The rain continued for two more days, and during these two days Sang Nianyue obeyed the agreement and carefully studied calligraphy and painting with Shen Tingjun.
Yes, although he only said that he wanted to learn the techniques of painting at the beginning, Shen Tingjun's calligraphy is really eye-catching. Anyway, learning the same thing is learning, learning two things is also learning. One thing does not bother two masters, and there is no need to worry about too much debt. Sang Nianyue broke the pot and learned calligraphy as well.
The two of them spent the past two days in the flower hall.
Sang Nianyue was painting or practicing calligraphy, while Shen Tingjun was either giving instructions or helping to polish the ink beside him out of boredom.
He is obviously a minister of the DPRK who has many things to do. Even when he is on the ship, he has to deal with many official documents every day. However, in the past two days, he seemed to have no burden from the world at all. He just stayed with Sang Nuanyue and looked at Sang Nuanyue, as if there was nothing else in the world that needed to be taken care of except her.
Seeing this, Su Jin felt very worried.
The Marquis's attack of tenderness was fierce. My girl was already weak-minded, and now she was about to be overthrown by him again.
Obviously, Su Jin still didn't know that the so-called defensive thing actually ceased to exist when she went to light the candles in the room for the two of them that day. She had never thought about the deep meaning behind Sang Nianyue's agreement to learn painting techniques from Shen Tingjun. She didn't think deeply, and she didn't have the chance to think deeply, because all her mind was occupied by anxiety, fear and other emotions.
She didn't know what to do to make the girl come back. She was worried that if the girl fell into another trap, the next time she tried to escape, she might end up breaking her muscles and bones.
Su Jin had never experienced love between a man and a woman, but there was too much written about it in her notebook. Women are the most tender-hearted people. If you really choose someone and entrust your sincerity to him, you will lose your ambition to live if you are afraid of being let down.
Su Jin fell into sad thoughts and couldn't extricate herself.
She wanted to share her concerns with others, but this time the only other maids who came with her were Su Wen and Su Ying. Su Jin actually had some speculations about the origins of these two people. She was not sure who their hearts were towards, and she was afraid that if she told them this, she would alarm the Marquis. With the enthusiasm with which the Marquis treats the girl now, if he knew that she not only wanted to cause trouble secretly this time, but also wanted to persuade the girl not to be tempted, it would be a mercy of the Marquis if he could leave her a whole body.
Su Jin had nowhere to express her troubles. She could only look at Su Wen and Su Ying when they went to wash up in the evening, went to the girl's side and whispered a few reminders.
Sang Nuanyue huddled in the warm quilt, her mouth and nose were under the quilt, leaving only her eyes and forehead exposed.
Sang Nuanyue listened to Su Jin's words in silence, her face showing no joy, no anger, no sadness or fear.
It was quiet inside the house, and the rain was pouring down outside, as if it would stop at any time.
Sang Nianyue listened to the sound of rain, maybe she had already made a decision in her heart, and now she doesn't find the sound of rain annoying. She felt at peace in her heart and said to Su Jin, "I know everything you said."
"Since you know everything, then why don't you and the Marquis..."
"But Sujin, feelings are the most uncontrollable thing. I have said to myself more than once, stay away from him and don't play with fire and burn yourself. The consequences are not something I can bear. But he comes close to me again and again. , helping me time and time again. He is such an arrogant person, and after being rejected by me once, he even tried every means to get close to me and please me. My heart is not made of stone, and I cannot be calm with him. It’s even more impossible to remain indifferent to what he did.”
For the first time, Sang Nianyue revealed her feelings to her personal maid.
Her expression was extremely calm, "Su Jin, I've thought about it. Whether he is unwilling or I am unwilling, we are still entangled again, so let's just let nature take its course. Even if this is just a lustful pleasure , it will end miserably in the end, so I’ll admit it.”
Su Jin's heart was filled with all sorts of tastes, and when she looked at Sang Nuanyue, her eyes were full of hatred that iron could not become steel, but then it turned into deep compassion and pity.
She understood what the girl meant, but because she understood, she knew that the girl was really moved this time.
She was serious about her feelings and was ready to end her friendship before she got old. What else could she say?
Just tell the girl, at worst, she will regard this as a casual marriage or a lustful pleasure. As long as the girl can take the break when it comes to the end, and take a cool and unrestrained attitude, this is actually not a bad idea.
