It was the middle of the night, and I couldn't sleep. The river wind outside the cabin was singing.

Fan Xian simply opened his eyes and smiled at the girl next to him, saying, "What's wrong with twenty? Are you anxious?"

Si Si was truly made anxious by these words. She sat up in the blanket, bit a strand of hair beside her lips, and remained silent with anger.

Fan Xian was taken aback and quickly turned her body around, realizing that he had said the wrong thing. In Qing Yu Nian, girls generally married at the age of fifteen or sixteen. It was indeed rare for someone like Si Si to still be a virgin at twenty. Although Fan Xian always thought that twenty was the perfect age for maturity, in the eyes of most people, Si Si had become an old maid.

Especially in the Fan residence, although everyone was very polite to Si Si for the sake of the old ancestor in Danzhou and Fan Xian, there was always some gossip behind their backs. Moreover, the fact that Fan Xian had not yet taken her into his room further fueled this sentiment.

Upon reflection, Fan Xian knew that he hadn't handled the issue well. He always felt there was no rush, but he hadn't considered the girl Si Si's perspective. A girl of twenty, if converted to his previous world, would be a thirty-year-old spinster, which no one could accept.

Si Si curled up her body, ignoring him and falling asleep sadly.

After thinking for a while, Fan Xian said with a smile, "Speaking of which, we haven't slept in the same bed for two years." Back in Danzhou, Si Si, who was two years older than him, always slept on the side, but Fan Xian had long developed the bad habit of a mischievous young master, going to her bed for a while after getting up.

"Young master has grown up and naturally can't always hang around with servants," Si Si replied in a muffled voice, burying her head in the blanket.

"We'll be hanging around for a long time," Fan Xian didn't coax her, but spoke gently. "Someone like me, a burnt exam paper, only you wouldn't mind."

Si Si chuckled, "If young master is a burnt exam paper, how are the girls in this world supposed to live?"

The master and servant suddenly fell silent at the same time, both thinking of Wang Xifeng's self-deprecation in *Dream of the Red Chamber*, and they vaguely remembered the scene of one person copying the book and the other serving at night back in Danzhou.

In those days, whenever Fan Xian was "copying" *Dream of the Red Chamber* in extremely delicate calligraphy, Si Si would grind ink, trim the lamp, light incense, and prepare snacks. The two perfectly embodied the phrase "a beauty adds fragrance to the night's copying." In fact, Si Si was Fan Xian's first reader in this world.

……

……

Fan Xian turned the girl's body around and embraced her domineeringly, saying, "Since you're laughing, don't cry anymore. Let young master tell you an inhuman joke."

Si Si opened her eyes curiously, waiting for him to speak. After listening to the famous joke, she finally couldn't help but laugh in his arms, saying with mischief, "So young master is saying that he has been less than a beast all these years."

"Now that I think about it, there is indeed this problem," Fan Xian honestly admitted his mistake. "Of course, the most important thing is that I don't know what you're really thinking. Of course, I admit that this is also a bit of shameless hypocrisy."

"What am I thinking?" Si Si was very confused.

Fan Xian sighed in his heart and didn't say anything more. Si Si suddenly understood what the young master meant. Besides being surprised and unexpected, she felt a little touched. Although the young master's thoughts were indeed too absurd and muddled, seemingly preparing to consider her thoughts, it was still a little warm.

"Young master, do you still remember when you hit Steward Zhou when we were young?"

"Of course I remember," Fan Xian laughed. "That guy actually dared to give you a bad look. I had to beat him until his face was full of peach blossoms."

Si Si mustered up her courage to look at his face, but couldn't say anything for a long time. After all, she was just a servant girl, how could she say those words of love? That day, Fan Xian beat Steward Zhou until his face was full of peach blossoms, and the peach blossoms in Si Si's heart also blossomed at that time.

At that time, Fan Xian was only twelve years old, and Si Si was only fourteen.

Fan Xian didn't know what the girl was thinking, but instead pondered the scene at that time and said subconsciously, "That slap back then was really ruthless."

Si Si snuggled in his arms and chuckled, "Young master has strong hands."

"Strong hands?" Fan Xian smiled lewdly, and his left hand had already fallen into the quilt, hitting Si Si's round, upturned buttocks. The girl was wearing a single pair of underwear to sleep, which was very thin. The palm touched the buttocks, making a crisp sound.

Memories are always beautiful, and flirting is always pleasant. The master and servant embraced like this, without speaking for a long time. It was just that the night was deep and quiet, the bedding was warm and fragrant, the air began to be ambiguous and warm, and Fan Xian finally began to behave like a beast. His two hands had already begun to seek up and down on the path of cultivation.

