That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

The innkeeper probably bullies lone travelers quite often, but today he's finally met his match.

Jiang Jingming gazed into the distance, where the water and sky merged into one, and several birds flew by.

It's a great day for traveling.

While Xie Yunqi was busy arguing with the shopkeeper, the pragmatic Lu Zhao was already making other plans.

He bought a lot of fine tobacco from a vendor by the river and was chatting with the boatmen on the fishing boats, asking if there were any other boats that could take them to Zhongzhou that day.

The boatmen, who lived a hard life, rarely got to smoke such good tobacco. As they puffed away, they clearly regarded this cheerful and generous young man as a good brother.

The group patted each other on the shoulder and shook hands, chatting enthusiastically for quite a while.

A moment later, Jiang Jingming saw Lu Zhao walk back from the crowd, looking dejected, and wave weakly at him from afar.

"There's nothing we can do! They want to take us there, but they're too weak. Their boats are only good for fishing around here; they can't go that far at all."

"I see."

Jiang Jingming smiled, as lazy as ever.

Lu Zhao got angry when he saw that he didn't care about anything, so he punched him lightly and scratched his head in distress.

"Even if the fishermen's boats were available, Miss Xie wouldn't be willing. She insists on riding in a beautiful big boat with hydrangeas."

Jiang Jingming choked on the river wind, and his smile widened.

"That's true."

Lu Zhao nodded, unsure whether to feel gratified or troubled by it.

Actually, all of this was foreshadowed long ago.

When she arrived, the boat that Miss Xie sank, which was full of纨绔子弟 (playboys), was a beautiful pleasure boat. She probably started thinking about riding in it back then.

Jiang Jingming then looked to the other side of the dock.

There was a large group of children gathered around to see the big ship. They were all barefoot, running around in the riverbed, imitating the sailors singing loudly.

"The sun rises and shines red on the river, a river of spring water and a river of wind."

The oars creaked as they rowed, and a wine cup lay at the bow of the boat.

Fang Zhiyi stood in the wind at the dock, leaning lazily against the stone railing, watching the children play in front of her.

Jiang Jingming had noticed that she had bought several bamboo dragonflies from the vendor.

I don't know if she was using this to trick the children by saying that whoever sang the loudest would get the song, but anyway, the children sang more and more heart-wrenchingly and self-absorbedly, which drew disgusted and helpless looks from the adults.

The innkeeper was being held by Xie Yunqi and couldn't make the final handover with the boat captain, but this wouldn't affect the boat's departure time.

Jiang Jingming could see from afar a robust and tall middle-aged man standing at the bow of the boat, a pipe dangling from his mouth, squinting as he watched the river ripple.

This must be the boat captain.

Jiang Jingming pondered for a while, then walked along the dock to the riverbank and waved vigorously at him.

The boat captain looked down and saw a young man dressed in white. His smile in the sunlight was clear and gentle, making people feel bright inside.

So the boatman put one foot on the railing and nodded to him.

"Young man! Step back a bit, or you'll get soaked when the boat sets sail!"

Jiang Jingming smiled but didn't reply. Instead, he pointed to the cluster of hydrangeas at the bow of the boat and said loudly:

"Sir, the flower's color is like jade, and from a distance it looks like mottled broken porcelain. Is this the 'Jade Fragment' hydrangea?"

"Young man, you have good taste."

The boat captain paused for a moment, then smiled and shook his head:

"However, I didn't plant these flowers. They're not like the rumors. I'm a rough man and can't take care of these delicate little things."

"In that case, I shall dare to make a guess."

Jiang Jingming paused for a moment before continuing:

"It was probably planted by... the gentleman's wife?"

"Wow! How did you know?"

The boat captain took a puff of his cigarette, his eyes widening in surprise as he looked the boy up and down.

Many passengers on his ferry come for the flowers on board, but few actually recognize the varieties; most are just drawn by their auspiciousness and beauty.

The boy not only recognized the type of flower, but also easily guessed its origin, which surprised him greatly.

Chapter 53 No wonder I like you

"The blooming of the Jade Flower is very short, lasting only about one round trip on the Posuo River. Therefore, the blooming and fading of the flowers coincides with the return of my beloved."

Jiang Jingming explained his guess with a smile.

The boatman was taken aback and subconsciously turned to look at the cluster of newly blossoming jade fragments.

He had always thought these flowers were beautiful but also troublesome, never imagining that they contained his wife's deep longing.

He had always earned his money through hard work, enduring wind and rain. He spent a lot of money to marry a woman from a scholarly family, thinking it was all fate that he had forced upon himself, since the woman was always very quiet in front of him.

I never expected that a young man would point out the hidden meaning in the flower today.

Looking back now, it seems that every time she was about to leave home, her almond-shaped eyes held a lot of unspoken words.

The boat captain's iron will suddenly softened, and he wished he could drop anchor right now, disembark, and go home to see his wife.

At this moment, a gust of wind rose on the river, causing the cluster of broken jade pieces to sway in the wind.

The boat captain exclaimed "Hey!" and instinctively shielded it from the wind with his body. Hearing the boy below the boat chuckle with a hint of mockery, he blushed slightly and scratched his head.

