Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

"Brother Ye, you belong to the Chu Palace. How can you do such rough labor?" Bai Xiqiao called Ye Huai "Brother," causing Ye Huai to finally react and glance over. However, judging from their appearance, both Ye Huai and Bai Xiqiao were in their early twenties, making it difficult to tell who was older. Bai Xiqiao was deliberately trying to be annoying, but he didn't want Ye Huai to appear bullied. After all, Bai Xiqiao believed that bullying was only justified by physical confrontation. Bai Xiqiao had already "bullied" Ye Huai once, and the two fought to a draw. Thanks to Zong Sheng's help, Ye Huai was seriously injured. Bai Xiqiao had always wanted to find another opportunity to compete.

The boatman had also heard Baixiqiao calling Ye Huai "Brother" and had truly believed that Ye Huai was an important person in the palace and a close follower of the King of Chu, but that they had to squeeze in with him because of the limited room on the boat. Now that he understood, he hurriedly tried to snatch the basket from Ye Huai's hand.

"Look at us, we have no vision. How can we let Big Brother Ye do it himself? Big Brother Ye, let us do it!"

Ye Huai glared at Bai Xiqiao and said, "It's okay, I'm just a coachman, let me do it." After that, Ye Huai lifted the basket a little with his arms, walked quickly to the stern of the boat, raised the basket with one hand, and threw all the live fish into the Qin River.

The boatmen were suddenly struck by Ye Huai's incredible strength. It took three of them to lift the basket, yet he did it so effortlessly. They were deeply moved and even more certain that such a man couldn't be just a driver! He must be someone the King of Chu wanted to use. Perhaps it was his humble background that prevented him from serving the King. As the saying goes, a hero's origins are not judged, and Ye Huai was destined to become a prominent figure in the future.

Ye Huai had no idea that the boatmen had suddenly become heroes in their hearts just because of a basket of live fish. He took another basket without realizing it, and lifted and dumped it with ease.

Bai Xiqiao looked at Ye Huai and felt an inexplicable awkwardness in his heart, as if something was not right. After thinking about it carefully, the faint smile on Bai Xiqiao's face disappeared, and he turned around and went back to the cabin.

When I returned to Qi Xiao's room, Zong Sheng had already returned.

Bai Xiqiao asked immediately, "Does General Su agree?"

Zong Sheng nodded. "Yes, but we can't stay overnight, and the boat can't dock. Once we get to Chuanyang Lake, we'll send a small boat down and take me ashore. We can only stay for two hours. We'll have to eat and then return to the boat."

Bai Xiqiao was immediately furious. "That Su Qin! Two hours is too short! Xiao'er hasn't even had a good dinner yet, and he'll vomit it all out once we get on the boat! No way! I'm going to talk to him!"

"Senior Brother!" Qi Xiao's voice came from the inner room. Bai Xiqiao paused and was about to go out when he heard Qi Xiao shout, "Bai Xiqiao!"

Bai Xiqiao turned and rushed into the inner room: "Why are you calling me Senior Brother, you little brat?"

Qi Xiao sat on the headboard, looking at Baixi Bridge and sighing: "Brother, it's already a lot for me to get off the boat for two hours. I didn't want to..."

"What's wrong with you? Are you going to take my kindness for granted?!"

"...don't dare."

"That's fine, otherwise I'll beat you up for Master."

"Disembarking for two hours is Su Qin's biggest compromise, and it's also my biggest compromise."

Bai Xiqiao knew that he couldn't persuade Qi Xiao. It was already very difficult for him to get off the boat, so he could only withdraw while he was ahead: "Zong Sheng and I will accompany you."

Qi Xiao nodded.

"Oh, by the way, there's one more thing."

"what?"

"Just now, I saw Ye Huai at the stern releasing the fish."

"Release the fish?"

Bai Xiqiao nodded: "I can't explain why, but I just feel weird."

Qi Xiao thought for a moment and asked, "...He cares about those fish?"

