After leaving Nanhui Port, Wells' big ship turned its bow to the north, and sailed upriver along the mouth of the Yangtze River to Nanjing. Gwyneth needed to pretend to ship goods to Nanjing for sale, and at the same time find an excuse to get a ship guide to Tianjin from the Caoyun Yamen in order to avoid the scrutiny of those who cared about it.

This section of the road is the most dangerous. Because the ship had to pass through the waters controlled by Hong Wencheng and the Shanghai prefect, it was not clear whether there were any of their comrades in Nanjing, and even when sailing on the water of the Yangtze River, because most of the two sides of the strait were prosperous areas, they had to avoid people's eyes and ears to prevent anyone from discovering the prince and shooting on the boat.

From the time he left Nanhui until he arrived in Nanjing, the prince lived in a cabin below deck, never taking a breath outside.

This Western sea ship is a little different from Da Chu's ship, Zhao Xiu and the ships they are used to sitting on are mostly building ships, and the cabins are located on the deck, of course, some of them are under the deck, and the layers are clearly separated, just like a small building on a ship, and the cabins on it also have windows or ventilation windows.

However, the Wells family's Western-sea ship, except for the helm room and the captain's cabin in the bow, is basically under the deck, and the belly of the ship is divided into two floors, the upper layer is for people and the lower layer is for cargo. Although the floor is divided into several rooms, the air becomes stuffy when there are many people. In addition, whether it was the caravan leader Gwyneth and the other cousins of the Wells family, as well as all the crew members, all lived on this level, and the smell was mixed and very unpleasant. The prince and others have been patient for the sake of secrecy, and they have really suffered a lot.

Zhao Xiu took Bilian with her. They lived next door to Gwyneth's master and servant's cabin, and the room was so small that it barely slept for the two of them. There are no ventilation holes, and it is still a place to put sundries. Zhao Xiu walked in, it was the first time she lived in such an environment, and she was not used to it. But thinking that the matter was so important, she could go outside from time to time to breathe, and it would be nice to use this place purely as a place to sleep, so she endured it. As soon as Bilian moved in, she almost threw up.

Zhao Xiu persuaded Bilian: "You must endure it, think about it, even Mrs. Wells and her maid have endured." Are you worse than them? I brought you with me, not only to serve me, but also to help His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Prince of Quang Binh. Remember what I told you? Your father has been thinking about leaving the country for decades, but all he thinks is a side-by-side way. I don't have the guts to be like other officials and slaves. Go to the battlefield to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions, in exchange for the opportunity to become a good citizen. Now, there is a good opportunity to get rid of the status of official slave without going to war, as long as you or one of your younger brothers has made a meritorious contribution, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will definitely be willing to remove you from the country in the future, and you should not drop the chain at this time. ”

When Bi Lian heard this, she suddenly felt that her chest was full of courage again: "The girl is right, when our family went south to join the old lady. I've survived more bitter days than this, and there's no reason to enjoy the blessings of the past few years. It's not as good as when I was a child. She clenched her fists and told herself that this was a good opportunity for her to achieve her dream without doing anything bad, and that she would never forgive herself in her life if she missed it because she was too squeamish!

Her younger brother Mingzhang worked harder than her sister. He has read some books since he was a child, and others say that he has a good brain and is knowledgeable, but because of his identity, he can't even be a good citizen, let alone take the imperial examination. My father wanted to make him get ahead, and then take the whole family out to enjoy happiness, and he thought about any traitors and successions, and he felt that those methods were not good. The master was very good to him, why betray the master? No one who rebelled against the lord had a good end. Even if they have made meritorious contributions to their master's opponents, their family will be looked down upon for the rest of their lives. Can I make a good life by changing my name and surname? He didn't even dare to tell his real name, he lived like a mouse in the gutter, and his father still dared to dream of fame? If you are discovered, you will only be dead.

But now it's different, as long as he does what the young master tells him to do, and waits for the prince and the prince of Guangping comfortably, and when the prince returns to the capital safely, he can be a good citizen on the spot. Although he took some risks, if he was discovered, he would probably lose his life. But anyway, even if he doesn't do anything, when the person who wants to harm the prince sits on the throne and finds out that the Zhao family once saved the prince, although the master's life is not guaranteed, and their subordinates also have no good end, it is better to take a risk.

Because of this, he kept his mouth shut about the outside world, guarding the secret of the identity of the prince's uncle and nephew, but privately waited for the two nobles very thoughtfully, serving tea and pouring water, running errands and passing on words, but everything that his subordinates did, except for washing and making beds and cooking and cooking was Bilian's responsibility, he almost did everything. Zhao Wei and Zhao Xiu are two little masters, it is impossible to do what the next people do, my sister Bilian is a girl, and she is eighteen years old, it is inconvenient to show her face, you can't let those Westerners come to serve the nobles and the little masters, right? Therefore, he has been very diligent these days, and has done his best to make the stuffy cabin more comfortable, such as taking some dried flowers or fruits and putting them in the cabin, so that the air will not smell so bad, so that the prince and the prince can sleep better. His efforts are not unrewarded, and the prince has already revealed his tone, saying that when he returns to the capital in the future, he will definitely reward him well.

Zhao Wei knew the thoughts of the little guys around him well, not only did he not care, but he also helped him intentionally or unintentionally. He studied with Mingzhang on weekdays, and he knew in his heart what Cheng Dù had learned from the other party's homework, and he also felt sorry for the other party's identity, if Mingzhang could really become a good citizen and study the imperial examination, he would be a help to the Zhao family in the future. The Zhao family's power in the officialdom is too small now, even if he has the protection of the superiors, he can't do anything, he desperately hopes that his own strength can grow stronger.

