TGPSAC – Chapter 168

Masi. It was the dead of winter, and the biting cold wind howled at the pedestrians like a roaring beast.

The vast fleet that had set out from Great Zhou had dwindled in number. After all, each merchant ship had a different destination, and it was normal for them to head home after completing their objectives.

But the main ship, a symbol of Great Zhou’s might named the Sea God Ship, was like a fortress on the water. It rode the wind and waves into the harbor, its massive anchor chain shattering the ice on the sea’s surface and dropping with a heavy thud.

Jiang Weiyang was called a god who galloped across the seas by various nations, so they simply called her the Sea God.

She wore a python robe, specially bestowed by the sovereign for her meetings with the kings of various countries. She stood ramrod straight on the deck, gazing into the distance.

Jiang Weiyang was the leader of the fleet, so she was expected to meet with the Queen of Masi first. The Queen of Masi was also a Kun Ze, but Masi was different from Great Zhou. Since ancient times, both Qian Yuan and Kun Ze had the right to inherit the throne; they only considered the eldest legitimate heir, regardless of gender.

Masi had an openness that Great Zhou lacked, but Great Zhou had a culture that Masi did not. As a result, the people of Masi were extremely fond of Great Zhou’s porcelain, silk, tea, and other goods.

Items imbued with Great Zhou’s culture sold for very high prices in Masi.

But Masi had its own products as well. It was rich in timber, spices, and oil fields. Although Great Zhou’s use of petroleum was still limited for the time being, Chi Wan was consciously stockpiling it, bringing foreign oil back home.

Given Great Zhou’s current pace of development, petroleum would likely become useful very soon.

A thousand years ago, petroleum had been used in siege warfare. During their voyages, they had also learned from other places how to use it to make preservatives and pigments. Furthermore, through distillation, kerosene could be separated from petroleum, mainly for lighting. Petroleum could also be used for waterproofing buildings and ships.

It might seem that its usage rate was low and these applications wouldn’t consume much petroleum, but from the books Chi Wan had written, the workers of Great Zhou were already beginning to manufacture combustion engine vehicles. Whether they could be popularized was uncertain, but the future importance of petroleum was foreseeable. It was just that its uses had not yet been fully discovered.

There was another matter that excited Chi Wan. Under Yuyu’s leadership, a Great Zhou factory had managed to create a steam engine. Aside from being a bit inefficient and consuming a lot of coal, it had no other faults.

By the time they set sail, the steam engine had already been improved and would soon be put into industrial production.

With the first step successful, the road ahead would be much smoother. It probably wouldn’t be long before steam power could be used for many more things, including the steamships and steam locomotives she dreamed of. Then, Great Zhou could begin constructing railways.

In any case, Great Zhou’s technology was a step ahead everywhere. Before other countries discovered the uses of various energy sources, Great Zhou needed to stockpile as much as possible.

First, use the stockpiles, then use what they mined themselves. Save wherever they could.

Even if they didn’t use it themselves, they could sell some of the minerals elsewhere.

For example, Masi’s coal, silver, copper, iron, and salt mines were quite developed, and the prices were cheap. Turning around and selling them elsewhere would bring in a handsome profit.

In short, they made sure no ship was empty, selling goods to every country they passed and purchasing other goods from those countries to sell. After years of seafaring, Great Zhou knew exactly what each nation needed.

Jiang Weiyang was long familiar with these matters and had done them many times, so Chi Wan and the others didn’t need to worry.

After the incident in Nanyue, they would not be disembarking with Jiang Weiyang this time.

Long before the ship arrived, they had positioned themselves dozens of meters away from Jiang Weiyang, feigning ignorance of her. There was no way they were going to be dragged off the ship with her. They would wait until Jiang Weiyang had left before disembarking.

Chi Wan had changed into martial attire, her sleeves fastened with silver bracers, making the robes less cumbersome.

With Chun Gui and the others, plus some guards, they disguised themselves as a group—no, a merchant caravan. As soon as Jiang Weiyang left, they would go down.

No one in Masi recognized them, but since many merchant caravans from Great Zhou had arrived, they still applied a simple disguise. To call it a disguise was an overstatement; it wasn’t so magical that no one could tell who they were. People familiar with them could still recognize them, but no one familiar with them was in Masi.

