Hearing the boatman say that ordinary passenger ships and merchant vessels were now forbidden from traveling together, Song Qingshu could not help blaming himself. Earlier, he had focused on persuading Ren Yingying to change from land travel to water travel, mainly because he worried that her frail body could not endure the hardship of the journey. He had also harbored a selfish thought: he could not bear to see her fair, jade-like legs rubbed bloody and callused by a horse. As a result, he had overlooked the possibility of war.
Thinking that not only had they failed to save time, but he had instead led her on such a long detour, he blamed himself even more.
Only when he heard Ren Yingying's question did he subconsciously look in the direction she pointed. A gigantic ship was approaching in the distance. Compared to it, the surrounding vessels looked like little skiffs.
More importantly, despite being such an obvious target, the Southern Song navy did not stop it. Instead, they let it pass all the way through. Song Qingshu's eyesight was exceptionally sharp, and he could even see a Southern Song commander at the bow smiling ingratiatingly at a steward-like figure. The steward merely responded halfheartedly, his attitude extremely cold.
"I wonder which prince or nobleman's merchant ship that is?" Song Qingshu was somewhat puzzled, though not surprised. In ancient times, which official's family was not a great landowner? They all preached propriety and morality, posing as virtuous gentlemen, forbidding the court from engaging in trade or sailing overseas, claiming it would compete with the people for profit. But what profit did the people have? Was it not simply their clans' profit? They merely feared that the court would step in and seize the businesses beneath them.
The boatman saw Ren Yingying