Chapter 349: Ambush

Chapter 349: Ambush

Xu Qi’an was both surprised and unsurprised by this speculation.

Unexpectedly, he had always thought that Princess Zhenbei was the number one vase of the Dabong Heavenly Character, and was still essentially a female, and shouldn’t be involved in any classified events.

No surprise, is perceived Chu Xianglong carry female family, and from Yang Yan mouth to learn that the Wangfei accompanied, he had thought preparation.

“Since there may be danger, we need to take countermeasures and be cautious first . Well, there’s no rush now, I’m busy with my own business .”

Xu Qi’an picked up the cloth bag and set the eight pieces of butter jade on the table, then took out the prepared carving knife and began to carve.

After being warmed and fed, the old aunt lay down on her bed for a short nap, a light sleep, and was soon awakened by the noisy yelling on the dock.

She punched the pillow a few times in some anger, got up and walked over to the table, gathered the dishes, put them back in the food box, and left the room with it.

Moving down the steps to the second level, she followed the corridor, glancing left and right at the rooms on either side, which were the areas where the watchmen and the officials of the three divisions lived.

She wasn’t quite sure which room Xu Qi’an was staying in, but luckily, soon enough, she found the room of the lecherous Xu Ningyan, as she had hoped. Because the door to the room was open.

When Yunzhou returned, the young man whose skin had become extraordinarily refined sat at the table, carving a few pieces of buttered jade.

“Knock knock.”

She knocked on the door of the room, and when he looked up, said with a stern face, “Food box back to you, much, much thanks.”

It seemed to be bad at things like saying thank you, and when he spoke, his expression was particularly squirmy.

“Put it behind the door.”

Xu Qi’an responded indifferently, lowering her head and continuing her homework.

Old Auntie entered the room, gently put down the food box, and glanced at the tabletop, where several carved contraptions were laid out, namely a small sword, jade buns (x2), octagonal talisman, seal, and jade pendant.

She asked with interest, “What are you carving these objects for? The knife work is quite difficult to see.”

After that, he giggled to himself.

“Send the woman.” Xu Qi’an said.

Send Woman . The old aunt stared at the objects on the table, her smile fading.

“Every time I leave the capital, I will send some local specialties to the women who like me, and write a letter, which won’t cost much in silver, but will also please them and make them like me more.”

Xu Qi’an spoke with vigor about his experience in fish farming.

Old Auntie, infuriated, looked at Xu Qi’an as if she was looking at the scum of the earth and sneered, “Sure is a stinky man.”

Xu Qi’an struck out, “Too bad it’s not for you.”

The old aunt snorted, “Who cares.”

Leave in a huff.

Within a short time, all the jades were carved, and Xu Qi’an gave them souls.

He first put the “small sword” into the earth book fragment, this does not need to send, because it is for Li Miaochen, wait until the north to meet, Xu Qi’an then give her.

Xu Qi’an spread out the prepared letter paper, fetched a pen and ink, and put pen to paper:

“Half a decade from the capital, has reached the butter county, this place has a specialty butter jade, this jade texture oil soft, warm to the touch, I am quite fond of, so I bought the blanks, for your highness carved a seal.

The seal has the words, saying, “You smile at the flowers, and the sunset is all over the sky.”

It was addressed to Huaiqing, and he slipped the seal into the envelope with it.

The second letter was written to the framer:

“Half a decade from the capital, has reached the butter county, this place has a specialty butter jade, this jade texture oil soft, warm to the touch, I am quite fond of, so I bought the blank, carved a jade pendant for your highness.

“I’m a tacky person to the core, when I see a mountain it’s a mountain, when I see an ocean it’s an ocean, when I see a flower it’s a flower. Only when I see you, there are only four words in my mind: three lives.”

He put the jade pendant in the envelope.

The third and fourth letters, addressed to Cevi and Lina, are as one:

“Half a decade after leaving the capital, I have already arrived at Butter County. There are thousands of delicacies in the world, and I heard that in some inaccessible and distant country, there is a delicacy on earth called “Hu Jian Ren”, and I would like to take you to look for it when I have the chance in the future, and search for it at the ends of the earth.”

He stuffed the jade-carved buns into the envelope.

