“I would be delighted.” Qin Yining smiled and cupped her hands.

Xu Weizhi and Xie Yue also respectfully bowed to Lü Yun.

After exchanging courtesies, they entered the grass hut.

The interior of the grass hut was unexpectedly bright, as the roof leaked wind from all sides, with sunlight streaming through the gaps to fill every corner. On the ground was only a grass mat, a cotton quilt, and in the corner several flat large stones with porcelain cups and a porcelain pot placed on top. On the ground sat a small clay stove with an iron kettle on it, water boiling inside.

That such a great scholar would be willing to live so humbly in such crude conditions for the sake of the warships the court was about to demolish filled Qin Yining with profound respect. After entering the grass hut, she performed the proper bow of a woman greeting an elder.

“Master Lü’s dedication to the country fills this humble woman with admiration. Please accept this bow.”

Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi also sincerely bowed again.

Hearing this, Lü Yun couldn’t help but be moved and quickly reached out to help them up: “Your Highness, please rise. This is what this old man should do. I must thank the prince for his assistance – otherwise, I fear not a single ship would be preserved.”

As they spoke, everyone sat around the large stones.

Lü Yun took the porcelain pot, extracted a handful of tea leaves from a small clay jar, and roughly brewed a pot of tea.

“This place is quite crude – Your Highness, please consider this rustic enjoyment.” Lü Yun poured tea for Qin Yining.

Qin Yining quickly supported the teacup with both hands and smiled: “Thank you, Master.”

Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi didn’t dare trouble Lü Yun further and took the teapot to pour their own tea.

Once everyone was seated again, Qin Yining got straight to the point: “When this humble woman came, the prince had already explained the seaside situation. Has Master selected which ships to preserve?”

Lü Yun sighed lightly, his eyes and brows filled with sorrow and reluctance. “To be honest, I truly can’t bear to part with any of those warships. Unfortunately, the court has issued an edict and the Ministry of Works has arranged for people to begin work. This old man is powerless to stop it and can only use connections to quietly move some of the newer and better warships to the outer side of the dock facing the sea. Even if they’re to be dismantled, they’ll dismantle the inner ones first. But while building ships is difficult, destroying them is easy. These workers are dismantling ships in sequence – of over a hundred warships, half have already been torn down.”

At this point, Lü Yun shook his head and sighed again, pointing toward the city: “How many old navy veterans are shedding tears over this work! These old companions that protected these waters and lands – the men aren’t dead yet, but the ships are being torn apart while still perfectly good.”

Qin Yining sighed: “This is also an unavoidable measure. Petty men spread slander, and His Majesty issued the edict – not dismantling isn’t an option. Fortunately, we have other countermeasures and can do our best to preserve some.”

“Indeed. These are the seeds of fire, and also the hope for the Great Zhou navy’s future.” At this point, Lü Yun changed the topic: “When does the prince plan to act?”

Lü Yun asked vaguely, but Qin Yining had already read his meaning from his eyes that seemed to see through everything.

This old gentleman was truly a sage – he had probably already guessed something.

However, Qin Yining wouldn’t directly hand others leverage against her and smiled: “If there are no accidents, we’ll act tomorrow evening. We need to prepare beforehand, don’t we?”

“Prepare?” Lü Yun smiled. “Since Your Highness has arranged everything, this old man won’t interfere with Your Highness leading people to ‘prepare.’ This old man knows nothing – I’ve only come here to enjoy the sea breeze and look at the warships.”

Hearing him speak thus, Qin Yining was naturally satisfied. Lü Yun was an intelligent man who had already guessed they couldn’t simply preserve the warships without reason – they intended to use the warships for certain purposes. But he didn’t inquire into details.

So, people without excessive curiosity were the ones who could remain safe in this court.

“Master Lü has such refined interests – truly admirable. The seaside is windy and damp, Master should take care of his health.”

“Indeed. This old man plans to leave here shortly.”

After chatting for a while longer, Qin Yining respectfully took her leave.

After Qin Yining and her group had gone far, Lü Yun emerged from the grass hut and gazed at the warships docked nearby and the workers busily dismantling ships. His expression gradually grew complex.

Whether Prince Zhongshun’s actions could preserve the warships remained to be seen. It was said His Majesty had discovered the treasure’s location and left the capital – hopefully His Majesty’s attention would remain focused on the treasure and he wouldn’t inquire about matters here.

“Who would have thought Master Lü would be so approachable,” Xie Yue remarked as they walked along the beach.

Xu Weizhi smiled: “Master Lü is a wise man. Since he’s already sought the prince’s help and agreed to the prince’s conditions, naturally he won’t do anything superfluous.” He then looked at Qin Yining: “Since we’re acting tomorrow night, shouldn’t we have them prepare?”

“Yes.” Qin Yining’s expression grew serious: “When we return, have Master Liao bring the people he’s found. We’ll leave the inn early tomorrow morning.”

“Understood.” Both men nodded in agreement.

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Qin Yining’s group left the inn, with everyone managing their respective tasks as everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

When night fell, workers at the dock were still busily dismantling ships. Several lanterns hung high, though they didn’t provide much illumination across the vast dock, but the shimmering waves on the sea surface created quite a beautiful sight.

In corners unnoticed by anyone, several small boats used the darkness to slowly approach the warships docked at the outer perimeter. Shadowy figures successively boarded over thirty warships. Then people lowered ropes and hoisted heavy chests and cages onto two of the largest warships.

A quarter-hour after the small boats had left the dock, a strange wind suddenly swept across the shore, toppling a lantern on a table beside the work shed.

The candle in the lantern quickly ignited a nearby grass shed. The fire borrowed the wind’s strength, and grass shed after grass shed burst into flames with a whoosh.

“Fire! Fire!” The workers who usually slept in the work sheds during the night had been working late today, avoiding danger, but many had belongings and bedding in the sheds.

With their lodgings on fire, everyone couldn’t worry about dismantling ships and ran frantically toward the sheds to fight the fire.

Who knew that as soon as they left the dock, the mountain-like pile of dismantled ship timber caught sparks, swept by the sea wind, and also ignited with a whoosh. The fire rapidly intensified, sweeping across the entire dock in the fierce wind.

“Heavens! It’s a natural disaster!”

The workers and overseers couldn’t attend to anything else now and hurriedly fled the dock.

The timber and dock burst into flames, then ignited the warships moored at the dock and connected by ropes, one after another.

“What… what can we do about this!”

The local magistrate, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, watched as all the warships caught fire and the entire dock fell into a sea of flames. The damp timber burned with rolling thick smoke, terrifyingly as if they had fallen into hell. The magistrate’s legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.

It was over, all over! The timber His Majesty wanted had been destroyed just like this!