In the fourth month of the lunar calendar, the snow melted and the ice melted. The Yangtze River began to enter the flood season. The river flowed down from the upper reaches, and when it reached the Jiangning area, only the larger ships with a deeper draft dared to sail. Even so, the official ship that Ning Yi and the others were on was still a little bumpy and shaky. After setting sail, if there were any seasick people, they would gradually show symptoms.
"When we reached the Grand Canal, the ship moved steadily. In the beginning, there was nothing we could do …"
At this time, most of the people accompanying these ships were high-ranking officials and dignitaries. When the ship became unstable, some of them lost their temper. Some of them even wanted to get off the ship immediately and ride their carriages to the north. The boatmen and the others had no choice but to explain carefully. Ning Yi and the others had only set sail for half a day, and they had already seen a few such incidents. In this era, even people of high status didn't have many opportunities to travel. There was no special medicine for seasickness. If they were on a ship, the symptoms would be even more troublesome. They could only endure it.
Ning Yi was fine with this kind of thing, but Su Wenyu, who accompanied them, suffered from seasickness, so he could only let him vomit in the cabin at the back. He said, "Vomit and vomit, and you'll get used to it. Life is like this."
After all, he only wanted to join the intelligence system. Kang Xian and the others only arranged for them to stay in the cabin at the back, so they didn't have too much contact with the dignitaries in the front. Wenren Bu 'er and the others also received the same treatment. Ning Yi didn't care about the difference in time. Then he told the others about the origin of the ability to balance. He said that there was a part of the brain near the ears called the semicircular canal. If it was dissected, what would it look like? It was the semicircular canal that controlled the balance of the human body. If people suffered from seasickness, it was most likely because it was not developed.
Xiaochan occasionally brought tea over and knew that her son-in-law was talking about things that others didn't understand. In fact, even if others didn't understand, Ning Yi didn't explain much. Wenren Bu 'Er, Qi Xinyong, Qi Xinyi, and the others originally thought that he had read some random book or made up some nonsense. Later, when they saw that his explanation was clear and logical, they finally believed that there was such a thing. In fact, they didn't necessarily believe that the balance of the human brain came from the semicircular canals, but they gradually felt that Ning Yi might really know what was in the human brain. When they heard him talk about how big the human brain was when it was unfolded, they couldn't help but be shocked.
At this time, even the most curious doctor would not go to the extent of understanding such matters. It might be possible for a coroner to examine an autopsy, but they would not go to the extent of spreading open a human brain to see how big it was. Hearing Ning Yi's words, everyone couldn't help but wonder if he had ever gone to measure it out of boredom.
Actually, Ning Yi looked scholarly and refined, but his actions were always unexpected. Wenren Bu 'er had seen him being slightly neurotic when he was calm. Although Qi Xinyong and the others had not interacted much with him, they had seen him standing beside Liu Watermelon. Later, they heard that he was the one who opened the city gate of Hangzhou. How could such a person be simple? Although it was strange to think that he would study this at first, the more they thought about it, the more they felt that it was possible. They couldn't help but be shocked and unconsciously sat further away from Ning Yi. Only Qi Xinhan, the youngest in the Qi family, would occasionally answer with interest, "Maybe practicing martial arts like the Plum Blossom Stakes is beneficial to the semicircular canals?"
Ning Yi chatted with everyone for a while with tea in hand. Then he talked about some Jianghu anecdotes and talked about Liangshan for a while. At a certain moment, Ning Yi went out to fetch some hot water. He listened for a while at the door and asked, "Did you hear the thumping sound?"
Everyone heard it and they all nodded. In fact, when the water surface was slightly bumpy and the boxes in the nearby rooms were knocked against each other, there would be such a sound. Ning Yi thought for a while and said, "It doesn't seem like it, it seems like someone is knocking on the wall …" When everyone heard that he had dissected a person's brain, their expressions changed slightly. They all thought that he was crazy. But fortunately, after listening for a while, Ning Yi shook his head and said, "Maybe I heard wrongly …"
Throughout the day, the ship was constantly bumpy. Wenren Bu 'er and the others went to the front to inquire about the identity of the guests on the ship. The purpose of the fleet of the Princess' residence heading north was different. In fact, there were many properties under Princess Cheng's name. Every once in a while, it was necessary for such a fleet to travel north and south. This time, it was naturally to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday. Many high-ranking officials and nobles accompanied the fleet. In fact, it was related to the great momentum of the Northern expedition. Although it was said that the recovery of Youyan Pass was a major event of the Wu dynasty in the past two hundred years, but the distribution of resources and military expenses to everyone was a real problem. In fact, some people were willing to pay more, while others wanted to pay less. After the situation in the South was settled, this group of people from Jiangning who had connections with the royal family took the opportunity to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday and prepared to move north.
