Even women who travel through time can become prime ministers and nobles.

Chapter 408 The Arrival of the Crown Prince

"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

The sharp announcement pierced the rain and mist above the Chuzhou River embankment, carrying an undeniable authority that caused the crowd, who were frantically searching, to fall silent for a moment.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a magnificent black horse rearing up at the muddy riverbank entrance. The rider's dark brocade robe was already soaked through by the rain.

His clothes were covered in mud, his hair was disheveled, and his face still bore traces of rain and dust. It was none other than Crown Prince Shen Yanzhou, who had traveled a long way to come.

He almost stumbled off the horse, his black boots splashing through the mud, sending up a spray of murky water.

Upon landing, he was so anxious that he lost his balance and staggered a couple of steps before regaining his footing, which shows how rushed he had been all the way here.

But he didn't bother to brush the mud off his body; his gaze immediately swept over the chaotic riverbank, as if he were urgently searching for something.

My gaze quickly fell on the distance—Choi Ji-ho was still in the mud, his hands digging into the wet soil, his fingers filled with mud and blood.

His shoulders heaved violently, and suppressed sobs came intermittently through the wind and rain. He felt as if all his strength had been drained away, leaving only boundless despair.

Shen Yanzhou's heart sank suddenly, and an uncontrollable anger surged up in his heart, a mixture of anxiety about Shi Wanxia's disappearance and frustration with the chaotic situation before him.

But he knew this was not the time to get angry. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed his surging emotions, and gave a wink to the guard beside him.

Two guards immediately stepped forward and carefully helped Cui Zhihao up: "Lord Cui, please get up."

Choi Ji-ho seemed not to hear, his head still bowed, his shoulders shaking even more violently.

Seeing this, Shen Yanzhou walked over himself, squatted down, and said in a low voice with a barely perceptible hoarseness: "Huai'an, don't be sad yet."

He raised his hand and patted Cui Zhihao on the back, feeling the stiffness and trembling of the other's body in his palm: "Miss Shi is a lucky person, she will be alright."

"The most important thing right now is not to wallow in self-pity, but to quickly send more people to search for her. Every bit of time brings more hope, doesn't it?"

Cui Zhihao slowly raised his head, his eyes red and bloodshot, his face wet with a mixture of rain, mud, and tears. His voice was choked and almost incoherent: "Your Highness... Miss Shi... she was at the very front... the waves were too big..."

"I know."

Shen Yanzhou interrupted him, her tone firm, "But she's so resilient, she won't be easily defeated."

"Get up first, think carefully about where she was last seen, and what other possible hiding places she might be. We'll search together."

As he spoke, he gestured to the guards to help Choi Ji-ho up.

Choi Ji-ho was being supported by his guards. His legs were already numb and he could barely stand. He could only lean on the guards and stare blankly at the surging river. Tears streamed down his face again.

Shen Yanzhou stopped looking at him and turned his gaze to Zhao Hu, who was standing respectfully with his head bowed to the side.

Zhao Hu was the chief bodyguard appointed by His Majesty to Shi Wanxia. He had escorted her all the way to Chuzhou. At this moment, he stood there, soaked to the bone, his back ramrod straight, but his face was filled with guilt and self-reproach. He didn't even dare to lift his head.

"Zhao Hu".

Shen Yanzhou's voice suddenly turned cold, as if it had been chilled to the bone, and every word carried a sense of oppression.

"As the chief bodyguard appointed by His Majesty, what were His Majesty's instructions before you left? He ordered you to protect Lord Shi at all times. Is this how you 'protect' him?"

He walked step by step to Zhao Hu, looking down at him with eyes sharp as knives, as if he wanted to pierce through him: "I ask you, where was Lord Shi in the end? Who was with him? What were you doing when the flood was at its worst?"

Zhao Hu knelt down with a thud, his forehead hitting the mud heavily. His voice was hoarse and pained: "Your Highness, please forgive me! This humble general has failed in his duty! When the flood came, Lord Shi was directing the work at the eastern breach, while this humble general led men to reinforce it."

