"Painful, painful, Ah-Sssh-shah-as—, It's really hurt, darling! Didn't we agree to disguise ourselves as a young couple for this journey? We should both dress accordingly as husband and wife. You also need to dress as a woman," Cheng Mo pleaded with a face that seemed like a modern-day Cassandra.
"Then help me with my hair. There's no one else here, is it necessary to start pretending now?" Bei seemed a bit guilty and turned away grumbling.
Cheng Mo's scheme succeeded, so he stopped teasing and gently untied the hairband from the young girl's long hair, helping her comb through the locks. He gathered all her hair into a bun at the top of her head, revealing the girl's graceful swan-like neck. His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. For the past three months, Cheng Mo had been practicing just so that one day he could style the hair of the girl in front of him and become the lifelong cherished wife. He had imagined it countless times, but when the scene of her snowy neck and hanging clouds of hair appeared before him, his hands trembled even as he inserted the hairpins tightly.
"Do these three need to be inserted?" Bei, noticing Cheng Mo's hesitation, turned around and asked.
"Oh, yes, they do," Cheng Mo's reverie was abruptly interrupted, and he hurriedly and awkwardly inserted the three pearl hairpins for Bei. The person in front of him, this face, once again intoxicated his heart. "Bei, Bei, will you be with me, forever?"
Xiang Bei was a little confused. Was she being confessed to? Or was this a proposal in ancient style?
"Your Highness, Miss Bei, we've arrived at the city's post station." It was shadowguards Yin Thirteen driving the carriage today.
"Ah? Oh." Cheng Mo opened the curtain and stepped out of the carriage. Finally, the tension that Bei had been holding back was released. It was so awkward, she was completely unprepared.
"Miss Bei, hold on a moment. Let's drive the carriage directly into the courtyard of the travelers inn first, and then you can get off." The carriage entered the courtyard through the side gate, and Leizi hurried over. After respectfully greeting them, he went to the kitchen to personally arrange everyone's breakfast.
After the two of them went upstairs to the Xiangbei's private reserved room on the third-floor and sat down, Xiang Bei walked to the window to look outside, only then realizing why they couldn't get off outside. People buying breakfast, purchasing milk, and waiting for fresh pastries were all there. There were even people waiting for the announcement of seat numbers for today's lectures in the South and North Districts. Although the first light of dawn had just appeared, long queues had already formed, making it difficult to even reach the door. There were quite a few people who knew the big boss XiangBei Tong inside, and even a simple greeting would likely take up half the morning.
"Well, now you can proudly face this scene and give a speech." Cheng Mo teased with a proud smile on his face.
"It's not a big deal, what's so grand about this? It's just that the new product launch happened to coincide with the market demand. Okay then, don't see that anymore, Let's have our breakfast, we still have to hit the road." Xiang Bei was unusually modest at this moment, with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.
"Bei, I'm really proud because of you." Cheng Mo said with some emotion as he hugged the girl next to him.
"Let's have breakfast, okay? stop being sentimental, or we won't need to leave." Xiang Bei was speechless about the recent enthusiasm of the Lord, but fortunately, at this moment, Leizi personally brought in breakfast and waited aside. Each item was not much, but it was complete. Cheng Mo ate silently, while Xiang Bei, without this rule, chatted with Leizi about the work at the Same City Roadside travelers inn, asking about the customers' reactions to each type of food, and praising Leizi's active efforts and dedication in management. In the midst of the questions and answers, there was a sense of familiarity with eating a working meal with subordinates in modern times. Finally, Xiang Bei asked about the situation of the Boat People Dàn from living on boats on the water to building houses on shore, and proposed suggestions and solutions for some problems and difficulties.
After finishing the meal, Cheng Mo spoke up, saying that he would go with Miss Tong to take a look and try to find a truly sustainable way for the Boat People Dàn to settle on shore and improve their lives continuously. Leizi immediately knelt down, earnestly kowtowing three times, but couldn't say anything.
"Alright, Leizi, get up. You don't need to say anything. I know you have a kind heart, and you care about your family and your people. In the future, you will be responsible for making sure they all live good lives." Cheng Mo also had them in his heart, all the people of Dongbin, so he didn't hesitate to praise Leizi.
"Thank you, my Lord, thank you, Lady Bei. Leizi thanks the Lord and Lady for your kindness to our Boat People Dàn !" Leizi got up again and kowtowed three times solemnly. For generations, the Boat People Dàn had wandered on the water, with no land to call their own even after death. Now, they could truly live well on shore. Tears filled Leizi's eyes.
In ancient East Asia, women who styled their long hair into a bun at the back of their heads represented married women.