The 73rd time

  Minglan hastily went to open the window and looked up, only to see flames rising high in the distance somewhere, as if one of the big ships had caught fire. People's shadows were moving about, and she could vaguely see people falling into the water; following the sound of the wind and waves, Minglan faintly heard a series of cries for help and sounds of fighting. Changzhu was leaning against the window, his small face pale white. At this time, a sharp whistle also sounded from the ship's side, as if the sailors on watch were warning others.

  Before long, everyone on the boat woke up. Minglan was calling Danju to wake her up and get the other girls up while pulling Rong'er to look for Rongguo. Along the way, the sailors and servants were all looking out from the side of the boat with anxious expressions. Minglan didn't pay attention to them and rushed straight into Rongguo's cabin. She only saw Yun'er sitting there with a pale face, holding her slightly bulging belly. As soon as she saw Minglan, she quickly grabbed her hand and said: "Your brother went out to check, I just called someone to look for you; Buddha bless us, everyone is fine!"

  Minglan didn't know what had happened outside and could only sit down beside Rulan. Changzhuang stretched his neck, wanting to go out, but was slapped back by Minglan.

  But after a short while, Zhang Yu returned panting and said: "It's the water bandits!" The women were shocked and lost their color. Then Zhang Yu explained the situation in a few words.

  The waterway that everyone is traveling on is called Yongtong Qu, the Huaiyin section of the north-south Grand Canal. Tonight, the wind is calm and the waves are quiet, and many boats are anchored to rest. In addition to the Sheng family's boat, there are two large boats belonging to officials and wealthy families, two escort ships, and several merchant ships belonging to Baochang Long. Since they were all anchored in the river, they all took shelter at this calabaza mouth. The commercial ships were in front and back, while the escort ships and passenger ships were in the middle.

  After everyone fell asleep, a group of pirates snuck onto the ship at night and first robbed and killed several merchant ships in front and back. Unexpectedly, one of Bao Changlong's ships was carrying tung oil. During the fight, several young apprentices from the business ignited the cargo hold, and a whole cabin of oil barrels exploded, setting the entire ship ablaze. Not only did the apprentices take advantage of the situation to jump into the water and escape, but it also served as a warning to other ships.

  Minglan saw Yun'er trembling with fear and patted her hand to comfort her, saying: "Sister, don't worry too much. I think this pirate isn't very clever. Experienced ones know they should rob passenger ships first, who would go for cargo ships? This is like beating the grass to scare... people."

  As soon as the words came out, Chang Yu, who had been frowning all along, couldn't help but smile and praise: "Sixth sister said it well, that's exactly right! It's probably a group of scattered pirates being surrounded by the guard ship. The boats are already ready below, you can tidy up and head to the left bank!"

  The women's faces suddenly relaxed.

  The number of pirates is not large, but they have the advantage of 'stealth', and the ship is narrow, making it difficult for those on board to hide. They can only take advantage of this situation when the ships are docked at a place with winding riverbanks, which happens to be a sheltered spot. All the ships stopped there, while the left bank was a vast expanse of reeds, dense and tall as a man, and led directly to the nearest Huaiyin Garrison camp. If they had gone ashore on the left bank, not only would the garrison's soldiers have come to their aid, but also the pirates who came to pursue them would have been unable to catch up once they dispersed.

  In this era, there was no concept of lifeboats. The original ship owners on the shore were called water thieves and had taken control of everything at night. Long Wu easily managed to get two small boats, fortunately he was a seasoned fighter and knew some strategies against enemies. On one hand, he ordered people to salvage the big ship, while on the other hand, he ordered people to light up every room in the big ship, making it seem like there were many people on board who were very flustered. Meanwhile, no lights were allowed on the small boats, and under the cover of night, they could sneak ashore silently.

