The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 101 Sightseeing and Spring Exploration: Seasickness

After dinner that evening, everyone was tired from the journey and went to bed early.

Nothing happened that night, and the next morning...

Jia Lian and Jia Rong, along with several disguised guards, set off ahead of time to carry out the task assigned to them by Tu Chengyu.

Tu Chengyu, on the other hand, was quite relaxed, having eaten breakfast and rested well.

They waited for Xiao Xuanzi and her men to load the luggage onto the ship before setting off.

Because prior arrangements had been made, the post station had reserved four medium-sized official boats for Tu Chengyu two days prior.

Tu Chengyu, along with palace eunuchs, maids, and some guards, rode on one boat, while the rest of the people were divided into three other boats.

Once on board, Tu Chengyu naturally moved into the largest room in the rear cabin.

Xiao Xing'er and Jia Tanchun were arranged to live in the small room next to Tu Chengyu because they had to take care of Tu Chengyu's daily life.

This was Tu Chengyu's first time on a boat since arriving in this world, and also the first time he had ever ridden in such a wooden boat in both his previous lives.

He was still a little excited, so after the boat started moving, he led Xiao Xing'er and the others to climb to the side of the boat to see the scenery of the canal.

In Tu Chengyu's imagination, since the canal was man-made, it must not be very wide.

But when Tu Chengyu stood on the ship's side and looked out, he found it to be quite spacious, at least several tens of meters wide.

There shouldn't be any problem with at least three ships sailing side by side.

I leaned on the side of the boat, looking at the scenery and talking to them.

Tu Chengyu asked, "Among you, who has ever been on a boat before?"

Among these people, Xiao Xing'er has been with Tu Chengyu the longest and is the most senior. Usually, she is the first to answer questions asked of everyone.

Xiao Xing'er said, "Your Highness knows that my family is from Shuntian Prefecture. I entered the Prince's Mansion when I was a child. Apart from the time I took a small boat with Your Highness on the lake a few years ago, I have never taken a boat ride."

Upon hearing what Xiao Xing'er said, Tu Chengyu remembered that he had taken a small boat on the lake before. So, this wasn't Tu Chengyu's first time taking a boat ride.

After Xiao Xing'er finished speaking, Tu Chengyu looked at Xiao Xuanzi.

Xiao Xuanzi said, "I entered the palace when I was young, and I have never been on a boat before."

Upon hearing Xiao Xing'er mention her home, Tu Chengyu suddenly realized that he didn't seem to know where Xiao Xuanzi was from, nor did he know much about her other background. So he asked:

"Xiao Xuanzi, where is your hometown?"

Xiao Xuanzi replied, "Your Highness, my hometown is beyond the Great Wall."

Tu Chengyu asked, "Who else is in the family?"

Xiao Xuanzi said, "Your Highness, I don't know if anyone is still at home. I was separated from my family because of the rebellion of the barbarians outside the pass, and that's why I was brought to the palace."

Tu Chengyu said, "Haven't you looked for your family all these years?"

Xiao Xuanzi said, "Your Highness, I was only six years old when I was brought into the palace, and I didn't know how to find it at the time."

"When I grew a little older, I did ask people to look for it, but too much time had passed, and in recent years there have been frequent rebellions by the savages outside the Great Wall, so I haven't been able to find out a single clue."

Hearing Xiao Xuanzi repeatedly mention the savage rebellion, Tu Chengyu asked, "Do the savages beyond the Great Wall often rebel? I've never heard of it."

Xiao Xuanzi said, "These are just minor rebellions, which the garrison outside the pass can quell in ten or fifteen days. Naturally, they won't attract any attention in the court."

Xiao Xuanzi called it a minor rebellion, but Tu Chengyu didn't think so.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of Chinese history knows that the greatest threat to the Central Plains dynasties came from the north.

Moreover, these threats from the north become greater the further east one goes.

The area outside the Great Wall is located right on the northeastern border, making it arguably the biggest threat.

If the imperial court does not pay enough attention to this area and allows the savages here to continue their rebellion, the small rebellion will inevitably turn into a big rebellion, and one day it will become a major threat to the imperial court.

Tu Chengyu took this matter to heart. He felt it was necessary to return to the capital and have a proper talk with his father about the situation outside the Great Wall.

After discussing Xiao Xuanzi's matter, the other eunuchs and palace maids also shared their experiences of traveling by boat.

Finally, it was the youngest, Jia Tanchun's, turn. Tu Chengyu asked:
"Tan Chun, have you ever been on a boat?"

After Tu Chengyu finished asking the question, he saw Jia Tanchun covering her mouth, sweating profusely, and looking pale.

He immediately asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words and taking a closer look, the others also noticed that something was wrong with Jia Tanchun.

Little Xing'er quickly ran forward and carefully asked her what was wrong.

But Jia Tanchun just covered her mouth and didn't say anything.

Tu Chengyu looked at it for a long time and finally figured it out.

There's no other reason why Jia Tanchun is like this; she's probably seasick.

She's covering her mouth like that probably because she's afraid she'll spit it out if she opens her mouth.

Tu Chengyu quickly asked, "Are you seasick?"

Jia Tanchun nodded quickly.

Tu Chengyu asked again, "Do you feel like throwing up?"

Jia Tanchun nodded again.

