Chapter 61 Chapter 61 [VIP]

Chapter 61

When Qian Tong's men entered a remote alley, they slowed down. The horses' hooves stepped on the bluestone slabs that were shining with a silver moon, and the empty "thump thump" sounds, each one hitting people's hearts.

When they reached a fork in the road, the cry of a crow cut through the silent night sky. Qian Tong was walking in front and slowly raised one hand to signal the person behind him.

The convoy that had been following us all the way suddenly turned to the alley on the left and quickly disappeared. Then a group of people came out of the alley on the right and followed closely.

The whole process was extremely silent. A moment later, the convoy emerged from the alley and headed straight for the dock.

When we arrived at Pearl Harbor, it was already past midnight.

All the ships in the port were cleared today, and only one ship was parked at the dock waiting to be loaded. It was the Hai Gu ship, a warship, that the eldest son of the Park family had once given to her.

Qian Tongm rolled off his horse and stood on the dock, calmly watching the servants loading the cargo.

As the last bag of tea was carried aboard, the sound of hurried horse hooves echoed behind them. Qian Tong turned back and saw the charging horse hadn't yet completely stopped. Ah Zhu quickly jumped off the horse, walked up to Qian Tong, and whispered, "My lady, the government officials are here."

Qian Tong asked, "Who is coming?"

Ah Zhu replied, "Wang Zhao brought a team of cavalry, about ten men."

Qian Tong: "Then wait a little longer, L."

After waiting for a while, Wang Zhao's men arrived.

Smoky torches blazed from the distant coastline, spreading rapidly towards them, finally stopping just outside the coastal defenses behind Qian Tong, forming a wall of fire. Wang Zhao stood at the forefront, questioning the woman who was peering over to investigate, shouting, "Madam Qian, where are you going?"

At night, visibility was low, and Qian Tong seemed unable to see the person clearly. Only when he heard his voice did he recognize him and said hurriedly, "It's Lord Wang. I thought it was another pirate group coming to rob my ship."

Wang Zhao's eyebrows twitched.

He had suffered many losses at the hands of this young girl, especially her trick of escaping. Although the Qian family was finally cleared of all charges, this incident was forever engraved in his life, adding another chapter of his failure.

Before he could answer, Qian Tong continued, "Lord Wang, why did you bring your troops out so late? What happened?"

"What happened, Miss Qi? Isn't she aware of it?" Wang Zhao reminded himself not to fall for her tricks. He didn't want to engage in excessive conversation with her and instead searched the boat directly. He asked her, "May I ask, Miss Qi, what's on board?"

Qian Tong said, "Food."

Wang Zhao naturally knew what was on the ship. It was Jian tea that the Crown Prince M brought back from Fuzhou. Thinking that she would not admit it, Wang Zhao asked, "What is your purpose in loading food and going out to sea?"

"Last time, your prince and I were trapped on a deserted island and spent a night together." Her voice was clear and deliberately loud, and everyone heard it. Wang Zhao opposite, as well as the cavalrymen behind him, all had changes on their faces.

It was too late for Wang Zhao to speak up and stop him. She continued, "When the prince and I were trapped, there was no food on the island to fill our stomachs. We had to rely on him to go to the sea and catch fish. At that time, I discussed with him that when we get out of the deserted island in the future, we would transport some supplies to the island and build a fleet there. This way, if we drift to this island next time, he won't have to go to the sea to catch fish."

What a ridiculous statement! When will there be a next time?

Wang Zhao had witnessed how the prince came back tonight, and he couldn't help but feel indignant for him. He said angrily, "Madam Qian, how dare you mention the prince?"

"Why can't I mention him?" Qian Tong said loudly, "Even if I were to ask you, you wouldn't understand. I have a sincere and deep affection for your prince, and the sun and the moon can bear witness to that."

"No need to tell them." As soon as she finished speaking, a cold voice suddenly interrupted her in the night.

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhao turned around and made way.

