He said to the newcomer, "Brother, are you also heading to the latrine? This.. there is a first-come, first-served order. Why don't you go back and wait for a while?"
The newcomer lowered his voice and said, "It's no matter, I will just wait outside."
Zhu Ci smiled somewhat sheepishly and said, "I was going to relieve myself, I was afraid I would keep you waiting for a long time."
The visitor hesitated for a moment before turning to leave. When he returned, he made a special trip to climb through the window into Zhu Ci's room. Finding that the luggage and valuables were all still inside, that the horses were still in the stables, he felt much more at ease.
After returning to his room, he sat by the window and stared outside; the view from this room was excellent, allowing him to see everything happening in the backyard.
But as he waited, he began to feel that something was wrong. He glanced at the hourglass on the table; two quarters of an hour had already passed, so why hadn't he come out yet?
He immediately stood up and went to the latrine, only to find that there was no one there.
Coincidentally, the other person had already returned at that moment. Upon hearing that the person was missing, his expression changed. "I have been tracking that youth through the city for a long time; it seems the Prince used a diversion to lure the tiger away from the mountain."
“Chase him quickly.”
Don't worry, he isn't riding a horse. We can just wait for him directly on the official road.
These two also did not expect that Zhu Ci had discovered them so early, that he was so decisive as to discard all the gold, silver, horses he had brought with him.
Based on their previous judgment, this Crown Prince's destination should be Tongli. There is only one official road from Pingwang to Tongli, so it should not be difficult to find.
After reaching an agreement, the two split up and went their separate ways, one searching within the city while the other headed out of the city to search.
Pingwang was not a large city, its permanent population was not particularly high. Aside from the main roads, any outsider passing through would certainly be noticed.
It was just that the two of them believed they had been thorough, yet they still failed to find any trace of Zhu Ci.
It was as if the Crown Prince had vanished from the face of the earth; no matter how meticulously they searched, he could not be found.
Left with no other choice, they had to brace themselves and return to report.
While they were being punished, Zhu Ci was already sitting in a mule cart, following a group of commoners toward Zhenze.
Yes, he had taken a detour, fearing that he would be blocked on the road ahead by those two.
Traveling long distances now is much like taking a taxi in later generations; the biggest difference is that with a taxi, you can wait in place for the driver to pick you up, but at this time, passengers need to travel to a carriage and horse station to hire one.
He happened to encounter a group of people who wanted to go to Zhenze, so he simply traveled with them.
After arriving in Zhenze, he stayed at an inn again and bought several sets of clothes, as well as a Yanling Blade. This kind of blade had a relatively straight body and a sufficiently sharp tip, making it quite good for self-defense.
When Zhu Ci took stock of his own assets, he could not help but let out a sigh.
Not only were the fine clothes and personal belongings left at the Pingwang Inn worth quite a lot, but that jujube-red pony was also exceptionally spirited and handsome.
Zhu Ci felt more and more heartbroken as he thought about it. He must not let him find out who did this; sooner or later, he would make the other party pay him back a thousandfold!
Early the next morning, he took a boat directly to Dongshan.
Compared to land routes, water routes are much harder to track, unless one travels on the same boat as him.
After boarding the ship, he looked around and found no suspicious individuals; instead, everyone seemed quite afraid of him, as he had a Yanling Blade hanging from his waist.
Commoners in the Ming Dynasty could indeed possess things like blades and swords, but most people generally did not have them.
First, they are quite expensive; second, they are useless in the hands of someone who has never trained with them.
Furthermore, although Zhu Ci was dressed simply, he wore a scholar's cap, making it obvious at a glance that he was a scholar; ordinary people naturally wouldn't dare provoke a scholar like him.
The passenger ship swayed unsteadily, Zhu Ci sat upon it, feeling somewhat nervous.
To be honest, he always felt like the boat would capsize at any moment, he didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he reached Dongshan.
After arriving at Dongshan, he bypassed Wujiang and headed straight for Changzhou, before then proceeding in a southeasterly direction.
His destination was Jiading.
The Empress's landholdings are in Jiading; he needs to go there to see the location of the land before he can decide whether to leave or stay.
The period before the first lunar month was the only time of peace left in the south.
After the Qing Army occupies Xi'an, Li Zicheng will retreat south, at that time, the Qing Army's strategic objectives will also shift southward.
And in the process of their attacking the Southern Ming, they would commit massacres of entire cities that would be loathed by both gods and men.
The Three Days of Yangzhou and the Three Massacres of Jiading—these are all written in the history books.
Zhu Ci was not sure if the letter he sent to Alna would be of any use, but to be safe, it would be best not to stay in Jiading.
To completely avoid the Qing Army, it seemed as though leaving this land would be best. Could it be.. going out to sea?
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: I feel like going to sea in this era doesn't seem very safe. Meow nervously hugging the ship's railing. jpg
Next update tomorrow morning at six!
There are also red envelopes in this chapter~
Chapter 24
Just as Zhu Ci was feeling somewhat hesitant, he happened to see ships from the shipyard undergoing sea trials.
A thought flashed through his mind, he prepared to learn what the ships of this era were like. As for whether they would sail the seas.. that remained to be seen.
The newly built ships from the shipyard were very grand, attracting many people to come and see. Right then and there, workers were already recruiting business for their respective shipyards.
Zhu Ci took a look and asked, "What kind of ships does your shipyard have?"
The clerk saw his fine attire and became much more enthusiastic: "A scholar wishes to buy a ship? Then follow me, sir; our shipyard has maps and price lists."
Zhu Ci followed him all the way to the shipyard's shop at the pier and received a thick manual, most of which contained river ships, with only a very small portion dedicated to sea vessels.
