Chapter 715 - 488: Discussing Marriage?

Chapter 715: Chapter 488: Discussing Marriage?

"Yingying, you sit here for a moment. I’ll go and get the food."

Xiaomi said and quickly went out, just as Wei Ziang stopped someone delivering the food: "Just the meals for three people are fine, the others are feeling unwell and don’t want to eat."

"Give me and Yingying’s meals. She just woke up, and she gets confused every time she gets on the boat. She’s likely to go back to sleep after eating."

The two of them took the meals, without letting the person delivering food come up.

"Third Young Master, Fourth Miss, are Marquis and the others alright? Haven’t seen them come out all day."

Commander Yang asked worriedly, looking up from downstairs.

"It’s nothing serious, just seasickness from the first-time boat ride, they’ll be fine once they get used to it."

Hearing this, Commander Yang didn’t think much more of it. Xiaomi brought the meals back to the room, ate with Zhou Ying, and chatted for a while before seeing Zhou Ying starting to feel drowsy.

Xiaomi was amused but coaxed her to sleep before going out to find Wei Ziang.

Little White, Little Black, and Little Mi, the three of them were now lying slumped on the deck, as Xiaomi had taught them, with half of their heads poking out from the railing, looking bored at the tall mountains and big trees on both sides.

Half pretending, half real, as the excitement of getting on the boat had waned and the scenery had become dull.

In the afternoon, Xiaomi didn’t enter the space to accompany her parents and others; after all, everyone knew where they were now, and Ling’er was inside the space, so she didn’t need to worry much.

Before dinner, Xiaomi wandered through each room, releasing everyone from the space.

Even though the space was comfortable, they couldn’t stay in there all the time; mainly, if they weren’t showing their faces, Commander Yang might have become unsettled.

After having rested in the space for such a long time, everyone’s seasickness had improved considerably, and they even ate a bit more than usual at dinner.

Even though they had brought a lot of food when they boarded the ship, the river provided abundant fresh seafood.

The freshly caught fish tasted tender and delicious, and the cook on the boat was skilled, whether steamed or braised, it was praised by everyone.

And those who had rested in the space for a day were now in much better shape, a noticeable difference from the morning.

In the following days, everyone was mostly in space during the day, coming out in the afternoon or before dinner, occasionally Jiang Yu and Jiang Wei, the two brothers, wouldn’t stay in space during the day, choosing instead to walk around the boat.

Gradually, everyone acclimated to the swaying of the boat and stopped going into the space.

Since the boat was only so big and there were so many people, spending too much time in the space could raise suspicions.

The main reason was that after a few days of exploring, the initial curiosity and interest had faded.

Jiang Yu, Liu Ze, and Jiang Wei found some books they were interested in, and had Ling’er help them print and bind them, making them look like ordinary books.

At least the exterior looked the same, and unless someone carefully examined the contents, no irregularities would be found.

On the fourth day onboard, the ship made its first docking, two miles from the wharf, near a county town, everyone eagerly went ashore.

Especially Zhou Ying, who shook off her earlier lethargy on the boat and enthusiastically introduced the fun spots around the county town to everyone.

Indeed, all the resting and rejuvenation from before was unleashed that day.

The large vessel docked in the morning, as there was no rush, they planned to set off again the next morning, allowing everyone to rest well ashore.

Originally a two-week journey extended over twenty days due to several extra rests, before reaching Nanyang Prefecture.

During this time, the relationship between Jiang Yu and Zhou Ying warmed rapidly.

This delighted everyone, yet also amused Zhou Ying’s bodyguards.

Not knowing about Zhou Ying and Jiang Yu’s ’agreement,’ they thought their Miss had conveniently found a suitable husband on this journey, feeling both happy and anxious.

In the eyes of Commander Yang and others, it seemed the youthful bond between them blossomed into mutual affection.

Since Commander Yang and the others were mere guards, even if their direct superior was the Emperor, they didn’t know that the Emperor might want Jiang Yu to become his son-in-law.

Moreover, this was merely a speculation between Liu Hongcai and the Magistrate of Nanyang in private; even if they were wrong, there was no loss if Zhou Ying and Jiang Yu got married.

So Commander Yang was more gratified than Jiang Hu, the father, relieved that the long-single first son finally found his match, someone to be with, not an easy feat.

Although these thoughts were kept to himself, the blatant expressions also made Jiang Yu somewhat wary.

Zhou Ying seemed like she had a radar installed, drifting off to sleep in the room earlier, she immediately woke up and bounced up when the boat was about to dock.

However, when disembarking, something seemed to have happened.

Just as Zhou Ying got off the boat, an elder resembling a butler appeared out of nowhere: "Miss, you’re finally back. Master and Mistress have been worried sick."

Seeing him, Zhou Ying quickly darted behind Jiang Yu: "I’m not going back, not going back. Uncle Zhou, tell my parents I’ve found my match already, and they should start preparing for the wedding."

The frank and unabashed remark left Uncle Zhou stunned.

Not only Uncle Zhou, but the merchants, laborers, and nearby ship passengers were all dumbfounded by this bold declaration.

A girl speaking such words in public—isn’t that a bit inappropriate?

The calmest group was probably the Jiang family.

Jiang Yu smiled warmly and saluted Uncle Zhou: "I assume this is Butler Zhou, Yingying has mentioned you before."

Despite Jiang Yu’s amiable attitude, Uncle Zhou furrowed his brows, discreetly scrutinizing the young man before him, seemingly suspecting some ulterior motive: "And you are?"

"I am Jiang Yu, eldest son of the Marquis of Agriculture. I met Yingying many years ago during the academy exam in Nanyang Prefecture. Yingying and my sister share common interests and have a close relationship; Yingying’s journey this time was specifically to find my sister."

Mentioning the Marquis of Agriculture, the expressions of people around shifted from confusion to shock.

The Marquis of Agriculture? The one who increased grain yield and discovered high-yield potatoes?

Continuing with a smile, Jiang Yu explained: "To be honest, I have enjoyed my time with Yingying greatly, and she shares this sentiment. I was planning to formally propose at the Zhou residence after the autumn exams."

Uncle Zhou was left speechless; this development was unexpectedly fast, as he was merely instructed to pick Miss up from the wharf.

Yet how did it escalate to discussing marriage?