A moment later, Song Yun came out, followed by a group of soldiers from the government. His face was as cold as frost, and he looked coldly at the girl standing on the dock in front of him, her skirt fluttering in the night wind. "Tell me, and see if I understand."

Qian Tong: “…”

People are coming.

Even through the darkness of the night, Qian Tong could feel the hatred in his eyes.

The third lady should have come to find him.

What to do? Everything she said before became a lie.

He pinched her neck and asked her when she recognized him, but she still didn't tell him the truth. But tonight she heard the truth from someone else. She could imagine the prince's anger.

I wonder if the Crown Prince will kill her.

Of course I do.

He was walking towards her step by step.

Ten steps away, Qian Tong introduced him to the stunned Qian family members behind her, "Look, you're not mistaken. He's your seventh uncle, the current Minister of Revenue, and the heir of the Yong'an Marquisate, Song Yunzhi." She scanned the stunned and panicked faces of the crowd and whispered, "He wants to kill me tonight. Go and kill him first."

Song Yun

His eyes were cold as he heard the order to kill with his own ears.

However, who would dare to kill the current prince, the Minister of Revenue? Instead, everyone fought with their legs, wanting to escape but also wanting to kneel.

Qian Tong took a look and said disappointedly, "What's the point of keeping you useless? Get out of here!"

Hearing this, they felt relieved and saved their lives. They all ran away without leaving a single one behind.

Only Song Yunzhi and Qian Tong were left.

With the prince's ability, it would only take a blink of an eye to kill her. However, Wang Zhao felt terrified when he saw this scene, fearing that the prince would be bullied by that witch, so he secretly signaled his subordinates to be on guard.

Tonight, she first drugged someone and then stole tea leaves, but ultimately failed to escape. Now she was blocked at the port and caught red-handed. Compared to the bright fire behind the prince, she was facing a pitch-black sea behind her, with no light at all.

She had no way out.

Song Yunzhi asked coldly, "What else do you have to say?"

Qian Tong, who was always eloquent, didn't explain a word tonight. He looked up at the hateful eyes of Prince Song and said softly, "There's nothing to say."

Seeing her resigned look, Song Yun tightened his sword and said, "Are you going to follow me on your own, or am I going to force you to leave?"

"The prince won't kill me?" Qian Tong was stunned and asked curiously, "Didn't the Third Madam tell you? I knew the prince's identity from the beginning and deliberately abducted you to become my son-in-law. I used the prince's status to overthrow the Cui family and obtain salt permits and cloth labor. Later, I even pretended to agree to form an alliance with you, but in fact, I wanted to get the Xiaolongtuan from Fuzhou from you. I betrayed the prince's trust and deceived his feelings. I deserve to die..."

She said, "Based on these, if the prince kills me, I have nothing to say."

For the first time in his life, Song Yunzhi couldn't see through someone.

She was both true and false, both good and evil, and he didn't know which of her words was true.

What Mrs. Park said tonight was half true and half false. Even though Song Yunzhi wanted to kill her immediately, his official position did not allow him to wrongly accuse a good person.

He concealed his personal feelings and just wanted to know what she wanted. He asked in a deep voice, "What benefits can the Park family give you?"

Better than the Crown Prince’s wife, better than everything he promised.

When he asked this, Qian Tong turned around and replied, "This ship was given to us by the Pu family. This sea was also given to us by the Pu family. Even further away, the fleet we just established was also given to us by the Pu family. The last time we went to the sea to meet the eldest son of the Pu family, he also promised me something that I didn't tell you. Besides the fleet and this ship, he also gave me a salt farm."

She was afraid that he didn't understand, so she added, "There are only two salt fields like that in Pingchang."

Song Yunzhi looked at the greed on her face. His hatred, which had been dispelled by the night wind with great difficulty, now collapsed again, like an unstoppable torrent, becoming more and more turbulent.

His voice was as cold as a knife, and he finally asked her, "Is the news that you are engaged to the eldest son of the Park family true?"

Then what is he?

What was her kiss that night?

