The Red Mansion

Chapter 22 It's Him, It's Her

On the deck of the Xue family's ship.

Only four men were left: Xue Pan, Xie Jixing, a male servant, and the servant Li'er.

One of the servants, defending the east flank alone, was trembling with fear, his face as pale as paper. The two servants who had been defending the east flank with him had been shot dead by Li Liu, who was now aiming his arrow at him. The shadow of death was already hanging over his heart.

At this critical moment, the servant suddenly saw an arrow coming through the air like lightning, killing a bandit next to Li Liu. Then, another arrow came whistling and killed another bandit who had pulled Li Liu as a human shield. Li Liu was so scared that he got into the cabin and shouted, "There are soldiers here, retreat!"

The servant hurriedly looked behind him and saw a large ship approaching rapidly, its bow breaking through the water with great momentum. The two arrows, like saviors, had been shot from this ship.

The servant suddenly felt a surge of relief at having survived the ordeal, and murmured, "It's the soldiers...it's the soldiers who came to rescue us!"

Xue Pan, Xie Jixing and Li Er were originally defending the west side.

Among them, Xue Pan and Li'er were both in extreme fear, trembling all over and their faces turned pale.

Because the pirates on the west side of the ship were about to climb onto the Xue family's ship.

Even though Xue Pan was a dull and domineering person, he knew that once the pirates climbed aboard, they would certainly kill him. Aunt Xue, Xue Baochai and other female family members would suffer, and the rich family property on the Xue family ship would naturally be lost.

Just when Xue Pan was in despair, a shout of "Officers and soldiers, retreat" suddenly came from the east. Then, the pirates on the west side who were about to climb onto the Xue family's ship stopped and rowed the pirate ship on the west side, following the pirate ship on the east side, and fled in panic...

Xue Pan was both excited and confused. He widened his eyes and asked, "What's going on? Why did the pirates suddenly run away?"

Xie Jixing and Li'er both looked bewildered. They had just been concentrating on resisting the pirates on the west side and had no time to pay attention to the movements on the east side. They both turned their eyes to the male servant guarding the east side.

The servant gasped for breath, his face filled with relief. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said excitedly, "Soldiers are coming from behind! They shot two arrows and killed two pirates, and they all ran away!"

Xue Pan and Li'er were overjoyed when they heard this, and even Xie Jixing could not hide his joy.

The three of them hurriedly looked behind them and found that a large ship was approaching quickly. What made them even more excited was that there was a figure in a military officer's uniform standing on the deck, which was awe-inspiring.

Xue Pan was so excited that he almost jumped up, saying repeatedly: "Great! It's like a savior from heaven!"

He didn't forget his mother and sister, and said hurriedly: "I have to tell my mother and sister quickly, they must be scared!"

Before he finished speaking, he turned and ran into the cabin...

……

……

While the men of the Xue family were fighting fiercely with the pirates on the deck, all the women on the Xue family ship gathered in the cabin where Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai lived.

The atmosphere in the cabin was suffocating.

Including the nanny and the maid, there were ten women in total, their faces filled with fear and despair.

The constant shouting and fighting sounds hit their hearts like a heavy hammer. They all thought that they were going to suffer a disaster today. The pirates were numerous and fierce, and the men on the Xue family's ship could not stop them.

Aunt Xue was so frightened that she burst into tears. She clutched her handkerchief tightly in her hands and sobbed, "What should I do? I'm afraid Pan'er and the others can't stop those pirates..."

Xue Baochai was also frightened, her face pale and her body trembling slightly. She held Aunt Xue's hand tightly, trying to offer some comfort, but her palm was already cold. A loyal old maid, holding a pair of scissors, said to Aunt Xue with a somewhat sad expression, "Grandma, if the pirates rush in later, I will protect you and the young lady at the cost of my life!"

Some people lowered their heads, secretly thinking in their hearts that if the bandits came, they would surrender voluntarily, and perhaps they could save their lives.

In this desperate atmosphere, Xue Pan suddenly rushed into the cabin and said excitedly: "Mom, sister, the pirates have been scared away!"

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai were stunned at first, then filled with indescribable joy. However, they were also somewhat incredulous - how could the few men on the Xue family's ship scare off those ferocious pirates?

Xue Pan excitedly said again: "Soldiers are coming to rescue us! We are safe!"

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai finally felt relieved and looked very happy.

For a moment, the maids, servants and other female members of the family in the cabin were all in a mess with surprise. Some were sobbing softly, some were putting their hands together to thank the Buddha, and some were hugging each other excitedly.

Aunt Xue hurriedly got up and walked out of the cabin, eager to check the situation outside.

Even Xue Baochai, who usually pays attention to etiquette, didn't care about the red tape at this moment. She hurriedly got up and followed Aunt Xue. She was also curious about the situation outside.

All of a sudden, the ten female members of the Xue family, led by Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai, came out of the cabin and gathered on the deck.

On the deck, there were three bodies lying. They were Jill and two male servants who were shot by Li Liu. Another male servant fell into the water and was hacked to death by the pirates. His body was not on the deck, but in the water of the Grand Canal.

Even though they had anticipated this, Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai were still shocked by the tragic scene before them.

The cries of several women were immediately heard on the deck. They were the families of the dead male servants.

Hearing this heart-wrenching cry, Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai felt even more grief-stricken.

Xue Pan was also heartbroken, knowing that the three male servants had sacrificed themselves for the Xue family. He was a man who valued friendship, but he had no time to grieve at the moment. He was more grateful for having escaped death and was paying close attention to the large ship behind him.

Xue Pan pointed at the large ship behind and said to Aunt Xue impatiently, "Mom, look, the soldiers are on the ship behind us. Hey... is that... is that the guy named Jiang?"

At this time, the two large ships were close to each other. Xue Pan could clearly see Jiang Nian standing on the deck of the large ship at the rear. He was stunned and could not believe it.

How could it be that Jiang? Am I seeing things?

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai both hurriedly looked behind them, and both mother and daughter saw Jiang Nian clearly, especially Xue Baochai, who was deeply impressed by Jiang Nian's appearance.

Both mother and daughter were stunned with surprise.

"It's him!"

Xue Baochai exclaimed in her heart.

"is her!"

On the Jiang family's big ship, Jiang Nian had also discovered Xue Baochai, and he couldn't help but exclaimed in his heart, the person he saved from the bandits this time was actually Xue Baochai?
Is it such a coincidence?

It seems that it is probably related to luck...

(End of this chapter)