When Jiang Weiyang looked over, Chi Wan pretended to be wiping the blade in her hand, acting as if she didn’t see her. The others tacitly busied themselves with their own tasks.

Yu Jiuzhou was even more extreme. She leaned lightly against the cabin wall, her long, fair hands toying with a compass. She was so focused that she played with it until the needle fell off.

Chi Wan couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Fortunately, they were far enough from Jiang Weiyang that she couldn’t hear.

“Is it really okay for us to just leave General Jiang there by herself?” Xia Qu felt a little bad.

Chun Gui said directly, “Why don’t you go keep General Jiang company?”

Xia Qu immediately changed her tune. “I think that one should perform the duties of one’s position. This is what General Jiang ought to do. We retired folk shouldn’t tag along and get in the way.”

Seeing that no one would meet her gaze, Jiang Weiyang looked up at the sky, speechless. So many people had come for nothing. In Nanyue, it was just the sovereign and the Prince, and they had still accompanied her. Now that there were more people, no one would accompany her. What happened to being good friends?

If she could, she would also like to go have fun with them instead of meeting the Queen of Masi. She met her every time she came; how boring!

The Queen of Masi was over seventy. She was fine in other respects, but she was a bit of a chatterbox and forgetful. She would ask what they had just talked about moments after being told.

Nowadays, the affairs of Masi were all handled by the eldest princess. Hopefully, it would be the eldest princess who received her this time, not the queen.

The queen would be fine too, as long as her memory was good today.

Jiang Weiyang disembarked alone. Before she left the ship, she glanced back at them one last time. The group, who had just turned their heads, immediately whipped them back around. Don’t look, don’t look, we can’t see her.

Fine. This group of friends was terrible.

Jiang Weiyang led her officials and guards off the ship. This time, she brought more people than she had in Nanyue, and their bags were packed with more supplies. She absolutely could not let herself be surrounded again. Last time, if the Prince hadn’t been there, Honglin would have likely succeeded.

As soon as they entered that Heigelie Temple, their opponents had separated them from their guards and immediately launched a deadly attack on the guards. It was clear their opponents had no intention of letting them go.

Otherwise, they could have just drugged them, taken the map from the scabbard, and then pretended everyone had drunk too much before putting them back on the ship. It would have been done without anyone knowing, and all this trouble could have been avoided.

This time, regardless of whether what happened in Nanyue would occur again, Jiang Weiyang had to be fully prepared. A gentleman does not stand under a collapsing wall, after all.

Chi Wan and her group watched Jiang Weiyang’s retreating figure. Once she was far away, they immediately called out to the others, “Let’s go, we’re disembarking too.”

Their group didn’t attract any attention at all. The pier was simply too bustling. As soon as Jiang Weiyang left, people from the merchant ships and official vessels all prepared to disembark.

There were officials in charge of trade, some going to check on Great Zhou’s partners in Masi and inspect the goods to be taken away, and people from the various merchant ships. Large merchant ships had hundreds, even thousands, of people.

In an instant, more than ten thousand people flooded the pier. Their group of a few dozen was not large, and they were dressed inconspicuously.

The group began their shopping spree in Masi. This time was much more enjoyable. They could stroll through the streets and buy many interesting things. The only issue was that they couldn’t get used to Masi’s cuisine, so they could only buy some ingredients and prepare them themselves back on the ship.

With so many of them, there were naturally some skilled cooks. Chun Gui’s culinary skills were impeccable, but she specialized in exquisite dishes, not home-style cooking. She was a master at making porridge and desserts.

Xia Qu had been on military campaigns. She often led small squads into battle, so starting a fire and cooking for herself was a common occurrence. She was an expert at cooking in a large pot.

An Yizhi, having spent years in the military, also had decent cooking skills.

Qiu Lai and Zheng Yi were even more capable. They often traveled to various places, sometimes even heading into the mountains themselves to find medicinal herbs, hoping to discover undiscovered but useful plants.

Naturally, they had to start fires and cook on the road, so their skills were also quite good.

Yu Xingchen and Dong Ying, however, were useless. The two of them only knew how to eat, so they could serve as assistants.

