The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

31

Chapter 320 – He had been lying to her this entire time (1)

Time hadn't been able to rub away Xia-shi's innate rustic demeanor. After taking a few breaths to calm herself, Ji Man looked at Guibai and made her voice lower-pitched as she said, "I'll have to rely on you to help me to a nearby doctor's clinic then."

Guibai nodded and supported Ji Man into the carriage. Then, he went to work on removing the nails from the horse's horseshoes.

Carrying her wrapped cloth bundle and weeping endlessly, Xia-shi also boarded the carriage and sat back down. In the passing, she cast a scrutinizing gaze at Ji Man.

Ji Man reflexively touched her face. The fake skin face mask hadn't come off. She still had the face of a rather attractive man.

Keeping her voice rough, Ji Man asked, "Madam, why are you crying so wretchedly?"

Xia-shi wiped her nose and said, "I worked so hard to serve someone for almost two years, and now I've been abruptly tossed out. Tell me, do you think I should cry or not?"

Ji Man couldn't figure it out. Wasn't Xia-shi Haohao's biological mother? Why would Ning Yuxuan kick her out? What would happen to Haohao?

"That's really pitiful." Looking at Xia-shi, Ji Man spoke, "Based on your fancy clothing, you're probably a madam from a wealthy family. Did you make a mistake?"

"I haven't done anything wrong!" Wringing her hands, Xia-shi's gaze looked a bit vicious. However, she quickly remembered that there was an unfamiliar young man sitting in front of her and softened her expression. In a quiet voice, she said, "It's that man. His heart is too cruel. I thought by caring for his child as he grew up, he would gradually have some sort of affection toward me. How could I have known that he's been regarding me as only a wet nurse the entire time?"

The carriage had reached a doctor's clinic. Guibai pulled the reins to stop the horse and pulled the curtain back. "Little brother, you can come down."

Ji Man couldn't continue to ask questions. Nodding her head, she left the carriage and followed Guibai.

Surprisingly, Xia-shi also came out of the carriage while holding onto her cloth bundle. "Seeing how serious your injuries look, I'll come too."

Guibai glanced at Xia-shi, but didn't say anything. After leading Ji Man to get checked over by a doctor and having a shop assistant wrap up the prescribed medicine, he offered her a ride to where she wanted to go next.

Ji Man gave him the address for the grain retailer association, and he had them board the carriage again. However, when they were getting into the carriage, he warningly looked at Xia-shi.

Xia-shi was much quieter the rest of the ride and didn't continue to idly chat with Ji Man. Seeing this change, Ji Man acted very affectionately and asked her where her home was.

Blushing, Xia-shi answered in quiet voice, "I'm from a large fishing village that's far from here."

Ji Man was a bit stunned by her words. Hadn't Ning Yuxuan said that he had met Xia-shi during the Southern Journey? No matter what, shouldn't she have come from somewhere near Jiangnan? Why was it a fishing village?

Something flashed through her mind. Smiling, Ji Man stretched her hand out and gently held Xia-shi's hand. In an equally quiet voice, she said, "I want to visit your home and see what it's like. I've been staying in cities for too long. I've never been to a fishing village before."

"Young lord, you must be ridiculing me." Xia-shi embarrassedly smoothed her hair. "Anyways, my home isn't that far. Don't you still have business to attend to? Once you're done with your work, you can come visit me then. I live at the end of the village. When I go back this time, I want to builder a bigger house to live in, and I happen to not have anyone to help me with ideas."