  In a flurry, the maidservants became even more flustered, Chang Yu constantly urging them on. Yun'er's face was deathly pale and frightening, clutching her abdomen in pain, seemingly having disturbed the fetal energy. Minglan glanced at the fiery glow tens of zhang away, where the fierce battle seemed to be raging, and said: "Sister-in-law is unwell, later she might not even be able to move, why don't brother escort sister-in-law and fourth brother over first, I'll tidy up quickly and catch up immediately."

  Yun'er and Chang Wu were initially unwilling, but seeing that the water bandits had not yet arrived, Chang Wu gritted his teeth and left behind half of their guards and a small boat. Before leaving, he repeatedly instructed: "If some silver is lost, it's gone, hurry up and come!"

  Minglan nodded and left Yanzhuo by Changyu's side.

  Actually, she had estimated the distance to the other shore. As a young and ambitious person who wanted to go up the mountain and down to the countryside, Minglan should have been able to swim across even if she only retained half of her previous swimming skills; as for the others, Danju knew some dog paddle, Xiaotao could take her swimming, and the few maids left behind by Lü Ying and Yun'er all had some aquatic skills.

  This time, Langyu was returning home for a funeral. After the old lady passed away, he would be in mourning, so Langyu had brought almost all of his accumulated wealth from Beijing over the past few years. It wasn't a small amount, and it wouldn't be right to let those thieves with low technical skills get their hands on it cheaply. Minglan was directing several maids to put away the light and valuable jade porcelain and gold and silver jewelry into small pouches made of oilcloth. Just as they were finishing up, they heard a shout from Green Branch, who was releasing the wind at the bow of the boat: "Serves them right! Shoot them dead!"

  Minglan hastily rushed over to take a look, and saw that on the sides of several large ships not far away, some guards were drawing their bows and shooting arrows into the water. Amidst the shouting and cursing, there were also cries of pain and alarm. Minglan's heart tightened, and she immediately said: "It's no good! Their boats have been blocked, and they've scattered and are swimming over from the water!"

  The girls were all frightened, Minglan hesitated for a moment, raised her eyes and saw that the small boat had already reached the middle of the river. She quickly reacted, pointing at the girls in front of her, and said in a low voice: "You three throw all the lamps on this floor into the river, don't leave any lighting objects behind! I'll take Green Branch to deal with the next floor, Xiaotao and Dangui will tie these thin iron boxes with ropes, Xiaotao is good at swimming, tie the rope to the bottom of the boat, then put all the boxes into the water! After finishing, meet in the kitchen on the lower deck! Hurry up!"

  "Miss, why don't we hurry up and leave by boat?" asked one of Yun'er's senior maids hesitantly.

  Green Branch glared with anger and scolded, "You rascal! If the young lady lets us do it, then we'll do it. What's all this nonsense? If it weren't for your master, our young lady would have left long ago! You still dare to quibble!" Dan Ju's temper was gentle, and he hastily explained, "Now there are thieves in the water, and we can sail as fast as possible. If we're caught up, one blow will capsize our small boat!"

  The girl's face turned red and she lowered her head at once.

  Minglan didn't even bother to get angry, after all it wasn't her own team; she immediately ran out to the deck and divided the guards into four groups, each protecting a group of girls as they took action. In no time at all, the entire ship was plunged into darkness. The heavens were being very considerate, tonight there was no moonlight, and you couldn't see your fingers in front of your face.

  Minglan rushed to call a group of maids and miscellaneous servants to hide, the strong and capable ones went to the ship's side to meet the enemy, while she herself rushed straight into the kitchen, rummaging out many knives, forks, pots, and iron mallets. When the girls who had split up came back, they were all given some 'weapons'. Xiaotao got an iron pot, Lüzhī got a knife, and the rest of the girls also took some.

  After making preparations, Minglan ordered the guards to go on high alert outside and then hid in an inconspicuous cabin at the bottom of the ship.

