On the wedding night, the prince asked me to see an andrologist

Chapter 498 Meeting the water thief
Soon, the cargo in the cabin was loaded.

The guard came and knocked on the door to report that the ship was ready to depart.

After a while, Ning Muqing felt the hull of the ship rocking forward, and the sounds of sailors shouting came from the window.

The fourth prince had never left the capital before he was ten years old. It was his first time on a ship. Everything felt fresh. He opened the cabin window to breathe in the fresh air.

The heavy and heavy ship slowly sailed away from the river. Soon the ship stabilized and moved up the river.

The water flow at this time is not turbulent, it is very gentle, and even the reverse flow is very smooth and fast.

"The scenery along the river is really nice."

The fourth prince stood by the window, placing his hands outside the cabin to feel the wind blowing over him. Everything he could see was green waves.

"Uncle Emperor, you are so smart. You actually thought of traveling by boat. This boat is really smooth, not as bumpy as a carriage at all. I think it is very enjoyable to go out with you."

Listening to the fourth prince's sigh of satisfaction, Chu Lixuan raised his eyebrows and said, "It's not too late for you to wait for a few more days to sit on the boat."

"Uncle Emperor, what does this mean?"

The fourth prince turned his head and suddenly had a bad feeling.

Chu Lixuan raised his chin and motioned the fourth prince to look at Jiang Liu in front of him.

The fourth prince didn't see anything and continued to ask, "What's wrong?"

"The water flow is much faster in front." Chu Lixuan said.

The fourth prince, "..."

He still feels very confused.

Ning Muqing had no choice but to come out and explain, "Now I feel that the current is gentle and the ship is stable because this place is a port and the wind is not strong. But it will not be like this when we get to the front, and it will not be as comfortable as it is now."

"Hey, what's the matter? I thought it was a big deal. Isn't it just that the water flow has become more turbulent? With a ship as big as ours, even if it is unstable, it won't be unstable! Anyway, it is better than a horse-drawn carriage. Just be comfortable.”

The fourth prince somewhat understood what it meant, but he still didn't understand it, and his attitude was very disapproving.

Ning Muqing smiled but said nothing.

The speed of the boat was very fast, and soon the ferry disappeared from sight. Standing by the window and looking out, it was a scene in an ancient poem where apes on both sides of the river couldn't stop crying.

The fourth prince watched for a while and then lost some interest. He closed the window and said, "This boat is really high. When you look down, you can see rivers in all directions. I think it's quite scary. If you fall in accidentally, you'll probably die." No more."

The river they were walking on was called Huhe River, which was the mother river of the Zhou Kingdom and the largest and longest river.

There are also many towns and villages along both sides of the river. Many towns are built along the river, and there are many fishermen fishing around them.

The water conditions in the river protection are complex, and the route through endless mountains with complex terrain is very dangerous.

Moreover, when the rain increased in spring and summer, floods would break out from time to time, and the court often had to come out to provide disaster relief.

Ning Muqing leaned against the window, looking at the churning river outside, still thinking about the possible dangers.

Chu Lixuan is good at water, but the fourth prince...

If someone suddenly cuts a hole in the cabin, the boat capsizes, and they fall in.

I'm afraid that if I can't even pull up the corner of my clothes, I will die.

Ning Muqing frowned, turned around and asked, "How many of the guards on the ship are good at water?"

Chu Lixuan looked at the fourth prince.

"Good at water?" The fourth prince looked confused, "What is good at water?"

"You know how to swim! Didn't the prince tell you before we set off that we were going to take the water route? So you didn't pay attention to this aspect when choosing your guards?"

Ning Muqing suddenly felt that something was wrong.

The fourth prince's face fell silent, "I have only selected those with the best martial arts skills. As for whether they are good at water, I don't know what to pay attention to. This shouldn't be important, right?"

"So he told you in advance." Ning Muqing twitched the corner of her mouth. This fourth prince was not careful at all. No wonder the emperor was dissatisfied with him. "The current situation is that we have to stay on the ship for at least five days. Time, if something happens in these five days, or an assassin attacks the ship, then none of the guards are good at water, and we will become someone else's fish. "

"Or to put it more extreme, what if assassins infiltrate our ship and make a big hole in our cabin, or if it hits a rock and the ship suddenly sinks in the middle of the journey.