But I was afraid that at the end of the show, Mr. Hou would be able to leave gracefully, but the girl would be trapped in it and unable to extricate herself.
…
When the rain finally stopped and the sails were set sail again, Sang Nianyue's heart felt particularly bright.
She stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the receding scenery on both sides of the bank, and at the trees that had become greener after being washed by the rain, and her heart was extremely clear.
Suddenly a cloak was draped over his shoulders, and Sang Nianyue knew who was coming without looking back. The familiar scent of pine and cypress lingered on the tip of her nose, and every breath she took was filled with his scent. It made her relax physically and mentally, and she couldn't help but smile with joy on her face.
"Are you so happy to be able to leave for Minzhou?" Shen Tingjun asked a little bit strangely.
Sang Nuanyue looked sideways at him. Under the clear sunlight, his figure became more slender and straighter. And he was still wearing black clothes, which made his cheeks whiter and colder, his facial features deep and charming, and even his sinister tone became inexplicably cute.
cute?
Thinking that she would use such a word to describe the majestic and solemn Marquis Wu An, Sang Nianyue couldn't help but want to laugh.
And she actually laughed.
The corners of her mouth were slightly raised, and a shimmering light shone in her peach blossom eyes. She looked at him with a smile, and Shen Tingjun forgot everything he wanted to say at this moment. The dissatisfaction in my heart was cleared away at this moment.
He coughed lightly, turned his head and said forcefully: "It's still a little cold, and the water vapor brought by the river is strong. Go back to the cabin to avoid getting a headache from the wind."
Sang Nuanyue responded: "Okay."
Shen Tingjun took her hand and pulled her towards the cabin.
The two of them are handsome, talented and pretty, they really are a pair of beauties. Looking at it from a distance, one can't help but be jealous and envious.
But no one knew that the hands tightly held together were sweating slightly.
This was the most intimate physical contact the two of them had after Sang Nianyue let her affection for him flow freely after breaking through the window paper.
Although they had done everything they could in the past, for some reason, just holding hands now made people feel uncontrollable heart palpitations, uncontrollable nervousness, and even the blood seemed to become hotter and hotter.
When they arrived at the cabin, Sang Nianyue was still drawing and writing. Shen Tingjun had not processed the official document that had been put aside for two days, and now he is also busy.
The two of them were busy on the two tables. Occasionally, one of them raised his eyes to look at the other, and couldn't help but feel happy. Even the corners of his eyebrows were full of love.
After two days of driving without wind and waves, we passed Hezhou and arrived in Cangzhou in the blink of an eye.
Cangzhou's waterways extend in all directions, and there are many water bandits here. Floods have always been a major problem that troubled the court. The imperial court sent troops to suppress the bandits more than once, but the dense waterways in Cangzhou Prefecture brought great difficulties to the suppression of the bandits. Whenever the sailors attacked, the water bandits fled in all directions along the waterways. Even if they were chased, they would be unable to catch them, but it would be a waste of effort.
Over time, the court also knew that this was not an option. So, he began to think of another way out, which was to recruit people.
However, although the recruitment of water bandits has curbed the evil deeds of water bandits to a certain extent, it has not curbed all water bandits. Today, there are still some water bandits who privately rob passing merchants, and even worse, kill people and steal goods.
Shen Tingjun and his party must have done their homework a long time ago. They knew exactly what they would encounter in the waters here, so as soon as they entered the Cangzhou waters, everyone, including Cheng Yi and Cheng Lin, got busy.
But even if they didn't know, it didn't matter, because on the boats that had been following them earlier, the boat bosses were scolding the water bandits across the wide river for stripping off people when they saw them. Of course, this is still good. After all, there is a "water ghost" in Cangzhou, and he is really cruel and ruthless. As long as he intercepted all the boats, the men would chop them to death and throw them into the river to feed the fish, while the women would be taken back for their pleasure. As for the belongings on the ship, ranging from gold, silver and jewelry to as small as a teapot and tea cup, they will take away everything they can. If they can't take it away, they will scuttle your ship directly. Otherwise, they will set it on fire for you. Keep it clean and ensure that if you want to sue the authorities afterwards, there will be no physical evidence.
Sang Nuanyue was still painting with peace of mind, but the voices of the ship bosses were too loud, and the things they said were too sensational, so she couldn't help but stop writing, her face full of worry.
Shen Tingjun looked over at some point and asked, "Did it scare you?"