  In the darkness, the girls waited quietly, only vaguely hearing someone clearing their throat. This feeling was very long and tedious. Minglan knew that the girls were all extremely tense, so she gently comforted everyone: Firstly, not all pirates could swim over, some would be shot dead by arrows; Secondly, there were three passenger ships here, it was unlikely that they would all rush to this ship, which meant fewer people; Thirdly, this ship had a total of twelve rooms on two floors, if the pirates' brains hadn't been waterlogged, they should go to search the cabins first, which would disperse some manpower; Moreover, the pirates were swimming over, so they must not have any fire starters on them. The lamps and candles on the boat, as well as the hay in the kitchen, had all been thrown into the river. Unless they dismantled the ship's boards or door frames to start a fire, unfortunately, the wood on the boat had long been dampened by the river water and was not easy to ignite. Since it was dark, they couldn't see clearly and wouldn't be able to search thoroughly; Finally, at the back of this cabin, there was a cabin door that led directly to the river surface, originally for the convenience of fetching and pouring water. If things didn't go well, jumping into the water would be the solution.

  Besides, those water bandits won't linger on the boat for long. If they don't find anything worthwhile, they might just switch to another one to plunder. Everyone can hide and get through this... With that said, the girls felt much more at ease.

  After a while, suddenly heard a shout from above, the sound of clashing weapons and killing rose, Minglan knew that the water thieves had climbed up, secretly grasping a sharp long hairpin in her hand, the girls took quick breaths again; listening to the continuous fighting sounds coming from above, as well as cries for help, then amidst a suffocating chaotic footsteps sound, the door was kicked open with a "bang".

  Two black figures rushed in, cursing and swearing. Minglan was already waiting, and with a strong pull on the rope on the ground with Danju, there was a loud thud. The one in front fell down first, and under the light outside, Xiaotao used all her might to smash an iron pot onto that person's head. The thief let out a groan and fainted.

  The second thief stumbled, saw the room full of girls, and immediately wanted to call for help. A maid quickly raised the board in her hand and slammed it down, causing the thief to grunt and stumble. Another maid jumped up and collided with him, knocking him to the ground. Minglan freed herself and took a step forward, pinning the thief's chest under her foot. She stabbed downwards with her hairpin, inserting it straight into the thief's chest. Blood gushed out, and just as the thief was about to let out a blood-curdling scream, his mouth was stuffed with a handful of hay. He was then beaten senseless by something unknown, his eyes rolling back in his head before he too passed out. The air was filled with the nauseating smell of blood.

  Tangerine suppressed her disgust and gently closed the door, Minglan directed the girls to take out the prepared ropes and tie up the two half-dead mosquitoes tightly, stuffing their mouths so they couldn't make a sound. After finishing, the seven girls in the room, including Minglan, looked at each other, having solved the problem of the two mosquitoes, suddenly felt a surge of courage, and the fear in their eyes was greatly alleviated, replaced by some excitement.

  After a burst of noise, then a moment of silence, the sound of "There's no one here! Go look somewhere else!" could be faintly heard through the air vent. The girls' faces lit up with joy, and just as Minglan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a loud, coarse shout came from above, echoing loudly: "...These women have spoken out, hurry down to the hold! They say the young lady is still on the boat, brothers quickly come up! Catching her will bring great fortune! And there are several tender and delicate little maids for everyone to enjoy!"

  Minglan's face turned pale, and Green Branch was already scolding: "How dare they sell out their sister!" Minglan didn't dare wait any longer, and sternly ordered the girls: "Take off your outer clothes, quickly jump into the water!"

  It was early winter, and the girls were all wearing thick satin down jackets outside. After one of them pulled it open, they jumped into the water, shouting loudly outside, with footsteps coming heavily from below. The girls panicked and jumped in together.

