Chapter 397 First Encounter with the Harbor
"Yuexi, good luck~"
The cry of the parrot Liuli rang out in the carriage, waking up Shen Yuexi who was dreaming.
She yawned, opened her eyes, and looked up at the swaying gauze curtain on the car window. The sunlight cut into the car through the gap in the curtain, casting a striking bright streak on the varnished floor.
The wheels were still rumbling as usual, outside one could hear the occasional cracking of whips, and the scent of the sea was in the air.
She took a deep breath to refresh herself, put her hands on her belly, closed her eyes and felt carefully, until the baby pushed against her palm, she lifted the quilt with peace of mind, supported her body with both hands and tried to get up.
"Sister-in-law, let me help you."
Su Mo was tidying up the bedding. Seeing that she was about to get up, she quickly sat behind her and supported her back with both hands.
Shen Yuexi smiled and said, "Don't be so careful. I'm not so bad that I can't even get out of bed."
Su Mo smiled and said, "Your belly is already quite big. You like to walk with your hands behind your back. You're still trying to be brave."
Shen Yuexi moved her legs off the bed, sat on the edge, and gathered her messy hair. She said, "If Mother had stopped before it was too late, I wouldn't have to endure this. Running from outside the Great Wall all the way to the southernmost part of Jingzhou is the first time I've walked this far in my life."
Riding in a carriage every day was too boring. But Xiao Zhuo was afraid that she would be in danger, so he didn't allow her to leave the carriage at all. Fortunately, with Su Mo and Xia Lan by her side, and the parrot Liuli, she finally managed to cope.
Su Mo soothed her, "When we get to the island, Bei Heng and I will definitely persuade Mother. After all, we are all her children, and we are not plants or trees. She will definitely change her mind."
Shen Yuexi said: "I hope so."
Pei Jingyun captured Mei Dai, Shen Lan, and Su Mo's father, and sent assassins to kill her and Xiao Zhuo. Although this trip to the south was tiring, it had to be done.
Earlier, the court found out that the Grand Canal Governor Pan Jinlong was Pei Jingyun's confidant, and had been concealing the entry and exit of Pei Jingyun's ships in the port for nearly twenty years. Now the Dali Temple has imprisoned Pan Jinlong and is awaiting sentencing.
The various prefectures and counties needed officials to govern, so the Prime Minister led the officials back to the capital to handle government affairs. General Zhao Mu personally led 20,000 cavalry to escort them south to the expedition.
The journey took a full two weeks. The windows were first covered with thick, airtight cotton curtains, then with windproof linen curtains, then with satin curtains that only blocked the sun, and finally with breathable, cool gauze curtains. Clothes were also replaced in the same way.
The weather is getting hotter and hotter. We are about to reach the southernmost port of Jingzhou. Although it is January, it feels no different from summer.
"Bei Heng, you're sorry for me," the parrot Liuli probably saw that Shen Yuexi only talked to Su Mo and ignored it, so it changed the words, "Bei Heng, you're sorry for me."
Shen Yuexi and Su Mo looked at Liuli flapping her wings on the horizontal bar at the same time and sighed.
Liuli had lost dozens of flight feathers from both wings, and its tail was bald. If feathers were clothes, Liuli could be called a beggar among birds. The most speechless thing was that it had plucked all these feathers by itself.
Shen Yuexi had once left it at home, and it got so agitated it plucked all the hair off its neck. Fearing it might continue plucking its feathers, Shen Yuexi brought it along when they intercepted the enemy at Baixiu Mountain. Later, when the battle became critical and she couldn't take care of it anymore, she had to ask Xia Lan to watch over it. Liuli then began plucking the feathers off its wings again, resulting in this.
Fortunately, it could still fly a few times, otherwise it would have become a free-floating chicken.
Shen Yuexi raised the back of her hand and chirped twice, and Liuli flew to her wrist and stood there, combing the feathers on its back with its mouth.
"Liuli really likes being with sister-in-law," Su Mo reached out and touched Liuli's head, "When we bought it, we didn't know it would be so clingy."
Shen Yuexi picked up a peanut from the plate and stuffed it into Liuli's mouth, saying, "This bird has a bad temper... Is my brother still following the team?"
Su Mo turned around and lifted the curtain a little to look out. She said, "Before dawn, he stuffed a bag and came here early. He didn't dare to show up. If the general saw him, it would be troublesome. Sister-in-law, do you want to eat with us?"
Shen Yuexi also felt helpless. Zhao Mu still harbored a deep hatred for Xiao Beiheng. Although his wife and children had been saved, the fact that Xiao Beiheng had sent an envoy to the capital to kill people was still a fact. Neither Xiao Zhuo nor Shen Yuexi could say anything.
She put the glass back on the horizontal bar and reached out to pick up the bag on the table. The jade pendant fragments in the bag collided with each other, making a crisp sound.
"Sister-in-law, you've been fiddling with it all the way," Su Mo said puzzledly as she got up to prepare breakfast. "This jade pendant is broken. Even if you can put it back together, it can't be restored. What's the point of carrying it with you?"
Shen Yuexi said, "This is the only relic that Empress Wen left for my husband. It is also the token of love that my father gave to my mother. It is so important that I must take good care of it."
"But it's broken."
Shen Yuexi smiled without saying a word, tied the jade pendant around her waist, and stood up to wash.
