Chapter 44 Falling into the water again, holding back tears and feeling wronged.
The Zhaoyang Palace was brightly lit by candlelight, and its golden walls gleamed.
The emperor lived and worked in this palace.
Emperor Wusu was in high spirits today and drank a few extra cups of wine. Feeling a bit hot from the wine, he went to the clean room to change into some casual clothes.
The bamboo-green round-necked, narrow-sleeved long gown, with dragon patterns embroidered in blue silk thread on the lapel and cuffs, made her figure appear even taller and more slender.
Inside the inner palace, layers of dark blue curtains separated the palace servants from the outer rooms.
Emperor Wusu held an ancient book in his hand, his eyebrows and eyes exuding an air of nobility.
Li Yuzong bowed and approached with small steps, whispering outside the curtained tent, "Your Majesty, Princess Qingyun and Miss Ji have fallen into the water."
With a pause of his long fingers, he casually tossed the precious original onto the ground.
The dark blue curtains fluttered, and before they had fully settled, Emperor Wusu's figure had already arrived outside Zhaoyang Palace.
*
Taiye Lake.
This wasn't Ji Qingwu's first time in the water.
Practice makes perfect. When she swam ashore, Princess Qingyun was still struggling desperately in the water.
Several guards, who appeared out of nowhere, swam over to try to rescue her, but were scolded and pushed away by the princess.
Ji Qingwu didn't understand why the princess was still so arrogant when she was clearly about to lose her life.
She didn't want to get involved, but she couldn't bear to see this living person disappear before her eyes.
He sighed, went back into the water, and swiftly pulled Princess Qingyun ashore.
After she helped the princess ashore, she saw a person standing on the steps that had been deserted.
Tall and elegant, dressed in a bamboo-green robe, he looked down at her with his eyes lowered.
Ji Qingwu was still half-submerged in the water when their eyes met, and she shuddered.
How did the emperor suddenly appear on the shore?!
"Brother, you've come! Brother, I almost died! You must avenge me..."
Princess Qingyun sat on the ground, soaking wet, crying pitifully.
But she discovered that Emperor Wusu hadn't even looked at her.
Despite the heavy gaze of the person above her, Ji Qingwu climbed ashore as gracefully as possible.
But having swum twice in the water, and the second time with an adult woman in tow, he was nearly exhausted, if not completely drained.
My foot slipped, and I was about to fall again.
The next moment, someone grabbed his arm and lifted him up as easily as lifting a ball of cotton.
Even if she were cotton, she would be wet cotton; this person's arm strength is truly terrifying.
Ji Qingwu even felt as if his feet had drawn half a circle in mid-air before he was put down.
Li Yuzong, who was not as fast as the emperor, arrived breathless and handed over the robe in his hand.
"Your Majesty, your outer robe."
Under Princess Qingyun's pitiful and aggrieved gaze, Emperor Wusu spread out his moon-white robe and draped it over Ji Qingwu, covering him completely.
Ji Qingwu looked at his cold face, feeling uneasy but also warmer.
This outer robe is thick, but it's wrapped too tightly around my neck, making it a bit constricting.
Ji Qingwu was about to speak when he was frightened back by Emperor Wusu's fierce gaze.
She shrank back, frowning. Was the blame for Princess Qingyun falling into the water really going to fall on her?
With such a commotion, people from Cining Palace also came.
Shi Xi appeared hastily and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has learned that the princess has fallen into the water and is on her way. She sent me here first to find out what happened."
Princess Qingyun cried and said, "It's all Ji Qingwu's fault that I fell into the water. Quickly arrest her and take her to the Empress Dowager to be held accountable."
The truth of the matter is not as Princess Qingyun described.
Ji Qingwu twitched her lips, whether mocking the princess's clever scheme or criticizing her own kindness, it was unclear.
Emperor Wusu understood her emotions.
"Shixi, take the princess back to Cining Palace first, ask the imperial physician to examine her, and tell the Empress Dowager that we will discuss this matter again tomorrow."
