Shen Leyi didn't lower her voice at all; she seemed to want the people inside the lakeside pavilion to hear her, which was obviously intentional. She even wanted the people on the lakeside to hear her, since her voice could travel over anyway.

Unfortunately, Shen Leyi was too excited to look back. If she had looked back, she would have recognized Shen Yunxi at a glance.

Ji Shaoyue turned around and looked at the four women on the small boat with displeasure.

"What are you doing here? There is no Shen Yunxi here, only the Emperor and I."

Ji Shaoyue was discussing serious matters with Jun Xuan when he heard a commotion behind him, along with furtive voices. He was followed by a reprimand, wondering which woman's voice was so loud and disturbing.

Junxuan remained calm, picked up his teacup, slowly brought it to his lips and took a sip. His gaze fell on Shen Leyi, who had suddenly become dazed, before drifting towards Shen Yunxi, who was watching the scene by the lake.

Shen Yunxi stood still, clearly a short distance away from Jun Xuan, but she could still feel the warmth in Jun Xuan's gaze.

Their eyes met; Junxuan remained indifferent, while Shen Yunxi's gaze was cold.

Almost simultaneously, the two looked away, as if what they had just seen was merely an accident.

However, Junxuan's fingers tightened around the teacup, his fingertips turning pale, clearly indicating that he was using force.

Shen Leyi's face was pale. She and the other three young ladies got off the small boat and knelt on the steps at the bottom of the pavilion in the middle of the lake. "Your Majesty, I have no intention of disturbing Your Majesty's peace. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me. I was just looking for my sixth sister."

What happened?

How did things turn out this way?

Shen Yunxi should be here, seen by her and several young ladies, and then she shouldn't know what to say. But Shen Yunxi didn't appear here. Instead, Ji Shaoyue came.

Shen Leyi looked down on Ji Shaoyue, since he was just a royal merchant and did not hold any official position. However, this did not prevent him from being on good terms with the emperor, and no one wanted to offend him.

Even so, Shen Leyi was still shocked. She really couldn't understand why Shen Yunxi, who was always obedient, was not at the lake pavilion. Was there a problem with the arrangements, or had something happened to Shen Yunxi?

Junxuan put down his teacup, tapped his right hand lightly on the table, then raised his left wrist to fiddle with the red cinnabar bracelet. His gaze was calm and unwavering, yet somewhat profound.

"The pavilion in the middle of the lake is not open to the public, so how did you get here?" Junxuan asked.

Shen Leyi gritted her teeth, not knowing how to answer. She was too embarrassed to admit that she had come to scheme against Junxuan and Shen Yunxi.

However, a young lady who came with Shen Leyi was terrified. She had always known that the Emperor was not an easy person to deal with. He was cold and ruthless when he was the Crown Prince, so she dared not hide it.

“Your Majesty, I came here with the fourth young lady of the Shen family. She said she was looking for the sixth young lady. However, we came directly here and did not go anywhere else, so I do not know how she knew that the sixth young lady was here,” a young lady said.

Upon hearing this, Shen Leyi glared fiercely at the other party. If Jun Xuan hadn't been there, she would have definitely scolded her. But now she couldn't find an excuse, and with the Emperor in front of her, she had no idea how to answer.

Junxuan's gaze fell on Shen Yunxi by the lake again, but this time he only glanced at her before looking away. He realized that he was paying some attention to Shen Yunxi.

He knew perfectly well that Shen Yunxi hadn't done what Shen Leyi had planned, but he still wanted to be sure. After confirming it, he felt even more complicated and thought he shouldn't care so much about Shen Yunxi.

"The four of you have trespassed into the pavilion in the middle of the lake. This is not a place for you, and you have offended me. Go back and confine yourselves for a month," Jun Xuan said calmly.

This simple house arrest is enough to make these four women unable to hold their heads high or face anyone for the foreseeable future.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the four replied in unison.

Shen Leyi hated Shen Yunxi to death. She didn't know why Shen Yunxi would make a mistake at such a crucial moment, and she was furious.

The other three young ladies from prominent families hated Shen Leyi to the core. It was all Shen Leyi's doing. They should have known better than to associate with her for the sake of the Yong'an Marquis's mansion. Now she had even implicated them and put them under house arrest. They would definitely be punished by their fathers when they returned. But none of them dared to say a word.

Junxuan, disturbed, naturally did not want to stay any longer, and instead walked back to the small boat they had come from, with Ji Shaoyue following closely behind.

At this moment, Junxuan stood on the small boat, while Ji Shaoyue rowed the boat diligently, leaving the remaining four young ladies behind. The four of them did not dare to get up immediately, and only stood up after Junxuan and Ji Shaoyue had gone far away.

With nothing more to see, Shen Yunxi was about to leave when Jun Xuan happened to be absent. Just as she turned around, the sound she least wanted to hear rang out.

"Miss Chen, please wait."

Upon hearing this, not only was Shen Yunxi frozen in place, but Ji Shaoyue, who was rowing the boat, was also shocked.

What's going on here?

Shen Yunxi clearly noticed Jun Xuan approaching, but she turned around and prepared to leave, as if she did not want to see Jun Xuan.

That would have been fine in the first place; it would have been better if we hadn't had any contact.

To everyone's surprise, Junxuan called out to her instead, which completely baffled Ji Shaoyue.

What is Jun-hyun thinking?

In fact, Junxuan himself did not understand why he called out to Shen Yunxi the moment she turned around. He should have been trying to avoid her at all costs.

But since I've already called her that, I can only pretend that I really need to talk to her.

Shen Yunxi stiffened slightly, and with no other choice, she turned around and respectfully bowed to Jun Xuan.

"This humble woman greets Your Majesty."

The other young ladies and wives from prominent families also realized what was happening and bowed to Junxuan one by one.

Junxuan's thin lips moved slightly. "Rise."

Shen Yunxi stood still, her gaze coldly fixed on Jun Xuan as he drew closer, her heart gradually calming down from initial panic.

Although she didn't speak, Junxuan understood Shen Yunxi's meaning from her eyes and wanted to ask him why he had called her.

"Miss Shen, please go back and tell the old Marquis to properly restrain Miss Shen and prevent her from doing anything impolite." Jun Xuan made up an excuse casually.

Everyone else thought that Junxuan was referring to Shen Leyi, including Junxuan himself.

But Shen Yunxi felt that Junxuan didn't mean that; rather, he was saying that her previous actions needed to be restrained. Hearing this, Shen Yunxi's face turned slightly pale.

She can change her attitude later, but she can't change the fact that it has already happened.

"Yes, I understand."

Junxuan realized that Shen Yunxi might have misunderstood, but it was not a good time to explain. With so many outsiders around, explaining would only cause unnecessary trouble and misunderstandings.

"Go down." Junxuan waved his hand.

Since outsiders know that he has come to the Prince of Xiaoyao's birthday banquet, it would be best to show his face and give the Prince of Xiaoyao face.

Shen Yunxi agreed, gave a slight curtsy, and quickly left the spot without the slightest hesitation.