Zizheng waded across the river to pick lotus flowers

During the escape, Furong desperately tried to pull Shiyan away, but accidentally pulled Zizheng away instead, and they ended up in the south.

Furong pointed at Zizheng angrily and said, "How come it's you?!"

Zizheng felt a little wronged and said, "You were the one who pulled me away first..."

Furong was speechless for a moment, and said, "Then...then why didn't you tell me I grabbed the wrong person?"

Zizheng felt even more aggrieved and lowered his head, saying, "I thought you really wanted to come and help me run away."

Furong was taken aback when she heard this, which made her feel a little guilty.

Furong turned away awkwardly and said, "I'm sorry, it was my fault. I mistook you for someone else and then blamed you."

Upon hearing this, Zizheng looked up at Furong. Although he could only see her profile, he could just make out the slight blush on her face caused by her awkwardness.

Zizheng immediately understood what she meant and smiled, "I forgive you, don't worry."

Furong turned around and shouted, "Who cares whether you forgive me or not?!"

Furong had essentially confessed without being asked, and Zizheng denied it, saying, "I didn't say that."

Furong clenched her fist and said, "You're itching for a beating, aren't you?"

Upon seeing this, Zizheng immediately squatted down, covered his head, and admitted his mistake, saying, "I was wrong, please don't hit me."

Furong was taken aback. From the beginning, Zizheng had always thought of her as fierce and someone who could hit people hard.

Thinking of this, Furong withdrew her fist and said, "Alright, let's think about how to find them first?"

Zizheng was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, and stood up, saying, "You're not going to hit me anymore?"

Furong walked ahead and said, "If you say another word, see how I beat you up?"

Upon hearing this, Zizheng shut his mouth and followed. The surrounding area was full of trees and bushes, and it looked like a forest.

Furong wandered around for a while, but it was already night. Frustrated, she said, "What's going on?! Why can't we get out?!"

Zizheng gently tapped her shoulder with her hand. Furong turned to look at her, puzzled. Zizheng pointed to her mouth, as if asking, "May I speak?"

Furong remained silent, rubbing her forehead with one hand, and said, "I forgot you're a bookworm. Now, speak."

After hearing this, Zizheng said, "First of all, I am not a bookworm. I will take the imperial examinations to obtain official rank in the future."

Furong lowered her hand from her forehead and asked doubtfully, "Is your young master willing?"

Zizheng said, "Young Master said that the court needs talented people. If we can pass the exam, we can be considered to be sharing the burden of the country."

Furong was startled and said, "Young Master Li is a good person."

Zizheng said, "The Li family are all good people."

Suddenly, Furong thought of something and blurted out, "As the saying goes, good people don't always get good rewards."

Zizheng was a little angry and said, "What do you mean by that?"

After hearing this, Furong said, "That's what they all say, and besides, it's just a joke."

Zizheng said in a serious tone, "This joke is not funny. I hope that everyone in the Li family can live to be a hundred years old."

Seeing this, Furong felt a little apologetic and said, "In that case, I hope your wish comes true."

A sudden silence fell over them, and both felt awkward. Furong could only run to the side, saying as she ran, "Let's split up and search, just in case..."

With a "plop," Furong suddenly lost her footing and fell into a lake.

Upon seeing this, Zizheng immediately ran towards the lake, but as soon as he arrived, he saw that Furong had already slowly emerged from the water.

She slowly raised her head from the water, and her once perfect hair fell apart at that moment.

The moonlight shone on her, making her already fair skin appear even whiter.

Furong turned around and looked at Zizheng. Her fair face, pure eyes, pink lips, slender waist, and beautiful figure made her a true lotus emerging from the water.

Zizheng stared in disbelief at the lotus flowers in the water.

The thumping of his heartbeat grew louder, signifying that the hibiscus had planted a seed in Zizheng's heart, waiting for it to take root, sprout, and bear fruit.

Zizheng stood there for a long time, unable to come back to his senses. Furong felt a little shy when she saw this, but she quickly calmed herself down.

She clenched her fist, raised her hand, and said, "Look again! I'll beat you to death!"

Startled by these words, Zizheng immediately turned his back and said, "Sorry! You come up first!"

Furong watched his retreating figure, then stood up and said, "If you dare turn around, you're dead!"

Zizheng said, "A gentleman does not get close to women, nor does he look at what is improper; this is a great virtue."

After getting ashore, Furong changed her clothes and said, "What is this? It's all wrinkled and I don't understand."

After listening, Zizheng explained, "It means that a gentleman will not be close to women and will not look at things that are not in accordance with propriety. This is a manifestation of great virtue."

Furong asked in confusion, "You? A gentleman?"

Zizheng said, "Yes, I am a gentleman, so you don't need to worry."

Furong walked up to him, approaching him until she was about five fingers' width away, then stopped and laughed, "Then why were you staring at me for so long just now?"

Zizheng was taken aback and said, "I...I was looking at the moon."

Furong took a few steps back and said, "You said the same thing last time."

Zizheng was speechless for a moment. Looking at the moon's reflection in the lake, he said, "The moon in the water is an illusion, but it is truly beautiful. It changes with touch, and when there is nothing to do, it corresponds to the night sky."