"Yeah." Qian Tong didn't look at him and responded hastily, "Next, we'll just have to wait for the Park family to open the canal. Prince, since I've done so many good things for the people, why don't you let me go? I'll give you the fleet on the sea..."

Song Yunzhi finally pulled out his sword and pointed it straight at her neck. Hatred in his eyes completely erupted, "Qian Tong, I have plenty of reasons to kill you."

Qian Tong lowered his eyes to look at the sword tip that was only a finger away from her and whispered, "I know."

She was waiting for him, waiting for him to take action.

Qian Tong saw the right opportunity and suddenly pulled out a dagger from his sleeve.

She heard Song Yunzhi's stern warning, "Don't move," but she still rushed forward regardless. Her shoulder hit the tip of the prince's sword, and the intense pain made Qian Tong's face twitch. She stopped in her tracks, and the blood on her chest spread out like a gorgeous peony in bloom.

Song Yunzhi's pupils suddenly shrank, and his gaze fixed on her chest. After a long time, he slowly looked at the dagger that she had thrown on the ground at the last moment. His temples were beating violently.

He heard her say, "How could I possibly kill you? I'm not stupid."

Qian Tong endured the pain and looked at the stunned and painful Prince Song, and said her intention, "Today, I took the sword for you, and it is considered to be repaying your kindness to me."

Before Song Yunzhi could react, she pushed him away and said, "Go!"

Song Yunzhi's expression tensed up, and he just then noticed something strange around him.

An arrow dropped from the sky, its tail landing at the feet of the two men, trembling with a buzzing sound. Then the first and third arrows followed, shooting densely at the imperial cavalry. Wang Zhao roared, "Protect the prince!"

Song Yunzhi was caught off guard by her push and staggered back two steps. When he looked up again, he saw Qian Tong falling into the sea behind him.

His body tensed up and he pounced on her subconsciously.

Soon, a circle of water appeared at the place where she fell, and someone was in the water trying to catch her.

Qian Tong was pulled out of the water by Ajin. Her wound was so painful that she couldn't stand up. She knelt on the deck and looked back at Prince Song who was standing on the opposite bank under the sky full of flames.

The sword in his hand was pointing to the ground, and his eyes were looking in her direction.

The night was dim and she couldn't see the expression on his face. She didn't know if her miserable condition at that moment had dissipated some of the hatred in his eyes.

Arrows from the opposite side landed on the boat, and Ajin shouted, "Fire!"

The boat left the dock, and she was getting farther and farther away from him. Looking at the fire behind him, Qian Tong was still a little worried and asked Ah Zhu, "Is Duan Yuanjin coming to rob me?"

——

The imperial court's troops were originally here tonight to capture the seventh lady of the Qian family, and ten cavalrymen would be enough.

However, the torches in the cavalry's hands became living targets at this time. The hidden arrows in the darkness did not give them any time to breathe, and they were slaughtered like prey.

Wang Zhao deflected the arrow with his sword and rushed to Song Yunzhi's side. His face turned green with anger as he cursed, "How rampant are the merchants in Yangzhou! If this continues, he might become the local emperor of Dayu. Your Majesty should have sent troops to suppress him long ago."

He didn't know whether the killer hiding in the dark was Qian Qi Niang's man.

It no longer looks like that.

The other party's cold arrows attacked the government and the Qian family indiscriminately, and it seemed as if they wanted to catch both sides in one fell swoop.

However, this is not the time to consider this issue. The only ship on the sea has been driven away by the Qian family. If they want to survive, they must break out of the siege.

He rode his horse in the direction of the arrows, leaving behind a pair of men and horses. "Protect the prince."

Song Yunzhi said nothing, turned his gaze back from the sea, and headed straight towards the direction of the cold arrow. Realizing the problem, he ordered the cavalry behind him, "Put out the torches!"

As the fire went out, the port fell into darkness. The cold arrows lost their target and gradually slowed down. Under the dim light of the silver moon, everyone held their breath, but still couldn't resist the smell of blood.

