Chapter 840: Chapter 840: Dark Winds and Murderous Night
Cui Sanniang’s expression darkened immediately; who dared to make demands of her at this time.
Her mind raced, but she didn’t refuse. A faint, unreadable smile appeared on her lips as she slowly said, "I will."
At these words, Xiao Lian Hua finally relaxed her body and stopped struggling.
Her consciousness began to blur; Xiao Lian Hua was exhausted. Suddenly, she shivered, sensing imminent danger.
She tried with all her might to turn her head to look, but she had already been lifted onto the gangplank. In the fading light of sunset, all she could see was the gaudy little boat and the water surface, nothing else.
Cui Sanniang, unopposed, wiped away her sweat and no longer dared to look in the direction of the large boat nearby. In a few brisk steps, she climbed onto the gangplank and boarded the boat.
Once she was on board, she quickly pulled the gangplank back onto the boat.
On Second Master Liu’s side, he had already driven a few girls into the cabin, then placed Xiao Lian Hua at the bow.
Xiao Lian Hua collapsed weakly on the ground, immediately seeing the lonely figure of Xiao Hua Mei lying in the cabin. She wanted to crawl over, but Second Master Liu’s sharp hand strike brought her down. Already at the brink of collapse, she finally fell unconscious.
Second Master Liu, after making sure she was settled in the cabin, gave a warning glance to Xiao Cui and the others before retreating from the cabin.
Once he finished all this, Cui Sanniang had already arrived at the bow. Passing by him, she ducked into the cabin, commanding anxiously, "Cut the ropes and set sail!"
Second Master Liu nodded slightly, understanding that Cui Sanniang had sensed something. Without wasting words, he quickly moved to the bow, pulled out a sharp tool to cut the ropes mooring the boat to the shore, grabbed a pole, and pushed away from the shore. The boat darted away from the bank like an arrow.
When they had moved far from the shore, Second Master Liu wiped the sweat from his brow. Unable to help himself, he glanced in Guo Shun’s direction, only to be terrified nearly out of his wits.
The people they feared seemed to have been watching them all along, especially that person at the forefront. Their gaze felt palpable, causing immense pressure on him even from such a distance.
A heavy sense of foreboding rose within him. Bracing against the panic, he dared to look back twice, noticing someone descending from the large boat, and the leader’s gaze finally shifted, turning the people on the shore into small black dots slowly engulfed by the night.
Only then did he feel relieved, soothing himself with the thought that even though he couldn’t discern the person’s identity, if they were from the official family and suspected them, they would’ve intervened already. That passerby merely watched them leave; they should have nothing to do with official affairs. So why keep watching?
This part confused Second Master Liu, while the itch from his facial sores prompted him to scratch, burying the problem deep in his mind.
He sighed, realizing this journey had been full of unexpected twists and turns, more exhausting than any he had undertaken before. However, with the boat smoothly sailing away, drifting down the river, the challenges seemed more straightforward behind him at last.
On the shore, before the Guo family’s ship.
"Brother Shunzi, what are you looking at? Is there something wrong with that small boat?" An assistant on the ship looked over twice, somewhat puzzled, and asked.
Guo Shun withdrew his gaze without answering, simply instructing, "Board the ship, we have work to do tonight."
"What is..." the assistant began, only to be silenced by Guo Shun’s piercing look, instinctively frightened into silence, not daring to ask further. This impassive individual was a trusted aide to the eldest Guo family master, not to be trifled with.
Guo Shun’s glance alone was enough to silence them into submission, prohibiting further queries.
He turned his head again to stare in the small boat’s disappearing direction, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes, a cruel smile appearing on his lips.
The sky, like ink poured overhead, deepened as the last rays of the sunset faded, and the night slowly spread its veil.
Tonight, thick clouds covered the bright moon, making it a perfect time for a moonless, windy night... a night for murder!
The darkness concealed everything; the river water erased any traces. There was no place more suited for murder than a river at night.
"Set sail, we’re heading out!"
A large and a small boat one after the other followed the river’s current, heading toward the same destination—Yangzhou.
The wind was strong, waves were high, indicating it would be an eventful night.
...
Within Canglan Court, another night fell.
The person on the bed lay with eyes tightly shut, sweating profusely, eyeballs moving rapidly beneath the eyelids, seemingly caught in a nightmare they could not escape from.
Beside the bed sat an old man, continuously applying acupuncture to the person on the bed, muttering to himself about acupoints: "Baihui calms the mind and stabilizes, combined with Fengchi, Neiguan, Shenmen, and Sanyinjiao acupoints..."
Standing nearby, a few people watched anxiously, not daring to interrupt.
After a while, with much effort, the person on the bed slowly began to settle down.
Divine Doctor Huang let out a long sigh, wiped his brow, "The person has stabilized again. Change their clothing so they don’t catch a cold."
With that, he got up and headed outside.
"Thank you, Divine Doctor." The Emperor immediately wanted to approach to care for the person, but saw Su Ran already sitting at the bedside, wiping the person’s sweat.
He finally halted his steps, "Mother-in-law, the clothes are over there, please change Nannan’s outfit..."
Then turned, drawing the curtain to cover everything. Before leaving, he saw Su Ran with a face full of compassion, humming to the person on the bed, hands moving gently, voice tender like she was comforting a child.
He sighed softly, thinking he too felt such heartache...
Outside the hall, Divine Doctor Huang was already waiting, shaking his head with emotion, "I have treated so many people in my life, an occurrence like this girl’s is rare. Alas, heartbeats are hard to mend, the saying does not deceive this old man."
A person’s fluctuating emotions could cause such instability; otherwise, with his initial acupuncture, the spirit would have settled, not resulting in such a scenario.
After his lament, he bowed to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, if this old man is not mistaken, tonight is fraught with peril. If the girl survives tonight, then all will be well. Otherwise..."
Even with his skills, he couldn’t guarantee the person would wake...
The Emperor’s pupils contracted sharply, heart slowly tightening, his complexion suddenly pale, making his already wan and haggard face seem even paler.
...
Inside the ship’s cabin.
Xiao Cui looked at Cui Sanniang, her heart full of grievance, yet dared not speak.
Clearly, that girl was daring enough to try and escape, even biting Mother Cui. Why, then, did Mother Cui treat her so well? She couldn’t understand...
Cui Sanniang checked on the person, urgently muttering, "Why hasn’t she woken up yet? It’s been two shichen."
Seeing she hadn’t woken, she panicked, calling out, "Second Master, your method isn’t working; she isn’t waking up, could she have been severely injured?"
Knocking someone out twice within such a short interval; the more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. If the girl was severely injured, what would become of her grand plan? Such a promising talent isn’t easy to come by.
Outside, steering the boat, Second Master Liu responded by adjusting the sail’s direction, stepping over to take a look by the lantern: "I didn’t even use much force, just lightly touched her, and she passed out. I was surprised myself at the time..."