The scumbag was secretly having an affair, while I was openly having an affair with the prince.

Chapter 8 The Fragrant Jade Fades

Wei family.

At noon, Wei Yonghuai received the news and immediately discussed it with his parents.

"What? All the assassins we sent are dead?" Wei Guangzheng was shocked and terrified, and also very puzzled. "When did Ye Shishu start having so many guards? Why have you never mentioned it before?"

Wei Yonghuai comforted him, saying, "Father, please let me finish. One person pretended to be dead and survived by chance. He said that Ye Shishu jumped into the moat, and he saw those gray-clad men who were hunting them search the riverbank for a long time, but they did not find Ye Shishu."

Upon hearing this, Madam Ge's eyes lit up. "So, Ye Shishu jumped into the moat and drowned? That's wonderful! If she really is dead, then we can arrange a ghost marriage with the Ye family and bring Ye Shishu's memorial tablet into our home. We won't have to worry about anything else!"

Wei Guangzheng's tense and uneasy expression instantly turned into a look of joy.

Marrying a memorial tablet is considered unlucky by others, but for the Wei family, it's the best thing ever!

Firstly, the Wei family's kinship with General Zhihe's mansion remains unchanged. Secondly, marrying a memorial tablet is much easier than marrying a person! Marrying a person requires the whole family to put on an act to fool them, but if they marry a memorial tablet, they only need to place it there, and it can "bless" their family with a smooth rise to power and a house full of wealth!

However, Madam Ge immediately raised a small concern, "Huai'er, Ye Shishu definitely can't survive jumping into the moat, but how can we let the Ye family know that she is dead? Also, only we and the You family mother and daughter know about the assassination of Ye Shishu, so we can't let it leak out. You have to find a way to 'deal with' the surviving assassin!"

Wei Yonghuai smiled and said, "Mother, don't worry, I've already sent someone to inform the Ye family. As for the assassin, I've already 'dealt with' him!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Ge could not contain her smugness.

Ye Shishu is just as stupid as her mother, or even stupider!

They instructed the You family mother and daughter to openly invite Ye Shishu, then have an assassin take Ye Shishu away first, followed by the You family members going to Prince Cheng's residence to pick her up. Even if an investigation were conducted later, the You family could have the people from Prince Cheng's residence testify that they failed to pick her up.

Although the assassins didn't kill Ye Shishu directly, Ye Shishu jumped into the moat, destined to die! If they couldn't control a living person, surely they could control a dead one?

……

Zhihe General's Residence.

Ye Gengxin was definitely worried about his daughter going to Prince Cheng's residence.

After the court session ended today, the emperor summoned him to the imperial study for a meeting, and by the time he returned to his residence it was already noon.

He sent his old steward, Hao Fu, to the Prince Cheng's residence to inquire about his daughter's situation. Half an hour later, Hao Fu returned and reported that she was no longer at the residence. The guards of the Prince's residence also informed Hao Fu that two carriages had come to pick up Ye Shishu one after another.

After hearing this, Ye Gengxin felt uneasy. "So, the people from the Marquis of Yufeng's residence didn't pick up Shu'er? Then who took Shu'er away?"

Hao Fu frowned and said, "General, there is indeed something strange going on. It has even alarmed His Highness Prince Cheng. His Highness has already sent people out to look for the Third Miss, but when this old servant returned, there was still no news of the Third Miss."

Ye Gengxin's face darkened. "Where's Dongqiao? Didn't she go to Prince Cheng's residence too?"

Hao Fu replied, "I heard from the people of Prince Cheng's residence that Dong Qiao left Prince Cheng's residence yesterday and went to Marquis Yufeng's residence. She hasn't been seen since."

Ye Gengxin became increasingly restless as he listened.

His daughter has always been reserved and quiet; it's rare for her to run away like this without any explanation...

Furthermore, the two carriages going to Prince Cheng's residence one after the other to pick up people made him feel that there was something fishy going on!

"Quickly gather all the guards in the manor and find Shu'er at all costs!"

"Yes!" Hao Fu didn't dare to delay and immediately went to gather manpower.

Just as Hao Fugang had gathered his dozens of guards together, someone suddenly came to the general's mansion to deliver a message.

The gatekeeper ran to Ye Gengxin in a panic and reported, "General, something terrible has happened! Someone saw the Third Miss jump into the moat!"

"What?!" The sudden news made Ye Gengxin's burly body tremble violently.

“General, it’s true. The fishermen who fished by the river saw it with their own eyes. They said they saw the Third Miss being chased and had nowhere to escape, so she jumped into the river… and they never saw the Third Miss float up!” The gatekeeper said, his eyes red and his voice choked with sobs.

How could Ye Gengxin accept such devastating news!

Coming to his senses, he rushed out of the study without regard for his image, shouting as he ran, "Everyone, follow me to the moat!"

In the afternoon, a gentle breeze stirred the moat, creating ripples that, under the blazing sun, resembled a carpet of golden scales—magnificent and breathtaking.

All the people from General Zhihe's mansion went to the riverbank. Under the fisherman's guidance, looking at the shimmering river, Hao Fu and many of his servants couldn't help but burst into tears.

Ye Gengxin remained motionless, enveloped in an aura of deathly stillness, like a soulless shell.

He simply couldn't believe that his daughter, who was perfectly fine yesterday, was gone today...

"General, a large amount of blood has been found over there!" a guard rushed in to report.

Ye Gengxin's unfocused eyes suddenly narrowed, and he ran towards the direction the guard was pointing, filled with a frenzied rage.

There was more than just a lot of blood; there were signs of a fight all over the area within a mile!

Judging from the bloodstains, there were quite a few people involved in the fight!

Ye Gengxin scanned his surroundings with a sinister gaze, unable to understand what was going on.

According to the people of Prince Cheng's residence, the daughter went out alone, and even if someone secretly wanted to harm her, she had no subordinates to rely on.

So how did these extensive fight marks come about?

So he found the fisherman again and asked him for details.

The fisherman replied respectfully, "General, I was drying my fishing nets on the other side of the river at the time. I only saw someone jump into the river, but I didn't pay attention to the fight."

Ye Gengxin stared sharply at him and asked in a deep voice, "Then how do you know she is the third young lady of the General's Mansion?"

The fisherman replied, "Later, someone went to the other side of the river to ask me, and I learned that the one who jumped into the river was the third young lady of General Zhihe's mansion."

"What did that person look like?"

"They are two young men, and judging from their clothes, they must be from a wealthy family."

Ye Gengxin wanted to ask more questions, but the Wei family of three arrived with Luo Lixian.

Wei Yonghuai was the most agitated. He grabbed Ye Gengxin's wrist and choked out, "General, I heard that Shu'er jumped into the moat. Is that true? How could she...?"

As he finished speaking, he lowered his head and wept uncontrollably.

Looking at the vast, turbulent river, Ye Gengxin said hoarsely, "I don't know what happened either, I only know that Shu'er is gone..."

Madam Ge collapsed to the ground, crying out, "Shu'er... our Shu'er... how could you bear to leave us..."