Chapter 43

 

At that moment, accompanied by a muffled, terrifying rumble from the lower deck—like something colliding with the hull underwater—the ship suddenly shook and began to tilt to one side.

Li Wanwan and Lu Wenjun, no matter how spoiled and unruly they were, were just noble girls of the imperial family who used to get pampered. Falling into such a desperate situation during outing today, it was a misfortune beyond their wildest dreams. Earlier, when Li Ze was here, they still had some hope. But now, even the person they were closest to had abandoned them without looking back, leaving them in complete despair. The two hugged each other, huddled in the corner of the cabin where the water hadn’t reach, weeping with closed eyes, waiting for death.

Xuyu could swim, and she was quite good at it. When she was young, she often slept in the mountains with her grandfather. When the stream swelled, her grandfather taught her how to swim, so that she wouldn’t drown in case she got trapped. In the past three years, she had lived in seclusion in the mountains of Luzhou. There was a pond near her house, and she often went there to bathe in the summer.

But this was the center of the lake, and the shore was only a vague black line some distant away. No matter how good she was at swimming, it would be difficult for her to swim to the shore on her own.

It would be impossible for her not to panic at this moment. She needed something to help her float. Not to mention, there were two girls in front of her who couldn’t swim.

As long as there was a glimmer of hope, she didn’t want to give up on them.

She rushed into the cabin she had just stayed, hoping to find something floating that could support the three of them.

Yet, this cabin, which had been extravagantly constructed at great expense, now became nothing more than a death trap. The doors, windows, desks, and tables… everything in sight was made of heavy wood. All of it—sinking wood!

As she looked around anxiously, there was another dull sound under her feet, which reminded her. She rushed out again and asked if there was the boatmen’s quarter below.

Li Wanwan raised her tear-stained pale face and looked at her blankly, obviously not knowing what her question meant.

At this moment, Lu Wenjun was crying so hard that she was gasping for breath and had no reaction at all.

“Stop crying!”

Xuyu roared sharply.

The two girls shuddered at the same time. Lu Wenjun opened her beautiful eyes wide and stared at her blankly.

Xuyu told the two of them to hold on to the door frame and not slip into the water. Then, in their surprised gaze, she picked up a knife that had fallen on the deck, walked down the gangway that was now filled with water like a wellhead, took a deep breath, and dived down.

The upper deck of the pleasure boat was made of expensive fragrant wood, but the cabins below the deck should not be like that. They must be able to find suitable floating objects. The incident just happened suddenly, facing life and death, the situation was too anxious, and the scene was extremely chaotic. Everyone, including her, actually forgot that there was a cabin below.

The belly of the cabin was already full of water and the light was extremely dim. Only something could be vaguely seen near the ladder entrance. Looking further away, it was pitch-black inside.

She tried to open her eyes and saw several oars and some tools floating in the turbid water of the aisle.

But these floating objects were too small to support the weight of three people.

The boat was about to sink completely. Once it capsized, not to mention Li Wanwan and Lu Wenjun, if she didn’t get out quickly, she would also be buried here.

At this moment, she found a cabin’s door. It was half open and looked like it was stuck.

The strange noise she just heard up there should be the sound of the large object in the cabin behind the door hitting the bulkhead.

She swam over, inserted the knife, and pushed the door open. Behind the door was a floating bed. She pulled hard, dragged it out, and brought it back to the gangway. When it floated up by itself, she followed it and finally climbed out of the water.

“Help me!”

She gasped and called the two stunned women. With their help, the three of them pushed the bed into the water.

Xuyu then ordered the two of them to climb up slowly one by one, keeping good balance on the left and right and not letting one end lift up.

Although the two girls still looked very frightened at this time, they obeyed her commands without hesitation. They stopped crying long ago and used their hands and feet to carefully climb up and lie on it.

Xuyu untied a rope from the gangway, tied the two of them tightly together, and pushed hard, letting the bed floated downstream.

The bed might not be able to support the weight of three people. She tied a rope around her waist, then went into the water, grabbed the edge of the bed, letting it carry her as she floated along with the current.

Just a moment after they left the boat, a strange and terrifying sound as if coming from under the water came from behind them.

A dozen feet behind them, in the center of the lake, the gorgeous pleasure boat sank completely, leaving only a huge whirlpool on the water.

After another moment, the vortex subsided and all traces disappeared, as if nothing had happened, leaving only waves rising and falling with the wind like before.

Li Wanwan and Lu Wenjun slowly turned their heads.

