Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

As the battle reached its climax, the warship that had previously strayed was finally found. From a great distance, it unleashed a thunderous barrage of cannon fire at the remaining two pirate ships.

Yu Wanran was really afraid that they would be blind and let the cannonballs hit their ship!

Fortunately, that foolish thing didn't happen.

Although the navy was no good at close combat, they were competent at operating homemade cannons. A dozen or so cannonballs sank a ship in half.

The remaining pirates, seeing that they couldn't capture the warship and that their only surviving vessel was about to meet its demise, abandoned their enemy soldiers and scattered in all directions to retreat.

They attempted to escape by boat.

Yan Cheng'an appeared, his body bandaged, brandishing his sword and ordering his soldiers to give chase. These pirates couldn't be allowed to survive. If you don't nip them in the bud, they'll spring back to life.

Yu Wanran and Gao Huaien exchanged a glance. They both leaped up, using the grappling hooks connecting the two ships, and jumped onto the pirate ship to chase after the pirates who were trying to cut the hooks.

Their unparalleled bravery greatly boosted the morale of their side. Xiang Gang led a group of brothers, who followed closely behind, using grappling hooks to climb onto the pirate ship, where they fought fiercely against the pirates and seized control of the vessel.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless and control of the ship was gradually being lost, the remaining pirates roared in despair and fought a desperate battle with Yu Wanran and his men. Some pirates even jumped into the water.

However, in the vast ocean, without any ships to rescue you, jumping in would be tantamount to suicide.

Ignoring the dying struggles, Yu Wanran joined forces with Gao Huaien to attack a pirate with a full beard who looked like the "Blackbeard" leader.

The opponent was fearless and extremely brutal. But he was no match for the two of them!

Soon, Yu Wanran sliced ​​off half of his arm with a single sword stroke. Gao Huaien then struck with a thunderous sword, pinning the pirate to the deck.

The remaining pirates, seeing their leader beheaded, completely lost their will to fight and knelt down to surrender.

Summarizing the results, Yu Wanran and her men had won a great victory in this battle. They lost nearly a hundred men, most of whom died at the hands of pirates, and a very few went missing in the storm.

The pirates who attacked them were all wiped out. Upon questioning, the bearded man who was killed by Yu Wanran and Gao Huaien was revealed to be the pirate leader "Blackbeard".

Yu Wanran had more than ten bandits interrogated separately, and unexpectedly uncovered a clue about "fire coral".

This is such a pleasant surprise!

Gao Huaien executed the remaining pirate prisoners, sparing only the one who knew the truth. He promised him that if he helped find the Fire Coral, he would not only spare his life but also give him a sum of money to let him go.

Left with no other choice, the pirate confessed that the fire coral didn't belong to anyone, but rather to a group of fishermen living on a deserted island. Among them were women who harvested clams, and one of them had accidentally collected the fire coral many years ago.

However, when the coral was sent to Champa for sale, it was robbed by local tyrants, and the woman who had been harvesting the clams was beaten to death. Thus, the legend of fire coral began to circulate.

However, because the clam digger died tragically, outsiders did not know where the fishing village was, and no one dared to go to sea to collect fire coral anymore.

Yu Wanran and the others discussed this matter and all felt that it was somewhat difficult to handle.

The people of that fishing village, after this incident, must regard fire coral as an omen of bad luck and have kept it a secret for generations. Asking them to salvage the coral would likely be unthinkable.

Fortunately, the search area has been greatly narrowed. According to the pirates' confessions, there is only one area of ​​sea around Champa, and data on how many small islands there are and how many small villages live on them can be found.

If they can negotiate well with the local government, finding the target village shouldn't be a slim chance.

Gao Huaien instructed the pirate to navigate the fleet towards Champa.

After resting, Yu Wanran finally had time to go into the cabin to check on Yan Chengan's injuries.

The imperial physician on board had already applied medicine and bandaged Yan Cheng'an's wound. Because of his back injury, Yan Cheng'an couldn't lie flat and could only groan and lie prone.

But the moment Yu Wanran entered the cabin, Yan Cheng'an's grumbling stopped abruptly. He propped his head up with his hand, turned his face, and flashed Yu Wanran a wide smile, thinking himself dashing and unrestrained.

Xiao Ze secretly rolled his eyes.

He almost lost his life, and his young master was still preoccupied with maintaining his impeccable manners in front of Miss Yu. He truly doesn't learn his lesson!

Looking at Yan Cheng'an like this, Yu Wanran's usually cold and hardened heart was inexplicably touched. It seemed that somewhere inside her, something was quietly softening.

She didn't notice Xiao Ze winking and pulling the imperial physician and Wangyou, who had followed her in, out. She pulled up a chair and sat down by the bed. With a slightly reproachful tone and a hint of disdain, she looked at Yan Cheng'an.

"Silly boy, doesn't it hurt? Be careful the bandage doesn't open up again... Lie down!"

Yan Cheng'an listened to her. He happily crawled back into bed. Yu Wanran reached out and tucked the blanket around him, looking at his bare back with mixed feelings, the layers of white cloth wrapped around it, and the bloodstains soaking into it.

"Next time... don't jump out and shield others from harm. Your own life is more important!"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Yan Cheng'an couldn't help but grasp her hand, his eyes brimming with undisguised affection.

"I wouldn't just take a knife or an arrow for someone else! Ranran, it's only because that person is you!"

Yu Wanran felt a flush rise to her face and tried to pull her hand away.

But the moment she moved, Yan Cheng'an would grimace and cry out in pain. She could only blush and fidget as he held her.

"Ranran, if you can get back safely this time, will you consider me...?"

Yan Cheng'an's eyes sparkled, making Yu Wanran feel extremely uncomfortable. She couldn't help but feel that he resembled the two puppies she had brought back from Decheng, and she wanted to touch his fluffy head.

"Considering you what?"

She asked knowingly.

Yan Cheng'an replied without hesitation, "Marry me!"

He might have worried about getting past his family before. Now, his father and older brother wish they could just hand him over to Yu Wanran so he could protect her every moment.

If he were to propose to Ranran again, it would be a natural progression, and no one would object.

"me……"

Upon his first confession, Yan Cheng'an's face was even more flushed than the blood on his back: "I've liked you for a long time... Xiao Ze can testify to that!"

He belatedly turned around and looked around, only to find that he and Yu Wanran were the only two people in the cabin. Instantly, he became shameless, and sensing that Yu Wanran was trying to pull her hand away again, he quickly gripped it tightly.

However, the force caused his wound to throb with pain, making him cry out, "Ouch!"

However, he absolutely refused to let go.

He knew that once he let go, the other person would definitely avoid him, and he would never find such a good opportunity to confess his feelings again.

"Ranran, I've noticed you seem very reluctant to get married. Why is that? Are you worried that I won't treat you well in the future?"

He asked the question he had already sensed, seemingly out of nowhere: "Your martial arts are so high, if I ever dare to bully you, you can flatten me with one slap!"

"I'm not afraid of you bullying me, so why are you afraid of me?"

Seeing his slightly aggrieved expression, Yu Wanran couldn't help but burst out laughing.

This is the first time I've ever seen someone propose like this!

She thought about it carefully.

She genuinely didn't dislike Yan Cheng'an; in fact, she even harbored a vague, inexplicable trust in him.

If she must get married in this lifetime, having someone like this by her side wouldn't be bad, right? But is he the right person for her?