Chi Wan was skilled at home-style cooking. After her grandmother passed away, she was left alone at home. To get by, she often bought groceries and cooked for herself. Many times, she would eat something simple in the morning, have lunch at the school cafeteria, and cook dinner for herself at night.

During holidays, she cooked once in the morning and ate it for all three meals. Although it was a bit makeshift, her skills had improved after years of practice.

Of course, Yu Jiuzhou couldn’t cook at all, but she was the sovereign! Who would dare let the sovereign lift a finger? Besides, she was an excellent fisher. In a short while, she had caught a lot of fresh seafood, positioning herself as the primary ingredient provider.

If they wanted, there were also many chefs on the ship, but they had plenty of time and found it quite enjoyable to do it themselves.

One thing, though, was that shopping in Masi wasn’t very interesting. The variety of products was lacking. What interested the group were Masi’s traditional garments, with their natural dyes and rich patterns.

There were also wood carvings, silver jewelry, and leather goods. Great Zhou had these things too, but each place had its own unique characteristics, making them nice souvenirs.

Looking at the diverse wood carvings, Chi Wan became quite interested. She took out her specially forged surgical scalpel, found a piece of wood, and began to learn wood carving. She had many scalpels; practitioners of Chinese medicine also had to learn surgery. After all, it was about integrating Chinese and foreign medicine. She wasn’t a stickler for tradition and naturally learned everything.

But in ancient times, surgery was definitely not performed unless absolutely necessary. Without a sterile environment, the risks were too great. She had a sterile room built on the ship for emergencies. It was certainly inferior to a modern sterile room, but it was sufficient.

After dinner, everyone went about their own business. In the evening, they could experience Masi’s culture, which meant some of the local specialties.

The locals were very enthusiastic, pulling them into song and dance. By the bonfire, Chi Wan took Yu Jiuzhou’s hand, and the two of them joined the group.

If she hadn’t pulled Yu Jiuzhou along, with her personality, she certainly wouldn’t have joined in with everyone, especially with such uninhibited movements, dancing and singing. Yu Jiuzhou would never do such things in front of a third person.

Today, she was swept up by the atmosphere, and Chi Wan was leading her.

In truth, Yu Jiuzhou was very grateful to Chi Wan for letting her experience a different kind of life. Originally, her life was filled with intrigue, sorrow, and predicament. Her entire life would have been a struggle in the mud; she might have achieved what she wanted, or she might have died without a burial place.

It was Chi Wan’s arrival that changed her, making her life rich and colorful. She could do many things she wanted to do, play with ordinary people, leap freely between heaven and earth, and express her emotions. It turned out she could be a playful person too.

One could say that Chi Wan had turned her black-and-white life into one of color.

When the group returned to the ship, Chi Wan and Yu Jiuzhou had just gotten back to their room when Yu Jiuzhou hugged her tightly, burying her head in the crook of her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” She stroked Yu Jiuzhou’s head, curious about what had happened to make her so openly emotional.

From what she knew of her wife, apart from in bed, she rarely had such moments of overt emotion.

Yu Jiuzhou shook her head against her shoulder. “I’m just very happy.”

Happy, huh? Then everything was fine.

Chi Wan chuckled and lifted her up, letting her legs wrap around her hips. “This journey of ours will be very long. We’ll be happy every day.”

After completely retiring and being free of official duties, Yu Jiuzhou didn’t feel a sense of relief. Instead, she felt ill at ease. She had worked so hard for so long, and suddenly having nothing to do felt wrong in every way.

Although she didn’t show it, the offensives in her chess games had become much sharper.

But she had done enough for Great Zhou. Chi Wan had also done a great deal for Great Zhou, for her, and for the common people. They weren’t young anymore. After being busy for so long, it was time for a rest.

Chenchen had also grown up. Historically, very few crown heirs ascended the throne smoothly. This was because emperors valued power too much; even with their own children, they wouldn’t allow them to touch power. The position of crown heir was such that if you did poorly, the emperor would call you useless, but if you did well, the emperor would become wary. If you did neither well nor poorly, you were deemed to lack the qualities and courage to be an emperor.

Being the crown heir was difficult; if one remained the crown heir for decades, it would be hard not to go mad.

