Lin Qingyun rarely gets sick, she suffered from heat stroke in May, and she got sick again after two months, which is already considered to be a high frequency of sedan cars. She didn't burn it badly, but it took two or three days to calculate it, and she continued to raise it for a few days, and when she was completely sick, she ordered someone to pack up her things and hurry.

When she was sick, she checked the Ningbo City Shipping Division, but it was as usual, and some people were greedy for ink or blackmailed to and from merchant ships for favors, which could be regarded as a common disadvantage everywhere, but it had absolutely nothing to do with what they wanted to investigate.

Tu Yan thoughtfully: "The imperial court in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is grasping tightly, and they don't dare to move lightly in Ningbo Port." Speaking of Quanzhou and Guangzhou, which are far away, and close to the West Sea Coast, it is very convenient to smuggle something from the West Sea Coast and other countries. ”

"I'm all right, and my bones are rusty. Besides, this time we take a boat, which is much easier than a carriage. "Although Lin Qingyun is not a lively person, it is really hard to recuperate in the house all the time, and he has to grow meat in the past few days.

Tu Yan stopped her with a smile: "What are you anxious about." June 20 was supposed to be your birthday, but you had been on the road before, and when you arrived in Ningbo, you were sick again, and it was not easy to be lively during the illness. Now that you're late, it's time to celebrate your birthday. ”

Lin Qingyun waved her hand, but she didn't care: "It's not a whole birthday, where has it been used, and the days have passed, only those who make up the gifts, how can they make up the birthday?" After all, the old custom in the past was only to advance the birthday, but there was no example of postponing it, and said: "What you have prepared, just move it to the boat, let's go to the boat and be lively, but it doesn't have to be said to be my birthday." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand again and asked with a smile, "What about my birthday gift?" ”

Tu Yan smiled helplessly, so he had to follow her, and gave an order to the red silk waiting outside the door, and the young red silk took a scroll of paintings.

Lin Qingyun saw that the painting scroll was very new, so he guessed that it was a painting he painted himself, but he didn't know what scenery he painted. Tu Yan has been educated by the prince since he was a child, and he is a son-in-law, and the requirements are even stricter, and literary literacy is a must-have. Later, he gave up the big position, and a lot of time was free, only to specialize in the six arts and miscellaneous studies of the gentleman, among which his books, paintings, and chess can become a family, his painting style is very inconsistent with the surface of the elegant character, very casual and wanton, especially the most brilliant splashed ink landscape, and secondly, he is also good at painting flowers and birds......

When the scroll unfolds, what is presented in front of you is a picture of a lady, and the person who painted it is her!

She had never seen him draw a picture of a lady, nor had she seen such a picture of the old work in the study, but she thought that he didn't like it, how could he paint it so well. At least in her eyes, the painting is very beautiful: the woman in the painting walks among the flowers, holding a scroll, her Tsing Yi Luo skirt fluttering lightly, looking back sideways and smiling. Skillful, natural color, very detailed clothing decoration, and vivid expressions of the characters. It's clearly her appearance, but she is endowed with a subtle and graceful, elegant and dusty temperament, and if you see it too much, you have to wonder if this is her?

At least that's what Tu Yan saw in her eyes.

When a painter paints, he will give emotion to the painting, so that the painting has a soul and a charm that can move people. Tu Yan already recognized her as the only confidant in the red dust, and gradually realized that she was in the first bloom of beauty, a smile, every move will involve his mind, and he couldn't help but pour out his emotions when painting, which made this painting very different, the "lady" in it seemed to be alive, and she was looking at the person who was watching the painting with a smile.

After looking at it for a while, Lin Qingyun looked at Tu Yan with a complicated expression: "The painting is really good." ”

"If there is no Weiqing, there is no such painting." Tu Yan was not interested in the ladies in the past, but he also dabbled in it back then, and then picked up the pen again after several years, even if there is a foundation of flowers and birds in the pen, it also took a lot of paper, pen and ink, and it took several changes to have this painting.

