There are more and more dark clouds gathering in the sky, the tide rises on the river, and a huge plume of smoke rises between the water and the sky.
There were three or four ships between them and the ship that attracted everyone's attention. The scene on the ship gradually became clearer, but the storm had subsided and the old man who sang had been dragged back.
Xia Zhaoyi picked up the wine jar and wiped the wine off the floor with a handkerchief.
Zhili accompanied her and whispered while wiping the deck: "Although today is special, this old man Qi still makes me feel ridiculous. I wonder if anything will happen in the future."
"Don't be afraid, he is very timid and doesn't dare. Today he was just acting crazy because of the alcohol." Xia Zhaoyi said.
"No, I don't think there's anything he wouldn't dare to do," Zhili muttered, "The bow of the ship is dangerously high, how many people dare to get on it?"
Xia Zhaoyi smiled and stood up with the wine jar.
The drizzle was like a continuous drizzle, hitting my body with a sticky consistency, which was really uncomfortable.
"Let's go," Xia Zhaoyi lowered his head and looked at Zhili, "The rain is going to get heavier."
As soon as she got up, Ji Xiahe, who was leaning on the railing in the distance, said, "I saw a girl."
Dai Yu and Du Xuan also saw it.
Separated from the smoke and the boat, the rain is soft and the wind is gentle, Jiang Yan is flying low, passers-by on the shore are panicking, the girl is talking with her head slightly lowered, wearing a goose-yellow gown swaying lightly in the wind, with slim shoulders and slim waist, an upright and upright back, and an excellent manner.
"I don't know which girl she is from," Ji Xiahe said again.
"It's from a rich family," Dai Yu said casually.
Another young man got up, shook the handkerchief in his hand, and sniffed it under his nose, looking like he disliked the smell of alcohol.
Faintly seeing the young man's profile, Du Xuan said, "It's quite handsome."
"It's probably not an ordinary wealthy family," Ji Xiahe said, "I don't know who it is."
In the cabin behind them, two windows were pushed open.
Ji Zhongchuan looked outside and said with a slight smile: "It's rare for someone to rise up and sing in such chaos."
"Brother Ji didn't even hear the lyrics clearly, so how do you know whether people are singing with joy or sadness." The military commander looking at the drawings in the room said casually.
The river wind brought rain in, stirring up the aroma of the small gold-enameled nine-peach copper stove. The smoke wisps were disrupted and spread wider.
Shen Lie raised his eyes and looked out the window, and happened to see two ships passing by each other in the middle, revealing a large blank space. The ship that attracted attention was coming towards him, almost parallel to each other.
The girls and boys on the boat ignored the gazes and instructions and were walking towards the cabin, walking slowly. As the boat sailed, their lowered profiles were slowly visible, and in the hazy mist and rain, their profiles were blurred.
Shen Lie looked away, but his heart skipped a beat. He looked up again with feeling and saw that the person had entered the cabin.
An indescribable feeling flooded into his heart. Shen Lie suddenly felt unable to sit down, so he stood up and said, "Junior, go out and take a look."
His voice was calm and steady, but before anyone in the room could speak, he opened the door and left.
Quickly descending the stairs, he went straight to the stern of the ship, facing a slanting wind and drizzle, and the ships passing between him blocked all sight.
A gust of breeze passed by, and Shen Lie's brows furrowed, and his black eyes looked at the distant ships. For some reason, his heart was as unsteady as the waves of the river.
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In the evening, the rain became heavier and poured down from the sky.
The ship arrived at Qing'an County in Xiongchi and, together with other ships on the way, found a sheltered shore to dock.
There are several small fishing villages along the river. The lights in the villages are bright, and many people who have stayed on the boat for a long time go to the villages to find a place to stay.
Xia Zhaoyi asked the steward on the ship to arrange the manpower and divide it into three waves to take turns guarding. If there is no urgent matter that requires disembarkation, no one can disembark.
Lao Tong and Zhi Changle were bored, so they tinkered with a few simple small net baskets and threw them at the stern of the boat. They sat down on the wooden steps under the outer eaves, chatting and waiting.
Zhili was lying by the window upstairs, looking at the dark river sky in the distance. Lao Tong and Zhi Changle spoke not loudly, but they could be heard.
He didn't mean to eavesdrop on purpose. What Lao Tong and Zhi Changle talked about was just some interesting things in the world.
On the bed behind Zhili, the old man was half drunk and half awake sitting on the edge of the bed, his head swaying, his eyes with light black eyes focused on nowhere, and he would burp from time to time.
There was rain all over the sky and the ground, it was chaotic and quiet.
Thirty feet away from their stern, a merchant ship nearly the same size as theirs was slowly approaching.
The lights on the ship were dim, except for the lanterns at the bow and stern, and only one room in the entire large cabin was lit with faint candlelight.
Two young men in their twenties were sitting in the room. One was Qian Yuandeng, the sixth son of General Qian Xutian of Daqian Town, and the other was Sun Mutingyu, the Duke of Daqian Rong Kingdom.
Four people were kneeling in front of them, and the rest of their men were standing on both sides.
Mu Tingyu leaned back on his chair, lighting his fingers on the table, and looked thoughtfully at the only candle on the table.
The long-term depression made all four people on the ground breathless.
They traveled to the south of the Yangtze River in the name of a merchant ship. They just passed by Anjiang, but everything they encountered on the way showed that there was a traitor on the ship.
Passing through Anjiang, they were stopped, inspected, and questioned repeatedly more than once. Mu Tingyu's letters and official documents were turned over more than once, and there were obvious signs of infiltration into his bedroom several times. This made him completely What makes me furious is that an hour ago, someone was poisoned and died after drinking water. When the source was traced, it was found that the water they drank had also been tampered with.
Everyone on the boat was the confidant who had been with Mu Tingyu and Qian Yuandeng for at least five years. Mu Tingyu was extremely reluctant to suspect them, but he still checked them one by one, and finally eliminated them, leaving only the four people in front of him as suspects.
At this time, a subordinate came in from outside: "Your Majesty."
Mu Tingyu looked up with a cold face.
"The rain is getting heavier and heavier," the subordinate said. "The waterway may be difficult to navigate tonight. All other ships on this river are anchored here."
"How dangerous is it to continue moving forward?" Qian Yuandeng asked.
"Ahead is the Guzhao Gorge, with strange peaks and narrow peaks on both sides, and the current is the fastest. It's getting late now, and it's raining heavily. If we continue to move forward, there may be something bad."
"Then we'll stop here," Mu Tingyu said. "It just so happens that you take the people off the boat and go to the shore to get clean water. Replace all the food and pots and pans on the boat. Then find three clean ones for me and the Sixth Young Master each." Come over with clothes that fit you, no need to worry about the material, just have clothes to replace them with."
"I obey," the subordinate responded, turned and left.
Silence returned to the room.
Qian Yuandeng sat aside. He had never had an opinion on such a situation and could not come up with any ideas. The longer he sat there, the more sleepy he felt.
The boat stopped slowly on the shore.
Mu Tingyu looked at Qian Yuandeng and yawned, and suddenly he felt sleepy.
Looking back at the four people on the ground, Mu Tingyu spoke slowly and said: "I have no patience anymore. I will give you one last chance to defend yourself. If not, none of you four will have to live. I would rather kill you by mistake." Nor will such a traitor be allowed on board."
