Looking at it from afar, I saw the vast reeds. The front end of the winding country road is almost always hidden between the water and grass on both sides, but it is never cut off.

They went along the road, and gradually the road opened up. As the water pools and aquatic plants gradually thinned out, large fields came into view. It was almost noon, and there were still people working in the fields—when the wheat was raising flowers and heading, at least no irrigation was allowed.

In the middle of the field there is a raised dock wall, and the village guarded by it resembles a small, sturdy island in the sea, and the four corners of the "island" are watched from the high platforms, and the dock wall is patrolled by peasants in rudimentary armor.

It's a village, and it's a dock fort.

Dock forts are mostly found in the north, but in fact they are not common in the south - armed granges are the inevitable result of troubled times.

There is only one village within a radius of dozens of miles. When Nanling Mansion said that it could not find the village of water thieves, Ruyi had already realized that they might not really be able to find it, but it was far more troublesome to move a grange than to exterminate a group of water thieves - the grange itself was armed, but behind the grange there was often a big surname that was entrenched in the house and even called for wind and rain, maybe the official in charge of suppressing the bandits himself was related to this surname. Therefore, now that the water thieves have stopped, of course, it is better to have more than less.

Later, Ruyi's investigation also confirmed this matter.

Ruyi and his party turned over and dismounted in front of the dock wall door.

Ruyi and Gu Jinglou couldn't help but look up, the bearded man guarding the door next to him was talking to Li Dui, and when they saw them, they smiled and said, "It's tall enough, right?" ”

"High." Ruyi and Gu Jinglou nodded sincerely, turned their heads at the same time, and asked, "How high is this?" ”

"Two-foot-eight. The width is also four feet and three," the bearded man proudly showed off, "It is not much worse than the walls of Nanling City." In the early years, there were bandits who wanted to rob the village, and they didn't get in for four days. ”

Ruyi and Gu Jinglou gave a thumbs up at the same time, and the bearded man laughed.

The group entered the village almost unhindered, and Gu Jinglou saw that there were people talking to Li Du everywhere, so he whispered to Ruyi, "It looks familiar." ”

Ruyi said, "It's just business." ”

"He robbed you of your darts, and you still do business with them?"

Ruyi said calmly, "If you want to take it, you must first take it." ”

Gu Jinglou paused, a little entangled, "...... The first time we met, did you pay my bills because you knew heroes, or—"

Ruyi smiled, "Is there a difference?" ”

Gu Jinglou thought about it and was a little depressed - whether Ruyi's kindness to him at the beginning was because he knew the hero or "he must first take what he wants", in terms of the result at the moment, it seems that there is really no difference.

Ruyi glanced at him and said, "Merchants pay attention to making good connections. When I saw that you were outstanding that day, I appreciated you in my heart, so I just helped out. ”

Gu Jinglou leaned back slightly, raised his eyebrows and smiled, and said, "Appreciation? ”

Ruyi said, "Appreciation." If you mishear these two words, it's just that you look down on me for being a woman. ”

Gu Jinglou argued, "I...... Then why is it that they look down on you?! ”

Ruyi said, "If I am a man and help you when we meet for the first time, can you also misunderstand that I am because of your young romance and shake your heart?" ”

Gu Jinglou's face turned red, and he waved his hand to disperse the disgusting picture, and said, "You ......"

Ruyi said, "Just as you happen to be a man, I just happen to be a woman." Other than that, there is no difference between a woman and a man - talent, temperament, family background, wealth, you see what is good, nine out of ten people in this world - both men and women - are not any worse. And you happen to be such a good one, and I happen to be one of those nine out of nine. ”

Gu Jinglou's face was slightly ugly, and he was silent.

Ruyi glanced at him, pursed her lips and smiled, and concluded, "I don't have to have intentions for a man to feel appreciative and help," she stretched out her finger and pointed at Gu Jinglou and herself, and then pointed at Li Dui and the caravan people, "I will come out with him to do things." ”

Gu Jinglou's face was red, and after a while, he said in shame, "...... Flatter yourself! ”

Ruyi couldn't help laughing.

Gu Jinglou's face was full of heat - of course he could hear it, and he was clearly the one who was sentimental in this matter. Ruyi is rejecting him in disguise, and she understands his mentality very thoroughly. She chose this time to break the matter, which shows that she really doesn't take him to heart - generally speaking, she has a request for him at this time, so she should be with him for a while!

The more Gu Jinglou thought about it, the more annoyed he became, "You don't feel shy when you are open-mouthed in public?" ”

Ruyi smiled, "Ah, I said the wrong thing, and I am really ashamed when I think about it." Please don't bother with me. ”

She confessed her mistakes so frankly that people didn't know how to deal with them. Gu Jinglou held back for a long time, but he still didn't speak. He only glared at her, and left her to stride after Li Dui.

Ruyi hurriedly said, "Don't go far, I want you to help the town!" ”

Gu Jinglou turned around and choked, "Didn't you want me to treat you as a man?" Go town! ”

Ruyi laughed again.

After getting along with Gu Jinglou for a long time, Ruyi can vaguely understand this person's thinking.

In a sense, the two of them are actually very similar. Most of their arrogance and self-righteousness stem from low self-esteem.

For example, she can get along harmoniously with people in the rivers and lakes such as He Manduo and Li Dui, and with the three sects and nine streams of the caravan, but she is alienated because of Liuli's eyes. Could it be that with Liuli's upbringing, he will be more offensive and difficult to get along with than those in the caravan? Of course not, it's just because she has an unspeakable envy for Liuli, and Liuli shows jealousy of her everywhere, so she will be withdrawn and sensitive again and again in front of Liuli to straighten her back, so that she looks more brilliant. Even if she knew that Ruri would be stimulated to be more hostile to her, she refused to let go of her body - because she cared about Ruri's gaze very much, she was afraid of being looked down upon by Ruri.

Ruyi is lucky. Xu Si and Xu Yi both have a neutral and peaceful heart. They are gentle and bright, always attracting the eyes of Ruyi. With the company and guidance of these two people, she quickly came out of her restlessness and depression, and finally was able to calmly look at the difference between her and Liuli.

Therefore, after knowing Gu Jinglou's life experience and experience, she quickly understood what Gu Jinglou was like to her.

They are very similar, both were once sensitive due to low self-esteem. It is precisely because of this sensitivity that Gu Jinglou became more and more arrogant in his desperation, and he would repay the contempt of others. Once Ruyi showed him some very ordinary kindness, he immediately felt that Ruyi knew the hero, and out of some kind of prejudice of a talented and beautiful woman, he decided that Ruyi secretly promised him - yes, Ruyi also realized after getting acquainted with Gu Jinglou that Gu Jinglou was not disgusting because he liked her, but because he thought that she liked him. In fact, Gu Jinglou may not like her very much at all, he just mistakenly thought that Ruyi liked him, so he was honored and proudly reciprocated.

This is not surprising - it is difficult for a teenager like him to let go of his guard and take the initiative to like someone. Only when others like it first, will he moderately open his heart.

But I'm afraid there are a lot of girls who also show kindness to him, why does he only "reciprocate" Ruyi? Maybe it's just because Ruyi is a princess - presumably Gu Jinglou has really suffered a lot of rubbing at the hands of his mother-in-law from the clan. Just like Ruyi cares about Liuli, Gu Jinglou only can't get along with the princess.