One of the Imperial Guards sneered, "Bah! You dare to call yourself a princess? When two countries are at war, you are secretly colluding with the enemy. Is this something a princess should do?"

Song Yunzhi stared wide-eyed in disbelief. How could such a top-secret matter have been leaked?

"You, you're all spouting nonsense!"

"You lowly commoners, you are not worthy to speak to this princess. Get out of my way and let the man surnamed Xiao speak to me!"

As the Imperial Guards approached step by step, Song Yunzhi continued to retreat as she spoke.

"Heh! You really think you're still a princess? You'll be a prisoner soon. You're overestimating yourself. Do you even deserve to see the Emperor?" a member of the Imperial Guard said contemptuously.

Song Yunzhi glanced at the second-floor cabin, where the lights were already on.

With all her cards gone, Song Yunzhi still tried to argue her way out of trouble, but no matter how hard she racked her brains, she couldn't find a way to escape the charges of treason and kidnapping the imperial heir.

The situation was hopeless, and she was unwilling to give up and become a prisoner.

As her hand touched the railing of the pleasure boat, she watched the Imperial Guards approach step by step.

She gritted her teeth and leaned backward.

"Want to die? Not so easy!"

Just as the Imperial Guards were about to reach out and grab her, Xiang Song, who was standing on higher ground, shouted, "No need to stop her, let her go."

A "plop" sound rang out, but no large splash of water was made.

At this moment, Xiangyang also arrived.

Seeing the lake return to calm, Xiang Yang pulled Xiang Song aside and said, "Boss, how could you let her jump into the lake and commit suicide? Prefect Lu is still waiting to interrogate her."

Xiang Song lowered his voice and said, "You don't know anything. How do you interrogate her? Do you expect her to reveal the affair between her master, Miss Jiang, and Sui Sui in court? She's about to die, so she'll definitely make baseless accusations and damage the young lady's reputation."

Xiang Song was more perceptive than Xiang Yang. He understood his master's thoughts. For the young master's safety, as long as the young lady didn't enter the palace, the young master's identity should not be revealed.

Xiang Yang scratched the back of his head. "This... I didn't expect that."

Xiang Song glared at Xiang Yang, "Our master's status is different now. We can handle the dirty work. Just use your brains more."

"Understood. We are the knives in our master's hands. As long as we are good to our master, we are willing to get our knives stained with blood."

Xiang Song patted Xiang Yang on the shoulder, "You're a promising young man, you've made progress. If the master blames you for this, I'll take full responsibility."

“Don’t underestimate me, boss. Brothers should share both good times and bad. If the master really blames me, I’ll just go to the Imperial Stud to feed the horses.” Xiangyang said, puffing out his chest.

Xiang Song was deeply moved and nodded, saying, "Yes! You feed the horses, I apologize."

“That Sui Sui, he…” Xiang Yang looked towards the cabin.

"Everything is fine. We've arranged for people to guard the area. I'll leave this place to you and go report the situation here to the master."

A short while later, a pleasure boat approached, and Prefect Lu ordered his men to take all the criminals away.

Inside the cabin, Sui Sui yawned and asked, "Auntie, why hasn't Mother come in yet?"

"Shh! Don't make a sound. Your mother's clothes are soaked. Your brother the emperor must have taken her away first. We have someone to escort her back. Don't overthink it. Go to sleep."

"Yes, with Father here, I'm not worried."

Chang Le pulled up the thin blanket and hugged Sui Sui. After Sui Sui's tense emotions relaxed, her eyelids quickly became heavy.

In the cabin of another pleasure boat, Xiao Jingzhao searched around but couldn't find a single woman's dress.

Jiang Shuyue looked at the soaked embroidered shoes and skirt, "Your Majesty, don't bother looking anymore. This is a sightseeing boat, and there's no way there will be spare clothes inside. Your Majesty can leave once the boat docks."

"What are you afraid of?" Xiao Jingzhao's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.

Jiang Shuyue was slightly taken aback.

