An hour later, it was dawn.
There were seventy bandits who attacked the official ship last night. Most of them died, and the rest were seriously injured. The escorting boatman on the official ship also suffered casualties.
Wang Tong is worthy of being the commander of the East Palace guards, and he handles such matters neatly. Only the two slightly injured gangsters were left to interrogate the details, and the rest were sent to the nearest government office for filing and disposal.
The injured escort boatmen on the official ship were all sent to the cabin for treatment and bandaging. Although the emperor's grandson was traveling in secret, he also brought a skilled physician with him on board. Dealing with these skin injuries is nothing.
Dozens of East Palace guards kept fetching water from the river to wash the ship's planks, and the wet blood stains on the ship's planks were quickly washed away. Only the lingering smell of blood remained.
"... Your Highness, everything has been taken care of." Wang Tong, who had been busy for half the night, was still full of energy and reported everything in concise words. Finally, he said: "Master Ling brought all his family members to see him to express his gratitude. Wait outside.”
The emperor's grandson hummed lightly.
No sullenness, no impatience.
Wang Tong secretly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ordered: "Please invite Master Ling and his family to come on board."
The guards were ordered to retreat. After a while, Uncle Ling entered the cabin with all his family members.
Uncle Ling stepped forward quickly, kowtowed, and said with tears of gratitude: "I, Ling Zhiyuan, would like to thank His Highness Taisun for saving my life. I encountered a gangster last night. Fortunately, Your Highness Taisun led the guards to the rescue in time. Otherwise, I would have The whole family is afraid that something unexpected has happened."
These words were spoken with sincerity, and my gratitude was beyond words.
The emperor's grandson accepted the gift calmly: "Mr. Ling, please come up quickly. It's just a little effort."
Your Majesty, Your Majesty, why did this waterway suddenly appear? How did he happen to see the distress signal and come to the rescue
The Emperor Taisun himself would not open his mouth to explain such trivial details.
Uncle Ling didn't dare to ask any more questions. He said a word of gratitude before standing up.
Ling Jingshu also stood up along with Sun and others, lowered her head and looked soft and gentle.
She is completely different from the ruthless girl holding a dagger last night.
The emperor's grandson's gaze seemed to pass over the figure of the girl with a low eyebrow and she slightly twitched the corners of her lips. I don't know whether it was sarcasm or funny.
"Come, take a seat!" Although the emperor's grandson was young, he was extremely noble, and his words and deeds were full of irresistible majesty.
Uncle Ling was quite flattered and thanked him: "Thank you, Your Highness, for giving me a seat."
The man in front of him was the eldest son of the East Palace, the grandson of the emperor who was most valued and favored by the emperor. A frail prince is not a sign of longevity. Perhaps, before the emperor passes away, it is possible to directly pass the throne to the emperor's grandson.
In short, the Zhou Dynasty will be dominated by this young man sooner or later.
It is a joyful thing to be favored by the emperor's grandson!
... ...
The emperor's grandson gave the order, and several servants immediately brought in the small brocade.
Naturally, everyone is not qualified to sit on an equal footing with the emperor's grandson. Sitting on the lower Jinzha is already a gift.
After Uncle Ling sat down carefully, everyone also sat down one by one.
Ling Jingshu deliberately sat in the farthest back seat and deliberately lowered her head, not raising her head to look at the emperor's grandson. But his ears were carefully raised and he didn't miss a word.
The emperor's grandson ordered: "Wang Tong, please tell Mr. Ling and his family about the gangster's confession."
"Yes," Wang Tong responded, standing behind the emperor's grandson, and said in a deep voice: "This group of gangsters has about a hundred people in total. There are four boats in total, and their base is very hidden. They usually do human smuggling. "
People smuggling
Everyone was shocked.
No wonder the gangsters who attacked the ship last night did not massacre people. Instead, most of their men fought with the guards and boatmen, and then searched and found the cabin on the third floor, intending to abduct Ling Jingshu and her sister...
Wang Tong coughed and continued: "They specialize in selecting beautiful and talented officials and their daughters, and their methods are also the same. They first look for suitable targets, then secretly stalk them, and then follow the boat to wait for the move. They do not kill people and do not steal gold and silver. Only kidnap the target you like. Once you achieve your goal, run away immediately and never stay."
"They acted quickly and succeeded many times. They were worried about the abducted daughter, so they did not dare to report the case to the police for arrest in public, so they could only search in secret. There was little news, but they did not dare to publicize it."
"The kidnapped girls will be quickly transported outside the customs and sold to the hands of barbarian leaders. The price is high, and most of the girls can be sold for a hundred war horses."
"We in the Zhou Dynasty are short of war horses. An ordinary war horse can be sold for two to three hundred taels of silver. The best war horses outside the pass can be sold for a high price of three to four hundred taels of silver. One hundred war horses, that is, three to forty thousand taels of silver. So. With huge 'profits', no wonder these gangsters dare to take risks."
"The two gangsters couldn't help but tortured them and told them everything. They spotted Miss Ling Jiu at the dock that day and secretly followed her for two days and two nights before they found the opportunity to take action."
After Wang Tong said this, everyone's expressions were not very good.
The following are the psychological activities of everyone.
Uncle Ling: If Ling Jingshu is really kidnapped and sold outside the customs, how can he face his old mother and fifth brother at home in the future
Sun: It turns out those people came for Ah Shu. What a disaster.
Jiang: Fortunately I didn’t succeed! Otherwise, Ah Shu's life would be over.
Ling Ji: It turns out Ah Shu’s premonition was right. It’s all my fault. She didn’t take it to heart at the time. If she had been prepared, she wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.
Ling Jingyan: Are these gangsters blind? Even if I am not as beautiful as Ling Jingshu, at least I am as beautiful as a lady. Why doesn't anyone notice me? ! ! !
... ...
Of course, no one feels it more deeply than Ling Jingshu.
Cold sweat broke out in her palms, and she was filled with fear.
This beautiful face never brought her true happiness. Half of the tragedy in the previous life came from Lu Hong's betrayal, and the other half came from Lu Qian's infatuation and Lu An's lust for women.
This life is even more ridiculous, to be targeted by such a group of greedy gangsters.
If she hadn't sent out the rescue signal earlier, if someone hadn't happened to come to the rescue, if she hadn't made a prompt decision... what fate would be waiting for her now
Ling Xiao suddenly stood up, groped his way to the emperor's grandson, and then knelt down with a plop: "Thank you, Your Highness, for saving Ah Shu! Your Highness's life-saving grace, Ah Shu and I will never forget it, and we will definitely repay you in the future." Your Highness’ kindness.”
As he spoke, he kowtowed three times.
Ling Jingshu looked at Ling Xiao's slightly thin back, her eyes suddenly became hot and watery appeared. (To be continued)