At the sound of him saying "Continue," Madam Ruan nearly fainted from rage. First, she had thought she might have a chance to escape disaster, only to find that he had no intention of stopping at all. Second, she was the owner of this ship. The sounds of fighting outside clearly meant someone was attacking them; without her overseeing things, her side's counterattack was bound to be chaotic.
"Do you really intend to stand by and do nothing?" Madam Ruan bit her lip, regretting her decision to use a substitute this time. Not only had she been taken advantage of, but she had also run into bandits attacking them. Misfortunes never came alone.
Song Qingshu smiled faintly. "The Ruan family has stood in the martial world for so many years and is even the Number One Imperial Merchant. How could they fail to handle such a minor disturbance?"
Madam Ruan secretly groaned. Under normal circumstances, she naturally would not have worried about bandits targeting them. For one thing, she could direct matters from within; for another, she had Han Tuozhou as her patron and could draw upon the authorities' power. But things were very different now. Han Tuozhou could barely protect himself, and according to reliable intelligence, Jia Sidao was very likely behind the people attacking them. They were naturally nothing like the petty troublemakers of the past.
Seeing her lost in thought, Song Qingshu could not help laughing. "What? You talked with her a few times and already consider her a friend?"
Madam Ruan's mind worked quickly, and she soon came up with an explanation. "We had no boat to take, and she invited us aboard, treating us to fine food and wine all along the way. Now that she is in trouble, wouldn't it be rather unjustifiable for