Chenchen was a good crown heir. She could freely display her talents, and Yu Jiuzhou didn’t mind.

Chenchen had also shown her that she had the talent and ability to be a good emperor.

And she herself had reached the pinnacle of what an emperor could be, no worse than any emperor in history. She had proven that a Kun Ze could be a strong emperor. It could be said that whether in civil administration, military achievement, or personal goals, she had no regrets.

Since that was the case, why not abdicate? Besides, she had worked for so long, with very little time to spend with her lover each day. Now that she was no longer emperor, she had all the time in the world to be with her lover.

The rest of their time belonged to each other.

When she first abdicated, she truly wasn’t used to it. She even had people send her reports on recent events in Great Zhou and important memorials to read.

One night, Chi Wan suddenly said to her, “My lady, do you think Chenchen is doing a good job as emperor?”

“Yes.”

Of course, she was. She met all her expectations for a successor. Chenchen had not only inherited her strengths but also Chi Wan’s, and the combination would only make her better.

Chi Wan smiled. “If she’s doing well, then we don’t need to worry. We’ve completely handed Great Zhou over to her. It’s just that some rumors in the court have been getting more serious, especially after someone submitted a memorial to us complaining about Chenchen. This has given the officials ideas again. In the end, who do the court officials answer to, the Imperial Villa or the Imperial Palace? The officials are underestimating the new emperor.”

After years of purges, the court had become much better, but many people were still calculating in their hearts. This didn’t really matter; a gentleman judges actions, not intentions. As long as they did their jobs well, what they thought in their hearts was irrelevant.

But a court could not have two centers of power. The officials were afraid—afraid of offending the sovereign, and afraid of offending the new emperor. In their fear, it was very likely they would make mistakes.

Yu Jiuzhou understood this principle, but she was still a little angry. She had been a diligent emperor for twenty-three years, with countless achievements. So what if she had memorials sent to the Imperial Villa for her to read?

In her heart, she also knew it wasn’t as simple as just reading a memorial. As the sovereign, her every move would be infinitely magnified. Under speculation, the officials could indeed waver.

The officials were acting this way precisely because the new emperor had ascended the throne. They were testing the new emperor’s attitude. The struggle between imperial power and official power was one where one side must dominate the other. The officials had been suppressed by her and Chi Wan for so long. Now that Chenchen had taken the throne, they were thinking, perhaps they could increase the power of the officials.

So Yu Jiuzhou had always been cautious. When she wanted to know the situation at court, she had it relayed to her orally and secretly, so outsiders wouldn’t know. But Chenchen definitely knew.

She wasn’t greedy for power; she was just worried that the peaceful and prosperous era she had single-handedly created would run into problems. It wasn’t that she was unwilling to let go, just that she was worried and felt empty, which was why she secretly kept herself informed.

At the time, they were just angry that an official, with Chenchen having already ascended the throne, would actually write a memorial of complaint to them. It was simply absurd.

But she had read the memorial the official submitted. No matter how she handled it, the mere fact that she read it sent a signal to the officials: the sovereign had not yet let go of the court.

Such a small action could be magnified to this extent. A surge of anger rose in Yu Jiuzhou’s heart. It had been too long since she was at court, and her mind had relaxed a great deal. For a moment, she hadn’t considered that reading a memorial could create such a trend, even though she had reprimanded that official at the time.

Chi Wan rubbed her forehead against Yu Jiuzhou’s. In fact, she hadn’t expected it either. The memorial had been delivered; what was wrong with taking a look? The problem was that those officials were deliberately using the opportunity to make a move, even trying to stir up trouble between Chenchen and them.

“I know what you’re thinking, my lady. You’re thinking, although Chenchen performed well as the crown heir, what if she changes after becoming emperor? You can still keep an eye on things. I think, with us watching, she might be even more constrained. Let’s just try it. We won’t manage anything, just go have our own fun and let her handle it herself. Even if it doesn’t work out, don’t we still have us? We can go help her clean up the mess then.”

“And Chenchen is doing very well, so we can rest assured. There was no issue to begin with, but then an official, due to a political disagreement, wrote a memorial to us. It’s truly infuriating. Wasn’t it right to reprimand her? We should have just killed that official at the time.”

