Wei Shuwan leaned against the balustrade, idly flipping through a book while listening to Zi Qiao recount the Song family's misfortunes. Miao Xiang offered her peeled lychees one after another, then took the pits back.

“Miss, I now understand why you didn’t just report it to the authorities!” Zi Qiao’s face lit up with joy, genuinely praising her young mistress’s shrewdness.

"If we were to report this to the authorities, even with Hu An's testimony, the consequences wouldn't have been too serious. Song Zichen would most likely not go to jail, but would only have to pay some ransom money. How could it be as satisfying as this?"

Wei Shuwan continued flipping through the book without showing any emotion, but Miaoxiang paused in her feeding, a hint of sigh in her voice: "The others have also received their just deserts, but it's pitiful for the eldest son of the Song family. He didn't get involved in anything, yet he has to bear the brunt of the consequences. Not only did he lose a great marriage, but he also took the blame for his brother's misdeeds, and his journey to Tingzhou is fraught with peril..."

Wei Shuwan slightly opened her mouth, took a lychee, and gently bit into it with her pearly teeth, instantly filling her mouth with sweet juice. She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, a charming and unpredictable smile curving her lips.

"Pitiful? That's because you don't understand this person yet."

In her past life, her brother-in-law had a smooth marriage, but he repeatedly sent Xing Hongzhi behind the back of the princess, wanting to show some love to his neglected sister-in-law on behalf of his younger brother.

The old saying goes, "Two kinds of people can't walk out of the same door." While this is a biased view, it certainly applies to the Song family. Even if the Song family were wiped out overnight, it would ensure that not a single wronged soul would remain.

When Miaoxiang offered another lychee, Wei Shuwan waved it away, laughing, "No matter how delicious lychees are, you'll get tired of them if you eat too many. I don't have the guts to eat three hundred a day."

"Then the rest..." Miao Xiang turned her head to look at the fruit that was still piled up like a small mountain. She felt a little regretful. This kind of thing is best eaten fresh, and it will lose its flavor if left overnight.

Wei Shuwan got up in a good mood, straightened her clothes, and went to the inner room to change. As she turned past the screen, she instructed, "Put two food boxes on the carriage, and take one thousand taels of silver from my private treasury."

She is a person who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment; she will always avenge wrongs and never fail to repay kindness.

The Wei family's carriage headed north, and as it passed through the north gate, Zi Qiao, who had been squeezed by the silver box the whole way, finally couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't you just use silver notes, Miss?"

Looking out the window, Wei Shuwan saw rice and millet painting the landscape, the fields covered in gold, a sight that brought joy to the eyes.

She said in a cheerful tone, "The farmers and fishermen in the village don't trust money changers. They prefer to keep their life savings in their own yards. It's easier to just give them cash than to give them banknotes and have them go to town to collect them, which would only attract attention."

"Young lady, you've thought of everything so thoroughly!"

Before long, the carriage arrived at the pond, the very spot where Wei Shuwan had fallen into the water. She stepped down from the carriage, looked around, and a hint of disappointment quickly appeared in her eyes.

"He's not in now."

Zi Qiao also looked around. Although she didn't see the fisherman, she saw a woodcutter carrying firewood passing by not far away. She said, "Don't worry, Miss. I'll go and ask around. If he lives nearby, someone should recognize him."

Wei Shuwan watched as Zi Qiao jogged over, exchanged a few words with the woodcutter, and then turned back. She quickly asked, "Well, do you recognize him?"

Zi Qiao shook her head regretfully: "The woodcutter said he had never seen any fishermen around here."

Wei Shuwan looked around again and pointed to a few small figures in the distance, saying, "Go ask over there again. If you ask enough, someone will eventually know."

...

Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous farmhouse on the opposite bank of the pond, several farmers were gathered around a few bundles of firewood. In the middle, a tall, well-dressed man was bending over to inspect the newly arrived "goods".

The "goods" were hidden among the firewood. After the ropes were untied, they fell to the ground with a few clangs. The man casually picked up a handful, gripped the handle, and drew his blade. The tightly bound bundle of firewood was cleaved in two with a short, sharp whistling sound, the blade clean and precise.

But when he took the knife and slashed at the much thicker wooden stake, he managed to cut it through, but unfortunately, the blade became dull.

He straightened up, his handsome eyes as deep as an abyss, and his words were as cold as ice cracking: "This batch of goods is poorly forged and not suitable for elite troops. There's no need to sink it in the lake; leave it for the brothers of Yandang Mountain."

"Yes," the attendant Yuan Que replied.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a knock sounded at the door, a distinctive three long and one short rhythm that immediately identified him as one of their own. Yuan Que stepped forward and opened the door, seeing that new goods had arrived, and slipped the person inside.

The man disguised as a woodcutter unloaded the goods from his shoulders and first greeted the man in the middle, saying, "Young Prince."

Li Qingchen did not respond, but bent down to continue inspecting the newly arrived goods.

The woodcutter looked anxious and reported, "Young Prince, several people have come outside asking about fishermen. They must be after you."

The people in the room were all dressed up in different ways, and apart from Li Qingchen, there was no one else dressed as a fisherman.

Li Qingchen stopped what he was doing and glanced at him indifferently: "What kind of person?"

"There were several women, and the one who was called 'Miss' should be the one that the young prince rescued from the water a few days ago."

"Don't worry about her. She's just here to express her gratitude. If we can't find her, we'll just give up."

"But when I left, I overheard that young lady say that if you can't be found today, she'll send a squad of guards to watch over the pond tomorrow, in shifts, determined to keep watch until you are found..."

Li Qingchen's temple throbbed. He had only saved her that day because he was worried she might see something she shouldn't if she sank to the bottom of the pool, ruining his important plans. He hadn't expected to save someone so naive, making things much more complicated.

The master was in a dilemma, and his subordinates offered various suggestions. One fat "hunter" suggested, "Why don't we go and kill them?"

"Fatty, you should eat more and talk less from now on! Do you think the young prince saved her that day? Wasn't it because he was worried about causing a death and attracting the authorities?" Yuan Que retorted to the hunter.

The hunter scratched his head, looking troubled: "What should we do then..."

At this moment, Li Qingchen slowly exhaled, as if acknowledging the situation: "Take out that bamboo hat and raincoat again."

...

Wei Shuwan, accompanied by two maids, questioned several people, running around but failing to get any clues. By now, her legs were aching from exhaustion, so she returned to the carriage to rest.

She was leaning against the window, looking at the pool of autumn water with a melancholy expression, when suddenly a glimmer of light flashed in her eyes. She slightly raised her chin from the window and stared intently at a certain spot, her gaze fixed on it.

"That person... could it be him?" she asked uncertainly.

Ziqiao and Miaoxiang followed her gaze and saw a small boat slowly rowing towards the opposite bank, passing through the reeds and withered lotus leaves. The figure holding the oar, though wrapped in a raincoat, remained sharp and upright, standing on the boat like a sharp blade.

"It's him! It's him!" Zi Qiao quickly confirmed, "I saw it clearly when I rushed over that day, it was him who saved you, Miss!"