"Later, the waves were too big and washed away a section of sandbags. I was hit in the leg by a piece of broken wood. When I got up and went to look for Master Shi again... I couldn't find him..."

As he finished speaking, his voice was filled with despair: "It is my fault for failing to protect Lord Shi! It is my fault for letting down His Majesty and Your Highness!"

"Your Highness, please give this humble general another chance! This humble general will take men to search immediately. Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, even if we have to chase him to the end of the Huai River, we will find Lord Shi! If we fail to find Lord Shi, this humble general will offer his head in return!"

Seeing the blood seeping from his forehead, Shen Yanzhou's anger subsided slightly.

He knew that Zhao Hu was not a coward who feared death, and that the head guard probably felt more guilty than anyone else about Shi Wanxia's disappearance.

Punishment is useless right now; finding the right people is the key.

"stand up."

Shen Yanzhou said coldly, "Now is not the time to talk about these things. Immediately mobilize all your manpower, and together with the soldiers of Chuzhou Prefecture, search carefully along the upstream and downstream of the river, focusing on backwaters, shallows and bushes along the banks. Do not overlook any possible hiding places."

"Tell everyone that whoever finds Lord Shi will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver and promoted one rank; if anyone is negligent in the search or conceals anything, I will not forgive them!"

"besides,"

He added, his eyes as cold as ice, "If even a single hair on Miss Shi's head is missing, even if I spare you all, His Majesty will never let you off the hook. Go."

"The last general takes command!"

Zhao Hu kowtowed heavily, then scrambled to his feet. Without bothering to wipe the mud off his face, he turned and gave stern orders to the guards behind him.

"Listen up, everyone! His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered an immediate search along the river for Lord Shi. Divide into sections and meticulously examine every corner, leaving no clue unchecked! Move out!"

A group of guards responded with a roar and immediately split into several teams, spreading out along the riverbank upstream and downstream. The shouts of searching soon spread through the rain.

Shen Yanzhou watched their figures disappear into the wind and rain before turning around to look at Cui Zhihao, who was still distraught. He sighed helplessly, "Huai'an, don't be like this. Miss Shi is so smart and knows how to swim. Maybe she's been swept away somewhere and is temporarily trapped. She'll be fine."

He paused, then changed the subject, trying to divert Cui Zhihao's attention: "By the way, what's the situation in Chuzhou right now? How are the disaster victims being resettled? Are there enough food and medicine?"

Cui Zhihao then came to his senses, sniffed, and said in a hoarse voice, "Your Highness, after the flood receded, we have begun to organize people to clean the streets and build temporary shelters to accommodate the disaster victims."

"The grain supplies that were delivered earlier can last for a few more days, but the medicinal herbs... the herbs for treating external injuries and colds are almost gone. Many civilians and soldiers have been injured, and some have even developed high fevers from being caught in the rain..."

Before he could finish speaking, a series of hurried footsteps interrupted him.

Two figures, surrounded by a retinue, hurried over from the other side of the embankment, straightening their clothes as they walked, trying to hide their disheveled appearance, while their faces were plastered with fawning smiles.

The leader was a slightly overweight middle-aged official, wearing a slightly wrinkled official robe, who was none other than Yuan Xiaomiao, the prefect of Chuzhou.

Following behind him was a tall, thin man with a somewhat pale face; he was Wang Qinian, the prefectural judge of Chuzhou.

The two had clearly just arrived from a safe place; their hair was combed fairly neatly, and although their clothes were covered in mud, they were nowhere near as disheveled as the people on the riverbank.

It turns out that before the flood peak arrived, the two men had taken their relatives to the backyard of the government office, which was the highest point in the city, under the pretext of "arranging for the families." They never showed themselves, no matter how raging the floodwaters were outside.

It wasn't until they heard that His Highness the Crown Prince had arrived in person that they rushed over, hoping to make their presence known before the Crown Prince could investigate further. If they could share some of the credit for protecting the dam, that would be even better.