Xiao Shiyan couldn't help but swallow hard: "Elder Teng, I...I..."
Just now, after Su Xuerong and Xiuchun jumped into the sea on the deck, Elder Teng of Dongli Island, who had not shown up on the ship the whole time, suddenly appeared.
Elder Teng's single eye stared intently at Xiao Shiyan like a poisoned dagger. Suddenly, he spoke up: "The Dragon King sent you to Dongli Island, not so you could bully women!"
"Elder Teng, she...she is my wife..."
Elder Teng stared at him with his turbid eyes and sneered, "As far as I know, that Madam Su has already divorced you and is now Xiao Yuan's empress!"
Hearing him address Xiao Yuan by his given name, Xiao Shiyan felt a slight sense of relief.
That day in the imperial court, he was stabbed by Xu Wanhe. He then feigned death to play along, and Xiao Yuan, without suspecting anything, ordered him to be taken to the mausoleum. He used this opportunity to escape...
Later, on the road, he happened to meet the people of Dongli Island. He used Xiao Cheng's treasure map as bait and took the opportunity to reach an agreement with them.
The people of Dongli Island helped him recuperate and rebuild his strength so that he could one day reclaim his kingdom.
In return, he would need to hand over all of Xiao Cheng's treasure maps from his lifetime.
Xiao Shiyan also knew that this deal was actually handing himself over to the Dragon King as a puppet.
But this is better than being driven to a dead end by Xiao Yuan.
Even if the Dragon King wants to become emperor in the future, he must first deal with Xiao Yuan.
Xiao Shiyan hated Xiao Yuan to the core. Regardless of whether he could regain the throne in the future, he would use the Dragon King to kill Xiao Yuan.
Upon learning of Xiao Yuan's high-profile tour south, he persuaded Elder Teng to help him snatch his daughter back.
In fact, Xiao Shiyan had never seen the elusive Dragon King since he came into contact with the people of Dongli Island.
In his view, the real power holder on Dongli Island should be Elder Teng in front of him.
Therefore, Elder Teng sent someone to bribe Yue Jin, who was also secretly following the southern inspection team, and asked him to find a way to steal Yuan Jie'er away.
I never expected that Yue Jin would trick Su Xuerong into coming here in order to get more money!
Xiao Shiyan certainly couldn't miss this good opportunity, so he had her captured as well.
Elder Teng's timing was perfect. While Xiao Yuan was hunting with his ministers at the hunting grounds, he successfully led the man onto a ship disguised as a passenger boat hidden at Shihu Wharf and sailed out to sea.
A day and a night had passed, and the ship had long since sailed away from the Quanzhou sea area and entered the vast open sea. Even if Xiao Yuan had extraordinary abilities, he would not be able to find this mysterious Dongli Island.
Elder Teng said coldly, "Since the Su family is Xiao Yuan's empress, they are also an important bargaining chip for Dongli Island to deal with Xiao Yuan!"
"The Dragon King has always been an upright and honorable man, and would never take advantage of someone in distress. If you dare to harbor any filthy thoughts towards her again, don't blame me for being impolite!"
After giving Xiao Shiyan a stern warning, he got up and left.
Xiao Shiyan's cheek twitched violently.
How can someone who is upright and honest become a pirate?
You're kidding me!
But at this point, he was like a fish on a chopping board, completely at the mercy of others, and dared not say anything.
The next morning, when Su Xuerong woke up, Yuanjie was still fast asleep in her arms.
Hearing the commotion, Xiuchun quickly got up: "Your Majesty..."
Su Xuerong said, "There's no need to call me 'Your Majesty' now. Just call me 'My Wife' as we used to at home."
Xiuchun nodded.
Yuan'er woke up rubbing her eyes. As soon as she saw Su Xuerong, she threw herself into her arms and cried, "Mother, when is Father coming to save us?"
Su Xuerong said helplessly, "Soon, your father will definitely come to save us..."
But she also knew that the ship they were on had been sailing away from Quanzhou for two days and one night. In the vast and deep sea, how could Xiao Yuan find them?
Moreover, as far as she knew, the Great Zhou had exhausted its national treasury due to the civil war in the previous years, and its coastal defenses had always been weak; otherwise, it would not have issued a ban on sea travel.
Xiao Yuan did lift the sea ban, but the navy will need some time to regroup, so how can they find Dongli Island in the depths of the sea?
She had never even heard of it, which meant that Dongli Island had never appeared in the public eye.
Su Xuerong knew that their chances of returning to Quanzhou were extremely slim, but all she could do was comfort her daughter and keep hope in her heart.
Xiuchun listened silently to the sound, her expression melancholy.
Su Xuerong suddenly said, "I just find it strange that the people of Dongli Island have reached some kind of agreement with this stray dog, that they would take such a big risk to help him?"
At that moment, even saying his name felt dirty to her.
Xiuchun was also utterly puzzled: "Could it be that the people of Dongli Island are born to defy the Heavenly Stems and are not afraid of His Majesty at all?"
Su Xuerong shook her head: "It's not that simple..."
Since she couldn't figure it out, she stopped thinking about it.
To Su Xuerong's slight relief, Xiao Shiyan did not appear again for the next two days.
Not only that, the meals delivered each day were also more plentiful. When the wet nurse brought the food, she specifically mentioned, "Elder Teng saw that the young lady was still young, so he specially ordered someone to stew egg custard for her."
"Elder Teng?"
Once this question was asked, the wet nurse surnamed Zhao started talking non-stop.
"Back when my man was desperate, he sought refuge with Elder Teng. If it weren't for the fact that the Dragon King was the only royal descendant on Dongli Island, how could he have been in charge..."
Su Xuerong understood.
Dongli Island was originally led by Elder Teng, but three years ago he brought back a man from Quanzhou who claimed to be a descendant of the Dragon King of Dongli Island and handed him the scepter.
However, this Dragon King wore a ferocious mask from beginning to end, and no one except Elder Teng had ever seen it.
Zhao the wet nurse said with a sly smile, "That dragon king is extremely ugly, which is why it dares not show its face in front of the islanders."
Su Xuerong asked curiously, "Sister Zhao, when did you arrive on the island?"
“Five years ago!” Zhao’s wet nurse sighed. “My husband was originally a fisherman by the sea, but the imperial court issued a ban on fishing, and we had no food to eat. We had to secretly go to a very distant sea to fish, but we encountered Japanese pirates and were forcibly taken to a ship to work as laborers.”
"Later, Elder Teng led the islanders of Dongli Island to defeat the Japanese pirates, and my husband came to the island..." Zhao's wet nurse looked somewhat helpless. "Unexpectedly, the islanders of Dongli Island were also pirates, but their targets were not the Great Zhou but the Japanese pirates."
Su Xuerong finally understood.
Although the people of Dongli Island were pirates, they were not enemies of the people of the Great Zhou.
No wonder she'd never even heard of it.
If they are truly ruthless pirates who plunder everywhere, even if the Great Zhou Navy is weak, this internal threat must be dealt with first.
At this moment, I felt that Dongli Island was really mysterious, and it always gave me a sense of not knowing what was going on.
Two days later, the ship finally arrived at an island in the vast sea. When Su Xuerong carried Yuanjie'er and followed the group of men in black ashore, she found that the edge of the island could not be seen at all.
There are still many fields on the flat land in the distance of the island, and many houses can be seen in the center of the island, surrounded by a high wall, like a castle.
Is it possible for Xiao Yuan to discover such a large island?
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