They arrived in Suzhou at midnight that day. The boat did not dock but moored in the middle of the river. It set off at dawn.
It passed through Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Huai'an, Xuzhou, Jining, Liaocheng, Linqing, Dezhou, Cangzhou, Tianjin and then arrived in Tongzhou.
When in Zhenjiang, the eldest son and daughter-in-law of General Manager Niu brought gifts to the ship to pay respects to the eldest wife. When arriving in Yangzhou, the wife of Yangzhou prefect Pu Daren visited the ship. After staying a day at Huai'an, the eldest wife met a former best friend whose husband was an inspector in Shaanxi. Once passing Xuzhou, all these social events were gone. When the ship reached Tianjin, it almost had a conflict with a councilor who was returning to Beijing to report on his work because of the location of the ship's landing. The other party was a descendant of the Wang family of Zhennan Marquis's Mansion, and the eldest wife used the name of the Xu family of Yongping Marquis's Mansion. The other party immediately sent his wife on board to pay respects to the eldest wife, and they also agreed to go to Shanxi to enjoy the scenery together in Yanjing.
After the lady left, Mother Xu couldn't help but sigh: "If it weren't for my son-in-law, I'm afraid it would be difficult to deal with today's incident."
After several days of traveling, the eldest wife was a little tired. She smiled bitterly and said, "There are many hidden talents in the capital. There is a joke that when a plaque falls, seven out of ten are of the third rank."
Mother Xu was very moved by this. Not only did she call the security guard to scold him, she also called the maids, wives, and old women to give them a thorough instruction, telling them not to cause trouble when they arrived in Yanjing. If they did not listen, they would be kicked out immediately.
Bin Ju came back and told Shiyi Niang about it. Shiyi Niang laughed and felt that Madam Xu had some of the fear of country people entering the city: "You have to be careful. If you are not careful, you might bump into the chief steward of a prince's or marquis's mansion...
Qiu Ju blinked her big eyes and said, "Isn't our eldest brother-in-law very powerful? Otherwise, why would the son of the marquis give us gifts?"
For a moment, everyone looked proud.
Eleventh Lady felt that this was not a good phenomenon, but she was also moved.
She first scolded Qiuju: "The Wang family of Zhennan Marquis' Mansion is only familiar with our eldest brother-in-law, and the eldest lady is the elder, so they asked Madam to come and pay her respects. Don't think that you will have such good luck every time. Otherwise, Mother Xu would not have instructed you so solemnly." Then she asked Dongqing and Binju to help her go to Wu Niang's cabin.
It was only a distance of more than ten feet, so she took a break in the middle.
Ever since she got on the boat, she started to feel seasick, couldn't eat, and her face was swollen from sleeping.
Seeing Shiyi Niang, Wu Niang was very surprised and hurried forward to support Bin Ju: "We will arrive in Tongzhou soon. When we get there, we will take a carriage instead, and you will feel better."
She comforted Eleventh Lady softly, and the faint scent of lily of the valley on her body was very comfortable to smell.
"Fifth sister, isn't our eldest brother-in-law a very powerful man!" Eleventh Lady looked at him with envy.
Wu Niang was stunned and her body gradually became stiff. Although she was smiling, the smile only appeared on her surface and not in her eyes: "You came to me just for this? Aren't you afraid of being exhausted to death?" Her voice suddenly rose in the last sentence, sounding a little sharp.
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "My elder sister can chat with mother every day, go to the side of the boat to enjoy the scenery, and recite poems. I can only lie down and can't even hold needle and thread... It's really boring. Fifth sister, please talk to me!" There was a rare hint of coquettishness in her voice.
Wu Niang's eyes became even colder. "Yes, our eldest brother-in-law is a very powerful man. Did you see the lady Wang who gave gifts to mother? She is not only the daughter-in-law of the Zhennan Marquis's Mansion, but also the daughter of the Dongyang Jiang family."
"The Jiang family of Dongyang?" Eleventh Lady suddenly discovered that Fifth Lady seemed to know a lot about the Jiangnan families.
"Yes!" Wu Niang nodded. "The Jiang family of Dongyang is just like our Luo family of Yuhang. They are both great families in the south of the Yangtze River. Although their ancestors are not as prominent as ours, their family has always been intermarried with the noble families of Yanjing, and they once had a concubine..."
"Ah! People like this will give way to my brother-in-law after hearing his reputation. My sister is so lucky!"
Wu Niang nodded randomly, and her face, which was always pretty and lively like a sunflower, had a trance. For the first time, she did not ask Shiyi Niang to sit down and talk, but just stood five or six steps away from the cabin door and talked to Shiyi Niang. It was also the first time that Shiyi Niang came to Wu Niang's room and turned around to leave without sitting down.
Ziwei looked at the stumbling figure of Eleventh Lady, her face uncertain: "Fifth Miss, Eleventh Miss..."
Wu Niang's expression was stern, and her trance disappeared completely. She said seriously: "The brocade and silk move people's hearts, even Shiyi Niang can't be immune!"
"Then we..."
"Don't worry about her." Wu Niang smiled coldly, "No matter what mother and elder sister are planning... She is only thirteen years old this year, she is still a little young."
Ziwei thought of Shiyi Niang's budding face and still felt uneasy: "But the eldest lady brought her here..."
"If we don't bring her here, are we going to tell others why we are going to Yanjing?"
Ziwei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Dong Qing, who had returned to the cabin, whispered to Shiyi Niang: "Miss, what's wrong with you? You just taught Qiu Ju a lesson... Why did you go into that mess?"
Eleventh Lady lay down panting and whispered, "There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world!"
Dong Qing didn't hear clearly, so he asked, "What did you say?"
