Chapter 28 The Handsome Young Man Hijacks a Ship and Kidnaps People, Liang Bawang…

The surroundings were pitch black. Rain slanted down, blurring the lines between heaven and earth. Only the small, covered boat silently glided into the rain. Shanhe and Qingyue huddled in the low cabin, clutching their meager belongings, their hearts heavy.

Shanhe cautiously peeked out, only to see the dark shadows of trees and reeds rushing past on both banks. On the brightly lit boat behind her, Cheng Min was still standing where they had parted, her expression unreadable.

With a push of the pole, the boat traveled several more feet. Suddenly, a figure in purple robes appeared beside Cheng Min, one hand behind his back, his eyelashes lowered as he gazed at her in the boat.

Shanhe smiled and waved to Liang Ye through the rain, whispering, "Brother, take care."

"Ah Shao, take care of yourself too," she thought to herself.

Liang Ye's expression remained unchanged as he watched Shan He's face grow ever more distant and blurry. Finally, the nimble awning boat was swallowed up by the heavy night rain and disappeared from sight.

He said coldly, "Is everything arranged?"

"Yes," Cheng Min replied respectfully. "The estate is registered under Manager Jin's name, and Second Master doesn't know about it."

"Let's go see Ah Shao," Liang Ye sighed.

When everything on the boat completely disappeared from sight, all that remained were the continuous drizzle and the thin mist floating above the water.

Shanhe leaned against the cabin wall, feeling an emptiness in her heart, as if a piece of her soul had been ripped out, leaving only a near-exhausted weariness. The barely audible sighs, the mournful pleas, and the burning red musk marks on her palms... scene after scene lingered before her eyes.

"Young couple... they'll remember eventually... don't forget me..."

She thought she heard Liang Shao's voice again.

Shanhe closed her eyes, letting tears silently well up. The boat drifted on the current, sometimes swaying gently, sometimes turning sharply. Outside, the wind and rain intensified, raindrops pattering against the roof of the awning, making a commotion.

As they were sailing, the boat suddenly lurched, as if caught on something. The old boatman, Zhuang Bo, exclaimed "Eh!" and suddenly his vision was filled with a bright, piercing candlelight that made Shanhe and Qingyue quickly close their eyes. Then, the boat slammed heavily against something hard with a loud "bang," and Shanhe and Qingyue almost collapsed onto the deck. When they opened their eyes again, a large boat was blocking their path, and Zhuang Bo was already hunched over, arguing loudly with the people on board.

Shanhe leaned out of the cabin and saw Wu Tianqi wearing a black satin robe with a kylin embroidered pattern and a black and blue crown with gold trim. He stood imposingly at the bow of the ship, his eyes glancing sideways at Zhuang Bo, and sneered, "I don't care what kind of ship you are, 'Liang' or 'Re'! Today you've run into my Mi family's ship, and there's no way you'll get away unscathed! Quickly, bring your boss out here!"

The old boatman said anxiously, "Your boat was completely dark just now, and now it suddenly lights up with this blinding light and is lying dead in the river. How am I supposed to avoid crashing into it!"

Miao'er, also dressed as a servant, with delicate features, stood beside Wu Tianqi, holding an umbrella. Upon seeing Shanhe, Miao'er suppressed a laugh, deliberately raising her voice to say loudly, "Master, look, there's a beautiful and elegant lady on the boat!"

Wu Tianqi glanced at Shanhe, sizing her up and down, and smiled, "Oh, what a beautiful woman! Since this is your boat, please forgive my intrusion." She bowed slightly from afar, "But with such wind and rain tonight, your simple awning boat must be quite lonely and cold on this Fei River. Why don't you come aboard my large boat and have a pot of hot wine to warm yourselves up?"

Zhuang Bo cursed, "You filthy scoundrel! You shameless idiot! This is my second wife of the Liang family, the wife of Magistrate Liang!"

Shanhe looked up and stared at Wu Tianqi, but said to Zhuang Bo, "Zhuang Bo, I am no longer like that."

Uncle Zhuang quickly lowered his voice: "Second Madam, please acknowledge us! Once we reveal the Liang family's identity, these people won't dare to act recklessly!"