The fifth letter is addressed to Zhong Li:

“Half a decade from the capital, I have reached Butter County . During my absence from the capital, stay well at the bottom of the Szeto ground. We must believe that the days of suffering will eventually pass, and that with some more suffering, some more suffering, everything will blossom out of the suffering.

“Be my little male from now on, only XX and no pain.”

He put the octagonal amulet in.

Then there are letters from Reigetsu and Fuuka, and their objects.

The sixth letter is addressed to Reiyuki.

“Half a decade after leaving the capital, I have already reached Butter County. My brother had a safe journey, just a little homesick for the gentle and lovely sister at home. When big brother returns from this trip, I will give you some jewelry. In my brother’s heart, sister Ling Yue is the most special, no one can replace her.”

The seventh letter is addressed to Fuuka.

“I forgot which great scholar said that if you have a soulmate in life, you have no regrets. Miss Fuxiang is my confidante, I hope our friendship will last forever, longer than gold.”

Please continue our current relationship!

For each fish, there should be a different message. It is important to fully demonstrate the care and attention to them and make them feel that they are the most important. It should never be perfunctory.

This is the self-mastery of a sea king.

After doing this, Xu Qi’an stretched his lazy back as if relieved, looking at the seven letters on the table and feeling sincerely satisfied.

Last time at the border of Qingzhou, he had also written seven letters, two of which were indiscriminately from his second uncle and aunt. And now, for the girls alone, there were seven letters, plus Li Miaozhen, that would be eight letters.

Xu Qi’an rejoiced at the growth of his fish pond business.

Keeping his belongings safe, Xu Qi’an left the room and went to Yang Yan’s room first, saying in a deep voice, “Chief, I have something to discuss with everyone, how about discussing it here with you?”

Yang Yan was still sitting in meditation and exhaling, when he heard this, he frowned, instinctively resenting his cultivation being disturbed, but he still slowly nodded his head, “Yes.”

Xu Qi’an immediately ordered and instructed a silver gong to go and invite Chu Xianglong and the officials of the three divisions to the room.

Sitting quietly at the table for a few minutes, the three division officials and Chu Xianglong came in one after another, the people naturally did not give Xu Qi’an any good face, cold face not to speak.

One of the two royal historians, who were used to making peace, smiled and said, “What has Lord Xu summoned us for?”

“I’m going to adjust my route and go overland instead.”

Xu Qi’an spoke out of turn, throwing out shocking news right off the bat.

“This can’t be right!”

Chu Xianglong was the first to object, his tone resolute.

With the lesson learned from last time, he didn’t continue to wrestle with Xu Qi’an, standing with his hands behind his back and assuming a stance of never compromising.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Lord Xu, in another ten days, we will be able to arrive in Chuzhou. If we should take the land route, we may not even arrive in half a month.” The Chancellor of the Da Lisi grunted:

“You may be the organizing officer, but you can’t do whatever you want.”

Under normal instructions, they could accommodate and tolerate Xu Qi’an, recognizing his position and prestige as the host officer. But this did not include changing the route at will.

Waterway to change the land is too troublesome, to arrange horses, carriages, as well as transportation vehicles, after all, these two hundred or so people, people eat horse chewing, it is not possible to travel light, that is why in the first place the mission chose the quicker, more convenient waterway.

Secondly, in marching and fighting, only the highest general can change the route. Although a mission is not an army, changing routes is still a major taboo.

Sheriff Chen of the Ministry of Justice looked at Yang Yan and said in a deep voice, “Yang Jinluo, what do you think?”

Yang Yan’s face was expressionless, “Indeed, it’s not right.”

Even Yang Yan, who was also a night watchman, didn’t agree with Xu Qi’an’s decision, so it was conceivable that if he was bent on having his own way, he would be asking for trouble. Even the other night watchmen, I’m afraid, wouldn’t support him.

“Hmph!”

Chu Xianglong snorted coldly and said, “There’s nothing to do, this general will go back first, in the future, this kind of brainless idea, or less.”

The Ministry of Justice’s arresting officer scrutinized Xu Qi’an and said, “General Chu, wait, you might as well listen to what Lord Xu has to say.”

Chu Xianglong turned back and looked at him in surprise.