"I love it." Lin Qingyun himself learned to paint, so he naturally understands painting, and knows that in order to achieve today's picture of a lady, it is not enough to rely on skills alone, but must be endowed with the feelings of the painter himself. She saw Tu Yan's feelings in it, and also understood the reason why the person in the painting felt strange in a trance, there was love in her eyes in the painting, and those eyes were brilliant, not looking at the person who was looking at the painting, but the person who painted - Tu Yan.

Isn't this a clear courtship of love through paintings?

With a red face, Lin Qingyun put away the painting under the pretense of avoiding Tu Yan's eyes.

The smile on Tu Yan's face deepened. He knew she would understand.

Board the ship and continue south, and arrive at Quanzhou in a few days.

It was noon when the ship docked at the port, even though the sun was shining hot, and the water vapor was very hot and unbearable, but the port was still noisy and prosperous, and ships of all sizes were coming and going. The prefect of Quanzhou had already received the news, prepared the hotel early, and personally led officials of all sizes to greet him. The noisy port was cleared by the officers and soldiers, and the merchants and goods workers met and discussed, and there was also the one who was well-informed, revealing the identity of the person welcomed by the prefect.

Lawrence happened to come to the port to supervise the loading of a batch of fine and fragile porcelain by merchant ships, calculating the profits that would be obtained by this shipment back to Europe, and at the same time deeply regretting and heartache, I don't know what year it will be when I come again.

"Lawrence, are you really planning to get out of this route? If Your Excellency withdraws, then this route will definitely be acquired by the Field Family, and it will not be as good as it is today if you want to take it back. "This is Hawke, the captain of the merchant marine, who was employed by the Lawrence family, signed a long-term contract, and has been friends with Baron Lawrence for many years.

The route from Europe to the East was long, and there were many dangers along the way, and even though many merchants were jealous of the staggering profits, there were no merchant ships to cross the seas, no experienced captains, no weapons to fight pirates, and no greed could only die down. The Lawrence and Field families had been rivals for generations, and were the only two merchants who had all the means to sail the East, but both wanted to keep it to themselves, so they gambled to win or lose. The Lawrence family won and got the route, and the profits made each time were eye-catching. The Field family has never given up, and it would be crazy to learn that Lawrence was suspending the flight.

Lawrence, of course, knew that the other party was trying to catch up with a certain grand duke in the country, trying to force the Lawrence family to cede some of their interests with political power.

Lawrence sighed: "Hawke, my old friend, I am not willing to suspend the route, but you also know about the arrest of merchant ships before. I got the news that the court here is not peaceful, the princes are going to fight for the throne, and I don't want to get involved, this is not only a loss of interests, but also a loss of life. My two children are still in Europe, my mother is waiting for me, and I can't let anything happen to my dear Scarlett. ”

At this time, Captain Hawke happened to hear the sound of a gong in the distance, and the beating was very regular, and he had been here many times, and Hawke knew that it was the support of the officials when they were traveling, and sounded the gong to open the way. Hawke asked the crew to inquire, and it turned out to be His Royal Highness the Prince and the Princess.

"Who do you say" Lawrence was taken aback: "Prince Pure? Is it the concubine of the emperor's majesty? ”

"Lawrence?"

Lawrence smiled, patted Captain Hawke on the shoulder excitedly and said, "Hawke, I didn't expect His Royal Highness the Prince to come to Quanzhou, I want to visit him." Without waiting for Hawke to ask again, he hurriedly went home to find Scarlett, asked Scarlett to prepare gifts, and then went to inquire where the prince and his party lived.

Of course, Lawrence knew that this was different from his own country, and that it was the princess who had some friendship with him, not the prince himself, and it was very inappropriate to rashly ask to see the princess, so he could only visit the princess in the name of Scarlett. If he could get the Prince's guidance, maybe he wouldn't have to stop this route, after all, it was a huge profit, and Lawrence's entire family depended on it.

The hotel arranged by the prefect is also a private garden, which is usually provided by local merchants.

Tu Yan saw the prefect and others outside, and Lin Qingyun still had a bunch of female relatives here to greet him, and after a routine conversation, he pretended to be tired and served tea to the guests. After she finished bathing and changing clothes, she asked the prefect and others to leave, so she asked the egret to serve the food and invited Tu Yan to come over for dinner.

