That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

Aqing nodded gently.

She felt the temperature behind her ears and in her heart gradually rising, and her whole body felt slightly hot.

See, I'm not an unwanted child.

She whispered to herself.

......

After dawdling for a while, the sun was already high in the sky when they went out.

Jiang Jingming bought a folding fan by the roadside and slowly waved it along the way, making him look even more like a carefree playboy.

Yesterday, after the Joyful Rain Festival, Fengling City was filled with a joyous atmosphere, and the shadow of the massacre had completely disappeared.

Wherever you go, there is laughter and merriment. Scholars by the river splash ink and recite poems, while red sleeves flutter in the pavilions. The stalls on the long street stretch as far as the eye can see.

Aqing stayed obediently by his side, and under the influence of this atmosphere, she also relaxed a little.

Jiang Jingming knew that this girl actually liked lively atmospheres, but she always put on a cold and aloof demeanor.

Sometimes Xie Yunqi would be noisy and disruptive, and she would appear to have a slight dislike for him, but she didn't really.

The two walked slowly along the long street, and children chased and played past them, with the lead child holding a golden sugar figurine.

Jiang Jingming caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye and asked with a smile:

"Does Aqing want to eat?"

"Do not want to."

Aqing resolutely refused.

She had already spotted the sugar-blowing stall ahead, surrounded by children, with no adults buying any.

Jiang Jingming said "Oh" and then walked to the stall on his own.

The sugar figurine maker was a kind-looking old man. On the small table in front of his stall, there were several sample sugar figurines stuck on bamboo sticks. There was the Monkey King carrying a golden cudgel, as well as a circling dragon and a phoenix spreading its wings.

The chef wiped the sugar stains off his hands and asked with a smile:

"Hey sir, wanna buy some sugar figurines? Just tell me what kind you want!"

"The master asked what kind you want."

Jiang Jingming turned to the side and said to Aqing with a smile.

Aqing pursed her lips and pondered for a long time, clearly torn between the samples. After a while, she finally spoke:

"Can I be a monk? He has a big belly, he's fat, and he's smiling..."

"Maitreya Buddha, right? No problem, no problem!"

The sugar figurine maker listened for a while before realizing what was happening.

Jiang Jingming then remembered that when he was a child, he had asked Shen Zhuo to bring him some things from outside when he returned to Mangya.

Shen Zhuo thought that children all like sugar figurines, so he bought one for him, wrapped it in oil paper, and brought it back.

The sugar figurine was shaped like Maitreya Buddha. Jiang Jingming didn't like sweets, so he casually gave it to A Qing.

As a result, the girl couldn't bear to eat it and secretly hid it. As a result, it was melted by the sun, leaving only a pool of sugar stains and a bamboo skewer.

So Aqing secretly became very sad.

At that time, Jiang Jingming just found it funny, thinking she was silly and just a sugar figurine.

Surprisingly, she still remembers the shape of that sugar figurine, but she doesn't know the name of the fat monk.

Jiang Jingming watched as the sugar figurine master skillfully scooped a lump of sugar from the copper pot, kneaded it a few times, puffed out his cheeks and blew air into it. As the sugar bulged, the master's fingers flew, and in a moment he had sculpted a lifelike fat monk.

That's how it is.

Aqing blurted out, a barely perceptible smile playing on her long eyelashes.

Jiang Jingming put one hand on his hip, and for a moment he wanted to sigh, not knowing whether he wanted to laugh at her silliness or feel a pang of sadness.

He tossed a few pieces of silver to the craftsman, handed the sugar figurine to Aqing, and the two continued walking along the street.

The plump, golden-haired monk smiled kindly, his face gleaming in the sunlight, and he truly looked quite Buddhist.

Aqing stopped looking around and focused intently on the sugar figurine in her hand.

Jiang Jingming raised his hand and rubbed her head, letting out a soft sigh.

"Eat it quickly, or it will melt."

"..."

The smile on Aqing's face was quickly replaced by seriousness.

Jiang Jingming slid his hand from her head to her face and pinched her cheek hard.

"Eat quickly, we can buy more later."

"..."

A red mark appeared on Aqing's face from his pinching. After a long while, she finally made up her mind, lowered her head, and bit off the fat monk's head.

Jiang Jingming couldn't help but laugh.

The candy was sticky, and Aqing chewed it with difficulty while looking up at him in a daze.

Jiang Jingming lowered his eyes and wiped the sugar stains from the corner of her mouth.

Judging from her appearance, she probably actually likes sweets, but she just never says it.

Although she has grown up in other aspects, she is still a little girl at heart.

Jiang Jingming withdrew his hand, and the two continued walking slowly forward, bathed in sunlight and spring breeze.

Aqing was engrossed in eating a sugar figurine, while Jiang Jingming casually glanced at the novelties being sold by the roadside vendors.

In this situation, the massacre of a family, the Imperial Guards, and the enchanting young mistress all seem as distant as things from another world.

The two of them were like children sneaking out to play again, the only thing they had to worry about was being dragged back by He Quan before they had had enough fun.

