Chapter 4767 — Journey to the Eastern Isle
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Shangguan Lan'er and Han Jingyi had gone; now Qi Wenmo and Xia Qianqian had gone too. Weizhao had no one left he knew well on the Western Isle, and could only pass his days in the company of Ning Xuefei and Huo Yudie. It was a little dull, but the two girls seemed quite content with such a life. To them, so long as Weizhao was there, they were never bored—even a simple chat left them brimming with enthusiasm.
Such days did not last long. Three days later, as the last foreign delegation to visit the Western Isle, the Eastern Isle delegation was finally ready to set sail. But unlike the other delegations, this time they would carry two guests—Ning Xuefei and Weizhao.
Ning Shanghe had already settled on an academy for her daughter. There was no time to lose, and it happened to be convenient to catch a ride on the Eastern Isle delegation's ship; with Liu Ziqi along the whole way to look after them, there was no need to worry about any trouble.
However, since the Western Isle's princess and her consort were traveling to the Eastern Isle, it was a major affair for the entire Western Isle, and a grand, magnificent farewell ceremony was absolutely indispensable.
That day the entire Western Isle docks were packed so tight that not a drop could trickle through. Including Ning Shanghe, the Isle Lord herself, nearly every high-ranking figure of the Western Isle turned out—all to watch Ning Xuefei and Weizhao board the ship.
The spectacle left Weizhao secretly clicking his tongue. Boarding a ship ought to have been a simple, trifling matter, yet now it looked exactly like some ancient rite—stately and solemn.
"This is quite the production. Anyone who didn't know better would think we were marching off on a campaign to war. I've only ever heard of such elaborate sacrificial rites when soldiers set out for battle—today I've had my eyes opened," Weizhao murmured to Ning Xuefei beside him. He had seen plenty of farewell gatherings in his day, but never before one of such scale and such intricate ceremony.
Before Ning Xuefei could reply, Ning Shanghe, not far away, laughed and glanced at Weizhao. "Do you think we're making a fuss over nothing? In truth, this is a rule handed down from the Western Isle's ancestors—a kind of rehearsal for the succession ceremony. Without it, Feifei's accession in the future would seem improper and unjustified, and there would be trouble."
"So every time Feifei travels, it's always this grand a spectacle?" Weizhao was startled to hear it.
"Not at all. Only the first journey to the Eastern Isle has this ceremony, and its purpose is to pray for blessings on the future Isle Lord. At other times there's no such treatment—otherwise, if the girl took it into her head to slip off and play at any moment, we'd never get any proper work done." Ning Shanghe shook her head with an indulgent laugh.
"I never slipped off! I always left you a note!" Ning Xuefei corrected her righteously.
"Oh yes. By the time I found the note in some odd corner, you'd already run off to the Northern Isle—and you still have the nerve to say it." Ning Shanghe drew Ning Xuefei into a doting embrace, then turned to Weizhao and said gravely, "Weizhao, I'm entrusting Feifei to you. Take good care of her for me."
"Rest assured, Aunt Ning. I will." Weizhao nodded firmly.
An hour later, the Western Isle ceremony finally came to an end. Though Ning Xuefei and Weizhao had not yet formally boarded, Ning Shanghe had already withdrawn with the Western Isle's disciples—after all, if they kept blocking the way, none of the Eastern Isle party would be able to get aboard; the crowd was so vast it could not be pushed through.
Weizhao praised her inwardly. From this alone he could see that Ning Shanghe was a person who knew how to adapt! (To be continued.)