Chapter 56: Arrival in Nanjing

After the establishment of the Great Ming Dynasty, the Mongols were driven back to the northern deserts, but what was inherited was a Central Plains region devastated by various warlords. Thus, as the capital was set in Nanjing and countless tasks needed to be undertaken, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the restoration of the imperial postal roads and the dredging of waterways.

Although the move to a new capital had been put on the agenda, Nanjing remained the capital for now. As the end of the year approached, taxes from across the country were being sent to the treasury. The seven postal roads leading to Nanjing were bustling with people day and night, and the newly dredged canals connecting to the Yangtze River were also filled with ships coming and going continuously. In addition, officials summoned to the capital to report on their duties or regional governors attending the New Year’s court ceremony gathered in this prosperous city, creating a scene of peace and prosperity.

After entering the Yangtze River, Zhang Yue saw several luxurious official ships passing by. If his own six-masted ship was already considered top-notch at that time, those official ships were truly extravagant. The melodious sounds of music drifting from them, along with the guards standing rigidly on the decks, exuded an air of strictness.

Naturally, whenever the shipmaster and sailors encountered such ships, they would immediately retreat in panic. In their words, those aggressive official ships belonged to nobles or high-ranking officials—none of whom could be provoked.

With so many nobles around the emperor, Zhang Yue wasn’t foolish enough to think his small group could compete with them. He praised the shipmaster’s caution and gave him some rewards. Standing at the bow wrapped in a fur coat, he watched as the shipmaster gave way to several seemingly important ships before slowly approaching the dock. He couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

He had been terrified by the floods in Kaifeng last time and had been worried throughout the journey about encountering river bandits, barely getting any proper sleep. After all, those two unassuming small boxes contained 2,000 taels of gold—almost all the money the Zhang family in Xiangfu had managed to gather!

“Third young master, ahead is the Shandong Provincial Administration delivering this year’s taxes, so getting off the ship will take a while.”

Seeing the shipmaster’s caution, Zhang Yue nodded with a smile and said, “We’ve already waited so long; we can afford to wait a little longer. Tell them to lower the sails carefully and get ready.”

Zhang Chao and Zhang Jiu also came out of the cabin at that moment. Hearing this, Zhang Chao couldn’t help but mutter, “There are so many rules here under the emperor’s rule. If this were in Kaifeng, who would dare to go in front of our ship?”

Zhang Jiu curled his lips and said, “Nanjing isn’t Kaifeng. Not to mention us, even the Duke of Britain has never been ostentatious. Third Brother is just being cautious—any ship could have a high-ranking civil or military official on board, who might then launch an impeachment. Not only would we be in trouble, but it could also affect our family. This is Nanjing, not some rural area.”
“What did you say!” Zhang Chao, who was already hot-tempered, thought Zhang Jiu was implying him indirectly and flew into a rage. “You’re also a descendant of the Zhang family from Xiangfu—how dare you call that place a rural area!”
“Enough, enough! What kind of place is this? Stop arguing—do you want others to laugh at us?”
Seeing the argument getting more extreme, Zhang Yue stepped in to stop them, though his head already throbbed. Having lived on the ship for half a month, and with the two brothers already getting along poorly, any minor dispute led to fierce confrontation, forcing him to act as a firefighter to calm things down. Now that they were about to disembark, they still had to stage such a drama.
Fortunately, though Zhang Chao and Zhang Jiu refused to acknowledge each other’s authority, they still listened to Zhang Yue. They both snorted coldly and turned away, ignoring each other. Seeing this, Zhang Yue gave up on dealing with the two unruly siblings and went back to his cabin. He found Amber Qiuhen had already cleaned it thoroughly, but still worried, he asked further.
“Have Big Brother and Fourth Brother’s things been packed as well?”
Amber glanced at Qiuhen and quickly replied, “Young Master Dai’s belongings, including Luoying and Crystal, have been taken care of. But for Young Master Si, Fangcao was just here—she said the smell of the medicine made her feel dizzy from seasickness, and she might cause trouble when we disembark.”
“Let the Zhao and Zhou families help out then. Once we reach the Duke of Britain’s residence, it’ll be fine.”
Still, thinking of how Yao Xiang had been vomiting frequently since boarding and had suffered greatly over the past month, with Zhang Jiu’s shouting often echoing from the cabin, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but sigh. But it was their family matter, and he couldn’t interfere. Suddenly, the ship shook violently. He grabbed the cabin wall to steady himself before hearing noise outside.
“We’re docking! We’re docking!”