At this time, among the people on the ship, there were officials, second generations of rich families and even descendants of the royal family. After asking around, Wenren Bu 'er knew that their status was not high enough. It was best to keep a respectful distance. Just after lunch, someone came to visit Ning Yi. It was a young man of about sixteen or seventeen years old. He was handsome and his name was Zhuo Yunfeng. Ning Yi had naturally not seen him before, but after thinking about it, he seemed to have heard someone mention him. He was a young talent in the literary world of Jiangning. Because he had just come out, when others talked about him in front of Ning Yi, they would generally say that there was a nephew who was quite talented and would definitely become a great person in the future. During the time that Ning Yi was in Hangzhou, he had gained some fame.
This Zhuo Yunfeng was also a member of the royal family. His mother was a county princess who had married into a lower class. Although her husband's family did not have much success, the royal bloodline could not be erased. This time, he probably wanted to go to the capital to gain some fame and connections. When he saw Ning Yi, his tone was very respectful. After that, he asked Ning Yi for some opinions on poetry. Ning Yi did not tell many people that he had come to the capital on the ship. He originally thought that this young man had some relationship with Kang Xian, so he came to find him. Later on, he found out that this young man was also an admirer of Zhou Pei. In his words, he occasionally mentioned the Young Princess, and all of them showed that he admired her. Other than the young man's unique arrogance in his speech and expression, there was nothing that could be considered as a flaw. However, it was natural for a young man to be talented and proud. In fact, it was not a big deal.
After chatting for a while, the young man sat by Ning Yi's side for a while, drank a few cups of tea, and then left again. In his heart, Ning Yi felt a little confused, but he could not tell what was strange about it. In fact, the man that Zhou Pei was going to marry would be decided in the next few months. This Zhuo Yunfeng naturally did not have a chance in Shangjing. However, looking at his expression, it seemed that he had a card up his sleeve, but Ning Yi did not know why.
This thought flashed through Ning Yi's mind, and then he did not think about it anymore. In fact, these days, he had been thinking about the problems related to Liangshan. He was not familiar with the affairs of Liangshan, so he had to consider a lot. In the Wu dynasty, overt plots were not necessarily useful, and conspiracies needed a lot of accurate information to support. However, there were indeed one or two things that could be given to Qin Siyuan at this time, which were the core points that he needed to perfect in the next few days.
That night, the ship was anchored in the harbor. The night wind was strong, and the ship was a little shaky. Many of the passengers had already disembarked and stayed in the inn, but for the few members of the Su family, Ning Yi still asked them to stay on the ship. However, after the ship stopped, Ning Yi also went to another ship to visit Yun Zhu and Jin Er. Yun Zhu was not seasick, and with Jin Er's swimming ability, there was no need to worry about this at all.
That night, after Xiaochan fell asleep, Ning Yi looked at the moon outside the cabin, but it was difficult for him to fall asleep. At home, Tan Er and the child, the people he was going to meet in the capital this time, the things he said and did, and the possible impact it could have …
He sorted out his emotions, got up from the bed, and paced around the cabin and deck. At this time, Yun Feiyue was gone, and the shadows of the trees by the river bank flickered. In the distance, the lights of the mountain city flickered, and when reflected in the water, it was a good view. The soldiers on the ships patrolled, and the security was tight. However, the nobles and servants who came with the ships during the day were gone, so it was quiet. Just as he was thinking about this, he seemed to hear the thumping sound again, but when he listened carefully, it was already gone.
He was about to return to the cabin when he saw Zhuo Yunfeng and a few servants disembarking from a ship under the moonlight. They said a few words, and then their brows furrowed. Then, their gazes swept across the other ships. They seemed to be looking for something, and at this time, they were trying to figure out where the thing was.
Zhuo Yunfeng took a few glances, and inadvertently, his gaze fell in Ning Yi's direction. Then, he froze. This kind of encounter at night should have been a simple greeting, but Zhuo Yunfeng's expression was a little strange. First, he stood there and looked at Ning Yi for a while, then he cupped his hands in greeting from afar. It looked like Ning Yi had seen something terrible, and his plot had been exposed, so he was very shameless to meet Ning Yi face to face.
This matter made Ning Yi feel a little puzzled. At this time, he had been schemed against several times by people, such as Gu Yanzhen, Lou Shuheng, and Xi Junyu. He was already very vigilant against people who seemed to have persecutory delusions. That night, he remembered everything in his mind. The next morning, when he woke up, he was still thinking about whether he and Zhuo Yunfeng had crossed paths when he was cultivating. At this time, the morning fog lingered on the surface of the river, and he suddenly thought of something. He turned around and walked towards the cabin.
His identity might not be clear to the important people living in the cabin, but the steward sent by Princess Cheng's residence knew. This person was … Ning Yi paced around the cabin for a while before he made up his mind to get the key from the steward. After dismissing the people around him, he opened the door of one of the cabins and asked the steward to stand guard nearby. He saw that the cabin contained the tributes that were to be transported to the capital. There were two large boxes, each with a seal. Ning Yi climbed to the top of the boxes and observed them for a long time. He stamped his feet and knocked on them. After a while, a faint sound came from one of the boxes.
Ning Yi moved the box below him, and after a while, he found Zhou Pei curled up in the big wooden box below. She was on her last breath …
*****
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