After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Lin Yueniang, who had returned to her own courtyard, called her two daughters over.

I'm about to formally begin my studies with the Master, so I should say a few words of explanation.

The eldest daughter is about to come of age, and the youngest daughter is also getting on in years. The son has now invited a tutor, which ultimately benefits the younger daughters who were born out of wedlock.

However, she no longer cared as much as before, since Mingfei had not suggested that her other four sisters also learn martial arts from Master Zhao.

Besides, her mother-in-law is still here, and she would never bring up anything that might cause trouble. The girls should just focus on their studies and writing.

After all, the cost of learning martial arts is much higher than that of studying literature; the saying "poor in literature, rich in martial arts" is not just a saying.

Lin Yueniang stroked her eldest daughter's hair and said earnestly, "Your younger brother has invited a female tutor. You must study diligently with her from now on."

Wen'er, as the eldest daughter, you should set a good example for your younger sisters.

"You all received your early education, and this isn't a complete retraining process, so studying shouldn't be too difficult for you."

Jiang Xiwen nodded slightly, indicating that she understood.

Lin Yueniang turned her gaze to her youngest daughter, Jiang Xiyue: "Yue'er is all grown up now. You are usually so engrossed in martial arts, but you should also know that literature is extremely important."

Your brother will surely rise high on the path of the imperial examinations, and as his sisters, we cannot be mere warriors who wield spears and swords.

My son is skilled in both academics and martial arts; my daughters will naturally be too!

Jiang Xiyue nodded emphatically. Of course she wanted to be proficient in both literature and martial arts; how could she let her younger brother down?!

This was a teacher her younger brother had gone through a lot of trouble to find, and she couldn't let him down!

Jiang Xiaoqi: It wasn't... that difficult...

Puzhou City Wharf

The soldiers carried the supplies off the ship in an orderly manner, and only after everything was unloaded did the passengers disembark.

Wenbin has recovered most of his health and can move around freely.

Li Mo led back three horses, all of which had gained weight, from the boatman.

It seems the horses have adapted well to the ship and have gained weight, perhaps because they lacked exercise during their time on board.

Although Wenbin was still somewhat weak after taking various tonics to replenish his qi and blood, he had become a bit fairer and plumper due to not seeing the sun for so long.

Jiang Xiaoqi and Li Mo sparred daily on the boat, and despite not changing much, they actually became a bit stronger.

The biggest change was actually in Ah Niu. After changing into clean clothes and tidying up his messy hair, Jiang Xiaoqi discovered that this rough man was actually quite good-looking.

Looking at the group of people who seemed to be in good spirits, Jiang Xiaoqi smiled and said, "We've arrived at the Puzhou City dock. Get ready, we're disembarking!"

"Yes, young master!" the three replied in unison, each carrying their luggage.

"Wait a minute! Hey! I'm calling you!"

A sudden voice rang out, and Jiang Xiaoqi realized who it was, but he didn't want to linger or pay attention.

During his time on the ship, he had barely left his cabin. Even his sparring with Li Mo took place in the middle of the night. When he tried to catch up on sleep during the day, he had A Niu guard him and prevent anyone from getting close.

Unexpectedly, even as I was about to disembark, I couldn't escape it.

Hey! Don't hide from me! I'm not some monster! Why are you hiding from me!

The little girl ran over and blocked their way, her puffed-up face flushed red, whether from anger or from exhaustion from running all the way, it was hard to tell.

Wenbin chuckled to himself. Who would have thought that his young master would get into trouble with women before he was even seven years old? Tsk tsk tsk, his young master is really something!

Li Mo frowned and threw the bundle at Wen Bin, who was watching the spectacle with amusement. The latter was almost knocked over.

"Ouch!"

"Young lady, my young master is in a hurry to get on his way, so I hope you won't make things difficult for him." Li Mo slightly blocked his young master's way.

"I have important business with your young master. You're being unreasonable! Your young master hasn't even spoken yet, and you're already trying to kick me out!"

"Li Mo, take Wenbin, Aniu, and the horses and get off the boat first." Jiang Xiaoqi handed the bundle to Li Mo.

"But, young master!"

Jiang Xiaoqi shook her head, indicating that it was nothing and she could handle it herself.

Out of respect for General Li, they decided to avoid getting involved, lest he get angry and throw them and their three servants into the river to feed the fish.

Once you're on a pirate ship, you have no choice but to play the coward.

Now that they had reached the shore, he no longer had any worries about parting ways with the group and taking the land route.

You can say whatever you want to say without having to back down or hide away.

"Why have you been contacting me time and time again?"

Jiang Xiaoqi looked at the little girl in front of him. She had a chubby face and was actually quite cute, but he was so busy with his schedule that he really didn't have time to take care of her.

The little girl seemed hurt by Jiang Xiaoqi's coldness; tears welled in her eyes, and for a moment she forgot what she wanted to say.

"I... I just want to ask you, why did you save me that day?" She finally mustered up her courage, raised her head and looked directly into Jiang Xiaoqi's eyes.

Jiang Xiaoqi was slightly taken aback. He didn't expect that after so long, she would still ask this question. Didn't General Li tell her why he took action?

That's really unfair... That person clearly guessed it; this was done on purpose.

"When lives are at stake, why ask so many questions? Anyone would do the same, so you don't need to keep worrying about it."

"Just...that's all?" The little girl clearly didn't believe it. "Why...why are you so cold to me?"

Jiang Xiaoqi was silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "We met by chance. I don't think I deliberately ignored anyone, nor do I want to deliberately befriend anyone."

The little girl stood there stunned, feeling a pang of disappointment. She had finally spoken to her savior, but felt no joy whatsoever.

No, it shouldn't be like this. Uncle Li clearly said...

Jiang Xiaoqi saw that the person was staring blankly with reddened eyes. Was he about to cry? He clasped his hands in a fist salute, turned around, and was about to disembark.

"Wait!" she suddenly called out. "Anyway, thank you for saving me. Until...see you later!"

Jiang Xiaoqi paused, but did not respond. He knew that the two would never meet again, and he would not have any interaction with this official's daughter.

Jiang Xiaoqi disembarked directly from the boat, while Gu Qinyue stood at the bow, gazing in the direction he had left, her eyes fixed on him for a long time.

"Miss Yue, it's time for us to disembark," her personal maid whispered a reminder.

"Yes, it's time to go back..."

The maids had already prepared everything and were just waiting for their young mistress.

Gu Qinyue turned and walked into the cabin, her heart filled with melancholy. Jiang Xiaoqi's words kept echoing in her mind, making it impossible for her to let go.

Perhaps he's right; we were just strangers who met by chance...

"Young Master, although we met by chance, we've spent so many days and nights together on the ship. Isn't this a bit too heartless?"

After Wenbin recovered from his injury, he started talking non-stop again.

"If you can't speak properly, then shut up. What do you mean by spending many days and nights together? Your words are easy for people to misunderstand!" Li Mo retorted.

"A slip of the tongue! Young master, please forgive me!"

"Alright, let's move on from here. First, let's find a place to stay, and then we'll find a horse shop to buy a horse."

Now, four people and three horses can fit comfortably, after all, he and Wenbin together only weigh a little over 100 jin (50 kg).

But they didn't need to rush the rest of the journey; they could simply drive the carriage slowly.

Buying another horse is also for driving two spacious carriages. If we can travel more comfortably, there's no need to suffer unnecessarily!