Golden Branch

Yang Rui glanced at the entire audience, his gentle eyes tinged with a hint of anxiety and anger.

It seemed as if he was also worried about the children who were kidnapped by the bandits.

When Governor Li saw that everyone was begging desperately, a faint light flashed in his slightly cloudy eyes.

He wanted to speak, but seemed to have thought of something and closed his mouth again.

The hesitant look and reluctance to speak were too obvious. Yang Rui, who was sitting at the top, saw it all.

He asked in a deep voice, "Li, if you have anything to say, feel free to speak!"

After hearing Yang Rui's words, Governor Li hesitated again. He spoke hesitantly, "Your Highness, the bandit problem on the Yi River has been going on for a long time. I was incompetent and failed to eradicate it during my years in office. Now that it has finally caused a disaster, I cannot escape the blame!"

"However, now is not the time to pursue culpability. I would like to gather the police and troops from various prefectures and head to the Yi River to suppress the bandits!"

"Your camp is right by the river, Prince. If possible, could you please…"

Having said this, Governor Li paused again.

He seemed to know that there was something wrong with his request.

So, he hurried to make amends, "Of course, the safety of the prince is the most important."

"I suspect the painting boat incident was nothing more than a conspiracy by those bandits."

"They kidnapped the children from various families just to get the Crown Prince to send his troops. The Crown Prince is kind and will definitely not let innocent children suffer, so he will definitely send all his troops out!"

"The prince will have no guards around him. If the bandits try to assassinate him, he will be in danger."

Governor Li is indeed an old fox, and his words are flawless.

He even pointed out the fact that this might be a conspiracy.

But in his words, he labeled Yang Rui as "kind", trying to morally blackmail him.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, before Yang Rui could even speak, the parents whose children were kidnapped started crying again:

"Prince, please be merciful. I beg you to send troops!"

"Sir, it's not a pity that my son died, as my mother loved him dearly. If anything were to happen to him, my mother, who is over seventy years old, might not be able to bear it. Please, Sir, save him!"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

In the flower hall, a group of people knelt down.

They prayed with hope in their eyes.

Lou Yu suddenly came to his senses and realized that these people were forcing the prince.

This should also be part of the conspiracy to murder the prince.

He seemed to have guessed wrong again. The river banquet was just a decoy. The target of those bandits was still and only the prince.

Children from twenty or thirty families in Yizhou were kidnapped, and their parents all came running to beg on their knees.

As the crown prince of Qi, Yang Rui is the "crown prince" and "parents" of this land. He will never allow bandits to wreak havoc and innocent children to suffer.

It is reasonable for him to send troops.

However, Yizhou has not been completely incorporated into the Palace of Prince Qi. Among these officials present, how many are loyal to the Palace of Prince Qi?

Once Yang Rui divides his troops, or even sends all his men out, he himself will be in danger!

Do not!Can't!

When Lou Yu was making plans before, he had said: Use stillness to control movement! Use constancy to cope with ever-changing situations!

No matter what happens, as long as we stick to one principle: never split our forces, the prince will never be in danger.

Two little people flashed in Lou Yu’s mind.

A man named "Reason" tried his best to reason and conduct a rational analysis, and then came to the conclusion: there is no need to pay attention to these people's cries, and even if you want to save people, you can't be led by the bandits.

Investigate the situation calmly and objectively, and then formulate a rescue plan carefully and thoughtfully.

However, there was also a little man named "Emotion" who only said coldly: The fat girl was also taken away!

The fat girl, the little thing he had raised for two or three years, was the person closest to him and the one he trusted the most.

He might not be worried even if Lou Jin and Dugu were arrested.

But the fat girl... she was so fat that she couldn't even run away. She was also so delicate that she couldn't endure any hardship at all.

Lou Yu didn't dare to think about what his fat girl had experienced at this time.

Is she already injured, crying helplessly, waiting for his rescue with all her heart and eyes?

As long as the knife doesn't cut your body, you will never feel pain.

If it weren't for the people he cared about, Lou Yu wouldn't be able to understand the parents in the hall who were kneeling and crying and begging Yang Rui to send troops.

Lou Yu empathized with them. If he hadn't had some sanity left, he would have joined them long ago.

He stood in front of Yang Rui, his lips moving, and his whole body looked extremely conflicted and painful.

Yang Rui saw it clearly, and a gleam flashed in his eyes: This child is not only smart, but also loyal.

It is very rare for a child in his teens to be so restrained.

Yang Rui would not be overly harsh on Lou Yu.

