As the night deepened, the boat docked to rest. After everyone had eaten their fill, they prepared to sleep on the boat.
It was summer, and the bow of the boat plunged into the reeds, inevitably attracting some mosquitoes. Huan Ge'er was bitten and kept crying.
Zhang Xiue lit a candle and placed it beside her to ward off flying insects. "If I sleep like this all night, I'll be covered in bites tomorrow morning."
Li Qiang's wife suggested, "Then why don't we light a few more candles?"
"How many candles are there on this ship? Not to mention the money involved, if we use them all now, what will we use tomorrow night?"
Song He'er stood up from the boat and looked at the grass in the distance. She saw some green grass that looked like maple leaves, and it seemed like she had seen it somewhere before.
"Third Aunt, do you recognize that kind of grass?"
Following her gaze, Zhang Xiu'e's face lit up with joy: "This is mugwort! Quickly pick some and burn it; it will repel mosquitoes!"
Qin Xiaoniang was busy coaxing Huan Ge'er and didn't pay attention to this side. When she looked up, most of the people on the boat had already disembarked, leaving only the timid Su Yu's wife and a group of children.
"Little sister, you should get some sleep too. I'll watch over Huan-ge'er for a while."
Qin Xiaoniang shook her head: "You haven't slept half the night either, just fanning the children. Who knows when this sweltering heat will end..."
Su Yu's wife used lotus leaves to fan the children while swatting away mosquitoes with her hands. If this continued all night, she would be exhausted.
A short while later, torches were lit not far from the shore, accompanied by occasional noises...
"Everyone, keep your spirits up! If we encounter any passing merchant ships, we must stop them! We can't let the fat sheep that's already in our grasp get away!"
"Yes, boss!"
Upon hearing the sound, Qin Xiaoniang's heart pounded with anxiety. Could it be that she might encounter water bandits on this water?
Thinking of this, Qin Xiaoniang immediately blew out the candles. "They might be pirates. Quick, extinguish all the candles on the boat so they won't notice us..."
Su Yu's wife was timid by nature, and when she heard about the water bandits, she trembled with fear. This was understandable, probably due to the trauma she had suffered at the hands of government soldiers in the past.
In their haste, the two extinguished all the candles on the boat. The boatman, hearing the commotion, hurried over from the stern and was surprised to see that there were far fewer people on the boat.
"Ladies, where...where have all the people gone?"
"They went ashore to look for something."
"Oh dear ladies, these days the world is not peaceful. Who would dare to wander around at night? Didn't you see the bandits lurking ahead? And they still dare to go up there?"
Qin Xiaoniang was a little nervous, "Do these river pirates frequent this area year-round?"
The boatman wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, squatted down, and whispered, "They came from the south. With the court in turmoil, these river pirates are even more rampant. They've been heading north along the Huai River, and we just happened to catch up with them!"
Su Yu's wife turned pale with fright and quickly grabbed the boatman, asking, "Then... will we be in danger? Will they kill us?"
"Oh dear, if you ask me, these ladies should never have gone ashore! Our boat is inconspicuous and is nestled in the reeds. As long as we don't make a sound, the pirates won't find us at all. Now look what's happened! If the pirates catch those who came ashore, they'll definitely implicate us under duress, and then we'll all die a violent death!"
Qin Xiaoniang held Huan Ge'er in her arms, comforting him to keep quiet, and then turned around and pulled down the curtain on the side of the boat.
"Let's just wait patiently, and they will definitely return safely."
The boatman shook his head and said nothing more.
Not far from the shore, Song He'er and Zhang Xiu'e were still diligently searching for mugwort when they saw the flashing swords in the distance, at which point they stopped what they were doing.
"He'er, look, there seems to be someone over there!"
Song He'er raised her head and looked in the direction Zhang Xiu'e pointed. Sure enough, in the woods about a mile ahead, she saw a group of masked men in black.
"Oh no, what if they find out about your mistress and the others?"
Song He'er shook her head: "The lights on the ship are off, so even we can't find it, let alone those thieves. It's alright, don't be afraid. If they don't see any passing merchant ships here, they'll go to the next place to wait."
“Then why don’t Chun Di and Chun Rao go back? That way, they can help each other if anything happens!” Zhang Xiu’e said.
Chun Di nodded: "Alright then, I'll go back to take care of my mother and the children..."
After saying that, he pulled Chunrao away and disappeared into the night.
Li Qiang's wife had the sharpest eyes; by the dim light of the fire, she spotted several burlap sack-like objects in the bushes ahead.
"Look at those things, they were probably stolen by them..."
Zhang Xiu'e spat, "People who live by plundering in this world, how else could they have gotten these goods besides stealing them?"
Song He'er saw that the dozen or so thieves in the distance were currently entrenched on the shore, waiting for an opportunity, and probably wouldn't leave until dawn.
But the grass was smelly and hot, and if we waited until they left before getting up, we'd probably be eaten by mosquitoes.
"Third Aunt, have you ever seen a ghost?"
"Huh? What did you say?"
"I mean, do you believe in ghosts and spirits?"
Li Qiang's wife replied, "Silly child, there are no ghosts in this world."
"We don't believe it, but there are some people who do..."
Zhang Xiu'e immediately understood, "You mean those who have killed too many people have a guilty conscience and are afraid that the spirits of the dead will come to claim their lives?"
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