When Bai Xiqiao heard what Qi Xiao said, he clapped his hands suddenly. "Yes! Yes! That's it! He cares about those fish! Although he's been with the boatmen a lot these days, helping out from time to time, he's always been very distant from everyone, and even when he was helping, he wasn't this proactive. Besides, Ye Huai really dislikes us. If he had seen us, he would have turned around and walked away. But just now, I was at the stern of the boat, and he didn't make an excuse to leave. Instead, he released the fish himself."

"Although it's just a guess, I trust my brother's intuition. There must be something strange in that fish."

"Shall I retrieve it?"

Qi Xiao shook his head. "That's not necessary. Let's just wait and see. We're truly in the same boat now. They can't scuttle the boat themselves, so they can't harm us. Besides, they have no reason to harm me. No matter what Tang Ling wants to do or what message she wants to convey, if she goes there, she will definitely come back. Let's just wait."

***

At dusk, Qi Xiao's boat arrived at Chuanyang Lake. Su Qin ordered the boatman to drop anchor, lower a small boat, and carry Qi Xiao and Zong Sheng ashore.

Bai Xiqiao was originally going to follow, but Qi Xiao was worried about Tang Ling, so he asked Bai Xiqiao to keep a close eye on her. Although they were on a boat, Tang Ling couldn't do anything unless she could fly. However, Ye Huai's release of the fish alerted Bai Xiqiao, and Qi Xiao thought it was time to stay put, so he kept Bai Xiqiao.

Bai Xiqiao could only stand on the deck, leaning against the side of the ship and watching the boat sail towards the bustling area of ​​the pier.

When Qi Xiao finally stood on the ground, he breathed a sigh of relief. Although he still felt dizzy, he felt much more at ease because he had support and something to lean on.

"Master, I'll go find a car."

"No need," Qi Xiao stopped Zong Sheng and said, "Come walk with me. It's getting dark now. Let's go to the market first and do some shopping."

The ship was a merchant ship, Qi Xiao was a prince, and Zong Sheng was a guard, so it was much easier for him to handle the supply shopping than for Su Qin and the Tiger Power Army. Furthermore, Qi Xiao himself was terribly seasick and had to get off the ship for a walk, so the shopping naturally fell to him, saving Su Qin a significant amount of money. The Tiger Power Army was short on supplies and couldn't afford to accommodate a royal noble like Qi Xiao. If Su Qin had to pay, he wouldn't have dared to give the money to Qi Xiao.

Of course, Su Qin would never tell anyone what was in his mind, but even if he didn't say it, Qi Xiao knew it, and even Zong Sheng and Bai Xiqiao knew it.

As expected, Qi Xiao stepped on the ground and landed at the dock and the border of Chuanyang Lake. The first thing he bought was the most famous Liuyeqing in Chuanyang Lake. He bought ten jars at once and ordered the waiter to load them on a cart and park them behind the store, and come back to pick them up.

"Master, is this too much?"

Qi Xiao waved his hand: "I would rather die drunk than faint."

Zong Sheng was speechless. Why did it sound like he was holding a grudge against Bai Xiqiao? Bai Xiqiao had been so nagging, actually saying that Qi Xiao was seasick like a drunkard. It had been three days, and Qi Xiao still held a grudge. Zong Sheng was secretly worried for Bai Xiqiao.

It was late, and although the market was still open, the vendors selling vegetables, fruits and melons came out early in the morning and had almost sold out by the afternoon, and had already returned home by dusk.

Qi Xiao and Zong Sheng wandered around most of the market and only bought some fruits, dry food, rice and flour.

After walking for half an hour, Qi Xiao became more and more energetic. He seemed like a sickly person when he first got off the boat, but now his back was straight, his legs and feet were faster, and even his bad temper was cured.

"Zongsheng, let's find a restaurant and eat first." Qi Xiao looked around at the shops. Almost all of them had banners with the words "Yangliu Lake Fish" on them. These were the two most famous dishes of Chuanyang Lake, Liuyeqing and Chuanyang Lake Fish. The wine was fine, but even the word "fish" gave Qi Xiao a headache. He definitely wasn't going to eat there. After walking down two blocks, Qi Xiao glanced at a restaurant hidden in a small alley. Red lanterns hung outside, and a sign was posted at the door. It was selling cabbage stewed with meat.

"This is it."