Wu Tianqi had never been insulted like this before, and immediately retorted, "Liang, you son of a bitch! Do you think my ears are stuffed with cotton? Everyone knows that the Liang family of Mizhou is a powerful clan. Do you think their second mistress would sneak into your shabby boat at night? You old coffin-stuffer, drunk and about to die, dare to covet the wife of that Liang tyrant? Don't you even take a piss and look at your own face? You're not worthy!" Her eyes flashed with malice, and she immediately shouted, "Guards! Guards! There are three swindlers here, daring to impersonate the family members of Chief Judge Liang. Seize them immediately and send them to the Liang residence for questioning tomorrow!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a dozen or so servants and maids emerged from the boat. The servants were all wearing straw raincoats, while the maids held umbrellas. At Wu Tianqi's command, five or six sturdy servants rushed forward and, with a few hands and feet, grabbed the old boatman, Zhuang Bo, and dragged him onto their boat with laughter and joking. The maids handed the umbrellas to the awning and carefully helped Shanhe and Qingyue board the boat.

Zhuang Bo cursed and struggled, all the while loudly trying to reassure Shan He: "Second Madam, don't be afraid! Master will come to save you when he finds out..." Wu Tianqi was annoyed by this, frowned, and ordered: "That old bastard talks too much! Find a rag and stuff it in his bird's mouth!" Then he took Zhuang Bo to the secluded cabin that had been prepared in advance.

Shanhe and Qingyue boarded the large ship, where maids were already carrying their bundles. Wu Tianqi then opened a blue oil-paper umbrella and stood side by side with Shanhe, teasingly saying, "How about it? Am I, this pampered playboy, any better than your ex-husband?"

"He's nowhere near as good-for-nothing as Master Wu." Shanhe frowned, watching Uncle Zhuang being led away. "What will happen to Uncle Zhuang? He's getting old, and he's always been good to me—"

"Hey, don't worry." Wu Tianqi glanced in the direction of the cabin. "We'll send him back to his lousy ship tomorrow. He'll have plenty to eat and drink tonight, and plenty of a place to sleep. I guarantee he'll be more comfortable than he was at the Liang family's. We'll just give him a bowl of calming soup later."

The group walked slowly to the main hall of the cabin. Mi Xiaoxiao was sitting in the hall, pouring herself a drink. When she saw Wu Tianqi enter with a swagger, she pouted and said, "You've ruined the reputation of the Mi family again..."

Wu Tianqi scoffed, "Bullshit! Am I not a member of the Mi family? Is my name not on your Mi family genealogy? Now you're distinguishing between 'you' and 'me'?"

"You're in such a hurry again!" Mi Xiaoxiao picked up the wine pot and retreated to the inner room. "I'm going to sleep. You two can talk." She was actually trying to avoid suspicion.

Shanhe and Qingyue were dumbfounded.

Wu Tianqi laughed: "It's nothing for a man to be subservient to his wife, as long as he's not a coward outside. What's truly disgusting is a man who's cowardly and timid outside, but acts like a tough guy at home."

After speaking, Wu Tianqi went to the table, picked up a tin pot that had been warming on the charcoal brazier, poured three cups of hot, strong ginger tea, pushed one cup to Shanhe, one cup to Qingyue, took a sip himself, and smiled: "I don't usually like to drink alcohol. For us women, drinking some ginger tea when we catch a cold is the way to maintain our health."

She casually removed the gold-embroidered crown, and seeing Shanhe and Qingyue standing awkwardly, she pointed to the low couch in the cabin covered with brocade: "Don't be shy, sit down!" At the same time, she instructed: "Miao'er, bring two sets of clean clothes!"

After Shanhe and Qingyue were seated, Wu Tianqi leaned back and smiled sideways, "Last time your little maid came to ask me for help, I didn't quite understand. What exactly is going on between you and that Second Master Liang?"

Shanhe held the teacup in both hands, paused for a moment, and said sadly, "I had originally agreed with him that we would divorce after my grandfather passed away."

Wu Tianqi propped his head up and asked, puzzled, "Then how did you end up in such a sorry state?"

“He refuses.” Shanhe sniffed. “He doesn’t want a divorce.”

Wu Tianqi suddenly became very interested and leaned forward: "Oh? Could it be... that he has developed feelings for you?"

Shanhe looked away, blushing slightly, and nodded, saying, "That's what he said himself."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a burst of laughter erupted. Wu Tianqi clutched his stomach, laughing so hard he was doubled over, tears welling in his eyes: "This tyrant... hahahahaha... I really can't believe it... Did he beg you to stay? Hahahaha!"

Shanhe and Qingyue were both stunned.

At that moment, Miao'er came over carrying two sets of village women's clothes. Wu Tianqi wiped away his tears while trying to suppress his laughter and said, "Excuse me, excuse me. Please change your clothes first. I really didn't expect that Liang Er would be in such a state today."

Maids from Danxia Painting Studio were already helping her change. Wu Tianqi stood aside, examining Shanhe, and then instructed Miao'er, "Bring the dressing box over and comb Xue Niangzi's hair."