The faces of the two girls were deathly pale. They looked at Xuyu, whose most of her body was under water. Each reached out, one on the left and one on the right, tightly gripping her arms to help her conserve her strength and hold on until rescue arrived.

In Liangfeng Terrace of Prince Ning’s villa, the polo match was still in full swing.

On both sides of the field, people were injured one after another. Chengping was hit on the forehead by the club and was bleeding profusely, but he was completely unaware. Yuwen Zhi’s jaw was hit and swollen, but he just spit out blood and continued to fight. Several horses were injured, and they were replaced several times. Not only that, the weather gradually turned cloudy and it looked like it was going to rain.

However, all this seemed to have no effect on the game. Both sides continued to fight hard, and the ball was very close. It was almost a situation where you scored a point and I scored a point.

Such an exciting and bloody game was rare. The spectators around were fascinated. The cheers almost broke the sky, and the piles of gambling chips became higher and higher.

Pei Xiaoyuan had no intention of watching the game at all.

He couldn’t find Xuyu among the crowd at Liangfeng Terrace, so he went to other places and finally found the servant who had shown her around, and asked where she went. He then heard that Li Wanwan and Lu Wenjun had ask her to serve as a painter on the pleasure boat, but it was already some time ago, so he couldn’t help but worry.

The two county princesses were quite famous in the capital, one was said to be spoiled and the other was unruly. She was alone with these two people, if they made trouble for her, she would have no place to move in the water.

Pei Xiaoyuan did not think twice and was subconsciously about to go to the port to drive the boat to chase after them when Prince Ning and his entourage came from the opposite direction, with his grandson Li Hui, whom he had rescued.

The attendant came running up and said that Prince Ning was looking for him.

Pei Xiaoyuan had no choice but to meet him.

Prince Ning came over with a smile on his face, looking in a very good mood. He asked him where he had been just now. Under the Liangfeng Terrace, Prince Ashina and Shizi Yuwen led the team to play such a wonderful polo, which was rarely seen in recent years. But he was not around.

It was inconvenient for Pei Xiaoyuan to tell the truth, so he just said that he had been walking around. Because he was worried about someone in his heart, he did not say much, and just asked why Prince Ning was looking for him.

Prince Ning beckoned Li Hui to come forward. Li Hui quickly straightened his clothes and walked to his grandfather’s side.

“My grandson has been brought up by his mother since he was young. Women are inevitably more cautious and have too many restrictions. I was in the Eastern Capital before and could not take care of these things. But now that I am back, I want to find a master to teach him some riding and archery skills. Not for anything else, just to strengthen his body. I’ve been thinking about this for some time now, and today, it just so happens that you save my grandson. Could this not be heaven’s will? Therefore, this thick old face wants to make a request. I wonder, if Chief Pei would be willing to take an interest in my grandson? If you don’t find him too dull, accept him as a little apprentice, occasionally teaching him when you have the time, it would be a great blessing for him.”

His grandfather finished speaking for him, and Li Hui held his breath waiting for a response.

Pei Xiaoyuan was somewhat surprised. He glanced at the young man in front of him and saw him looking up at him with a look of nervous anticipation. While he was thinking, he heard Prince Ning continued, “Don’t worry about Hui’er’s mother. I have already told her about asking for a riding and archery master, and she agreed.”

“It is my great honor to be valued by Prince Ning. But…”

Pei Xiaoyuan did not want to agree to this matter in his heart and was about to decline when several people came hurriedly from the direction of the dock. They saw Prince Ning from afar and ran towards him quickly.

Prince Ning also sensed the strange atmosphere, stopped and turned to look.

The guards who came were the ones guarding the dock. They said that just now, Prince Kang and Feng family’s Silang escorted the two county princesses to board the pleasure boat sent by the crown prince and went to the center of the lake for a private tour. They were also strictly ordered not to disturb others and said that they would return in a while. They did not dare to disobey the order because of Prince Kang’s power. But now the boat had been out for some time and still did not return. They knew that they could not hide it anymore, so they came to report it. After saying that, they knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly to admit their guilt.

Prince Ning showed a look of slight surprise and anger. He no longer cared about his grandson’s apprenticeship. He turned around and shouted for people to go to the dock, send a boat out immediately, and bring the people back as soon as possible.

Pei Xiaoyuan became more and more anxious at this time. Looking at the low dark clouds above the center of the lake in the distance, he even had a vague ominous premonition in his heart. He nodded to the young man in front of him, and ran quickly towards the dock.