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I said, the more people rob it, the more precious it is. If I don't add fuel to the fire, how can I escape unscathed when the time comes."
Dong Qing became even more confused after listening to this, and muttered in a low voice: "I don't know what happened... things just didn't go well after getting on the boat..."
Eleventh Lady smiled and ignored her, turned over and went to sleep.
Only when I sleep, I don't feel hungry...
I really hope to meet Luo Yuanniang earlier and pass the customs quickly, so that I can eat whatever I want!
This thought had only lingered in their minds for two or three days before they arrived in Tongzhou.
It was the end of the You period, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and it was gloomy all around. It seemed like it was going to rain or snow heavily, making it seem a little suffocating.
Although they had avoided an unexpected disaster by using Xu Lingyi's name card, the eldest wife did not dare to be careless at this time. She had already ordered the boatman to line up to enter the dock. If someone asked them to give way, they would do so. After all, the Luo family was only going to visit relatives, and they were not in a hurry to report to the capital, nor were they in a hurry to sell goods...
Wu Niang disagreed with the eldest wife's cautiousness: "We have a reason to give in to the government, why should we give in to the merchants as well?"
Mother Jiang smiled and said, "Miss, you don't know that even those who come to Beijing to do business cannot survive without a backer... We can save as much trouble as possible."
Wu Niang thought thoughtfully: "It's not easy to gain a foothold in Yanjing, isn't it?"
"That's right!" Mother Jiang just hoped that everyone would not go against the eldest wife's wishes and meet up with the uncle Luo Zhenxing who came to pick up the boat safely. "After all, Yanjing is under the feet of the emperor, and it is an important place in the capital..."
By the time the boat docked, it was an hour later and it started to rain heavily.
As soon as the ladder was set up, a tall man in a black cloak jumped up and walked quickly towards the bow where the eldest wife was standing.
Shanhu, who was holding an umbrella, was very sharp-eyed and immediately shouted in surprise, "Madam, look, it's the master."
The eldest wife leaned on Shanhu's shoulders and looked at him: "It's really Xing'er."
"Mom!" The man came through the heavy rain and stopped at the bow of the boat with an awning, then knelt down with a plop.
The eldest wife hurried forward to help the man up, and the maids, wives and old women behind her all squatted down and bowed: "Master!"
The person stood up and shouted "Mother Xu" to the crowd with a smile.
Mother Xu's eyes were already filled with tears. She squatted down again, bowed deeply, and called out "Uncle" with some excitement.
The eldest wife couldn't wait to talk to her son: "It's raining so hard, why do you rush here? What if you get gonorrhea? Is Brother Xiu okay? Are you used to the food and accommodation in Yanjing?"
"Don't worry, mother. Your son is fine. Brother Xiu is fine too..."
As the mother and son chattered, everyone on the boat looked at Luo Zhenxing, the patriarch of the Luo family.
Eleventh Lady is no exception.
When she returned to the Luo family, Luo Zhenxing had already moved to the Diming Courtyard in the outer courtyard. The number of times they met could not be counted on one hand. The last time was the ancestor worship on the 30th of the previous year. He stood in front of the tablets of the Luo family's ancestors in a light fur coat, carefully placed the various offerings handed to him by the eldest wife, and his handsome face in the morning light was full of the tranquility and brightness of a young man who did not know the taste of sorrow... But when she saw him again today, Luo Zhenxing was no longer the image she remembered - his eyes were gentle, his manners were generous, and there was a hint of firmness between his elegant eyebrows. Just like a boy who finally grew into a man.
Eleventh Lady was secretly surprised.
What happened to cause Luo Zhenxing to undergo such a drastic change?
*
The Grand Canal of the Great Zhou Dynasty runs from north to south, with Tongzhou being the final destination. There are not only various inns, but also luxuriously decorated post stations. No matter where you go, there are crowds of people, horses neighing, and carriages whirring.
The Luo family moved into a modest inn, renting out the western half of the courtyard. Luo Zhenxing, who was accompanying the eldest wife, explained uneasily: "In the spring, more people are coming to Beijing to report on their work... Not only are the post stations full, but even inns are hard to find. Mother, please make do."
The eldest wife exclaimed, "Ah!" and laughed, "Time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, it has been three years since the Emperor ascended the throne."
Officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty went to the capital to report on their work once every three years.
Luo Zhenxing smiled and said, "That's right! Next year, my mother will also be celebrating her 50th birthday."
The eldest wife's cheerful smile reached her eyes: "It's hard for you to remember." She added, "We just stayed in the inn for one night, you don't have to blame yourself. Tongzhou is famous for being crowded. It's not easy to find such a clean and quiet place. Besides, when I was young, I traveled all over the country with your grandfather. I have lived in all kinds of dirty places, but I'm not as pampered as you say." Then she pointed to Wu Niang and Shiyi Niang to greet her brother.
Luo Zhenxing returned the gift and gave Wu Niang and Shiyi Niang each a mutton-fat jade lotus hairpin as a present.
The two thanked him and went back to their rooms.
After a while, a maid brought the food and pointed to a large bowl and said, "This is the famous roasted catfish here. Everyone who stops by should try it. Miss, you can also try the new flavor." Her tone already had a Beijing flavor.
It turns out that I am thousands of miles away from home!
The thought flashed through her mind, and Eleventh Lady was stunned.
Since when did she start to regard that place as her home!
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(I didn’t expect to climb to the twelfth place on the PK list! O(∩_∩)O Haha~… Thank you everyone!
There are two things I want to explain to you. First, I have been revising the text as I wrote it, so some small details have changed. Second, there is not much essence, so I can only give you a little taste, please understand.
Finally, please continue to support Zhizhi and give him the motivation to write.
Thank you everyone! )