Spoiled and mad critic of powerful ministers

Pei Zhihui was standing by the bed at some point.

He wore a thin blue robe today, and although his face was still sickly pale, his eyes were as cold as ice.

"Do you want to suffocate her, or burn her to death?"

Pei Zhihui exerted force with his wrist, forcefully pushing the bowl of fish soup away, causing the soup to slosh and splash a few drops onto Zhao Qiyan's expensive brocade boots.

"Pei Erlang! What do you know!" Zhao Qiyan exploded. "I'm saving someone! If you're so capable, why don't you go do it yourself? With your frail body that gets out of breath after just a few steps, don't let Manager Shen have to take care of you!"

Pei Zhihui ignored him and sat down on the edge of the bed.

He took out a small, jade-green porcelain bottle from his pocket, uncorked it, and a refreshing, crisp aroma of menthol instantly filled the air, dispelling the fishy smell in the room.

Shen Qiongju, like a drowning person grabbing onto a piece of driftwood, greedily inhaled two breaths of cool air, and her tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a little.

Give me your hand.

Pei Zhihui's voice was low and deep.

Shen Qiongju reached out her hand in a daze.

Pei Zhihui grasped her wrist, pressing his thumb on her Neiguan acupoint with great force, even with a hint of ruthlessness.

"It hurts..." Shen Qiongju flinched.

"It's good that it hurts." Pei Zhihui didn't let go, but instead increased the pressure, massaging her face while staring at her. "Pain can stop dizziness."

Zhao Qiyan, watching from the side, stared wide-eyed: "Pei Zhihui, be gentle! Those are a woman's hands, not pig's trotters! Do you think you're interrogating a criminal?"

"Shut up." Pei Zhihui didn't even look up. "If you keep making noise, I'll throw you into the river to feed the fish."

Zhao Qiyan was furious. She turned and stormed out, yelling, "Fine! You're ruthless! I'll go find the best doctor right now. I refuse to believe this seasickness can't be cured!"

Half an hour later.

Zhao Qiyan did indeed find a doctor—the ship's accompanying physician.

The doctor, his hands trembling, gave Shen Qiongju a few acupuncture needles and then forced her to drink a bowl of dark, murky medicine.

As a result, less than 15 minutes after taking the medicine, Shen Qiongju vomited even more violently, even bringing up bile.

"Is this the miracle doctor you found?" Pei Zhihui patted Shen Qiongju's back while staring at Zhao Qiyan with the eyes of someone looking at a dead person.

Zhao Qiyan shrank back guiltily: "Then...the doctor said it's a family recipe passed down through generations..."

"Get out," Pei Zhihui said coldly.

This time, Zhao Qiyan didn't dare to talk back and slunk away to the outer room.

The cabin finally quieted down.

Shen Qiongju was so weak from vomiting that she leaned limply against Pei Zhihui's chest.

She could feel the stiffness and tension of the body behind her, and the slightly rapid heartbeat that came through the fabric.

"Sister-in-law." Pei Zhihui took a damp cloth and gently wiped away the stains from the corner of her mouth, his movements strangely gentle. "If you're really feeling unwell, we can go ashore. Traveling by land is slower, but at least we won't suffer."

"No..." Shen Qiongju refused without even thinking.

She grabbed Pei Zhihui's sleeve, her knuckles turning white, but her eyes were unusually firm: "We can't stop... the wine is still fermenting. If we stop, the temperature will change, and this batch of wine will be ruined."

"Is alcohol more important than life?" Pei Zhihui's eyes darkened, and he stroked her cheek with his fingers, pinching it with a hint of punishment. "Shen Qiongju, are you obsessed with money?"

"This isn't about money," Shen Qiongju said breathlessly, her voice weak but clear. "It's the foundation of the distillery's existence."

She raised her eyes and looked at Pei Zhihui: "Zhihui, I'm not afraid of hardship, nor am I afraid of pain. I'm only afraid... of not being able to protect the people I want to protect."

Pei Zhihui's fingers suddenly stopped.