Can do the Ministry of Justice, naturally experienced people, he thought more and more wrong in the past few days, at first only thought Chu Xianglong with the delegation to return to the North, both to facilitate the action, but also for the King of Zhenbei “surveillance” delegation.

After all, the case that this mission traveled to the North to investigate was both likely to be against the King of Zhenbei.

But the more he thought, the more he felt wrong, if accompanied by only Chu Xianglong will be just, Wangfei also accompanied the words, should not be sent a forbidden army to escort the north.

Why do you hang out with them?

The ship was full of men, and it was more than a little unreasonable for the Prince’s proper wife to travel with them.

The Chancellor of the Da Lisi couldn’t help but look at Sheriff Chen, frowning slightly, and then looked at Xu Qi’an and Chu Xianglong in thought.

Yo, it is worthy of being the arresting officer of the Ministry of Justice, much more perceptive than the civil officials Xu Qi An unfolded the map he was holding in his hand, looked at Chu Xianglong, and asked:

“General Chu, how is it that the crown princess is in the accompanying envoy?”

Sheriff Chen from the Ministry of Justice, the two imperial inspectors from the Duzha Academy, and the Chancellor of the Da Lisi, all looked at Chu Xianglong in unison.

Xu Qi’an’s question asked the doubts, or curiosity, in their hearts.

“What’s wrong with Wangfei going to the northern border to meet with King Huai?” Chu Xianglong narrowed his eyes and stared sharply at Xu Qi’an.

This matter was hidden from the people who traveled in different boats, and he knew a little bit about it. There was no need to hide it, as long as he quietly left the capital and no one knew about it, the purpose was achieved.

“This official is the organizing officer of the mission, so why didn’t I receive a notification before?” Xu Qi’an asked again.

Chu Xianglong lightly said, “It’s just a small matter, the princess borrowed the road northward, and her status is honored, naturally it’s better to keep a low profile.”

“Since the princess is of honorable status, why don’t you send a team of forbidden soldiers to escort her?”    At this time, Sheriff Chen suddenly asked.

“Yes, the official boat is mixed up, if we know that the princess is traveling, how can we prepare another boat.” Da Lisi Prime Minister laughingly said.

“Well indeed it’s not right.” One of the Imperials frowned.

This group of old foxes . Chu Xianglong swept his eyes at the officials of the three divisions and was annoyed.

The other day, they had shown their hostility towards Xu Qi’an and secretly showed themselves favorably, however, once they encountered something that could be detrimental to them, their attitudes immediately became ambiguous.

Seeing that Chu Xianglong didn’t speak, Xu Qi’an sneered, looked around the crowd, and said:

“As Sheriff Chen said, if the Princess is going to the Northern Realm to reunite with King Huai, then it would be sufficient for His Majesty to directly send forbidden troops to escort her. It may not be necessary to sneak around and blend in with the envoys. Moreover, he kept it a secret from us. My lords, did you know beforehand that the princess was on the ship?”

The Chancellor of the Da Lisi and the two royal historians shook their heads.

Xu Qi’an added, “Then do you know what this means?”

The Chancellor of the Da Lisi hurriedly pursued the matter, saying, “Lord Xu has something to say.”

Xu Qi’an threw in his voice, “This means that one may encounter danger, such as an ambush, an ambush against the crown princess.”

The two royal historians, the Chancellor of the Da Lisi’s eyebrows jumped and his face turned serious.

The Criminal Ministry’s Sheriff Chen’s expression was unchanged, as if he had expected this.

Chu Xianglong saw the situation, he knew that another denial, will only be a rebellion, humming:

“It is true that the Crown Princess has another purpose in mind for this trip north, but Xu Qi’an does not need to be an alarmist. Even you don’t know about the fact that the crown princess left the capital, let alone the others.

“Ambushes also need to be prepared in advance, we traveled all the way north, taking the fastest waterway, and the matter of the Princess accompanying us was kept secret. And how could we encounter an ambush.”

The Chancellor of the Da Lisi and the others slowly nodded their heads, thinking that Chu Xianglong had a point.

It was only after they set out that they realized there were women on the ship, and then they slowly realized that there was even a Princess Huai among the women. Even they only found out about it after they set off. Imagine the possible existence of enemies, and how to ambush them?