Princess Qingyun said indignantly, "Royal brother, is it Ji..."
Emperor Wusu glanced at her lightly, and she was rendered speechless. Qingyun murmured, not daring to voice her opinion.
It was already late, and investigating this matter overnight would only cause unrest in the palace. Shi Xi understood this, so she and several maids helped Princess Qingyun back.
Emperor Wusu stood on the shore, looking at Ji Qingwu, who was curled up in a ball with only his small face showing.
"Tell me yourself."
"After the birthday banquet, the princess summoned me to the lakeside to warn me..."
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but seeing the emperor's gloomy, almost dripping face, he couldn't bring himself to say them.
Emperor Wusu took a step closer to her, and she was truly afraid that he would throw her into the lake again.
He immediately replied in a rapid-fire voice, "The princess warned me not to associate with Young Master Li, because Li Chengxun is the consort she has chosen."
Emperor Wusu was not surprised at all. He looked at the woman's damp hair and bright black eyes and asked, "How did you answer?"
Ji Qingwu said with righteous indignation, "Of course I cannot agree."
It's fine to strive for love openly and honestly, but forcing a rival to back down is not a respectable approach.
She simply despised this method, but to someone else, it sounded like she was determined to be with Li Chengxun.
Emperor Wusu's eyes were dark and deep. His gaze fell on her lips, which always uttered words he didn't like to hear, and he asked casually.
"Then what."
"Then she pushed me into the water, and I pulled her into the water too."
Seeing how casually she talked about it, completely disregarding the seriousness of drowning.
Emperor Wusu's aura suddenly turned cold.
Ji Qingwu pulled his outer robe tighter, sensing the change in his emotions.
She suddenly realized that she had been too frank. Princess Qingyun was the emperor's sister, and princesses were delicate and precious. How could she compare to her?
One is in the heavens, the other on the earth, a world apart.
So what if the princess pushed her into the water? She shouldn't have dragged the princess down with her. Just because the princess can do something doesn't mean she can.
Ji Qingwu pursed her lips, suppressing the grievances in her heart, and said spinelessly, "This subject is at fault."
Emperor Wusu asked, "Where did we go wrong?"
She frowned and replied, "The mistake was disregarding the princess's safety. It was just a verbal dispute, and I'm good at swimming, so even if I fell into the water, it wouldn't be a problem. The princess is of noble birth; if anything were to happen to her, I wouldn't be able to pay for it even with ten lives."
Emperor Wusu turned to look at the now calm lake, but his eyes were filled with turmoil.
"You will definitely be fine if you fall into the water."
It's one thing to say it yourself, but it's quite another to hear the emperor say it himself.
For some reason, Ji Qingwu felt a surge of bitterness welling up from the bottom of her heart, and her eyes filled with tears.
She said with difficulty, "Yes, I am a good swimmer. Even if I am pushed into the water, I can swim back to shore on my own."
Emperor Wusu remained unmoved and coldly said, "Do you know that the guards on the shore were prepared for you? Of course, they won't let anything happen to you."
What do you mean by "prepared for her"?
Ji Qingwu's mind raced, and then he looked up in shock.
Princess Qingyun was about to drown, but she wouldn't allow her guards to come and save her.
The woman's clothes were thin, and after falling into the water, they clung almost to her body. If she were rescued by the guards, it would be indistinguishable from skin-to-skin contact. If this were seen by others...
She was to marry a guard, ruining her reputation.
The guards were prepared for her; if this plan succeeds, she and Li Chengxun will have to part ways from now on.
Emperor Wusu looked at the woman with clear eyes and was so shocked that his face turned pale. His rosy lips parted slightly and his hands clenched his moon-white outer robe.
The moon shines brightly in the sky, while shadows lurk everywhere on the ground.
He had long known that she was out of place in the palace.
They can be easily outmaneuvered.
At the birthday banquet, he also had to hand over his secrets to others.
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