Mingruo felt that the senior brother returned to Yunzhong Temple this time just to go to Zhongzhou with them.
Having her senior fellow apprentices together made her feel at ease, but also a little uneasy - she always felt that something big was going to happen.
They were heading to the western border in two carriages, Jun Che and Mr. Qing Wei's nephew Qi Diaojin were in one carriage, and Mingruo and Si Haochen were in one carriage.
When Jun Chelin got in the car, he handed Mingruo a brocade box: "Happy birthday."
"Thank you, senior brother." Mingruo took the gift and smiled sweetly at the senior brother.
"I'll leave my gold coins to my junior sister for safekeeping," Jun Che said.
"Okay." Mingruo nodded.
After Ming Ruo got on the bus, she put three boxes of gold coins into the space. She and Si Haochen had to pretend to be Mr. Qing Wei's entourage. Bringing too much luggage on board would arouse suspicion.
The carriage started to move, and Mingruo opened the brocade box given by her senior brother. Inside was a pair of skewers. The dark green beads were round and crystal clear, but had the unique texture of wood.
Mingruo picked up a bunch and looked at it carefully. They looked like jade beads but felt more like wood.
Si Haochen picked up another string from the brocade box and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Eh?" Mingruo felt that the bracelet in her hand was slightly warm,
"This is the seed of the dragon's blood tree, also known as the Lianli fruit. It is said that the seeds of the hundred-year-old dragon's blood tree in the same year will 'response' to each other." Si Haochen put the smaller string on Mingruo.
on his wrist, and then asked Mingruo to put the other string on him.
Mingruo found that the closer the hands of two people wearing bracelets were, the more obvious the warm feeling was. However, even if the two people put the bracelets next to each other, they would not feel too hot and uncomfortable.#
@$&
"This is so magical." Mingruo admired sincerely.
"Yeah." Si Haochen had only heard of the 'Lianli Guo' before, so what if his gift was turned into rubbish instantly? "I remember that Yan Zhaobai also gave you a birthday gift before he left. What was it?"
"It's a pendant. When you put it on, your chest feels warm." Mingruo took out the box containing the warm jade pendant and showed it to Si Haochen.
She wore it for a few days when she was in Xikang. It was hotter here in Yunzhong Temple than in Xikang, so she stopped wearing it.
"I'll find some interesting stuff for you when I get back to the fiefdom." Si Haochen felt that his gift was still too ordinary.%&(&
Mingruo understood what Si Haochen was thinking and smiled and took his arm: "Feeling is the most important thing. I know that you gave me the gold hairpin yourself."
"Little clever guy." Si Haochen poked Mingruo's forehead.
The carriage traveled for a day and finally reached the western boundary. This is a vast sea area dotted with islands of various sizes, just like villages, counties and towns on land.
Some people also bought an island and turned it into a dock for merchant ships to berth.
The Beigong family has a large island on the western boundary. In addition to docking their own fleet, it also receives some foreign fleets.
Mr. Qing Wei booked a room at the inn on the island. Ming Ruo and the three of them, after dressing up, followed Mr. Qing Wei's uncle and nephew to the island to wait for the ship.
On the early morning of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, a group of people boarded the ship at the pier. Mingruo and Si Haochen pretended to be Mr. Qing Wei's entourage, and Jun Che was Qi Diaojin's entourage.
The inspection was very strict when boarding the ship. Not only the tickets were checked, but also the badges and road signs were checked one by one.
Although the Beigong family's ship is also made of iron nanmu, it has only one deck and most of the cabins are in the bottom cabin. Mr. Qing Wei booked a luxury cabin, so someone led them to the cabin.
Although it is a 'luxury cabin', there are differences in sizes.
Mr. Qing Wei booked the only large cabin. He originally wanted to book two large cabins, but the other one was already booked, so he had to book one large cabin and one small one.
Mingruo and Si Haochen chose a smaller room, and the other three people lived in a large suite.
They boarded the ship early and after packing everything, Mingruo and Si Haochen went to the deck to watch the sea.
The ticket said that the ship was sailing at the beginning of Si hour, but it was almost the end of Si hour and there was no intention of sailing yet.
Many people asked why the ship hadn't sailed yet? The ship owner only had one sentence: "Waiting for someone."
People had been waiting more and more impatiently, only to see a pair of people arriving late.
Two well-dressed maids and two older nuns were holding a young lady wearing a bonnet.
A nun stepped forward and showed her badge, and the people who had been doing the "conscientious" interrogation before let them get on the boat without even asking for a guide. After that, they weighed the anchor and prepared to set off.
Since they had been waiting for a long time, the passengers were all agitated. Now that they saw the culprit who had caused everyone to wait, they naturally had nothing good to say.
"Why is this young lady walking strangely? Could it be that she is sick?"
"It's a long journey, don't die on the boat..."
"It's so unlucky to be half dead before we leave!"
When people saw the group entering the only luxurious cabin, most of them chose to keep their mouths shut.
That cabin is very expensive, costing one thousand taels of silver. The cheapest ticket on this ship is only ten taels of silver.
This person who is willing to pay a hundred times the price to take a boat ride is definitely rich or expensive, and is not something they can afford to offend.
After three days of sailing on the ship, Mingruo was finally lucky enough to see the young lady who had been put on the ship on the deck at the stern.
She was wearing a pink skirt and a bun with a side parted bun. She wore a pink pearl-encrusted bead flower and a bow on her bun, which made her look pink and tender.
But Mingruo felt that this kind of dress that pretends to be young is really not suitable for her.
I only listened to a nun's earnest advice: "Miss, please don't lose your temper. As the saying goes, 'it's better to die than to live'. You are determined to jump into the sea, are you still afraid of living?"
Besides, it is indeed a good marriage that Madam has arranged for you. If you marry Miss Er in Zhongzhou, Madam will naturally remember your kindness and treat Aunt Zhao and Young Master Qing well..."
"If it weren't for the fact that the young master of the Beigong family is stupid, he would give me a 'cheap' offer?"
Mingruo felt that this nanny's words were superb and sounded like comfort, but inside they were full of threats...
Grandma covered the woman's mouth and looked around nervously...
Alas, I accidentally ate such a big melon. I felt a little relieved and quietly slipped to my cabin.
Although the super deluxe cabins are expensive, the service is also good. Not only are three meals a day provided, but snacks and fruits are also given in the morning and afternoon.
Jun Che brought some snacks to Ming Ruo and Si Haochen, and saw the junior sister sliding along the wall like a little mouse stealing oil.
Jun Che deliberately walked lightly, walked behind Mingruo, and patted her shoulder gently.
Mingruo's back stiffened, and he used all his self-control not to scream in surprise.
Mingruo slowly turned around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was his senior brother. He patted his chest and said, "It's scary. It's scary to death."
"What are you doing so sneakily?" Jun Che asked with a smile.
"Senior brother, please pay attention to your wording. I am being careful and not being sneaky." Mingruo opened the door, "I just saw someone who surprised me. Let's go in and talk."