She consistently used “we.” She and Yu Jiuzhou were one entity. Whatever the other did was the same as her doing it herself.

Hearing her say this, Yu Jiuzhou’s mood improved considerably.

However, after retiring, Chi Wan had completely stopped paying attention to court affairs. How did she know about this so clearly?

“Did Chenchen tell you?” Given Chi Wan’s personality, she wouldn’t have taken the initiative to find out about these things.

Could it be that Chenchen wanted them to intervene but was too embarrassed to tell her? Yu Jiuzhou pondered for a moment. “Or did someone deliberately let this reach our ears?”

Chi Wan shook her head. “It wasn’t Chenchen. It was Yuyu.”

That child Yuyu was obsessed with research, yet even she knew about it. It seemed the trend at court was quite serious, yet Chenchen hadn’t said a word.

Yu Jiuzhou frowned, then understood. “No, it wasn’t our oversight. No matter what we do, as long as we are alive, the officials will watch our every move. Even if we do nothing, some people will speculate like this.”

The officials would even try to drive a wedge between them and the new emperor to influence her.

This was the reality. It seemed they had handed all power to Chenchen, but in truth, as long as they returned, whether it was the officials, the army, or the common people, they would all look to them.

Then the officials would wonder if the sovereign would agree with a certain policy. Over time, Chenchen would feel that even though she was already the emperor, why did she still have to report everything to her parents?

It was as absurd as an adult who was already working being reported to their parents for something their leader was dissatisfied with.

What’s more, Chenchen wasn’t an ordinary employee; she was the boss.

For a dignified emperor to have a subject complain to her parents was an absurd thing. Their reprimand of that official was not wrong at all.

After learning of the court’s direction, they fell into a strange loop. Should they not have reprimanded him? Would it have been better to hand the memorial directly to Chenchen?

In fact, it was useless. As long as they were alive, Chenchen could never completely control the court.

Chi Wan took a deep breath and held Yu Jiuzhou in her arms, tightening her grip. “Anyway, we’re about to set sail. We won’t be back for a few years. By then, things will be better.”

Jiang Weiyang was already making preparations. It was just that the news of their voyage was secret, and the outside world didn’t know. When autumn came, it would be time for them to set sail.

Yu Jiuzhou thought for a while. She had long wanted to go out and see what other countries were like, what seafaring was like. Seeing the policies she and Chi Wan had implemented take root and create the current landscape, she wanted to experience it for herself.

Therefore, when Chi Wan proposed the voyage, she did not object and was even looking forward to it. Her only worry was that if they left, things would become chaotic for Chenchen.

“Let’s leave this matter to Chenchen. Let’s see how she handles it. Whether she confiscates property or executes people, it will be a good chance for us to see Chenchen’s methods.”

Chi Wan chuckled lightly. “I believe in Chenchen. She will surely quell the rumors with the force of a thunderbolt.”

Yu Jiuzhou raised an eyebrow. She also believed in the successor she had cultivated.

It was just…

“Yuyu only told you about this.” She didn’t even come to her.

Yu Jiuzhou snorted lightly. “It seems they are still closest to you.”

She’s jealous! My wife is actually jealous!

Chi Wan said, amused, “My lady, you’re not going to be jealous of even Chenchen and the others, are you?”

Who would have thought that the lofty empress, so majestic and cold all day, could be so adorable in private? She was truly in love with this contrast.

Yu Jiuzhou rolled out of Chi Wan’s embrace, her tone flat. “It’s fine. I’m closest to you too. In my heart, you are more important than everyone else combined.”

My wife just confessed her love.

Chi Wan chuckled. “No, Yuyu was afraid you would be sad. After all, we just left the capital, and the people we personally promoted have started making things difficult for Chenchen.”

After only twenty-three years, there were still many officials from aristocratic families at court. Even without the aristocratic families, there were fellow townsmen, classmates, and those who passed the imperial examinations in the same year.

Wherever there are people, there is a struggle for interests.

Even if they did their jobs well during the Zhengtong era, would they continue to do so in the Jingshun era? They were loyal to Emperor Zhengtong, but not necessarily to Emperor Jingshun.

Fortunately, before they left, Chenchen handled the matter well. Although her methods were a bit immature, that was from Yu Jiuzhou’s perspective. After all, she had been emperor for many years, saw things from a different angle, and her methods were more mature.

