Jiaojiao is getting married, and the male leads fall for her and fight over her.

Chapter 197 Shen Shuyi's Revenge
At first, when Pei Dongzhou inquired, no one provided any clues. But when Pei Dongzhou offered a hundred taels of gold as bait, everyone rushed to Pei Dongzhou to provide clues.

Another coachman mentioned that a woman dressed as a man had bought a carriage. This information made it clear to Pei Dongzhou that the woman disguised as a man was the cousin he was looking for.

He immediately ordered his men to split into two groups.

One group of people went to chase after the carriage that Shen Shuyi had taken when she left the capital, while he led a team to personally chase after the carriage that Shen Shuyi had later bought.

His cousin used the same tactic of feinting last time, and he still felt that there was a higher probability that his cousin would switch carriages.

But when he chased after them to the riverbank a hundred miles away, he found Shen Shuyi's newly bought carriage abandoned on the riverbank.

Most alarmingly, there were many messy footprints along the riverbank.

Pei Dongzhou's mind went blank for a moment, worried that Shen Shuyi had encountered robbers.

But he quickly calmed down. Even if his cousin encountered robbers, with her intelligence, she would be able to protect herself.

My cousin was able to take down Pei Nanzhou and his group all at once, so she should be able to handle robbers as well.

His heart tightened again as he observed the footprints around him. The footprints disappeared at the riverbank, and a shoe was found there.

Judging from the size, it should be my cousin's size.

He stared blankly at the not-too-swift river ahead for a moment.

Seeing Pei Dongzhou's state, Qingfeng quickly reassured her, "Miss Pei, good fortune will prevail; you'll be alright. I'll send someone downstream to look for her..."

At this moment, Pei Dongzhou also returned to normal. He looked around at the surrounding environment, his gaze falling on the forest: "Send a group of people to search the mountains and forests as well. We must find my cousin safely."

He told himself that his cousin was clever and capable, and should be able to protect herself in case of danger. His only fear was that she might be pushed into the lake, and since she couldn't swim, her chances of survival were slim.

Although his mind was in turmoil, he couldn't lose his composure.

He hasn't married his cousin yet, so it's impossible for her to have gotten into trouble.

Qingfeng also knew that the young master was not as calm as he appeared on the surface. Perhaps it was because he was worried that he lost his composure. The young master, who was usually so calm, had now lost his confidence.

Although he suspected that the young lady had likely fallen into the river and was in grave danger, he dared not voice this conjecture and could only order his men to search for her whereabouts with all their might.

With the team split into two groups, one group searched for people in the mountains and forests, while Pei Dongzhou led his men to search for Shen Shuyi's whereabouts in the river.

The person was not found, but Pei Dongzhou found another shoe in the river.

He gripped his shoes tightly, his face grim, and ordered the search to continue.

The search party was in dire straits.

It was already dark, and the weather was freezing cold; everyone was shivering. But since the young master wouldn't call a halt, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue the search.

By daybreak, the search had reached the lower reaches of the river, where a reservoir had been built, marking the end of the river. However, the water was too deep, and the weather was so cold that no one dared to go into the water.

Everyone looked at Pei Dongzhou, at a loss for what to do.

Pei Dongzhou knew that going into the water in such cold weather could be fatal, and he was about to jump in to search for her when Qingfeng quickly stopped him: "Young Master, you mustn't! If Miss Biao really fell into the river, she might already be dead; her body would float to the surface..."

Before he could finish speaking, the young master jumped into the water.

Seeing this, Qingfeng shouted, "Everyone, jump into the water to search for him! If anything happens to the young master, none of us will survive!" Qingfeng gave the order, and everyone knew that the matter was of great importance. They dared not hesitate any longer and jumped into the reservoir to search for him.

Qingfeng himself jumped into the reservoir to search for people underwater.

With so many people, they searched the water for a while but couldn't find Shen Shuyi. Some couldn't take it anymore and hurriedly boarded the boat. Pei Dongzhou, however, continued searching until he was certain Shen Shuyi was nowhere to be found, only then did he relax.

However, his strength had dissipated, and since he had spent the longest time swimming in the water, he clearly caught a cold after getting ashore and felt weak all over. Nevertheless, he still sent people to continue searching for Shen Shuyi's whereabouts in the vicinity.

In fact, the chaos by the river was created by Shen Shuyi herself. She did this to confuse the public and also to get revenge on Pei Dongzhou for teasing her for so long.

Furthermore, since Pei Dongzhou worked at the Dali Temple, she knew it wouldn't be easy to fool everyone, so she created a scene that was indistinguishable from the real one.

She herself is currently enjoying a warm meal at a farmhouse and plans to rest there for a while before making further plans.

She was certain that Pei Dongzhou wouldn't find the village anytime soon. The terrain was secluded, and she had even created a disturbance by the river, leaving along the water's edge.

After the water flows by, the footprints she left behind will be erased without a trace.

In other words, her trail went cold by the river, and Pei Dongzhou could only guess how to find her.

A-Jian was also very impressed with her daughter's adaptability. Despite living a life of luxury, the girl was able to enjoy herself just fine in this rural area.

The following day, they even helped the farmer who had taken them in with farm work.

She also had to admit that a girl like that could thrive anywhere.

But thinking about how the young master must be heartbroken that the girl has left, given how much he loved her. If he believed she had truly died in the river, wouldn't he go mad?

"Why do you have so many worries all day long?" Shen Shuyi, who was weeding, looked up and saw A-Jian sighing into the air, which left her speechless.

Looking at the carefree and untroubled girl, A-Jian sighed inwardly, "Miss, please rest for a while. I'll pull the weeds."

How could a girl's delicate hands become rough from farm work? She wouldn't allow it!

Shen Shuyi, however, found it quite interesting. Having grown accustomed to a life of luxury, experiencing a different kind of life was far better than being relentlessly watched by that perverted Pei Nanzhou in the Marquis's mansion.

But Shen Shuyi never expected that she would encounter some strange people in such a remote place.

Here's the thing.

That day, after she finished helping the farmer with her farm work, just as she was about to have lunch, it suddenly started snowing heavily again.

Just then, a group of people knocked on the door.

The peasant woman stepped forward and opened the door. The person who came in was a well-dressed servant woman, and behind her were more than ten people, the leader of whom was a middle-aged noblewoman with a haggard face.

When the middle-aged noblewoman entered, Shen Shuyi glanced at her curiously. It was that one glance that brought tears to the noblewoman's eyes.

She walked up to Shen Shuyi, looked her up and down, and then burst into tears.

Shen Shuyi was confused. Had she done anything wrong? Why was this woman crying?
"Young lady, your eyes look just like my daughter's, that's why I lost my composure. Please forgive me," the middle-aged woman said, wiping away a tear.

(End of this chapter)