Chapter 121: The Boat Accident
To get from Duke Chengguo's Mansion to the destination, one needs to exit the South City Gate and walk another twenty miles to reach the North Red Gate of Nanyuan.
Nanyuan is an exclusive garden for the royal family. It is also used as a place for military training on weekdays and is rarely open to the public.
The only exception is today's dragon boat race.
At this time, Xu Shuyao and his party were heading towards Nanyuan in a mighty procession. The Jinwu Guards and Yulin Guards waiting in the waters of Nanyuan were also ready to participate in the competition.
These two teams came from the Twelve Guards of the Imperial Guards, and both were under the command of Xiao Mo, the prince of Duke Chengguo.
In addition, there are two teams consisting of students of appropriate age from the Imperial College and the sons of noble families in the capital.
Finally, the fifth team comes from spontaneous dragon boat enthusiasts from the public.
Once you get out of the South City Gate, you'll see people all the way to Nanyuan.
Xu Shuyao, Cui Zhaoran and Old Madam Xiao rode in the same carriage, and along the way they met many ladies and young ladies who also came from noble families.
When they saw the carriage of the old lady from the Chengguo Mansion, some would come forward to say hello or exchange a few words, while others would nod from a distance to let them go first.
Fortunately, the journey was not far, and after a while, we arrived at our destination after an hour.
As soon as the ladies of the Duke's Mansion got off the car, they were led to a high platform closer to the starting point, while the two masters and the gentlemen went to the other side.
There were tables and chairs on the high platform. As soon as they sat down, the maids began to serve snacks and tea.
Xu Shuyao looked up at the sky. The sun was hidden behind thin clouds, so she didn't feel the sun.
What's more, the cool breeze blowing from the water really makes it suitable for going out for an outing, just as the prince said.
She looked at Old Madam Xiao again, and seeing that the old lady also looked very contented, Xu Shuyao pursed her lips and smiled.
After waiting for a while, suddenly, the crowds on both sides of the water became agitated and everyone looked in one direction.
Xu Shuyao looked up and saw the emperor's procession walking towards the high platform in the center. Everyone knelt and bowed, shouting "Long live the emperor" from afar.
Emperor Dayan and Concubine Cao appeared at the dragon boat race together, and behind him were a group of princes, ministers, and imperial concubines.
"My cousin is there!" Cui Zhaoran pointed at the man in black who was following the emperor.
Madam Xiao squinted her eyes and looked at him: "Is it Mo'er? Why is it different from what I usually see?"
Wang Shi beside him laughed, "If it's not him, then who else could it be?"
After all, he is his own son, and he can recognize him at a glance.
The most important person had arrived, and the dragon boats in the water had been waiting for a long time.
As the emperor waved his hand, deafening sounds of gongs and drums were heard, and then the five dragon boats quickly rowed forward.
Cui Zhaoran and Xiao Jinshan could no longer wait and hurriedly asked their elders for permission to leave.
Old Madam Xiao agreed with a smile, and asked the maids around the two to take good care of their masters, and sent several guards to follow them.
Wang smiled and persuaded Xu Shuyao: "You should go too! We will help you take good care of the old lady."
Xu Shuyao smiled and shook her head, "Shuyao thinks we can see farther from here!"
This seems to be true. If you go down to the sides of the river, you may be able to observe the close scenery, but if you stand high, you can see far.
Seeing this, Old Madam Xiao did not try to persuade her, so Xu Shuyao sat there contentedly, eating preserved fruit, enjoying the breeze, and listening to their chat.
After a while, the wife of Marquis Wu Ding came over with her daughter-in-law and daughter to say hello. The eldest daughter, Xiao Jinru, saw Xu Shuyao, a young lady, sitting with the other women, and she urged her to ride on the pleasure boat with her.
The first person Xu Shuyao thought of was the prince. Could it be that he was the one who used this trick?
According to this cousin, all the young ladies going to Beijing are on the pleasure boats below.
Xu Shuyao didn't like occasions full of gossip. Whether it was her aunt Chen, the old lady or Wang, they all thought she should go out more often.
Xiao Jinru was accompanied by her sister-in-law Fang Xueer. The young lady was quiet and looked a little timid.
Originally they came to look for Xiao Jinshan, but the third girl was not there, so they wanted to bring Xu Shuyao along.
In that case, there is no need to worry.
So Xu Shuyao said goodbye to everyone and left with her eldest cousin in the mansion.
When the three of them arrived at the pleasure boat, they saw that it was full of young ladies dressed in new clothes.
As the young lady of the Marquis of Wuding's Mansion, Xiao Jinru has the support of a powerful family like the Duke of Chengguo's Mansion. In addition, she has a generous and straightforward personality, so she can get along well wherever she goes.
At this time, when the people on the pleasure boat saw her, they came over to greet her.
After Xiao Jinru exchanged greetings with everyone, he also took the opportunity to introduce Xu Shuyao and Fang Xueer.
As the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Wuding, Fang Xueer was naturally known by some people, but she was timid by nature and had only been used as a foil by these people before.
Some of the young ladies knew Xu Shuyao, after all, there were also people on this pleasure boat who went to the plum blossom viewing banquet that day.
But her status was really not enough, so everyone just exchanged a few casual pleasantries for Xiao Jinru's sake.
The pleasure boat has two floors. The young ladies all stay on the lower floor, where there are more people.
Xu Shuyao and Fang Xueer were talking, and after a while Ma Jingtang came over to greet them.
She still remembered that day in the plum garden of the Duke's Mansion, the young lady named Ma talked to her about riding a horse at the border.
The three of them were chatting casually as the pleasure boat moved forward, heading towards the finish line of the dragon boat race, just taking a shortcut.
In front of them, there was a more exquisite and smaller pleasure boat.
On both sides are scattered many large and small black-sailed boats, rushing towards the destination together with the two pleasure boats!
Xu Shuyao heard from the ladies around her that the boat in front was the royal pleasure boat, and Princess Huayang was sitting on it.
She didn't take it seriously at first, but suddenly she saw everyone around her looking at the pleasure boat with excitement in their eyes.
Xu Shuyao also looked up and saw Xiao Mo standing at the side of the boat in black. Beside him stood a slightly older man, and behind him stood the princess Huayang, who was from a wealthy family.
Xu Shuyao felt the other person's gaze sweeping over her, so she quickly looked away, used Ma Jingtang's body to block it, and turned to face the cabin of the pleasure boat.
It was just an accident that happened at this moment.
When the two pleasure boats approached each other, their boat seemed to have lost control and crashed straight forward.
When this happened suddenly, Xu Shuyao's heart began to beat wildly.
She held on to the railing tightly, but still slid down uncontrollably.
As far as the eye could see, the small pleasure boat had capsized.
However, the surrounding black-sailed boats did not avoid it, but instead sped up and surrounded it.
As the ship in front capsized, the bow of their ship was also seriously damaged.
But after a few breaths, Xu Shuyao felt the cold water flowing over her body.
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