Chapter 143: Escape

“Wife, is there anything else you need?”

Jiang Danhe did not ask the coachman to drive the carriage immediately. He came to check with Xiaoguo if she had left anything out.

Xiaoguo thought carefully and made sure that she had everything she needed. She shook her head, indicating that there was nothing else.

Jiang Danhe nodded and put the things away. Then he instructed the coachman outside, “Let’s go to the ancestral hall.”

Xiaoguo deliberately kept a distance from Jiang Danhe along the way. Whenever he was about to bump into her, she would duck.

Being the sharp man that he was, how could Jiang Danhe not see what she was trying to do? But he wasn’t going to stop.

He knew very well that one of them had to take the initiative. This was because he could clearly feel the estrangement between them. To be precise, they had never spent much time together before their marriage. The time when they had spoken the most was on the night of the wedding, but that was a mere few sentences. This was the first time they had a chance to communicate face-to-face.

Seeing that the ancestral hall was getting closer, Jiang Danhe stopped fooling around. His heart started to feel heavy.

He had not expected to see his parents again under such circumstances.

Xiaoguo could also sense the change in his mood. She sat carefully beside him and kept quiet. She wasn’t good at comforting people, so the most she could do was not disturb him.

When they arrived at the ancestral hall, they saw a carriage parked in the distance. Zhuang Zhuang and Li Shouji were standing beside the carriage. Since Xiaoguo and Jiang Danhe had stopped to get some things, they naturally arrived later. Li Shouji had brought Zhuang Zhuang straight from the palace to the ancestral hall, so they got there earlier.

When Xiaoguo saw Zhuang Zhuang, she couldn’t sit still. As soon as the carriage stopped, she jumped out immediately.

Zhuang Zhuang also saw Xiaoguo. When she alighted, he shook off Li Shouji and ran towards her.

“Mother…”

Xiaoguo grabbed hold of Zhuang Zhuang, who had pounced on her. “How is it? Do you miss me?”

The two of them had never been separated before, so they were not quite used to it.

Zhuang Zhuang hugged Xiaoguo and smelled the scent on his mother. He said with an enraptured face, “I miss you so much!”

Xiaoguo patted his head and rewarded him with a pinch on his cheek. Zhuang Zhuang acted like he was in pain and made Xiaoguo laugh.

While Zhuang Zhuang was up with his antics, he spotted Jiang Danhe standing behind Xiaoguo and made eye contact with him. Seeing the love in Jiang Danhe’s eyes, Zhuang Zhuang jumped into Xiaoguo’s arms and refused to look at him.

Li Shouji happened to see this from behind and he burst out laughing. He was happy to see Jiang Danhe suffer.

Jiang Danhe wiped the smile off his face stiffly. It is a fact that they had never met before. Therefore, it was inevitable that they were unfamiliar with each other.

“Zhuang Zhuang, Zhuang Zhuang?”

Xiaoguo called out to Zhuang Zhuang, who refused to look up. “He’s not usually like this. He’s not wary of strangers at all.”

Xiaoguo explained to the two of them, afraid that they would think of him as a petty child.

“That’s right. I can vouch that Zhuang Zhuang isn’t a shy kid. He has been chatting with me along the way here.”

Li Shouji looked at the dark-faced Jiang Danhe and said fearlessly. He just loved to see him get mad.

Jiang Danhe was having trouble controlling his facial expression. “So Zhuang Zhuang was actually ignoring me?”

He could not get angry at his wife and child. So he could only vent his anger on Li Shouji.

Striding over, he grabbed the man by the collar and dragged him away. It was a bloody scene and wasn’t suitable for viewing by women and children.

“Zhuang Zhuang, Zhuang Zhuang.”

Xiaoguo put Zhuang Zhuang down. “Zhuang Zhuang, tell me, what’s wrong with you?”

Xiaoguo squatted down and looked at Zhuang Zhuang. He looked like he was at a loss for words, but he said slowly, “I don’t know either. I just find him so unfamiliar.”

