Jiang Muyu's voice was broken and trembling: "I killed someone... I killed someone..."

Liang Qingchen held her hand tightly, rested his chin on the top of her head, and soothed her softly: "It's not your fault, they deserve to die."

She knew those people deserved to die, but when she thought about how she had stabbed the dagger into their chests with her own hands, how they stared at her with bloodshot eyes, and how the warm touch of blood splashed onto her face, she felt extremely disgusted.

Xu Lang came in with a sword in hand and saw this scene. He first ordered someone to take Yun Yan away to check her injuries, and then asked someone to take the bodies away.

Liang Qingchen carried Jiang Muyu to the deck, asked someone to bring a basin of clean water, and personally wiped the blood off her face.

Jiang Muyu was still a little frightened at this time, and she grabbed his sleeve tightly and didn't dare to let go.

"You did a great job just now." Liang Qingchen took off the pearl hairpins on her head one by one, and gently smoothed her hair with his fingers, carefully treating it as if it were a fragile object. "Fault me... I won't let this happen again in the future."

She looked down at the bloodstains on her clothes and pulled him nervously, "It's so dirty, I want to change my clothes."

"Just wait a little longer until they finish cleaning the cabin."

She pursed her lips, lowered her eyelashes, and tried to calm herself down.

After a long while, she finally asked, "Is everything resolved?"

Liang Qingchen nodded, "It's all resolved. Some of the thieves have been killed, and some have been captured alive."

“Is their goal just money?”

"I haven't had time to question him yet, but it's most likely for money."

"Yunyan said those pirates only blocked the last boat, so why are there some on our boat as well?"

At this point, Liang Qingchen's eyes darkened, and he said, "Those pirates came to divert attention. On the surface, they wanted to intercept the last ship, but their goal was to attack other ships. When I realized this, I immediately rushed back. Who would have thought that it was still a little too late, causing you to suffer so much."

Jiang Muyu frowned, "After you left, how many guards were left on our ship? Did they all get into trouble?"

"When I left, I took Xu Lang and ten...wait a few..." Liang Qingchen's expression became more serious.

"What's wrong?" she asked puzzled.

"There were more than 50 soldiers guarding this ship. I only took 10 of them with me when I left. The pirates must have been lying in wait nearby. They knew there was no cargo on this ship, so they sent less than 20 people aboard. So many soldiers should be more than enough to deal with just a few pirates."

But she let the pirates break into her cabin. Isn't that a little unreasonable?

Liang Qingchen immediately called Xu Lang over and asked, "How many people were injured on this ship?"

Xu Lang said: "Two people died, one was seriously injured, and fifteen were slightly injured."

"How many people were originally on board?"

"In addition to the princess and Yunyan, as well as Doctor Wu Yu and Miss Wu, there are three maids, forty-seven soldiers, ten sailors, and two boatmen."

Xu Lang paused, then continued, "It's a bit strange, the boatmen and sailors were fine, and the dead and injured were all soldiers."

"Are Doctor Wu Yu and his team treating patients right now?"

"Yes."

"Well, I understand."

After Xu Lang left, Jiang Muyu said, "This is a bit strange."

"It's indeed strange. Let's investigate it later." Liang Qingchen picked her up and carried her into another cabin.

Yun Yan only suffered superficial injuries and came back after a little treatment. Liang Qingchen asked her to change Jiang Muyu's clothes and he left.

He called all the men who were still able to move to the deck and asked, "Were you all on board when the pirates attacked?"

"yes."

"All are here."

One of the sailors said: "We all hid, so we were not hurt."

"Really?" He frowned and asked in a cold voice, "Have the soldiers and guards also hidden themselves?"

The soldier lieutenant stood up and said, "Your Highness, when the pirates attacked, all our soldiers fought bravely, and none of them tried to escape. Otherwise, we wouldn't have suffered so many casualties."

"Then why didn't anyone come to protect the princess?"

The lieutenant general was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion: "The princess was on the boat at that time?"

Liang Qingchen narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"

The lieutenant immediately knelt down and said, "Your Highness, when we discovered the pirate attack, we were ready to send someone to protect the princess, but a maid came to report that the princess had been escorted to your side."

"Have you ever seen that maid?"

"I saw her once. I even saw her pouring tea for the Empress. I thought she was someone close to the Empress, so I believed her words."

Liang Qingchen called all the maids over, and there were only two people, and the lieutenant general said they were not these two.

He looked at Xu Lang: "Didn't you say there were originally three maids on the boat?"

Xu Lang stroked his forehead and said, "Originally there were three, right? Where did the other one go?"

One of the maids said, "My Lord, when the pirates came today, we were just trying to hide from them, but she went out in an unusual way and has not come back since."

Liang Qingchen thought about it, then ordered Xu Lang to call Lord Yao over.

Soon, Lord Yao came over from another boat. He saluted first and then asked, "What do you want me to do, Your Majesty?"

"Master Yao, have you counted the number of deaths just now?"

"Your Highness, we only counted the bodies." Lord Yao said, "In this pirate raid, we lost a total of 12 soldiers, 7 sailors, and 1 boatman."

"No maid?"

"no."

Liang Qingchen pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and asked, "Have you ever looked for it underwater?"

Lord Yao said, "Your Majesty, it is still raining and the river is turbulent. Even if there is a body in the water, it should have been washed away.

"It is my fault that I have not considered this carefully." Liang Qingchen ordered, "Gather all the bodies on a ship, and hand over the list of missing and dead people to me."

"yes."

"Take care of these as soon as possible and continue on your way."

"yes."

Lord Yao then retreated.

Liang Qingchen dismissed everyone on the deck and returned to the cabin.

Jiang Muyu saw him coming back and asked, "What are the casualties?"

He reported the truth and continued, "There were about 60 to 70 pirates this time. More than 10 escaped and 6 were captured alive. They had no kung fu skills and just chopped with knives without any rules."

Jiang Muyu said, "I read in a book before that bandits and thieves are mostly formed spontaneously. They are ordinary people who have a hard life and gather together to make a living by burning, killing and looting."

"That's true. They usually intercept passing ships to rob them." Liang Qingchen paused and said, "I suspect someone wants to harm you."

"I've already guessed it." Jiang Muyu smiled bitterly and said, "It seems that my life is quite rare and everyone wants it."

He gently stroked her hair and said with a smile, "There are probably many times more people who want to take my life than you, but I have lived well for so many years, haven't I?"

She laughed dryly: "Haha - I feel comforted."

He leaned down, looked directly into her eyes, and said seriously: "Don't worry, as long as I am still alive, I will do my best to protect you."

Jiang Muyu looked into his eyes and was stunned.

Why did she seem to have heard someone say this before?