Leaving the Island overnight

That day, the news of Yu Zhizhi pestering Jiang Danhe and being knocked out by him spread like wildfire. Even the Prime Minister’s wife, who hardly went out, got to hear about it.

After some considerations, she decided to send Yu Zhizhi out of the island that night before she caused more trouble. Along the way, she even drugged her to avoid any unnecessary trouble.

When the drug wore off, it was already dawn. When Yu Zhizhi opened her eyes again, she saw a dilapidated house beam that looked familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. This was not her accommodation on the island.

In her daze, she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

“Zhizhi? Zhizhi?”

Yu Zhizhi looked in the direction of the voice. An old and wrinkled face appeared in front of her. She looked up at him in confusion.

“Father?”

“Sigh…” Her father smiled and carefully helped her up to lean against the bed frame. He asked worriedly, “How are you? Do you feel any discomfort?”

Yu Zhizhi shook her head gently. Other than feeling dizzy, she didn’t feel any other discomfort. In order not to worry her father, she shook her head. “I am feeling fine.”

“That’s good.” Mr. Yu handed her the glass of water. “Have some water first.”

Yu Zhizhi’s peeling lips parted slowly, but she swallowed the question she was about to ask. Taking the glass, she took a sip.

After her father left, Yu Zhizhi had the time to recall what had happened.

Why does her head feel so dizzy? Wasn’t she on the island? Why was she back in the fishing village when she opened her eyes? Was it an illusion? Was this all a dream?

No! No! This was all real!

She clearly remembered that she was confessing to Brother Jiang. Why had she come back here in the blink of an eye?

Yu Zhizhi felt very flustered. Everything seemed like a mystery and a dream at the same time. For a moment, she couldn’t tell what was going on.

Yu Zhizhi forced herself to calm down. After taking a deep breath, she slowly began to organize her thoughts.

First of all, she was sure that she had confessed to Brother Jiang before she lost her memory. This was because she was still wearing the same dress now. She had asked for this dress from another lady when she was about to discard it.

Secondly, she vaguely remembered something during the process of her confession. She had felt a sudden sharp pain in her neck before she fainted. When she woke up again, she seemed to have seen Mrs. Yang. The other party frowned and said something. Then, white smoke wafted past and she couldn’t remember the rest.

Yu Zhizhi patted her head hard, feeling extremely frustrated. These few memories were all blurry and disconnected. She was having a hard time figuring things out.

As she patted at her own head, she suddenly remembered something. Although it was fleeting, she was quite certain about what she saw!

Coupled with the white smoke, how could Yu Zhizhi not know what had transpired? Her face, which was still sweet and cute moments ago, instantly twisted into a scary expression. Mr. Yu, who was about to enter, stopped in his tracks. He let out a long sigh and left after closing the door.

Yu Zhizhi, who was in the room, hit the bed hard until her hands turned red. She stopped and looked ahead angrily.

“She actually drugged me and sent me out of the island overnight. She really did it, Lady Yang!”

“Ah…”

Yu Zhizhi sneered. When she was losing consciousness, she managed to open her eyes and saw the swaying ship and Mrs. Yang’s personal servant. Before she was able to take a closer look, her stamina ran out and she blacked out completely.

Although she was unwilling, she had to admit that she had no choice…

—-

“Sigh…”

Xiaoguo was looking ahead with lifeless eyes. Resting her chin on her hands,her cheeks were squashed so hard that her facial features had almost disappeared. Even so, she could still breathe normally through her nose.

Jiang Danhe quietly peeled an orange, and brought a piece to Xiaoguo’s mouth affectionately.

Xiaoguo opened her mouth. After chewing a few times and swallowing the fruit, she sighed.

Jiang Danhe looked at her in confusion. Just as she was about to sigh again, he quickly stuffed another piece of orange into her mouth and successfully stopped her from sighing.

“My dear, what’s wrong with you?”

Jiang Danhe had asked this question countless times.

Looking at the listless-looking Xiaoguo, Jiang Danhe didn’t say anything else. The other day, she had left the house looking all poise, but shortly after, she returned looking like a wilted plant. Ever since then, she didn’t seem to have regained her energy. She kept sighing and saying that she couldn’t cook anymore. They ended up having meals that were served from the kitchen for several days.

“Why do you think Yu Zhizhi was sent away?”

“You sound quite disappointed.”

Jiang Danhe narrowed his eyes and stuffed another piece of orange into her mouth.

“No.” When Xiaoguo heard this, she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and continued, “The thing is, before I could go on stage, the curtain call had already ended. All the energy in my body has instantly dissipated, causing me to feel weak.”

Jiang Danhe chuckled. This had been going on for three days. “Then Mrs. Jiang, when are you going to regain your strength?”

“Yes… at least half a lifetime and at most, a lifetime.”

“Yo, does that mean you’re going to stay away from the kitchen forever?”

“I didn’t say that…”

Xiaoguo smiled and shook her head. Then, she shot him a look, implying that he was slandering her.

“Sigh…” Jiang Danhe couldn’t hide the smile in his eyes. He continued to tease her. “Our hardworking lady has become lazy…”

“Hey! You’re slandering me!”

“Sigh, I should inform Zhuang Zhuang and Xiaoyi. Otherwise they will continue asking me everyday when you are going to start cooking again. Now that you’ve become Mrs. Sloth, we have no choice…”

Xiaoguo was unhappy to hear that. She spat out the orange seeds and got ready to spar with him. That will teach him to not spread rumors about her.

But as soon as she pounced on him, she noticed the smile in his eyes. She immediately understood why. She blushed and sat back down.

“You are provoking me on purpose!”

“Of course.” Jiang Danhe stroked her back. “In all honesty, you’re only good-looking when you’re so energetic.”

The corners of Xiaoguo’s mouth curled up as she glanced at him. “I look good at all times!”

“Yes, yes, yes. You look good at any time!”

Jiang Danhe quickly apologized and acknowledged that he was wrong. His actions made Xiaoguo laugh out loud.

Just as the atmosphere was gradually turning pink, Li Shouji appeared. He flicked his hair at Jiang Danhe and gestured for him to come over.

Jiang Danhe looked at him unhappily. No matter how anxious the other party looked, he remained unmoved. He knew this man too well. Just by looking at his expression, he could tell that Li Shouji was calling him for something unimportant.

Xiaoguo was worried about Li Shouji losing his head. In her kindness, she nudged Jiang Danhe, signaling him to find out why Li Shouji needed him.

Jiang Danhe gave Xiaoguo a resigned look before getting up and leaving reluctantly with Li Shouji.

Xiaoguo watched him leave. Since she was alone, there was no point in staying there any longer. She might as well go back and accompany the boys.

Hence, she got up and cleared away the fruit peels on the table. Just when she had put everything on a tray and was about to leave, an elderly servant suddenly blocked her way to the door.

Xiaoguo took a step back and looked at the woman in front of her. When she saw her face, she immediately frowned.

“It’s you?”

When the servant heard Xiaoguo speak, she fell to her knees without another word. She said in a hoarse voice, “Please help me, Madam.”

The moment she knelt down, Xiaoguo moved aside and said calmly, “Get up and talk.”

The servant hesitated for a moment before slowly getting up on her feet. However, because of her health, she could not stand steadily. She swayed a few times and grabbed the side of the table in a panic before regaining her balance.

Xiaoguo slowly retracted her outstretched hand and sized up the woman. She said conclusively, “You were the one who followed me a few days ago, right?”