Chapter 330: No Bedding

Chapter 330: No Bedding

"Has Lord Zhongwu already left for the sea?"

The night sky in Fujian feels worlds apart from that in the Capital City. In the evening, the salty sea breeze from the East China Sea carried the scent of the ocean, mingling with the glow of the stars overhead before blowing into the brightly lit residence.

Grand Princess Bai An had changed into a simple silk robe of mulberry color, her hair loosely spread, exuding the fragrant scent of jasmine oil.

A pale-faced, rosy-lipped young man leaned against her side, appearing timid as he stared at her. He looked to be around twenty-five or six.

As she spoke, Grand Princess Bai An rose gracefully, stretching out her arms. After the young man helped her put on her outer garment, she waved him away and walked around the screen into the outer hall.

Hu Hualiang, the man with the bushy beard, nodded hurriedly. "An hour ago, Lord Zhongwu set sail; half an hour ago, Junjiro sailed from Changle Harbor."

Grand Princess Bai An asked, "Did Junjiro go voluntarily? Before setting sail, did the Japanese make any moves?"

Liangliang, the man with the bushy beard, replied, "That coward wouldn't dare to go. After Baoyuan issued the challenge, that fool immediately backed down. Later, after Ashikaga whispered something to him, he trembled as he changed his clothes and grabbed a thin, unimpressive sword before leaving."

Liangliang lowered his voice. "It's not much different from what you guessed—he first went to a village near Changle Harbor, and then five or six strong men boarded the ship with him."

Grand Princess Bai An adjusted the silk ribbon in her hair. "How big is the village?"

"About a hundred people, more or less."

Grand Princess Bai An let out a cold laugh.

Over the years, the pirates had been rampant, frequently harassing merchants who went out to sea. Their methods were extremely brutal. They not only looted the cargo but also killed all the men on board. The women who were taken to cook were subjected to unspeakable humiliation before being thrown onto nearby deserted islands to fend for themselves.

First, it was small smuggling boats, then large smuggling boats with thousands of stones of cargo, and finally, they dared to target salt and silk ships.

Because of this, the aging Ningyuan Marquis, who had retreated to the Capital City, volunteered to come out of retirement. However, he fell into a trap set by Grand Secretary Li and the former Fujian Governor, becoming a pawn in the struggle between the schools of thought, Neo-Confucianism and Rationalism.

Looking back now, many things seem suspicious.

For example, whose cargo ships set sail? From which port did they depart? Which route did they take?

How did the pirates find out?

Even if they had spies planted in the Fujian officialdom, it would be impossible for them to be familiar with all the routes of the cargo ships and to keep in constant contact with the pirates.

There is only one possibility—

The pirates had slowly but effectively infiltrated the coastal areas.

It could be Sanwa, who loads goods at the docks, or Li, who sells noodles on the street, or even the children who roam the streets.

These people had all the information about the ships leaving the docks and passed it on to the pirates waiting at sea.

The Japanese, who looked no different from the people of Great Wei, could easily learn the local Fujian dialect. It would be simple for them to invade Great Wei—they only needed to solve the problem of identity.

And solving this problem was simple.

—Massacre the villagers.

Kill all the natives in several connected villages, and the pirates would disguise themselves as villagers, moving entire villages in. They would have household registrations, family connections, and because these villages were remote and isolated, after a year or two, they would become genuine coastal villagers.

These people were even harder to catch than spies hidden within the government.

If Baoyuan wasn't lured out now, he would unleash chaos in the future.

"Leave three alive to corroborate each other's stories," Grand Princess Bai An said, her expression cold and detached. "Wipe out the entire village, spare no one—not the women, children, or the elderly."

Hu Liangliang, with his bushy beard, promptly responded with "Yes!"

Just as he was about to leave, he seemed to remember something and worriedly added, "That Junjiro went out to sea with five or six men. Our Baoyuan is all alone, won't he be at a disadvantage?"

For the first time, a crack appeared in the Grand Princess' otherwise calm expression. "What did you say? Baoyuan didn’t bring any mute guards?"

Liangliang nodded. "Yes, he took a small boat alone. It's the pirate code — duels cannot take place on land where crops are grown or on the very ship that sustains life. He agreed to meet on a small island in the sea lane. As for the mute guards — they were all left at the official post house."

It was clear who this was all for.

"Mad dog!" the Grand Princess cursed.

Liangliang hurriedly explained, "It's the pirate code — it has to be one-on-one, just like in our northwest, where the strongest man is determined through single combat..."

The Grand Princess slammed her hand on the side table, something she hadn't been this angry about in decades. "Idiot! He follows the rules, but does the other side play by them? That's why Junjiro only brought five or six men — because that's all that can fit on his small pirate vessel! If he had a larger ship, he'd bring a hundred men to wipe out Baoyuan!"

Liangliang wisely fell silent. He thought Baoyuan wasn’t wrong. Just because others didn’t follow the rules didn’t mean you could abandon them… To be a pirate, you had to maintain your principles, even in piracy. Besides, Baoyuan was truly skilled, forged in blood. Even if five or six pirates went, two of them standing on top of each other wouldn’t even match Baoyuan's height! And one of them even had bow legs...

The Grand Princess paced back and forth. "Young! Arrogant! Overconfident! This fool!" She paused, then raised her voice. "Dispatch the royal guards immediately to go out to sea and find him!"

After another pause, the Grand Princess narrowed her eyes, her face slightly tilted, as if deep in thought. "You said all the mute guards were reassigned to Little Boss He?"

Liangliang watched as the Grand Princess’ phoenix eyes narrowed — a signal he was all too familiar with.

This was the look she always had when she was plotting something.

Hu Liangliang nodded with a stiff upper lip. "Yes..."

"Send the royal guards, but keep them in the shadows," the Grand Princess said, her lip curling in a smile devoid of its usual red. "In the open, let the mute guards handle it. Who are the mute guards with Baoyuan this time?"

They were familiar with Baoyuan's usual mute guards.

The most clever was Liu Haixing, and the most efficient was Liu Shanhu. The one who was slow but became flustered in urgent situations —

"Haixiang," Liangliang said after a moment's thought. "Hu Haixiang."

The Grand Princess' smile deepened.

The one who became flustered in urgent situations, Hu Haixiang.

"Go to the official post house and inform him that Baoyuan has gone out to sea for a duel alone. The other side isn’t playing fair and brought men, though we don’t know how many, or which island they’re meeting on. Have him take two or three mute guards and head out to sea."

The Grand Princess gently adjusted her loose hair, her pale, slender hand covering her yawn and slightly red lips. "Prepare the sturdy, heavy ship at the port for breaking through the winds. Add lamp oil, a compass, luminescent powder, fresh water, and dry rations..."

Should they include bedding?

After a moment's thought, the Grand Princess decided to be kind.

The bedding could wait until he returned.