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When the commotion at the Lakeside Pavilion startled the front yard, Xinyi Mingyao was pressing the wine cup to Li Tingzhen's lips. The amber light swirled in the glass, reflecting the scholar's tense jawline.
"Princess, please respect yourself." Li Tingzhen leaned back to avoid the blow, her bamboo-patterned cuffs sweeping the fruit platter on the table. The lychees tumbled to the ground, crushed into mud by the Fifth Princess's gold-embroidered shoes.
The ladies were whispering to each other during the banquet. Yang Shuyu chuckled while holding her round fan, "Mr. Li is so arrogant." The jade bracelet on her wrist touched the silver chopsticks, and the clinking sound revealed her gloating.
Xinyi Mingyao's red gold armor brushed against the scholar's Adam's apple. "I love your noble spirit." She suddenly leaned forward, the tassels of her peony headpiece brushing against the back of Li Tingzhen's hand. "You're much more interesting than those sycophants."
"Your Highness!" Jiang Jinzhao came over quickly, his black official boots trampling the mess on the ground. "Your Highness the Crown Prince has fallen into the water. Please move aside."
Before he could finish his words, a commotion erupted from the west wing. A guard carried the dripping Xinyi Daoyi through the moonlit gate. The prince's pale face shone a bluish-gray hue in the twilight. Princess Linchuan's melon seeds clattered from her hands, and her gilded armor pinched her palm. "Daoyi!"
Jiang Dinglian darted forward, sniffing the air, and breathed a sigh of relief when his fingertips felt a faint stream of air. Turning his head, he caught a glimpse of his daughter's expression, and his heart skipped a beat—Jiang Songyi was gripping the prince's wrist tightly, her nails practically digging into the flesh.
"Ahem." Xinyi Daoyi suddenly opened her eyes, and drops of water fell on the back of Jiang Songyi's hand. "Is my disciple going to kill my master?"
The girl retracted her hand as if struck by lightning, her crimson skirt brushing against the water stains on the blue bricks. "Master, how could that be?"
"The Fourth Prince pushed him." The guard suddenly knelt, his sword tassel still dripping with water. "Your Highness was admiring the lotus in the pavilion in the middle of the lake when the Fourth Prince suddenly attacked."
Jiang Songyi's pupils suddenly shrank. She had clearly left Xinyi Zigu in the pavilion, how could this happen?
"Ridiculous!" Princess Linchuan slammed the table and stood up, her agate ring scratching a deep mark on the table. "Where is Zigu?"
"Still at the Lakeside Pavilion." The secret guard bowed his head. "I was too anxious to save the prince and was unable to do so."
Before she could finish her words, the princess was already hurrying away, her skirt in hand. Guests were pouring into the lotus pond like a tide. Yang Shuyu took the opportunity to whisper to Xinyi Mingyao, "The Fourth Prince must be possessed. How dare he say such things to the Crown Prince?"
The Fifth Princess stared at Li Tingzhen and sneered: "I will look for you another day." Her golden embroidered shoes stepped on the lychee debris on the ground, leaving scarlet marks on the hem of the scholar's moon-white gown.
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