……

……

"The lamp, the lamp is still on," Si Si said shyly and anxiously.

At this time, Fan Xian had already entered the realm of primates, impatient and anxious. Hearing this, he stretched out his left arm and slashed backward, thinking that this move, learned from Ye Ling'er, could easily split the coffin with the wind and cut down the candle on the table. But he didn't expect that when the palm came out, the flame on the candle was still firm.

He then realized that his Genuine Qi was completely dissipated, and he could no longer extinguish the candle from a distance. He couldn't help feeling annoyed and cursed a few times, realizing for the first time that the biggest disadvantage of his Genuine Qi exploding was this. He muttered a few words, reached under the pillow, and groped for the sleeve crossbow, turning back and fidgeting to pull the trigger.

Only a "chi" sound was heard, and the crossbow arrow passed through the candle and shot into the cabin board, making a muffled sound. The candlelight immediately went out, and the cabin returned to darkness.

……

……

He made a big mistake.

Before he had time to enjoy the sweetness in the dark, he only heard several gusts of wind outside the cabin, and he didn't know how many experts had gathered outside the room in a moment. Only the sound of long swords being unsheathed and the sound of crossbows being cocked intertwined.

Earlier, when Fan Xian used the crossbow to extinguish the candle, although the sound of the arrow entering the wood was light, it was particularly alarming to the ears of those professionals. Especially since there was a prince and a magistrate on the boat, the people on night watch were extraordinarily vigilant. A tiger guard's cautious voice came from outside the cabin.

"My lord, there's a situation."

Fan Xian got up in anger, but was also glad that these loyal subordinates hadn't broken into the door directly. He turned back to look at the girl who was secretly laughing in the blanket, feeling heartbroken and depressed.

There was no more talk for the night.

—————————————————————

The next morning, Fan Xian got up early. Today, he didn't let Si Si help him comb his hair and put on his clothes. It was a little inconvenient for the girl, so she had to lie in bed and continue to rest.

He brought a bowl of porridge and a few corn buns and pickles into the room, and served the poor girl breakfast. After Fan Xian finished what a man should do, he walked out of the cabin door and came to the bow of the boat, looking at the vast river and facing the cold winter wind, feeling refreshed all over his body, without the slightest discomfort.

After the morning fog dissipated, the boat left Yingzhou. At that time, most of the people on the boat were still sleeping. At this time, Fan Xian looked back and saw that the pier had long disappeared behind the mountains and could no longer be seen.

"My lord is up early," Su Wenmao said humbly from the side, his eyes drifting over Fan Xian's body. The joke of the previous night had already spread throughout the boat at this time. No one dared to joke about it face to face, but everyone would find it interesting in their hearts.

Fan Xian didn't notice the unscrupulous eyes of his subordinates. He said a few words casually, and his eyes turned to see the Third Prince and Deng Ziyue walking out of the cabin door.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Fan Xian saluted the Third Prince in a very orderly manner, without being negligent because he was outside of Kyoto.

The Third Prince, with his beautiful and youthful face, awkwardly received the salute without moving his body.

After Fan Xian finished his salute, he stood up very consciously and stood steadily in front of the Third Prince, without saying a word.

The Third Prince scratched his head, hugged his small fists with great grievance, and bowed deeply to Fan Xian: "Student greets Magistrate Siye."

Two people with beautiful appearances and complex minds, but with a large age gap, began their day of life on the boat after a strange ritual. Now, in addition to the subordinates who always followed Fan Xian, there were also several palace instructors and two young eunuchs, who were all transferred from the palace specifically to serve the prince. However, Fan Xian was ruthless and bold, and forcibly left these people in the lower level, not allowing them to come up.

On Fan Xian's side, in addition to the swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau of the Supervisory Council who were responsible for assassination and security, two officials from the Second and Fourth Bureaus were also transferred to accompany him. The official of the Second Bureau was responsible for maintaining the smoothness of intelligence, and the official of the Fourth Bureau was responsible for coordinating the trip to Jiangnan and the officials of the Supervisory Council's inspection divisions in various places along the coast.

Fan Xian himself came from the Third Bureau and now controls the First Bureau. In this way, it is as if more than half of the Supervisory Council's structure is already on this ship. Although the number of people is not large, the division of labor and cooperation are very smooth.

Life on the boat was quite boring. Those who came out of Kyoto were initially interested in admiring the river scenery for a few days, but they gradually got tired of it. In addition, the river wind was biting, and these days, except for those with duties, the rest of the people were resting in their rooms.

