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The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 446 - 365, Princely Heir blocks the way, warship with dragon flag_3
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The pale-eyed ghost quickly glanced this way, met Zhao Douan's gaze, then whooshed her head back around, silently gazing at the wet embroidered tip of her shoe.
"Fine," Zhao Douan sighed. The old man was terribly crafty, utterly refusing to reveal the slightest bit, but there was nothing to be done.
He leaned on the railing, looking towards the port and the city ahead, saying,
"Hu Ting... I've heard in the capital about a place at the Linfeng and Huai River border. It was first built as a docking port during the excavation of the Grand Canal in the previous dynasty, and then gradually developed over time.
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"To this day, it's still listed as a 'town' in the records of the six ministries. Yet its scale has long been greater than that of any county, simply because it stands alone, a single territory, with merchant ships passing through the canal, exchanging goods at this port. It can't become a county without enough villages and towns to be its subordinates.
"But the buildings on this bank, the sight of a thousand sails racing, to say it's like a prefecture city like Taicang, wouldn't be a surprise at all."
Pausing, Zhao Douan continued,
"It's said that the 'lake' in Hu Ting's name comes from a 'Yansuo Lake' formed from flood discharge here. On the cliffs by the lake, there's a huge statue carved into the mountain? It's also considered an ancient monument. Many scholars from Jiangnan have written poems about it, making it famous.
"The Commandery Princess Xu Junling seems to have written several poems about this place. Well, after all, this is considered part of the Huai River territory. How many percent of Hu Ting's shops and merchant ships belong to Prince Huaian's Royal Mansion?"
Hai Chunlin, standing on the deck like him and looking into the distance, laughed and said,
"I don't understand the court's disputes; I'm only responsible for watching over your life. But I can tell what you're trying to say. With Hu Ting's market opening soon, Prince Huaian and Prince Jing are near, and according to Shadow Guard intelligence, they've arrived many days before us.
"The other princes have also each sent their trusted aides here. By now, they've taken root in this city... I dare say, countless eyes within this city are watching you right now."
Zhao Douan sighed, "They're more likely wanting to kill me, right?"
Suddenly, a large vessel appeared in the distance, rapidly approaching, drawing the attention of everyone on deck.
"My lord, that ship ahead seems to be headed straight for us!"
Hou Renmeng furrowed his brows, gripping the hilt of his sword.
Haitang, with a more delicate mind and skilled in solving cases, raised her eyebrows and her expression changed slightly:
"This is no ordinary vessel; it's a warship! With no ongoing war, who would be steering a warship on the river?"
The appearance of the warship on the river captured everyone's attention.
A colossal structure on the water's surface neared, cleaving through the waves.
It had three decks, stood sixty feet high, painted with cinnabar, wrapped in iron, and featured horse stables. The female wall was densely packed with arrow holes, a sight to behold.
Zhao Douan, with both hands on the ship's handrail, narrowed his eyes, coldly staring at the monstrous vessel, two to three times larger than the one beneath his feet.
His palms clenched slightly.
Though still far away, it was as if he could vaguely hear the sound of music, and atop that warship, there seemed to be many men and women frolicking and playing.
At the very top, a flag, not of the Huai River naval forces, but stitched together from black and yellow, fluttered in the wind, with a four-clawed golden dragon faintly depicted on it.
"A flag from Prince Jing Mansion!" Haitang's face showed a slight change.
Eunuch Hai peered at a figure on the warship's deck and then looked meaningfully at Zhao Douan, saying:
"Your rival in love has arrived."
Rival in love?
Zhao Douan was startled, then remembered a certain rumor and blurted out,
"Prince Jing's son? Xu Jinglong?"
In the distance.
Standing on the three decks of the "ironclad ship," Xu Jinglong had his hands clasped behind his back, overlooking the small official ship ahead, expressionless.
...
An update for today, will fix typos later.
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