After seeing this, Tu Chengyu said to Xiao Xing'er, "Help her to the side of the boat and let her vomit. That will make her feel better."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xing'er and another palace maid helped Jia Tanchun to the side of the boat. Jia Tanchun was not tall, and her head could only barely reach the side of the boat. In addition, the boat was rocking constantly, and it took Xiao Xing'er and the other maid a long time to get Jia Tanchun's head over the side of the boat.

Fortunately, one of the eunuchs was quick-witted. Seeing the situation, he ran back to his room and brought out a small stool.

Jia Tanchun stood on a stool and poked her little head out of the side of the boat, then vomited profusely.

After she finished vomiting and came back, Tu Chengyu asked, "How are you feeling now?"

With Xiao Xing'er's support, Jia Tanchun said, "I feel much better after vomiting, but I still feel weak all over and my head still hurts."

As someone who suffered from motion sickness in her past life, Tu Chengyu knew very well how she felt and that her current state meant that her seasickness was still ongoing.

Unfortunately, there were no quick and effective seasickness medications like those from later generations, so Tu Chengyu could only have Xiao Xing'er press Jia Tanchun's Neiguan acupoint to help relieve her symptoms first.

Then he said to Xiao Xuanzi, "Go and find Physician Du and see if he has any prescriptions to relieve seasickness."

Xiao Xuanzi had only run a couple of steps when she heard a voice say:
"Your Highness, here is some seasickness medicine."

Upon hearing the sound, Tu Chengyu looked up and saw Quan Wenwei's daughter carrying a small white porcelain bowl, slowly walking towards them.

Seeing this, Xiao Xuanzi quickly went over, took the small bowl, and handed it to Xiao Xing'er so that she could give it to Jia Tanchun.

Tu Chengyu looked at the girl, Quan, who had hidden in her room as soon as she boarded the ship, and asked:
How come you have seasickness medication?

Ms. Quan explained, "My father told me before I boarded the ship that many people here are taking a boat ride for the first time and may get seasick, so he told me to prepare seasickness medicine in advance."

"So, I asked Physician Du for a few doses of medicine in advance and brewed a few bowls in preparation."

It turned out that the girl was hiding in the room to brew medicine.

After Jia Tanchun finished drinking her medicine, she sat down and rested for a while, and her seasickness symptoms were relieved somewhat.

Tu Chengyu then asked Miss Quan, "Did Doctor Du say that there are any precautions to take after taking seasickness medication?"

Miss Quan said, "After taking the medicine, I, who am seasick, will take a nap."

This method is the same as the one Tu Chengyu used to deal with motion sickness in his previous life: a good night's sleep can greatly alleviate the symptoms.

Tu Chengyu quickly instructed Xiao Xing'er to take Jia Tanchun back to her room so she could go to sleep.

She slept until the afternoon.

It's unclear whether it was the effect of Doctor Du's medicine or her gradual adaptation to the swaying environment on the ship.

After waking up, her seasickness symptoms were significantly reduced.

Three days passed in this way, and Jia Tanchun took two more doses of seasickness medicine and was completely cured.

Now it can jump and hop around on the boat all day long.

For the past three days, Tu Chengyu and his team have been on the boat without disembarking because they had prepared a lot of things beforehand.

They only send people ashore to replenish vegetables and water when they dock for a rest each night.

Normally, there are waterway stations set up by the imperial court at each place where the ship stops, so Tu Chengyu could simply disembark and rest at the station.

But Tu Chengyu's identity is what it is.

If he disembarks at the post station, the people there will certainly give him a grand welcome.

Besides the post stations, the local officials were also not at peace.

After all, it was the first time a prince of the current dynasty had traveled to their territory, and it would be unreasonable not to pay him a visit.

But if they all came to visit, it would not only be troublesome for them, but also a waste of Tu Chengyu's time.

From early morning, Tu Chengyu sent word that he was just passing through and would not disembark, and that officials along the canal should not come to pay their respects.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu stayed on the boat for three days without disembarking.

On the fourth day, it was still before noon.

Bored, Tu Chengyu was playing cards with Xiao Xing'er and the others when the boat slowly came to a stop.

According to the previous plan, there was usually no break at noon, so why is it stopping now?

Tu Chengyu put down his cards, turned around, and saw Xiao Xuanzi running from the bow of the boat. He asked:

"What happened? Why has the ship stopped?"

Xiao Xuanzi quickly took two steps to Tu Chengyu and said:

"Your Highness, the helmsman said that we have reached the lock ahead and need to change boats on the other side."

Tu Chengyu asked in confusion, "Since there is a lock, why not just open it and let the boat pass through? Why change boats?"

Xiao Xuanzi said, "I asked the same question, and the helmsman said, 'It's springtime now, and there's not enough water anywhere. Even if we open the locks, the boats won't be able to pass.'"

"He also said that 'there is siltation near the lock, and ships can only pass through during the summer and autumn seasons each year.'"

"So that's the reason," Tu Chengyu said. "In that case, let's listen to the captain and change ships."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xuanzi turned back and spoke to the helmsman.

Then, the boat started moving again and slowly approached the shore.

After docking and coming to a stop, Tu Chengyu led his men off the boat first.

After arriving at the new ship, he didn't rush to the new ship. Instead, he called over the helmsman, found the silted-up area, and asked him about the situation.

(End of this chapter)