Chapter 177: The Brutal Bandits
"Where is the Shen family's cargo going?"
"Tianshui City."
“…”
Isn't it said that it's not peaceful?
Shen Yubai probably saw through her thoughts and said nonchalantly, "My Shen family has been doing business for many years, and our influence and connections are spread all over the place. Some bandit troubles still can't do anything to me."
“…” Shen Anan nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.
If someone talks too much when they first meet, she will become suspicious.
After sitting for a while, when her stomach was almost full, she stood up, said goodbye to Shen Yunbai and returned to the boathouse.
"Master." The maid brought a bowl of soup and placed it in front of Shen Yunbai.
He then withdrew his gaze from the door, lowered his head and stirred the soup intermittently, half of his face hidden in the darkness and his expression could not be discerned.
Shen Anan returned to the boat room and sat for a while, thinking about Shen Yunbai's words. She was still worried and went to discuss it with Li Huaiyan.
Qingfeng brought food from the kitchen and was slowly feeding it to him. It was exactly what the man had left over.
When you live under someone else's roof, you have to eat and drink other people's things. If Li Huaiyan knew about this, he would definitely make a fuss with his bad temper. Shen Anan looked away and pretended to know nothing.
"Prince's Consort." Li Huaiyan nodded weakly.
Shen Anan sat down in the chair and said to him, "Do you know anything about the Shen family?"
Li Huaiyan's expression became stern, and even Qingfeng's face became serious.
"What? Is there something wrong with the people on the ship?"
"Not really." Shen Anan shook her head and recounted the conversation she had just had with Shen Yunbai in the kitchen.
"I'm just worried that he might have other intentions when he suddenly mentioned this in front of me. But after thinking about it, I feel that Lord Wang would not dare to reveal our identities, and he doesn't seem to know my identity."
If so, then what is he hiding by not letting himself go to Tianshui City? If not, then there really is something wrong with Tian Shuicheng. Is he saying this out of kindness?
It's not that she has a bad heart, but now that she is outside, she has to consider the worst of everything and everyone in order to be safe.
"Your consideration makes sense." Li Huaiyan half sat up, "But now we are all on the boat, so even if we want to investigate the Shen family, we can't do it."
Qingfeng frowned and said, "There should be no problem with the Shen family, otherwise the official would never dare to make such an arrangement."
With his master putting pressure on him, what he fears most is that something happens to the princess in his territory, so the people he arranges for her will certainly be very thorough.
Shen Anan couldn't help but think more, "Businessmen value profit. He reminded us like this. We should consider whether he can get something from us."
Li Huaiyan said seriously, "I will have a detailed chat with him tomorrow."
Since they have the same goal and his Shen family has connections and influence, it is normal for them to seek refuge from him.
The key is to see what conditions he will put forward.
The only advantage of taking a boat is that you can travel at night. Shen Anan lay on the bed, feeling the frequency of his body swaying back and forth, and fell asleep unknowingly.
Qingfeng and Li Huaiyan did not sleep all night. On the first night, they were very alert, fearing that something might go wrong.
But when the time came, the candles in the servants' rooms and Shen Yunbai's room slowly went out, and only the boatmen did not rest.
On the second day, they began to take turns guarding and rest.
When Li Huaiyan found Shen Yunbai, he was playing chess on the boat, playing against himself. The cold wind blew fiercely on his body, but he sat there like an old monk in meditation, motionless.
He was seasick to begin with, let alone sitting here and looking at the dark river water, he forced himself to sit down opposite Shen Yunbai.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he couldn't help retching, and his stomach felt uncomfortable.
Shen Yunbai lowered his eyes and looked at the chessboard. The chess piece in his hand did not fall down for a long time. He did not speak or move, as if he was listening to Li Huaiyan retching.
Others couldn't see clearly, but Shen Anan in front of the window could see Shen Yunbai's expression clearly.
His brows were tightly furrowed, and the corners of his lips turned down, showing deep disgust and depression.
Through these few times of getting along, Shen Anan knew that he was an extremely picky and clean person, and guessed that Li Huaiyan disgusted him.
"Master Shen, I'm sorry, I'm seasick. Can we go back to the cabin and talk?" Li Huaiyan said while covering his mouth and vomiting.
There was nothing in his stomach, but he still vomited out some acid. To Shen Yunbai, the sound was like torture.