Fan Xian and the Third Prince stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the approaching canyon scenery, talking softly about something. The Third Prince kept nodding, and Fan Xian's expression was gentle.

Su Wenmao stood behind, looking at Magistrate Tisi and that prince, but was thinking about another thing in his heart. Why did the boat have to carry such a large box of silver ingots?

After explaining the matter and letting the Third Prince stand at the bow of the boat to learn Jack's posture, Fan Xian walked back.

Su Wenmao glanced at the boy at the bow of the boat and asked with a bitter face, "My lord, it wouldn't be good if His Highness gets sick from the cold."

"Exercising his will," Fan Xian was not gentle to the Third Prince along the way, maintaining a distance. This not only surprised everyone on the boat, but also made the Third Prince feel particularly strange.

"My lord, that box of silver..." Su Wenmao asked tentatively.

Fan Xian shook his head: "Just keep an eye on it. Since that woman has already seen it, don't let anyone else touch it again."

Su Wenmao responded and didn't continue to ask.

Fan Xian stretched his waist, suddenly thinking that he was sitting on a big boat, carrying a box of silver, and going down to Jiangnan with beauties, which really had a bit of the style of a second-generation ancestor. It was just a pity that the weather wasn't very good, otherwise, sunbathing and drinking some iced juice would be even more beautiful.

"Guan Wumei is being held by us," Su Wenmao frowned and said, "How can we let Xia, the head of the Jiangnan Water Village, know? When the boat arrives in Yangzhou this afternoon, do we need to notify the local court officials to release this news?"

Fan Xian thought for a while and shook his head, "No need. I don't want him to guess who I am for the time being. These fierce people of the Jianghu will become more cautious once they find that they can't figure out the other party's details. What I want to see is how much he is willing to pay for this matter."

"Then..."

"Don't let the people from the Fourth Bureau spread the news," Fan Xian said with a smile, "Didn't you leave a Third Sister-in-law in Yingzhou last night? She will naturally find a way to notify Xia Qifei."

———————————————————————

On this day, the most panicked person in the entire Qing Yu Nian was the Third Sister-in-law that Fan Xian mentioned.

The civilian ship at the Yingzhou pier had already sailed away. The Third Sister-in-law stood on the pier like a fool, carrying a bag of not fully smoked cured meat in her hand, not even caring about the people who occasionally came to ask the price. She was a mole placed in Yingzhou City by the bandits, responsible for gathering information on weekdays. She was the first to find out about the silver box on the ship yesterday.

The disappearance of the ship was not a big deal, because according to the style of Guan Jie and her group of bandits, after killing and robbing the goods, they would sail the ship away overnight, run aground downstream, and then burn the ship to destroy the evidence.

So when she saw that the ship was gone this morning, she thought that Guan Jie and others had succeeded, but she didn't expect that she waited on the pier for a long time without any response!

Guan Jie didn't come back, Second Brother didn't come back, and no one came back!

Just like the ship, all the bandits disappeared without a trace and never appeared again, making her wait until dusk. The pier was still as silent as death.

It was not until this time that the Third Sister-in-law finally confirmed that something had happened.

Her lips trembled, and she couldn't believe this fact. Even if the guards on the ship were strong, she should have heard the sounds of fighting last night, and the government should have reacted as well. How could there be no news at all - could it be that the ship was a ghost ship that easily took more than a dozen lives?

That night, she changed her clothes, wrapped her hair, hid the remaining wealth at home, and hired a carriage at a high price, traveling down the difficult mountain road overnight. She passed Yangzhou without stopping, and continued east, all the way to the large prefecture that was about to enter the Jiangnan Road.

This took her a full two days, during which she only drank some clear water and didn't eat any food.

She was a lower-level staff member, and it was originally extremely difficult to see Guan Jie's master, but perhaps her deeply sunken eye sockets convinced the staff in charge of reception of her words, and they led her into the back garden with a heavy face.

In the most heavily guarded back garden in the prefecture city, Xia Qifei, the thirty-year-old leader of the Jiangnan Water Village and a well-known figure in the Jianghu, closed his eyes and listened to the Third Sister-in-law's reply. He slowly opened his eyes, his coldness being pressing.

"As long as that boat is still on the water, stop it."

The boat, naturally, will always be on the water.

Xia Qifei's subordinates commanded the heroes of the Jiangnan waterway, and had countless ships. These words revealed strong confidence and hidden anger.

(My mental state is very poor, which is purely my problem. As for Si Si, there is nothing to discuss, it is purely a matter between Fan Xian and her, and of course, it is also my problem. In addition, I recommend a book: