Shi Ping's hand remained firmly on the hilt of his saber, his eyes fixed on the boatman.

At the slightest hint of treachery from the boatman, he would strike without hesitation.

Jiang Chen, however, seemed oblivious to all this, sitting at the bow of the boat, gazing at the Han River and appreciating the dimly lit scenery.

After a while, the sky grew even darker, and the small boat reached the middle of the Han River.

Jiang Chen turned around and beckoned to Shi Ping.

"Come, let's enjoy the scenery of the Han River together."

Shi Ping was speechless. With such poor lighting, what was there to see?

But he couldn't disobey the Emperor's command.

He moved closer to Jiang Chen, intending to offer a word of caution.

Just as Shi Ping leaned down, preparing to speak to Jiang Chen, he suddenly heard two splashes behind him.

Shi Ping quickly turned around and saw that the boatmen who had been rowing the boats were now gone.

The boatman on the other boat had also disappeared.

"What's going on? Where are they?"

Shi Ping was shocked and shouted, "Protect the公子 (gongzi, young master)!"

But including Shi Ping, all of them were landlubbers. Without the boatmen, they were already panicking.

In their haste, the six guards on the other small boat stood up, causing the boat to rock violently, as if it would capsize at any moment.

Seeing this, Shi Ping quickly said, "Don't move!"

The six guards immediately froze, not daring to move an inch.

Shi Ping drew his saber and scanned the surroundings of the small boat he and Jiang Chen were on, preparing to deal with any assassins who might appear.

However, the assassins Shi Ping had expected never materialized.

Just as Shi Ping was wondering if he was mistaken, the small boat suddenly began to shake.

Shi Ping was shocked and exclaimed, "公子 (gongzi), there's someone under the boat!"

Jiang Chen had already stood up and said, "Seize him immediately!"

But Shi Ping was unable to carry out this order.

He was a landlubber himself, and besides, they were in the middle of the Han River, a dozen zhang from either bank. Even if he wanted to stab the person below to death, he had to consider the consequences of the small boat leaking.

"What to do?"

Shi Ping, a member of the Imperial Guards, was panicking for the first time.

Jiang Chen's tone at this moment sounded no different from Shi Ping's.

But his face, shrouded in darkness, showed no sign of panic.

He had anticipated these actions.

He had even deliberately cooperated with their plan, rejecting Shi Ping's suggestion and insisting on crossing the river at this time.

At this moment, the shaking of the small boat under his feet was becoming more and more violent. Clearly, the aim of the person causing trouble below was to make the people on the boat fall into the water.

Realizing this, Shi Ping quickly rushed to Jiang Chen's side and said, "公子 (gongzi), grab onto me! I'll steady the boat!"

However, Jiang Chen suddenly exclaimed and fell backward.

Shi Ping was shocked and quickly reached out to help Jiang Chen, but Jiang Chen kicked him into the boat.

Then, with a splash, Jiang Chen's figure disappeared before Shi Ping's eyes.

Every hair on Shi Ping's body stood on end at that moment.

He even forgot to address Jiang Chen as "公子 (gongzi)" and, after sitting up, exclaimed, "Your Majesty!"

The six guards on the other boat were equally horrified.

His Majesty had fallen into the water!

They wanted to jump into the water to rescue him immediately, but unfortunately, they were all landlubbers, and with the darkness of the night, they could only stay on the boat and watch helplessly.

After Jiang Chen fell into the water, Shi Ping felt the shaking of the boat under his feet stop.

Clearly, the target of the bandits was His Majesty!

"Help! Someone, help!" Shi Ping shouted at the top of his lungs.

The six guards on the other boat came to their senses and also shouted, "Help! Someone, help!"

But it was already dark, and there were no pedestrians on the road.

The shouts of the seven men had no effect.

It wasn't until the two small boats drifted downstream to a place closer to a village that someone heard their cries and came out to investigate.

After much effort, the seven men were brought ashore by local fishermen, but they felt no joy.

Because Jiang Chen was gone!

What was even more deadly was that they didn't know if Jiang Chen was alive or dead!

Of course, in their hearts, the probability of Jiang Chen being dead was higher than that of him being alive.

Firstly, as far as they knew, Jiang Chen couldn't swim either.

Secondly, since the other party had made a plan, they must have follow-up measures.

After the initial panic, Shi Ping immediately took the six guards to the nearest county government office, revealed his identity, and then led a group of yamen runners and constables along the Han River in search of Jiang Chen.

Although it was winter, the Han River was very turbulent. After searching along the river for six days, they still hadn't found any trace of Jiang Chen.

The secret guards who had joined the search for Jiang Chen along the way had also found nothing.

Shi Ping's face was pale, and he was mentally distraught. Helplessly, he had to report the matter back to the capital.

Just as the news was being sent to the capital, in the Gong Prince's mansion in Fangling, Jiang Chen was enjoying songs and dances with the Gong Prince.

After a song and dance, the Gong Prince waved away the dancers and said with a smile, "Second Brother, not bad, right?"

Jiang Chen laughed and said, "Worthy of being my brother, good taste."

Receiving Jiang Chen's praise, the Gong Prince also laughed.

This Gong Prince's name was Jiang Huan, and he was Jiang Chen's brother from the same mother.

After Jiang Chen ascended the throne, he didn't forget his brother, bestowing him the title of Gong Prince, meaning respectful to him, and setting his fief in Fangling, a place with mountains and rivers.

Jiang Chen couldn't be sure if other princes had disloyal intentions, but he was very confident in his own brother.

Especially since the Gong Prince had always followed his lead since childhood and was a man who only liked to enjoy himself.

This time, he deliberately fell into the trap of the other party, also considering that this place was the most hidden.

Whether it was the court or the secret enemies, they would certainly not be able to find this place.

Jiang Chen could see all their actions clearly from here.

The reason why Jiang Chen was able to remain safe and sound after falling into the water was also because of his previous licentiousness and his fondness for playing in the pool with the concubines of the harem, which naturally trained him to swim.

For Shi Ping and the others, they naturally didn't know this.

After returning to the hidden room arranged by the Gong Prince, Jiang Chen looked in the direction of the capital and sneered.

This time, I don't believe you can still hold your breath!

After being transmitted by the eight-hundred-li urgent delivery, the capital soon learned of Jiang Chen's disappearance after falling into the water.

This news directly shocked the entire court.

His Majesty was missing!

And he disappeared after falling into the water!

It was over!

For most of the ministers, this was no less than the sky falling.

For a time, many ministers prostrated themselves on the ground and wept bitterly.

Although Jiang Chen was sometimes a little ruthless and harsh on the ministers, the ministers who could still hold office in the court were only the beneficiaries of Jiang Chen's methods.

So they still had a good impression of Jiang Chen.