  Minglan felt the icy coldness of the river water as soon as she entered it. Fortunately, it wasn't midwinter, and she could still hear a commotion on the shore: "No good! Someone's jumped into the water! Quick, catch them!" Minglan immediately started swimming with all her might, enduring the chill that seemed to seep into her heart. She swam towards the opposite bank, and soon heard several splashing sounds behind her, followed by a girl's shrill cry - probably someone had been caught. Minglan took a deep breath and dove underwater, trying not to let her head surface.

  She had just swum a few strokes when she suddenly felt a tightness around her waist, and an arm reached out from behind to encircle her. Minglan was shocked and immediately kicked back with her leg, but the person behind her was extremely agile and quickly flipped over to her side, pinning both of her arms in place. Minglan only felt a wave of numbness in her arms before she was wrapped tightly in the other's embrace, and as their bodies touched, Minglan instantly realized that the person behind her was a woman!

  The woman kicked her legs a few times, and the two of them floated to the surface. Minglan faced the icy river wind, took a deep breath, and then clenched her jaw as the woman behind her grabbed her face and turned it around. Minglan's skin stung, and she gritted her teeth, making a soft "hiss" sound. Then the woman shouted loudly: "Found it! It's this one!" Her voice was filled with joy.

  Minglan took advantage of the empty space and immediately struck backwards with both elbows, causing the woman to cry out in pain. She increased her efforts, and it was clear that she had some skill, as she grasped Minglan's pressure points and firmly subdued her. Smiling, she said: "Don't be afraid, miss! We're here to rescue you! You must be Sixth Miss Sheng, the one with the small dimples at the corners of your mouth... Ah, come quickly, over here!"

  The woman finished speaking, and before Minglan could react, a small boat with several large lanterns came sailing over, its hull slapping against the water. The woman seemed to be an excellent swimmer, and with a swift motion, she lifted Minglan up and pressed her against the side of the boat. Then, with a pair of powerful hands, she lifted Minglan entirely onto the boat.

  As soon as she left the water's surface, a chill wind from the river stabbed into Minglan like needles. But in an instant, a thick quilt was thrown over her head and face, wrapping her up completely. Then the woman from the water climbed onto the boat, and through her dripping hair, Minglan vaguely saw a big, bear-like man helping her wrap up in clothes.

  Minglan shuddered all over, quickly raised her head to look around, and saw that the small boat was illuminated by lanterns. Several men were standing on the boat, busily wrapping a man into a big dumpling. The man was tall and robust, wearing only a black old long gown, with a thick beard covering two-thirds of his face. There was no ornament on his body, but a pair of deep and handsome eyes seemed familiar.

  Minglan blinked her eyes forcefully and suddenly felt a surge of joy in her heart. She exclaimed loudly: "Second Uncle!"

  She finally knew how it felt to see a police officer when running into a group of ill-intentioned hoodlums in a small alley, even though this police officer had once fined her for no reason.

  Gu Tingyan's eyes lit up, and Hu Zi's face showed no expression, only to hear him say in a low voice: "Do you recognize me?"

  Minglan found it strange that at this moment, the surface of the river was filled with a cacophony of sounds - shouts, pounding, and wailing - all mixed together in a chaotic din. Yet, as soon as he opened his mouth, she felt that every word was clear and audible. Minglan hastily said: "Of course, of course! If you can't recognize who it is, you can't save their life!"

  Minglan was thinking of Danju and Xiaotao, and she quickly moved closer to Gu Tingye's side. Her delicate face, as white as jade, smiled sweetly and obediently, and she begged: "Second Uncle, my dolls are still in the water, please hurry up and help me get them out! It's so cold outside, don't let them get ruined!" Whenever Minglan needed someone's help with something, she always managed to appear especially adorable.

  Gu Tingyan's dark eyes suddenly sank, his long eyelashes raised a few thin eyebrows, like the faint ripples on the surface of a lake, as if he wanted to glare at Minglan, but restrained himself.

  Sorry about that, this year has been really busy and I haven't had time for anything. Updating on the last day of my holiday, hoping to get back to normal updates from now on, even if it's just double the usual amount from relatives.