In reality, Chenchen had already done very well. Even without them in the capital, she could handle things perfectly.

Before they left, their family gathered and they shared their thoughts. Although they didn’t discuss politics, mostly talking about life, Chenchen was still very sad. She was a sensitive child and felt that her mother and mother-figure had chosen to travel perhaps to allow her to better control Great Zhou.

It was Chi Wan who smiled and patted her on the shoulder. “After having you all, your mother and I have rarely had time for just the two of us. We’ll take this opportunity to have a good time outside. You all be good at home. If you dare to follow, I’ll break your legs.”

What did she mean, break their legs? The three of them were helpless, but the sadness of parting had lessened a lot.

Chi Wan’s role in the family was to solve all problems, whether big, small, or emotional. As long as you told her, there was nothing she couldn’t solve.

Therefore, Yu Jiuzhou was very grateful and moved by Chi Wan. To have Chi Wan by her side in this life was a blessing from heaven.

Ever since Chi Wan appeared, she was always able to notice her mood changes and then soothe her fluctuating emotions. No matter when, she could always rely on Chi Wan.

After setting sail, they had completely left Great Zhou behind. They would probably only learn of what happened in Great Zhou when they returned. How could she not overthink?

But it was just contemplation, mostly thinking before sleep, not too much.

It wasn’t until the incident in Nanyue, when Great Zhou occupied Nanyue—a situation that had been managed for so long that it might have been possible to occupy Nanyue without a single soldier—that she found herself thinking again. What would Chenchen say? Would any officials feign compliance while acting in defiance, taking advantage of the new emperor’s perceived weakness to cause trouble?

Perhaps it was because she saw her overthinking that Chi Wan always found new ways to cheer her up. The first thing she did upon arriving in Masi was to take her out to have fun everywhere.

Chi Wan was very perceptive of emotions. She knew that Yu Jiuzhou was not a sensitive or suspicious person; her emotions were generally very stable. This time, there was a reason for it. First was the appearance of the nine-eyed snake.

The consequences of the nine-eyed snake’s venom were very serious, perhaps even comparable to opium.

Additionally, once the fleet was at sea, they were completely cut off from Great Zhou. It was a place she had managed for a long time, and knowing that a war was about to break out, it was probably impossible not to think about it.

Most importantly, there was the ancient fear of the sea. Even those who frequently went to sea would leave last words for their families. Once something happened at sea, it was almost a certain death sentence.

On the vast ocean, ten thousand ships were but a tiny speck. It was nothing like the security of standing on land.

The combination of these various emotions had caused Yu Jiuzhou’s mind to be tense. Fortunately, after tonight’s fun, her mood had improved a lot.

And so, Yu Jiuzhou held onto Chi Wan tightly and didn’t let go.

Chi Wan sympathetically stroked her back, soothing her emotions.

“It’s okay.”

She took Yu Jiuzhou’s wrist and began to take her pulse. Overthinking could lead to illness. She felt that Yu Jiuzhou was psychologically strong and shouldn’t have such complex and numerous emotions.

One thing was that while Yu Jiuzhou’s psyche was strong, she was also sensitive and delicate. Her coldness was a layer of defense on the surface.

It was because of this that Chi Wan paid close attention to Yu Jiuzhou’s mental state. The saying “a single wrong thought can turn one into a demon” referred to people of her temperament.

The emotional fluctuations of retirement were significant. First, a brief period of excitement, followed by a sense of loss and a crisis of value. One might even repeatedly recall past scenes of handling official duties, pay attention to court trends, and develop the idea of being abandoned by the times.

Chi Wan had studied psychology and roughly understood this state. Because the body and mind were previously in a tense state, suddenly breaking away from it caused a physiological intervention in the psyche, leading to a sense of disparity.

Fortunately, it seemed Yu Jiuzhou had already come out of it.

As for why she hadn’t experienced it, she wasn’t a workaholic. She couldn’t wait to retire. She thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of having nothing to do.

The two held each other for a long while. Yu Jiuzhou, who had been down for some time, suddenly felt a surge of passion and began to enjoy the trip. And so, the empress, who rarely took the initiative, began to take the lead.