"Such a beautiful view would surely make anyone linger and forget to leave, wouldn't it?"

After hearing this, Furong looked down at the moon in the water and said, "Speaking of the moon, I suddenly remembered a sentence."

"The moon reflected in the water is the same as the moon in the sky; the person before my eyes is the same as the person in my heart."

Upon hearing this, Zizheng was stunned. He reminded him, "That's a very good saying, but I hope you can say it to the right person next time."

Furong smiled and said, "What if this is what I told the right person?"

Zizheng opened and closed his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Because he didn't know how to explain it, nor did he know what kind of "what if" Furong might be.

What if it's a joke?

What if she wasn't talking about herself?

Seeing that he didn't speak, Furong felt a little awkward and changed the subject, saying, "Alright, we should go now."

Zizheng was somewhat disappointed, and said, "Okay."

The two followed the lake's location to the well, and soon arrived at Nancun.

After arriving at the inn, Furong and Zizheng were finally able to get some rest.

The next day, when Furong woke up, she found her hair was a mess. Speechless, she sat down at the dressing table, picked up a wooden comb, and carefully combed her hair.

Zizheng knocked on the door and said, "Furong, come and have breakfast."

As Furong combed her hair, she said, "You eat first, I have things to do."

Upon hearing this, Zizheng immediately pushed open the door and asked, "What is it? Are you going to abandon me and leave alone?"

Furong felt confused and said irritably, "What are you talking about? I'm busy fixing my hair."

Zizheng breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to take the comb, saying, "Let me help you."

Furong was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly said, "I didn't know you could comb people's hair? Do you do this often?"

As Zizheng combed his hair, he said, "You forgot? I am the young master's study companion, so of course I know how to do these things."

Furong asked, puzzled, "Then why did you comb my hair?"

Zizheng thought for a moment and said, "Maybe he's afraid you'll get angry and hit me."

Because you combed it too slowly, your hair was too messy. Plus, women especially love their hair, and they would be heartbroken if even one strand fell out.

Furong said with dissatisfaction, "Is that the kind of person you see me as?"

Upon hearing this, Zizheng immediately said, "No."

Clearly, his words lacked credibility. Furong calmed herself down, not wanting to answer him, and picked up the eyebrow pencil on the table to start drawing her eyebrows.

Finally, hold the lip rouge in your mouth before letting it fall to finish, adding a touch of color to your already beautiful appearance.

Zizheng looked at the lotus in the bronze mirror, stopped what he was doing, and said, "The lotus cannot compare to the beauty's makeup; the breeze from the water pavilion carries the fragrance of pearls and jade."

Furong turned to look at him and said, "What?"

Zizheng continued, "However, I prefer another one: hibiscus cannot compare to a beautiful woman's makeup, and Chaoge cannot compare to the distant mountains' dark eyebrows."

Furong thought for a moment and said, "Who wrote the rest? I've never heard of it before?"

Zizheng laughed and said, "That's something I created myself, so it's normal that you haven't heard of it."

Hearing this, Furong was still a little awkward, and turned her head to the other side, saying, "Okay, you do have some talent, and... thank you for your praise."

Zizheng said, "Let's go downstairs and have breakfast. It's just the right time."

On this day, Furong jumped into the river to save a child who had fallen in. When she safely brought the child to the shore, the river suddenly surged towards her, and she was drowned before she could even think.

The lotus was lost in the water.

Am I going to die before I even find Miss? How sad she must be all alone.

At that moment, a familiar figure appeared in her mind—it was Zizheng. From their first meeting until now, Furong slowly closed her eyes, unconsciously asking herself all sorts of questions.

If... you knew, would you be sad for me?

Or... will I be happy?

When Furong opened her eyes again, she was back in her room at the inn, and she looked around curiously.

What happened? Who saved me?

Suddenly, with a creak, the door opened. Furong looked at the person who came in and saw Zizheng, who was carefully carrying the medicine. He looked happy to see her wake up.

Furong breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

So he was worried about me after all.

Zizheng handed her the medicine and said sadly, "You're finally awake. I thought... you had abandoned me."

Furong was stunned upon hearing this. She took the medicine and drank it all in one gulp, saying, "What do you mean I abandoned you?"

Zizheng looked at her and said, "Leaving me alone is abandoning me, and I don't want you to abandon me."

Furong was still confused and asked, "Are you talking about Young Master Li?"

Zizheng blushed and looked at her, saying, "No, I was talking about you. I want to be with you forever."

Furong suddenly understood: Zizheng liked her!

She asked, "Why?"

Zizheng asked in confusion, "What? Why?"

Furong asked, puzzled, "Why would you like me? I always hit you."

Zizheng thought for a moment and said, "There is no reason to like someone, but my heart beats for you, I feel anxious and scared when you almost die, and I feel happy when I talk to you. These are enough to prove my love for you."

Furong was stunned again. After a long while, she finally spoke: "If you want to marry me, you'd better figure it out yourself."

Upon receiving the answer, Zizheng happily said, "Okay, I will definitely marry you through my own efforts."

Seeing this, Furong clenched her fist and laughed, "I'm waiting for you. If you fail, I'll kill you!"

This time, Zizheng was not afraid, but smiled and said, "I will not fail, because you are still waiting for me."