It’s too late.

“False alarm, false alarm .” The Chancellor of the Da Lisi exhaled a breath, his face improving.

Xu Qi’an said smilingly, “A few lords hold your peace, listen to me finish my words before you consider them.”

Only then did he shift his gaze to the spread map, pointing to a certain spot on it, and said, “At the rate the ships are sailing, we’ll be through here by tomorrow evening at the latest.”

The crowd went to the table and looked at a fast-flowing watershed, narrow and surrounded on both sides by high mountains.

“Here, if someone really wants to ambush us on both sides of the river, with the swiftness of the current, we can’t turn fast enough or we’ll be in danger of capsizing. The high mountains on both sides, on the other hand, have become an obstacle for us to escape on the shore, they only need to ambush their manpower in the mountains and wait for us to throw ourselves into the net. In short, if there will be an ambush along the way, then it will definitely be here.”

Xu Qi’an’s words caused the crowd, which had just relaxed, to tighten up once again.

Chu Xianglong stared at the map for a moment and retorted, ”The premise of all this is that there is an enemy ambush, and as I said just now, the enemy simply does not have the time to set up an ambush in advance.

“As long as we get through here, we’ll arrive in Jianzhou within a decade, when we’ll be greeted by the king’s army and the big job will be done. And if we take the land route and drag it out for half a month, that would be a long night.”

Each side argued and argued.

The Chancellor of the Da Lisi and the others hesitated, both sides had valid points, yet both had drawbacks, and choosing either one felt unstable.

Then I’ll add more fire to your fire Xu Qi’an snorted:

“Taking the land route is certainly a long night, but there is still room for maneuver. If we are ambushed here tomorrow, it will be a total loss with no chance.”

The expressions of the two royal historians and the Chancellor of the Da Lisi immediately changed.

“I agree with Lord Xu’s decision to change the route.” Sheriff Chen of the Ministry of Justice took the lead.

“This official also agrees with Lord Xu’s decision, prepare quickly and change the route tomorrow.” The Chancellor of the Da Lisi immediately concurred.

The two royal historians also chose to support Xu Qi’an, as his words struck a chord with the civil officials. Compared to the potentially more troublesome and tiring land route, a wave of regimentation on the water route was more intimidating.

No one dares to gamble with their lives.

Chu Xianglong’s cheek muscles twitched, his heart raging with fury as he stared fiercely at Xu Qi’an and said, “Xu Qi’an, this official is going to gamble with you if we don’t encounter an ambush in this watershed tomorrow, how about it?”

Xu Qi’an pressed his hands against the table, not allowing a fraction of a second of confrontation, “In the future, everything in the mission is up to you. But what if we encounter an ambush?”

Chu Xianglong said, “If you say one, I will never say two.”

Xu Qi’an bristled, disdainfully saying, “Now that I say one, you dare to say two? Cut the crap and give me something tangible.”

“What you want.”

“Three thousand taels of silver, and the records of the Northern guards out of camp.”

“Good.”

Chu Xianglong promised, but in his heart, he thought that when the time to back out is, to the north, it is not his say. Under the hands of soldiers and generals, and Zhenbei King backing.

Xu Qi’an sneered, “Make a note.”

Chu Xianglong hardened his head, “Okay, but if you lose you also have to give me three thousand taels of silver.”

The two sides have made a note, but not a pledge, and will have to wait for the results tomorrow.

Xu Qi’an twisted his head to look at Yang Yan and used a deliberative tone, “Chief, you’ll take the boatmen tomorrow to test the waters, how many people can you take away at most?”

Yang Yan thought about it and said, “Six.”

Six people obviously can not handle this boat but Yang Yan can only take six people, if tomorrow really encountered an ambush, the rest of the boatmen will be dead. Xu Qi’an was in a difficult situation, then heard Yang Yan said:

“Tomorrow when I can use the air machine to push the sails and maneuver the boat, there will be no need for boatmen to row the oars. Just leave a few people at the helm.”

With the chief’s level, briefly navigating the ship shouldn’t be a problem he exhaled a cloudy breath mentally, “Alright, let’s do it.”

The plan to change the route was finalized, the officials of the three divisions as well as the reluctant Chu Xianglong immediately went to prepare for the departure of the ship, notifying the guards, women and other accompanying personnel on board.

