In ancient times, women's hair was often used as a token of love. The sound of green silk hair resonates with emotions and represents a feeling of longing.

It is not easy to give this kind of body, hair and skin to a strange man, so the meaning expressed by Liu Waner is very obvious.

Shen Yichen opened the small piece of paper, and Juanxiu's dignified handwriting appeared on it. After all, Liu Waner came from a scholarly family, and her handwriting was not inferior to that of ordinary literati.

"Mr. Shen, after the Winter Solstice Poetry Recital, Wan'er always remembered the sentence that justice will never be absent. Don't dare to forget it."

"The memorial in the brocade box is the work of my father who wept his blood in prison. He intended to present it to the emperor to prove his innocence, but it was not sent until his death."

"When my brother was helping his father to bury his body, he found this memorial. He searched all the ministers in the capital who were familiar with my father, but no one was willing to help. In order to prevent the eunuch Wang Zhen from discovering it, I have been keeping the memorial close to my body, just for the sake of One day I will be able to reach heaven and listen."

"Wan'er now hands this memorial to Mr. Shen, hoping to see the delayed justice that Mr. Shen mentioned in the future."

"Wan'er will never forget this great kindness. She may not be able to repay her in this life. She only hopes to wear a grass ring in her next life and serve the young master."

After Shen Yichen read the words on the note, he also found that the pen and ink were blurred in many places. It was obvious that Liu Waner was crying while writing.

To be honest, when he first saw Qingsi, thoughts of repaying the favor with his body flashed through Shen Yichen's mind. But at this moment, his heart felt heavy, and the words on the note were more like a final letter written in despair.

This strand of black hair was Liu Waner's way of thinking that she might not be able to repay her in this life, so she promised to repay her in the next life. Moreover, she even changed her self-identification from the slave family that women usually use to her nickname, Waner.

Just when Shen Yichen was about to roll up the note and put it into the sachet, he accidentally discovered that there was a line of small words on the back of the note.

"Master Shen, the eunuch Wang Zhen controls the government with only one hand. Wan'er knows the difficulties and dangers he will experience in this matter, and she does not want to put the master in danger because of her own affairs."

"If you feel that something cannot be done, burn the memorials in the brocade box to avoid future troubles. Wan'er is still grateful to the young master for his help, because the young master gave Wan'er a ray of light at the darkest moment of her life."

After reading these last small words, Shen Yichen couldn't help but smile. He never thought that one day he would also be the light of others.

After packing his things, Shen Yichen did not choose to open Liu Qiu's memorial, because he could already tell from Liu Waner's note that it was a self-defense memorial.

And it’s useless to tell the truth. If self-defense is useful, will he die unjustly?

If you want to redress the injustice, it is not this memorial that depends on it, but Wang Zhen's downfall.

It can only be said that the last words that the Liu family regarded as life-saving were as worthless in the eyes of others.

"Brother Chen, it's very foggy on the bow. Don't catch a cold. Why don't you go back to the cabin and sit down?"

A Niu saw that Shen Yichen had been standing on the bow of the boat looking at the contents of the brocade box since he got on the boat. He didn't know if he was paying attention to something important, so he didn't dare to disturb him.

It wasn't until Shen Yichen put away his things that he spoke.

"good."

Shen Yichen nodded. His clothes were indeed wet after standing for a long time, so he turned around and returned to the cabin.

The interior area of ​​the bird boat is not large, only a few square meters. There are square tables and chairs in the center of the boat, and a stove is used for making tea and cooking.

Under normal circumstances, Quechuan will not spend the night in the cabin, but if you are in a hurry, you can just lie down, but the comfort will definitely not be very high.

Of course, Shen Yichen is not picky about food, clothing, housing and transportation. As long as conditions permit, he intends to minimize his rest time on shore. He will sail day and night and rush to the capital as quickly as possible.

"Mr. Shen, the tea is boiling in the pot, but the tea leaves are not good. If you don't mind, you can drink tea to warm yourself up."

The boatman saw Shen Yichen sitting down and said hello.

