's just a few rotten pieces of wood. How much can they be worth?"

In fact, wood was really valuable in the Ming Dynasty, especially in Jiangnan, where large tracts of forests could no longer be found. The wood needed was imported from Jiangxi and Sichuan, and the transportation cost was no less than that from Japan.

Zhao Hao plans to use Japanese wood to make chopsticks, which can be regarded as his contribution to the environmental protection cause of the Ming Dynasty.

~~

Because Otomo Sorin repented and behaved very sensibly, Master Zhao rewarded him by having breakfast with him.

In order to achieve educational effects, Zhao Hao also called Pinto and two priests together.

Zong Lin, the old fox, guessed Mr. Zhao's intention, so he naturally tried to please him in every way during the banquet, and tried his best to wag his tail and beg for mercy.

In a word, if Master Zhao tells someone to go east, he will never go west; if Master Zhao tells someone to chase a dog, he will never chase a chicken. He also requested that his son recognize Master Zhao as his godfather, but was rejected by Zhao Hao on the grounds that his age was not appropriate.

Zhao Hao really has no interest in being a father to the Japanese. At least Otomo Yoshitsugu is not qualified. If it is Tokugawa Ieyasu, Date Masamune, or Tachibana Ginchiyo, he can still consider it.

Zong Lin's performance frightened the two priests. They had no doubt that if Zhao Hao ordered a ban on Christianism, the most powerful Ming in Kyushu would do so.

Looking at Chunzhong who was standing behind Master Zhao like a puppy, they felt deeply worried - it seemed that this Christian daimyo had also been subdued by the Ming people.

ps. Still two updates...try to write more tomorrow...