Set Sail

The next morning.

Jia Lian was still hungover, so Sun Shaozong naturally became the overall commander of the entire household. First, he had the numerous luggage and miscellaneous items stuffed into several large carts, and then ordered people to the backyard to invite the women to set off.

During this busy period, Sun Shaozong, remembering Jia Lian's drunken words from that day, secretly examined Lin Daiyu's luggage. Seeing that it was indeed as shabby as he had expected, he couldn't help but sigh.

As the saying goes, 'Three years as a clean magistrate brings a hundred thousand taels of silver.' The Salt Commissioner's office is one of the most lucrative positions in the world, surpassing that of a magistrate by more than tenfold.

Even if Lin Ruhai was as incorruptible as could be, he should still have had a million taels of silver. Yet now, all that's left are these worthless trinkets—combined with Jia Lian's drunken admission that he had let Daiyu down, the whereabouts of the silver are obvious.

"Shao Zong, why do you sigh?"

Just then, Jia Yucun's voice suddenly came from behind.

Sun Shaozong's heart skipped a beat. He quickly turned around and said perfunctorily, "Lord Lin was such an upright official, yet he unfortunately died young. Isn't it a pity and a lament?"

"Alas~"

Jia Yucun also sighed, lamenting, "Brother Ruhai was truly a man of great talent, but who would have thought that heaven would be jealous of his abilities and take him away so soon? Fortunately, there is the Rongguo Mansion, a noble relative, otherwise, it would be good if no one took care of the affairs after his death, but what about my poor, lonely female student?"

A noble relative is indeed a relative with a very high price!

Hearing Jia Yucun particularly emphasize the words 'noble relative,' Sun Shaozong knew that this old fox had already seen through the situation. Yet every sentence he spoke praised the Rongguo Mansion, leaving no room for criticism. He was truly cunning to the extreme.

Before long, an old woman came out and shouted, "The young ladies are coming out! Everyone else, please step aside!"

Sun Jizong consciously led Feng Xin to the side. However, thinking of Daiyu, he couldn't help but feel curious. So, when the women came out and got into the carriages, he couldn't resist peeking.

He saw beside Ruan Rong a small, emaciated figure, whose features were still exquisitely beautiful. Even Yan Liben reborn would find it difficult to paint such beauty.

For a moment, even Sun Shaozong, who preferred the plump type, couldn't help but have some inappropriate thoughts. So, he quickly recited the Heart Cleansing Mantra three times in his mind:

Three years or more, ten years or less!

Three years or more, ten years or less!

Three years or more, ten years or less!

Only then did he feel as if he had been struck on the head, and he became much more sober.

The group of more than ten people, some on horseback and some in carriages, headed straight for the pier. When they arrived at their destination, local officials were already waiting to greet them.

Sun Shaozong felt it was inappropriate for him to come forward to handle this matter, so he entrusted it to Jia Yucun—after all, many of these people were here to see him off.

Sun Shaozong first settled the women and then placed the luggage in their respective cabins. Finally, he tidied up his own cabin and came out to find Jia Yucun still exchanging pleasantries with people on the pier, seemingly writing some sentimental farewell poems. So, he had no choice but to stroll around on the deck.

The ship was probably an improved version of a multi-storied ship, about twenty-five meters from bow to stern and about five meters wide. There were three layers of cabins above and below the deck, with a rail running straight through the middle. The rudder at the stern could be raised and lowered, and there was also a seven- or eight-meter-long oar—it looked somewhat different from the passenger ships on the Yangtze River.

After asking a boatman, he learned that the Grand Canal was different from the Yangtze River, with many shoals. At that time, the rudder would not only be unable to control the direction but might also get stuck on the bottom. Therefore, it was necessary to raise the rudder and use the oar to control the advance and retreat.

He was leaning on the stern, carefully examining the 'live rudder,' when someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

Sun Shaozong knew it was Ruan Rong without even turning around, so he smiled and said, "What's wrong? Couldn't stand being cooped up down there?"

Ruan Rong squeezed next to him, first curiously looking down a few times, but she didn't see anything special. Then, she looked up and smiled, "Do you want to know what Lin-jie jie was saying about you just now?"

It turned out that when Sun Shaozong was peeking at Daiyu, Daiyu was also secretly observing Sun Shaozong.

Although he was very curious, how could Sun Shaozong be so foolish as to show it directly?

Seeing that no one was paying attention, he lowered his head and pecked her on the face, chuckling, "I don't care what she says, as long as you like it, right?"

"Hmph, then I won't tell you!"

Ruan Rong playfully punched him in the chest, but in the end, she couldn't hold back and blurted out with a giggle, "Just now in the cabin, Daiyu said you have the heart of a fox, wrapped in a bear's skin, and told me to be careful not to be deceived by your appearance."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but giggle.

A bear's skin and a fox's heart?

This little girl's words are really sharp and mean!

But this description is quite apt; a transmigrator like Sun Shaozong is indeed stuffing a 'heart' into someone else's skin, isn't he?

After a few more words of idle chatter, a servant came looking for them, saying that Jia Yucun had already boarded the ship and asking if they should set sail immediately.

Naturally, Sun Shaozong couldn't wait to get on the road, so with a command, the boatmen shouted in unison, untied the ropes, pulled up the gangplank, and used several punt poles to carefully push the boat away from the dock, before raising the sails and heading up the river.

——Separation line——

Along the way, Sun Shaozong either drank and sang with Jia Lian, or engaged in lofty discussions with Jia Yucun, and occasionally found opportunities to be intimate with Ruan Rong, but he rarely encountered Daiyu.

This was because it was the middle of winter, and the cold wind on the river was biting. Lin Daiyu's small frame couldn't bear it, so she had to stay in the cabin, writing and painting, or chatting with Ruan Rong to relieve boredom.

But one afternoon,

"Ah~!!!"

Sun Shaozong screamed miserably, clamping his legs together in pain, rolling straight from the bed to under the bed, moaning 'woo-hoo' in his mouth, and constantly sucking in cold air.

Ruan Rong was so frightened by the sight that her face turned pale. She hurried forward to support him and asked with concern, "Brother Sun?! Are you alright? Should... should we find a doctor to take a look?!"

She was also confused by concern. At the moment, the passenger ship was traveling through a hilly area, with cliffs twenty meters high on both sides of the river, so where could she find a doctor?

Sun Shaozong groaned for a while before barely raising his face, his veins bulging, and forcing a smile, "I'm... I'm alright, just give me a moment... hiss~ a moment and I'll be fine. You... you go back to the cabin first. It's too noisy on the deck, and if someone comes looking for me, you won't be able to leave."

At this time, the deck was indeed filled with noise, and it seemed that two groups of people were cursing at each other.

Although Ruan Rong was worried about Sun Shaozong's 'injury', she was also afraid of being trapped in the cabin, so under Sun Shaozong's repeated urging, she finally left the cabin door, turning back every three steps.

After she left, Sun Shaozong immediately locked the door, jumping up and down like a rabbit with his 'tail' between his legs. Where was there any trace of a tough guy?

Thanks to book friend 'Too Many Bad Books' for the reward!

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