That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

Fang Zhiyi walked up the steps from the riverbank, followed by a group of children who were reluctant to leave.

"Sister, when are you coming back?"

"My sister will be back in a few days."

Fang Zhiyi stood with her hands behind her back, looking like a gentle and beautiful schoolteacher.

I don't know how she managed to win over so many little kids in such a short time.

Jiang Jingming simply stopped and waited for her to slowly walk over.

As soon as Fang Zhiyi saw him, she gave him a malicious smile.

She bent down and whispered something.

Immediately, a group of little kids ran over to Jiang Jingming, chattering and surrounding him.

"Big brother, my sister says you're amazing! You know martial arts!"

"He knows martial arts! Look, he even has a sword this long!"

"Big brother is so amazing!"

"..."

The noise around him made Jiang Jingming think back to the days when he was tormented by the three magic pills, Tanggua, Tangzao, and Tangbao, and he even felt a little nostalgic about it now.

At this moment, one of the little girls suddenly said in a clear voice:

"No wonder the pretty lady likes you!"

"puff!"

Jiang Jingming choked on the air and coughed violently.

Chapter Fifty-Four, seventeen or eighteen times

The boys had already started touching Wujiu, but they were quickly frightened by the chilling aura emanating from the scabbard and withdrew their hands, only looking at the sword's owner with admiration.

The little girl who had uttered those outrageous words blinked innocently, holding a swaying bamboo dragonfly in her hand.

Children speak without restraint, children speak without restraint, children speak without restraint!

Jiang Jingming emphasized it three times in his mind, then sighed helplessly.

It's true that all crows are black; when the story of the vixen young mistress first came out, Tanggua, Tangzao, and Tangbao were just as eager to spread rumors and cause trouble everywhere.

"Alright, brother and sister are getting on the ship now. See you next time!"

Fang Zhiyi, having probably had enough of his helpless expression, finally stepped forward to help him out.

The two walked to the dock amidst the children's reluctant gazes, and Jiang Jingming finally couldn't help but ask:

"How come these kids have become so attached to you so quickly?"

"Kids are so easy to fool."

Fang Zhiyi stood with her hands behind her back, smiling broadly.

Jiang Jingming glanced at her, then glanced at her again.

Fang Zhiyi's lips curled slightly. She knew exactly what he wanted to ask, but deliberately delayed her explanation for a moment:

"I didn't teach her that phrase."

"..."

Jiang Jingming stared at her with a hint of suspicion for a long time.

Fang Zhiyi raised her eyebrows slightly and turned her head to stare back.

"But I've heard that kids are very good at judging people."

"..."

Jiang Jingming decided not to dwell on the matter anymore, since in the end he would just be teased and joked about by her anyway.

The two walked side by side to the dock, went around the stern of the boat, and bumped into Ah Qing, who was standing there at some point.

She stared blankly at the undulating water until she heard the approaching footsteps of the two people, at which point she turned around.

She nodded to Jiang Jingming, then glanced at Fang Zhiyi with a cool and aloof expression before nimbly leaping onto the gangplank and boarding the boat.

Fang Zhiyi responded with a faint smile.

The atmosphere between the two was somewhat subtle, and Jiang Jingming inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine.

The previous hand-holding incident wasn't explained clearly to Aqing either; only she explained why she wore an iron mask when going out late at night.

A narrow plank, several meters long, was placed at the stern of the boat, swaying gently with the rise and fall of the river.

Jiang Jingming walked ahead as if on flat ground, and looked back after stepping onto the stern of the boat.

Fang Zhiyi was lifting the hem of her skirt, moving slowly step by step.

Jiang Jingming initially suspected that she was pretending to be someone who had never practiced martial arts, but now it seems that she really doesn't act.

Depending on their training methods, martial artists either have a stable stance like water or a light, nimble stance like the wind; none of them are as unsteady and have their center of gravity constantly shifting.

Fang Zhiyi's translucent white skirt fluttered gently in the river breeze as she walked carefully with her head down.

Jiang Jingming paused for a moment, then finally stepped forward and extended his hand to her:

"Come."

Fang Zhiyi kept her head down, with only a slight smile playing on her lips beneath her wind-blown bangs.

She placed her right hand into his outstretched palm. Jiang Jingming felt a cool, jade-like touch, slowly tightened his grip, and pulled her onto the boat.

A pleasant herbal fragrance wafted through the air. Just as Jiang Jingming was about to speak, a voice came from the stern of the boat:

"Young man, is there anyone else behind you?"

