Hearing the words “General,” Xie Shengxiao was slightly startled.

Qiao Zhao smiled: “Miss Xie, come meet the other people on our ship.”

“Is now appropriate?” Xie Shengxiao asked.

“Of course. With several more young ladies on the ship, we need to discuss arrangements with Miss Xie.”

Xie Shengxiao nodded upon hearing this.

Walking beside Qiao Zhao, looking at the girl who was half a head shorter than her, she sighed inwardly.

She had always thought she wasn’t an ordinary girl and would one day protect the country like a man. Now it seemed there were many extraordinary girls, like this Miss Li beside her, who, despite her young age, naturally possessed a composed bearing.

Xie Shengxiao felt somewhat dazed again.

This kind of bearing—she had seen it in A’Chu.

A’Chu was also like this, as if she would never panic no matter what happened.

Qiao Zhao stopped and turned to smile: “Miss Xie, we’re here.”

Xie Shengxiao followed Qiao Zhao inside and immediately saw Shao Mingyuan, causing her to freeze.

Shao Mingyuan nodded in greeting: “Miss Xie.”

Seeing that Shao Mingyuan knew the rescued young lady, Chi Can and Yang Houcheng couldn’t help but exchange glances.

Qiao Zhao’s lips twitched slightly.

This fellow was quite good at pretending—unable to see, yet he knew how to greet first.

“So it’s Lord Marquis.” Seeing it was Shao Mingyuan, Xie Shengxiao felt relieved but also somewhat conflicted.

How could it be Marquis Guanjun?

She had heard much about Marquis Guanjun’s deeds. She admired this man but didn’t like him.

Toward the man who had personally shot and killed her good friend, she truly couldn’t develop any favorable feelings.

“I just asked Miss Xie—they are the batch of women that Big Hu sold to the Japanese pirates.”

“Big Hu?” Hearing this name, Xie Shengxiao’s expression changed slightly.

Qiao Zhao explained: “Not long ago, we encountered a ship where everyone was dead except one survivor. After rescuing him, we learned they were human traffickers who did business with Japanese pirates. Because they couldn’t reach an agreement, they were wiped out by the pirates.”

Chi Can looked at Qiao Zhao with puzzlement.

Why was Third Miss Li so patient in explaining this to the rescued person?

“Where is that Big Hu?” Xie Shengxiao asked coldly.

Qiao Zhao smiled: “If Miss Xie wants to settle accounts with Big Hu, there’s no rush.”

Xie Shengxiao calmed down: “I was too hasty. If that Big Hu is no longer useful to you all, please hand him over to me.”

She wanted to encourage those victimized young ladies to each stab that beast once—only then could they be freed from their nightmares and dare to live on.

“No problem,” Qiao Zhao agreed.

“Miss Xie, your escape from danger must have involved considerable hardship. Why don’t you go freshen up now? When mealtime comes, someone will bring food to you,” Shao Mingyuan said.

Xie Shengxiao glanced at Shao Mingyuan and curtsied: “Thank you for your rescue, Lord Marquis. I’ll take my leave now.”

Qiao Zhao followed suit: “I’ll escort Miss Xie back.”

Watching the beauty disappear at the doorway, Chi Can muttered: “Since when has Third Miss Li been so warm-hearted?”

Though Shao Mingyuan couldn’t see, his eyes looked toward the doorway as he helplessly touched his chin.

He had called Zhaozhao over to discuss the information about Mingfeng Island that they’d extracted from the surviving Japanese pirate, which was why he had sent Miss Xie away.

Unexpectedly, after sending Miss Xie away, Zhaozhao had left too.

The young general felt somewhat deflated, thinking with considerable displeasure: Why did he have the ominous feeling that his wife was about to be lured away?

This Miss Xie—better find a way to send her off early.

The three men waited foolishly for a while without seeing Qiao Zhao return. Yang Houcheng stood up: “Let me check if the food is ready. What a day this has been—both tiring and hungry.”

“What’s the rush? When the food is ready, someone will naturally come to call us. Tingquan, you know that Miss Xie?” Chi Can asked.

“We’ve met once. Miss Xie is the daughter of a family friend of the Qiao family, living in Baiyun Town. I visited the Xie residence once.”

Chi Can raised an eyebrow: “Visiting a family friend, and you got to meet their daughter?”

With his friend’s status and position, countless families would fight to curry favor. Third Miss Li’s family background wasn’t good either—better not let someone take advantage without realizing it.

Shao Mingyuan couldn’t help but smile: “I encountered her by chance. Shixi, I know what you’re worried about. Rest assured, I’m not that foolish.”

Chi Can rolled his eyes: “If you’re not foolish, who is?”

Back when he married his wife, he wrote a whole box of letters, but his wife never received a single one—if that wasn’t foolish, what was?

“Tingquan, we’ve agreed. Third Miss Li following you is fine, but you’d better handle the relationship between her and your mother properly. She doesn’t have a family like the Qiao family to rely on. Don’t let her follow you in her prime years only to—”

He was willing to let go and help them be together, but only if Shao Mingyuan would give his beloved girl a good life. If Third Miss Li was tormented to death by that old witch at Marquis Jing’an’s residence, they could no longer be brothers.

Shao Mingyuan’s heart ached as he smiled bitterly: “Shixi, you don’t need to remind me. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

“That’s good then,” Chi Can said coolly.

Yang Houcheng listened to his two friends’ conversation, worriedly tugging at his hair.

Why could they discuss such topics so brazenly in front of him? Was he a screen or something?

Perhaps this thought made Young Master Yang somewhat unhappy, so his brain misfired and he joined in: “Tingquan, I suddenly thought of a problem.”

“What problem?”

“If Miss Li marries you, wouldn’t she be a second wife?”

The smile on Shao Mingyuan’s lips froze.

Chi Can directly slapped Yang Houcheng: “Are you mentally deficient?”

Yang Houcheng covered his head, greatly aggrieved: “What did I do wrong?”

Wasn’t it just joining the discussion? They could treat him like a screen and leave him aside, but he wasn’t allowed to participate?

“Bringing up such a question—if you’re not mentally deficient, what are you?”

“Shouldn’t this be quite an important issue? Young ladies would certainly care about it,” Yang Houcheng reasoned.

Chi Can glanced at Shao Mingyuan: “Don’t listen to Yang Er’s nonsense. Third Miss Li isn’t someone who cares about such things.”

Even ordinary young ladies wouldn’t mind being Marquis Guanjun’s second wife; willing young ladies would probably line up from the marquis’s residence to the city gates.

At this moment, Chen Guang came to report: “General, Miss Li says she’s helping Miss Xie and the others get settled and will come find you after she’s finished.”

Shao Mingyuan stood up: “Then let’s disperse for now.”

Zhaozhao should be going to his room to find him—better head back to his quarters.

The young general waited and waited in his room, finally receiving the long-delayed Miss Qiao.

“All settled?”

“Mm, they were quite frightened, and they hadn’t bathed or groomed themselves during these days at sea, so I had A’Zhu and Binglu help arrange things for them. By the way, did you learn anything from questioning the surviving Japanese pirate?”

“We did learn something. Besides those we dealt with this time, there are still over eighty people on Mingfeng Island—fewer than expected, so we’ve decided to proceed with the plan.”

“It would be good to eliminate those Japanese pirates.” Thinking of Xie Shengxiao’s words, Qiao Zhao reminded: “That island seems rather strange.”