Chapter 229: Being Assassinated

Seeing the fire on the pleasure boat getting bigger and bigger, the nearby boats, either docked or sailing, moved away.

Occasionally, a few boatmen would come to help, but it was just a drop in the bucket.

Although there is water under the boat, when the boat catches fire, the flames are above and the water is below. It is not easy to put out the fire with water. Instead, the people on the boat have no choice but to jump into the water to escape. In the dead of night, it is difficult to see clearly underwater, which makes it more likely for accidents to occur.

He Yanxiu frowned and ordered Shi Ding and others, "Go and help!"

"Yes." Shi Ding hurriedly took a few guards and jumped onto the pleasure boat.

All the burning tables and chairs on the pleasure boat were thrown into the river in the hope that the fire would not spread any further. Those who failed to get water in buckets in time would tear off the layers of curtains that had not yet been completely burned hanging on the pleasure boat and throw them into the river, then pick them up and throw them towards the area where the fire was burning.

The water splashes can put out some small fires, and the wet curtains thrown onto the fire can cool it down, block it and put out the fire.

Shi Ding and his companions were quick and agile, and with the help of boatmen from the surrounding cargo or passenger ships who poured water onto the pleasure boat, the fire was quickly brought under control.

The fire had not been completely extinguished yet, and there was chaos and confusion on the pleasure boat. The young gentlemen were all frightened, their legs and feet went weak, and they subconsciously leaned on the railing to calm down.

Although the fire had been put out, the railings had been burned black and cracked due to the fire. When someone leaned against them suddenly, a "cracking" sound was heard.

Immediately afterwards, several "plop" sounds were heard in succession.

"Someone fell into the water!"

Someone exclaimed.

“Help…Help…”

The three people who fell into the water obviously could not swim. They flapped their hands desperately on the water to call for help, and even tried to float on the water and hold on for a while longer.

Seeing this, a boatman jumped in quickly, but the place where the three people fell into the water was a bit far away, and it would take time to swim over.

Seeing the three people right next to his boat, He Yanxiu quickly took off his coat and handed it to Su Yujin, calling Xing'an and the two guards, "Hurry up and save them!"

He Yanxiu jumped into the water first, and Xing'an and others hurriedly followed, swimming quickly towards the person who fell into the water to rescue him.

The first person to be rescued was the one who obviously seemed to have stopped moving and was floating on the water.

He Yanxiu was an excellent swimmer. He rushed to the man first and hurriedly lifted his head up.

But as soon as he touched the adult, He Yanxiu realized something was wrong.

He smelled a strong smell of blood, and the man had no breathing or heartbeat at this time.

He Yanxiu pulled the man up with all his strength and found a wound on his chest. Blood was gushing out of it, dyeing the river water bright red.

With the surrounding firelight and the moonlight at this time, it can be roughly seen that the wound on this person is very smooth, as if it was caused by a sharp blade.

That means this person's death was not an accident caused by collision with something when he fell into the water, but was a deliberate act.

He Yanxiu frowned and looked at the other two people who fell into the water.

The two men had been rescued by Xing'an and others at this time. They were grabbing the rope thrown from the pleasure boat and climbing up slowly. Those who were still on the pleasure boat were busy helping.

After they rescued all the people who fell into the water and put them onto the pleasure boat, the fire on the boat had been completely extinguished, and the boatman was rowing the boat slowly towards the shore.

Seeing the pleasure boat burnt beyond recognition, even after it docked, those people were still terrified and kept patting their chests and trembling. "What happened today is really scary."

"Yeah, I'm afraid I don't want to take any boat in the next few years, and I don't want to go near the water or the fire." The speaker was one of the people who fell into the water. He was now soaked all over and wrapped in a blanket. The more he thought about it, the more scared he became.

"We are truly blessed to be able to survive. We should thank those who helped us." Another man who fell into the water, wrapped in a cloak, his teeth still chattering.

"That's right."

Everyone echoed and bowed to thank those who had just helped put out the fire and rescue people.

All of them were young men from wealthy families. They were not stingy at this time and just told their servants to take out silver to reward them.

"My dear lords," a round-faced servant in green clothes looked around and bowed to them, asking anxiously, "My lord boarded the boat with you, why is he nowhere to be seen?"

When everyone heard this, they looked at each other in surprise.

"Really? Why is Brother Mingjun missing?"

"Didn't he fall into the water with you guys just now? Wasn't he rescued?"

"I just saw someone go to rescue him, but they left after Brother Mingjun got ashore..."

"I heard the noise and came here, but I didn't see my son. I also asked other people present, and they all said they had never seen my son." The servant was immediately anxious, "Then where is my son?"

Magistrate Lin of Jiahe County led the yamen runners over and said, "Come and take a look. Is this your son?"

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The servant hurriedly followed him and was stunned when he saw that the officer asked him to identify a corpse lying on the ground. But when he saw that the corpse was none other than his own son Chai Mingjun, he burst into tears.

"Master, don't scare me. What's wrong with you? How come you are like this out of nowhere..."

The boy's crying was so shrill that those who had been traveling with him before also felt very sad.

"It's true that things are unpredictable."

"We were drinking and reciting poetry together just now, but now we have suffered such a disaster. It is really sad."

"When Brother Mingjun boarded the ship, he said that he would rather follow the mighty river and get away from the hustle and bustle of the world. Now think about it, it's not auspicious."

"It's strange that the fire started tonight, and it's even stranger that you fell into the water. It's even stranger that Brother Mingjun drowned. Could it be that the water here is not clean?"

There are also cases of water ghosts demanding lives.

Everyone's expression changed immediately, and they became more frightened.

"Chai Mingjun didn't drown, he was assassinated," said County Magistrate Lin. "The person who rescued him said that when he swam to Chai Mingjun, he was already dead."

"According to what you said, you were all drinking and reciting poems on the boat at the time. He was still alive just before he fell into the water, and was assassinated a moment later. I have asked people on nearby boats at the time, and they said that apart from someone who went to rescue Chai Mingjun after he fell into the water, no other suspicious people were seen. This shows that the murderer is still among you who had close contact with him."

"Since Chai Mingjun was assassinated, the murderer must have a weapon. You should hand over everything on your body, and then the yamen runners will search you one by one!"

Was Chai Mingjun assassinated?

Everyone was shocked, and there was another round of discussion and sighing. In order to clear suspicion, they took out all the things they had on their bodies one by one for the yamen runners and Lin County Magistrate and others to check.

Shi Ding quietly returned to He Yanxiu's side.

I’ve been having stomach discomfort and bloating recently… maybe it’s due to lack of exercise?

(End of this chapter)