If you can't protect the people you want to protect, is it the Pei family or the Shen family? Is he among them?

"Okay." Pei Zhihui withdrew his hand, tucked the stray hairs from her forehead behind her ear, and a kind of unfathomable emotion welled up in his eyes. "Whatever you want to do, sister-in-law, Zhihui will accompany you."

Over the next two days, a fierce competition for favor unfolded in the cabin.

Zhao Qiyan somehow acquired a bunch of strange and unusual folk remedies.

The things like "sticking ginger to the navel" and "drinking virgin urine to boil eggs" were all thrown out by Pei Zhihui along with the bowl. He even wanted to invite a shaman to perform a ritual.

Pei Zhihui, on the other hand, appeared much more composed.

He somehow found an ancient book and learned a set of massage techniques, which he used to massage Shen Qiongju's head and back every morning and evening.

Although Shen Qiongju felt like her bones had been dissected every time she received the massage, miraculously, her seasickness symptoms were indeed significantly reduced.

On the evening of the third day, the boat reached a fork in the road.

The boatman came in with a waterway map and asked, "Master, Ghost Cry Shoal is just ahead. Should we take the main road past Ghost Cry Shoal, or detour through Green Dragon Gorge?"

Zhao Qiyan was peeling an orange when she heard this and casually replied, "Of course we'll take the main road! The current at Ghost Cry Beach is swift, the boat will go faster, saving us half a day!"

Pei Zhihui sat by the window reading a book, without saying a word, seemingly having no objection to this.

"No."

Shen Qiongju, who was lying on the soft couch, suddenly spoke up.

She propped herself up and sat up. Although her face was still a little pale, she was in much better spirits.

"Let's go through Qinglong Gorge," she said with certainty.

The boatman was taken aback: "Master Shen, Qinglong Gorge has shallow waters and many bends, making it difficult for large boats to navigate, and it would add a hundred miles to the journey."

"Listen to me, let's go through Qinglong Gorge," Shen Qiongju insisted. "I...I had a dream last night. I dreamt that there was thick fog on Ghost Cry Beach, and...and hidden reefs."

It wasn't a dream at all.

In the previous life, during the year when tribute was being delivered to the capital, an official ship encountered a once-in-a-century dry season undercurrent at Ghost Cry Beach. The ship was destroyed and the crew perished, and the entire river was stained red.

Although I can't quite remember the exact date, if I calculate the time, it must have been in the last few days.

She can't afford to gamble.

Zhao Qiyan popped an orange segment into her mouth and mumbled indistinctly, "Shopkeeper Shen, aren't you being a bit too superstitious? Taking a detour just because of a dream? That's a hundred miles of waterway!"

"Go around."

Pei Zhihui, who had been silent all along, suddenly closed the book.

He turned his head, his deep eyes fixed on Shen Qiongju, as if trying to see through her soul.

"Since my sister-in-law says there are hidden reefs, then there must be."

Pei Zhihui's lips curled into a playful smile. "Perhaps sister-in-law's dreams... really can foretell good or bad fortune?"

Shen Qiongju's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately sensed something was wrong.

He had his doubts.

After the course was diverted to Qinglong Gorge, the wind and waves subsided.

Although the journey was a bit longer, the boat was much more stable, and Shen Qiongju's seasickness miraculously improved significantly.

Two days later, the news arrived.

A sudden landslide occurred at Guikutan, causing boulders to roll into the river and form turbulent reefs.

Three greedy merchant ships, unable to avoid it, crashed into it and were smashed to pieces; none of them survived.

When the news reached the ship, Zhao Qiyan's hand, which was holding a wine glass, trembled, and the wine spilled all over her crotch.

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

Zhao Qiyan's eyes widened as she looked at Shen Qiongju as if she were a living Buddha. "Qiongju, is your mouth blessed? From now on, I'll have to treat you like royalty whenever I go out!"

Shen Qiongju forced a smile, made an excuse that she was tired, and returned to the inner cabin.

She dared not look into Pei Zhihui's eyes; his gaze was too hot, too sharp, as if it wanted to peel away her layers.