Zhu Ci took one look and fell in love with the Large Fuchuan. He asked, "This ship can be sold too?"
He remembered that the Large Fuchuan was the main vessel during Zheng He's voyages to the Western Oceans, was also one of the official sea vessels.
Because the Ming Dynasty had long enforced a sea ban, large ocean-going vessels like the Large Fuchuan were basically not sold among the common people.
The worker in charge of the shipyard immediately said, "The imperial court doesn't care about these things anymore, but this kind of ship has high requirements for ports; it can't navigate through ordinary ports."
Zhu Ci immediately asked, "Then you should know which port will work, right?"
The fellow nodded and said nothing.
Only then did Zhu Ci feel at ease. The more he looked at this Large Fuchuan, the more he liked it; compared to this ship, the other vessels were simply too small.
Although he had not yet decided where he would go at sea, his recent interests had been Luzon Island and Woshan, so naturally, the larger the ship, the more stable it would be.
He asked casually, "How long will it take to build this ship? And how much will it cost?"
The shop assistant hesitated for a moment. Although this youth before him was exceptionally handsome and a scholar, which naturally implied he came from a wealthy background, his attire did not look like that of someone of great riches, the assistant felt he might not be able to afford a Large Fuchuan.
However, the visitor was a guest, so he still said, "If you do not require custom interior decorations, the price is one million taels of silver, the construction period will be approximately twenty months."
Zhu Ci..
Ah, he is so poor.
In truth, the expenses for food, clothing, shelter, transportation along this journey had not been that high. Compared to the current prices, the wealth he possessed would make him a minor tycoon among the common people; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to open his mouth and ask to buy a ship.
After all, no matter the time, carriages and ships were absolute luxuries.
However, unexpectedly, he took an interest in the most expensive one at first glance.
Zhu Ci's expression remained unchanged as he nodded and said nonchalantly, "I think that price is reasonable, but I don't have that much on hand. I'll have to go home and ask my father first. Where is your large Fuchuan shipyard located? I happen to be heading to Jiading, so I wonder if it's nearby?"
The worker was not surprised and continued to say with a smile, "That is quite a coincidence; the sea ship shipyard happens to be in Jiading."
Zhu Ci couldn't help but sigh as he walked out of the shipyard, feeling a bit saddened.
It's because I'm so poor.
He can no longer afford a ship for the time being; half of the paths to the sea have been blocked.
The other half was to set sail on merchant ships, but he wasn't sure if the identity he had forged would withstand an inspection.
Of course, even if he had the money to buy a ship, he wouldn't consider a new one. Twenty months.. by the time the ship was finished, the opportunity would have long passed. He would be better off taking a gamble and taking down Alna instead.
Zhu Ci turned and went to the mule and horse market to buy a mule. Compared to horses, mules were a bit slower, but they were hardy and easy to raise, most importantly, they were cheap.
Anyway, even if someone did continue to pursue him, riding a horse wouldn't necessarily allow them to shake him off.
However, he had been constantly changing his identity throughout his journey; unless his pursuers had known his destination from the very beginning, they shouldn't be able to find him.
Not to mention that he had taken a bit of a detour, had not followed the originally planned route at all.
Because of this, he arrived in Jiading two days later than originally planned, spent several more days searching for that so-called Xialiang in the small waters.
Xialiang was just as its name suggested; most of the people in the entire village were surnamed Xi.
As soon as Zhu Ci entered Xialiang, he was immediately noticed by the villagers. Shortly after, the village head came out, performing a salute in a thick local dialect, before asking very cautiously, "May I ask what brings this gentleman here?"
Zhu Ci took out his identification and said, "I am here to find my ancestral home. Does the headman know where this place is?"
Fortunately, the village head knew a few words. After glancing at the land deed, his face instantly lit up with joy. He then gave a deep bow to Zhu Ci and asked, "May I ask, how is Master Xi and the Princess Consort?"
Hmm? Princess Consort?
Is she talking about the Empress? But the Empress was never a Princess Consort; before the Prince of Fu ascended the throne, she was merely a concubine, only became Empress after his ascension due to his favor.
Perhaps people in the countryside cannot distinguish between these things; they simply feel that once married to a Prince, one becomes a Princess Consort.
He said with a smile, "Aunt has already become the Empress. Grandfather is now the State Preceptor, my aunt's son has also been named Crown Prince."
The village head was momentarily stunned. They only knew that the Xi family had produced a Princess Consort back then and had subsequently relocated the entire family; they never expected that she had now become the Empress, her son had even become the Crown Prince.
He asked tremulously, "Is.. is this true?"
Zhu Ci said, "That's right. The current Emperor ascended the throne this June and was named Crown Prince in September. If you don't believe me, Bao Chang, you can go outside and ask around."
This small mountain village is truly isolated; they don't even know about such a major event.
However.. being isolated has its advantages; the main one being that this is not a strategic location for military campaigns, so no one will come here easily.
If it's impossible to head out to sea in the short term, then living in seclusion here for a while isn't out of the question.
The village head was overjoyed at once, his hands clasped together as he said, "This.. this is truly wonderful! Since the young master has come, has the State Preceptor given any instructions?"
Meeting the protector's hopeful gaze, Zhu Ci said, "My aunt and grandfather have not forgotten their hometown; it is just that the journey is long, His Majesty has been busy with many affairs since his ascension to the throne. Now that the New Year is approaching, he cannot spare the time, so as it happens, since I am heading out on a study tour, he has sent me to visit my hometown first."
As for what he was going to see, he didn't say, the village head dared not ask too much, only repeatedly saying, "The State Preceptor was kind-hearted even back then; even after all these years, he has not forgotten his fellow villagers in his hometown."