Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 846 - 844_1

Chapter 846: Chapter 844_1

"Brother Shangguan, Yang Liu should be waking up soon," Xiao’er excitedly said.

At that moment, moonlight streamed through the window, making the woman’s sweet smile seem as if it was infused with the aura of a fairy.

Shangguan Xuanyi couldn’t help but reach out and touch her face, which appeared slightly translucent in the light, "Get her out of the space, I’ll hide her in my space ring first. Once the ship docks, I will find an excuse to bring her back."

"Okay." The reason Shangguan Xuanyi did this was simply to prevent Yang Liu from discovering her space.

Xiao’er believed Yang Liu would not betray them, but sometimes, not letting her know certain secrets was a way of protecting each other.

The next day, Shangguan Xuanyi ordered the ship to dock at a small pier. He disembarked alone and brought Yang Liu back. Yang Liu had been put to sleep by Shangguan Xuanyi and was currently within his space ring.

The others stayed on the ship waiting for them.

Xiao’er slept on the ship until noon and felt bored after lunch, so she went out on the deck for some fresh air.

On the deck, several soldiers were fishing, and so was Yang Mei.

Upon seeing Xiao’er come out, everyone stood to salute. Xiao’er waved them off, signaling that they didn’t need to be so formal.

"How many have you caught?" Xiao’er asked Yang Mei, intentionally lowering her voice to avoid scaring off the fish in the river.

Yang Mei seemed a bit deflated, "Not a single one! Looks like I’m going to lose again! I have already lost five taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, Xiao’er’s eyes lit up, "Are you having a fishing competition? If so, how does it work? I want to join in!!"

The soldiers glanced at each other. "The Princess knows how to fish?"

They were stationed on the coastline all year round and often went fishing or catching fish during their spare time. They were quite familiar with it. But what if they won against the Princess? Would Prince Rui be upset?

Seeing everyone’s worried expressions, Xiao’er teased, "Don’t worry, I won’t deny my losses. But, I won’t go easy on you. Just be careful you don’t lose all your money for your marriages!"

Everyone laughed at Xiao’er’s words.

Yang Mei went to get a fishing rod and a wooden barrel for Xiao’er.

"What are the rules of this competition?" Xiao’er asked enthusiastically.

"The person who catches the most fish within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn wins. There’s one tael of silver for each fish. The loser has to make up the difference in silver for the winner."

"One tael of silver per fish is too expensive, I’m afraid I could bankrupt you all in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Let’s make it five coins per fish!"

Five coins per fish? Upon hearing Xiao’er’s suggestion, the soldiers exchanged glances again. That’s not exciting at all!

As soldiers who have been engaged in battles for many years, the things they had taken from the enemy could be pocketed, so they looked down upon mere coins.

General Yang also felt that five coins were too little and totally uninspiring. He suggested, "Princess, what about fifty coins per fish? Don’t worry about them not having enough money for their wedding." Maybe it’s you who will end up giving them their wedding money!

Of course, General Yang didn’t say the last sentence out loud.

Seeing their expressions, Xiao’er already knew what they were thinking.

Xiao’er unabashedly said, "Fifty coins per fish is too much of a gamble for you, don’t cry later!"

The soldiers were all speechless. The Princess must not have fished before - she had no idea that it’s not that easy to catch fish. Catching two to three in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn is already very good.

A competition with stakes of a hundred or so coins really wasn’t high stakes.

Feeling that it wasn’t very good to bully two women in this way, General Yang proposed, "Brothers, the fishes that the Princess and Yang Mei caught will be counted together. If they catch more than us, then we admit defeat, how about it?"

The soldiers had already experienced Yang Mei’s fishing skills just now - she hadn’t caught a single fish for so long, so they all agreed.

Xiao’er didn’t object either, she fished with Yang Mei, and helping her accumulate more dowry was also a good thing.

At this time, Yang Mei brought a set of fishing equipment over. Xiao’er took it,

"Everyone, don’t regret it!" Xiao’er warned.

General Yang waved his hand, "Princess, don’t worry, we won’t!"

"Alright! Light the incense stick, let’s get started!"

Xiao’er sat next to Yang Mei and hooked the bait on the fishing rod, then threw it far away, waiting patiently.

After a while, Xiao’er added a bit of space water to the bait when no one was looking.

Soon a soldier’s fishing rod moved, and he caught a tapertail anchovy.

"Damn! Old Li is the first one to snag a fish again!" Another soldier couldn’t help but burst out cursing.

Mr. Li happily got the fish, placed it in the wooden barrel, "I’ll accept, I’ll accept!"

Among this group of people, he was the best at fishing. If it wasn’t him who caught the first fish, then who would it be?

Next, Xiao’er’s fishing rod also moved, and after ensuring the fish had bitten the hook firmly, she began to reel it in. A bream, about the size of a palm, struggled in mid-air.

"Princess, you’re amazing!" Yang Mei praised when she saw this.

The other soldiers also chimed in, saying it was incredible that Xiao’er had caught a fish so quickly.

Xiao’er shook her head, "It took so long just to catch one, what’s so amazing about that? In the past, I could catch ten, maybe eight fish in half the time. And that’s me being modest!"

The soldiers twitched at the corner of their mouths. Wasn’t she afraid her bragging would reach the sky?

In their hearts, they didn’t believe what Xiao’er said, thinking she was just saying it because she lacked fishing experience or didn’t want to lose face.

Xiao’er laughed at their expressions, put the fish into the wooden barrel, then started the next round: baiting the hook, casting the rod, and fishing.

Xiao’er started to count quietly in her heart: "One, two, three, ... ten".

Exactly ten seconds later, another big fish was hooked!

Xiao’er quickly and efficiently reeled it in. The other end of the rod felt heavy, obviously a big fish. As Xiao’er raised the fish out of the water, a massive 50-centimeter shad wriggled violently in mid air, putting a significant bend in the rod!

"Princess! Such a big fish, such a big fish!" Yang Mei, who had been fishing by Xiao’er’s side, saw the big fish Xiao’er had caught. She was so excited that she dropped her fishing rod and ran over to help Xiao’er pull in the fish.

The other soldiers turned to look upon hearing the commotion and were all surprised. Had she caught another fish so soon? And such a big one at that! The Princess was incredibly lucky!

At this moment, the soldiers only believed that Xiao’er was very fortunate; after all, it was very rare to encounter such a large fish.

After Yang Mei put the fish into the wooden barrel, Xiao’er started to catch the next one.

"One, two... eight", this time in less than eight seconds, a large fish was hooked again!

The soldiers’ eyes were about to pop out of their sockets!

So quickly? Her luck was just too... too good!!!

Yang Mei had just sat down when Xiao’er hooked another fish, so she ran over again to help Xiao’er pull the fish into the wooden barrel!