Soon, several boats parked nearby launched into the water and chased towards the center of the lake where the pleasure boat had gone.

The wind was strong on the lake, and Pei Xiaoyuan stood on the bow of the boat facing the wind, looking around. As far as he could see, the water several miles ahead was full of waves, but there was no sign of the boat.

He fought hard to suppress the growing sense of fear deep within him, focusing his vision and continuously scanning the surroundings. On the nearby boats, people were also shouting loudly. Suddenly, in the distance, just over an arrow’s shot away, he vaguely glimpsed a dark line on the surface of the lake. He immediately called out. Several boats rushed toward it at full speed, and when they got closer, they saw a man holding on to a piece of wood, and several guards and boatmen floating up and down in the water, desperately calling for help.

“It’s Prince Kang!”

Someone shouted loudly. The boats gathered around, and more than a dozen people jumped into the lake and swam towards the drowned person, dragging Prince Kang up and carrying him onto the boat, and then went to rescue several others who were exhausted and about to sink to the bottom.

Prince Kang collapsed on the hard floor of the boat, his face as pale as a dead man, his eyes closed and only his mouth open to breathe, as if he did not hear the inquiring voices of the people around him.

“What about the rest of the people?”

Pei Xiaoyuan leaped onto the boat he was on, squatted down, reached out and grabbed his jaw, and asked harshly.

Prince Kang couldn’t bear the pain and opened his eyes and said, “The boat has a leak in the bottom and it’s sinking! Someone wants to kill me! They—

“I don’t know what happened to them!”

After saying this he burst into tears, struggled to get up, knelt on the ground, and kept banging his forehead against the floor of the boat, making a loud bang. His body was curled up in extreme sorrow and pain.

The news was quickly brought ashore.

Pei Xiaoyuan kept leading the few boats that had come out to continue searching for people separately, and asked Prince Ning to send out more boats immediately to join the search.

Prince Ning felt as if struck by lightning and nearly fainted. After calming himself down a little, he ordered people to send Prince Kang for treatment as soon as possible and dispatched more ships to join the search.

The whole villa was in turmoil because of this incident. Chengping and Yuwen Zhi, who were fighting fiercely on the field, also stopped their competition and led their men onto the boat. How could Prince Ning dare to allow the two men to go into the water again? He tried his best to stop them. But when he finished his arrangements and turned around, the two men had disappeared.

The summer thunderstorm, accompanied by ferocious and twisted lightning that seemed to tear the sky and earth apart, finally roared down from the sky. After the thunderstorm, the sunset shone like gold and the wind on the lake turned warm.

At this point, the search had been going on for half a day, and not only did it alarm the Grand Princess’s Mansion, but even the navy stationed nearby sent ships to join in. There were no less than a hundred ships in total, large and small. From rain to clear weather, from day to dusk, the bodies of several guards and palace eunuchs who had boarded the ship were found.

The whereabouts of the two county princesses and the court painter who accompanied them were still unknown.

It was almost dark. If they couldn’t be found before then, their chances of survival would become increasingly slim.

And just a moment ago, Pei Xiaoyuan received another message.

It was confirmed that the Feng family’s son had also drowned. His body had just been fished out.

For the people on the same boat, this incident was like a steel knife approaching their necks. It was obvious that there was no hope of survival.

They were all the ones in charge of guarding the dock. One noble had already died. If the two princesses were confirmed dead, no matter how merciful Prince Ning was, they would not be able to survive even if they had nine lives.

The darker the sky, the heavier the despair. Some of them began to lose strength and could not stand up. They sat down in the cabin with pale faces, waiting for the final moment to come.

Pei Xiaoyuan’s clothes went from dry to wet, and from wet to dry, and he never left the bow of the boat.

At this moment, he was the only one who remained standing, his feet firmly nailed to the deck, not moving an inch. He was tirelessly concentrating his eyes, using the last remaining light of the day to continue searching for any place on the water that he could see.

That final moment finally arrived.

At the end of a deep twilight cloud, beside a patch of green reeds on a small reef island called Liexiantai in Qujiang Lake, he found the three of them.

A floating bed carrying Xuyu the two girls drifted downstream and got stuck in a patch of dense aquatic plants growing dozens of miles away.

Li Wanwan and Lu Wenjun were soaked all over and covered with a lot of water plants. They drank some water and looked weak, but were in good condition.

