Chapter 397 The Southern Inspection Tour Begins
The autumn air is crisp and clear.
The weather is neither too hot nor too cold, so it's suitable for doing anything.
For example, getting married, having children, visiting relatives and friends.
Liu Zhentao, the second young master of the Liu family, got married less than three months after returning from the grasslands.
Logically speaking, given his age, he should have been married long ago. After several years of delay, he finally chose the daughter of a fallen noble family in the capital.
As for who gave birth, it was naturally Wang Xifeng.
After Daiyu and the others went to witness the baby's third-day celebration, the fleet on the southern tour also set sail.
Just as Yuan Hongqu and her people finished packing and settling into their lodgings, they heard what sounded like a commotion on the deck.
Accompanying the southern tour were not only selected officials, but also students from the Imperial College and some students from the Girls' Academy.
Originally, having only Daiyu in the group would have been too conspicuous, but with the addition of these students, everything seemed quite ordinary.
The girls' academy had eight students accompanying them, including Daiyu, while the Imperial Academy had slightly more, with twenty.
Although they were all students, there was a difference between boys and girls, so it was impossible for them to be assigned to the same ship.
The girls were on their own boat, and most of the boatmen and other staff on the boat were also women.
However, each family brought more maids, servants, and guards than they had brought on their last trip to the grasslands, so this large ship was just enough.
Hearing the sounds from the deck, Yuan Hongqu came over with Yin Duo.
"Lord Yuan, when we were counting heads just now, we found that there were people on the ship who weren't even from our ship." The steward in charge of the ship's affairs frowned and hurriedly reported to Yuan Hongqu when he saw her come out.
The people on this ship are all students from their academy. If other people sneak onto the ship, even if there are people in charge on board, the responsibility will still fall on Yuan Hongqu herself.
“Lord Yuan, we are guards of the Tenth Prince. There was not enough room on the Tenth Prince’s ship, so we were arranged to come here.”
Yuan Hongqu glanced at him.
"To avoid this situation, we've stated beforehand that this ship is exclusively for the girls' academy's use, and no one else is allowed to board it. Manager Xu, please check carefully and see who managed to sneak aboard during the chaos, and get them all off!"
She really didn't know that the Tenth Prince was on this southern tour. Although she was a little curious about the Tenth Prince's crybaby nature, she wasn't curious enough to allow his guards to stay on this ship.
"Lord Yuan, the ship has already departed. Why don't we wait until we reach the next ferry crossing and then take another ship?"
Yuan Hongqu looked at the person the guard had been subtly trying to block with a puzzled expression.
"Lord Yuan, the Tenth Prince was not in the entourage during this southern tour. I'm afraid something's wrong with these people," Steward Xu whispered to Yuan Hongqu.
Is that how it is? So these people sneaked onto the ship?
Although Yuan Hongqu didn't sense any ill intent from the guards, their constant evasiveness... could it be...?
"Tenth Prince, you should come out. The ship has already set sail. It's been a journey of more than ten days. Are you going to hide forever?"
"If Lord Yuan insists on forcing me out, can't you just pretend you don't know?" The Tenth Prince stepped out, pushing aside the guards.
He was dressed very casually today, and would obviously not be recognized at a glance in a crowd.
However, after the ship set sail, he felt that he could reveal his identity so that someone would arrange food and lodging for them.
But to his surprise, the boat he randomly boarded turned out to be the boat of the girls' college students.
His guards originally thought that no one knew that the Tenth Prince was not in the southern tour group, so they wanted to sneak in and thought that they could just find any ship with so many people on board and they would not be discovered. However, as soon as the ship set off, the ship's manager and his men took the list and went from room to room to check the number of people.
They were discovered so easily.
The Tenth Prince stared directly at Yuan Hongqu. In the past, he would have immediately felt his eyes sting and tears would have flowed uncontrollably in this situation.
But today, looking at Yuan Hongqu, I didn't feel any soreness or tears.
The Tenth Prince found it unbelievable. He even rubbed his eyes, but they were normal. He blinked and thought about his current situation, which seemed not good. Under such emotions, he would not be able to control his tears. Why didn't he cry today?
Could it be that it actually got better?
The Tenth Prince was overjoyed and felt he could no longer cry.
Yuan Hongqu watched as the Tenth Prince alternated between frowning and ecstatic joy, wondering what had gotten into him. However, she was certain that the Tenth Prince could not remain on their ship.
"Tenth Prince, our ship is full of students from the academy, it's not appropriate for you to come. I'll have someone lower a small boat, why don't you go to the Emperor's ship up ahead?"
"Alright, alright, Lord Yuan, where is your female student? Last time I saw her shoot and kill the bandit leader with an arrow. Did she bring a bow and arrow this time?" The Tenth Prince suddenly remembered Daiyu, the girl who had embarrassed him so much last time.
"She was naturally in the southern tour group, but she was on the boat at the front talking with the Empress." Daiyu had received an imperial edict while she was still on the shore, instructing her to accompany the Empress, so she was not here.
"The journey to the south is naturally very safe, so there's no need to carry those bows and arrows for self-defense."
"What a pity! I thought her hidden arrow was very exquisite, and I was even thinking of borrowing it to make a replica!"
The Tenth Prince still harbored resentment over the last bandit suppression incident. Although it was indeed shocking that Daiyu shot and killed the bandit leader, what shocked the Tenth Prince even more was Daiyu's hidden arrow.
After returning to the capital, he had been wanting to get a sleeve dart like that, but unfortunately he couldn't find one.
He did want to find Daiyu, but he had never had any interaction with her before, so he felt a little embarrassed to go there so abruptly.
So for two or three months after returning from the grasslands, he still couldn't find an opportunity.
This time, he mistakenly boarded the boat of the girls' academy and still hadn't seen Lin Daiyu.
However, if I see Yuan Hongqu, I suppose it would be acceptable to have her convey the message.
The Tenth Prince felt a pang of regret. He had encountered Yuan Hongqu more often in the palace than he had encountered Daiyu, so why hadn't he thought of her?
If I had thought of it sooner, I would have a hidden dart by now!
"Hidden blades? That's easy. I'll give you a pair when we get back to the capital." Yuan Hongqu was now in a hurry to get rid of the Tenth Prince, so she didn't care much about giving away a pair of hidden blades.
"Then, Lord Yuan, you must remember this!" The Tenth Prince was overjoyed to hear this. If he had known that he could have just found Yuan Hongqu, why did he waste so much time?
Ugh, I regret it even more now!
"Tenth Prince, please step onto the small boat. The one ahead is the Emperor's ship."
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