The boat captain was sitting on the railing, tapping his pipe and grinning slyly.

Jiang Jingming coughed and shook his head.

"Nothing."

"That's fine."

The boat captain squinted, clicking his tongue in amazement.

Jiang Jingming could tell from his expression that he was definitely not going to say anything nice. Fortunately, Fang Zhiyi just smiled and greeted him before walking towards the bow of the boat on her own.

"Hey! Pack up the boards, let's get ready to go!"

The boat captain called out loudly to several sailors, then waved his pipe at Jiang Jingming.

"Hey buddy, wanna have a bite?"

"I won't."

Jiang Jingming smiled and shook his head.

Among the Seven Stars of Crossing the Moon, only Master Han and Shen Zhuo smoke tobacco. Master Han's raspy voice is probably from smoking.

The boat captain picked up his pipe but didn't light it; he just chuckled and said:

"If I had known this would happen, I should have given you a few more jade fragments! Now I'm in trouble!"

Jiang Jingming understood what he meant, and could only wave his hands to explain:

"Sir, you've misunderstood! I'm just friends with them."

"Hey!"

The boat captain chuckled, his expression enigmatic.

"Young man, you're still too young to understand women's hearts!"

Jiang Jingming silently thought to himself, "Big brother, you don't seem to understand your wife's heart either..."

But in the end, he only pretended to be humble and eager to learn.

"The first girl in red who boarded the boat was so beautiful! I've ferryed so many passengers and seen countless young girls, but I've never seen one so striking."

The boat captain slapped the railing and sighed:

"When I have children in the future, I want a bright and dazzling little girl like this."

"That's true."

Jiang Jingming smiled and sat down on the railing with him.

The sailors worked up a sigh of relief as they neatly stacked the last batch of cargo, chanting their work songs.

The group of children who had just been there on the riverbank joined in the shouting excitedly, making it a lively scene.

"She came to thank me as soon as she boarded the boat. I was so happy to see that, so I told her she could pick whatever flower she liked. But she said she didn't want any more, she only wanted the one you gave her earlier."

The boatman lit his pipe, and the drifting smoke was immediately dispersed by the river breeze, so it wasn't pungent.

"Girls this age love new and exciting things, and they're always looking around. But did you see how much she cherished that flower you gave her? She must really like people who give flowers!"

"This...is a bit too arbitrary."

Jiang Jingming shook his head, feeling he couldn't believe this "love guru" who even his own wife couldn't understand.

"Liking someone is such an arbitrary thing! If you can actually list out exactly five, six, seven, eight, that's not liking someone, that's just a matchmaker trying to arrange a marriage!"

The boat captain chuckled again and then started cricketing at the next person.

"The second girl who boarded the boat really startled me; she jumped up in a flash. When she looked up, I was startled again—another such beautiful girl!"

He paused for a moment before continuing:

"She looked a bit cold, but she was very polite and thanked me. Young man, she said she was your maid?"

"Correct."

Jiang Jingming nodded.

Actually, he had discussed with Aqing whether they should use another identity, but Aqing disagreed.

“I was bought by the young master, and I will be his person for life. I don’t need any other identity.”

She always says that.

The boatman squinted and suddenly started singing for no apparent reason, startling Jiang Jingming so much that he almost fell backward into the water.

"This young lady is deeply in love with her lover; do not betray her affections. When you see her, treat her well; when you do not see her—"

This was probably a love song often sung by the people at the dock, and soon the sailors at the bow of the boat, pulling on the rope, laughed and added the second half:

"I have to keep it in my heart seventeen or eighteen times a day!"

I think about it seventeen or eighteen times a day.

Jiang Jingming repeated the sentence in his mind, and when he looked up, he saw A Qing in a blue dress gazing out from behind the railing.

Chapter Fifty-Five Trouble

"After seeing these two young ladies, I was already completely impressed with you, but who knew you had another one hidden away!"

The boat captain exhaled a puff of smoke, shook his head, and sighed.

"What do you mean there's another one hiding...?"

Jiang Jingming felt somewhat helpless. If the boatman were to say that Fang Zhiyi also liked him, it would confirm that he was a fake Casanova.

"Young man, you're in big trouble!"

I never expected him to say something like that.

Jiang Jingming was slightly taken aback.

Why?

"While the first two were also stunningly beautiful, neither was like the last one... She's a true femme fatale! If this were a time of great division like in the previous dynasty, someone would have traded the entire Fengling City for her!"

The boat captain stared wide-eyed, speaking with a straight face.

Jiang Jingming thought about it and felt it wasn't an exaggeration.