When no one was around, Lan Fenghuang said: "They are the elite Yajili Royal Maritime Guards, sent by their queen to find the queen's heir."

"The queen's heir?" Luo Xingchen said in surprise, this was unexpected news.

"Well, the queen of Yajili is already over seventy years old. She has been in poor health recently. She doesn't have much time left, so she needs to find her only direct heir."

Lan Fenghuang paused and said: "Queen Yajili only has an only son. Because she fell in love with a commoner woman, she escaped from marriage and ran away with that woman. Later, she gave birth to a daughter. They both died of a sudden illness and the only daughter was left alone..."

At this point, Lan Fenghuang's voice stopped.

Luo Xingchen suddenly had a bad feeling.

"That only daughter is Ying Xiu!" Lan Fenghuang whispered softly.

"It's Yingxiu? Are you sure?" Luo Xingchen's voice was trembling.

"The direct descendants of the Yajili royal family have a special mark, which is a butterfly birthmark on the shoulder. It cannot be disguised. I am sure it is Yingxiu..." Lan Fenghuang said: "If we send Yingxiu, we will most likely be able to return safely.

Although the Yajili people have a bandit nature, once they get what they want, they will definitely not cause more trouble and go back as soon as possible."

"No, sending Yingxiu away means sending Yingxiu into the whirlpool." Luo Xingchen said firmly.

Previous members of the Yajili royal family had been guillotined, poisoned, and murdered in large numbers. How could a young girl like Yingxiu cope with such a complicated situation?

"I promised to protect her." Luo Xingchen said solemnly.

"But, if we don't hand over Yingxiu, there will definitely be a war. We don't know how many people will die." Lan Fenghuang frowned. Although she was very pleased that Luo Xingchen was responsible, but to sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands of people for one person is really unacceptable.

Is it worth it?

Luo Xingchen bit his lip and it bled.

He found it difficult to make a choice. As the navy commander leading this army, what should he choose?

No matter what decision you make, it will be heartbreaking.

"They gave us half a day to think about it. Once the time is up, we will launch an attack." Lan Fenghuang said.

what to do?

Luo Xingchen clasped his hands in his sleeves, trembling slightly.

"I can't hand it over. I feel that they are not innocent. If they really take Yingxiu back, they will probably treat them with courtesy." Luo Xingchen's eyes were cold: "How could they say offensive words? They might take Yingxiu as an excuse."

I don’t know what the hostages will do when they return to Yajili.”

Emperor Niao ordered the princes!

Yajili has the strongest navy, and with the Crown Prince at his disposal, who knows what heinous and treacherous things he may want to do.

"Even so, what can we do?" Lan Fenghuang smiled bitterly.

Regardless, the threat is real.

Time passed little by little, and Luo Xingchen still couldn't decide. He had already felt what a dilemma was. This was the consequence of being young and inexperienced, but this kind of lesson was too profound and cruel.

…

"The time is almost up." Lan Fenghuang said.

"I've decided!" Luo Xingchen finally made up his mind not to hand over Yingxiu. The enemy only came with 7 ships this time. As long as he found a way to trap them, he could still escape. When he met with the reinforcements, there would be a battle.

Power.

If he is afraid of sacrifice and gives up his sleeves, he can't do it.

In order to give an explanation to his subordinates, he will personally lead them to cut off the queen!

"They...they left." Suddenly, the cabin was pushed open, and Qi Yuanfei rushed in quickly. He was stammering when he spoke.

"Who left?" Luo Xingchen asked.

"Ironclad fleet."

"No, Yingxiu!" Luo Xingchen immediately stood up and ran towards Yingxiu's room.

There is only a letter on the table.

"We'll say goodbye today. I hope you won't miss me. We'll meet again someday."

Tears blurred Luo Xingchen's eyes. Will we ever see each other again after this separation?

He was conceited and extremely smart, but he lost Yingxiu. In order to keep him safe, Yingxiu went to the armored fleet alone, and he would face an unpredictable fate next.

This is all his fault for being weak.

"Why should you tell her?" Luo Xingchen growled in a low voice.

"She has the right to know. This is her own choice. Remember all this." Lan Fenghuang sighed.

Luo Xingchen pursed his lips tightly. From this moment on, he was no longer the fledgling child. He knew what pain was, what responsibility was, and what powerlessness meant.

"Yingxiu, wait for me." He made up his mind to go back to Daqi, find the Emperor of Qi, strengthen the country and train its navy, and he would personally take back Yingxiu.

If Yingxiu has three advantages and two disadvantages, he will definitely destroy those who bully her, no matter who they are.

…

Changping Village.

The rain falls intermittently, with occasional breaks.

But the pause did not last more than two hours, and soon it started to rain again.

Farmers are accustomed to continuous rain at this time of year. If there is insufficient rain, the early rice will dry up.

If there is too much rain, it will be detrimental to crops and seedlings. Even with those "vine-bearing melon" drainage defense systems, it still cannot alleviate everyone's anxiety.

After all, the flood disaster more than ten years ago and the plague that followed after the flood receded left a deep impression on everyone.

"It's not sunny today. There are fewer people walking around in the village. Everyone is staying at home!"

Bao Suyun, Liu and other women came over to chat with Sun again, someone said.

Ms. Liu laughed and said, "Why don't we stay at home? It's raining endlessly, and many people don't have enough clothes to wear. In the end, there is only one set of slightly cleaner clothes left. Everyone in the family takes turns wearing them when going out."

Many children run around naked at home, hahaha..."

Seeing Mrs. Liu's heartless smile, Mrs. Sun and Bao Suyun were also helpless.

Yang Huazhong sat not far away, smoking a dry cigarette in silence, looking at the rain outside and feeling secretly worried.

Judging from the current amount of rain, the crops can still bear it. The man is worried mainly because of the Taoist homestead at the foot of the mountain behind the village.

The homestead has been dug, and we will wait for the weather to clear up and invite Liu Dixian to come over and take a look, open the altar and do some small rituals, and then we can start building the house in earnest.

As for the craftsmen, the man has already found him, and the wages and everything have been negotiated.

Yang Huazhong, who helped build several houses, also had connections to contact the bricks, tiles, wood and stones needed for the Taoist temple.

Now, I just hope that the weather will clear and we can start work.

The question is, why doesn’t the rain clear up? It’s like the flood ten years ago. It’s so sad!

There were footsteps in the yard outside.

Yang Ruoqing held an umbrella in one hand and held Feng'er in the other. Luo Baobao followed beside her. The little girl was nine years old and could hold an umbrella by herself.

The three ladies walked through the thin rain and mist, chatting and laughing, very cheerfully.
Chapter completed!