The spectators on the Jin Shui River gradually dispersed, leaving only the Shuntian Prefecture constables and people from several households searching for Yang Shengcai and Jiang Zhan.

Of course, only the East Peace Earl’s manor was looking for Jiang Zhan; the others were all searching for Yang Shengcai.

When several young men went out carousing together, three were rescued while one’s fate remained unknown. The families of the three survivors couldn’t stay uninvolved.

The Jin Shui River remained vast and turbulent. In the distance, the morning sun gradually rose above the horizon, casting a soft orange glow across the water’s surface.

As the day broke, the usually calm Jin Shui River buzzed with unusual activity. The golden-speckled surface rippled constantly as skilled swimmers dove deep to search for the missing.

As news spread, more and more people arrived at the riverbank to help with the search.

Yang Shengcai wasn’t just the grandson of the Minister of Rites; he was also the younger brother of the current Crown Princess. His disappearance undoubtedly worried countless people.

Zhen Shicheng arrived with a group of yamen runners. Standing on the shore, watching the anxious and exhausted searchers, he sighed inwardly.

With no sign of the missing person at this point, the situation looked grim.

As the sun climbed higher, a new wave of onlookers arrived, forming layers of spectators along the Jin Shui River’s edge.

Word spread that the Minister’s household had offered a thousand taels of silver to whoever found young Master Yang. The spectators went wild. Those confident in their swimming abilities jumped into the river like dumplings into soup, slowing the water’s flow.

Zhen Shicheng’s face darkened considerably. He cursed the Minister of Rites’ household under his breath.

Announcing such a reward now only encouraged countless people to jump into the river. Whether they could find the person was one thing, but it was almost certain to cause more deaths.

The Jin Shui River wasn’t a small stream; even the best swimmers could get into trouble.

Zhen Shicheng strode to where the Minister of Rites’ household members waited. He said to Yang Shengcai’s father, “Brother Yang, please retract the reward. This will only make the situation harder to control.”

Yang’s father sneered, “If your yamen is incompetent, are we not allowed to find our solutions?”

Understanding Yang’s father’s state of mind, Zhen Shicheng spoke gently, “Unorganized searches are useless.”

“How can it be useless? Every extra person searching increases the chance of finding my son. Prefect Zhen, please say no more. I don’t want to hear anything right now; I just want news of my son as soon as possible!”

Zhen Shicheng shook his head.

Suddenly, heart-wrenching cries rang out, startling everyone. Yang’s father quickly walked toward the source of the sound.

A woman knelt by the shore, holding a man and wailing loudly, “Husband, you can’t leave us like this! I told you not to go into the water, but you insisted on earning that damned reward, completely ignoring my advice. Now you’ve closed your eyes forever, leaving us as widows and orphans. What are we to do?”

The man was soaking wet, his eyes tightly shut, clearly beyond saving.

Nearby, a man pushed the woman aside and pressed hard on the man’s abdomen, but to no avail.

The woman’s cries grew even more mournful.

Zhen Shicheng walked to Yang’s father’s side and sighed, “Brother Yang, now you see.”

Yang’s father sneered, “So what? How can these people compare to my son?”

Anger flashed in Zhen Shicheng’s eyes. He said calmly, “Ordinary people naturally can’t compare to your noble son, but since your son’s whereabouts are unknown, it would be better to accumulate more good karma for him.”

This comment made Yang’s father take notice. After a moment’s thought, he ordered the reward to be canceled.

Zhen Shicheng organized all the rescue personnel into over ten teams to conduct a thorough search of the Jin Shui River. When the sun was high in the sky, someone from one of the teams suddenly surfaced, shouting, “There’s someone down there!”

This announcement caused an immediate uproar.

Yang’s father and Jiang Ancheng rushed over almost simultaneously.

Zhen Shicheng’s subordinate directed the team to dive and retrieve the body. After about half an hour, a skilled swimmer slowly surfaced, holding a person under one arm.

The swimmer broke the surface, shouting, “We found someone!”

Two people quickly took the body from the swimmer and swam towards the shore.

The shore was crowded with people, with Yang’s father and Jiang Ancheng at the front.

The rescuers soon reached the shore, laying the retrieved person flat on the riverbank.

After a night in the water, the body was swollen, its face mostly obscured by tangled hair, making identification difficult.

Zhen Shicheng couldn’t help but look at Yang’s father and Jiang Ancheng.

Yang’s father had already noticed the purple robe on the body. His legs gave way, and he began to collapse.

Yang Shengcai favored purple, with most of his clothes in that color.

Those nearby quickly supported Yang’s father.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, Yang’s father walked step by step towards the body.

Zhen Shicheng’s subordinate silently brushed aside the hair covering the face, revealing it completely.

The moment he saw the face clearly, Yang’s father’s last hope vanished. He staggered forward.

At the same time, Jiang Ancheng let out a long sigh of relief and slumped to the ground.

Heaven knows how terrified he had been, his heart nearly in his throat.

Thank goodness it wasn’t that little beast!

At that moment, Jiang Ancheng felt an urge to cry.

The Third Master Jiang knelt beside him, patting his brother’s shoulder forcefully and consoling him in a low voice, “Elder Brother, no news is the best news right now.”

The Second Master Jiang felt quite disappointed.

If Jiang Zhan had died, the second branch’s future would have been smoother.

But there was no need to rush. In the current situation, Jiang Zhan had no hope of survival.

The Minister of Rites’ household quickly took Yang Shengcai’s body away. The remaining people continued the search, but as time passed, their efforts proved fruitless.

Many were exhausted and began resting by the riverbank. The onlookers started discussing among themselves.

“Could he have been washed away? I remember a few years ago, a child from a nearby village fell into the river. They couldn’t find him anywhere, but later he surfaced a hundred li downstream.”

“That’s possible. Otherwise, with all this commotion, they’ve practically turned the riverbed inside out. How could they not find him?”

…

Early in the morning, Jiang Si tidied herself up and went to pay her respects at the Hall of Compassion.

Second Madam Xiao and Third Madam Guo had already arrived and were keeping Old Madam Feng company. When Jiang Si entered, they fell silent for a moment.

Today, Jiang Si wore a white cloud-patterned top with a bright red pomegranate skirt. With her clear eyes and white teeth, she looked uniquely beautiful and charming, even more lovely than a crabapple blossom.

Madam Xiao saw her and said coolly, “Fourth Miss is dressed so festively today.”

This stupid girl probably doesn’t know her brother has drowned, she thought. Dressing like this is truly ironic.

But this is good. The Old Madam will surely be displeased seeing this little hussy.

Jiang Si lowered her head, lifted her bright red skirt slightly, and smiled radiantly, “When one is in a good mood, of course, one should dress festively. This way, Grandmother will be happy to see me too.”

She had already received news from A-Fei that all the entertainers and servants on the pleasure boat had been rescued.

Although Jiang Si was confident from her previous observations that setting fire to the boat wouldn’t harm innocent people, accidents could happen. Receiving this news indeed made her very happy.

As for Cui Yi and the other two—Jiang Si lightly pressed her lips together, a cold glint appearing in her eyes.

That account wasn’t settled yet!