The Rise of a General's Daughter-in-Law Doctor

Looking at the bucket, which was already half full of seafood, mostly shellfish, Li Muxia preferred crabs, so she prepared to carry the bucket to the reef she had pointed to earlier.

As soon as his hand touched the wooden bucket, Dongfang Jincheng gripped the handle first.

Li Muxia's hand landed on the back of Dongfang Jincheng's hand without any surprise.

The moment their skin touched, Li Muxia's hand recoiled as if burned.

Somewhat embarrassed, he said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Dongfang Jincheng: "Didn't I say I'd help you carry the buckets today?"

Li Muxia arrived at the reef and began to seriously look for seafood. Sure enough, the blogger who was out beachcombing hadn't lied to him. Soon, Li Muxia found several crabs and a few octopuses.

When Dongfang Jincheng first saw Li Muxia pick up the limp octopus, he got goosebumps all over his body.

"You can eat this?"

Li Muxia said with bright eyes, "Of course you can eat it, and it tastes really good!"

Seeing Li Muxia's eyes light up when she looked at the octopus, it felt like she was about to swallow it whole.

Dongfang Jincheng couldn't help but feel nauseous; he really couldn't accept it.

Li Muxia didn't care what Dongfang Jincheng thought. She had been craving octopus ever since she saw a food blogger eating it on a video.

In her past life, she also followed the trend and bought some pre-cooked octopuses online, but she always felt that they were different from the freshly caught octopuses in the food bloggers' videos.

As Dongfang Jincheng watched Li Muxia darting back and forth on the rocks, a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. Occasionally, he would turn over the stones in the water to look at them, and if he found any, he would pick them up and put them in his wooden bucket.

The two of them worked like this all afternoon, until the sun was about to set, when Dongfang Jincheng finally carried a full bucket of seafood and followed Li Muxia to the beach.

Instead of going straight back, the two sat on the beach watching the sunset.

A sea breeze caresses your face, and the afterglow of the setting sun spills across the sea, creating shimmering waves that resemble a shower of starlight, filling the air with a dreamlike quality. Everything becomes peaceful and beautiful.

Watching this scene, Li Muxia felt calm and whispered, "That's wonderful."

Dongfang Jincheng: "Yes, that's great."

As Li Muxia watched the sunset, she suddenly recalled the scene from a year ago when she watched the sunrise with Feng Yuhan and Shangguan Jingye in the snowy mountains.

Today, Li Muxia watched the sunset with Dongfang Jincheng again, and suddenly realized that she seemed to have never done such a romantic thing with Long Ziheng.

Thinking of Long Ziheng, Li Muxia's eyes welled up with tears.

Feeling Dongfang Jincheng looking at her, Li Muxia wiped her eyes with her sleeve and said, "It's really windy."

Dongfang Jincheng handed over his handkerchief: "Use this."

Li Muxia was taken aback when she saw the navy blue handkerchief that Dongfang Jincheng handed her. She didn't hesitate, though. Her sleeves had gotten wet from catching crabs, and now they stung her eyes when she wiped them.

He took the handkerchief from Dongfang Jincheng and said, "Thank you."

Perhaps it was the pleasant atmosphere and environment that made Li Muxia, who had been holding back for so long, suddenly want to confide in someone.

She wrapped her arms around her knees and slowly began to speak: “You know, my friend passed away a few days ago. I’m very sad, but I can’t openly show my sadness, because the people around me will worry. I also can’t let myself be immersed in sadness, because I’m afraid that once I get into sadness, I will be controlled by my emotions. This may be a habit of my profession. I am very grateful to my teacher for cultivating my emotional intelligence.”

"But the feelings in your heart don't lie. I've been trying to keep myself busy these past few days, thinking that this would help me forget my sadness, but I was wrong. I was running away."

At this point, Li Muxia's voice began to choke up.

"I don't know how to release my emotions. I'm so sad and my heart aches."

Dongfang Jincheng watched as Li Muxia buried her head in her knees and said, "There's no one else here. If you want to cry, just cry it out. It'll make you feel better."

Upon hearing this, Li Muxia could no longer hold back and began to cry softly. As she cried, her voice grew louder and louder, as if she wanted to release all the emotions she had suppressed over the past few days.

Dongfang Jincheng silently watched Li Muxia and gently patted her back.

Li Muxia cried for a long time until the sun had completely set. Only then did she stop crying. When Li Muxia raised her head, Dongfang Jincheng looked at her swollen eyes and felt a sharp pain in his heart.

In the end, it was he who hurt her.

Li Muxia looked at Dongfang Jincheng and said, "Thank you for listening to me."

Dongfang Jincheng: "Aren't we friends? If you need someone to talk to in the future, you can come to me."

Upon hearing this, Li Muxia smiled slightly at Dongfang Jincheng and said, "Okay."

When the two returned to the village, Li Muxia asked Dongfang Jincheng to take the seafood to the kitchen first. She needed to take care of her eyes, otherwise it would be too embarrassing if someone saw them.

After applying a wet compress to her eyes and some ointment, Li Muxia changed her clothes and went to the kitchen.

There was only one soldier waiting for Li Muxia in the kitchen; Dongfang Jincheng was nowhere to be found.

When the soldier saw Li Muxia approaching, he cupped his hands and said, "Immortal Physician, His Highness asked me to wait for you here. Please feel free to give me any instructions."

Li Muxia nodded to the soldiers and asked, "Brother, just call me Xia Mu. I don't know how to address you."

Upon hearing this, the soldier replied, "My name is Huang Duoduo."

Li Muxia: "Okay, then I'll call you Brother Huang."

Upon hearing this, Huang Duoduo smiled, revealing two rows of white teeth.

Li Muxia and Huang Duoduo busied themselves in the kitchen.

As soon as Dongfang Jincheng returned, he saw the hidden guards in the shadows. After handing the items to Huang Duoduo, he went back to his room.

Guard: "Master, there really is something wrong with Tide Village."

As he spoke, he placed a package on the table in front of Dongfang Jincheng.

"This is the household registration book of Chaoxi Village, which we obtained from the government. For the past ten years, there has been no one in Chaoxi Village with the surname Wang or any other than Wang. Even marriages are arranged within the village."

"Moreover, we conducted unannounced visits to every household in Tide Village and found that they were very wealthy, especially in sea salt, where every household's salt jars were basically full."

"However, the investigation did not find out what kind of business they were engaged in."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Jincheng said, "Could it be that they make a living by fishing?"

The guard continued, "We initially thought the same thing and investigated in that direction. However, we found that the village didn't have any large fishing boats, but it did have a few small boats. But it's impossible for the villagers to live such a prosperous life with just these few small boats."

"Furthermore, I have been secretly observing the village chief and other villagers these past few days, but I haven't found anything special. They seem to be deliberately creating a harmonious atmosphere. I suspect that they are trying to cover something up, afraid that Your Highness will find out."