Although she was the receptive partner, who decreed that the receptive partner couldn’t be on top?

…

In the early morning, the inky blue sea surface gradually turned red. A magnificent orange-red slowly rose, soon illuminating the sea. The beauty of the sunrise was best appreciated at sea.

Chi Wan stood tall and straight on the deck. Behind her, Yu Jiuzhou sat in a chair, sipping tea. They had chosen to wake up early today to appreciate the beauty of the sunrise.

It was indeed beautiful, so beautiful that it was almost impossible to look away.

Chi Wan’s gaze turned towards Masi. The entire island of Masi was half-hidden in a hazy mist, like a celestial island where one might encounter immortals upon setting foot.

The salty sea breeze blew on their faces. Due to the abundance of wood on the ship, a faint, pleasant scent of timber lingered, diluting the fishy smell of the sea.

Masi was a nice place. Though small, it had everything. On the surface, the people’s lives seemed decent. They were poor, but everyone’s happiness index was high, their faces beaming with smiles.

The sun was just right today, so they naturally wouldn’t stay on the ship. Although Masi was small, it couldn’t be explored in a single day. They could go to a different area to wander around today.

As the group strolled, they didn’t notice several people following behind them, muttering something.

Chi Wan could hear them, but she couldn’t understand the Masi language.

“Those few are fat sheep, small merchants. Snatch their money pouches and run for Black Sand Beach. No one dares to go there. As long as we make it to Black Sand Beach, the money is ours.”

“But Black Sand Beach is too dangerous. We’d better not go in.”

“Useless! If we don’t go into Black Sand Beach, the money will be taken back. You can run elsewhere, but if you get caught, it’s the gallows.”

“Stealing from people of Great Zhou carries too heavy a penalty. Why don’t we pick someone else, boss?”

“No. The common people of Masi are too poor, and we can’t mess with the nobles. Only these merchants from Great Zhou. We’ll rob them and hide in Black Sand Beach. Once their fleet leaves, we can come out. Don’t forget, the labor conscription is about to start, and this time it’s for Black Sand Beach. If we have money, we won’t have to do forced labor. Besides, we can just hide on the outskirts of Black Sand Beach, no need to be afraid.”

The men discussed for a while and then made up their minds. No one wanted to go to Black Sand Beach. Rather than entering its depths, they would take a gamble. If they managed to get the money, they could pay to change their lower-class status and become workers, thus avoiding the forced labor.

Chi Wan and her group had no idea they were being targeted as fat sheep.

This district was different from the one they had visited yesterday. The goods sold here were much cruder, with nothing much to buy. From time to time, children would kneel before them, saying something.

Yu Jiuzhou understood multiple languages and could understand them.

“They want us to give them money. Some want us to buy things from their parents’ stalls.”

Yu Jiuzhou asked someone where they were and only then did they realize they had wandered into the slums of Masi.

Masi was divided into four areas: the royal palace, the noble district surrounding the palace, the commoner district surrounding the noble district, and finally, the slums.

The slums were inhabited by Masi’s “lower-class people.” They could only do unpaid hard labor. Paying jobs were only available to commoners; these people could only be slaves.

No, even the nobles’ slaves wouldn’t be chosen from them, unless they had money to buy themselves a commoner’s status. Only then could they go out to work and earn money.

Otherwise, the nobles would only think of them when it was time for labor conscription.

As for the nobles, they didn’t have to work. They had many businesses, and the trade with Great Zhou was monopolized by the royal family. The nobles followed behind to drink the soup, while the commoners had more job opportunities. Only those living in the slums, the “lower-class people,” had nothing and had to risk their lives for forced labor.

Chi Wan and the others knew Masi had slums, but they hadn’t expected the people there to live in such hardship. However, thinking back to the plight of the lower-class people in Great Zhou back then, their lives had only improved for a few years. Great Zhou’s focus naturally had to be on its own people.

As for the people of Masi, they sympathized, but they wouldn’t do anything. Their own people had just become well-fed, and those in extremely difficult areas were still not. They didn’t have extra money to meddle in other countries’ affairs.

Besides, Masi had done a lot of business with Great Zhou over the years and was certainly wealthy. The population of Masi wasn’t that large. If they really wanted to provide relief to the people, feeding them would probably not be a problem, unlike Great Zhou, which was so large that poverty alleviation was difficult.