When the ship arrived in Nanjing, in order to ensure that Gwyneth could get the ship guide as smoothly as possible, Zhao Wei personally came forward to find the people from the Caoyun Yamen. The other party has a relationship with the Cao family of the General Mansion of the Zhuguo, and he also has a little old relationship with the Jiannan Hou Mansion. At this time, the news of the collapse of the Chuansha Dam had just reached Nanjing, and Hong Wencheng and the prefect of Shanghai said that the prince was injured and was recuperating from his injuries, and there was no mention of whether he was missing or not, so no one in Nanjing had noticed anything unusual. The appearance of Zhao Wei was interpreted by people as the young and playful son of the son. came out to visit the mountains and rivers to see the world, and by the way, I went back to Beijing to take care of my family's industry, and no one was suspicious. Therefore, the boat guide was easy to get, and the general Caoyun, who was familiar with the Zhuguo General's Mansion, heard that he was on a foreign ship, and specially introduced two veterans who were familiar with the route to him and asked him to take them on the boat.

Zhao Wei did not refuse, he asked these two people, knowing that they were innocent and had nothing to do with Hong Wencheng, the Shanghai prefect, the Zhu family, and the Ying Wangfu. As long as you don't tell them the true identity of the prince's uncle and nephew. They are just simple navigators, and they can also help the crew of the Welsh merchant ship reach the port of Tianjin faster and better.

Zhao Wei brought the two of them with him, and then brought Mingzhang. I walked around the streets of Nanjing, inquired about the latest news, and bought some daily necessities, as well as food, vegetables, fruits, medicines and other things. Fang returned to the ship.

He instructed Mingzhang to place the two navigators. handed the food to Bilian, and handed the fruit basket to Zhao Xiu: "What my sister wants, at this time, it is not easy to buy fresh fruits, what oranges do you have to eat, I walked the whole street to find it." ”

Zhao Xiu took the basket with a smile: "Brother has worked hard, this thing is indispensable for long-term sea voyages." ”

Zhao Wei didn't know what use oranges were for the boaters. He handed over his new groceries to his sister and went down to the cabin below deck. reported to the prince that he had just heard the news: "Hong Wencheng and the prefect of Shanghai did not dare to reveal the disappearance of His Royal Highness, only said that the dam collapsed in an accident, and the prince was injured after being rescued, and now he is recuperating in the Jiading Palace, and no one is seen, even the people in the Fenyang palace are refused, and they also claim that it is the prince's order." I suspect that they must have been doing everything possible to find a trace of His Highness, and when they did, they could announce that the crown prince had died of his injuries and send the news back to the capital. At the moment, they are only searching privately, and they do not dare to leak the news, let alone alarm officials in other places. The market in Nanjing was as usual, and the people were just discussing, the prince didn't know what the injury was, and what the Chuansha Dam had collapsed. ”

The prince sneered: "It seems that Hong Wencheng and the others are not stupid, and they didn't make too much trouble, but they can't hide it for long." If something like this happens, they will definitely report to Jingzhong, and when the father and emperor learn that Gu is injured, he will also send an imperial doctor to come, where are they going to find a 'prince' to show them when the time comes? Even if it's a dead prince, you have to have a corpse! The nobles of the Fenyang Royal Mansion, if they really notice something wrong and insist on seeing Lonely, how many times can a few subordinates stop them? Others don't know, but the grandson of King Fenyang is not a guy who can be angry, if he wants to know something, he will definitely get to the bottom of it. If Hong Wencheng even sealed his mouth, others would definitely notice something wrong. ”

Gao Zhen said coldly: "Uncle Huang, we have to enter Beijing as much as possible." Once they get the news of your distress to the capital, maybe some of the accomplices will attack the other uncles, maybe even the emperor's grandfather. ”

The crown prince Yan sù down: "You are right. If they really want to take the throne, whether they are holding the six emperors' brothers as puppets or Uncle Ying usurping the throne, they must get rid of the other princes in order to succeed. In order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, they will definitely not let go of their father. He was still a little suspicious, the emperor's health suddenly deteriorated, could it be the reason why the other party did not hesitate to fake and prompted him to advance his trip to Nanjing? Because they are afraid that once the emperor makes a big trip in advance, he will inherit the throne and have to ascend to the throne, then neither the six princes nor King Ying will have a chance to inherit the throne.

The big ship stayed in Nanking for one night, and the cargo on board was almost never unloaded, and Gwyneth only asked people to replenish the water, and ordered the crew to sail the ship back out of the dock, go to sea along the mouth of the Yangtze River again, and then turn north and sail to Tianjin.

When the ship sailed past Chongming Island, what appeared in front of the people on board was a vast and boundless sea, which also meant that they were completely out of the enemy's surveillance range, and they could confidently and boldly move towards their destination.

Zhao Xiu changed into clothes that were convenient for movement, climbed the ladder to the deck, and faced a sea breeze with a faint fishy smell, which was so cold that she couldn't help but shiver. But the weather was fine today, and she walked to the railing against the sea breeze, looking at the endless ocean in front of her, and felt that the stuffiness in her chest was swept away.

There was a sound of footsteps behind her, and she looked back, and it turned out to be Gao Zhen. (To be continued......)