What is there to be afraid of? She is already famous enough in the capital, and she doesn't want to be on the front page of the capital tomorrow.

Xiao Jingzhao seemed to see through her little scheme and said with a smile, "There are no strangers on this pleasure boat. Sui Sui has someone to take care of her. I will send you back in a while."

Just as Jiang Shuyue was about to refuse, she heard Xiang Song coming to see her.

Xiao Jingzhao walked to the outside of the screen and asked, "How are Chang Le and Sui Sui? Have the criminals been handed over to Prefect Lu?"

"The princess and the young master had marks on their wrists and ankles where they had been strangled by ropes, with some bruises, but no other injuries."

Xiang Song originally wanted to say that the princess and the young master were not frightened, but after carefully recalling the scene of seeing the princess and Sui Sui.

The two were all smiles; anyone who didn't know them would have thought they were there to enjoy the lake and admire the moon.

Xiang Song paused for a moment and then reported, "Your Majesty, Song Yunzhi jumped into the lake out of fear of punishment. It was my negligence. I beg Your Majesty to punish her."

Xiao Jingzhao pursed his thin lips and remained silent for a moment before saying, "She jumped into the lake out of fear of punishment. What crime have you committed? Give the order to have Prefect Lu send people to retrieve her. The lake must not be polluted."

He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Your subordinate obeys."

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Jiang Shuyue got up and walked to the window.

The pleasure boats on the lake were all rowing towards the shore.

Sensing the person approaching from behind, Jiang Shuyue turned around, and their eyes met.

"She committed suicide. Will this affect you?"

Xiao Jingzhao said gently, "No, there is plenty of evidence and witnesses to prove her affair with the third prince of Liang. Even if she dies, she cannot escape the government's judgment."

"Moon Lady, may I call you that?" Xiao Jingzhao's tone seemed to contain a hint of grievance.

Jiang Shuyue looked up, the bright moonlight illuminating his handsome face. A night breeze blew, and a strand of his black hair fluttered, making him exceptionally dashing.

His phoenix eyes were fixed on her with intense passion, and Jiang Shuyue's heart began to race for no apparent reason.

She quickly looked away. "Yes, of course, that's what everyone calls me."

Seeing her evasive gaze, Xiao Jingzhao smiled faintly. He followed Jiang Shuyue's gaze and looked at the vast night sky, where stars twinkled.

He asked with a smile, "Moon Goddess, why do you think Chang'e stands alone under the laurel tree, looking down at the human world?"

Jiang Shuyue: "..."

Why did the Emperor seem to have lost his mind if he didn't go to the lake tonight?

"Ahem! This... is probably because I'm captivated by the beauty of the world," Jiang Shuyue coughed and made up a story.

"No, I think she is waiting for someone to reunite with, and that person may be an ordinary person."

Jiang Shuyue paused for a moment, then nodded haphazardly: "Maybe so."

In his heart, however, he secretly thought, "Your Majesty, you're so good at making things up. It's a waste of your talent if you don't write storybooks."

Pigsy ran to the Moon Palace to tease Chang'e, so it was you who blew the pig up to the sky?

A moment later, Xiao Jingzhao said again, "Moon Maiden, the night is so beautiful tonight. Next Mid-Autumn Festival, let's bring Sui Sui to the lake to admire the moon, shall we?"

“His Majesty is busy with countless affairs of state, how could he have such free time? The moon is full only once a month, there’s nothing to see,” Jiang Shuyue said earnestly.

Looking at the woman in front of him, who was beautiful but lacked charm, Xiao Jingzhao's brow twitched slightly.

Just as he was about to gently persuade him, he heard a guard outside report: "Your Majesty, the ship has docked."

"Turn off all the lights and have everyone evacuate."

At a command, the brightly lit pleasure boat instantly went dark.

"I will send you back."

Before she could finish speaking, a large hand reached around her waist.

When Jiang Shuyue came to her senses, her feet had already been lifted off the ground.