“Let’s go, let’s leave this place.” They had followed some small merchants in and didn’t think much of it at first. The streets were quite crowded, but as more and more people started blocking their way, they realized something was wrong.

The street they were on was not the center of the slums, but at the border between the slums and the commoner district. There was a street here where commoners came to sell things, or to buy things cheaply.

The same items bought here were much cheaper than in other districts.

Chi Wan shielded Yu Jiuzhou and started to walk out. Even though they weren’t dressed lavishly, sticking to black, white, and gray, many people looked at them with a bloodthirsty glint in their eyes. It was unclear whether they saw them as easy marks to be ripped off or had other ideas. It was best to leave first.

They had originally intended to go to another street in the commoner district, which was said to be very lively and more fun than the one they visited yesterday, but they had taken a wrong turn.

Just as the group was exiting the street, a tall man kicked a child, sending him sprawling in front of them, while shouting curses.

Yu Jiuzhou, who understood, frowned. From her expression, Chi Wan knew the man’s curses were vile.

Seeing the man about to hit the child again, Chi Wan was about to step forward to stop him when several figures suddenly crashed into them. She subconsciously drew her blade to protect Yu Jiuzhou.

Perhaps seeing the blade in her hand, the person who was about to bump into her swerved and headed for Chun Gui instead. Fortunately, An Yizhi reacted quickly and blocked Chun Gui.

But the person’s hand grabbed at her waist, snatching An Yizhi’s money pouch in an instant. The others followed suit, pretending to bump into people, and when someone moved to protect another, they would take the opportunity to steal that person’s wallet.

The most ridiculous thing was when Yu Xingchen went to protect Xia Qu, only to be pushed aside by Xia Qu, who then kicked the assailant to the ground.

So much happened in just a few seconds. Those people were clearly practiced criminals and ran very fast. Xia Qu immediately gave chase, and Yu Xingchen hurried after her.

“Xia Qu, don’t chase them!”

The men scattered and ran. The burly man was gone, and the child had also vanished. It was obvious that the whole thing had been an act to distract them.

Chi Wan immediately thrust her blade into the ground in front of the man Xia Qu had kicked down. The man panicked and started babbling something.

Yu Jiuzhou tensed. “He says if we don’t stop our companions, if we let them keep chasing, they will enter the Black Sand Beach area, and not a single one of them will come back. If we let him go, he will lead us to our companions.”

They had naturally learned about Masi before coming and knew what Black Sand Beach meant. Legend had it that sea ghosts claimed lives there, and no one who entered ever came out alive. What if Xia Qu accidentally entered?

Chi Wan immediately said, “An Yizhi, take Yu Jiuzhou and the others back to the ship. I’ll take this man and go after Xia Qu and Yu Xingchen.”

“No, I’m going with you.” Yu Jiuzhou didn’t want her to risk it alone.

“You’ll distract me if you’re by my side.”

“But without me, you won’t understand what he’s saying.”

They were at a standoff for three seconds before Chi Wan said, “An Yizhi, take out your gun.”

Yu Jiuzhou didn’t have a gun, and she was worried. She also secretly resolved that she must learn foreign languages. She knew several, but not the languages of all their destinations. But with her learning ability, she was confident she could learn them quickly.

Yu Jiuzhou also knew why Chi Wan didn’t want her to go. Although her internal energy was good, she didn’t know how to use it. When she returned, she was determined to learn how to use her internal energy so she would never hold Chi Wan back.

With their minds made up, Chi Wan took out a pill and put it in the man’s mouth, having Yu Jiuzhou tell him that the pill was poisonous and he would die if he didn’t cooperate.

An Yizhi was worried, but some in their group didn’t know martial arts. She could only leave her backpack behind and lead the others away. Legend had it that Black Sand Beach was a very sinister place; she had to get back and fetch reinforcements as quickly as possible.

Dong Ying and several secret guards certainly wouldn’t leave. Their mission was to protect the sovereign; they would never return on their own.

Chi Wan pulled Yu Jiuzhou along, practically flying. Dong Ying and the others, dragging the Masi man, also ran at top speed.

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