Moreover, this incident itself was an experience he gave to Lou Yu.

Over the past month, Lou Yu has studied very well.

However, for many things, only through personal experience can we learn lessons and grow!

"Prefect Li! You don't need to persuade me anymore!"

"How dare you, you daring thief, act so presumptuously in Qi? Do you really think the Prince of Qi's Palace is just a decoration?"

"Please rest assured, everyone. Since Rui is the crown prince of Qi, he has been protecting Qi in his father's place."

"I will send all my troops to chase the pirates and raid their lair!"

Yang Rui stood up, his gentle and elegant face now filled with a fierce and murderous look.

However, Yang Rui's temperament is too noble and upright. Even when he shouts for war and killing, he does not show any hostility or anger. Instead, he is righteous and calm.

"Prince! No! Your safety is the most important!"

"Even if we must rescue them, we can't send all our men out!"

"Prince, you must have enough guards around you!"

Governor Li was secretly delighted, but on the surface he still pretended to be "loyal and giving advice".

He gave advice and guessed the conspiracy of the thieves. He was extremely loyal to the Palace of Prince Qi and the Crown Prince of Qi.

He, this is also an open conspiracy.

He laid out all his plans for plotting against Yang Rui, and gave Yang Rui a choice: he didn't have to send out all of them, he could divide the troops!

"Li, I know you are doing this for my own good!"

"However, the child is innocent, and the reputation of the Prince of Qi's Mansion cannot be tarnished by thieves."

Yizhou is the fief of King Qi. In King Qi's territory, a group of despicable scoundrels dared to rob pleasure boats in public and capture all the children of the powerful families in Yizhou... They were not threatening those powerful people, but were slapping the face of King Qi's Mansion!

If Yang Rui endured it, he would be laughed at!

Yang Rui raised the corner of his lips slightly. Those water bandits, oh no, to be precise, it was the mastermind hiding behind the water bandits, who used the prestige of the Prince Qi's Mansion and the requests of everyone to put him, Yang Rui, in trouble.

If he did not send troops, he, the prince of Qi, would become a laughing stock and would no longer have any prestige.

If the news were to spread back to the capital... it would most likely implicate Prince Qi Yang Chong, causing the entire Prince Qi's Mansion to be criticized and ridiculed.

Even if Yang Rui escaped the assassination, he would be alive but his reputation would be ruined. He would also offend a large number of families.

This is also a fatal blow to an heir.

"This old man is really vicious!"

Yang Rui sneered secretly, but his face remained calm and righteous: "Send troops! Suppress the bandits! Save people!"

……

"Jiu Niang! Jiu Niang!"

As for Wang Heng, she fell into the Yi River with a splash.

Wang Mian and others on the deck were stunned. Ah Hu reacted quickly, kicked the knife-wielding pirate away, jumped onto the side of the boat, and jumped in.

Wang Mian was standing in front of Wang Heng and his arm was grazed by the pirate's blade.

The wound was not deep, but very long. Blood immediately gushed out, staining her sleeve red.

The rapid and massive blood loss made Wang Mian a little dizzy, but she was still worried about Wang Heng. She gritted her teeth, clung to the side of the boat, and tried to search the river.

Zheng Shisan was already scared silly. She, she wanted to help Jiu Niang jump into the boat, not push her into the river.

Jiu Niang, Jiu Niang, nothing will happen to me, right?

With his hands shaking and legs trembling, Zheng Shisan finally gritted his teeth, climbed up the side of the boat with all his might, closed his eyes, and jumped in.

Seeing this, the pirates were stunned for a moment, and then they all jumped down.

thump! thump! thump!

As if dumplings were being dropped into the river, several people jumped into the Yi River one after another.

Wang Heng didn't know this. As the first person to fall into the water, she was a heavy little fat girl. When she fell into the water, the splash was particularly big.

The whole person quickly sank into the water.

Wang Heng closed her eyes, held her breath, and quickly adjusted her state.

The boat's cable was cut accidentally.

However, when Wang Heng climbed onto the side of the boat and was about to jump into the small boat, she had the assumption that she "might fall into the water."

There's always a chance of something happening.

There is no such thing as perfect, so be prepared for the unexpected.

So, when she fell into the Yi River with the boat, Wang Heng was not too panicked.

After all, Wang Heng grew up by the Yi River. Even though it was impossible for her to play freely in the river like the naughty monkeys in the market, she also learned how to swim.

Ahem, Lou Yu requested it.

In Lou Yu's words: "Fatty, a girl as naive and delicate as you, if others want to bully you, they might just throw you into the water!"