Xiaoguo could more or less guess what Zhuang Zhuang was thinking. Someone whom he had never seen before just suddenly appeared and claimed to be his father. No one would be able to accept it readily. Just like her, she had picked up a chubby son for free and didn’t have to face the child’s father from day one. It was so wonderful, but now that the child’s father was still around, there was nothing she could do.

“Zhuang Zhuang, I understand how you feel, but he’s your father after all. Even if you can’t accept him yet, you can’t just avoid him and refuse to look at him. That’s impolite and hurtful.”

Zhuang Zhuang nodded. “…Yes I got it.”

Xiaoguo ruffled his hair. “Good boy!”

Xiaoguo might be trying to persuade Zhuang Zhuang, but her heart was still in a mess. To be honest, she was not ready to accept Jiang Danhe yet.

She was enjoying her time with Zhuang Zhuang all this while. She was not prepared to change any of that at all. Jiang Danhe had come too suddenly and had not given her any time to react. He had suddenly appeared in front of her and told her that he wanted to be a part of her world. At this moment, she was confused and resistant to the idea.

But then again, the fatherly love that Zhuang Zhuang had been longing for was something that Xiaoguo could not replace. If he were to leave Zhuang Zhuang, that would be something that she would not wish for either.

At this moment, Xiaoguo was extremely flustered. She was uncertain about their future and yet she was unable to deny the fact that Jiang Danhe was now here with them.

Xiaoguo shook off her thoughts and pushed them aside for the moment. What mattered now was Zhuang Zhuang’s thoughts. This man was his father. He had to face it and not run away from it.

After Xiaoguo’s persuasion, Zhuang Zhuang also felt that he had done wrong. It was indeed rather impolite. “In that case, when I see him later, I will not deliberately avoid him.”

Zhuang Zhuang knew when to face up to his mistakes. Xiaoguo was delighted and patted his head encouragingly. “What a good boy.”

When Jiang Danhe came back with Li Shouji, who was covered in dirt, County Magistrate Liu had also brought over his own convoy.

“Aiyo, how are you Madam Qin?”

Magistrate Liu’s fawning voice came from behind. Xiaoguo had just turned around when she saw the magistrate’s eyes light up. He walked right past Xiaoguo.

“Oh, General Jiang, I’ve heard a lot about you!”

Xiaoguo felt a gust of wind blow past her. She took a closer look and saw that County Magistrate Liu was nowhere to be seen. Only Master Xing Ming was smiling and looking behind her.

“Fine, anyway, I’m not involved.”

Xiaoguo pursed her lips and returned to the carriage that she had come in. She took out the things Jiang Danhe had bought and prepared to bring them into the hall.

Jiang Danhe let go of Li Shouji and heard someone calling him. He took a closer look and saw a fat man that he did not know.

“Oh, General Jiang, I’m so lucky to see you in person.”

Magistrate Liu was a small official. How could he ever have the chance to meet with a general? Now that he was here, he had to get on his good side. If things turned out well, he might be able to send him to the capital. When he looked at Jiang Danhe, the man was glowing with a golden light.

Jiang Danhe frowned and did not speak. His gaze was searching for Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang.

Magistrate Liu chattered for a long time. He did not care if the other party spoke or not. In any case, it was only right for a high-ranking official to appear a little cold.

Jiang Danhe finally spotted Xiaoguo. He smiled and pushed the panting Li Shouji in front of the fat man before leaving.

Magistrate Liu gave a sigh and did not dare to stop him. He could only feel sorry as he watched him leave. However, in the blink of an eye, he saw Li Shouji appear in front of him. “Hey, what kind of an official are you?”

Li Shouji couldn’t run even if he wanted to. This Magistrate Liu was too clingy. As he spoke, his hands were all over him.

Xiaoguo was taking out a few bags from the carriage. Zhuang Zhuang wanted to help, and Xiaoguo could not dissuade him. So, she picked out a smaller bag from the pile and handed it to him. Just as Zhuang Zhuang was about to take it, a large hand took it from him.

“Sigh…”

Zhuang Zhuang didn’t know who it was, but he looked at the bag with regret. He pouted and turned around to see who was messing around.