Passengers were not allowed to light lamps at will in the cabin at night, but it was not pitch-black inside. A small lamp enclosed in a little iron cage provided a meager amount of light.
In the dim cabin, some people had already fallen asleep, while others kept rustling about. The wharf outside remained lively, though it was some distance from the large ship.
Yi Shuyuan left the cabin once more and went out onto the deck.
A bright moon hung overhead amid scattered stars, and the wind stirred waves across the river.
The Kaiyang Grand Canal was a monumental project excavated during the previous dynasty's height of power. Though it had provoked endless grievances at the time, there was no denying that, viewed from the present day, its construction had been a magnificent undertaking that would bless countless generations to come.
While compiling the County Gazetteer in Yuanjiang County, Yi Shuyuan had learned about this grand canal from historical records.
More precisely, the canal linked two prosperous regions in the southeast and northwest. It stretched roughly nine thousand li, with an average width of a dozen or so zhang.
The stretch outside Mingzhou City connected to an existing large river and incorporated what had once been a low-lying basin, forming an expanse of water more than a hundred zhang wide.
Yi Shuyuan stepped onto the deck. The cold wind at the end of the first lunar month still bit to the bone, and few people lingered outside at this hour. With a light leap, he landed atop the cabin.
The ship had already been turned around, its bow now pointing toward the canal.
Yi Shuyuan sat down where he was and leaned against the low railing. He watched the bustle on the wharf, gazed at the distant lights of