Do You Know?: Rule the World.

Chapter 22 Shulan and Pinlan

Shulan was wearing a lavender brocade dress with cloud patterns, and the gold ornaments on her hair were small and exquisite, shining with tiny golden light under the candlelight.

She looked even more gentle and beautiful, with affectionate eyes and a demeanor that didn't suggest she came from a merchant family.

Sheng Wei put down the account book and looked up at his daughter. The fatigue between his brows instantly turned into doting. "You take Pinlan to rest first. I will finish looking through the account book as soon as possible. When we get to Bianjing, I will have time to accompany you for a good stroll."

Shu Lan frowned slightly. "Before we left, mother specifically told me not to overwork Daddy. It's exhausting to look over the accounts by candlelight. Daddy is so stubborn, I won't be able to explain myself when I get back."

"Well, I'll listen to Shu'er."

Sheng Wei closed the account book and looked at her with a smile.

The two reasons for his trip to Bian Jing were, firstly, to inspect various shops, and secondly, to take his two daughters out to see the world, especially Pinlan, who kept clamoring to go to Bian Jing.

The third reason was for the future of Sheng Changwu, the second son of the eldest son.

Sheng Wei's eldest son is named Sheng Changsong. He has been interested in business since he was a child. Over the years, he has managed the family business in an orderly manner and it is thriving.

With his eldest son inheriting the family business, Sheng Wei originally hoped that his second son, Sheng Changwu, would study hard and take the imperial examinations to become an official in the court. However, he just liked to wield swords and guns, and was born strong and sturdy, without looking like a scholar at all.

Therefore, he had to spend money to go around and find a position for Sheng Changwu in the army.

"Is Pinlan asleep?" Sheng Wei asked gently.

Shu Lan pursed her lips and smiled, "She was like a monkey, jumping up and down and playing all day, and she was already tired and fell asleep."

"This girl is restless all day long. I will make sure your grandmother disciplines her when we get back." Sheng Wei shook his head and laughed.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside.

"Oh no! There are pirates! Hurry up and grab your weapons!"

"The pirates are coming, grab your weapons!"

"..."

Shulan's expression changed suddenly after hearing the series of shouts. Her slender fingers unconsciously clenched her sleeves, and she cast a worried look at Sheng Wei, "Daddy, what should I do..."

Sheng Wei was relatively calm. He had been in business for many years and had traveled all over the country, so he had seen all kinds of storms.

Not to mention the mere water bandits, he had also seen mountain bandits and horse bandits several times.

"Don't panic. Go wake Pinlan up. The two of you don't go anywhere. Just stay in the cabin."

After Sheng Wei finished speaking, he stood up and went out to find out what was going on.

In the past, pirates who came to rob money were mostly a mob. When they saw that the merchant ships were heavily guarded, they would retreat on their own. At the very least, they would be sent away with some silver, money, and jewelry.

But what he encountered this time was a little different. Sheng Wei, holding a torch, just stepped out of the cabin door and heard the screams of servants and guards.

In the light of the fire, he saw more than ten black shadows climbing up the side of the ship from all directions, each holding a sharp scimitar and moving as agile as monkeys.

Sheng Wei's personal servant Feng Xing ran over with a worried look on his face, with beads of sweat oozing from his forehead.

"Master, we've run into a tough opponent."

"These people are stubborn. I offered them 1,000 taels of silver, but they still refused to leave. It looks like they're after lives."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Wei's expression changed.

This time when he came to the capital, apart from the maids and servants who served Shulan and Pinlan, he only brought a dozen servants and guards as usual.

In the past, pirates mostly appeared in the section from Huaihe River to Sizhou. Now they have entered Suzhou. They really didn't expect to encounter such ferocious pirates.

Before long, several pirates had boarded the deck, and the sounds of fierce fighting could be heard. Sheng Wei frowned, constantly observing his surroundings. Then, he instructed the servant beside him, "Prepare the sampan. If necessary, take the Second Miss and the Fourth Miss away first."

After the servant responded, he immediately did as instructed.

"My Lord, it seems that the guards on our ship are no match for them."

Feng Xing looked at the blood flowing on the deck and felt a chill down his spine.

The pirate leader, Chen Si, raised his gleaming scimitar high in the air and shouted at the top of his voice, "Kill them all, and all the cargo on the ship will be ours!"

"Leave no one alive!"

"kill!"

The pirates were suddenly as if they had been injected with chicken blood, with greedy and fierce eyes, and began to hack and kill indiscriminately. Sheng Wei retreated repeatedly under the protection of several guards.

Inside the cabin, Shulan bit her lower lip, her face slightly pale. The clanging of weapons, the wailing of servants and guards, and the crazy shouting of pirates kept floating in her ears.

"I want to go out and see what kind of pirates dare to rob our ship!"

Pinlan, who was only a little over ten years old, stood up quickly, picked up the bow and arrow beside him and was about to rush out.

Shu Lan hurriedly grabbed her and said, "Daddy said we can't leave the cabin."

"I want to go out and help!" Pinlan's eyes were wide open, and her childish face was full of stubbornness.

Her personality is completely different from Shulan's. Shulan is introverted and gentle, while Pinlan is bold and lively, fearless and unrestrained.

"You only learned some basic skills from Chang Wu. You will only cause trouble if you go out. Stay here."

Pinlan stamped her feet reluctantly, stood by the window, and kept observing the outside.

When servants on several of the traveling boats heard the noise, they hurried into the cabin to inform their masters that there were pirates there.

At such a critical moment, everyone naturally chose to protect themselves. Therefore, several nearby boats put away their lanterns, extinguished their candles, and quietly moved towards the shore under the cover of night.

On the Bai family boat, Zhao Han and Gu Tingye couldn't help but frown as they listened to Shi Tou's report.

"I heard from my eldest brother and sister-in-law that there was a group of pirates who acted without any rules and started killing people indiscriminately as soon as they boarded the ship. The Huaiyin Inspection Office sent people to capture them several times, but they always escaped. I never thought they would end up here."

Gu Tingye had been in the underworld for a few years and loved to do good deeds. He asked, "Do you know whose boat that is?"

Shitou replied, "It's a merchant ship. You can only make out the word 'Sheng'."

"The word 'Sheng'?" A hint of doubt flashed across Zhao Han's eyes.

"That's right, could it be someone Mr. Zhao knows?"

Zhao Han's eyes darkened. "Let's take a closer look first."

Soon, a boat approached. Shitou went to inquire and was told that it was a boat from the Sheng family of Youyang.

Zhao Han was shocked. The Sheng family's ancestral home and eldest house were both in Youyang. He hurriedly asked the guards on the boat to go and help.

On the deck, Gu Tingye said with a smile: "Don't worry, Brother Zhao, the guards on this ship are all carefully selected by me. If all else fails, there are still me and Shitou."

Zhao Han looked intently and saw that the fighting on the Sheng family's boat was getting more and more intense. Several guards were defeated by the pirates and were swept into the river, splashing huge water. He could faintly hear the woman's scream.

"Go get a spare bow." Zhao Han frowned and ordered Chang Qing.

"Brother Zhao is also proficient in archery?" Gu Tingye raised his eyebrows, a little surprised. "It's a hundred steps away, and the night wind is strong. If you want to hit the target, it will be a bit difficult."

　I changed the cover today, please read it~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)