"Thank you, boatman."

"You're welcome, Mr. Shen. You are the head of the Three Yuan case. It's my blessing to be able to sit on my boat."

The name of Shen Yichen, the head of the Little Sanyuan case, has spread throughout Yingtian Mansion. Even the illiterate boatmen on the riverside have heard of his name.

Hearing this, Shen Yichen smiled, but was not proud of it. He picked up the kettle from the stove and poured a cup of tea into the ceramic bowl on the table.

Indeed, as the boatmen said, the tea leaves are not even coarse tea, but just broken tea foam. From this, we can also see that the living conditions of ordinary boatmen's homes are not very good.

Shen Yichen doesn't have any tea-tasting habits. For him, tea is just for quenching his thirst, so he doesn't care about the quality of the tea.

He blew away the floating tea leaves, took a sip, and then turned his attention to the boatman.

This boatman has a weathered appearance and looks to be in his forties or fifties. However, Shen Yichen knows very well that people who live on the water all year round are actually much younger than they look, and should only be around thirty years old.

"Shipman, how long will it take for us to get to the capital?"

"Back to Mr. Shen, if we don't stop day and night, a small boat like ours can reach the capital in as little as ten days."

Starting from the Zhenjiang section, the length of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to the capital is about 1,500 kilometers.

Even if it takes fifteen days at the earliest, it means traveling hundreds of kilometers per day, which translates into a speed of about four kilometers per hour, which is very close to the walking speed of ordinary people.

Even though this speed seems to be quite slow, in fact, in ancient times, being able to travel hundreds of kilometers a day was considered fast. This could only be achieved on the basis of day and night boating and the use of oars and sails.

Perhaps because he was idle, Shen Yichen simply chatted with the boatman about his daily life. He learned that he was only thirty-five this year. He had done water transportation in his early years and was very familiar with the canal's route north to the capital.

After getting married and having children, he had to take care of the family, and the risk of water transportation was too high, so he settled down to live by the Yingtian River. If he hadn't met A Niu and the passenger was the head of the Sanyuan case, he might not have accepted this business.

After chatting for a long time, Shen Yichen felt a little sleepy as the boat bumped.

Perhaps seeing Shen Yichen's tiredness, the boatman put down the oar, took out the bedding from a wooden box and said, "Mr. Shen, the boat is so simple that there is no bed or anything like that, so I can only give in to you."

"It doesn't matter, just stay close for a while."

Listening to Shen Yichen's words, the boatman suddenly sighed: "Ms. Shen, I have met many dignitaries, but I have never had anyone willing to talk to me about these common things, and no gentleman is as easy-going as my husband." .”

"Everyone says that you are the reincarnation of Wenquxing. Now I believe that Mr. Xianggong really has the heart of a Bodhisattva."

Shen Yichen didn't know what to say in response to the boatman's words. Many small things that were sparse and ordinary in his eyes were regarded as a great respect in the eyes of the people at the bottom.

Perhaps one of the differences between modern and ancient thinking is that all people are created equal.

Shen Yichen wrapped himself in quilt, leaned against the cabin and fell asleep in a daze. When he woke up and opened his eyes, he found that the thick fog on the river had dispersed, and the sun was shining on the river.

"Aniu, how long have I slept?"

"Brother Chen, it will take about more than an hour."

So long?

Shen Yichen rubbed his eyes. He felt that he had just squinted for a while, but he didn't expect that more than two hours had passed.

Pushing away the quilt and standing up, Shen Yichen found that the boatman had already started cooking lunch at the stern of the boat. Perhaps he was worried that the oil fumes would injure him, so he specially took the stove out.

The food on the boat was very simple, just a pot of fish soup and prepared noodles, and that was it.

In the afternoon, in order to pass the boring time on the boat, Shen Yichen took out his book and sat on the bow of the boat to read.

Not to mention, with the gentle breeze of the river and the warm sunshine of spring and summer, reading is a unique experience.

Just like this, going down the Yangtze River, when night is about to fall, the number of buildings on both sides of the river gradually increases, and you can vaguely see the bright lights in the distance.

