Wei Family.
At noon, Wei Yonghuai received the news and immediately began discussing it with his parents.
“What? The assassins we sent all died?” Wei Guangzheng was shocked, frightened, and utterly baffled. “When did Ye Shishu get so many guards around her? Why have I never heard you mention them?”
Wei Yonghuai reassured him. “Father, hear me out first. One of them survived by pretending to be dead. He said Ye Shishu jumped into the City Moat, and that he saw the gray-clad men who had attacked them search along the riverbank for a long time. They never managed to fish Ye Shishu out.”
Madam Ge’s eyes lit up. “So Ye Shishu drowned in the City Moat? That’s wonderful! If she’s truly dead, we can arrange a ghost marriage with the Ye Family and bring Ye Shishu’s memorial tablet into our household. We won’t have to trouble ourselves with anything else!”
The unease on Wei Guangzheng’s face instantly turned to delight.
For other families, marrying a memorial tablet would be bad luck, but for the Wei Family, it could not have been better!
For one thing, their marriage alliance with General Zhihe’s Residence would remain intact. For another, marrying a memorial tablet was far easier than marrying a living person! If they brought a living bride into the household, the entire family would have to put on an act and fool her. But with a memorial tablet, all they had to do was set it in place, and it could “bless” the whole family with smooth advancement and wealth filling their halls!
Still, Madam Ge immediately voiced one small concern. “Huaier, there’s no way Ye Shishu could have survived jumping into the City Moat, but how do we let the Ye Family know she’s dead? And only we and the mother and daughter from the You Family know that we sent people to assassinate Ye Shishu. We mustn’t let it leak out. You’ll have to find a way to ‘deal with’ the assassin who survived!”
Wei Yonghuai smiled. “Mother, rest assured. I’ve already arranged for someone to take the news to the Ye Family. As for that assassin, I’ve already ‘dealt with’ him!”
Hearing this, Madam Ge could no longer contain her smugness.
Ye Shishu and her mother were equally foolish—Ye Shishu was even more foolish than her mother!
They had the mother and daughter from the You Family openly invite Ye Shishu, then had the assassins intercept her first. Afterward, the You Family would go to Prince Cheng’s Residence to pick her up. Even if anyone investigated later, the You Family could have the people from Prince Cheng’s Residence testify that they had never managed to receive her.
Although the assassins had not eliminated Ye Shishu directly, she had jumped into the City Moat and was destined to perish. If they could not control a living person, could they not control a dead one?
…
General Ye’s Residence.
Ye Gengxin was naturally worried about his daughter going to Prince Cheng’s Residence.
After court ended today, the emperor had summoned him to the Imperial Study to discuss state affairs. By the time he returned to the residence, it was already noon.
He sent the old steward, Hao Fu, to Prince Cheng’s Residence to ask about his daughter. Half an hour later, Hao Fu returned with the report that she was no longer there. The guards at the residence had also told Hao Fu that two carriages had arrived one after the other to pick up Ye Shishu.
Ye Gengxin grew uneasy after hearing this. “So the people from Marquis Yufeng’s Residence failed to pick up Shuer? Then who took Shuer away?”
Hao Fu knitted his brows. “General, there is indeed something suspicious about this matter. It has even alarmed Prince Cheng. Prince Cheng has already sent people out to search for Third Miss, but when I returned, there was still no news of her.”
Ye Gengxin’s expression darkened. “What about Dong Qiao? Didn’t she also go to Prince Cheng’s Residence?”
Hao Fu replied, “The people at Prince Cheng’s Residence said that Dong Qiao left yesterday for Marquis Yufeng’s Residence. No one has seen her today.”
The more Ye Gengxin heard, the more restless he became.
His daughter had always been reserved and quiet. It was rare for her to leave somewhere under such unclear circumstances…
And with two carriages going to Prince Cheng’s Residence one after the other to pick her up, he could not shake the feeling that something was amiss!
“Quickly gather the residence’s guards. We must find Shuer!”
“Yes!” Hao Fu did not dare delay and immediately went to gather the men.
Just as Hao Fu had assembled several dozen guards, someone suddenly arrived at General Ye’s Residence to deliver a report.
The gatekeeper ran to Ye Gengxin in a panic and reported, “General, this is bad! Someone saw Third Miss jump into the City Moat!”
“What?!” The sudden news made Ye Gengxin’s burly body jolt violently.
“General, it’s true. Fishermen who were fishing by the river saw it with their own eyes. They said they saw Third Miss being pursued by assassins. With nowhere left to flee, she jumped into the river… and she… she never surfaced!” The gatekeeper spoke with reddened eyes and a choked voice.
How could Ye Gengxin accept such devastating news?
Once he came to himself, he charged out of the study without a care for his dignity, shouting as he ran, “Everyone, come with me to the City Moat!”
In the afternoon, a breeze stirred the surface of the City Moat, sending ripples across it. Beneath the blazing sun, it looked as though it had been covered in golden scales—majestic and magnificent.
Everyone from General Ye’s Residence arrived at the riverbank. Following the fisherman’s directions, they stared at the glittering water, while Hao Fu and many of the servants could not hold back their cries of grief.
Ye Gengxin, meanwhile, stood motionless, enveloped in an aura of deathly silence, like a hollow shell that had lost its soul.
No matter what, he could not believe that the daughter who had been perfectly fine yesterday was gone today…
“General, we found a great deal of blood over there!” one of the guards hurried over to report.
Ye Gengxin’s unfocused eyes suddenly narrowed. Carrying a surge of furious rage, he rushed toward the direction the guard was pointing.
It was more than merely a great deal of blood. Within a radius of one li, there were signs of fighting everywhere!
Judging from the bloodstains, there had been quite a few people involved in the battle!
Ye Gengxin swept his gloomy gaze across the surroundings, unable to understand what had happened.
According to the people at Prince Cheng’s Residence, his daughter had left alone. Even if someone had secretly intended to harm her, she had had no subordinates with her to call upon.
Then how had these extensive traces of fighting appeared?
He sought out the fisherman again and asked him to recount the events in detail.
The fisherman answered respectfully, “General, I was drying fishing nets across the river at the time. I only saw someone jump into the river. As for the fighting, I didn’t notice anything.”
Ye Gengxin fixed him with a sharp gaze and asked in a low voice, “Then how did you know she was the Third Miss of the General’s Residence?”
The fisherman replied, “Later, someone came over from the other side of the river to ask me about it. That was when I learned that the person who jumped into the river was the Third Miss of General Zhihe’s Residence.”
“What did that person look like?”
“They were two young fellows. Judging by their clothes, they seemed to be from an extremely wealthy family.”
Ye Gengxin was about to continue questioning him when the three members of the Wei Family arrived with Luo Lixian.
Wei Yonghuai was the most agitated. He reached Ye Gengxin, grabbed him by the wrist, and asked with a sob in his voice, “General, I heard that Shuer jumped into the City Moat. Is it true? How… how could she…?”
By the end of his sentence, he had lowered his head and was weeping uncontrollably.
Ye Gengxin gazed at the river’s vast, turbulent surface and said hoarsely, “I don’t know what happened, either. I only know that Shuer is gone…”
Madam Ge collapsed to the ground. “Shuer… Our Shuer… How could you bear to leave us behind…?”