N-A-A Chapter 1650 The Painted Boat in the Mist
Chapter 1650 The Painted Boat in the Mist
Prime Minister Shen was not surprised that Lord Chen and Lin Rong stayed behind.
He had already discovered that Lin Rong and Chen Deshan were on Prince Jin's side.
Moreover, since he was willing to marry his daughter to the Prince of Jin, Prime Minister Shen certainly wouldn't think of the Prince of Jin as just a spoiled brat, like others.
The Prince of Jin is capable, and Prime Minister Shen firmly believes this.
However, Prince Jin is very filial and a man of his word, as Prime Minister Shen knows. Prince Jin had promised the Emperor Emeritus that he would not kill his brothers and would live a carefree life as a prince.
Prime Minister Shen knew about this matter.
The Prince of Jin always kept his word.
But if Prince Jin really marries Xiangjun, Prime Minister Shen will naturally assist the Crown Prince. Then, if he cooperates well with the Crown Prince, his Shen family can continue its century of glory.
Before completely breaking ties with Prince Jin and before Xiangjun was completely out of options, Prime Minister Shen did not truly give up on Prince Jin's path.
Lin Rong's eyes caught sight of the commotion on the other side, then he suddenly turned around and shouted, "Who?!"
Because it was so sudden, both Lord Chen and Prime Minister Shen couldn't help but follow his gaze.
There seemed to be two figures flashing by.
With Lin Rong's tacit help, Lu Zhaoling seized the opportunity instantly.
With a wave of her hand, she had Lady Sheng lead her directly onto the painted boat. By the time Prime Minister Shen turned back to look at the boat, she had already quickly entered.
Luo Qiu's pleasure boat was quite large and had two decks. This was one of its major attractions.
Luo Qiu spent a considerable amount of money decorating and furnishing the pleasure boat.
The gentlemen and noblemen who come to visit can not only watch her dance, but also have several young and beautiful girls who can keep them company while drinking, playing the piano and singing.
Sometimes, Luo Qiu would invite a storyteller or a father and daughter who were somewhat famous in the capital to come aboard her boat as a new addition to the entertainment and fun for the guests.
Therefore, her pleasure boat has never been cheap.
Meanwhile, Zhou Shiyue came up first.
He managed to stand by sheer willpower.
As he struggled to catch his breath, he saw the emperor and others on the shore vanish in an instant, and he knew that this must have been Lu Xiaoer's or his father's idea.
However, he still felt at the time that it was mostly Lu Xiaoer's idea.
Although Zhou Shiyue was feeling very unwell, his mind was still working at its peak.
If Lu Zhaoling didn't immediately send the young men onto the pleasure boat to rescue him at this moment, it would mean—
The pleasure boat is not safe.
This insecurity is definitely manifested in the unusual, in ways that ordinary people cannot see.
That's why Lu Zhaoling had to get everyone to evacuate first.
She indicated that she would likely be spending a lot of money on talismans next.
Since the pleasure boat was unsafe and had some eerie aspects, Zhou Shiyue's initial thought was not to go in.
He thought he would just wait there, since he still had the talisman drawn by Lu Zhaoling on him, so he would be safe for the time being.
Later, any ghost could easily save him from the Emperor Emeritus's death.
Junior Brother Yin and the others should also have a solution.
Moreover, didn't Junior Brother Yin say he would call up the Black and White Envoys to protect him first?
Why can't I see any people or ghosts?
As Zhou Shiyue was thinking, he saw half a head slowly emerge from the lake in front of him.
But this half-head only popped up briefly to give him a good look, then quickly said a sentence before sinking back down.
The person in the lake—no, the ghost—was none other than Xiao Hei.
Xiao Hei quickly said to him, "Prince Jin, please hold on. There's an evil spirit we want to catch in the water. We need to catch that spirit first. And don't worry about the horse. Xiao Bai caught a water ghost and helped take the horse to the underworld first."
Zhou Shiyue at the time: "???"
What he actually wanted to say was—
Isn't saving me more important?
Junior Brother Yin is truly remarkable. Now, not only is a demon more important than him, but even the horse that almost sent him away is more important than him.
Zhou Shiyue was unaware that he had misunderstood Yin Yunting.
Yin Yunting realized that the strangeness of the pleasure boat was due to the help of the evil spirit in the water.
The mist on the lake right now was also created by that evil spirit.
Moreover, the evil spirits have set up a talisman array by the lake, and for a while, I'm afraid that the ghosts of Sheng San Niangzi and the others won't be able to break through it.
Therefore, Yin Yunting thought that to save Zhou Shiyue, he should first deal with the evil spirit in the water.
While Yin Yunting was playing "hide-and-seek" with the evil spirits in the water, he activated the talisman array, allowing Sheng San Niangzi to bring Lu Zhaoling onto the boat without any disturbance.
Otherwise, Lu Zhaoling would have to use a talisman, and if she smashed the talisman, it would definitely cause quite a commotion.
Zhou Shiyue didn't want to go in at the time.
However, as he stood at the bow of the ship, he felt increasingly dizzy.
Zhou Shiyue knew then that if he didn't get on the boat, he would faint there and might fall headfirst into the lake.
At this moment, the mist on the lake's surface, and the wisps of black fog that had pulled him into the lake like an octopus, all looked abnormal. If he fell into the lake now, it would probably be even more dangerous.
With that thought in mind, he could only reach out and push open the door of the ship, stumbling inside.
Just after he went inside, Shen Xiangjun was thrown onto the boat by the guards. She saw Zhou Shiyue enter the boat and, before she could even steady herself, she scrambled in after him.
This is why Lu Zhaoling noticed that there was no one at the bow of the boat after only a short while.
After Zhou Shiyue entered, he found the cabin of the painted boat to be dimly lit.
The exterior of the boat was decorated with lanterns to attract guests. Light reflected in from outside, but it appeared quite dim because it was filtered through the paper windows.
The private rooms on the pleasure boat were shrouded in thick fog; although it wasn't completely dark, it was impossible to see anything clearly.
Just as Zhou Shiyue was concentrating to see more clearly, he felt another talisman on his body suddenly become hot, which once again saved him from another calamity.
He clenched his fists tightly, trying to clear his head.
He slapped his palms a few more times, dispersing some of the mist in front of him, and finally a few shadows came into view.
There should have been several people in front of him, but they were all standing in different places and seemed to be motionless, so it was impossible to tell whether they were alive or dead.
Zhou Shiyue took a step back, but at that moment Shen Xiangjun also rushed in.
As soon as Shen Xiangjun entered, she called out, "Your Highness, are you alright?"
Then she reached out to Zhou Shiyue, wanting to help him up, but Zhou Shiyue slapped her away without hesitation, stepped back to the other side, and said in a deep voice, "Stay away from me."
Shen Xiangjun felt a little hurt, but she also saw the situation inside the cabin. Seeing the several motionless figures in the thick fog, Shen Xiangjun was actually a little scared, but then she remembered that her father and Luo Qiu had designed this for her, and felt that there should be no danger.