“Quick, save them!”
The first squad leader had meant to pursue the river pirates, but seeing the passenger ship start to sink, he shouted towards the other lifeboat instead.
Both lifeboats immediately approached the passenger ship at full speed.
“Boatman, hurry up and bring the boat closer to rescue people!”
Guan Zhuzi stamped his foot in anxiety.
The boatman was right beside him. Hearing Guan Zhuzi’s words, he quickly directed the boat hands to draw near the passenger ship.
But the cargo ship was too large and laden with heavy goods, making it cumbersome and slow to manoeuvre.
“Damn it!”
On the cargo ship, Old Zhou smashed the railing hard and barked coldly, “Target them for me. Do not let a single one escape!”
“Yes!”
The heavy crossbows on the deck all swivelled around, ready to fire once the pirates drew further from the passenger ship.
But at that moment, the river entered a bend, and the current suddenly grew fiercer.
The cargo ship became unstable too. It only struck two pirate skiffs, while the rest of the pirates fled into the distance.
On the passenger ship, the boat hands rushed out from the cabins one after another, crowding onto the deck.
Even the usually composed Ninth Princess now had an extremely grim expression.
In truth, when the boatman told her he had bribed the river pirates along the route in advance, the Ninth Princess had sensed something amiss.
But before she could confirm it, let alone warn the guard captain, the pirates had already attacked.
When using the mast still failed to drive off the pirates, the Ninth Princess knew they might be done for this time.
Yet just then, she spotted the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency’s cargo ship.
One had to admit, the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency acted with remarkable speed. No sooner had she sent the distress letter aboard than the escorts launched their rescue.
Unfortunately, it was still too late.
At the rate the river water flooded in, the passenger ship would submerge completely in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
“Your Highness, the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency’s boats are here!”
Qin’er pointed at the river surface. “Your Highness, prepare to board.”
The Ninth Princess glanced back at the cabin and sighed helplessly.
The cabin held the many gifts prepared for the journey to Tubo.
But the Ninth Princess knew now was no time to fret over them. At worst, she could send people later to salvage what remained.
She reached into her bosom to check that the marriage alliance’s state letter was safe, then hurried to the deck’s edge under Qin’er’s protection.
Guards, boat hands, servants, labourers…
The deck was now packed with people.
Everyone had a survival instinct. With death imminent, the boat hands cared nothing for princesses or rank; they all swarmed towards the side with the lifeboats.
The scene descended into chaos.
“Protect Her Highness!”
The guard captain proved competent, immediately leading his team to separate the Ninth Princess from the boat hands.
By the time the first squad leader brought his boat alongside the passenger ship, it had already sunk halfway.
“Who is Miss Mu Lan’s cousin? Please board quickly!”
The first squad leader called up, craning his neck.
“Here!”
Qin’er brought the Ninth Princess to the lifeboat’s side. “Can you not see Her Highness’s phoenix robe?”
“Princess?”
The first squad leader was momentarily stunned.
He had spotted the Ninth Princess long ago, after all. Her garments were far too ornate, standing out amid the servants and guards.
But the first squad leader, who could barely recognise a single character, had no way to identify her status from her attire.
Not just him; even Guan Zhuzi and the others on the cargo ship only knew Wu Yang was Qing Mu Lan’s cousin and had no idea she was a princess!
“Yes, this is the Ninth Princess of our realm!”
Qin’er declared, chin held high. “Hurry and bring the boat closer to welcome Her Highness aboard!”
Who would have thought, as soon as the words left her mouth, the first squad leader pushed off the passenger ship’s hull, sending the lifeboat drifting a few metres away.
“Sorry, but Miss Mu Lan’s cousin has not boarded yet. No one else can go first!”
The first squad leader shouted, neck thrust out stubbornly.
Far from the mountains, the emperor’s reach was distant. Imperial authority still held strong sway in the eyes of hill folk like the first squad leader, but it was not paramount.
In his heart, the most important person was Jin Feng, who paid his wages and supported his family.
As for the emperor, besides collecting taxes, what had he ever done for him?
Thus, to the first squad leader, Qing Mu Lan’s close cousin carried far more weight than some unheard-of Ninth Princess.
The Ninth Princess knew this full well, which was why in her letter to Guan Zhuzi she sought aid only as Qing Mu Lan and Qing Huai’s cousin, off to visit Jin Feng at Xi He Bay, without a word of her princess status.
“Hero, I am indeed Cousin Mu Lan’s and Brother Qing Huai’s cousin.”
The Ninth Princess stepped forward. “The letter just now was penned by my own hand.”
“Why did you not say so earlier!”
The first squad leader quickly brought the lifeboat back alongside.
“Your Highness, forgive my presumption!”
Fearing the first squad leader might cause more trouble, Qin’er simply wrapped her arms around the Ninth Princess and leapt from the passenger ship, landing steadily on the lifeboat.
By now, the others had crowded to the deck’s edge too.
The guard team remained dutiful, still holding back the boat hands even now to prevent them from jostling the lifeboats.
Such discipline was rare indeed in the Da Kang army.
“Zhu’er, Cui’er, you come too! Captain Qin, take three more men to the other lifeboat!”
The Ninth Princess called up.
The passenger ship was on the verge of sinking, and the cargo ship still distant. The two lifeboats, each with five escorts aboard already, could take at most three or four more per boat.
Guard Captain Qin Ming was the third son of the Imperial Forest Army’s Grand Commander. The Qin family had always been staunch royalists, so while other guards and servants could be left, Qin Ming must be saved.
Zhu’er and Cui’er, like Qin’er, were the Ninth Princess’s personal maids, trained from childhood as royal experts.
Zhu’er and Cui’er heard and vaulted into the boat.
But Qin Ming did not move.
The water now lapped within two feet of the deck, and most guards could not swim, clad as they were in heavy armour, doomed to sink with the ship.
Qin Ming was a proper soldier and could not abandon his men to save himself alone.
“What, away from the capital, does Captain Qin now ignore my words?”
The Ninth Princess raised her voice slightly. “Captain Qin, right now, take three men to the other boat at once!”
“Yes!”
Qin Ming had been raised to obey royal commands without question.
With shame on his face, he clasped fists towards his guards. “Brothers…”
“Captain, say no more. We all know the man you are!”
One guard laughed. “Brothers in the next life!”
“Brothers in the next life!”
The other guards roared in unison!
“Brothers in the next life!”
Qin Ming bellowed too, then leapt aboard the lifeboat. “Zhong Kuiyong, Liang Tongji, Yan Chi, on board!”
“Brothers in the next life!”
The other three guards shouted as one and followed him aboard.
All three were burly fellows in heavy armour, nearly capsizing the lifeboat.
“Fine men all, just not the sharpest tools!”
The first squad leader, caught up in the guards’ spirit, called out, “At a time like this, why are you still in that heavy armour? Afraid you will not sink fast enough?”