We walked all the way to the end of the long street, where there was a ferry crossing. A breeze rose on the river, creating colorful ripples.

Of all the ferry crossings in Fengling City, this is probably the most deserted.

Jiang Jingming climbed the bluestone steps by the river and sat down.

Springtime is in full bloom, and the river surface is dotted with golden light like scattered gold, dazzling the eyes. In the distance, you can see a few small boats moving slowly.

Aqing sat down on a lower step next to him, seemingly a little tired. She gently turned to the side and leaned against his knee.

Jiang Jingming watched her back as her long, black hair, reaching her waist, fluttered gently in the wind, with a sky-blue ribbon softly draped around her side.

“Before I was abducted, I often scavenged for food here.”

Aqing suddenly spoke, and Jiang Jingming was slightly taken aback.

What are we going to pick up to eat?

“There used to be many fishermen here. There was a kind of small fish with very hard-to-eat meat and a lot of bones. They called it ‘thorn head’ and usually picked it out and threw it away. I would pick up the thorn head fish to eat.”

Ah Qing spoke in a detached, almost joking tone:

"Back then, there were many homeless children, and they would even fight over the prickly bream. Sometimes, when the fishermen had nothing to do, they would have the children bark like dogs, and whoever barked the best would get the fish."

"..."

Jiang Jingming listened silently, imagining Ah Qing as a child hiding in the crowd, trying her best to pick up fish.

"Before I met the young master, I felt like a prickly fish."

Aqing gazed at the river, a gentle spring breeze rippling across her eyes.

Chapter 131 It seems you only need to look at me quietly.

"Why do you say that?"

Jiang Jingming raised his hand, scooped up a few strands of her hair and coiled them in his palm, the black hair flowing like water through his fingertips.

"Not only do people dislike eating thorny fish, but even the fish in the river don't like to eat them. It is said that they are extremely temperamental, and before they die, they will sprout thorns all over their bodies and pierce themselves through. If a large fish swallows them directly, its intestines will be torn."

Ah Qing still rested her head on his knee and spoke slowly.

She rarely speaks so much in one breath, so she always pauses after each sentence to think about what to say next.

Jiang Jingming listened quietly, then suddenly realized that Aqing's voice did not match her cold personality.

Her voice was soft and gentle, completely unlike that of an assassin.

"So people say that if you want to eat a prickly fish, you must first smash it to death before eating it carefully. But for fish that are not tasty, this is too much trouble, so fishermen often curse their bad luck when they catch such fish in their nets."

"Has anyone ever insulted you like that?"

Jiang Jingming paused, then asked calmly.

"Ah."

Aqing nodded, seemingly unconcerned.

“The trafficker said that my parents were cursed to death by me, this unlucky child. His business is not doing well, which he thinks is also because of me. If he can’t sell me this time, he will strangle me and throw me into the river to feed the fish.”

"..."

Jiang Jingming recalled the image of the human trafficker whose throat had been slit with a curved knife, blood gushing out.

Very well, in the end, he was the one who fed the fish.

"Aqing, were you scared back then?"

"I'm not afraid."

Ah Qing rested her head on his knees and seemed to smile:

"I was just wondering, if I were thrown into the river, would any fish really come and eat me? Or would they all stay far away like they would with a prickly fish?"

When she spoke, she seemed to revert to the frail little girl she had been years ago.

Jiang Jingming felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

Years later, he finally understood what the little girl with the empty eyes was thinking.

The thoughts in my heart are so childish, yet so heartbreaking.

"Young Master, do you know that in Fengling City, children who die young are given a water burial? The young bodies are tied with stones and sunk to the bottom of the river, which is why this river is called the Posuo River."

Aqing gazed at the shimmering golden light on the river, her profile pale and cold in the sunlight.

The reason for the existence of the Posuo River is actually this.

Jiang Jingming lowered his head, imagining his gaze piercing through the water's surface and reaching the bottom.

There lay the skeletons of countless children, with schools of fish swimming among them.

"People believe that in this way, the child's soul will flow back to heaven along the river, and the body will transform into a small fish, free and unrestrained."

Ah Qing chuckled softly as she said this:

"Young Master, the day I met you, I felt like I was about to turn into a prickly fish."

"Actually, the day I met you, I had a dream."

Jiang Jingming cleared his throat, got up, moved down two steps, and looked up at her.

"dream?"

Aqing lowered her eyelashes and tilted her head slightly.

"I dreamed of a small blue carp that swam from the deepest part of the sea all the way to the palm of my hand."

As Jiang Jingming finished speaking, he reached out and grasped her palm.

Aqing realized he was lying, but she felt warmth in his palm and was reluctant to leave.

“I asked the blue carp what it was doing here, and it said it was a gift from Maitreya Buddha. Maitreya Buddha saw that I was all alone and helpless, so he specially sent it to find me and stay by my side for life.”

Jiang Jingming looked into her eyes and spoke with a serious expression.

"Young Master is lying. Back then, they didn't know my name was A Qing, so how could I be Qing Li?"

Aqing pursed her lips, rarely refuting his words.