"ah!!!!"

"Princess!!"

Screams and gasps rang out at the same time. Cai Die reached out to grab the person, but Jun Qingcheng fell into the river like a broken bead. With a splash, she fell into the water, sending up a spray of water.

The villagers were stunned. How did he suddenly fall into the river?

In the river, Jun Qingcheng was terrified, her face pale, her hands and feet flailing wildly. "Ah!!! Help... Help me... Water... So much water... I can't swim..."

In her panic, she seemed to finally spot a tall figure on the mountain path, and her cry suddenly turned pitiful, "Brother Zichen! Brother Zichen... come quickly and save Qingcheng... Qingcheng can't swim..."

He seemed to be exhausted halfway through his sentence, and his eyes slowly closed.

Cai Die was startled and immediately turned around and ran towards Xiao Jinhan. "Young Master Xiao, please save my princess! She fell into the river while passing through Wuxi Prefecture on her way to find you and almost lost her life. Now she is terrified of water. Please save her quickly!"

Xiao Jinhan frowned and glanced at the river, then raised his hand behind him, "Yu Yu, go and pull the person up."

"Yes." Yu Yu bowed in agreement and was about to go into the river.

Cai Die grabbed her arm, looking at Xiao Jinhan with astonishment, "Young Master Xiao, the princess has been betrothed to you since childhood, she is your betrothed. How can you let another man hold her! Isn't this defaming her?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers instantly transformed into hedgehogs in the melon patch.

Princess Mingzhu and Jinhan were betrothed since childhood.

How is that possible!

If this were true, why have neither Old Lady Xiao nor Xiao Zhong ever mentioned it? Moreover, not long ago, Xiao Zhong even brought Gao Ruhua from Gaojiatun over, wanting Jinhan to marry into the Gao family.

The Xiao family has no choice but to accept a daughter-in-law from a noble family in the capital, instead opting for a butcher's daughter whose husbands have died three times in a row. Have they all lost their minds?!

Thinking of this, everyone subconsciously looked in Su Hua's direction.

But the girl stood gracefully on the riverbank, stroking the horse's mane with a smile on her lips, revealing no other emotion.

"Nonsense! If your princess wants to find a fiancé, go to the Prince of Zhan's mansion. If she dares to bark again, don't blame me for disrespecting the Prince of Yan's mansion." Xiao Jinhan glanced at her coldly and beckoned Yu Yu back.

"Since Princess Mingzhu doesn't need saving, we won't waste our time."

After saying that, he walked up behind Su Hua in a few steps, skillfully took the fruit basket from her hand, and handed it to Yu Yu to hold.

Seeing the beads of sweat on the girl's porcelain-white face, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. "If you want to eat fruit from Zaozhuang, just have Yang Qing and the others send it over. Why bother making the trip yourself?"

Su Hua shook her head and smiled, "It's alright. We need sweet potato vines now, so we can go to Zaozhuang to check on the situation."

Seeing the two of them acting like this, Cai Die was furious, but dared not utter another word.

This man is terrifying. His gaze just now felt like a knife scraping against her. She has no doubt that if he brings up the arranged marriage again, he could kill her right here!

But she was also terrified of the water, so she hurriedly ordered the village women in the river, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and save my princess! If anything happens to my princess, all of your heads will be chopped off!"

The village chief's wife frowned as she watched. The river downstream was clearly not even knee-deep for the little girl, yet she was splashing around like a landlubber for a long time. Could this princess be a paper doll?

They were puzzled, but they couldn't let anything happen to the princess in their village, so they quickly called over several women and old women to pull the person out of the water.

Seeing the pale-faced person, Cai Die hurriedly helped her up, "Princess, what happened to you? How did you suddenly fall into the river? Are you alright...?"

"vomit!"

Jun Qingcheng clutched her chest and spat out a large mouthful of water. "Cai Die, I'm fine. I just choked on some water. It's nothing serious."

This is none of anyone else's business. Let's hurry back inside and change our clothes.

As she spoke, she glanced at Su Hua with a hurt look in her eyes, her gaze faintly filled with tears.

Cai Die looked in the direction she was looking, and a surge of anger rose in her heart. "Princess Le'an! My princess kindly offered you her purse to admire, and you actually pushed her into the river. How wicked you are!"

"Do you think that if you kill my princess, no one will compete with you for Young Master Xiao?"

The villagers were stunned for a moment, then shook their heads. The county magistrate of Le'an was always kind-hearted; how could she possibly push someone into the river? Not to mention murder or harming someone—that was all nonsense!

"Cai Die, you mustn't say that about Sister Su." Jun Qingcheng scolded softly, tears welling up in her eyes. "I believe Sister Su definitely didn't mean it. Don't talk nonsense and wrong Sister Su."

“Princess, it’s because you’re too kind-hearted that you’ve been bullied by villains time and time again. I saw it clearly just now: it was Sister Hua’er who deliberately stuck out her foot and kicked you into the river.”

Meng Yun'er stepped forward and looked at Su Hua with a reproachful expression, "Sister Hua'er, you are used to being willful and reckless, but you can't act so recklessly."

Princess, you are of noble birth. If something were to happen to you, could you afford to compensate for it?

"At that time, will your entire Su family be able to withstand the wrath of the Prince of Yan's mansion?"

"Insolence!" Xiao Jinhan's face darkened, and his wide sleeves were already raised—

"Zichen, don't be angry." Su Hua smiled and shook her head. She then walked up to Jun Qingcheng, stretched out her slender hand, and pointed to the two people next to her. "Cai Die and Meng Yun'er both said that I kicked you into the river. Does the princess mean the same thing?"

Jun Qingcheng nestled in Cai Die's arms, glancing at the man with a wronged expression, before a bitter smile appeared on her face. "Cai Die and Yun'er were just too worried and spoke without thinking."

I trust Su's character; she certainly didn't do it on purpose today.

Let's leave it at that for today. It's just a pity that my purse, which I embroidered for so long, is ruined before I even had a chance to give it away.

"Ha! You believe I didn't do it on purpose?" Su Hua hooked her toe and twirled lightly on the grass. "So, according to Princess Mingzhu's words, you're implying that I kicked you into the water?"