Xie Rutao was soundly asleep when she was suddenly woken up. No one would be happy to be woken up from their sleep. She was about to lose her temper, but when she opened her eyes, she was stunned.

It was just that at this moment she was not lying in her room, but by the pond in her own house, and there was a masked man in front of her.

"..." When Xie Rutao wanted to speak, she found that someone seemed to have pressed her mute point.

The masked man took out a dagger and put it close to her face, saying, "Were you the one who pushed the Crown Princess into the water today at the Princess's residence? You'd better answer truthfully, or I'm afraid I might accidentally injure your face. If it leaves a scar, it would be really ugly."

Xie Rutao panicked. The masked man untied her acupoints. She didn't dare to shout for help. Thinking about the scene in broad daylight, how could anyone see her pushing Shi Mingyue, so she decided to deny it.

"No, it's not me..." Xie Rutao looked pitiful.

The masked man didn't buy her tricks at all. He tapped her face with the dagger and said coldly, "If you tell me another lie, I will cut a line on your face. You decide for yourself."

Xie Rutao noticed that the masked man's eyes were extremely cold in the night, clearly wanting her to confess. If she tried to argue again, she was afraid that the man in black would really dare to cut her face. She had no choice but to say, "It was me..."

The masked man said "Oh" and put away the dagger. "Why didn't you admit it earlier? How dare you do it and not take responsibility for it?"

"What do you want?" Xie Rutao didn't know what the masked man was thinking.

The masked man suddenly asked, "Can you swim?"

Xie Rutao didn't know how to do that. She immediately understood what the masked man wanted to do, and he did exactly that, pushing her into the water. Watching her struggle in the water, she realized that when a person is truly drowning, their mouth and nose are filled with water, making it impossible for them to make any sound.

When Xie Rutao was almost drowned, the masked man pulled the rope. It turned out that there was a rope tied around Xie Rutao's waist.

Xie Rutao escaped death. She kept coughing. The feeling of drowning was too terrible. She felt very uncomfortable in her nose and ears.

"Did you ever think that Master Mingyue couldn't swim before you pushed her into the water? Today's matter is settled. I just gave her a taste of her own medicine. Finally, I'd like to advise you to do more good deeds and stop having evil thoughts." The masked man said this and left.

Xie Rutao watched the masked man depart, a complex mix of emotions welling up in her. It was indeed she who had pushed Shi Mingyue into this situation. She could have married Fu Yueli, but because of Shi Mingyue, the emperor had rescinded his promise. She knew she should resent the emperor the most, but how could she dare complain to him? She could only vent her anger on Shi Mingyue.

That day, in Dongli Garden, she saw Shi Mingyue for the first time. She thought Shi Mingyue was merely beautiful, no match for her, so why would the Crown Prince be so devoted to her? Jealousy grew within her, and later, she heard rumors of Shi Mingyue and Qin Zheng, but the Crown Prince remained unconcerned. Xie Rutao wondered more and more why the Crown Prince wouldn't marry her, given her beauty and knowledge. So, when she saw Shi Mingyue during the day, her jealousy was uncontrollable. Coincidentally, the Princess also seemed to dislike Shi Mingyue, so she joined in the discussion.

Seeing Shi Mingyue leaving the table, she followed him as if possessed. Seeing him standing defenselessly by the pond in a daze, evil thoughts arose in her heart, so she pushed him into the water, then turned around and left immediately.

She certainly felt guilty, but even more so, she was gratified. If he died, the prince would surely remarry, giving her a chance. But she hadn't expected Shi Mingyue to climb ashore on her own when she returned to the pond. She felt a touch of disappointment, but not fear, because Shi Mingyue hadn't seen her. But the masked man had been sent by Shi Mingyue, so it seemed he still suspected her.

After experiencing this drowning, Xie Rutao could only be thankful that she was still alive. The masked man's words also woke her up, and she didn't dare to do anything to Shi Mingyue anymore.

It was almost dawn, and Fu Yueli heard footsteps outside the door and walked out.

Lu Lingyan was waiting for him at the door. When he saw him come out, he said, "It's solved. Xie Rutao couldn't help but admit it in fear."

Fu Yueli nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

If he hadn't been afraid that Mingyue would think he was cruel if she knew Xie Rutao was dead, he wouldn't have just taught her a lesson. Fu Yueli returned to the room and hugged Shi Mingyue. Her fever had subsided, and he let out a long sigh.

When Shi Mingyue woke up, Fu Yueli was dozing off beside her.

It should be late. Did he take care of her all night? Shi Mingyue took his hand on his knee.

Fu Yueli woke up quickly and saw her looking at him. He said, "You're awake now. How do you feel now? Are you still feeling unwell? You must be hungry. I'll ask Hongyin to make you some porridge."

Shi Mingyue said "hmm", "I feel much better now."

The porridge was served quickly. Shi Mingyue leaned against the head of the bed. She was not so weak that she could not hold the bowl by herself, but Fu Yueli insisted on feeding her mouthful by mouthful, and even blew it until it was not so hot before feeding it to her.

"I'm really much better now, you don't have to be like this." Shi Mingyue said with a smile.

Fu Yueli asked curiously, "I'm serving you, aren't you happy?"

"I'm very happy to!" Shi Mingyue said with a smile. She felt that the porridge, which had originally been tasteless, now tasted sweet in her mouth.

Fu Yueli was feeding her porridge when Lu Lingyan suddenly rushed in, looking flustered. Seeing him, he looked like he wanted to talk to him, but was hesitant to do so because Shi Mingyue was there.

"I'll do it myself." Shi Mingyue took the bowl of porridge from him. It seemed that Lu Lingyan had something to ask Fu Yueli.

Fu Yueli followed Lu Lingyan out the door and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Something happened," Lu Lingyan's face was full of seriousness, "Xie Rutao is dead."

"She's dead? You?" Fu Yueli couldn't help but be surprised.

Lu Lingyan immediately clarified: "It wasn't me! I just threw her into the water last night to let her feel the feeling of drowning, but I pulled her out in the end. She was still fine and breathing!"

"What happened? How did she die?"

"They say she drowned." Lu Lingyan was very puzzled. When he left, Xie Rutao was clearly still on the shore, still alive. How could she have drowned as soon as he left? Could she have accidentally fallen into the water afterwards? If that was the case, then what kind of thing was this?

Fu Yueli pondered, "Did the government investigate?"

"I went there. Prime Minister Xie's daughter mysteriously drowned in her own pond. It would be strange if this matter is not investigated thoroughly." Lu Lingyan was now afraid that the investigation would lead to them, but when he left, Xie Rutao was really fine, at most she was frightened.