In ancient times, women's hair was often used as a token of love. The sound of the blue hair is verbal and affection, representing a feeling of longing.

This kind of body and skin thing is easily given to strangers, so what Liu Wan'er expressed is very obvious.

Chen Yichen opened the small note, and there was a beautiful and dignified font on it. After all, Liu Wan'er was born in a scholarly family, and her handwriting was not inferior to that of ordinary scholars.

"Mr. Chen, after the Winter Solstice Poetry Festival, Wan'er always remembers that justice will not be absent, and everyone dares to forget it."

"The memorial in the brocade box was a work of my father crying blood in the imperial prison. He planned to present it to the emperor to prove his innocence, but he did not deliver it until his death."

"When my brother helped my father to bury his body, he found this memorial and found all the ministers who were familiar with my father in the capital. No one was willing to help me submit a memorial. In order to prevent being discovered by the eunuch king, the memorial was kept by me personally, just to be able to go to the heaven to listen one day."

"Wan'er now handed over this memorial to Mr. Chen, hoping to see what the young master said in the future."

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

After reading the text on the note, Chen Yichen found that many parts of the pen and ink were stained. It was obvious that when Liu Wan'er wrote, she was crying.

To be honest, at the beginning, when I saw Qingshi, I thoughts like repaying my kindness with my body flashed through Chen Yichen's mind. But at this moment, his heart was a little heavy, and the words on the note were more similar to the last-hand writing written in despair.

This strand of black hair is what Liu Wan'er feels that she may not be able to repay her in this life, and Xu Ding will repay her in the next life. And even the claim is changed from a slave commonly used by women to her nickname Wan'er.

Just when Shen Yichen was about to roll up the paper and put it in his sachet, he accidentally found that there was a line of small characters on the back of the paper.

"Young Master Chen, the eunuch king Zhen controls the government and covers the sky with his own hands. Wan'er knows the difficulties and dangers that will be experienced in this matter, and she does not want the young master to fall into danger because of her own affairs."

"If you think that things are not done, burn the memorial in the brocade box to avoid leaving any troubles. Wan'er is still grateful to the young master for helping him, because the young master gave a beam of light at the darkest moment of Wan'er's life."

After reading the last small words, a smile appeared on Chen Yichen's lips. He didn't expect that he would also become the day when he became someone else's light.

After packing up the things, Chen Yichen did not choose to open Liu Qiu's memorial because he could already know from Liu Wan'er's notes that this was a self-defense memorial.

And to be honest, this thing is useless. If it is useful to defend yourself, will it die unjustly?

If you want to be honest, it is not this memorial, but Wang Zhen’s fall.

I can only say that this last words that the Liu family regards as life are worthless in the eyes of others.

"Brother Chen, the bow of the boat is so foggy that it's not cold. Why don't you go back to the cabin and sit?"

A Niu saw that Chen Yichen had been standing at the bow of the boat and looking at the things in 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 was not until Chen Yichen put away the things and then spoke.

"good."

Chen Yichen nodded. He was indeed wet after standing for a long time, so he turned around and returned to the cabin.

The area inside the tent of the bird is not large, it looks only a few square meters. There are square tables and chairs in the center of the ship, and a stove is also burned for making tea and cooking.

Under normal circumstances, the bird boat will not stay overnight in the cabin, but if you are in a hurry, you can just lie down, but the comfort level will definitely not be very high.

Of course, Chen Yichen is not picky about clothing, food, accommodation and transportation. As long as conditions allow, he plans to minimize the rest time on the shore. He sails day and night, and rushes to the capital as fast as possible.

"My husband Chen, the tea is boiled in the pot, but the tea leaves are not good. If you don't dislike it, you can drink tea to warm your body."

The boatman saw Chen Yichen sitting down and greeted him.

"Thank you, the boatman."

"You are kind to me, Mr. Chen, you are the head of the Sanyuan Case. It is my blessing to be able to take my boat."

Chen Yichen's name of the head of the little Sanyuan case can be said to be spread throughout Yingtian Prefecture. Even the boatman who was ignorant of his words on the river had heard of his name.

Hearing this, Chen Yichen smiled, not satisfied. He lifted the kettle from the stove and poured a cup of tea into the pottery bowl on the table.

It is indeed as the boatman said, tea is not even coarse tea, it is just some broken tea. From this, it can be seen that the living conditions of ordinary boatmen’s houses are not very good.

Chen Yichen has no habit of tasting tea. For him, tea is just a thirst-quenching service, so he doesn't care about the quality of the tea.

He blew away the floating tea leaves, took a sip, and then looked at the boatman.

This boatman has experienced many vicissitudes of appearance and looks like he is in his forties or fifties. However, Chen Yichen knew very well that such a person who has been making a living on the water for many years is much younger than he looks, and he should be only about thirty years old.

"Cruiseman, how long does it take for us to go to the capital?"

"If you go back to Mr. Shen, day and night, you can reach the capital in just over ten days."

The Grand Canal of Beijing-Hangzhou starts from the Zhenjiang section, and the length of the arrival of the capital is about 1,500 kilometers.

Even if it is as fast as fifteen days, it means that you have to travel about a hundred kilometers per day, which is converted into a speed of about four kilometers per hour, which is very close to the walking speed of ordinary people.

Although the speed seems to be quite slow, in fact, in ancient times, it was already considered a speedy speed that could travel hundreds of kilometers a day. This must be based on the use of day and night boats, oars and sails.