Daxiong could use these fragments to create the Dragon Jade Pendant again. Although she could use other jades to do the same, she believed that only these fragments had important meaning. If she used other jades, it would no longer be the original jade pendant.
She had finished washing up and was having breakfast with Su Mo when the carriage stopped. The door opened and Xia Lan appeared and said, "Master, we have arrived at the port."
Shen Yuexi had never seen a port since she came to this world. She became excited and quickly devoured the cake in two or three bites before getting out of the car with Su Mo to watch.
As soon as I got off the car, a gust of sea breeze blew in my face, wet and with a strong fishy smell.
Shen Yuexi instinctively raised her hand to fan her nose, then looked at Su Mo, who was also frowning and covering her nose. The two smiled at each other and looked towards the dock.
Dozens of ships, large and small, lined the piers, which stretched out like arms into the sea. Rows of white seagulls cawed from the masts as workers unloaded baskets of lively fish from the boats. Not far from the pier was the bustling fish market, where fishmongers and customers clamored incessantly.
After the fish market, there were houses of different heights. Xiao Zhuo and General Zhao Mu were talking with an official in front of a house.
"Sister-in-law, you and Xia Lan stay in the car to eat. I'll go check it out."
After Shen Yuexi finished giving the instructions, she walked up to Xiao Zhuo.
When Xiao Zhuo saw her coming, he introduced the official to her and said, "Yuexi, this is the newly appointed Governor of the Grand Canal, Ren Zongg-Governor. He has already prepared a sea vessel for us."
The two sides exchanged greetings, and Governor Ren said to Xiao Zhuo, "Prince An, our government originally had nearly a hundred ships, but the previous governor funded the traitor Pei Jingyun and allocated ninety ships specifically to transport supplies and personnel for her. Now, none of these ships are in port, and only ten are currently available."
Zhao Mu asked, "How many people can fit on ten ships? We're going to fight the rebels. If we assume 500 people per ship, that would mean 5,000 people. I have 20,000 cavalry here. Isn't the shipyard building them?"
Governor Ren glanced at the cavalry in the distance and said with a bitter face, "The general is right. The shipyard has been working overtime. But it's only been half a month since we received the news. It's completely too late."
Xiao Zhuo said, "General, let's go check out the progress of the shipyard first."
Shen Yuexi took Xiao Zhuo's arm and said, "I'm going too. This is my first time at the port. Are there any delicious sea fish?"
"Yes, yes, Princess An, what kind of fish do you want to eat?" Governor Ren led the way. "We have cuttlefish, crab, conch, shark fin... You can eat it as sashimi, grilled, fried, or steamed... Princess An can eat as much as she wants."
A group of people were talking as they walked towards the busy shipyard in the distance.
Xiao Beiheng was standing on the roof of a house not far from the pier and watching when a chuckle sounded behind him.
"Young Master, you are really in a refined mood."
Xiao Beiheng turned around. He had already recognized Long's voice and had no intention of fighting her. Firstly, Long's martial arts skills were very high, and secondly, Long was also very wary of him.
Long was sitting on a corner of the roof, looking at Shen Yuexi, Xiao Zhuo and the others in the distance, and said, "Young Master, you've been protecting them all the way. We really can't do anything."
Xiao Beiheng said coldly: "You followed me all the way?"
"The master has ordered us to assassinate her... But your arrangement is quite unusual, letting the young lady and Shen Yuexi ride in the same carriage. We should consider poisoning her, fearing she might take it. We can also use a musket, fearing she might be accidentally injured."
"Xiao Zhuo is my brother, and Shen Yuexi is my sister-in-law. If you want to kill them, you are going against me."
"If we don't kill them, we're going against our master. Young Master, you know we truly obey our master. But now that we've reached the port, we have no choice but to let them on board."
At this point, Long's eyes lit up and he said, "Young Master, if Xiao Zhuo and Shen Yuexi come on board, we can sink their ship at sea and drown them..."
"Momo and I will take the same boat with my brother and his wife to see mother," Xiao Beiheng said, "you guys should just give up."
Long looked up in silence for a long moment before he said, "Young Master, why can't you just stand with the Master? Xiao Zhuo stole your throne, and Shen Yuexi stole the Young Madam's empress. Don't you really care?"
"I've been an emperor, and Momo has been an empress," Xiao Beiheng said, "but I don't think those things will bring me any happiness. I'd better let my eldest brother do it."
After he killed his father and became emperor, Su Mo completely lost her smile. Later, in order to survive, he almost forced Su Mo to death, and he realized that the power he had been pursuing could not bring him happiness.
Now he knows what he really wants, which is to live a good life with Su Mo. Nothing else matters.
"Young Master, I really can't do anything with you." Long pulled out a small bamboo tube from his arms and threw it over. "Next, this is the message from the master to her son."
Xiao Beiheng was afraid that she was cheating, so he didn't go to catch it directly. He let the bamboo tube fall on the roof and held it down with his scabbard.
"Young Master, just open it and take a look," Long said helplessly, spreading his hands. "We won't harm you, but we have no say in the matter once we're at sea. You must make a decision quickly, or it will be too late."
Xiao Beiheng lifted the bamboo tube with his sword sheath, uncorked it, and took out the scroll of paper inside. He glanced at the words on the paper and muttered to himself, "It is indeed my mother's handwriting."
As he read further, his pupils gradually contracted and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
When I looked up at Long again, I found that Long had disappeared without me noticing.
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