Prince Colin personally took action—any assassin who wanted to escape still had to get past the sword in his hand.
After being scolded by Prince Nolan and Serena Feng during the day, Prince Colin and his men were still fuming. These assassins had basically run straight into the muzzle. Not only would Colin chase down anyone who tried to flee into the water, but even those who made it to shore would be dragged back—dead or alive. He’d even fish up the corpses, just to make sure no one played dead and slipped away.
Night was the perfect cover. Standing in the middle of the river, everything looked normal on the banks, but in reality, Prince Colin had already stationed guards along both sides of the half-mile stretch.
Over the years, he’d been too mild, so Jiangnan’s officials and commoners thought he was easy to push around. Tonight, he decided to show his true colors—let everyone in Jiangnan see that the Prince Colin who came off the battlefield, even after ten years, was still ruthless and iron-blooded.
Prince Nolan and Serena Feng stood at the bow. When their boat was about to sink, they switched to a smaller one and prepared to return to the Jiangnan Prince’s Manor with the guards.
Their whole purpose here was to lure out the assassins, not to go boating. After what happened, neither of them was in the mood for a river cruise.
The chaos on the river ended quickly. Twenty-eight assassins were captured in total; fifteen were dead, and the remaining thirteen had their poison pills discovered. Their limbs were crippled and jaws dislocated—so even if they wanted to die, they couldn’t.
"Take them back and interrogate them thoroughly." Prince Nolan glanced over, then ignored the rest and left with Serena Feng.
"This bunch actually did me a favor," Prince of Jiangnan said, clearly pleased at the sight of the assassins.
If it weren’t for these people, the Emperor and Empress would have nowhere to vent their anger—and he might’ve ended up their target.
Better them than me—Prince of Jiangnan actually respected these Former Dynasty remnants who’d sacrificed themselves for others.
The uproar caused by Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin was huge. By that night, every official and prominent merchant in Jiangnan knew what happened. But it was late, and both princes were busy interrogating assassins, so even if people came to check on them, neither had time to respond—they simply left the visitors waiting.
In Jiangnan, those two were the top dogs—no matter what official showed up, everyone had to wait their turn.
They kept everyone waiting all night. Only after Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin had grabbed a nap did they have time to meet these concerned officials.
Normally, neither Prince of Jiangnan nor Prince Colin would put on airs like this, but this time, both were seriously pissed off.
Never mind the river issues—just look at the results of officials, merchants, and commoners working together. Under harsh interrogation, they even got the names of several officials, and these were ones Prince of Jiangnan had always trusted as genuine doers.
That was it—Prince of Jiangnan was truly furious. He’d been way too nice to these people, and now every one of them thought he was easy to take advantage of!
Clearly, he wasn’t cut out to be Emperor. If he couldn’t even manage a small Jiangnan, how could he handle the whole empire?
All night, Prince of Jiangnan was seething—so much so that his old illness nearly flared up again. If he hadn’t stopped him, Prince Colin would’ve gone to find Serena Feng in the middle of the night.
Prince Colin had assassin business to handle and no time for social calls. He told the attendants to keep an eye on Prince of Jiangnan, then followed the clues to hunt down the rest of the conspirators.
He really didn’t want to...
Whether there were still insiders at Jiangnan Prince’s Manor, or the remaining conspirators realized their partners hadn’t returned, they escaped that very night—by water route. Even if Prince Colin wanted to investigate, it would take time to get any answers.
"Damn it!" Prince Colin cursed, and immediately ordered the river sealed—no boats were allowed to leave, not even official ones.
That really threw Jiangnan into chaos. The officials’ boats kept quiet, but what about the merchants?
This river was the lifeline for tens of thousands. Prince Colin’s blockade brought down the wrath of heaven and the anger of the people—a crowd gathered at the port every day to protest.
When Serena Feng heard about it, she could only say Prince Colin was too impulsive. He’d gotten used to acting on a whim, like a privileged noble, rarely considering the people’s survival—just like in the old days...
Whenever assassins appeared, he’d seal the city, never caring whether commoners needed to get in or out...
While Prince Colin chased assassins along the river, Prince of Jiangnan wasn’t idle either. Furious, he went after the local officials—and as for the merchants, they were all terrified.
Prince of Jiangnan uncovered every problem with the river system—thousands were implicated, and every region had issues. He was so angry he nearly coughed up blood.
So beneath Jiangnan’s rich, flourishing surface, there was nothing but rot.
Prince of Jiangnan didn’t go easy on anyone now, and no amount of pleading helped—everyone with a problem was punished severely. Prince Nolan and Serena Feng had come to Jiangnan mostly to rest, not just for official business. Seeing Prince of Jiangnan handle things properly, they didn’t voice any complaints and left everything to him.
Half a month passed in a flash. With Prince Colin’s relentless pursuit, all the Former Dynasty remnants who’d escaped Jiangnan were finally captured. Some were even familiar faces—locally famous figures.
Ever since those people were caught, Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin hadn’t looked happy. These troublemakers had been right under their noses for years, flaunting themselves—and yet the princes had no idea. It was downright humiliating.
Prince Nolan had planned to scold them, but seeing how Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin looked ready to bash their heads against the wall, he let it go. Jiangnan still needed these two in charge. They might not be perfect, but they did their jobs—and for the past ten years, Jiangnan had helped him tremendously.
"I don’t want to see this happen again." That was Prince Nolan’s warning to Prince of Jiangnan and Prince Colin. Both men breathed a sigh of relief and quickly promised it wouldn’t happen again.
With Jiangnan’s crisis resolved, Serena Feng and Prince Nolan prepared to leave. Before departing, Serena Feng remembered that Jiangnan Prince’s Manor still had no mistress, so she couldn’t help but say, "You two really ought to marry and produce an heir."
As long as neither man had ambitions, the next Prince of Jiangnan would be their child. Yet despite their age, neither had been willing to marry.
"Aunt Serena, with my health...what’s the point of marrying?" Prince of Jiangnan sighed. Living this long was already borrowing time from heaven; he’d given up on having children. To bring another child into the world with his condition felt like a curse.
"You’ve taken good care of yourself these past few years. Having a child wouldn’t be dangerous—just hire a doctor to look after you at the manor." Prince of Jiangnan wasn’t like Qin Bao’er; though he had heart disease, he could still safely have an heir...
"If the right person comes along, I’ll consider it." Prince of Jiangnan agreed readily, but gave no real promise. Serena Feng didn’t push—she was just doing her duty as an elder and Empress.
Prince of Jiangnan needed a successor, and Jiangnan needed new blood. As for Prince Colin...
Serena Feng looked at Prince Colin, waiting for his answer...