Tu Yan pursues food without speaking, not only for upbringing, but also for chewing slowly and digesting. Lin Qingyun's table manners were all practiced later, and they are not as good as those born in the royal family. You must know that when I first learned that I was going to the palace and had to deal with that group of royal concubines, the first thing was to practice all kinds of etiquette. Table manners are not difficult and easy to learn, but it is not easy to be elegant, graceful and pleasing to the eye.

Occasionally, she would stare at the vain who was eating, and her actions were clearly quite casual, which was pleasing to the eye.

After eating, the maids removed the table and served the two to wash their hands and rinse their mouths. The two of them sat under the porch, admiring the flowers and trees in the courtyard, and occasionally the breeze was gentle, with the fishy smell of the sea breeze. Unlike Beijing, the coastal city is very humid and the wind carries the smell of the sea, but in the hot weather, it is more difficult to live here than in Beijing.

Lin Qingyun is not very accustomed to the climate here, and it is the fire in July, so his spirit is not very good. Looking at Tu Yan again, his expression was as usual, in addition to the reason why he had been here, the gradual recovery of his body was a major factor.

"Now you're eating like me." After sitting for a while, he ordered Hongya to pour tea. Both of them are not used to eating tea immediately after meals, Lin Qingyun usually takes a break before eating a cup of Pu'er to help digestion, but he is weak and does not drink ordinary tea, but still eats the health tea prescribed by the imperial doctor.

"It's hot, and my appetite is affected, but I'm okay to see you." Lin Qingyun tasted the fragrance of tea, and said: "The ladies of this Quanzhou official are really different from the other two places, and they are extremely rich. The prefect's wife is a four-grade fate, and she has a family background, but it's just that. I saw the one sitting at the end, it seemed to be the daughter of the governor of which place, and the governor was only a few products? Nine pins, right? But he can afford to wear such a good pearl necklace, but looking at the luster and size, although it is not first-class, it must be second-class. At the end, he said: "Although it is Nanzhu, it is not looked down upon by everyone's children, but it is not an ordinary object, and it is not the configuration of ordinary people." Not to mention the other golden things. ”

It can be seen that local officials have a lot of income, and it has become a common practice to ask for benefits from passing merchant ships. Besides, if the city department has a move, how can it hide it from the prefect of a state? If it is not the same party, it is a share of it, so that Quanzhou has become someone's money bag, but Jingzhong does not hear about it at all. Tu Yan met with the officials in Quanzhou, although he only talked in two general terms, he could already see a little eyebrows.

Lin Qingyun smiled with little interest: "When I came, I said that it was your business to deal with those officials, I went to the shop outside, bought some tuyi things and brought them back to Beijing." Nowadays, it is rare to come here, and there are many foreign ships in the port, but they take the opportunity to buy more foreign goods, and in the future, it will be very good for the sisters to add makeup or make gifts, as for the matter of finding foreigners......"

As he was talking, he saw Zhang Bao come in and present a post, although the post was Chinese, the name on it was foreign.

"Baroness Lawrence?" Lin Qingyun remembered the foreign woman she saw last time, although she was distracted by the matter of the city, but the image of the other party is still very clearly remembered in her mind. Blonde hair and blue eyes, snow-white skin, dignified and elegant, very amorous. On the one hand, he instructed Zhang Bao to reply, and on the other hand, he smiled with Tu Yan: "What are you talking about, Lawrence and his wife have just left in Quanzhou, and he must know a lot of foreign businessmen." ”

Tu Yan squinted slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "That Lawrence is a businessman, and he specially took the initiative to ask for a meeting, but he was afraid that he would ask for something. If my expectation is good, he must have experienced the last incident, and he has found out some news from the mouths of others, and he is worried, and he is looking for you to find out the news. ”

Although it is not complete, it is generally not bad.

Lin Qingyun's mind flashed with lightning, and he said, "Do you want his merchant ships to lead the way for the Qi family?" ”

"Most of the merchant ships of this dynasty are trading along the West Sea, and they have to go to the so-called European countries, and it is convenient for someone to carry them. Furthermore, the firearms of this dynasty are still in the stage of the previous dynasty, and I wonder how they compare with Europe. Those merchant ships can trade today, but tomorrow the other country will not cross the ocean to plunder the wealth? Tu Yan always remembered a Western newspaper she had translated, and the news on it made him fresh and vigilant at the same time, and he saw not only the turmoil and prosperity of Europe, but also the ambition of Europe waiting to break out of its shell.

