jdhmnovel Chapter 794: Can you swim?
Chapter 794: Can you swim?
It should have been a sunny day in April, but it was covered by dark clouds.
Inside the Lizheng Hall, the palace maids lighted the candles carefully.
Apart from the crackling sound of the burning candles, the only sound in the entire hall was Shen Xingjian's narration.
"After General Yu forced the enemy back, everyone on the ship gathered on the deck. Lord Shen guessed that there might be an ambush on the ship. General Yu led his men to search the ship, leaving Vice General Xue to protect everyone."
"Just after General Yu left, there was a shout from the deck. It was because the deputy helmsman on the ship was missing. The deputy helmsman's wife wanted to look for him, but was stopped by the crowd. When her mood improved, someone in the crowd made a malicious speech and bad-mouthed him. The deputy helmsman's wife broke down and the deck fell into chaos."
"In the midst of the chaos, an assassin suddenly appeared and attempted to assassinate Earl Yongning."
The emperor and the empress' hearts shrank slightly, and both pairs of eyes were fixed on Shen Xingjian.
"Lord Shen was standing beside Earl Yongning. He was the first to notice something was wrong and raised his arm to block the sword."
"Bang-"
The emperor and the empress stood up together, looking worried and shocked.
Humans eat grains and have flesh and blood; how can they use their bodies to resist a sharp sword?
Shen Zheng she——!
"Lord Shen had a knife hidden in his sleeve. The sharp sword only scratched her clothes, and the blade collided with the scabbard, stopping its edge."
The emperor and the empress both breathed a sigh of relief and supported each other as they sat down.
"The assassin failed in his attack and secretly became ruthless, forcing Lord Shen back to the deck railing."
"Bang-"
The emperor and the empress stood up again.
"Deputy General Xue stepped forward with his sword, intending to take the assassin's head before the assassin could make any move."
The emperor and the empress no longer sat down.
Because they knew that if Xue Mai succeeded, Yu Shizhang would most likely come back, and Shen Zheng should be worry-free.
"At this moment, something strange happened. The deck fence that Lord Shen was leaning against broke. Lord Shen..."
At this point, Shen Xingjian was no longer an "emotionless storyteller". His sentences paused and his voice became hoarse.
"Lord Shen...fell into the river from the fence."
——Fall into the river.
The words "fall into the river" were like a heavy hammer, mercilessly striking the emperor and the empress in their hearts.
At night, fell into the river.
A gasp was heard from the corner of the palace. The little palace maid's eyes widened and she covered her mouth in panic.
Shen Xingjian continued, "The vision was obstructed at night, and Lord Shen disappeared after he fell into the river. The crew and General Yu all jumped into the river to look for him."
The emperor knew clearly that if she was “missing”, she must not have been found.
But he didn't expect that there would be something worse to come.
"Soon after the two crew members went down the river, they searched in vain and when they came ashore to rest, they encountered the enemy on the shore and escaped by diving into the river, but returned wounded. After General Yu jumped into the river... he disappeared."
There is an ambush on the shore.
Yu Jiusi...also disappeared.
Did he find Shen Zheng?
If they were found, did they encounter an ambush?
If we didn’t find them…where did the two of them go?
Have the enemies hiding in the dark discovered them?
A series of questions arose in the emperor's mind.
He didn't believe it.
He didn't believe that Shen Zheng would drown in the river, and he didn't believe that Shen Zheng would fall into the hands of thieves.
The queen supported the emperor, steadied his body, and asked, "Does Lord Shen know how to swim?"
In fact, this question seems to be unnecessary to ask.
Lady Shen is a woman, and she grew up in the capital. How could she have the time to hone her swimming skills?
But she just wanted to grasp at this straw.
What if?
Shen Xingjian hesitated a little about this question: "Logically speaking, Lord Shen should not be good at swimming. But I happened to hear people in Tongan County mention that last spring, when Tongan County started digging canals, someone fell into the river, and it was Lord Shen who jumped into the river and saved the person."
Before the empress could be happy, she heard Shen Xingjian say, "But the words of the people of Tongan County...cannot be fully believed."
The emperor understood and looked disappointed.
The people of Tongan County respect Shen Zheng very much, but how much of the stories passed down by word of mouth are true?
But still the same sentence.
What if?
Unconsciously, both the emperor and the empress regarded this matter as a life-saving straw and secretly hid that glimmer of hope deep in their hearts.
The emperor looked at Shen Xingjian again.
Shen Xingjian said, "For the next two days, we have been searching near the place where Lord Shen disappeared. We have not found any trace of Lord Shen and General Yu on the shore or in the water. Because we don't know whether the enemy knows about Lord Shen's disappearance, we dare not publicize it. We can only ask the local county magistrate to cooperate and search for him secretly. To no avail."
"The Earl of Yongning and his men refused to leave, so... Lord Liang and I went to the capital to report."
After hearing this, the emperor closed his eyes and sat back.
——Don’t dare to publicize it.
"What a 'dare not'." He clenched his hands and placed them on the back of the chair.
When an official appointed by the imperial court went missing, the court did not dare to make a big announcement while searching for him.
Why?
Because I don’t know who the enemy is.
Even the county magistrate didn't have the guts to do that, but what about the prefect? Or the prefectural officials? Or... the officials in the capital?
Because they were afraid that the enemy would get the news and find them first, they didn't dare to go out in a large group to look for Shen Zheng and Yu Jiusi even when they were missing.
How ironic.
The emperor was furious: "Call! Call the governor of Jingzhou, and have him come to see me now! Right now! Right now!"
Eunuch Hong ran out of Jingren Palace almost as fast as the wind.
He wants to go and announce it himself!
After Eunuch Hong left, Liang Fu walked tremblingly to the emperor and empress, lifted his robe, and knelt down.
The emperor lowered his eyes, unwilling to look at him, "Get up, I will definitely find Shen Qing back."
He didn't even dare to say "I want to see him alive or his body dead."
He didn't even dare to associate the word "death" with Shen Zheng.
Liang Fu did not get up. There was silence in the hall for a moment. He slowly raised his head, tears streaming down his face. "Your Majesty, please conduct a thorough investigation... I beg you to conduct a thorough investigation!"
During the few days since arriving in Beijing, he has been crying every day looking at the things on the ship.
Those treasures, those treasures that he and Shen Zheng made together, those treasures that were once shining and dazzling, have lost their luster for some reason.
So many wonderful ideas originally belonged to Shen Zheng alone.
If she...
Liang Fu didn't dare to think about it anymore.
"I will investigate!" The emperor's emotions suddenly showed, and his voice became a little louder: "If Shen Qing really... I will make all nine clans of his family be buried with him, and their bones will be crushed and their ashes will be scattered!"
The queen felt a dull pain in her heart when she heard this. She held the emperor's hand and shook her head.
"Your Majesty, no news now is the best news."
Liang Fu raised his head. There were some things he didn't want to say, but he still had to say them.
"Your Majesty, the gift that Lord Shen prepared for the Queen Mother's birthday is a precious treasure. Lord Bo specifically instructed that if... then I, a humble servant, will hand the gift over to Your Majesty for disposal."
Heavy treasure.
The emperor looked outside the palace, lost in his memories.
How would he feel when he heard such news from Shen Qing in the past?
The more I recall, the duller the pain.
But now, his mood was as gloomy as a dark deep pool, and it was difficult to create a wave called "joy".
"I won't look at it." The emperor's eyes were vacant, as if he was thinking about something, "I want to wait for Shen Qing to return to the capital, and wait for her to hand it to me personally."