Xu Qi’an didn’t leave, but sat at the table, took a sip of tea, and analyzed, ”If they don’t encounter an ambush tomorrow, it means that the so-called enemy doesn’t exist, or it’s too late to set up an ambush.

“This way we can also breathe a sigh of relief, and if the enemy doesn’t exist, there’s not much of a problem in the mission even if it’s Chu Sang Ryong who has the final say; at most, we can put up with him for a few days.”

Betting is not a matter of will, even if there is no such bet, Xu Qi’an will privately ask Yang Yan to sail a boat tomorrow to test it.

Yang Yan nodded, “But if there is an ambush .”

“Then we’re in trouble, before we even reach the Northern Realm, we’re taking the fall for that princess.” Xu Qi’an sighed and lowered his voice:

“If it’s that bad, I’ve got another plan, chief, and I’m only conferring with you .”

Early the next morning.

A party of two hundred men left Butter County, four wagons, eighteen flat wagons loaded with supplies, and forty horses.

As for the forbidden army and the soldiers brought by Chu Xianglong, they advanced at a run.

The group traveled down the official road, in the midst of a diffuse dust cloud, heading north.

“If Yang Yan’s side did not encounter an ambush, then take two days on the land route, will have to change to the waterway again, the land route is really tiring, the boat is tiring,” Xu Qi’an sat on horseback, muttering in his heart.

The horse at his hip was an ordinary brown horse, far from being a match for the filly.

At that moment, he saw the curtain of a wagon behind him lift and peek out a plain, unassuming face that beckoned to him.

Xu Qi’an turned his horse around and traveled slowly to the side of the carriage, saying with a smile, “Little Auntie, what is it.”

“Why do we have to go overland instead.” She sat in the slightly bumpy carriage.

“For the safety of your princess.” Xu Qi’an said.

She thought about it, and surprisingly, instead of subconsciously being combative, she discreetly nodded her head in agreement with the reasoning.

Late afternoon.

Quicksilver Beach, so named because the water flows so fast that even rocks can be washed away.

Green mountains on both sides of the arch, the width of the river as a woman suddenly tighten the waist, the water waves sound, white foam splash.

A huge three-masted sailing ship came slowly, against the current, and traveled to the middle of the flowstone beach, the turbulent water, a sudden ripple, a thick, black scale-covered object arched, and then sank into the water again.

After a few seconds of silence, only a rumble was heard as the huge three-masted sailing ship was lifted high into the air.

Amidst the spray of water, a black-scaled dragon broke out of the waves, its horns embedded in the bottom of the ship, toppling it into mid-air.

“Click, click, click.”

Cracks instantly spread all over the hull, and the large official ship, capable of carrying more than two hundred people, fell apart, pieces clattering down.

The moment the boat lifted up, Yang Yan exerted his qi to wrap around the six boatmen and pulled up in the air, the strong qi exploded at the soles of his feet and pushed him to keep rising and skimming the air.

The dragon plunged headfirst into the water, splashing the sky with white foam, and in a few moments, a man in a black robe surfaced, treading water.

He had feminine features, a hawkish nose, long, narrow eyes with vertical pupils, the flowing light of his eyes was cold and merciless, and the sides of his cheeks were covered with fine scales.

The black-robed man swept his eyes over the broken pieces of wood that had been washed away by the current and snorted, his voice line grim as he said, “Tricked.”

“They can’t escape.”

In the dense forest on the shore, a young man came out, dressed in white, standing with his hands folded.

The man in white was not angry or disappointed by the failure of the ambush, and said very quietly, “We have deployed enough manpower this time, and relying on only one Fourth Grade Yang Yan, it’s hard to beat four hands with two fists. The princess is in our pocket.”

The black-robed man frowned, “Are you sure that there are no other four ranks in the mission?”

The man in white nodded and pointed to his eyes, saying, “Trust my eyes, besides, even if there is still a Fourth Grade, with our deployment, we can still be foolproof.”

PS: This chapter has a bit more word count, so it didn’t update on time. In the future, if it doesn’t update on time, it means that the word count will be increased, as a compensation to you all.

Thank you to “Don’t make it difficult for me_” for the alliance reward.