Bai Ruozhu instructed Jianqi to check outside for any signs of people. Once she was completely certain it was safe, she quietly gave Jianqi a small porcelain bottle and then gave him a few instructions.
"Master, if you don’t order me to refrain, I’m afraid I’ll be unable to resist taking action," Jianqi said indifferently.
Bai Ruozhu let out a snort of laughter. For someone as calm and composed as Jianqi to be on the verge of speaking out meant that Dang Youshen must be incredibly annoying. For a man to be that troublesome was indeed vexing.
"Wait until the dead of night to make a move. Just waving it in front of his nose should be enough, but be very careful," Bai Ruozhu added.
"Understood, I will remember," Jianqi said, securing the medicine bottle and bowing as he exited.
In truth, Bai Ruozhu wasn’t too worried. On this boat, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to detect Jianqi’s movements, and even those who could, like Chenfeng and Muyu, were experts on her side, so there was no need for concern.
However, something went wrong that night...
That night, after Bai Ruozhu finally managed to lull her son to sleep, Jiang Yichun wrapped her up in some pre-sleep activities. Because the boat was somewhat shaky, those activities felt different from usual, providing a unique pleasure that totally engrossed Jiang Yichun, and he clung to her for an even longer while.
"This big boat’s swaying isn’t extreme enough. It would be interesting on a smaller boat," Jiang Yichun said, a mischievous smile spreading across his handsome face. He reached out and pinched her smooth waist, feeling that his wife was so tender that he always wanted to take a bite—the skin was so delicate it seemed water could be squeezed out of it.
Bai Ruozhu, already worn out to the point where she could barely keep her eyes open, gave him a look of thanks, which ended up looking even more seductive.
"Is it that all men are this lecherous, or are you just exceptional?" she bit down a little harder on the words "exceptional."
Jiang Yichun chuckled softly, his mouth nibbling at her collarbone. "Isn’t it said that if a man isn’t bad, a woman won’t love him?"
Hissing in pain, Bai Ruozhu took a sharp breath and pinched his ear, but he turned over and pressed down on her, intending to engage in another round of pre-sleep activity. However, his movements suddenly halted as if he had heard someone shouting, "Assassin!"
Bai Ruozhu naturally heard it too and quickly pushed him, her thoughts instantly turning to Jianqi. She wondered if Jianqi could have been so incompetent as to be caught. Of course, she also believed that even if Jianqi was discovered, he could still manage to hide successfully. But with something happening on the boat, Jiang Yichun, as the top commander, couldn’t possibly continue to indulge in his passions.
Jiang Yichun’s good time was interrupted, and his eyes were filled with rage. Bai Ruozhu chuckled and pushed him, saying, "Hurry up, or soldiers will come to report soon."
Reluctantly getting dressed, he muttered complaints as Bai Ruozhu, also chuckling, got dressed herself to avoid any awkwardness in case someone should enter.
Sure enough, just after the two of them dressed, a soldier came to report, "My lord, suspicious figures were detected on the deck, appearing to be two people, and they were fighting when discovered."
Two people? Bai Ruozhu was taken aback. Could it be that they weren’t Jianqi, but actual assassins? She became nervous, moving closer to the middle of the bed and grabbing little Dengdeng’s chubby hand, thinking that if real danger arose, she would take her son and hide in Space.
The first person she thought of was Zhou Jue, given his excellent swimming abilities; the last incident had left her with no small amount of trauma. Now, whenever she saw water, she thought of Zhou Jue.
"Stay put inside the room. I will have someone protect you, and I’ll be back soon," Jiang Yichun told Bai Ruozhu before quickly exiting the cabin.
At the door, he called out, "Chenfeng, Muyu, guard my wife." His voice paused, "Where is Muyu?"
Chenfeng, with his head bowed, replied, "He went to the toilet earlier, he might also be chasing the assassins now."
Jiang Yichun said with some displeasure, "Remember what your task is, don’t leave your post without permission."
"Yes." The morning breeze quickly bowed his head; his master had arranged for them to protect the lady’s safety.
"Tell Muyu to go and receive his punishment later." Jiang Yichun said coldly, leaving behind this sentence before walking away.
Bai Ruozhu shook her head in the room, thinking to herself that Achun was being too harsh. After all, everyone has their emergencies; even dark guards need to relieve themselves sometimes, right?
Forget it, she would plead for Muyu later when Achun returned, Bai Ruozhu thought.
But very quickly, she lost all sympathy for Muyu and even wished that Jiang Yichun would double his punishment.
Jianqi appeared soon after. He didn’t hide anything from the morning breeze and bowed to Bai Ruozhu before speaking with a distressed face, "I failed to perform my duty, please punish me, Master."
Bai Ruozhu frowned and asked, "Was that you on the deck just now? Weren’t people supposed to be in the Ship Cabin? Why did you go up to the deck?" Her eyes suddenly widened, "Just now, the soldiers reported that two people were fighting on the deck, the other wasn’t Muyu, was it?"
Before Jianqi could answer, Bai Ruozhu demanded sternly, "Morning breeze, you tell me, I don’t believe you don’t know anything."
Jianqi had just come in, not avoiding the morning breeze, which already said a lot about the situation.
With his neck shrunken, the morning breeze entered the cabin, knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and said, "Muyu couldn’t stand that guy, so he made the excuse of going to the toilet at night. I guessed he was planning to deal with the man and didn’t manage to stop him."
Jianqi’s voice was very cold as he said, "When I got there, he was about to silence Dang Youshen’s vocal point, ready to beat him up; I hurried over to stop him, but he insisted on fighting with me. Then, the guards were alerted, and I hurriedly drew them up to the deck."
Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched. This Muyu was simply more trouble than he was worth!
"Where is he now? Bring him to me!" Bai Ruozhu said through clenched teeth.
Muyu walked in from outside, his face covered in dirt, and fell to the ground with a thud, saying, "Please punish me, Madam."
Bai Ruozhu glared at him harshly and said, "You are one of your master’s competent men; isn’t he always the most rule-abiding? Does he allow you to make decisions on your own and act freely?"
Muyu hurriedly said, "No, it was my rashness."
Bai Ruozhu snorted coldly and said, "I’m not saying you’re not allowed to take your anger out on others, but you should also use your brain. If you beat someone, your master, as the commanding officer of the team, does he need to vouch for the members of the Study Palace? Does he need to find out the truth and provide explanations? You might manage to do it without anyone knowing, but your master still has to clean up after you. Do you really think you’ve avenged me?"
Muyu’s face turned red down to his neck. He was somewhat impulsive and had been punished many times before. This time he just couldn’t hold back his anger and thought that if it didn’t work out, he could just receive twenty military sticks; after all, his tough skin would heal in a few days.
As if she could read minds, Bai Ruozhu saw through his thoughts instantly and scoffed, "You think you are not afraid of punishment, but have you ever thought about how much recuperation time your punishment would entail? With just us here, being one man down means increased danger."
Muyu’s head drooped to the ground as he was rebuked. "Madam, I know I was wrong. I will never act so rashly again," he said.