Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 646: Chapter 318 Going to Jiangnan_3

The Yellow River has been a wealth-devouring beast since ancient times. Whenever there is major flooding, nearby cities are submerged, and the deluge often covers vast areas, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. Regardless of which dynasty, considerable funds are spent on the construction along the Yellow River.

When the Great Zhou was newly established, a significant amount of money was spent on building and reinforcing the Yellow River dikes. Only then did the Yellow River behave for the next ten or twenty years.

The Yellow River cannot remain calm forever; the previously constructed dikes cannot always withstand its power. The emperor calculated that the dikes needed to be rebuilt, or else the Yellow River would unleash its fury again.

Originally, the emperor planned to start digging canals this year, but after Zhao Yao proposed the imperial examination, the emperor could only host the examination first and then proceed with digging the canals and repairing other waterways.

Leaving the capital and their parents behind, Zhao Yao and the others originally intended to run wild like untethered horses, but the same afternoon, the four conspicuous ones got seasick and vomited miserably.

The four conspicuous ones always thought they wouldn’t get seasick, insisting on not taking seasickness medication before boarding, but they still ended up very seasick.

The four good brothers were so seasick they were barely breathing, and Zhao Yao couldn’t enjoy himself anymore.

Zhao Yao thought about how they would be at sea in the future, and it wasn’t good for his four good brothers to be so severely seasick. He advised them to quickly adapt to seasickness. If they were still seasick when they reached Jinling, they should go on the ship more until they were not seasick anymore.

The four seasick conspicuous ones: "..." Just kill us already.

After chatting with his four conspicuous brothers for a while, Zhao Yao returned to his room and began feasting on an all-fish feast. Eating fish on a boat was the most convenient, especially fresh fish caught on the spot. The water-boiled fish, pickled fish, sweet and sour fish, carp soup, roast fish—they were all incredibly delicious.

After dinner, Zhao Yao began writing a letter to He Lianfang. He promised to write to He Lianfang every day.

Xiao Jin was a bit reluctant until Zhao Yao took out a fish for it; only then did it obediently deliver the letter.

In the following days, Song Jicai and the others finally recovered from their seasickness.

Worried about Mr. Meng’s health, Zhao Yao and the others didn’t delay much on their way to Jinling. However, every few days they docked once to buy some items onshore. At these times, Zhao Yao and Song Jicai would go ashore for a short stroll.

As the docking time was short, Zhao Yao and the others just wandered near the pier and didn’t venture deeper into the city to play.

That night, Zhao Yao and the others sat on the deck to admire the moon and the nighttime scenery on the river.

Shen Sen suddenly asked, "Boss, have we reached the Jiangnan region now?"

"We arrived this morning; we’ll reach Jinling in a few days." Zhao Yao misunderstood Shen Sen’s meaning, thinking he was impatient with the boat journey, "Just hold on for a few more days."

"Boss, that’s not what I meant." Shen Sen glanced at the river again, his expression turning strange, "Boss, haven’t you noticed there are only a few boats on the river now?" Before reaching Jiangnan, they encountered many boats day and night, but after arriving on the Jiangnan rivers, they saw some boats during the day but none at night. It was too strange. "Could it be that the Jiangnan river has a curfew at night, prohibiting boats?"

Chu Huan said, "That’s unlikely. Perhaps the Jiangnan officials knew the boss was coming to Jinling to visit Mr. Meng and feared offending him, so they prohibited boats from sailing at night."

"Oh, is that so?" Shen Sen was skeptical, "Then why didn’t the Jiangnan officials come to greet the boss during the day?"

Zhang He said angrily, "These Jiangnan officials don’t regard the boss, the prince, with respect at all; they are too arrogant."

Song Jicai was also indignant, "These officials have dog eyes that look down on people."

Zhao Yao looked unexpectedly at Shen Sen, "Woodhead, I didn’t know you were so perceptive."

Upon hearing this, Shen Sen’s face showed a somewhat excited expression. He lowered his voice and said, "Boss, there is indeed something suspicious, isn’t there?"

Zhao Yao nodded slightly, "Yes, ever since this morning, when we entered the Jiangnan rivers, someone has been secretly watching us." There is more than one group watching them. Among them must be people from his second uncle and eighth brother, who are secretly protecting them. Other groups are obviously on guard against them.

With many rivers in Jiangnan and developed waterways, there should be many boats on the river during both the day and night. It’s impossible for there to be no other boats except theirs, as it is now.