Loyang Jin

Since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, great emphasis has been placed on water transportation. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were called in to dig rivers and channels and build water transportation. In this dynasty, waterways extended in all directions, which was extremely convenient.

Compared with the hardship of traveling by car, taking a boat is faster and more comfortable. Travel hundreds of miles a day and enjoy the scenery along the way. Therefore, most people choose to travel by boat. Ordinary civilians mostly take passenger ships and civilian ships, and most merchants have their own merchant ships. Officials with grades above seven can take free official ships when traveling.

According to different grades and status, the ranks of official ships are also different. Uncle Ling is a fourth-grade official, and as a rule, he rides on a superior official ship.

This official ship has three floors. The bottom floor is where the crew and miscellaneous personnel live. The second floor is the residence of maids, servants and servants. Uncle Ling lives on the third floor with his family.

There are eight cabins on the third floor. The area on the ship is limited, and the cabins are not large, but they are very exquisitely decorated. Each cabin has a window. Sitting by the window, you can overlook the scenery of the river.

Ling Jingshu and Ling Xiao live in adjacent cabins, making it convenient to take care of Ling Xiao at any time.

This was Ling Xiao's first time traveling by boat, and he was so excited at first that he couldn't control himself. He always asked Ling Jingshu to describe the scenery he saw to him one by one. After a few days, the novelty of taking the boat gradually wore off, and I felt that staying in the cabin all day was too boring. I couldn't help but muttered: "I've been on the boat for five days, how long will it take to get here?" Capital City.”

Ling Jingshu laughed dumbly: "We have walked less than a third of the distance, and we have to walk for more than ten days! As the saying goes, it is better to travel thousands of miles to read thousands of books. Don't you always want to go out of Dingzhou City to see see?"

Ling Xiao is indeed still a child at heart and doesn't have much patience.

Ling Xiao was teased by Ling Jingshu and was a little surprised: "I just feel a little bored staying on the boat every day and not being able to go out for a walk. Anyway, I'd better read a book to pass the time."

Ling Xiao's "reading" is to let people read to him.

Ling Jingshu smiled and said, "I have nothing to do, so I'll read to you."

With that said, he ordered Bai Yu to find a miscellaneous travel journal and read it carefully to Ling Xiao.

The warm and bright sunlight shines through the window, illuminating the small cabin. Ling Jingshu's gentle and gentle voice sounded in the cabin. Ling Xiao sat next to Ling Jingshu obediently and listened attentively.

Jing Yu was serving tea, while Bai Yu had nothing to do and started sewing.

The atmosphere was quiet and peaceful.

A little maid's report broke the tranquility: "Miss and Master, Madam has prepared lunch over there. Please come and have lunch with us."

Ling Jingshu responded with a smile, put down the book in her hand, and took Ling Xiao's hand out of the cabin to the dining room.

...

Living on a boat, everyone eats three meals a day, morning and evening, in their own rooms. Only at noon is everyone eating together.

Mrs. Sun specially brought two chefs from the mansion. These two chefs are quite skilled in cooking. The dishes for lunch every day are not many, but they are very exquisite and delicious.

When Ling Jingshu and her sister arrived, Uncle Ling and others were already seated around the dinner table. It is rare to have to see the ceremony before sitting down.

Speaking of which, the population of Changfang is not complicated.

Uncle Ling has two daughters and two sons. The eldest daughter, Ling Jinghao, got married a few years ago and is now working in Tongzhou with her husband. The eldest son, Ling Ji, is now a student at the Imperial College. He married his wife Jiang four years ago and has no children yet. The second son died in infancy, and he also has a daughter, Ling Jingyan.

Sitting at the table were Uncle Ling, Mrs. Sun, Ling Ji, his wife and Ling Jingyan. Including Ling Jingshu and her sister, there are only seven people. A round pear wood table is more than enough.

Uncle Ling is serious and unsmiling in front of the younger generation. The principle is to eat without talking or sleep without talking. Everyone finished their lunch in silence, and it wasn't until Uncle Ling got up and returned to the cabin that the atmosphere relaxed.

No instructions were needed, the smart maid served hot tea.