"Mr. Shen, Zhenjiang Mansion is ahead of us, and it will soon go out from the river and merge into the canal."

The boatman looked at the lights and informed Shen Yichen of his itinerary. In ancient times, the Yangtze River did not have a specific name, and was usually simply called the Great River.

"Um."

Shen Yichen nodded. Yingtian was about a hundred kilometers away from Zhenjiang Prefecture by waterway. He thought it would take him a day to reach it. As a result, he went down the river at a much faster speed than he expected, and he arrived in less than half a day. Already.

However, after arriving at the canal, the current is reversed in most cases, and the width of the water surface is much smaller than that of the Yangtze River, and the river wind blowing is not strong enough, so the speed will slow down a lot.

Leaving the Yangtze River and joining the canal, this section in Zhenjiang Prefecture is called the Inner Canal, which is about the same width as the Qinhuai River. In addition, since the Song Dynasty, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have always been prosperous places, so the styles on both sides of the river are very similar.

There are various custom fireworks places such as Qionglou Painted Boats, brothels and brothels.

"Brother Chen, I see you are a little tired today. Why don't you find an inn in Zhenjiang Mansion to stay tonight?"

Although A Niu is honest and doesn't talk much, he still has good eyesight. Shen Yichen took a boat for the first time, and he could clearly feel that he was not used to it and was tired. It was best to get off the boat and rest for one night before setting off.

However, in response to A Niu's words, Shen Yichen shook his head, looked at the boatman and asked, "Boatman, can we travel overnight through the canal at night?"

Arriving at the capital one day earlier would give him more time to prepare, so Shen Yichen did not plan to dock.

"Mr. Shen, there are many pleasure boats on the Zhenjiang Canal. The boats are congested at night and are prone to collisions. If you offend your noble master, you may get into trouble."

"In addition, there are gangs on the rivers who make a living from the water. It is easy to cause trouble at night. It is best to go through Zhenjiang and then travel at night."

After all, the boatman has experience in water transportation. Even if it enters the bustling urban river, it seems that it is more convenient to sail at night.

In fact, precisely because of the prosperity and the complicated forces of all parties, if you, a foreign ship, do not have a wide view at night, it will be troublesome for any party.

Even the dragon crossing the river may not be able to suppress the local snake, let alone Shen Yichen's mere reputation as a scholar.

Traveling long distances in ancient times was not just about transportation. Inconvenient road conditions and public security were also major issues that deserved attention, and even had a higher priority.

"What the boatman brother said is true. Ah Niu, let's go down and find an inn to stay."

Shen Yichen has never been a troublesome person, and everything the boatman said was very reasonable. So he greeted A Niu, and the two of them got off the bird boat and prepared to find an inn to spend the night.

The canal scenery of Zhenjiang is so bright and bright when viewed from the boat. After getting off the boat, it is also bustling with people, showing its prosperity.

But among this crowd, Shen Yichen saw many refugees in ragged clothes, huddled on the street corner, begging for a bite to eat, which was in sharp contrast to the scenery he had seen before.

On one side, there is peace and prosperity, with singing and dancing, while on the other side, there are natural and man-made disasters and people are struggling to survive.

"A Niu, these should be the refugees from Zhejiang who suffered from floods, right?"

"Well, Zhejiang has suffered serious floods since spring this year. Many farmers who couldn't survive had to flee with their families. Yingtian Prefecture's city defense is strict, so they can't enter the city. It seems that Zhenjiang Prefecture has been sneaked in a lot."

Listening to A Niu's words, Shen Yichen finally understood why there seemed to be no sign of natural disasters in Yingtian Mansion. It turned out that refugees were not allowed to enter.

The ancients said: one cannot hear what is happening outside the window, and one can only read the books of sages. Although Shen Yichen has not yet reached this point, in fact, his main focus is on the imperial examination and he does not pay much attention to changes in the outside world.

Now that we have left Yingtian Mansion, we can see the dark side beneath the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.
To be continued...