At the end of April, Qin Xiaozhou found a merchant ship under Zhu Xian's name and announced at home, "Everyone, get ready. We will depart for Jinling in three days."
"Ahhh, sister-in-law, are we really going to Jinling?"
Qin Xiaozhou nodded, "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. I promised to go, so of course I'll go!"
Wang Lan and Zhao Fang had to take care of the children, and neither of them liked leaving home, so they didn't want to go. "Xiao Zhou, you can take them to see the children. I'm old and don't want to leave home."
Qin Xiaozhou did not force the issue.
That morning, the three Lu siblings, along with Qin Xiaozhou and Qin Jinxiu, boarded a merchant ship.
The boat was being steered by an expert surnamed Li, a tall and burly man with a full beard and a very bold manner. “Don’t worry, Manager Qin, I’ve been traveling back and forth to Jinling for seven or eight years, and I know this waterway better than anyone.”
"good."
Just as they were about to set sail, a woman in her thirties suddenly came running from the west. "Manager Qin, something has happened at the embroidery shop."
Qin Xiaozhou ran to the edge of the deck and asked, "What's wrong?"
"The embroiderers have been poisoned," Aunt Wang said anxiously. "They ate something this morning, and when they went to work, about ten of them were vomiting and had diarrhea."
Poisoning!
Qin Xiaozhou's hand trembled slightly. "Did you ask the female physician to go and take a look?"
Aunt Wang wiped her sweat. "I went, I went, but the embroidery room is still a mess."
Lu Yunfeng disembarked. "I'll go take a look."
Qin Xiaozhou stopped him, "There are only girls over there, it's not convenient for you to go, I'll go instead, you guys go back first..."
Before she could even utter the word "home," she saw Jinxiu and Lu Yan looking at her expectantly, their eyes filled with undisguised disappointment.
She walked toward the wooden ladder beside the boat. "You all continue on your way. I'll stay here and guard the house."
Lu Yunfeng was still worried. "There's no rush. Let's go home today and go in a few days."
"No." Qin Xiaozhou gestured with his chin towards the three people behind him. "You take them with you. Don't let the children down."
She further instructed, "You must remember everything you see and do on your trip to Jinling, so that you may gain some insights and make the trip worthwhile."
The difference between ancient and modern transportation is vast. Traveling far from home is no easy feat. If you just rush through and see things superficially, you're wasting your time and money.
“Okay, sister-in-law, I’ll definitely take a good look.” Lu Yan patted her chest. “I read in the book that Jinling was an ancient capital city of several dynasties. It must be very prosperous and have a rich history. I want to see how their clothes are different from ours.”
Qin Xiaozhou nodded, "Be careful. Don't suffer any grievances while you're out and about, and don't cause any trouble. Go on."
After saying that, he turned around and went downstairs, found a small boat, and headed towards the embroidered building to the west.
Lu Yunfeng watched the small boat sail away. "Li, set sail."
The two-story merchant ship moved slowly eastward.
Qin Xiaozhou disembarked at the embroidery building's dock and ran straight to the building. "What's going on? Are the embroiderers feeling better now?"
Granny Qian rushed over and said, "Manager Qin, fifteen embroiderers have shown symptoms, vomiting and having diarrhea. The female physician has already taken their pulses and said they have been poisoned."
Qin Xiaozhou frowned. These embroiderers lived and ate at the school; how could they have been poisoned? "Investigate!"
Qin Xiaozhou went to the embroiderers' quarters, where the embroiderers lay weakly on their beds. "How are they?"
The female doctor took her pulse and said, "It's just some croton powder. She'll be fine after the diarrhea. She doesn't need to take any medicine."
"Croton powder?" Qin Xiaozhou called over the cook. "You added croton powder to the food? What are you up to!"
The ten cooks cried out in protest, "We've been working here since the building was built, for over half a year now! Manager, it wasn't us who put the croton powder in!"
Granny Qian dismissed everyone, saying, "Manager, I'll go investigate right away."
Qin Xiaozhou pondered for a moment, then said, "Let's report this to the authorities."
The constables arrived quickly, five in total. The embroiderer had suffered food poisoning, which was a serious matter and caused quite a stir in the county. The county magistrate took it very seriously and demanded a thorough investigation.
By noon, things finally started to look promising.
Qin Xiaozhou asked in surprise, "You mean someone sneaked into the boudoir and drugged it, and that person knows martial arts? Can fly over rooftops and climb walls!"
Officer Li nodded cautiously, "Yes."
"Do you know who did this?"
"I don't know yet."
On a boat on the river east of the county town, Xie Yin had a bodyguard kneeling beside her. "Young Miss, as you instructed, we have added croton powder to the embroiderers' food."
Xie Zhong frowned. "Miss, why are you doing this? I heard that the Embroidery Pavilion has already reported it to the authorities, and I'm afraid it will come back to you."
"Hmph!" Xie Yin scoffed. "It's just a little croton powder, no one's died, and it's hardly even poison. Besides, this is my bodyguard; with his skills, no one will be able to find out. Where is Lu Yunfeng?"
I found out the day before yesterday that the Lu family was going to Jinling. Xie Yin didn't want Qin Xiaozhou to go with them, so she came up with this plan to keep Qin Xiaozhou there.
"We just left the county town," Xie Zhong sighed. "You are of noble birth, why do you have to act like this for a merchant?"
“When a man travels far from home, he is most likely to meet a soulmate, and I am determined to be that soulmate.” Xie Yin’s face was full of determination.
"Uncle Zhong, I've tried, but I really can't let go of Lu Yunfeng. Let's find a good place to arrange a chance encounter with him."
Xie Zhong bowed and withdrew.
The embroiderer was poisoned, but the culprit could not be found. Qin Xiaozhou was a little frightened and could only guard the embroidery building every day and write letters to Lu Yunfeng to inform him of the matter, so as not to worry about it.
Li's merchant ship has a wide deck at the front, with two pavilions in the middle, containing eight rooms.
After traveling east for a day, Lu Yan was extremely excited, running onto the deck every now and then, "Wow, big brother, so this is what the canyon behind the east side of the county town looks like."
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