The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 78: Boat Night Defeats Bandits
"Luckily we changed boats." Shang Zishu looked relieved, "The Shi family is really not a good family."

"It's a good thing that the officer on the official ship believed Mingshu's words." Shang Jinliang was also scared.

"They will definitely report Mingshu's words. Will there be officials looking for Mingshu to question?" Xiao Yu was worried. Shang Mingshu had been dealing with the government office recently. For a lady, it would be bad for her reputation. Besides, going to the government office halfway would delay the trip.

"No, I have handed the letter sent to me to the officer on the ship." Shang Mingshu was not worried at all.

She didn't contribute anything in the first place, and she clearly said that she didn't know who delivered the letter, and the letter was handed in, so she had no clues to investigate.

Sure enough, they left Tunxi smoothly and sailed safely on the boat for two days.

Shang Zishu went from being excited at first to being unhappy now. Fortunately, she brought a lot of tea classics and tea leaves with her. When she was really bored, she would flip through the tea classics, or set up a stove outside the boat with tea leaves and invite Shang Jinliang and his wife and Shang Mingshu to drink tea.

Shang Mingshu had books given to her by Cheng Mian, and she read them with great interest.

Occasionally, when Shang Zishu was feeling down, Shang Mingshu would use the kitchen to cook one or two dishes for her to satisfy her cravings.

The night falls low and the bright moon hangs high.

The cold moonlight stirred up ripples on the lake. A large ship moved slowly forward on the Xin'an River. The swaying lanterns reflected a faint light, which intertwined with the moonlight and hit Shang Mingshu's jade-like, smooth and fair face, outlining her graceful appearance.

"My lady, it's getting late, you should go to bed." He Sui took out a cloak and put it on Shang Mingshu.

Shang Mingshu touched the long sword in her hand and said, "I don't know why, but I feel a little uneasy today."

Her intuition was very accurate. She couldn't calm down for some reason today, always feeling that something was going to happen. However, she had already come out for patrol three times, making the guards patrolling on the ship nervous.

"My lady, I have already informed the brothers on duty tonight to be more alert. I have just warmed up some wine and sent it to them. Don't worry." As Shang Mingshu's confidant, He Sui has always been thoughtful and considerate.

Shang Mingshu walked around the boat again and still didn't find anything suspicious. She thought to herself that maybe she was too suspicious. It was impossible for Shi Houqiong to send two groups of people to chase her.

No matter how numerous and powerful the Japanese pirates were, Shi Houqiong could not use as many as he wanted.

Returning to the house, she lay down and closed her eyes, but still couldn't fall asleep. She tossed and turned several times, and suddenly heard some strange noises outside the boat. The sounds were very light, like the deliberately suppressed footsteps of someone walking on the deck.

She put on her shoes and quickly grabbed her clothes, then walked silently to the window with her sword in hand. The window was ajar, and the moonlight had been obscured by dark clouds. The river was pitch black, and only a small area was illuminated by the candlelight from afar.

Shang Mingshu held her breath and concentrated, catching more sounds, such as the friction of ropes, the sound of swords being unsheathed, and a few low Japanese words.

"Capture these people and drive back the pursuers!"

In recent years, Japanese pirates have repeatedly invaded the coastal areas, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of atrocities. Shang Mingshu secretly learned Japanese without telling Shang Jinliang because of her family property. She wanted to know both herself and the enemy so that she could win every battle.

The people hated the Japanese pirates and would not tolerate the people of the Ming Dynasty learning Japanese. Shang Mingshu could only come secretly, and even Xiao Yu didn't know that she could speak Japanese.

"He Sui, go and inform my parents and second sister." Shang Mingshu whispered.

He Sui suppressed his inner fear and went out silently. Fortunately, the three rooms were next to each other.

Shang Mingshu climbed out the window, nimbly leaped onto the cabin roof, and crouched down, surveying her surroundings with the aid of lanterns. She saw a dozen dark figures climbing up the side of the ship from both sides, their gleaming Japanese swords at their waists. These men moved with the agility of ghosts, and their ship was surrounded, surrounded by ships on all sides.

As the first Japanese pirate climbed over the side of the ship, Shang Mingshu rushed out like an arrow, and her long sword drew a silver light in the darkness. Before the Japanese pirate could react, he fell headfirst, and warm blood splattered on her face.

She didn't care about anything else, turned around, and stabbed the second person with a sword.

"There's an ambush!" someone among the Japanese pirates shouted.

They spoke in Japanese, but their voices were loud enough to alert the patrol officers on board, and for a moment the sounds of hand-to-hand combat rang out in every corner of the ship.

This is a private ship. The Jiang's shipping company in Jiangnan is extremely famous. It is said that even the imperial court requisitioned the ships they built. Jiang's company is almost the first choice for transporting goods in the Jiangnan area because of its safety.

The Jiang family also had its own guard team with considerable military power. Not only Shang Mingshu's family was on the boat, but everyone else also brought guards with them. Several families immediately sent half of their guards to help, while others detained their own guards at the door to protect themselves.

Some of these pirates were injured. When Shang Mingshu was fighting with several of them, she found that there were several pirates on the pirate ship who were unable to get up. Combined with what she had just heard, they should be being pursued.

Those who chase after the Japanese pirates must be people from the imperial court!

Shang Mingshu was very skilled. She moved swiftly on the deck. Wherever her sword touched, a Japanese pirate would fall down. This attracted the attention of the pirate leader, who brought several pirates and quickly rushed towards Shang Mingshu.

A burly Japanese pirate swung his sword, but Shang Mingshu dodged it sideways and stabbed the pirate in the ribs with her sword. The Japanese pirate felt pain and the sword fell out of his hand. Shang Mingshu kicked the sword into the river with her toes.

At this time, the leader of the Japanese pirates approached with his men. The three of them cooperated tacitly to attack Shang Mingshu. Shang Mingshu could only use the narrow space to hide.

The Japanese pirates kept pouring in, and Shang Mingshu was caught in a tough fight. Her swordsmanship was sharp, and every sword strike was accompanied by a whistling sound, whether it was stabbing, picking, or chopping, each move was fatal.

For a moment, the deck was filled with the flashing of swords and the splashing of blood.

Until the official ship approached from a distance, the Japanese pirates knew that they had met a tough opponent and dared not fight any longer. They protected the pirate leader and retreated quickly. Shang Mingshu wanted to chase him, but was blocked by waves of Japanese pirates. She watched helplessly as the pirate leader jumped back into his own ship and fled in the opposite direction of the official ship.

At this time, the wind direction was just right to help, and the pirates ran away very quickly. Shang Mingshu was unwilling to give up. She turned around and saw a Jiang guard holding a bow and arrow. She quickly stepped forward and snatched it away: "Can you lend me your bow and arrow?"

She put an arrow on the bow, pointed the sharp tip at the pirate leader, and shot without hesitation.

The arrow shot through the air and accurately hit the back of the Japanese pirate leader, piercing his entire body. He lost his balance and fell into the river.

The Japanese pirates were in chaos, and many of them jumped into the river in an attempt to pull back their leader.

At this time, the official ship caught up with Shang Mingshu and his ship. Under the bright lights, Shang Mingshu saw the young general standing on the deck.

Silver armor, black cloak.

His face was cold and resolute, his sword-like eyebrows slanted into his temples, and his eyes were as deep as cold stars, as sharp as if they could penetrate the darkness.

Behind him was a flag fluttering in the river breeze, and the vigorous and powerful character "Xu" was particularly eye-catching.

(End of this chapter)