He became more and more aware of the importance of the water master, but at the moment, there was an undercurrent surging within the imperial court, who would have the time to pay attention to this? He is just a weak and sick prince who does not participate in politics, and he has no right to speak, and he does not have that ability.

Lin Qingjun knows his thoughts, she knows modern history, even if this is an alternate world, but in the end, the process is generally the same, and she knows very well that his worries will come true. She admired and delighted his keen sense of the big picture, so she took the initiative to shake his hand and said, "If you are destined to go down that path, then you can't just be 'prepared'." ”

Tu Yan looked at her fixedly for a while, smiled, leaned over and said something in her ear.

Lin Qingyun was surprised at first, then his face turned hot, and he glared at him and said, "The prince is really not serious!" After another half an hour, he asked again in a low voice: "Has the prince thought about it?" ”

"Hmm. I think it's the best of both worlds. Tu Yan had already thought about it.

"What is the best of both worlds, there is no shadow, you can say it. You are willing to do it too! Lin Qingyun was amused and angry for a while.

Tu Yan was calm: "Who is he reluctant to give up?" I can't bear you. ”

This sentence is straightforward and scoundrel, not much like his words and deeds in the past. Lin Qingyun coughed, and wisely stopped talking to him about it, but his heart had settled.

Although this time he stopped in Quanzhou, the officials in Quanzhou did not realize Tu Yan's true intentions. After all, they went south under the news of Jiuhua Mountain's treatment, and at that time, in addition to Lin Qingyun and Le Gonggong in front of Fan Shu, only Gaoyang Li and Li Li heard it, and then Fan Shu went to Beijing with great fanfare and never concealed it, but faintly released specious news, saying that Fan Shu could not diagnose and treat Tu Yan's disease. After that, the two continued to go south, stopping and walking, as if traveling through mountains and rivers, but they stayed in Ningbo for a longer time, but just in time for Lin Qingyun to fall ill, no one doubted it.

Seeing the prefect for the first time this time, Tu Yan said calmly: "The princess has heard that there are many foreign merchant ships in Quanzhou Port, and she is particularly curious about this. ”

The prefect naturally spoke humbly, and turned around and instructed his wife to accompany Prince Chun and Princess Chun. Because of the special status of Prince Chun, and the princess who can be called a "commoner", so that the villages in the north and south of the river have spread all over the city, and people with some backgrounds naturally know more, such as the prefect's wife, she inquired from the people who are good friends in the capital, the princess is very interested in the West, and often goes to the churches run by foreigners in the capital, and therefore, no one doubts the excuse that Tu Yan said.

Early the next morning, all kinds of sedan chairs and horses were parked in front of the hotel, and officials such as the prefect rode in the sedan chair, and the prefect's wife and other female dependents sat in the car. The group went in to say goodbye, and then drove out of the hotel in the car of the prince and princess, all the way to the prefect's yamen.

The prefect of Quanzhou arranged a banquet, and although Tu Yan did not see enthusiasm for the officials, this kind of ceremonial banquet should still be served.

The prefect's yamen has always been regulated, and the front cannot be moved, but the inner house can be renovated according to the different preferences of each prefect. Although the garden in front of me is not big, but the mountains are dug into ponds, pavilions and pavilions, there are three or four good scenery, at this time, the prefect's wife led Lin Qingyun into a moon gate, here is actually a stage for listening to the play.

The prefect's wife ordered someone to call the head of the troupe and a few pillars, kowtow to Lin Qingyun, and said: "This troupe is very famous in Quanzhou. I think that the princess has heard all the good dramas in Beijing, and now that I am here, I just do a little bit of the friendship of the landlord, so I invite the princess to listen to the local drama in Quanzhou, and the right to relieve the boredom. ”

Lin Qingyun said with a smile: "Du Gongren has a heart. ”

The prefect's wife personally handed over the excerpt of the play and asked her to order the play, and Lin Qingyun ordered it at random.