"Sir, there is no need to be nervous. Even though the flowers wither and fall, the longing for you will never fade away."

Jiang Jingming said with a smile.

The boatman breathed a sigh of relief, stepped over the railing to stand on the bow of the boat, and bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

"Young man, do you need a boat ride?"

He had actually guessed the boy's intentions long ago, but usually, once a ship is full, it's difficult to change course.

It's not that there isn't enough room, it's just that there are some special rules in this industry, and it's important to have exactly one seat.

But today, he's willing to break the rules for this boy.

"Thank you, sir!"

Jiang Jingming's eyes lit up, and he bowed in return.

The boat captain nodded and immediately turned around to instruct the crew to lower the gangplank back down.

A gangplank is simply a sturdy, long wooden plank that extends from the bow or side of a boat to the dock, making it easier for passengers to board.

"Please wait a moment, sir, while I go and call my friends."

Jiang Jingming turned around and ran back along the dock.

A white robe fluttered behind him, revealing a long, slightly curved, black sword at his waist.

The boatman saw another young man on the shore looking delighted by his victory, and the two of them gave each other a high five.

The boat captain, with his pipe dangling from his lips, chuckled for no apparent reason.

Even though the rules were broken, seeing these scenes suddenly made me feel like I was ten years younger.

......

Xie Yunqi sat dejectedly at the entrance of the inn, while the innkeeper and a group of waiters bowed and scraped as they served the young lady.

"If you ever dare to take money from someone and let them cut in line again, I'll smash up your shop!"

"Yes, yes, yes, the heroine is right to reprimand you!"

Although he had reprimanded the shopkeeper, Xie Yunqi was still unhappy.

Although the flower boats in the capital are also magnificent and ornate, they are inevitably small-scale and cannot compare to the interesting sights of the proper ferries on the Poshuo River.

The ferry carrying hydrangeas departed today, and tomorrow's ferry will probably have different flowers, but she just wants to see flowers!

The more she realized she couldn't see it anymore, the more distressed she felt, as if a kitten was scratching at her.

"What is the young lady doing here?"

Jiang Jingming's voice suddenly rang out above her head.

Xie Yunqi looked up and saw a pair of smiling eyes.

"I watched my ship leave."

She pouted unhappily, then couldn't help but ask:

"Jingming, Jingming, do you know which company owns the boat tomorrow? Even if it doesn't have my favorite hydrangeas, anything else will do! Peonies, roses, azaleas..."

"As far as I know, the ship that departs tomorrow has a poem inscribed on its hull by the current emperor when he crossed the river. Literati and poets are scrambling to get on board and see it."

Jiang Jingming wasn't making this up; he had just heard it from the locals.

"I'm so bored!!!"

Miss Xie, who had initially held onto hope, was now utterly disappointed, her small face contorted with worry, looking as bitter as a little gourd.

Jiang Jingming looked down at her for a long time, then suddenly handed her something he had hidden behind his back.

It is a cluster of broken jade flowers in full bloom.

Up close, you can see the mottled light-colored patterns in the petals, truly resembling a shard of jade.

"!!!"

Xie Yunqi's eyes lit up immediately. He took the flowers with delight and jumped up.

"What beautiful hydrangeas! Where did you pick them?"

The boat captain gave it to me.

Jiang Jingming leaned against the door with his arms crossed, and smiled casually:

“Apart from that, he agreed to let us hitch a ride on his boat.”

"how so!!!"

The gloom in Xie Yunqi's eyes vanished, and he smiled brightly, holding the flowers.

She excitedly circled around Jiang Jingming, like a child who had received a desired gift.

Jiang Jingming's eyes followed her dazzling red dress, and he chuckled to himself.

She was clearly a wealthy young lady who had seen all kinds of glitz and glamour, yet she was so easily pleased by a flower that wasn't even considered particularly rare.

No wonder Commander Xie was so worried about such a precious girl.

"How did you manage to convince the boat captain? I heard from the manager that he's a very stubborn person, and no matter who he talks to, he won't listen!"

Xie Yunqi carefully held the hydrangea in his arms, lowered his head and sniffed it; it had a faint, sweet fragrance.

"Just luck."

Jiang Jingming watched her long eyelashes flutter and slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

Come to think of it, we were really lucky.

The reason he recognized the flower "Shattered Jade Cluster" was because Lady Song was also a flower lover.

Even in such barren land as Mangya, she kept trying to grow flowers, and eventually she actually managed to dig out a flower field.

Every time Shen Zhuo returned from his travels, he would bring her flower seeds from different places. Apart from some particularly precious flowers, most of the flowers could be kept alive under Song Niangzi's careful care.

This includes the shattered jade fragments.

When Jiang Jingming was a child, he was often punished by Song Niangzi to water and fertilize the flower field for her, so he got to know her a little.

I never expected it to come in handy today.

......

Now that he had obtained the flowers and boarded the boat, Xie Yunqi let the innkeeper off the hook, only warning him not to do it again.

Jiang Jingming followed behind her, watching her excitedly run to the dock with the flowers in her hands, proudly showing them off to Lu Zhao.