Chapter 401: The Chest Has Been Found

Today, the Heir Apparent had taken off his armor, finally allowing Yan Yu to see his face clearly.

He was a handsome young man with delicate features.

His entire aura was incredibly gentle, instantly making people feel close to him.

Yan Yu was a very good storyteller.

She started from meeting the wedding boat in Gufeng, being driven away, and then seeing the people on the small boat throwing chests into the river…

She included a few of her thoughts at the time, a few detailed memories, and some parts where her impression was vague.

She had hidden and watched out of curiosity.

It all sounded very natural and logical.

After being polished by both her uncle and her master, the final version the Heir Apparent heard was completely flawless.

The Heir to Prince Ying was gentle and warm. He stood up to pour more tea for Yan Yu before returning to his seat and sitting down in a relaxed manner.

His gaze only drifted to Yan Yu occasionally, yet it gave the impression that he was listening with rapt attention.

“Magistrate Tian didn’t think of dredging them up to take a look?” the Heir to Prince Ying asked.

Yan Yu felt a bit conflicted.

Her uncle had warned her about this question before they came.

But her uncle had also said that the Heir Apparent probably wouldn’t ask too many details.

Frankly speaking, this was the “family scandal” of Prince Ying’s Mansion.

But if he did ask, she shouldn’t hide it and should tell the truth.

“Well, word spread in Yongning City that the Consort of the Heir Apparent had lost some things… and the Prefectural Government Office even sent runners to search along the route… Master said they should be returned to their rightful owner,” Yan Yu murmured softly.

She watched the Heir to Prince Ying’s reaction as she spoke.

The young man’s fingers were well-defined, not skeletal but conveying a sense of strength. When he hovered his wrist to turn his teacup, a unique rhythm flowed through his entire arm.

The form-fitting fabric of his clothes outlined a hint of muscle.

Everything showed that this young man was not as physically weak as he appeared.

When he lowered his head and eyes, his noble refinement instantly peaked, and a faint aloofness shut out any onlooker’s gaze.

But when he raised his eyes and arched his brows, his friendly warmth returned.

All these shifts happened within his eyes.

The Heir Apparent curled his lips slightly, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. “So that’s how it is…”

The boat suddenly tilted to one side, and Yan Yu instinctively tried to brace herself against the small table in front of her to keep her balance.

She pushed down hard.

Crack!

Crash!

The table, unable to bear the weight, snapped a leg.

The cups and plates on top fell to the floor and shattered.

Yan Yu pitched forward headfirst.

The boat continued to tilt for a moment before finally righting itself. After a slight wobble, it stabilized once more.

Haha! Well, this is awkward!

That was the only thought in Yan Yu’s mind right now.

She had been sitting cross-legged, so face-planting forward made her look exactly like a little frog about to leap. Ribbit!

Yan Yu wasn’t hurt, just a bit dazed.

She looked completely blank.

The Heir Apparent couldn’t help but chuckle.

San Tie was even less reserved, laughing heartily and showing far more than just his front teeth.

Her face burned like fire.

Fortunately, she was thick-skinned enough. She scrambled up quickly and patted the dust off her hands.

Trying to look calm, she reached down to clean up the mess in front of her.

“Don’t touch that, be careful not to cut yourself.”

The Heir Apparent walked over with a smile, lifting her small hands to check them, and then reached to check her arms…

Yan Yu quickly pulled her hands back and said hurriedly, “I’m fine, just got a bit of a fright. Look, Big Brother Prince, I’m perfectly fine all over.”

She wiggled her arms and legs, spun around, and bent side to side to show him.

Beside them, San Tie chimed in, “Xiao Er is fine, this is nothing…”

His voice suddenly trailed off.

San Tie’s eyes went wide.

Wait, that’s not right. Xiao Er is a girl!

Even if she’s still young, a little girl can’t just let people touch her like that.

Good heavens, I almost forgot about that.

He rushed over in a hurry, stepping between the Heir Apparent and Xiao Er.

“Xiao Er, does it hurt?” he asked anxiously.

Yan Yu: …

Where was this concern when you were laughing so hard your eyes disappeared?

