Chapter 908 Xie Yun's manure-carrying skills are still too few

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding crowd began searching for the Empress, and everyone was talking about it, "Where is the Empress?"

Is Her Majesty the Empress also at Hundred Flowers Lake?

"I'm so lucky! I never expected to see Her Majesty the Empress at Hundred Flowers Lake tonight. But where exactly is Her Majesty?!"

“There, there is a ship.”

"Where is Your Highness... I can't see you."

"Your Majesty the Empress..."

Xie Yun successfully disrupted the scene, diverting everyone's attention from his parents.

Actually, the cruise ship offered quite a bit of privacy. Jiang Fenghua was completely caught off guard by Xie Yun's shout, which exposed her to everyone.

Immediately afterwards, Xie Yun added fuel to the fire, shouting loudly, "The Empress is there, on that boat! Everyone, quickly pay your respects to the Empress! Long live the Empress!"

Because someone took the lead in shouting "Long live the Empress!" and someone recognized Empress Jiang, everyone knelt down in the direction of Jiang Fenghua and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty, long live the Empress!"

The sounds rose and fell, each one louder than the last.

Jiang Fenghua looked embarrassed, but she smiled slightly and quickly became graceful, saying in a deep voice, "I just wanted to join in the fun at Hundred Flowers Lake! Seeing how lively and prosperous Hundred Flowers Lake is, and how happy everyone is, I'm very pleased that everyone is having a good time. Please make yourselves at home, no need for formalities!"

She had no intention of saying much, but seeing that everyone was in high spirits and in a peaceful mood, she said a few more words. However, her words seemed to have a double meaning, and everyone's attention was drawn back to the King and his wife.

Baihua Lake was indeed lively tonight.

Seeing that the Empress was dressed so modestly yet still so beautiful, charming, and approachable as she went out to enjoy the lake, everyone greeted her, saying, "If Your Majesty is happy, then we are happy too. We won't disturb Your Majesty's boat trip..."

Xie Yun deliberately asked, "It's rare for Your Highness to leave the palace for a lake excursion. Did Your Highness come alone? Who else is on the boat?"

Xie Yun smiled knowingly, "Your Majesty the Empress is dressed so modestly, who are you enjoying this lake excursion with?"

Everyone was stunned at first, and then they also wondered who the Empress had come to enjoy the lake with.

Jiang Fenghua felt utterly exasperated; Xie Yun hadn't done nearly enough manure collection.

However, the people inside the cabin were also drawn out by the noise outside, and what came out was a beautiful woman.

Xie Shang did not come out to watch the commotion, but Qin Yunyan, dressed in fine clothes, stood beside Jiang Fenghua.

Everyone spotted her immediately, and some even recognized her as Bai Zhiyan, the daughter of the wealthy Bai family.

The Bai family has been very high-profile these past few days.

Jiang Fenghua glanced at "Bai Zhiyan" without showing any emotion. She must have come out on purpose!

Someone said, "Did Miss Bai and Empress Jiang go boating on the lake together?"

"Rumor has it that Bai Zhiyan has caught the Emperor's eye. Could it be that the Empress dressed so casually to come out of the palace to see her just to summon her to the palace to become a concubine?"

Xie Yun didn't know Bai Zhiyan, but he was somewhat aware of the rumors circulating in Shengjing City these past few days.

Xie Yun also found it amusing. The person Jiang Fenghua came to see was someone Xie Shang had taken a liking to. Could the person in the cabin be Xie Shang himself? There were so many guards, and just now there was the sound of a zither and a woman singing in the cabin.

Could the emperor really be in the cabin?

As everyone discussed it, they instantly grew to dislike Bai Zhiyan for her flamboyant and over-the-top attire.

Someone cursed, "Does she even know who she is? Does she deserve to stand next to the Empress? She's just a merchant, reeking of money."

"Every woman wants to seduce the Emperor, how shameless! And she's not even that pretty, just average..."

"The Bai family sells cosmetics and face powder; their faces are all painted on. Would she dare to show her true face? She's a scheming woman who pretends to be something she's not."