But there was silence for a moment.

A bomb of gunpowder lit up the long night and headed straight for the dock. Judging from their posture, they intended to raze the imperial troops and the dock to the ground tonight.

Song Yunzhi immediately ordered his men to disperse, saying, "Retreat to the sea!"

The other party has gunpowder, and we may not be able to break out by force. We can still fight for our chance of survival by retreating to the sea.

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud horn sounded from the sea behind him. Unlike the four families' usual style, the horn sounded brisk and arrogant. One after another, it seemed to be mixed with the sound of gongs and drums.

The sea, which was pitch black just now, was illuminated by countless ox-horn lanterns in an instant. Wherever the eyes looked, there were more than ten small pirate ships, surrounding them from all directions at a very fast speed.

The Qian family's warships didn't go far before they were blocked and surrounded.

On the pirate ship closest to the Qian family's fleet stood a bandit in coarse cloth. He shouted to the Qian family members on the warship: "Mrs. Qian Qi owes me the tea from the mountain pass. Isn't it time to pay it back?"

At the same time, a series of earth-shaking horse hoof sounds were heard at the dock. If you listened carefully, you could hear the shouts and cheers like savages. Bells were tied to the horses, ringing as they went.

——Bandits

The bandits in the village are coming.

The killer who was lying in ambush in the dark was suddenly attacked from behind and was completely exposed. He was forced to stop his attack and turn around to deal with the sudden change.

The bandits showed no mercy and beat anyone they saw, shouting, "Where is Miss Qian Qi? If you don't come out, I'll kill all your people..."

I don't know where this dialect comes from, but it makes people angry.

The masked man in black looked at the masked young master on horseback with great disgust, distancing himself from the matter. "There are no members of the Qian family here. Young Master Duan has come to the wrong place."

Duan Yuanjin asked, "Are you from the Park family?"

Without waiting for the other party to answer, Duan Yuanjin said: "It just so happens that the Pu family and the Qian family have close ties and a very good relationship. It's the same for robbing you."

The bandits' advantage lies in their strong momentum and fast speed. They are not afraid of the four major families. Before the Park family's killers could load gunpowder, they were attacked by the bandits from behind. In the blink of an eye, the side that had been surrounded by them became a turtle in a jar, attacked by both the court and the bandits.

After the incident, Song Yunzhi saw the opportunity and rushed out with the government officials. The enemy had no gunpowder, so no one could resist the long sword in his hand.

The government officials killed the enemy and the bandits robbed things, but the two sides cooperated tacitly and did not invade each other.

Wherever the bandits passed, nothing was left behind.

Whether it was the Park family's gunpowder or their swords and guns, they were all taken into their pockets. What was even more hateful was that after these bandits had grabbed the killer hiding behind them, they suddenly stopped and did not move forward.

The people in the court also stopped at the same time.

This was the first time Song Yunzhi saw this young master Duan from the mountain village.

Duan Yuanjin sat on the horse, still wearing the same green mask as last time. In the dim light, he stared at Song Yunzhi, who was covered in blood.

When bandits meet officials, they should be incompatible and a fight is inevitable. However, tonight this group of bandits inadvertently helped the officials and had no intention of making things difficult for them.

The atmosphere at this moment was indescribably weird.

Wang Zhao still looked alert.

After a while, Master Duan suddenly turned the scimitar in his hand and put it back into the scabbard at his waist. He said to the Song prince across from him, "I have experienced Master Qian's skills before. A wise man never suffers a loss in front of him. Forget it, let's retreat. We will meet again next time if we are lucky."

As fast as they came, they left. The horses sped away, stirring up a cloud of white dust as they rushed towards the torches. Wang Zhao didn't know what to do, so he turned around and asked, "Prince..."

Song Yunzhi said, "No need to chase."

He withdrew his gaze and glanced at the black-clothed men lying on the ground, and ordered, "Find a few alive and bring them back."

But there was no one alive. We searched over and over again, but they were all dead.