As the large ship docked, it was naturally the servants who went down first. Although Kaifeng was already a place with well-developed waterways and most people were accustomed to traveling by boat, there were far more than just Yao Xiang who suffered from seasickness. The poor steward Gao Quan was carried off the ship by two strong young men and vomited violently as soon as he stepped ashore.

The other servants quickly moved items off the ship. Amidst the hustle and bustle, Zhang Jiu, who had disembarked before Zhang Chao and Zhang Yue, spotted a middle-aged man looking around not far away at once.

“Uncle Rong!”

Hearing this call, the middle-aged man immediately turned around. Upon recognizing the speaker, he shouted something behind him and then rushed over like the wind, holding the hem of his robe. When he got closer, he smiled and tried to bow, but his knees bent only to be firmly supported by someone, allowing him to stand up again with a warm smile on his face.

“It’s been over four years since we last met. I never thought Young Master Jiu would still remember me.”

“Uncle Rong, even if I forgot someone else, I would never forget you. Weren’t you the one who made that bamboo toy for me back then?”

“It was just a simple thing made from bamboo. That you still remember such a trivial detail shows how remarkable you are. I truly don’t deserve such praise!”

Uncle Rong was so happy that his mouth twisted into a grin. Just as he was about to say more flattering words, he suddenly saw two elegantly dressed young men approaching behind Zhang Jiu. Immediately, he put away his smiling expression and showed a respectful smile, stepping forward to bow quickly: “Your humble servant Rong Shan greets Young Master Chao and Young Master Yue!”

While the two were greeting each other, Zhang Yue pulled back Zhang Chao, who wanted to step forward, and waited until they had exchanged a few words before joining them. Seeing Rong Shan about to kneel, he quickly stepped forward and helped him up, saying with a smile, “We’re still young and can’t bear such grand courtesy from an elder like you. My brother and I are visiting Nanjing for the first time. We’ll surely need your guidance in the future to avoid making mistakes or causing embarrassment.”

“How dare I! Such words from Young Master Yue would be too kind of you!” While speaking humbly, Rong Shan immediately turned to a group of neatly dressed servants and gave them orders in a firm voice, “Hurry up and move the belongings of the three young masters onto the carriage. Be careful not to damage anything! Also, go back to the ship and check if anything was left behind, then give the boatman some money as a tip!”

He then turned back and asked in a low voice, “Are there any important items among the three young masters’ luggage?”

Rong Shan was originally looking at Zhang Chao and Zhang Jiu, but unexpectedly both brothers turned to look at Zhang Yue. At that moment, he felt a chill in his heart and quickly shifted his gaze to Zhang Yue. Just by observing Rong Shan’s instinctive reaction, Zhang Yue knew that he had originally regarded him as the least important among the three. Having been used to such attitudes before, he simply smiled slightly and said, “The three of us haven’t brought much with us this time. It’s just some gold that our family members gathered together. Right now, it’s under the care of my two maids. I hope Uncle Rong can send someone to take care of it.” The mention of gold made Rong Shan’s eyelids twitch slightly, but upon hearing that it was two maids in charge of the gold, he was somewhat moved. He immediately apologized and went to arrange someone to handle it himself. At that moment, Zhang Chao stepped forward and stood next to Zhang Yue, muttering softly, “This guy is hard to deal with. Be careful, younger brother.”