"Be careful with her rouge, or you'll ruin your face."

Empress Jiang has a very good reputation. She was born into a scholarly family. Her father was the highly respected Grand Tutor Jiang. Her brothers are all successful and dedicated to the country and its people. The Bai family is no match for her. What does the Emperor see in Bai Zhiyan?

It wasn't because she deliberately seduced him; I heard that she dressed up as a man and played polo with the emperor at the polo field!

It landed right in the Emperor's arms...

"The Empress is so beautiful, why would the Emperor summon someone else to the palace? Is the Emperor blind to this?"

"Shh!"

"What's with the shushing? There have been quite a few rumors about the Bai family these past few days."

Jiang Fenghua naturally didn't hear what everyone was talking about, as she was a bit far away, but she could imagine what they were saying from the way they were pointing at Bai Zhiyan.

Bai Zhiyan originally came to watch the fight between the Kang Prince and his wife, but she didn't expect to be caught in the crossfire and become the subject of gossip and criticism.

She clenched her fingers, somewhat angry. She wanted to enter the palace as a concubine, bear imperial heirs, and become the Empress Dowager. It wouldn't do to not have a good reputation among the common people.

She suddenly turned to Jiang Fenghua and said gently, "What were you looking at just now, Your Highness? I think I heard someone shouting for help. It seems the person has been rescued!"

She also tries to divert everyone's attention.

She heard Jiang Fenghua shouting for the guards to save people, so she also stopped playing the pipa, and the emperor allowed her to come out and see what was going on.

By this time, Yuezhi had already been rescued. She clearly remembered that Xie Kang and the fox spirit had pushed her into the water.

Having lived for decades, she had never suffered such grievances and humiliation.

She dragged her soaking wet body to Xie Kang and slapped him hard across the face.

Yuezhi angrily pointed at Chang Mingxiu's nose and cursed, "Who is she? Xie Kang, what is your relationship with her?"

Xie Kang's face instantly darkened when he was slapped in public. He and Chang Mingxiu had been trying to leave, but their path was blocked. He said coldly, "What's wrong with you? I have nothing to do with her."

Chang Mingxiu was stunned. "It's alright?"

Xie Kang lowered his voice and said to Yue Shi, "Don't cause trouble here. I'll explain to you when we get back to the manor."

The Yuezhi refused to listen. "What explanation are you giving? Who is she? Why are you protecting her?"

Xie Kang forcibly pulled her aside and whispered, "She is the wet nurse of the Fourth Prince's mansion. I need to contact the Fourth Prince. Don't cause trouble. The Empress is on another ship."

The Yuezhi people didn't believe it at all.

When Yuezhi tried to hit Chang Mingxiu, she suddenly hid behind Xie Kang. Upon seeing this, Xie Kang quickly stepped aside, making a rather comical move.

Chang Mingxiu was so frightened that she hid behind Xie Kang. In fact, she had a chance to escape, but she didn't.

She knew that Princess Kang was in Shengjing, and Xie Kang was very afraid of her, hiding from her. Chang Mingxiu never expected that the man she loved, who was clearly a prince, would be so afraid of a woman.

She acted as if she didn't recognize Xie Kang anymore.

He wasn't like this back then...

Too much time had passed, and Chang Mingxiu had long forgotten what Xie Kang looked like back then. She loved the image of him she had imagined, not the cowardly, timid, and frightened figure he was now.

Xie Kang dared not offend the Yuezhi because the Yuezhi's backers were also his backers.

Yuezhi grabbed Chang Mingxiu's wrist, "Who are you? How come you're with Xie Kang?"

Consort Chang glanced at Xie Kang, and Xie Kang also winked at her.

Consort Chang has never left the palace in recent years, and few people in the palace know her, let alone outside the palace.

Everyone wanted to see what the excitement was like.

Just then, Lin Feng suddenly arrived with his men and respectfully bowed to Xie Kang, saying, "His Majesty invites the Prince and Princess to the ship for an audience."