He threw away the chess piece and said, "Since you are not feeling well, Mr. Li, go back and rest. If you have anything to say, you can ask someone else to convey it to you."
Seeing his sickly appearance and the possibility of vomiting at any time, Shen Yunbai had no interest in talking to him at all.
As soon as he finished speaking, the maid beside him did not wait for Li Huaiyan to leave. They brought a lot of water and started to wash the ground.
Li Huaiyan, "..."
Not really? But then he thought about the fact that he was on someone else's boat, so he temporarily suppressed his frivolous temper and said, "I'm sorry, I was rude."
"but……"
"Mr. Li." Shen Yunbai looked up at him. "There are only five days left before we disembark. Mr. Li, take good care of yourself so that you can have the strength to deal with Tianshui City."
This means there is nothing to talk about.
After saying that, Shen Yunbai stood up and left the boat. Shen Anan frowned and stood in front of the window. After Li Huaiyan left, the maid threw the chessboard, chess pieces, tables, chairs and benches into the water.
Then he closed the window and turned back to the boathouse.
For an extremely picky person, there seemed to be nothing wrong with Shen Yunbai's reaction, but for some reason, she always felt a little uneasy.
It was as if he was wrapped in a mist, making him unpredictable and difficult to approach.
Under her warning, Chen Tian behaved very well for a few days and stopped talking or running around.
Five days passed quickly. During this time, Shen Anan and Shen Yunbai had no communication at all, and Li Huaiyan did not look for him again.
The boat docked at the pier. Mo Xiang packed up her things and helped Li Huaiyan, whose legs were already weak, off the boat.
After Shen Anan turned around and thanked Shen Yunbai, he led his men away.
Shen Yunbai stood on the hull, his eyes moving from Chen Tian to Shen Anan, and he did not retract his gaze for a long time.
"Master," the maid reminded him softly, and he lowered his gaze, "Load the goods onto the truck and head to Tianshui City overnight."
"yes."
Shen Anan and Li Huaiyan did not really want to take advantage of the Shen family's influence and connections, but they were unfamiliar with the place, and a better understanding of the people would give them more confidence.
But if Shen Yunbai was really enthusiastic, they would become uneasy and would not dare to go with him.
Qingfeng found an inn in advance for everyone to stay in. Li Huaiyan had been vomiting for five days and had to recuperate well, otherwise he would be disabled before reaching Tianshui City.
"It feels good to put your feet on the ground." Li Huaiyan exclaimed sincerely.
He no longer vomited after eating and no longer staggered when sleeping. That day, he did not even leave his room.
Chen Tian was a little anxious, but having learned from his previous experience, he did not show it, but he could not help asking.
"Miss, the head of the Shen family is also going to Tianshui City. Why don't we take a ride with him? They often do business here. If there is anything, they can help us."
Shen Anan looked at him calmly, "Who is he to you?"
Chen Tian was stunned.
"We just met by chance, why should they help you?"
If you help, then there is a problem.
Chen Tian lowered his head dejectedly. He really wanted to catch Gu Tan.
Shen Anan felt that his cleverness should not be used when catching Gu Tan, otherwise it would become a mess.
"Then when do we set out for Tianshui City?"
Shen Anan glanced outside and said, "No hurry, just recuperate for another two days."
The specific situation in Tianshui City is still unknown, so she will send someone to find out tomorrow.
That night, Mo Xiang took a letter into the house and handed it to Shen Anan, "Miss, it's from the capital."
Shen Anan glanced at the signature and saw it was Xiao Yuan.
She opened the letter and the corners of her lips curled up unconsciously. It was a whole page of words, but there was not a single word about serious matters. It was almost all about hoping that she would return soon and telling her things that he had said to her many times when he was in the capital.
After thinking about it, she got out of bed, went to the desk, picked up a pen and wrote a reply to him.
She didn't have much to say, she just recounted her experiences and results of those days. She also knew that Qingfeng would write letters to the capital every day, and Xiao Yuan must have known what she said.
After packing it, he handed it to Mo Xiang and said, "Give it to Qingfeng, and take it back to the capital tomorrow."
Mo Xiang smiled happily, "Yes."
"Miss, my son-in-law is really attached to you. He couldn't wait to write to you after only being out for seven or eight days."
Shen Anan glared at her, Mo Xiang stuck out her tongue, and quickly handed the letter out.
