The merchant looked at the scholar standing beside him and then glanced around without answering.
“I’m also at fault. You had all been aboard my ship for so long, yet I hadn’t asked for your names.” Ling Qingyu got closer and smiled.
“Ai.” The scholar sighed and showed his respects. “Boss has saved us three brothers countless times. We won’t withhold anything. My name is Zhu Weili. This is Zhou Tan. And this is Huang Jing.”
“The heavenly talented Huang Jing? Unparalleled Zhou Tan? Chu King’s aide, Zhu Weili?” whispered Yang Zhao with deep anger.
“Young General Yang, we are victims of devious plots as well.” Zhu Weili sighed and bowed deeply to Yang Zhao. “Originally, Imperial Consort Wang found the Chu King and said she accidentally broke the imperial jade seal and wanted his help creating a new one. Then, the Chu King asked me to find Mr. Zhou and Mr. Huang. How could I have known that the Wang Family was going to accuse the Chu King of secretly holding dragon robes and the imperial jade seal? A search of his study revealed communications with the old General Yang. The fatuous emperor actually sentenced the Chu King’s entire family to death, and also old general Yang’s family and relatives to death as well. The three of us escaped and have been in hiding ever since. This time, we took the boss’s ship to hide in foreign lands. It was not our intention, but the fake jade seal was made by us. If the young general wants revenge, we won’t resist.”
“The Chu King is the emperor’s younger brother. His Queen was Imperial Consort Wang’s sister. But, she died early and didn’t leave any children. The Yang family is famous in our Zhou empire for being brave and loyal. The Black Water Gate has always depended on their sentry. Last year, the entire Yang family was sentenced to death for cooperating with the Liao Empire. Who would believe such a thing?” exclaimed Zheng Xi when he saw Ling Qingyu’s questioning gaze.
“Sentenced his family and relatives? Then this Yang Zhao?” asked Ling Qingyu quietly.
“I am stepfather’s adopted son,” answered Yang Zhao for Zheng Xi. “My biological father used to be a subordinate of my stepfather. He died in battle at Black Water Gate ten years ago and my stepfather adopted me.”
“Are you the general called the jade-faced shura?!” Ding Dong rushed over and yelled in excitement. “Young General Yang, is it really you? I heard that you joined the battlefield at age 14 and killed three thousand in your first battle. In the three years that you were at Black Water Gate, the Liao and Xixia people had completely lost their courage!”
“Yes, yes! Young General Yang, I heard that you were implicated in the sentencing of the Yang Family as well. Master Ding wanted to save you. But, we were in Quanzhou and didn’t know what happened to you.” A few other sailors crowded over and started gossiping.
“The biological sons of old General Yang had all perished in battle or been sentenced to death. All that’s left are women and the elderly,” whispered Yang Zhao. “At the time, we had just won overwhelmingly at Black Water Gate, but were ordered back to Bai Gou. They immediately arrested us and exiled us to Quanzhou without trial. At the time, we had just left the battlefield and were full of injuries. Some heavily injured brothers died on the road.”
The crowd fell silent. Then, the sailors started cursing, “I knew that Wang person is no good!”
“They control Guangzhou’s maritime affairs. We may be the ones struggling in the ocean, but they will deduct the majority of our profits when we get back. They’re blood-suckers.”
“Traitors are ruining the empire! Everyone in the Wang Family are traitors!”
“Those who fight for the Zhou Empire had all been killed or framed by them. Who will guard our borders in the future?!”
In truth, I don’t think an imperial consort would dare do so many things. I’m afraid these are actually the emperor’s own intentions.” Hearing the crowd angrily curse the Wang Family, Ling Qingyu faintly said, “Even if she is a sister-in-law, the Chu King wouldn’t be stupid enough to make an imperial jade seal for her. If it had not been the top person’s plan, a brother king and a border general would not have been killed so quickly. I’m afraid one of them had outperformed the emperor, while the other threatened his position.”
Ling Qingyu had spoken lightly and softly, but she created shockwaves in people’s hearts. She waved her hand and said, “Let’s leave these matters alone. First of all, we need to work together to survive. Since the heavenly talented and unparalleled Mr. Zhou and Mr. Huang are here, we will be sure to fix the Aeolus! I will be depending on you two!”
“Please don’t be so modest.” Huang Jing and Zhou Tan repeatedly bowed and said, “We will listen to the boss. The wood here is more than we need, but where can we find metals?”
This is definitely a problem. Ling Qingyu subconsciously tapped her finger on the ground, then said, “There will be a road in the mountains when the cart arrives. A ship will right itself when it arrives at a bridge. Everyone, rest today and we can discuss more tomorrow.”
Even though everyone had spent the day running for their lives, they still obeyed Ling Qingyu right away. They cleared some ground amongst the bushes, ate a few coconuts and then retired to sleep.
Slapping the hard ground, Ling Qingyu felt satisfied. If she were on the beach and overslept tomorrow, she might end up covered in seawater again. Since she didn’t have a change of clothes, she would have to bear with the filth on her body. This is because she can’t simply take off her clothes like the men and bathe in the ocean.
Women were unfortunate. The only thing Ling Qingyu was glad about was that her period had just passed when the storm hit.
“Boss.” Huang Jing and Zhou Tan rushed to Ling Qingyu’s side with faces full of excitement and hesitation.
“What is it? You thought of a way?” Ling Qingyu quickly sat up. She felt extremely vigorous
after drinking snake blood and eating snake gall. If it were the past, she would have collapsed after climbing mountains and running around.
“We thought a bit about our situation. There are many good woods here, so we can rebuild the ship if we want to. Considering our limited resources, we should take apart the old Aeolus and use its metals for accessories,” said Huang Jing. He always had talented hands and was proficient at woodwork. In order to improve his skills, he had also worked in Quanzhou’s shipyards before. Due to their recent troubles, the three of them escaped to Quanzhou and hid in a shipyard. When he saw the Aeolus being built, he couldn’t resist helping. From the experience, he had a sense of how the Aeolus was constructed. He also knew about some of this girl’s designs that Wu Da could not build. He had actually wanted to experiment, but since he was on the run, he couldn’t reveal himself. Now that a chance like this presented itself, along with a mountain of high-quality material, he was beyond excited.
Zhou Tan glared at him and added, “But, this area is too small and isn’t suitable for shipbuilding. The nearby cove is much more spacious. We should first build a port, then take apart the Aeolus and transport its materials there.”
The two of them looked toward Ling Qingyu with passionate eyes after they finished. It took Ling Qingyu a few moments to respond. She pointed to her nose and said, “Your intention is to have me chase away those lizards?”
The two of them nodded as their eyes became even more passionate. Considering how the boss just killed a humongous snake king, a few big lizards should be no problem.
“The time is late. We can talk more tomorrow. Let’s rest now,” said Ling Qingyu after a few moments of speechlessness.
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