Luminous Rocks

Seeing that she was interested, the little girl happily brought her to an empty space. She stuffed her finger through the gap in the ice and pointed it out to Xiaoguo. “Here, this is it.”

With that, she moved aside so that Xiaoguo could get a closer look.

Xiaoguo narrowed her eyes and saw the bulk of the luminous rocks through the gap.

Luminous rocks of different sizes were neatly embedded in the walls, emitting a moon-white glow. The light was reflected through the ice cubes in the cellar, forming the illumination that Xiaoguo had imagined.

“Where did you find the luminous rocks?”

After overcoming her surprise, Xiaoguo continued asking.

The little girl scratched her head, indicating that she wasn’t sure. “It was transported by some men in armor. We’re only responsible for sticking it on the walls.”

Xiaoguo nodded in disappointment. This was good stuff. If she could bring a piece of the rock back, she wouldn’t have to worry about candles. This would be enough to light up the house every night.

Since the place was an ice cellar, the temperature was colder than any ordinary cellar. The two of them did not stay for long and quickly went up.

After coming out of the cellar, the two of them each went their own way. After all, the young lady had some work to do. As an idle person, Xiaoguo naturally couldn’t pester her.

Along the way, Xiaoguo was absorbed in her thoughts as she walked. She kept mumbling non-stop to herself and didn’t see where she was going. She only stopped when she bumped into someone.

“Sigh…”

“Are you okay?”

A gentle voice sounded. Xiaoguo’s hand that was covering her forehead froze and she quickly put it down. She said in a panic, “I’m sorry. Are you alright?”

“It’s nothing. Why are you so engrossed in your thoughts?”

Shao Zhan shook his head and asked in amusement.

Xiaoguo shook her head awkwardly and said nervously, “Nothing much. I was just blinded by the scenery.”

Shao Zhan nodded. He knew that the other party was not telling the truth, but he did not continue asking.

“Danhe had been looking all over the place for you.”

“Looking for me?” Xiaoguo looked up at him in disbelief, not understanding what he meant.

“Yes.” Shao Zhan was about to explain when he saw the figure behind her. He raised his chin and said, “Let him tell you himself.”

Xiaoguo had just turned around when she saw Jiang Danhe walking quickly towards her. Before she could react, he spoke anxiously.

“Where have you been?”

Xiaoguo looked confused. “I was just wandering around. Why?”

Jiang Danhe suddenly heaved a sigh of relief and said calmly, “Nothing.”

“Alright, it’s good that we found her. I’ll go back first.”

With that, Shao Zhan left with the two guards behind him.

“Thank you!”

Jiang Danhe did not forget to thank him. When Shao Zhan heard this, he did not turn around and only waved his hand.

“Is something wrong?”

Xiaoguo saw the anxiety in his eyes and couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. Could something have happened to Zhuang Zhuang?!

Jiang Danhe’s silence frightened Xiaoguo. She couldn’t help but imagine many things.

“Zhuang Zhuang is fine.” Jiang Danhe could tell that she was feeling worried. No matter how angry he was, he still comforted her. Then he added, “Nothing has happened to anyone.”

“That’s good.” Xiaoguo was about to heave a sigh of relief when she suddenly felt that something was amiss. If nothing had happened, why did Jiang Danhe’s face look so dark?

“…” Xiaoguo hesitated for a moment. Coupled with what Shao Zhan had just said, she asked hesitantly, “Did you think that something had happened to me?”

“Hmph.”

There was that familiar snort again. Xiaoguo immediately knew that she had guessed correctly. “I’m sorry…”

Ever since she got together with Jiang Danhe, Xiaoguo had gotten better at cajoling him. Hence, she was able to utter pleasing words at whim.

Seeing that Jiang Danhe was starting to loosen up, Xiaoguo immediately took the opportunity to explain, “Don’t be angry, okay? I won’t do this again. I only went to the cellar to take a look. In future, I will definitely let you know in advance. I promise!”

“You said it yourself. Don’t visit any remote places by yourself in the future!”

Jiang Danhe was rarely so serious. Xiaoguo stopped joking and nodded seriously. “I’ll remember that!”

“Although there are many guards here, there are still some places on the island that are not fully guarded. If any of the servants here have ill intentions, it will be dangerous for you to be alone.”

Jiang Danhe was right. After all, the families of the criminals here had all kinds of personalities. Some were implicated by their families, and some were in cahoots with the sinners. There were many honest people, but there were also many bad people amongst them.

After all, they were ladies who used to live glamorously. Now that they had landed in such a state, there was a possibility that they might be inclined to hurt those who were in a better situation than them. It was better to play safe.

God knew how flustered he was when he didn’t see Xiaoguo once he got back. He looked everywhere for her but he couldn’t find her.

So that was why. She was wondering why Jiang Danhe was suddenly so anxious. “I’m sorry. Thank you.”

Xiaoguo looked at the sweat on his forehead and felt extremely guilty. She was used to being alone and having the freedom to do whatever she wanted. She had forgotten that there was someone who would miss her from time to time. At that moment, she was immensely touched.

Jiang Danhe’s heart fell back into place when he saw her. All his emotions were transformed into one thought, “As long as she’s fine.”

There was no anger left in him. All that was left in him was heartache. Didn’t she just make a trip to the cellar? “Why is your forehead red?”

“Sigh, I accidentally bumped into the emperor’s back. I’m fine.” Xiaoguo rubbed her head nonchalantly. Then she thought of something. “By the way, do you know where the luminous rocks in the cellar came from?”

“The luminous rocks?” Jiang Danhe looked at her strangely. “You want that?”

The two of them were so familiar with each other that they could read each other’s mind.

Xiaoguo nodded shyly and shook her head. “I need to know more before thinking about whether I want it or not.”

Jiang Danhe laughed. “That means you want it.”

“The luminous rocks were found by the border guards when they were building the city walls. An entire mine of the rocks was transported back to the capital for the emperor. However, not much was used in the palace. The remaining rocks were all transported here to be used as lighting for the cellar.”

“Is there any of it left?”

Looking at Xiaoguo’s expectant gaze, Jiang Danhe shook his head.

“Sigh…”

Xiaoguo’s hopes were dashed. She initially thought that the luminous rocks were mined from this island, but she didn’t expect them to be mined from the borders. She was thinking that if the rocks were nearby, she would get the emperor’s permission to dig out a piece of the rock herself. However, there was no way for her to travel to the borders.

Jiang Danhe couldn’t help her either. The border was too far, and the modes of communication and transportation were inconvenient. It would take more than a year to travel back and forth in order to get there.

Xiaoguo didn’t remain disappointed for long and quickly pulled herself together. It didn’t matter if there were no more luminous rocks. In any case, candles were quite bright and they weren’t expensive. Luminous rocks were not a necessity.

Looking at the big hand that was reaching over, she took it without hesitation. Just like that, the two of them continued chatting and laughing as they walked towards their accommodation.

Not long after the two of them left, two figures walked out of a pavilion not far away.

“Mother, I told you. Madam is not a bad person!”

The young lady, who had just brought Xiaoguo to the cellar, was speaking anxiously to a woman beside her.

“Shut up!” The woman reprimanded the girl very sternly. Looking at the other party’s aggrieved expression, her heart softened a little. Then, she forced herself to be stern again. “You cannot identify good people based on their appearances. In the future, you are not to bring people to the cellar without permission. If anything goes wrong, you are dead even if you have ten lives to spare! Do you understand?!”

“… I remember,”

The little girl lowered her head aggrievedly and said softly.

As she lowered her head, she did not notice the tears in the other party’s eyes. She could not help but wonder why her gentle and kind mother had become like this…