These people were originally death squads. They were either killed by the government and the bandits in the village, or they committed suicide by taking poison the moment they fell into their hands.

"No." Wang Zhao shook his head at Song Yunzhi, "They are all dead."

There was a melee tonight and Wang Zhao didn't understand what was going on.

Although the seventh lady of the Qian family was cunning, she did not have this ability. Judging from the distance and force of those cold arrows, it can be inferred that they were not shot by human power, but by bows and crossbows.

There are both death squads and gunpowder. The Qian family has no power behind them, so it is impossible for them to have these things.

The only possibility is the Park family.

But everyone is dead and there is no evidence to be found.

Although the government troops suffered casualties tonight, they had fortunately broken through the siege and escaped without danger, and the Crown Prince was also safe and sound. Ten men had come out alone to capture the Seventh Lady, unprepared for battle. He wondered if the enemy had any backup plans. It was not advisable to stay here for long, so Wang Zhao quickly gathered his men and planned to return to the prefectural government.

Before leaving, Wang Zhao took a look at the now calm sea.

The bandits who came earlier seemed to be targeting the Qian family's Seventh Lady. Although Wang Zhao hated them, he just wanted to bring them to justice. He didn't know what would happen to the Seventh Lady if she fell into the hands of the bandits.

Wang Zhao looked at Song Yunzhi who was gazing at the sea from time to time, and roughly understood his thoughts. After all, she was the woman he had lived with for some time, so it was reasonable for him to have feelings for her.

But Wang Zhao knew that there was no possibility for the two of them.

He saw Prince Song stab the lady from the Qian family with a sword.

Wang Zhao was afraid that he would feel guilty, so he took the initiative to ask: "Should we go and rescue Qian Qi..."

Song Yunzhi walked towards the horse, jumped on it, and without looking back, replied, "I won't die, let's go back home."

——

The third lady is going to kill him tonight.

To ensure the assassination was foolproof, she used assassins, crossbows, and gunpowder all at once, with no intention of leaving anyone alive.

She was just talking about the accounts of the Fuzhou Tea House, and they would not stand up to scrutiny.

Moreover, the young master is still in Song Yunzhi's hands. The head of the family has repeatedly told her to take good care of the young master. If she can't rescue him, she doesn't have to stay in Yangzhou.

She was certain that after hearing what she said tonight, even if the Seventh Lady of the Qian Family did not take action, Prince Song would take the initiative to attack her.

After the two of them had a falling out, she would take advantage of the situation, capture them all, and take back the tea.

Moreover, the fight took place in the Pearl Harbor of the Qian family. If the seventh lady of the Qian family died, it would mean that she and the government were fighting and both were injured. If she did not die, it would mean that she assassinated an official of the court.

No matter what the result is, once Song Yunzhi dies tonight, her Qian family will be involved.

A yellow-haired girl wanted to fight with her.

Still a little tender.

The third wife sat in the house waiting for news. As the long night faded away, the sky outside the window was already dimly lit. She was about to close her eyes to rest for a while, but just as she closed her eyes, she suddenly heard the sound of someone kicking the door.

The Third Madam's heart skipped a beat and she angrily asked, "Who?"

No one answered.

The third lady realized something was wrong, picked up the scimitar beside her, and stood up to be on guard. All the available men around her tonight were transferred to the dock, leaving only a few gatekeepers.

She didn't know who the person was and how dare he come to her.

Before she could go out.

The person who came had kicked open the door of her room and stepped over the threshold.

In stepped a woman, wearing a pair of embroidered shoes stained with seawater and mud. She lifted the brim of her hat, revealing a pale face, like a ghost crawling out of hell, devoid of any life. She stared intently at the startled woman opposite her and demanded, "Third Madam, can you give me an explanation?"

For a moment, the third wife actually thought she had seen a ghost and her heart was pounding. But when she heard her cough and saw the bloodstains on her clothes, she realized it was not the case.

She is not dead.

What is she doing here?

The Third Lady felt somewhat guilty, "What happened to Seventh Lady? She looks so miserable."