After a play, Lin Qingyun didn't even understand a few words of the play, so you can imagine how difficult it is to sit. Even if she is now a princess, not only can she not be casual outside, but she must pay more attention to her identity and demeanor, otherwise she will lose more than her face.

After listening to another play, she left the stage under the pretense of changing clothes.

I walked around the garden at will, and saw that the small pavilion in the lotus pond was very quiet, so I simply sat down. As soon as he sat down, he saw the prefect's wife coming from the folding bridge, and said apologetically: "It's all the courtiers' negligence, the north and the south don't understand the language, especially the Hokkien language outsiders can't understand it at all, presumably the princess is really tired from listening to the play." ”

Lin Qingyun was caught by the master's family for a while, but there was still a light smile on his face: "Du Gongren is serious." Although I really don't know Hokkien, listening to the drama is a pastime, and it's good to see the excitement. Then he said: "I was about to send someone to tell Du Gongren that I have never liked to listen to operas, but the scenery in this garden is good, so I will sit here." ”

"The princess's forgiveness is because the courtiers are not considerate." The prefect's wife pleaded guilty again, but said: "Since the princess doesn't like to listen to the play, the courtiers are cheeky and enjoy the scenery with the princess, and I hope that the princess will not dislike the stupidity of the courtiers." ”

"I often hear that the prefect's wife is the virtuous internal helper of Lord Du, and she is very respected by Lord Du, and outsiders praise her. If the people of Du Gong are stupid like this, then wouldn't everyone in the world be willing to be stupid? Before leaving Beijing, she had already inquired about the information of the officials and even family members of the place where she was going, including what Tu Yan said, what Lin Ruhai said, and rumors.

The prefect's wife in front of her is not the person who is easy to fool and fool like the Chizhou prefect's edict, although her own family is not obvious, but she herself is very powerful. The prefect's wife first became friends with the wife of the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, and later married her daughter to the young son of the governor's wife to fill the house. The governor of Fujian and Zhejiang is from Yipin, one of the nine feudal officials of the imperial court, and he is high and powerful. The Governor's wife had sons and a daughter, two of whom lost their wives at an early age, and are now in their thirties, leaving a son and a daughter after his deceased wife, all of whom were raised by the Governor's wife. The daughter of the prefect's wife is one round younger than her, but the favored children are limited, and the real benefit is the prefect's husband and wife.

"How dare a courtier be so praised by the princess." The prefect's wife smiled humbly, and she knew a lot about the rumored princess in her heart, and she expected that her previous idea would not come to pass. I thought that I was born in a small household, and I flew on the branches once, but I was a little childish, but after seeing it, it wasn't like that at all. If I hadn't known earlier, where could I see that she was from the countryside, it seemed to be from everyone.

It is said that she has only been in the Lin family for two years, and she has only been married to the princess for more than a year, but she can make people unable to see her original background and visible hard work. Such people cannot be judged and despised in judgment.

The prefect's wife accepted her contempt, and introduced the customs and humanities of Quanzhou with a smile, which was also very interesting.

After the banquet, the two did not stay long and returned to the hotel.

As soon as Lin Qingyun got in the car, he smelled the faint smell of wine on Tu Yan's body, and saw that his face was slightly red, so he immediately frowned and said, "Why are you drinking?" How much did you drink? Your own body doesn't know it yourself? It is the wine toasted by the prefect and others, you are the prince, if you don't drink it, do you dare to be annoyed? ”

Tu Yan listened to her reproaches, and there was unconcealed concern and worry in her voice, and she laughed unconsciously. grabbed her hand, squinted his eyes as if he was drunk, and said, "Don't worry, I don't dare to come nonsense." ”

"It's good that you know what to do. How much did you drink? He tried to pull his hand back, but he clenched it tightly, and quickly let him hold it, but he didn't forget what he had said.

Tu Yan tilted his head slightly, as if echoing: "Probably, three cups?" No more than five glasses of wine. ”

"Okay, why do you drink?" In the past, there were so many banquets, and I didn't see him drink, but today is so abnormal, there is definitely something inside.

"Go back and talk about it."