The wind on the river’s surface carried a bloody stench that struck her face. Chen Mingyu stumbled forward, clutching the doorframe as she frantically rushed out. The boat was strewn with two corpses lying haphazardly. She covered her mouth and nose, nearly retching. Taking two more steps forward, she happened to catch sight of the man who had earlier held a large blade to her throat—at this moment, he was being beaten down by the opponent, with barely anyone left at his side, his defeat utterly evident.

Her heart felt both gratified and frightened—these people were certainly no good people; they had all come to take her life. But who knew what these gang members who kept saying “if you don’t want to die, come with us” were really after?

She stood there in a daze, lost in thought, when she suddenly heard someone on the opposite side curse in furious defeat. Instinctively, she looked toward the wind lantern at the bow of the ship, just in time to see the person who had earlier been so imposing and arrogant raise his blade and slit his own throat.

She pressed her hand even more tightly over her mouth, unable to tell whether despair or hatred dominated her heart—this gang was so well-trained that they committed suicide without hesitation once their mission failed. No matter how one looked at it, they weren’t ordinary bandits.

She stood frozen on the boat, letting the howling wind whip painfully at her face, momentarily forgetting to move.

Ma Changjiang irritably kicked the man’s body and cursed viciously, “Search! Damn it, I just can’t believe it—this bunch of bastards really are ruthless to themselves. We held back at every turn, but they sure are cruel to themselves!”

Ma Yongfu said nothing. He somehow pried off a lamp from somewhere and, by its light, meticulously turned over the corpse at his feet, but came up completely empty-handed—this gang was truly cautious enough, leaving not a shred of evidence behind.

But no evidence didn’t matter. They weren’t counting on finding any evidence on these people anyway. Only after Ma Changjiang and the others had gathered around did Ma Yongfu turn to look at the dumbstruck Chen Mingyu. “Do you want us to report this to the authorities?”

Chen Mingyu recognized Ma Wangkun—this person claimed to be a traveling merchant who had accompanied them for a stretch of road before and had even helped them move their luggage, so she knew him. Now seeing him again, doubts rose in her heart like wisps of smoke. This person clearly wasn’t a merchant at all, which meant he had been following her from the start? What exactly did they know?

She stiffly shook her head, completely at a loss as to what path she should take in the future. Standing in place with a vacant gaze for a while, she finally asked them in a hoarse voice, “Just who are you people?”

The wind on the water’s surface made everyone feel chilled to the bone. The crescent moon in the sky gradually hid behind the clouds—it looked like rain was coming. Ma Changjiang kicked a corpse aside and pushed past Ma Wangkun to enter the cabin first. “Let’s go inside first! Check if everyone’s dead. From the sounds earlier, that gang didn’t kill anyone, did they?”

Chen Mingyu took the opportunity to glance at the surrounding water surface. She didn’t see any other merchant vessels—the only two small boats belonged to that gang. If she wanted to escape, with her powerless woman’s body it would be harder than ascending to heaven. She pressed her lips together, hesitating repeatedly, but still followed them into the cabin.

Ma Wangkun was crouching on the ground checking the Chen family’s old grand-aunt’s breathing. Feeling her neck, he breathed a sigh of relief. “She’s not dead, just badly injured. Don’t know if she can be saved.”

Since Song Chuyi had instructed them to ensure the safety of these two people if at all possible, they had to try whether she could be saved or not. Ma Changjiang nodded and made the decision, instructing Ma Wangkun, “You go report to the authorities. Just say we ran into river bandits.”

The waterways had never been very peaceful. Although they were under official jurisdiction, there were too many variables and too many places beyond reach—it had always been a blind spot. Murders and robberies were common occurrences.

Ma Wangkun acknowledged the order. Ma Changjiang then turned to look at Chen Mingyu. “Don’t worry, we won’t kill you. If we wanted to kill you, we wouldn’t have saved you, right?”

Chen Mingyu clutched the doorframe, barely managing to stand steady. Biting her lip, she glanced at the Chen grand-aunt lying on the ground with weak breathing, and a glimmer of hope rekindled in her heart—fortunately the grand-aunt hadn’t died. Since she still had a companion, she felt less afraid. She looked at the somewhat frightening Ma Changjiang, and when she spoke, her voice was even hoarser than before. “What exactly do you want to do?”

The seal pressed against the flesh of her neck, carrying her body heat, yet now it felt abnormally uncomfortable. She stared at Ma Changjiang without blinking, afraid he would say something about a seal.

Fortunately, Ma Changjiang said nothing. He glanced back at Chen Mingyu, then bent down again to lift up the Chen grand-aunt. “Nothing at all. Didn’t we just save your life? These parts aren’t safe. You two women, bringing just two or three guards, dared to travel all that distance to Yingyang—you should count yourselves lucky you didn’t die.”

Chen Mingyu fell silent, the marriage contract tucked in her bosom almost burning through her heart.

Now she couldn’t even go to Yingyang. Consort Fan wouldn’t allow her to live. Her head throbbed with pain. She took a step back, stumbled, and fell onto the boat.

Ma Changjiang laughed once, then kicked Rushuang, who lay unconscious on the ground, waking her up. Seeing her about to open her mouth and scream, he immediately shouted at her, “If you don’t want to die, quickly help your mistress up! There’s also someone seriously injured here who needs a physician!”

Rushuang’s gaze swept blankly around the cabin and indeed saw her young mistress sitting on the ground with a deathly pale face. She hurried forward to help her up, then caught sight of a bloody corpse and couldn’t help but scream. Looking around again, she asked her mistress in confusion, “Miss, where’s Ruqian?”

“Dead!” Ma Yongfu, who hadn’t spoken until now, snorted. “The boatman’s dead too. All four were thrown into the water to feed the fish. If we hadn’t arrived quickly, that would have been your fate as well.”

Rushuang looked at her mistress in terror, her grip on Chen Mingyu’s hand tightening.

By the time they got ashore and settled in, it was already midnight. Ma Changjiang then arranged for someone to fetch a physician to bandage and medicate the Chen grand-aunt. When he finally found time to see Chen Mingyu, the sky was gradually brightening, with some pale light appearing on the horizon.

“We depart at daybreak, heading to the capital.” Ma Changjiang’s words were brief and to the point. “Your belongings are all on the small boat behind. We sorted them out for you and loaded them onto our carriage. We’ll take the land route back, not the waterway.”

Chen Mingyu’s vigilance increased greatly. She looked at Ma Changjiang with complete wariness on her face. “Just who are you people? Who sent you?!”

“Regardless of who sent us, if we leave, with just you few old, weak women and children, you’ll certainly die.” Ma Changjiang’s attitude was cold. “Come with us, and you still have a chance to live. Don’t come, and you die. Choose for yourselves.”