Xuyu clung to the edge of the bed, with most of her body submerged in the water. Her head rested limply against the bedframe, her eyes half-closed. Her wet, disheveled lashes clung to her face, and against her pale skin, her raven-black color was shockingly vivid. If not for her lips, which were peeling from the water, she could have easily been mistaken for someone asleep.

Pei Xiaoyuan grasped her wrist, which was covered in scars, and gently pulled her up from the water. He then slid his arms under her armpits, encircling her before exerting his strength to lift her entire body out of the water.

Once on the boat and after putting her down, he quickly took off his coat and covered her from head to toe.

The others also woke up as if from a dream, and while he was saving her, they almost chaotically untied the ropes from the two county princesses and pulled them up.

At this time, Lu Wenjun burst into tears. Li Wanwan also sobbed and asked Pei Xiaoyuan if she was alright.

The guards roared in ecstasy as they steered the boat toward the shore.

“The County Princess has been found!”

“The two County Princesses have been found!”

“No one hurt!”

The guards who were lined up along the coast looking for people quickly delivered the great news back on fast horses.

When the boat docked, Pei Xiaoyuan entrusted the two county princesses to the imperial guard who came after hearing the news. He carried Xuyu onto the horse and held her in his arms, protecting her, who was still powerless, as they rode back to the city. Halfway through the road, they met Prince Ning who came to meet them.

It was already dark. With the light of the surrounding fire sticks, Prince Ning saw Pei Xiaoyuan and the court painter riding on the same horse. After a brief surprise, he pretended not to notice, and only said that the imperial physician was waiting in the other courtyard, and asked him to send people over quickly for treatment.

Xuyu slowly calmed down, knowing that this way of riding would attract attention, but there was nothing she could do at this point, so she could only continue to lie in his arms with her eyes closed.

She felt that the person behind her seemed to be moved by Prince Ning’s suggestion, and seemed to be hesitating. She reached out and secretly pulled his sleeve under the clothes he wrapped around her.

He must have understood her meaning. He quickly explained that she was fine, just too tired, and only need to go back and rest. He asked Prince Ning quickly pick up the two county princesses, and then he continued to ride away.

At the second watch, when the city was once again under curfew, Pei Xiaoyuan brought Xuyu back to Yongning’s house where he had left home this morning.

She let down her long hair, removed her chest wrap, and shed all her clothing, sitting naked in a wide bathtub, fully immersing her body in the hot water. She washed away the dirt from her body, restoring her cleanliness. After climbing out, she dried herself off, put on a loose inner garment, and stepped out of the bathroom.

There were no outsiders in Yongning’s house, and the night within the walls was as quiet as a dream. At this hour, even Qingtou wouldn’t come to her quarters, so she didn’t bother binding her chest again. She sat on a narrow bed covered with violet wool blanket in the room, and in the light of a white porcelain candlestick, she applied some of the medicine he had sent on her injured wrists. Then she gathered her scattered wet hair to one side of her chest, tilting her head slightly, and slowly wiped it dry with a long towel while reflecting on the many events that had unfolded today.

Just as she was lost in thought, she heard two knocks on the door.

She knew he was coming, and guessed that he must have many things to ask her.

For example, how the crown prince’s boat was leaking, how Feng Silang died, how Prince Kang saved himself, and how she and the two county princesses escaped.

“The door is unlocked. Come in.”

She stopped and spoke softly.

The door slowly opened, and a familiar young man appeared outside.

He was still dressed as he had been during the day, and had not showered or changed his clothes after he returned. It looked as if he had been waiting outside the entire time.

Xuyu naturally understood his eagerness to know those things.

Those were not small things, tomorrow…

Perhaps tonight, a terrible storm surrounding today’s events was brewing.

He came, but did not go in immediately. He stopped at the door, as if just looking at her.

Xuyu waited for a moment, continued to wipe her long hair, and said with a smile: “I know you have something to ask. Ask it.”

Pei Xiaoyuan stepped inside at this time, and came in front of her with the sound of boots.

Xuyu’s hand, which was wiping her wet hair, stopped again.

She saw him slowly kneel down towards her again.

This time, it was one knee-salute commonly performed in military settings.

“The princess did not allow this minister to address you as princess or to bow to you, and this minister dare not disobey. But this time, please accept it.”

“This minister requests to the Princess to remember your precious body. No one is more precious than you. In the future, no matter what happens, you must protect yourself first and never let anyone else put you in danger!”

Pei Xiaoyuan looked at the woman opposite him whose eyes were wide open in surprise, and spoke word by word.

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