The next day, Xiao Yuan, who was far away in the capital, received a reply. In the study, Ling Chenyi was discussing government affairs with him.
"Now you and Xiao Ze are completely competing with each other in the court. Before the emperor comes back, this is your best chance to get rid of him."
Xiao Yuan nodded slightly, but he was holding the envelope in his hand and couldn't wait to open it. It was unknown whether he had heard Ling Chenyi's words or not.
The woman's beautiful hairpin-shaped calligraphy came into view. He read it very carefully. It took him a full quarter of an hour to finish reading it. Ling Chenyi began to get impatient while waiting.
"Did you hear what I told you?"
"Yeah." Xiao Yuan responded indifferently, folded the letter, put it back into the envelope, and placed it neatly in the drawer at hand.
"..." Ling Chenyi looked at him with a wooden face.
What Xiao Yuan was thinking was that the letter he wrote to her was intimate if not extremely sticky. However, the woman's reply was not at all charming, and was just like a subordinate reporting on work, with a businesslike attitude.
"Xiao Yuan." Ling Chenyi called him helplessly, and Xiao Yuan came back to his senses.
"It's easy to deal with Xiao Ze, but the hard part is how to make father give up on him completely."
Duan Mengmeng is the straw that finally breaks the camel's back. What they need to do now is to make Xiao Ze make mistakes frequently and slowly disintegrate his power.
After Shen Anan left, he stayed in the study room, getting up early and returning late to handle state affairs, hoping to get away as soon as possible so that he could go to Jiangnan to find her.
There were sporadic fireworks outside the window. Xiao Yuan stood up and walked over, standing in front of the window frame and looking up.
On the night of their wedding, he held her like this and stood in front of the window to watch the fireworks. That day, he had never thought that the fireworks were so gorgeous, but today, they were as ordinary as could be.
On the first Lantern Festival this year, he had planned to take her to see the lanterns, but now it was impossible and they could only wait until next year.
Li Huaiyan rested for a day and a night and finally recovered his energy.
Shen Anan sent Qingfeng to inquire about Tianshui City, and he just came back now, "Master."
Qingfeng bowed and said, "I asked the people in the town and they said that Tianshui City has indeed been in turmoil recently. Many people who went there to do business never came back. They all said they were dead."
Now, when the people mention Tianshui City, they look terrified.
"What about the local officials? They don't care either?" Li Huaiyan asked with a frown.
"That's not the case. It's just that the bandits were too brutal and the local government was helpless for the time being."
Shen Anan nodded, “As long as it’s not connected with the local government, we can find a way to solve it.”
What we are afraid of is being attacked from all sides, but now we only have one-sided words, no matter whether it is from bandits or the government, we can't trust them.
"Li Huaiyan," Shen Anan tilted his head to look at him and ordered, "We will enter Tianshui City secretly this time. Don't let the local officials know first, so as not to cause trouble."
Li Huaiyan nodded, "Okay."
On the third day, after resting for a while, everyone set out for Tianshui City again.
Li Huaiyan suddenly discovered that Uncle Zhong had disappeared without a trace, so he asked Shen Anan, "Where is Uncle Zhong?"
Shen Anan lifted the car curtain and said nonchalantly, "I have a friend in South City whom I haven't seen for a long time. Her home is a bit far from where we are going, so I asked Uncle Zhong to make a trip and deliver some things for me."
Anyway, Shen Anan wasn't going there in person, so Li Huaiyan didn't care and nodded slightly, "Uncle Zhong is very skilled in martial arts, it would be safer for him to come back as soon as possible to guard you."
"It should be soon," Shen Anan looked up at the sky. Uncle Zhong had been gone for two days. It would only take five or six days to go to South City and back. If he could find out anything, he should be back in a few days.
It took another two days to get from the town to Tianshui City. The population on the road decreased visibly, and when we got close to the border of Tianshui City, it was almost deserted.
Even the inns are almost all closed, with only a few dilapidated ones still struggling to make ends meet.
The few people were very generous and the innkeeper was very warm and attentive to them. However, when he heard that they were going to Tianshui City, he began to shake his head and sigh.
"Everyone, listen to my advice. At this critical moment, it is better not to go to Tianshui City. It is not safe there, especially to outsiders. It is not friendly at all."
Most outsiders come here to visit relatives or do business, and they all have some wealth.
"Are those bandits really so rampant?" Shen Anan asked.
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