Qian Tong came in uninvited and sat directly on a rattan chair in her room.

Ajin and Fuyin stood on her left and right, holding scimitars in their hands, guarding her side.

She was badly injured, and every step she took would cause her wound to tug at her. Qian Tong frowned, looked up at the Third Madam, and said slowly, "The Third Madam knew he was the Crown Prince, yet she still wanted me to kill him. I, Qian Tong, cannot fathom her motive. So, now that I've narrowly escaped death, I've come to ask the Third Madam in person why."

The third lady didn't answer, wondering how she had escaped death.

Her eyes were filled with disappointment. "I don't know how I offended the Third Madam that you would be so cruel. I remember we met a few days ago in Haizhou. At that time, the Third Madam was trying to match me up with the eldest son. I was very grateful. I didn't expect the Third Madam to harm me so much in the blink of an eye and ask me to kill the current crown prince."

She glanced down at her wounds and said in a mournful voice, "I was wounded tonight and nearly died at the hands of the Crown Prince. Third Madam, don't you have anything to say to me?"

The third lady's face looked extremely ugly.

Why is she pretending? Doesn't she know who the person she kidnapped is?

"I'm injured, but it's a shame that Third Madam's entire shipload of tea was taken away by Duan Yuanjin. And those assassins she secretly sent have fallen into the hands of the Crown Prince. Tell me, what's the point of this?"

"What did you say?!" The third lady's face changed dramatically.

"Is Third Madam still waiting for someone to come back and report the news?" Qian Tong shook his head. "They can't wait any longer. They've all been taken to the government office by Prince Song. I'm afraid they're being held in a dungeon and tortured. I don't know how Third Madam teaches people. I wonder if those assassins are keeping their mouths shut. If they aren't, what will happen if they betray Third Madam?"

She looked at the Third Madam with a concerned look, "If you had told me in advance, we could have discussed it together, we wouldn't have ended up like this. I came here with injuries all over my body to tell you so that you could prepare in advance. I know the prince quite well. He won't give up until he achieves his goal, and he has many ways to get people to talk..."

The Third Lady was already anxious, and as she continued talking, her heart burned even more.

No wonder no one came back to report the news for so long.

How could it fail?

This shouldn't be the case, the Third Madam angrily asked, "Why did Duan Yuanjin suddenly appear?"

"Blame me," Qian Tong sighed. "Third Madam knows all too well. Before this, I went to the stronghold and robbed Young Master Duan of his accounts, defrauding him of two ships of tea. This created a grudge. Tonight, Young Master Duan somehow got the news that I was going to transport the Little Dragon Group out to sea, so he attacked us directly. Not only were Third Madam's assassins, but my men and everything on the ship were all looted."

The Third Madam’s expression was unbearable to look at.

How much are her things worth?!

The boat she was carrying was carrying the last batch of tea from the Park family. If it was gone, this year's voyage would not be peaceful.

One wrong step, and the whole game is lost.

She has not yet given an explanation to the head of the family about Park Seung-jun's matter. Now she has tried to assassinate a court official without authorization and failed. Her body has fallen into the hands of Prince Song. If Prince Song finds out something during the interrogation and he betrays her, the trouble will be even greater.

She is the third wife of the Park family, and her every move represents the Park family.

The head of the family's current attitude shows that she has no intention of breaking off relations with the court. If she causes trouble, she will be abandoned by the family if she doesn't die at the hands of the government.

Qian Tong seemed to see the struggle in her heart and offered a helping hand in time, "I have been to the dungeon before and know the terrain there. If Third Madam needs it, I can show you the way."

Qian Tong said, "After Third Madam gets through this, I am willing to join forces with her to destroy the village together. To be honest with you, the Qian family has lost too many things recently and it is no longer able to bear it."

The Third Lady was still skeptical and asked, "Are you so kind as to help me?"

Qian Tong's expression gradually turned cold, and he said calmly, "I'm not doing this because of you, Third Madam, but for Mingyi's sake."