Help
That night, the people gathered in celebration, and the water town was brightly lit. Jingwan sat at a table with the old ladies in the town, eating seafood and listening to the strange and wonderful gossip of the neighbors.
Lu Chang was sitting with the other officials. When Jing Wan looked over, she saw him listening intently to Lord Fang speaking beside him.
Fang Huaiben had been in charge of education, but in recent months, he had witnessed some chaotic phenomena and had to speak up to his superior: "The prosperity of Shiyu Town is certainly a good thing, and even young people from within the prefecture are flocking to this town to do business. However, if there is too much investment in commerce, then there will be fewer people farming the land. My lord, if we encounter another natural disaster, I'm afraid there will be a food shortage!"
Lu Chang felt a sudden realization. He had been preoccupied with business matters lately, which inevitably led to some neglect of farming. After all, he was young and was still figuring things out as he went along. Hearing Fang Huai's words today immediately brought him back to his senses, and he thanked Fang Huai for his guidance.
Looking at this seemingly honest and simple colleague, he was clearly not a bookworm. He was not an idle official who stayed in the government office all day. On the contrary, he personally engaged in farming and had rich experience. He was also willing to give advice to his superiors. I once thought that it was a waste for such a talented person to stay in Chaozhou. Now it seems that Chaozhou is more conducive to him displaying his talents.
Lu Chang poured more fine wine and drank with Fang Huai.
Then in July in Chaozhou, thunder and rain were heard again.
Having learned from experience, Lu Chang led the people to build seawalls early on to prevent the hurricane from causing serious consequences. He had originally planned to open a straight port in Chaozhou, and the location had been chosen on the west side of Foge Mountain, the northernmost part of Chaozhou. However, due to the bad weather and the rise of huge waves in the past few days, the plan was eventually abandoned.
On the night the hurricane struck, Jingwan slept peacefully in Lu Chang's arms. When she woke up groggily the next day, she saw that Lu Chang was already dressed. She hadn't had enough sleep yet, her eyes opening and closing repeatedly. Lu Chang lingered over her beautiful sleeping face, looking at her again and again before reluctantly leaving.
But after all the bad luck, things finally took a turn for the better. After experiencing so many natural and man-made disasters, God finally showed some mercy. The terrible hurricane last night brought more than just a crisis. The new port that was originally planned to be opened no longer needed to be built by manpower. Under the hurricane, the mud and sand on the west side of Fogshan Mountain were dispersed, forming a natural harbor.
When the fishermen reported this, Lu Chang and his officials immediately went to investigate, overjoyed.
Of the four major harbors controlled by the Feng family, the once prosperous Qixing Harbor was disrupted by a hurricane, which caused the silt in the sea to change direction and accumulate in the middle of the shipping channel. The shipping channel cannot have silt accumulation. Due to the blockage of the channel, even if it is cleared, it will take a lot of time and manpower. Many merchant ships choose to dock in Chaozhou. Shiyu Harbor and Gujin Harbor are showing a tendency to replace the Feng family's port.
Seeing the decline of the Feng family, the collateral branches of the Feng family began to withdraw from the Feng family fleet and set up their own businesses. The first to take the lead was Feng Ji.
The younger generation followed Feng Ji's example and demanded that the old lady of the Feng family hand over her share of the family property. The old lady of the Feng family was so angry that she fell ill, and the power of the Feng family fell into the hands of Feng Ji.
Under his control, the Feng family was completely divided up, its empire crumbled, and it never regained its former glory.
That day, Lu Chang took Jing Wan by boat to Yongle Island at sea, a place where merchant ships from all over the world stopped to resupply. Military facilities such as fortifications were being built on the island, and Lu Chang's trip was to inspect the construction.
On the day of their return journey, it got dark early, and not a single seabird could be found. Jingwan fell asleep in her room, but she was plagued by nightmares.
Unaware of her surroundings, she clutched the bedding in disarray with both hands, her head covered in cold sweat, her eyebrows furrowed, and she gasped for breath as if someone were choking her.
She suddenly screamed, opened her eyes abruptly, sat up in bed, and gasped for breath.
The nausea in her chest did not dissipate after she realized it was just a dream; instead, it intensified. Her lips and tongue were dry, and Jingwan looked around blankly and helplessly. There was a pot of tea on the table.
But then I realized that my cousin wasn't here.
She didn't even drink the tea; she hadn't seen Lu Chang's coat, so he had obviously left the room.
Her chest was pounding, and she was finding it hard to control herself. She kept gagging, but nothing came out.
A wind picked up at sea that night, and she, already drenched in cold sweat, shivered from the cold.
Her chest felt incredibly tight and uncomfortable. She wondered if it was the unfamiliar environment that frightened her, but she couldn't calm down. Just as she was thinking of going out to find her cousin, a flurry of footsteps sounded on the deck, the noise grew louder and louder, followed by the sounding of horns, and someone shouted, "Pirates are coming! Pirates are coming!"
Jingwan had never seen pirates in person, but she heard fishermen talking about how they killed people without blinking an eye, not only robbing ships but also killing all the people on board and throwing them into the sea to feed the fish.
During this trip to the island with Lu Chang, several soldiers told him that pirates had recently robbed the ship at sea. Fortunately, the merchant ship was well-manned and vigilant, preventing the pirates from succeeding. Therefore, on the return voyage, Lu Chang increased the number of men on board to prevent encountering pirates.
"I hope nothing will happen!" Jingwan shrank back into the corner of the bed, pulled the blanket over herself, and shivered.
