The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 98 Falling into the river
"Third sister!"

Shang Mingshu dealt with one person and just stood up when another person rushed over. It was the person who was kicked down the stairs by Shang Mingshu before. He was seriously injured and seemed to want to die together with Shang Mingshu with his brute force.

Shang Mingshu was directly knocked backwards by the impact. Shang Zishu ran to the stairs and saw this scene. She rushed down the stairs and watched Shang Mingshu being dragged through the broken fence and smashed into the cold river water.

"Third sister——"

Shang Mingshu's last consciousness was Shang Zishu's heart-wrenching cry. She fell into the water and barely opened her eyes, but could not see Shang Zishu and was quickly engulfed by darkness.

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"Why aren't you awake yet?"

"This lady is seriously injured. The cold has entered her body, causing a persistent high fever..."

While she was dazed, Shang Mingshu felt someone pouring water into her mouth, perhaps it was medicine. She felt as if her whole body was in an oven, so hot that she had no feeling or sense of taste.

Waves of hot sweat made her whole body sticky, but she couldn't concentrate. She only knew that she was rescued, so she calmed down and recuperated. She slept for an unknown amount of time before she had the strength to open her heavy eyelids.

Her blurry vision gradually cleared. She looked around but couldn't make out much. She tried to lift the covers but found herself completely exhausted. She opened her mouth but her throat was hoarse: "Is there... anyone there?"

The door was pushed open, and soon a woman dressed as a maid came in, took a look, and then quickly ran away.

Shang Mingshu wanted to give her a glass of water first, but in the end she could only lower her eyes helplessly.

"Madam San, you're awake!" Cheng She immediately ordered, "Pour a glass of water" when he saw Shang Mingshu open her eyes.

The maid who had just called Cheng She immediately poured a glass of warm water, personally helped Shang Mingshu up and fed her water.

The dryness and pain in her lips and throat were relieved, and Shang Mingshu said, "Thank you, Second Brother Cheng, for saving me."

"No need to thank me, just rest well." Cheng She knew Shang Mingshu's worries. "Your ship has been seized by the government. Shang Shishu and his men are worried about you, so we're waiting for you at Jiande Wharf. We'll be there in two hours."

Shang Mingshu nodded with a pale face.

After giving the instructions, Cheng She did not disturb Shang Mingshu and let her continue to rest in peace.

Shang Mingshu's mind was in a state of confusion, her thoughts unclear and her energy low. She told him to wait until she regained her composure before asking anything. Even though she was completely limp from sleep, she quickly passed out.

When she woke up again, Xiao Yu and Shang Zishu were standing by her bed. Both of them were dozing off with red and swollen eyes, especially Shang Zishu, whose eyes were so red and swollen that even her appearance had changed.

"Third sister!" Shang Zishu was the first to discover that Shang Mingshu had woken up.

Xiao Yu also came to her senses and immediately ordered someone to prepare minced meat soup.

"Where are we?" Shang Mingshu was completely relieved when she saw her relatives and found that neither of them was injured.

"In the inn in Jiande," Xiao Yu whispered. "The official ship we were on was bribed by pirates. This is a very serious matter. Someone from the imperial court is colluding with the pirates."

This was not a clean ship before they boarded it. Shang Jinliang had been running around these days to gather information and found out that they were not the first victims. There were also government ships that were hijacked in the past.

The ship disappeared across the vast river. The imperial court has taken it seriously and is investigating. Because it was handled so cleanly, they haven't considered it a complete plunder by pirates, but rather the possibility that the ship sank due to a problem. "They used drugs. If it weren't for my third sister's vigilance, we would have been hijacked silently this time, ship and people alike!" Shang Zishu was terrified.

They all started their attacks based on the registration of the people on the boat. There were no high-ranking officials, only wealthy merchants, and they did not have enough military force. This time, the merchants did not bring many guards, and they were all good fighters hired through Master Shang Mingshu.

Shang Mingshu was careful and made sure they were not drugged, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

"What happened after I fell into the river?" Shang Mingshu asked weakly.

"Shortly after you fell into the river, our guards took control of the entire ship." Shang Mingshu had dealt with the most difficult individuals. "The helmsman was killed, no one knew how to steer the ship, and the ship was severely damaged. We didn't dare act rashly. We wanted to find some skilled swimmers to swim to shore for help, but they all jumped into the river to look for you..."

Shang Zishu recalled: "Fortunately, not long after, we met Brother Cheng's boat passing by. When Brother Cheng heard that you fell into the river, he sent people to row fishing boats to chase you according to the time and wind direction..."

At this point, Shang Zishu's eyes became red again: "I'm sorry, Third Sister, I also want to go find you..."

Shang Zishu couldn't swim, and jumping in would only cause trouble. Shang Mingshu held her hand and smiled gently at her.

"I stopped her." Xiao Yu said.

She heard Shang Zishu exclaiming "Shang Mingshu" several times in the house, and couldn't help but sneak out. Fortunately, she stopped Shang Zishu. At that time, Shang Zishu had lost all her mind and looked determined to die with Shang Mingshu.

Knowing that Shang Mingshu fell into the river, Xiao Yu was heartbroken. Her remaining sanity made her hold Shang Zishu tightly.

"I'm fine." Shang Mingshu was very relieved. If she came back now, Shang Zishu would have been buried alive with her, and it would have been in vain for her to suffer the pain of being injured and falling into the river.

"I'm sorry, Third Sister." Shang Zishu couldn't help crying. She knew that she had no right to cry, but she just couldn't control herself. "It's all my fault that I brought that lunatic Shi Guangchao here. Wuuwuwu..."

Shang Mingshu, who had regained some strength, squeezed Shang Zishu's hand and said, "Without Shi Guangchao, I wouldn't have been able to avoid this. Besides, it wasn't you who provoked Shi Guangchao."

This group of pirates has been colluding with the government for a long time. They specifically pick suitable targets to attack. Shang Mingshu and his group are very suitable for this trip. It is not so much that Shi Guangchao found this group of pirates, but rather that Shi Guangchao was looking for no chance to attack them and just happened to meet this group of pirates.

As for Shi Guangchao's obsession with Shang Zishu, it was a fateful relationship since childhood. At that time, they were separated by a wall, and as young children living on the same street, it was inevitable that they would play together.

Shi Guangchao has liked Shang Zishu since childhood. His love in childhood may have been pure, but it changed after he grew up. The two families have long been incompatible.

When they were young, Mrs. Shi had suggested that Shi Guangchao marry Shang Zishu as his concubine. At that time, the Shang family had just started to emerge and the Shi family was prosperous. Mrs. Shi still disliked Shang Zishu because she was born out of wedlock.

It seemed that from that time on, Shi Guangchao regarded Shang Zishu as his property, and this possessiveness came out of nowhere.

Later, Shang Jinliang's family rose to prominence, Shang Zishu showed her talent in tea making, and Shi Guangchao insisted on marrying Shang Zishu. Only then did Shi Houqiong and his wife come to propose marriage several times. Shang Jinliang looked down on Shi Guangchao, which had nothing to do with the conflict with Shi Houqiong.

Shang Zishu herself didn't like it, so she didn't agree. Shi Guangchao kept pestering her...

"It's a pity that the hijackers this time were pirates..." Shang Mingshu felt a little regretful.

If it were Japanese pirates, the Shi family would never be able to wash away the charge of colluding with them.

"Eat something quickly. You are seriously injured and shouldn't worry too much. Your father will take care of the rest." Xiao Yu took the soup handed to her by the maid and fed it to Shang Mingshu carefully.