“Learn how to swim, and you won’t be afraid of falling into the water!”

"If you grow up, you won't have to worry about being plotted against. If you fall into the water, you can swim to shore on your own without anyone saving you."

At that time, Wang Heng opened her eyes wide and stared at Lou Yu blankly: Brother, you are so "experienced" that you know everything about "bullying the weak".

However, Wang Heng knew that Lou Yu was right.

Even though Wang Heng had never seen any scenes of falling into the water, she believed in Lou Yu's "professionalism" as a naughty child.

Only bad people can understand bad people better.

Wang Heng never forgot that when she first met Lou Yu, this man threw a bunch of toads in front of her.

She had to be thankful that Lou Yu didn't kick her into the lotus pond, as she couldn't swim at that time.

It is estimated that Lou Yu also felt "regretful" afterwards and thought about kicking Wang Heng into the water.

However, the two of them unexpectedly hit it off and became good friends.

Even though Lou Yu teased Wang Heng, he did not kill her, let alone endanger her life.

On the contrary, Lou Yu took the initiative to teach Wang Heng how to swim in the lotus pond of Lou's fortress.

Wang Heng fell into the deep river.

She held her breath and moved her limbs quickly and rhythmically, controlling her fat body so that it would not continue to fall and instead strive to swim upwards.

Wow!

The little head emerged from the water, and Wang Heng breathed in the fresh air again, feeling like she had survived a disaster.

Of course, we cannot let our guard down yet.

Wang Heng paddled, controlled her body to stand in the water, and looked around.

She was already several meters away from the pleasure boat.

The small boat was not far away, but it had capsized.

The soldiers on the boat and Zheng Chi who jumped in first fell into the water.

Zheng Chi struggled desperately, crying out, "Help! Help! I can't swim! Help, help me!"

The troops who fell into the water with her already knew that this little girl was not their own Ninth Lady.

But even if he is not his own master, he is still a relative of the Lou family.

The soldiers knew that Jiuniang was good friends with Lou Xiaolangjun, and Zheng Chi was just a child after all, so they couldn't just stand by and watch him die.

He found Zheng Chi's position, swam over quickly, and grabbed her thin arm.

In his panic, Zheng Chi choked on water several times and felt more and more desperate about drowning.

After her arm was grabbed by Buqu, she seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw and hugged Buqu's arm with her backhand.

Looking at the skinny little person, perhaps because his life was at stake, he unleashed all his potential and actually entangled his subordinates tightly.

The soldier was caught off guard and was almost drowned by Zheng Chi. He had to deal with Zheng Chi in a hurry and had no time to continue searching in the water.

Ah Hu, Zheng Shisan, the water bandits and others also entered the water one after another.

Ah Hu searched desperately and vaguely saw Wang Heng.

Zheng Shisan does know a little about water. Ahem, in the inner house, the Zheng family was in such chaos that she was once pushed into a water tank by a stubborn slave.

She experienced the pain of drowning firsthand, and then secretly learned to swim.

However, she had never swam in such a wide and deep river, and she felt a little uncomfortable for a moment.

"...Jiu Niang! Help, Jiu Niang!"

Even if she can't save people, she can't just let it go. Otherwise, Lou Yu or the Wang family will never forgive her!

Although she meant well and was trying to save someone, a person of low status had no right to reason with a noble person.

This is a fact that Zheng Shisan has understood since he was a child. It is cruel and true!

Gritting his teeth and shedding tears, Zheng Shisan struggled to swim, still calling out loudly: "Jiu Niang! Jiu Niang! Where are you? Shisan is here to save you!"

Wang Heng: ...Stop shouting, sister.

We're not the only ones in the water, there are also damn water bandits.

Those pirates are most likely targeting her, and she cannot fall into the hands of these thieves.

Wang Heng saw the pirates wearing coarse linen clothes, as well as Ah Hu and Zheng Shisan, but she did not dare to speak.

Because Wang Heng was not sure who would be the first to find her after discovering her location!

Wang Heng would not gamble with her life.

After all, she can swim and she can see the river bank, so she should save herself first!

Wang Heng spotted the riverbank, took a deep breath, held it, and then dived into the water.

She waved her limbs desperately and swam towards the shore.

After swimming for an unknown amount of time, Wang Heng's body was up and down. The oxygen in her chest seemed to be exhausted. Her limbs began to feel numb and her breathing became unstable.

Wang Heng gritted her teeth and held on.

Finally, she reached the shore...