Chapter 115: Lake Cruise
Murong Shili's gaze fell on Song Heng.
He stood like a pine or bamboo, wearing a light blue Confucian robe, gentle and elegant, with a faint smile. Xie Ruojiao stood beside him, smiling brightly, standing side by side with him, a talented man and a beautiful woman, looking very well matched.
Murong Shili remembered that Xie Ruojiao specifically asked himself, what do you think is good about Zhuke?
I see.
Murong Shili suddenly felt angry and ashamed for his own self-conceit.
He never expected that he thought he could make Xie Ruojiao fall in love with him, but she already had someone in her heart...
Murong Shili looked at Song Heng with an extremely fierce look.
"How can a poor scholar like you compete with you, the prince, for a beauty? It's just that Miss Xie didn't know the value of gold and jade." Seeing that Murong Shili's face was getting uglier and uglier, the scholar hurriedly said:
"Why don't we just let our subordinates deal with this person?"
Murong Shili withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "Don't alert the enemy. It doesn't matter if he dies, but it would be inappropriate if the Northern Prince's Mansion noticed something was wrong. There is no need to care about an insignificant person..."
Since Xie Ruojiao already has someone she likes, let’s try another approach.
Forcing her to marry him.
There are only two ways to do this. One is to drug Xie Ruojiao. But no matter how Murong Shili defended himself afterwards, in the eyes of the Northern Palace, he was a frivolous man who flirted with women and had a bad impression.
And with Xie Ruojiao's thick skin, she might commit suicide out of shame and anger.
The second is that they both fell into the water in public. As long as Xie Ruojiao "accidentally" fell into the water, he would be a hero and save her. Not only would Xie Ruojiao have to marry him to preserve her reputation, but the Northern Prince's Mansion would also have to thank him for saving her life.
"Xie Ruojiao is collecting a painting of green bamboo. She asked Liang Hui to meet Xie Ruojiao at the island in the center of Yingyue Lake to discuss the sale of the painting." Murong Shili said calmly:
"Send my "Green Bamboo Painting" to Liang Hui."
Liang Hui was the daughter of the head of the Hanlin Academy. She was also one of the four great talents in Beijing. She often organized literary and poetry gatherings. Although she was not very close to Xie Ruojiao, Xie Ruojiao had seen her many times and was considered familiar with her.
"Yes." The scribe accepted the order.
…
The next day, the invitation Liang Hui gave to Xie Ruojiao fell into Xie Lingxi's hands.
"Yingyue Lake Island?" Jiang Rong looked at the location on the post. This was a place where scholars and scholars often went to play...
But, there is a lake!
Jiang Rong immediately thought of how Prince Duan had forced Prince Bei's Palace to agree in his previous life...
"I think he wants to let the second sister fall into the water, and then come out as a hero to save her!" Jiang Rong looked at Xie Lingxi with a very alert expression.
Xie Lingxi's eyes were cold. Murong Shili was looking for death. He ordered:
"Go check the boats on Yingyue Lake."
Yingyue Lake is very large, and you need to take a boat to get to the island in the middle of the lake.
This place is also considered a scenic spot in the capital, and the Xie family has their own pleasure boat here. In addition, there are many boats in other lakes and seas that they often visit...
Xiao Nanxing took the order and retreated.
After a while, he came back to report: "The secret guards carefully checked the pleasure boat. There was a broken board that had been repaired. It is fine now. But the repair was not tight and secure enough. If someone had done something wrong, the boat would have leaked in an instant."
There was a responsible steward and two servants on board, so it would not be surprising if one of them was bribed.
The Beiwang Mansion is so big, with so many farms and shops, and people are needed everywhere. It is impossible for everyone to be loyal.
"We have so many boats in the capital. Since Prince Duan chose Yingyue Lake, I guess there are people he bribed on this boat. I have a plan..." Jiang Rong had been thinking about how to deal with Prince Duan these days. He immediately had an idea in his mind and explained it in detail to Xie Lingxi.
"If we guess wrong, there's no loss. We can just make another plan. What do you think, husband?"
…
Early the next morning.
Xie Ruojiao went out with her brother and sister-in-law and came to Yingyue Lake.
The manager of the pleasure boat came over in a hurry and said, "Greetings, Crown Prince, Crown Princess, and Second Miss! Are the masters going to take a boat trip?"
"My second sister wants to go to the island in the middle of the lake, so the prince and I would like to come here together to cruise the lake and enjoy the scenery. I have also made an appointment with one person, and we will set sail when everyone is here." Jiang Rong looked at the steward and said.
The steward hurriedly saluted and said, "Yes."
The three of them entered the second floor of the pleasure boat together. They did not bring many guards with them. Only Jingzhe, Xiao Nanxing, and maids including Feicui accompanied them.
After the steward settled the few people, he winked at one of the servants, and the servant quietly left to report.
A while later.
Dong Xiqin, who had dressed up carefully, came. She was wearing a newly made Sichuan embroidery dress, her hair was covered with pearls and jade, and her makeup was exquisite.
She received a post from Jiang Rong.
Ask her out for a chat.
The post was not very clear and Dong Xiqin felt a little guilty.
Could it be that Jiang Rong knew about her affair with Xie Lingxi and came to settle the score with her?
But what evidence does Jiang Rong have? What can she do to herself?
In this way, she was not afraid of confronting Jiang Rong, but wanted to see what Jiang Rong wanted to see her about.
Came by invitation.
Dong Xiqin saw the Xie family’s pleasure boat at a glance.
In public places like Yingyue Lake, only the royal palace can moor the pleasure boats. Ordinary families are not allowed to moor there, and can only spend money to choose a few boats displayed by the government...
Otherwise, the noble families, big and small, in the court would be able to fill up the lake.
This was a privilege exclusive to the royal family, and because the Northern Prince's Palace was the only prince of a different surname, he was treated the same as other princes.
Now, there are several pleasure boats on the lake, including those of Prince Duan, Prince Ying, and the Crown Prince...
They all hang royal totems.
Only the Xie family is different and quite eye-catching.
Dong Xiqin looked at the gorgeous pleasure boat and felt a little jealous. Why could Jiang Rong use such a nice boat?
Did she deliberately ask me to meet her at Yingyue Lake to show off her pleasure boat?
Dong Xiqin was angry in her heart, but with a smile on her face, she asked the steward who was guarding the pleasure boat:
"The Crown Prince's Consort invited me to go boating on the lake today. Is she here?"
"The Crown Princess and the Crown Prince are here. It turns out the distinguished guest is Miss Dong. Please come in..." The steward came forward.
The prince is here too?
Dong Xiqin immediately acted in an affected and graceful manner and went up to the second floor of the pleasure boat.
The news was immediately sent back to Prince Duan.
"Your Highness, the Northern Prince's wife has made an appointment with someone to go boating on the lake today, so the couple and Second Miss Xie are traveling together. They are accompanied by a guard, a doctor, and four maids." The scholar reported.
Murong Shili frowned, but the next moment he understood and laughed, "This is a good thing. They didn't bring many followers. Once the ship sank, the effect would be even better. Not only did I personally rescue Xie Ruojiao, I also sent people to rescue the heir of the Northern Palace. Shouldn't the Xie family be more grateful to me? As for the others, they are courting death. It's just that they are unlucky."
Xie Lingxi and Xie Ruojiao were saved, but Jiang Rong and the others had to die. This was the only way to let the Northern Palace know that the Xie brothers and sisters did not also turn into two corpses, all thanks to him.
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