Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 111: The Little Overlord of Dongdu

Yan Ciwan felt warm in his heart when he felt the care from his friends.

The warmth dispelled the coldness around her body and brought her out of that nightmarish stormy night.

She quietly loosened her grip on the knife handle and said, "I did have a nightmare just now, but I'm fine now."

Chaolu asked eagerly, "Can I sleep with you tonight? I'll feel more at ease with someone by my side."

Yan Ciwan nodded and accepted the other party's kindness.

The boat was still shaking, so she reached out her hand and helped Chaolu into the door.

Xiao Wang took out a small exquisite box from his sleeve: "This contains calming incense. Lighting it will help you sleep better and avoid nightmares."

Anshen incense was introduced to Daye from the Western Regions. Western Regions caravans had to pass through Xizhou to enter Daye. In order to gain access, the caravans would often present various novel and valuable items to the King of Xizhou, including many precious spices like Anshen incense.

In the past, when my mother was sick and couldn’t sleep, she would light calming incense in the house.

At this moment, Yan Ciwan took the incense box and couldn't help but think of his deceased mother, missing her very much.

She thanked Xiao Wang and then closed the door.

There was no incense burner in the room, so Yan Ci Wan could only find a porcelain plate to replace the incense burner. She put a small piece of calming incense into the porcelain plate and lit it with a fire stick. Green smoke curled up and a faint fragrance filled the room.

This familiar fragrance made Yan Ciwan completely relax his body and mind.

She and Chaolu were lying on the bed. The candle had been extinguished and the room was dark.

Zhaolu was sleeping in the bed. She yawned and said in a muffled voice, "I wanted to chat with you, but now I feel so sleepy. This calming incense is really effective."

Yan Ciwan said, "Go to sleep if you are tired."

"Well, you should go to bed as well."

But after a while, the sound of Chaolu's even breathing could be heard beside me.

Yan Ci Wan turned sideways and saw a little red spark faintly visible in the darkness on the plate on the table.

That is the calming incense burning quietly.

At this moment, the storm outside the window seemed to have gone away from her, and her mood became more peaceful than ever before.

She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

The storm did not last long and stopped after half an hour.

When Yan Ciwan woke up the next day, the sky outside was already clear.

The ship went downstream and docked at Weizhou Ferry five days later. The ship would stay there for half an hour. Li Chengge saw a restaurant near the ferry and asked everyone if they wanted to get off the boat with him to have something to eat.

They had only been able to eat dry food for the past five days on the boat and were already tired of it, so they all agreed.

The group got off the boat and came to a restaurant near the ferry, only to find that the restaurant's door was closed and there was a sign outside the door saying that it was temporarily closed today.

Li Chengge did not give up, he asked Cha Bingliang to go forward and knock on the door.

After a while, the restaurant door was opened and a waiter walked out.

The waiter politely said that the restaurant had been booked by a distinguished guest for the day and could not accommodate other guests.

Cha Bingliang asked, "We are not going in to eat. Can you pack some food for us? We can take it to eat somewhere else. This way, it should not disturb your guests."

The clerk couldn't make up his mind, so he ran to ask the shopkeeper for advice.

The shopkeeper walked out of the restaurant and bowed to Li Chengge and his group to apologize. "I'm so sorry, the distinguished guest who reserved the restaurant today has clearly instructed us not to receive other guests, even if they want to take away. Please forgive me."

Although Li Chengge was very unhappy, he did not make things difficult for the other party.

They left the restaurant and bought some mutton patties from a nearby Hu Bing shop, and bought two large grapefruits from a street vendor.

The mutton pie is very fragrant and the pomelo is very sweet.

So it was not a wasted trip. The group ate very satisfyingly. It was almost time, so they prepared to go back to the boat. Just at this moment, Li Chengge saw the door of the restaurant opened, and a young man about twenty years old walked out, followed by the restaurant owner and waiters.

The young man was wearing a purple round-necked robe and a black fu hat. He was tall and straight, and quite handsome.

An attendant followed quickly, shook out his robe and put it on him.

The shopkeeper and the waiters bowed and nodded to the man in purple, looking extremely attentive.

The servant brought a white horse and handed the reins to the follower, who respectfully asked the man in purple to mount the horse.

Chaolu originally thought that the person who paid for the entire restaurant was probably there to host a banquet to entertain guests, but she never expected that it was just a master and his servant.

She couldn't help but mutter, "It's just two people eating, why would they book the entire restaurant? This is such a waste."

Yan Ciwan deeply agreed with this, saying that waste is shameful!
However, Li Chengge let out a low cry: "Huh? Why is it him?"

Xiao Wang was also surprised: "Why is he here?"

Yan Ciwan was very curious: "Do you know him?"

"He is the second son of the Du family in Dongdu, named Du Lingzhou. His father sacrificed his life to protect Prince Renxian, and was later posthumously named the General of Protecting the Nation." Xiao Wang explained.

Li Chengge deliberately added: "He is known as the Little Overlord of Dongdu. It's ok for him to be uneducated and unskilled, but he also stirs up trouble everywhere."

Xiao Wang frowned: "Logically he should be in Dongdu now, why is he here?"

"Just ask him and you'll know." After saying this, Li Chengge walked over swaggeringly and blocked Du Lingzhou's way.

Du Lingzhou was riding slowly on his horse. He didn't know what he was thinking about and was a little distracted. It was only until his followers reminded him that someone was blocking the way that he came back to his senses.

He was obviously stunned when he saw Li Chengge, then looked around and soon saw Xiao Wang and others walking towards him.

Du Lingzhou immediately perked up, pointing at them and shouting, "Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in Xiangzhou?"

Li Chengge raised his eyebrows and looked at him, saying, "I was just about to ask you, why are you here instead of staying in Dongdu?"

Du Lingzhou raised his chin with an arrogant attitude: "Is it not okay for me to come whenever I want?!"

Li Chengge teased, "Did you come to see us on purpose?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm tired of staying in Dongdu and want to go out and have some fun. I didn't expect to run into you guys here. What bad luck!"

After Du Lingzhou finished speaking, he flicked the reins, drove the white horse under him around Li Chengge, and walked away arrogantly.

When he passed by Xiao Wang and others, he deliberately paused.

"So Xiao Liu is here too. Why are there two young and beautiful ladies around you? I heard that your fiancée just passed away. Her body is still warm, but you want to enjoy the happiness of having two wives. You are really too heartless."

Chaolu lowered her head in embarrassment. She didn't know how to explain her identity, so she simply shut her mouth and played ostrich.

Yan Ciwan looked at Du Lingzhou openly. The man's clothes and appearance were all luxurious, and he wanted to tell the whole world that he was rich.

Such a flamboyant, wealthy and fat sheep should be very popular with thieves and bandits. He was lucky enough to arrive in Weizhou safely!

(End of this chapter)