Shanhe was already annoyed by her laughter and said with some displeasure, "Master Wu, just say what you want to say. Although Liang Shao and I are not divorced by mutual consent, there is no need for you to make fun of us like this."

Wu Tianqi composed himself, offered a slight apology, and said with a smile, "I am truly sorry. I have heard many rumors about Master Liang before, but I really cannot imagine how he could be troubled by love."

Qingyue was also puzzled and asked, "What was Second Master like before?"

Wu Tianqi took a peach blossom hairpin from his makeup box, inserted it into Shanhe's hair, and chuckled, "She's quite domineering, fearless, but also has a bit of a chivalrous spirit."

Miao'er was tying Shanhe's belt when she looked up and said with a smile, "Master, don't keep me in suspense. What do you know? Tell me quickly. I don't know if Madam Xue wants to hear it, but I'm most eager to hear it."

Wu Tianqi, without any pretense, sat down casually in the grand chair, his boots on the footstool, and took a sip of tea before speaking leisurely: "As for the nickname 'Overlord,' it was probably started about six years ago. At that time, I had only been married into Mizhou for less than two years when I heard this interesting story. It is said that a poor man was selling his daughter on Nanqing Street. The girl was beautiful and graceful, and she caught the eye of both the youngest son of the judicial officer and the nephew of the former magistrate of Mizhou. These two playboys were usually the most competitive and ambitious in Mizhou. They refused to give way to each other and started fighting over her in the street, even ordering their servants to fight. Even the yamen runners patrolling the street didn't dare to interfere and could only watch from a distance."

"As luck would have it, Master Liang happened to be passing by. After learning what had happened, he didn't say a word and kicked each of the two men in the chest, sending them sprawling to the ground. But he wasn't acting impulsively. Knowing that these two men had some connections, he simply invoked the name of the Liang family patriarch. The two men were initially unconvinced, but seeing that he came from a distinguished family, that his martial arts skills were superior to theirs, and that he carried the Green Frost Sword on his back, they had no choice but to give up."

Shanhe lowered her eyes and said softly, "A fool's courage."

Wu Tianqi chuckled, "It's not over yet! The poor man grabbed Liang Er and wouldn't let him leave, crying and blaming him for driving away the buyer. He said he couldn't sell his daughter and wanted Liang Er to buy her. How old was Liang Er then? So he scoured his own body and his servant's body and found twenty-six taels and three strings of cash, not a penny more or less—it was truly laughable, he didn't even know to round down the change—and gave it all to the poor man. Later they found out that he wasn't a poor man at all, but actually a kidnapper. By the time they tried to chase after him, he had already vanished without a trace."

For a moment, the maids in the room all laughed. Some said Liang Shao was stupid, some said he was brave, and some said he was kind-hearted. Only Shan He lowered her eyes and remained silent.

Miao'er said, "What kind of overlord is this? He's clearly just a young man who stood up for justice."

Wu Tianqi took a sip of tea to moisten her mouth: "Don't rush, there's a lot going on in between. One year, during a polo match in Mizhou, the youngest son of Shen Wanquan, a wealthy man in the north of the city, was dishonest and injured another family's servant while riding his horse. Liang Er couldn't stand it and shot off Shen Wanquan's turban with an arrow in front of everyone, forcing him to discipline his children in the street. Even so, none of this completely cemented his nickname 'Tyrant' Liang Er. Until four years ago, when Liang Shao was fourteen, right?" She looked at Shanhe.

Shanhe nodded: "Yes, he was fourteen fourteen years ago."

Wu Tianqi laughed: "The incident of playing the flute in Pingkangfang four years ago truly solidified his reputation as a tyrant."

"Playing the xiao?" Miao'er asked, frowning.

Wu Tianqi squinted and sneered: "Yes, playing the xiao is also called blowing the xiao. Don't pretend to be innocent. You've been learning to paint at my house and seen so many erotic paintings. You don't know how to play the xiao?"

A collective gasp filled the hall. Not only Miao'er, but also Shanhe, Qingyue, and the maids on the ground all blushed. There were seven or eight women in total, the youngest being fourteen years old. Moreover, they had seen those paintings at Danxia Painting Studio and were already familiar with such matters.

Shanhe wrung her hands, her clear eyes welling with tears. She bit her lip and said in a trembling voice, "He actually played the flute with someone?!"

Wu Tianqi leaned back in her chair, narrowed her beautiful eyes, and a meaningful smile played on her lips. She looked at Shanhe but remained silent, clearly putting on airs.