Spring Jian woke up groggily and said: “Jiang Yang went out to find food. She’ll be back soon.”

“…” Chi Mei was silent for a while, then asked: “How do you know? Did you see her when she left?”

“Mm, she told me.”

“Why did she only tell you and not me? Did you deliberately talk to her?”

‘Get along well, get along well.’ Spring Jian took a deep breath and said: “Yes, I just casually asked her when I saw her leaving.”

Chi Mei snorted: “I knew it. Even though Xu San Niang doesn’t want you anymore, you shouldn’t get too close to my A Yang. As a man, you should understand the propriety between men and women.”

Spring Jian gritted his teeth: “You understand? I don’t know who it was before, when Jiang Yang had no interest in you, who kept clinging to her and wouldn’t let go.”

“So what? Didn’t A Yang end up falling for me?” Chi Mei’s eyes flashed with pride: “Don’t think you’re like me. Even if you actively pursue A Yang, she won’t respond to you. You have no hope, you’re too old.”

‘For the children, for the children,’ Spring Jian chanted in his mind. Damn it, children have their own fortune. Spring Jian, who had been bedridden for almost a month, somehow found the strength to stand up. He ran to the next room and grabbed Chi Mei’s hair, tearing at it: “You think I’m pursuing Jiang Yang? Bah! I think not only is your head stupid, but you’re also sick!”

Chi Mei didn’t back down either. Ignoring the wounds on his body, he dragged Spring Jian into the water bucket. One hand grabbed Spring Jian’s hair while the other slapped him: “I’m sick?! You really think I’m stupid? Don’t think I don’t know what you and those two little brats of yours are planning, wanting my A Yang to be their stepmother! Bah! Dream on! I’ll be the one to bear A Yang’s children. How dare those two kids of yours think they can be her convenient sons! Wishful thinking, you’re not worthy!”

The two men, considered among the most beautiful in the mermaid clan, were actually fighting over Jiang Yang. Meanwhile, Jiang Yang, the center of this incident, was completely unaware of what was happening. She was still on the mountain picking wild fruits.

Because of Chi Mei’s escape, the agreement between Jiang Yang and the Right Elder was no longer valid. There might be a group of merpeople lying in ambush at the seaside, waiting for her to fall into their trap. Jiang Yang could only shift her food-finding target from the sea to the mountain.

Jiang Yang climbed the mountain, picked some berries and nuts, and caught a wild bird.

“Not bad, I’ll make a soup for the stupid fish when I get back.” As Jiang Yang was preparing to return with these items, a black dot suddenly appeared on the distant blue horizon.

Jiang Yang squinted her eyes to look. The black shadow grew larger and closer, revealing itself to be a huge ship with a flag. Just as the ship was approaching the lonely island, she clearly saw the large “Jiang” character on the flag.

A group of armor-clad soldiers disembarked from the large ship and boarded small boats to reach the island. The two little ones were still playing on the beach.

“Oh no!” Jiang Yang hurriedly ran towards the beach.

By the time she arrived at the beach, panting, the soldiers were holding Winter’er and Summer’er, pointing at a picture and asking: “Little ones, have you seen this lady?”

Summer’er nodded: “Yes, it’s Sister Jiang.”

The soldiers were overjoyed. “Where is she?”

“In our home. I’ll take you there,” Summer’er said. The two seven-year-old children had no concept of danger. They didn’t know that if these outsiders discovered a rare mermaid hidden in their home, along with a weak and beautiful man lying in bed, it would bring great disaster.

Ancient soldiers were completely different from modern military.

For the safety of Chi Mei and Spring Jian, Jiang Yang stepped out directly: “Is this the Jiang family’s troop?”

“Second Young Lady! Second Young Lady! I’ve finally found you! Lan Qian has been searching for you so desperately!” Lan Qian squeezed out from among the soldiers and hugged Jiang Yang, crying loudly.

“Lan Qian, you’re still alive?” Jiang Yang was overjoyed.

“It’s wonderful that the Second Young Lady is safe. I am Zhang Nian, the deputy commander of the army. I was ordered by the general to bring the Second Young Lady home. We encountered Lan Qian drifting at sea on the way and rescued her as well,” Deputy Commander Zhang Nian said respectfully.