The prince's water skills are still acceptable, but he has probably never swum in such complicated water conditions. I don't know if he can handle it. You definitely can't, and neither can the guards. At least the whole army will be wiped out after this trip. "

Ning Muqing took it seriously.

The fourth prince was sweating profusely as he listened to Ning Muqing's words. "We... we won't be so unlucky, right?"

"I told you early in the morning that you were going to take a boat and asked you to choose someone. Did you lose your body to someone who wanted to kill me?" Chu Lixuan frowned.

"Uncle, you didn't remind me at that time!" The fourth prince felt that he was wronged. "It was my first time traveling and doing errands for the first time. I was very nervous, so I didn't expect so much! And what was given to me at that time? I don’t have much time. Most of the guards are natives of the capital, and few are good at water. If they are selected according to the criteria of high martial arts skills and good water skills, there will definitely not be enough people.”

Chu Lixuan's face suddenly darkened.

Ning Muqing could only smile bitterly.

I have to say that what the fourth prince said is also true.

There was a drought in the Zhou Kingdom, and the capital city was not built along the river. There were not many people who knew how to swim.

Even if we forcibly select a few, I'm afraid they won't be particularly water-resistant, and they won't be of much use in fast-flowing waters like the river protection.

"Everyone is already here, so we can just forget about it."

Ning Muqing sighed and said, "Fortunately, this ship is quite big. There are many sailors on board who are good at water. Moreover, they are all relatively large, must have good water skills, and have rich sailing experience. If they encounter ordinary thieves or something happens, Accidents should be able to be dealt with.”

"I hope so."

The fourth prince said worriedly.

But there’s a saying that goes, good things don’t work but bad things work.

Not long after finishing this topic, the sky gradually darkened. The ship hit something and suddenly started to vibrate violently.

The fourth prince was so frightened that he almost rolled to the ground. He quickly steadied himself and said, "What's going on? What happened?"

Ning Muqing and Chu Lixuan stood up at the same time in perfect agreement.

"Did you hit something?" Ning Muqing asked in surprise.

Chu Lixuan said calmly, "Go over and have a look."

"go!"

The two of them walked outside simultaneously, and the fourth prince hurriedly caught up with them, "I'll go with you."

The three of them hurried to the deck.

Ning Muqing had already observed that the ship's forward speed had slowed down at this time, and there were several sailors in the cabin who didn't know what to say when they gathered together.

The sound of footsteps came from behind, and the officials from the Ministry of Agriculture who lived below were also alerted and hurried out with their guards.

"Fourth Prince." The minister asked in a panic, "I just felt a sway, is something wrong?"

The fourth prince shook his head and said, "I just came here and I don't know what happened."

"Go and call the captain of the ship." Another servant ordered the guard.

Soon, the captain of the ship came over with a few sailors and was about to salute.

The fourth prince waved his hand and said, "Okay, okay, tell me quickly what happened."

"This has shocked all your noble lords."

The boss of the ship was very worried and said, "The younger one just asked about the situation and said that he ran into a water pirate."

"What? There are water thieves!" The Minister of Agriculture was immediately shocked.

Ning Muqing frowned.

"What is a water thief?" The fourth prince still didn't understand what happened.

"It's the chain that was put down in the water to block the road." The boss of the ship waved, and a sailor not far away came over dragging something.

The iron chain made a sharp clanking sound against the wooden board. The fourth prince took a closer look and found that there were hooks on the iron chain. It was not very sharp, but it had been completely rusted because it had been in the water for a long time.

The fourth prince asked in confusion, "Can this be called a water thief? What can it be used for? It doesn't look like it can hurt anyone!"

"This thing is very destructive!"

"Where's the damage?"

"Fourth Prince, you don't know something. Although this thing can't hurt anyone, it will block the progress of the ship when it is hidden underwater. If the people on the ship cannot react immediately, a big hole will be dug out, causing The ship capsized.”

The ship boss explained simply.

The fourth prince suddenly took a breath of air, "It's actually so powerful."

(End of this chapter)