She was terrified, but more than that, she was restless. Logically speaking, no matter how dangerous the situation, her cousin should have come to see her. Why hadn't he appeared yet?
Her worries about Lu Chang gradually took over. Even though she could see small boats on fire at sea and hear arrows being shot into the cabin from the window, she still decided to go out and take a look.
She glanced at him and, seeing that he was alright, obediently returned to her cabin to wait, determined not to become a burden to him and cause him any more worry.
Thinking this, Jingwan put on her embroidered shoes, but before she could walk onto the deck, she heard a woman scream from next door.
It's Fangjuan's voice!
Jingwan didn't dare to delay for a moment and rushed out. She saw that Fangjuan's room door was tightly closed, but Jingwan, who was standing outside, could still hear the woman's panicked screams. Something was being broken, making a crashing sound.
Jingwan was extremely anxious, but she couldn't open the door no matter how hard she tried. In the end, she hardened her heart, closed her eyes, and, just like Azhiqi had done when she was little, kicked the door shut.
The door was kicked open. Despite the excruciating pain in her right foot, she rushed inside and found Fangjuan lying on the bed, her body bound by a rope by a man. The window in her room was broken, so it seemed the pirates had entered through the small window.
Jingwan rushed in impulsively, but didn't know what to do next. When she looked at the man with a small mustache, a shaved head, and tattoos on his neck and arms, she found herself thinking, "So this is what pirates are like!"
When the pirate saw her barge in, he rubbed his hands together with a lewd grin and walked towards her: "Oh, there's someone even prettier, huh? Don't run away, young lady, come and be my wife!"
Fangjuan on the bed had her mouth gagged, and could only moan anxiously, her whole body slamming against the bed.
Jingwan used the small table to stall the pirate, who, not wanting to waste time, pounced on her.
Jingwan was no match for him; in just a few moments, she was tackled to the ground. The pirate felt as if the woman beneath him was a ball of cotton, fragrant and soft, and he was momentarily stunned, even trying to nibble on her little face.
She struggled desperately, and in that moment, she deftly pulled out the hairpin from her hair and stabbed it hard into the pirate's back.
The pirate cried out in pain, but with a quick backhand pull, the hairpin, being so small, clearly couldn't cause any fatal injury. Jingwan sat on the ground and took two steps back.
The pirate raised his hand, intending to slap him, but suddenly his eyes widened, he froze, and in the blink of an eye, he collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Jingwan breathed a sigh of relief. She immediately snatched back her hairpin and put it back on her head.
Fangjuan was still calling for help. Jingwan, with trembling hands, untied her ropes and told her to find a place to hide.
Fangjuan was also seeing this kind of scene for the first time, and she was so frightened that she burst into tears. She grabbed Jingwan's hand and cried out, "Miss, please come with me and hide!"
Although Jingwan was covered in cold sweat, she still shook her head and refused, saying, "I'll go see my cousin, and then I'll come back to you." Before leaving, she handed the hairpin to Fangjuan.
"This hairpin has been stained with the sap of the arrow poison tree. If you encounter pirates again, use this to stab them!"
The upas tree, also known as the antidote tree, is a very common tree in Lingnan. Its crown is wide and can block out the sun. Its roots are twisted into a ball, and even boulders buried in the soil cannot withstand its sharpness and are firmly bound by it. Its sap is milky white and highly poisonous. If it comes into contact with a wound, it will cause cardiac arrest and blood to coagulate. The mountain people know its dangers and never touch its sap, only eating the fruit on the tree.
This hairpin was a gift from Cui Dongchi. His ship happened to be docked at Yongle Island for resupply, and he specifically reminded Jingwan that it was soaked in the sap of the arrow poison tree. Lu Chang was afraid that she would scratch herself, so he refused to let her wear it. He never expected that it would come in handy at this moment.
Without waiting for Fangjuan's words, Jingwan rushed out and went up to the deck. The first thing she heard was, "Lord Lu has fallen into the water." Jingwan felt her heart stop beating.
Lu Chang used to say that she scared him so much that his heart stopped beating. Jingwan always thought her cousin was exaggerating. But at this moment, she realized that people really can be scared to death.
The deck was in chaos. Pirates swung iron hooks and clung tightly to the ship's edge, trying to use them to get ashore. The sailors and soldiers on board cut the ropes, and then flaming arrows were shot at the ship, causing a fire.
Jingwan rushed to the ship's perimeter to look, but the seawater was pitch black, and even with torches held high, she couldn't see who was who. She was so anxious that she jumped up and down.
Several sailors jumped in to rescue him. Following the direction they were gathered in, Jingwan finally spotted Lu Chang, who had fallen into the water.
He can swim, so even if he falls into the water, he won't drown; he'll just float on the sea. Small boats will come to pick him up, and soldiers on other boats will throw him ropes.
Suddenly, someone pointed to a spot in the sea and shouted urgently, "It's a whirlpool! It's a whirlpool! It's hopeless! It's hopeless!"
Not far from where the sailors fell into the water, a large whirlpool suddenly appeared. Jingwan saw the sailors struggling desperately but getting closer and closer to the whirlpool, and finally being swept into it. Lu Chang was also swept into the whirlpool. This scene made Jingwan breathless. She could not wait any longer. After taking a deep breath, she grabbed the edge of the boat and jumped into the water.
The moving vortex also pulled her in, but fortunately, at the last moment, she grabbed Lu Chang's hand.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