Perhaps it was because of being idle and idle, Chen Yichen simply talked about family matters with the boatman. He learned that he was only 35 years old this year and had traveled to the canal transport in his early years, and was very familiar with the rivers of the canal to the capital.

Later, he had to take care of his family by marrying a wife and having children. The risk of canal transportation was too high, so he settled down 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, Chen Yichen felt a little sleepy as the boat bumped.

Perhaps seeing Chen Yichen's fatigue, the boatman put down the oars, took out the bedding from a wooden box and said, "Mr. Chen, there is no bed on the boat, so you can only get off with a grievance."

"It's okay, just rely on it for a while."

Listening to Chen Yichen's words, the boatman suddenly sighed: "Mr. Chen, the villain has also met many nobles, but no one is willing to talk to the villain about these family matters, and no master is as easy-going as his husband."

"Everyone says that you are the reincarnation of Wenquxing. Now that the villain believes that my husband really has a Bodhisattva heart."

The words of the boatman made Chen Yichen not know what to do. Many small things that were sparse and ordinary in his eyes were of great respect in the eyes of the lower class.

Perhaps one of the differences between modern and ancient thinking includes the idea that everyone is born equal.

Chen Yichen wrapped in bedding, 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 dissipated and the sunlight shone on the river surface.

"Aniu, how long have I slept?"

"Brother Chen, it took about an hour."

So long?

Chen Yichen rubbed his eyes. He felt that he had just sniffed for a while, but unexpectedly, more than two hours passed.

He pushed open the quilt and stood up. Chen Yichen found that the boatman had already started lunch at the stern of the boat. Perhaps because he was worried that the oil smoke would smog him, he specially carried the stove out.

The food on the boat was very simple. The pot of fish soup was paired with the noodles, so I dealt with it.

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

It’s true that reading is a unique feeling with the gentle river breeze and the warm sunshine of spring and summer.

As we walked down the Yangtze River, when night was about to fall, the number of buildings on both sides gradually increased, and the bright lights in the distance could be vaguely seen.

"God of Chen, Zhenjiang Prefecture is ahead, and he will soon go out of the river and enter the canal."

The boatman looked at the lights and told Chen Yichen about his itinerary. The Yangtze River did not have a specific name in ancient times, and it was usually called Dajiang Dahe.

"Um."

Chen Yichen nodded. Yingtian was about a hundred kilometers away from Zhenjiangfu waterway. He thought it would take one day to reach it. As a result, he went downstream with a speed much faster than he had expected and had arrived in less than half a day.

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

Leaving the Yangtze River and entering the canal, this section in Zhenjiang Prefecture is called the Inner Canal, with a width similar to that of the Qinhuai River. In addition, since the Song Dynasty, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have always been rich, so the scenery on both sides of the straits is extremely similar.

They all have various customs and fireworks places such as jade house painting boats, brothels and brothels.

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

Although A Niu is honest and talks little, he still has basic eyesight. Chen Yichen was on a boat for the first time and could clearly feel uncomfortable and tired. It is best to get off the boat and rest for a night before setting off.

However, Chen Yichen shook his head and looked at the boatman and asked, "Boatman, can the canal travel overnight at night?"

I arrived at the capital one day earlier, and the preparation time was more sufficient, so Chen Yichen did not plan to stop and go ashore.

"Mr. Chen Xiang, there are many pleasure boats on the Zhenjiang Canal. The boats are more blocked at night and are prone to collisions. If you offend your young master, you may get into trouble."

"In addition, there are gangs on the river that rely on water to make a living, so it is easy to cause trouble at night. It is best to travel at night after passing Zhenjiang."

After all, boatmen have experience in canal transportation. Although they enter the bustling rivers in the city, it seems that it is more convenient to sail at night.

In fact, it is precisely because of the prosperity and the complex forces of all parties, and if you don’t have a broad vision at night, it will be a problem for any party to cause trouble.

A dragon crossing the river may not necessarily suppress the local snake, let alone Chen Yichen's just scholar's fame.

In ancient times, long journeys were not just about means of transportation. The inconvenience of road conditions and public security were also a major issue worthy of attention, and even the priority was higher.

"What the boatman brother said is very much. Aniu let's go down to find a hotel to settle in."

Chen Yichen has never been a nonsense person, and the boatman said everything is reasonable. So he called A Niu and the two of them went down from the bird boat to look for the inn to spend the night.

The scenery of Zhenjiang canal is brilliant and dazzling from the boat. After getting off the boat, the crowds are bustling, showing prosperity.

However, among this crowd, Chen Yichen saw many ragged refugees, huddled in the corner of the street and thought of begging for food, which was in sharp contrast to the scenery I saw before.

On one hand, there are peaceful and prosperous times, but on the other hand, there are natural disasters and man-made disasters to survive.

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

"Well, after the spring of Zhejiang this year, the floods are severe, and many farmers who cannot survive can only escape from the disaster. Yingtian Mansion has strict city defenses, so they cannot enter the city. It seems that many Zhenjiang Mansion has been sneaked in."

Listening to A Niu's words, Chen Yichen then 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: I turned a blind eye to the outside world and only read the books of sages. Although Chen Yichen has not reached this point, in fact, his main energy is also focused on the imperial examinations and he does not pay much attention to external changes.

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