“Brother San Tie, I don’t hurt, I’m really fine. It’s just that the table was too flimsy…” Yan Yu tried to cover for herself.

The Heir Apparent called for servants to clean up the debris on the floor.

He explained, “We must have just turned from the Hagu River into the Jisang River. The current is swift there, which made the boat unstable. It is my fault as well; I told them not to disturb us, so no one came to warn us.

Come, let’s go up to the deck and have a look.”

Yan Yu was only too glad to leave the cabin.

Having ruined her image and embarrassed herself in front of a handsome young man, the faster she could flee the scene, the better.

Standing on the deck, the damp river wind blew straight against her face.

Her face, which had been burning hot just a moment ago, cooled down instantly.

She had traveled this river route back and forth a few times. With her memory, she quickly identified their current location and was astonished by the speed of the vessel.

She ran to one side and leaned over to look down.

Sure enough, there were several holes in the hull, with wooden oars protruding from them, rowing through the water in perfect unison.

…

A string of bubbles floated to the surface.

Several men who had dove into the water to search for the chests surfaced one after another.

“Heir Apparent, there is nothing below.”

Yan Yu’s gaze was incredibly innocent, looking as if she were trying very hard to remember.

“It should be right around here, that’s right…”

In truth, the location they were searching was still slightly off from where the chests actually were.

It was not that the divers were incompetent, but that Yan Yu, the one pointing out the location, had deliberately given the wrong spot.

The Heir Apparent did not look at her, only telling the divers, “Search the surrounding area.”

“Yes, sir!”

The men slipped back into the water, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Turning around, the Heir Apparent saw Xiao Er still muttering to herself, pointing at the large trees and rocks she had used as landmarks while pacing in circles. He smiled and comforted her, “You were far away, so it is only normal that you could not see clearly. Based on what you said, it should be nearby. We will search bit by bit, and we are bound to find it eventually.”

He did not suspect that Xiao Er had misremembered.

Throughout their conversation, Xiao Er had answered fluently.

It seemed flawless, but that was precisely the biggest flaw.

He did not believe these were Xiao Er’s own thoughts and words. Therefore, someone must have taught her what to say and how to say it.

This included the location of the sunken chests.

He believed Magistrate Tian would not act without reason.

After several rounds of searching, three different groups of divers had rotated.

“Heir Apparent, we found it!” one of the men who surfaced called out, his face full of joy. “The chest is secured with iron chains. It will take some time to undo them.”

“Alright, come up first, then we’ll swap in the next group,” the Heir to Prince Ying ordered.

One chest after another was hauled out of the water.

Finally, the end of the iron chain that bound the chests was lifted up by their combined efforts.

The men on the boat pulled together, dragging the dripping wet iron chain onto the deck with a loud clatter.

The Heir to Prince Ying rested his hand on a chest, but he did not open it.

He walked over slowly.

Bending down, he asked with a smile, “Xiao Er, after tossing and turning all day, you must be hungry, right? Come, let’s go eat.”

Returning to the cabin, eating, and resting.

Yan Yu and San Tie had everything arranged for them perfectly.

By the time the boat finally docked, the group had arrived at Guiyuan.

When Yan Yu disembarked, she made a point of looking around. The chests and the iron chain were gone, and the deck had been cleaned and washed so thoroughly that not a single speck of riverbed silt remained.

Declining the well-meaning offers of help from those nearby, she and Brother San Tie slung their respective bamboo baskets onto their backs and walked off with light steps.

…

Having ordered his men to take Xiao Er and San Tie to an inn in town first, the Heir Apparent took only Pengshu with him as he went down to the bottom of the ship’s hold.

“Open them.”

The Heir Apparent’s cool command echoed in the hold.

Pengshu respectfully opened the wooden chests one by one, revealing the gold and silver inside.

The Heir Apparent looked at them quietly for a moment, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.

“Go back and report to Father. Tell him the chests have been found.”

Author note:

I feel that the Heir Apparent shouldn’t hide anything from Prince Ying~

Why hide it, right? He absolutely has to let his own father know~

It’s also to show his own attitude: Father, what do you say we do about this? If you won’t handle it, your son will~

(End of Chapter)