I Have a Date with a Thousand-year-old Female Corpse-Chapter 1923 - 1925: Sneaking Aboard at Midnight

Chapter 1923: Chapter 1925: Sneaking Aboard at Midnight
Before Liu Biao came to Jingzhou, although their Cai Family was a prominent clan, they did not have the glory they have today. It was he who persuaded his father to marry his eighteen-year-old elder sister to Liu Biao, who already had three children at the time. Liu Biao was already forty-five years old then. Now, a decade has passed, and although his elder sister seems to be wealthy and noble, only she truly understands the hardships.
Cai Mao and his elder sister Cai Xiao were born from the same mother, and Cai Xiao was only half an hour older than Cai Mao. The two have been very close since childhood, confiding in each other about everything. Although Cai Xiao has never mentioned it to Cai Mao over the years, Cai Mao knows that his elder sister has been leading an unhappy life. Cai Xiao has been married to Liu Biao for ten years, yet has shown no signs of conceiving. Although Liu Biao already has three sons and Liu Cong married the daughter of Cai Mao’s brother last year, making Liu Cong very close to Cai Xiao, Liu Biao has clearly expressed his intention to adopt Liu Cong to Cai Xiao.
Cai Mao can see that Cai Xiao has always been sullen and never truly happy. Although she says she is returning home to visit, she actually wants to escape the confinement of Jingzhou City, taking some maids and a thousand female soldiers trained for her by Cai Mao for a boating excursion.
In truth, Cai Mao wishes from the bottom of his heart for his sister to be happy, but unfortunately, Cai Xiao is essentially a victim of a political marriage. She has no choice, nor can Cai Mao choose for her.
While Jingzhou is relatively stable under Liu Biao’s governance, it is evident to everyone that Liu Biao’s body is deteriorating day by day. Cai Mao is constantly worried that once Liu Biao passes away, there will be no one to protect Jingzhou’s land. Cai Mao differs from others in that he sees the long term; although Yuan Shu claims to have four hundred thousand strong troops, he is merely incompetent and cannot match the hundred thousand navy soldiers at Cai Mao’s disposal.
In fact, Cai Mao is most worried about the northern Cao Cao and the eastern Sun Jian father and son—
"Family Head, an urgent letter has arrived from Yuzhou’s agents."
At this moment, a servant’s voice suddenly came from outside Cai Mao’s door.
"Bring it in quickly!"
Upon opening the letter, Cai Mao’s expression became one of alarm and deep distress; the letter clearly stated that a fierce battle between Yuan Shu and Sun Jian’s father and son resulted in Cao Cao stabbing Yuan Shu in the back while they fought vigorously. Yuan Shu’s four hundred thousand strong army fell apart, and Shouchun City had been swiftly seized by Cao Cao, while Sun Jian’s father and son were forced back to Jiang Dong by Cao’s forces. Having obtained Yuzhou, Cao Cao did not attack Jiang Dong further but withdrew to consolidate power, leaving Sun Jian’s father and son untouched.
"Family Head, there is a !"
At this time, another urgent came from outside.
"Come in quickly!" Cai Mao pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that a restful night was now impossible.
A guard hurried in and ed to Cai Mao: "Family Head, the provincial governor has adopted Kuai Liang’s strategy and dispatched Lü Gong and Huang Zu with six thousand troops to intercept Sun Jian’s retreat to Jiang Dong."
All these major events happening in Jiang Dong, you ignore entirely; during this time, you have been secretly observing Cai Mao’s navy training, while also sneaking outside the shipyard of Jingzhou City, learning Jingzhou’s boatbuilding technology with great focus and detail.
Ten days later, you receive news from Wang Can that Huang Zu and Lü Gong intercepted Sun Jian’s father and son, resulting in Sun Jian’s death, and although Sun Ce managed to escape back to Jiang Dong wounded. To Jingzhou’s officials, this seemed like great joy, yet Cai Mao found little interest in it; he and Kuai Liang both advised Liu Biao to pursue the victory and kill Sun Ce, yet Liu Biao hesitated for a day, missing the opportunity, prompting Kuai Liang to leave in rage, and Cai Mao to shut himself in his mansion for two days.