Jiang Yang nodded: “Thank you for your efforts.”

Zhang Nian looked at Winter’er and Summer’er, the two children, and said: “After rescuing Lan Qian, I heard from her that the reason for the Second Young Lady’s ship capsizing wasn’t due to encountering a rare rogue wave, but because of mermaid trouble. Is this true?”

Jiang Yang glanced at Lan Qian and calmly said: “At that time, we did indeed capture a mermaid on my ship, and then the ship capsized. I fell into the sea and lost consciousness. When I woke up, I had been washed up on this lonely island by the sea. As for the mermaids causing trouble, I didn’t see it.”

Lan Qian said: “That’s because you fell into the sea and fainted, Second Young Lady. You didn’t see it, but I saw it clearly. Those crew members on our ship, after falling into the sea, were all dragged into the deep sea by those merpeople. Luckily, I’m a good swimmer and managed to save my life. These merpeople must have been trying to rescue the mermaid we had captured.”

Jiang Yang: “…” You should shut up!

Zhang Nian chuckled: “I see. By the way, who are these two?” Zhang Nian pointed at Winter’er and Summer’er, the two children.

“They are children of the island’s natives. I’ve been living with them these days.”

“So they were the ones who saved the Second Young Lady. Why don’t we go pay our respects and gift them some gold, silver, and jewels as a way to repay their kindness?” Zhang Nian suggested.

Not good! Not good! Not good!

“Forget it. Since you’ve found me, let’s hurry back. I don’t want to stay in this godforsaken place a moment longer,” Jiang Yang said with a frown of disgust.

“Second Young Lady, they are your lifesavers after all. How can you be like this? This isn’t right!” Lan Qian grumbled.

Jiang Yang: “…” Why didn’t you die in the sea back then?

Jiang Yang put one arm around Lan Qian’s neck and the other around Zhang Nian’s, turning her back to the two children and said: “To be honest, these two children’s father is a widower. I thought I would never be able to return, so I…”

Jiang Yang gave them a ‘you know what I mean’ look.

Zhang Nian smiled ambiguously.

Jiang Yang continued: “If you go to visit him now and let that widower know my identity, he will surely cry and make a fuss about going back with me to enjoy wealth and glory. He might even thank me profusely and force me to marry him. I, the legitimate second daughter of the Jiang family, have so many young ladies from good families waiting for me to choose from. How wronged would I be if I had to marry a widower and raise two sons he had with another woman? While that man hasn’t discovered you yet, let’s quickly leave! Quickly!”

Lan Qian’s eyes widened: “The Second Young Lady thinks of everything. Let’s leave quickly then.”

Jiang Yang’s lie was reasonably crafted and very much in line with the reputation of a profligate that she had built up over the years. The act of leaving without a backward glance after getting what she wanted was something she was capable of doing.

Zhang Nian no longer hesitated: “In that case, please, Second Young Lady, board the ship quickly.”

Jiang Yang boarded the ship while Winter’er and Summer’er watched in disbelief. Jiang Yang even waved to them: “Go back now, live well in the future.”

Winter’er reacted slightly, pulling Summer’er to run home: “Let’s quickly go tell Father.”

Lan Qian saw this and laughed: “Those two children are going back to tell on us. Row faster! Row faster! Don’t let these men latch onto our young lady. These widowers are like sticky candy, impossible to shake off.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Everyone loves to hear about such romantic affairs. The sailors rowing the boat put even more strength into their oars after hearing this.

Jiang Yang finally boarded the ship, embarking on her journey home, but she couldn’t feel happy in her heart. She leaned against the window, gazing at the now invisible lonely island, wondering how that stupid fish would react when he learned of her departure. They had just pledged their lives to each other, she had just promised to marry him and live with him on the lonely island for a lifetime. In the blink of an eye, she had abandoned him. He would surely be heartbroken, perhaps even become like Spring Jian, hating her to the bone.

Author’s note:

Changing the map, the stupid fish is about to lose his tail. Thanks to the little angels who cast Overlord tickets or irrigated nutrient solution for me during the period from 2022-07-26 23:44:42 to 2022-07-27 16:45:26~

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated nutrient solution: Cool Indifference 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!