The journey was long, and we spent the whole day on the boat, so chatting was an excellent pastime.

Ling Jingyan smiled and chatted with Ling Jingshu about the interesting stories of Dr. Wei's medical practice: "Mr. Wei founded Huichun Hall before he was sixteen to take in patients. At first, those patients saw that Dr. Wei was too young and did not trust him at all. Dr. Wei Not only do they not charge consultation fees, but they also give away medicines for free, so that only those poor patients who cannot even afford medicines remain..."

"Now Dr. Wei is very famous in the capital. On the first and fifteenth day of every month, there are enough patients waiting outside the Huichun Hall to line up two streets." The young woman sitting next to Ling Jingyan also added with a smile.

This young woman is about 20 years old, with an outstanding and charming appearance. She is Ling Ji's wife Jiang.

Chiang was born into a serious family. His father is the nephew of the late British Duke, who is now Chiang Kai-shek's cousin. The two mansions are of the same clan, share the same spirit, and move closely together.

The British Duke's Mansion was the most prominent noble residence in the Zhou Dynasty. When the Zhou Dynasty was established, the British Duke was the founder of the dynasty. Now the Zhou Dynasty has been inherited for more than two hundred years, and the British government has also existed for two hundred years. Empress Chiang, who died of illness, was the youngest daughter of the late British Duke and the direct aunt of the current British Duke.

The current Crown Prince of the East Palace and the British Duke are direct cousins.

The Jiang family is only a commoner, but has outstanding talent and appearance. When the Chiang family had not yet left the imperial court, there were countless people seeking marriage.

Uncle Ling was born as a Jinshi, studied the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and believed in the princely orthodoxy. She didn't take it seriously that the Holy Emperor doted on his youngest son King Yan, and he wanted to be under the prince's family. He really put a lot of thought into establishing a marriage with the Jiang family.

Because of this, when Mrs. Jiang first came into the family, her husband respected her, and her parents-in-law were quite friendly to her as their daughter-in-law.

It just didn't last long.

Jiang had been married for four years and had nothing to do. The Sun family had long been dissatisfied. Due to the popularity of the Jiang family, it was inconvenient for Ling Ji to take a concubine. When talking on weekdays, it is inevitable to criticize: "This time when I returned to the capital, A Shu accompanied A Xiao to seek medical advice, and Mrs. Jiang, you will also go with me. I just happened to ask Imperial Physician Wei to prescribe a prescription for you to take care of your health. He said You may get pregnant soon.”

Jiang's smile froze, she responded, and then lowered her head.

There are three kinds of unfilial piety, the greatest of which is to have no descendants.

So what if you are of high birth, talented and beautiful? The failure to conceive an heir has become Jiang's biggest pain. Sun opened his mouth and hit Jiang's sore spot.

Ling Jingshu had a good impression of this humorous cousin-in-law, and couldn't bear to see her in such embarrassment. She smiled and came to her rescue: "Children's matters also depend on God's gift and fate. There is no need to rush. My cousin-in-law is so young. , as long as you take good care of yourself, you might get pregnant soon.”

Jiang's heart warmed when she heard this, and she glanced at Ling Jingshu gratefully.

Ling Ji and his wife Jiang were very affectionate, and he took advantage of the situation and said: "It's my fault, I spend most of a month in the Imperial College, and have very little time to go back to the palace. I often leave my wife alone in the empty room."

If the couple doesn’t have time to get together, where will the children come from?

The fact that her husband defended herself in this way made Ms. Jiang feel warm in her heart. There is no need to pay attention to mother-in-law Sun's nagging.

Ling Jingshu and Ling Ji defended the Jiang family one after another, and the Sun family couldn't say anything more to avoid showing a mean face in front of everyone, so they quickly changed the topic: "The boat will arrive at the dock tomorrow, and the cooks will go buy some ingredients. The boatmen also have to go down to the pier to rest for half a day. It’s okay if you want to take the opportunity to get off the boat and get some fresh air.”

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was excited.

Especially Ling Xiao, who immediately pulled Ling Jingshu's sleeve and shook it: "Ah Shu, let's get off the boat and take a walk!"

Ling Jingshu was also quite moved and agreed with a smile.

...