You hear this news while in Wang Can’s courtyard, fiddling with some shipbuilding tools.
"Hmph, Liu Biao has about this much ability and courage; the little overlord Sun Ce escaped back to Jiang Dong, thus Liu Biao’s Jiangxia County will have its hands full now, daily guarding against Sun Ce’s surprise raids."
Wang Can nodded in agreement: "The little overlord is certainly not just a name; Liu Biao has grown senile, letting Sun Ce go is tantamount to releasing a tiger back to its mountain, sure to be devoured one day!"
"This Jingzhou is approaching its end too; let them have three to four more years of peace, after which things will become interesting." You pat Wang Can’s shoulder and say with a smile, "Zhong Xuan, tomorrow is your grand wedding day to win that Miss Liu, yet here you are looking for me instead of preparing in your luxurious home. Why?"
At the mention of Liu Zhu, Wang Can shyly scratched his head, smiling: "I owe my fortune entirely to our Lord. I will never forget the Lord’s grace!"
Seeing Wang Can’s sincerity, you wave dismissively, casually saying: "Alright then, hurry back to prepare, you’ll certainly be busy for the next couple of days."
Wang Can nodded and then added: "Actually, I’m mainly here to inform the Lord that the Cai Family is almost at Jingzhou City, expected to arrive at the docks by tomorrow morning."
You instantly felt joyful, yet quickly calmed, saying: "No, under no circumstances can this little Emperor Yu enter Jingzhou City; once inside, it’ll be difficult for me to take them away."
Ready for action, you ask Wang Can: "Where is Cai Xiao now?"
Upon learning the exact location from Wang Can, you promptly rise, disappearing from Wang Can’s sight within a few subtle maneuvers in the dark night.
With your strength at this level, city walls and ordinary defenses are meaningless, easily scaling Jingzhou City’s walls, heading south along the river stream. After running swiftly for over an hour, you vaguely spot a large battleship sailing north on the wide river, moving slowly, with lights on board and even songs sung by women coming from the ship.
You slowly submerge yourself in the water, ignoring the icy coldness, and swim towards the battleship.
Once close to the battleship, you realize how enormous it is. Having grown up in Yuhang in the mountains, you have never seen a warship, let alone one so gigantic. Although you have witnessed at least five types of vessels in Jingzhou City’s shipyard during this time, none were as large as this. Furthermore, this warship is only half the size of the Emperor Yu’s fleet, and if it were the true Emperor Yu, it would certainly realize your plan of eastern conquest of the Japanese!
Under the cover of night, you climb onto the ship lightly, then sneak inside the vessel. The ship has five levels; initially, from below, it appeared merely vast, but upon entering, you discover the ship is not only vast but also intricately structured inside. Most parts are vacant, with only the fifth and first level illuminated, and just a few patrol teams of female soldiers passing occasionally.
You quietly bypass all guards, finally reaching the fifth level, which clearly differs from the four levels below, as it is much more spacious here, with three rooms in total. The left and right rooms are relatively small and guarded by female soldiers.
The middle room is considerably larger, resembling a large basketball court, with many dancing girls performing gracefully and musicians playing music. In the center rises a platform with an exquisite bed, lying upon which is a stunning and elegant woman, likely Cai Xiao. You cannot get close, hence unable to clearly see her detailed appearance, only sensing her alluring figure, quite captivating.
The fifth level’s openness makes you hesitate, although unafraid of the over a thousand female soldiers on board. Once a fight starts, it will surely draw attention from the shore, and then you would be forever apart from this battleship.
What to do?
PS: A "Finance Major" classmate requested naming a child, with Five Elements lacking Gold, Wood, and Water, surname Chen, boy. The Five Elements mutually generate and counteract, your child lacks Gold, Wood, and Water, so extract Earth and Gold, Gold represents Autumn, the season of harvest, wealth, and abundance; Earth represents people, hence the names — Chen Bokun, Chen Zhijun, Chen Heli. This is just a minor skill, take a look but don’t take it seriously.