Sang Nuanyue nodded and shook her head, "I'm not afraid, I was thinking of the nanny. When the nanny went south alone, I don't know if she met this water bandit."
"Maybe we met, maybe we didn't. After all, we will arrive in Minzhou in a few days. You can ask the wet nurse yourself then."
Sang Nunyue glanced at him and complained softly, "You really can't speak."
Shen Tingjun chuckled: "What did I say wrong again?"
"Can't you say that the nanny must not have met? This will ease my mind and prevent me from regretting that the original arrangement was too careless and almost brought disaster to the nanny."
"Okay, it's my fault, I said the wrong thing."
He was so good-natured as he carried the blame on his back and looked at her with a smile. Sang Nianyue could no longer hold onto her complaints and dissatisfaction. She looked slightly embarrassed, turned slightly to the side, looked at him and asked: "Do you know there are water bandits here? How many people are they? Can we take care of the people on the boat?"
"You don't need to worry about this matter. I have already known about it and made careful arrangements. Don't worry, nothing will happen to you."
That being said, it is obvious that the flooding here is not that serious. So much so that the ship bosses came over after discussion, hoping to find Shen Tingjun to partner with him to fight against the enemy.
After the "Typhoon", the bosses of these ships vaguely took their passenger ship as the leader.
They were driving fast in front, and they were chasing after them desperately. I saw boats racing on the river from time to time, and I didn’t know if I thought this was some kind of large-scale competition.
And this is really because these ship bosses intuitively feel that the people on this ship are not ordinary people. They think that there is a big problem of Cangzhou water bandits ahead, so don't they want to hold on to their thighs to reduce some losses.
However, I have to mention that the intuition of these ship bosses who have been running business all year round is really keen. If they were able to find Shen Tingjun, they have to say that they are really discerning.
But Shen Tingjun had no time to meet them, so he asked Cheng Lin to discuss a charter with them. Don't look at the monk's face, look at the Buddha's face, just look at the face of the people of Daqin, and still give them the protection that should be given.
The boat continued to move forward, and as the water in front became deeper and wider, the dark green color on the river became thicker and thicker. It seems that there are countless ghosts hiding under there. As soon as you relax your vigilance, they will jump out from underneath, catch you and devour you.
It was getting dark, and everyone went back to the cabin to eat and rest. There were only a few sentries left, walking from one side of the plywood to the other, always alert to the movements on the river.
At midnight, Sang Nuanyue put down the book in her hand. She finally couldn't stand it anymore. She yawned twice in succession, and then looked at Shen Tingjun, who was still concentrating on reviewing official documents.
Shen Tingjun raised his head and saw her tearful eyes, knowing that she was very sleepy. He put down his pen, took Sang Nuanyue's hand, and sent her to the cabin where she lived.
"You have a good rest. Don't worry about anything happening outside. Have a good sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, everything will be calm."
The favorite crime spot of the Cangzhou water bandits is within a hundred kilometers of here. Cangzhou is also a small state capital, and you can cross the border in one or two days. The water bandits can only take action tonight, otherwise tomorrow, when they arrive in other state capitals, they will not have the right time and place, so it will be inconvenient for them to take action.
Sang Nianyue looked at Shen Tingjun in front of her. He had been busy all day and reviewed official documents, but there was no sign of fatigue in his eyes. He even had the energy to wait for the night battle at night. He was full of energy and there was a sharp light in his eyebrows, but the eyes he looked at her were so gentle.
Sang Nuanyue said in a soft voice, "Then I'll go in, you... pay attention to safety and don't get hurt."
"good."
Shen Tingjun did not follow, but watched Sang Nuanyue enter the cabin at the door. Then the door slowly closed in front of him, and then he returned to the flower hall and continued busy.
At the second watch, there was still no movement on the river. The people in the cabin seemed to have stayed up for a long time and seemed very sleepy. They finally couldn't help it and leaned against the cabin and snored.
At midnight, when people are most sleepy and tired, sudden changes occur. Many small boats appeared out of nowhere, and many people emerged from under the river and smashed the bottom of the boats with hammers.
Suddenly there was a loud shout on the river.
"Oh no, the water bandits are here and they are building the boat!"
There were killings everywhere, including water bandits, boatmen, guests traveling far away, and even the bosses of ships that were laden with cargo and made a living by traveling from north to south.
The sound of clashing swords, the sound of running and begging for help, and the sound of teacups and cups being knocked to the ground, made the whole river lively for a while.
