Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 396 Fight

Manager Li's eyes lit up immediately, as if he had grasped a lifeline, and he shouted loudly, "Quickly, turn around and head towards the Zhou family's ship."

"When you see the Zhou family, tell them we went out to help the Li family receive the goods. No one is allowed to let it slip."

The crowd responded enthusiastically.

They secretly joined the Holy Church, concealing the truth from others. Having become accustomed to this behavior, they were unlikely to give themselves away easily.

Manager Li was relieved. Although he did not know which family the fleet in front of him belonged to, he could see that the flags they were flying did not belong to the Sun, Zhou, Wu, and Zheng families. In this way, he could take the opportunity to ask the Zhou family for help and provoke a fight between the two fleets.

It would be best if the two sides fought each other, then they could escape in the chaos.

Having made up his mind, Steward Li simply waved to the Zhou family's boat.

……

Guo Xiong stared at the Zheng family's boats on the Bian River with disdain in his eyes, and ordered the boatmen, "Chase them with all your might, we absolutely cannot let them escape."

Guo Chuan's gaze fell on the water a little further away.

“Several boats are approaching this way,” Guo Chuan said, staring at them carefully for a while. “They are Zhou family’s boats.”

"No wonder the Zheng family's ship turned around; it turns out the Zhou family came to pick them up."

Guo Xiong and Guo Chuan turned their gaze from the water to the person behind them. The person was wearing a pale yellow dress and a veil, and had been standing behind them the whole time.

Although Guo Chuan knew beforehand that the person behind them was Madam Xie, Madam Xie's whereabouts had to be kept secret for the time being, so they all secretly followed Madam Xie's arrangements.

When they went to transport the porcelain this time, Madam had said that once the porcelain arrived in Bianjing, it no longer needed to be concealed, and he guessed that Madam was going to make a big move. Sure enough, last night Madam specially took a boat to meet them, personally overseeing the fleet and leading them in their work.

“Every time you return to Bianjing, the four families’ boats will take turns blocking your way on the water.”

A clear, melodious voice came from behind, the speaker speaking calmly and with a touch of authority.

Guo Xiong and Guo Chuan nodded subconsciously.

Xie Yuyan said, "I didn't let you fight back before because there wasn't a suitable reason, but now there is..."

Guo Xiong immediately realized that the constables had ordered them to surround the two small boats. If the Zhou family's boats were protecting those two boats, they would naturally have to fight the Zhou family.

Xie Yuyan continued, "The people on those two boats are all involved in human trafficking. Yesterday, I sailed to welcome you and made you travel overnight. The reason I appeared here was to prevent them from escaping by water."

Feng Erniang was indeed killed by kidnapping and trafficking. The case was handed over to the yamen, but the Guo brothers, especially Guo Chuan, were still furious when they thought about the suffering Feng Erniang had endured.

Now they've run into those kidnappers...

Guo Chuan stared intently at the two small boats: "No matter what, we will not let the people on board escape. We will personally deliver them to the yamen."

Xie Yuyan had someone keep an eye on Abbess Mingzhen. When they caught up with her at Li Family Manor, they learned that Steward Li had secretly prepared boats. Only then did she inform Guo Xiong and Guo Chuan that if the yamen officials failed to stop Steward Li, he would surely escape by boat, at which point Guo Xiong and the others could then intercept him.

Others might hesitate if they overheard the hasty words uttered by the constables, but she knew the inside story and would definitely help the yamen arrest the people. Even if Guo Xiong and Guo Chuan had gone too far in dealing with the Zhou family's ships, it didn't matter; this time they had a legitimate reason and could invoke the yamen's authority to back them up.

Xie Yuyan was not afraid that the Zhou family would sue them for this. Compared to the loss of the ship, they were more worried about being labeled as members of a demonic cult.

Hearing Madam Xie's words, Guo Xiong and Guo Chuan felt more confident. Guo Xiong immediately ordered, "The yamen has ordered that those two small boats be stopped. If any other boats obstruct the way, suppress them as well."

"We must help the government catch the people on the boat." The boatmen were all excited. They had been bullied badly by the four boats for days and had long wanted to fight back. Now they finally had their chance.

They all knew perfectly well what Guo Xiong hadn't said.

Settle grievances and avenge wrongs, right now!

……

Meanwhile, Steward Li and his men had already approached the Zhou family's ship.

Manager Li came out, about to tell the Zhou family the lie he had fabricated, when he unexpectedly saw Xia Ziqiao and Xie Chengrang standing on the boat.

Manager Li's heart skipped a beat. Suppressing his panic, he immediately bowed to the two men.

"Oh it's you."

Xia Ziqiao naturally recognized Steward Li. Steward Li was a member of the Li family and helped the Li family manage their outside business. He frequently visited the Xia family and would bring some things with him each time he came.

A while ago, I gave him a set of chess pieces made of ivory, which was exceptionally exquisite. I took it out a few times, which really made him look good.

"Where are you going?" Xia Ziqiao asked immediately before Manager Li could speak.

Manager Li said, "We sent some goods to the capital, and we were going to the western part of the capital to pick them up. Unexpectedly, we encountered a fleet of ships ahead. It seemed that the fleet was intentionally blocking us, so we changed direction and came to ask for help."

Xia Ziqiao said, "You guys ran into Guo Xiong."

Manager Li naturally knew who Guo Xiong was, but he rarely traveled by water with ships, which is why he didn't recognize the Guo brothers' fleet.

Manager Li pretended to suddenly realize something: "So it was them. No wonder it was like this."

The Zhou family steward also said, "They are taking you for a lone ship and intend to retaliate. Steward Li, don't worry, let's see how we deal with them."

Manager Li thanked them repeatedly: "There are some seafood items among the goods brought from our home, and we absolutely cannot delay them. Please ask the fleet to help us find a way out and take us to Jingxi."

Manager Zhou readily agreed: "Of course, of course."

Xia Ziqiao's eyes lit up when he heard this: "There are actually marine creatures?"

Manager Li's eyes crinkled with laughter: "Once we receive the goods, we'll send some to your residence."

Xia Ziqiao immediately replied, "That would be best."

Xie Chengrang, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked, "Were those on the shore just now government officials?"

Manager Li's expression stiffened slightly, but he tried his best to cover it up: "They are yamen runners. The two of you wanted to transport things into the city, but I had to leave the capital. So they shouted for the fleet to stop, but the fleet acted as if they didn't hear them. Not only did they refuse to stop, they also came towards us."

Seeing that it was exactly as he had guessed, the Zhou family steward immediately said, "I was sure of it. Those people are used to escaping labor."

Without saying anything else, he instructed the Zhou family fleet to meet Guo Xiong, Guo Chuan, and the others.

As Xia Ziqiao watched the fleets on both sides rapidly approaching, a smile appeared on his face: "The Guo family doesn't dare to make a move; they're just putting on an act to scare us."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Zhou family's boat reached the Guo family's boat, and the next moment, the Guo family's boat rammed straight into it.

Before the Zhou family could recover from their shock, the people on the Guo family's boat were already wielding wooden sticks and poking at the people on the Zhou family's boat.