Upon hearing the cries for help, the palace guards immediately rushed forward and entered the lotus pond one after another.
His Highness Prince Ding was rescued shortly afterward.
Huaifu was both terrified and astonished. How could His Highness Prince Ding be so careless as to lose his footing and fall into the lotus pond in the place where he grew up?
Ye Qingxue stepped forward: "Eunuch Huaifu, His Highness is no longer in danger. Let's hurry to see the Emperor and not keep him waiting."
Huaifu saw that everyone was surrounding Prince Ding, and his servants and nannies had already run over to take care of him. Moreover, Prince Ding had even sneezed, so it seemed that his life was indeed not in danger.
But he still stepped forward and bowed, saying, "If Your Highness is alright, this servant will take Miss Ye to see the Emperor."
Prince Ding was soaking wet, with a withered lotus leaf still clinging to his hair. His cold gaze slid from Huaifu to Ye Qingxue.
Ye Qingxue frowned slightly and said, "Your Highness, you are always careless when you walk by the water. Even if it is the place where you grew up, you should still pay attention to safety. How cold would it be if you fell into the water on such a cold day!"
"I should have escorted you back and made you a bowl of ginger soup as a token of my appreciation, but His Majesty is waiting for me to pay my respects. Please forgive me for taking my leave now."
Ye Qingxue gave a slight curtsy and then turned and left without hesitation. In the dim light, Prince Ding not only did not see her panic, but also saw her graceful and decisive back view.
He wanted to tear this woman to pieces! The Prince thought this, his eyes flashing with cold light, his hands clenching into fists!
However, he couldn't find a reason to attack Ye Qingxue. As the Prince of Ding, if he were to point out that Ye Qingxue had kicked him into the water and that he was powerless to resist, wouldn't he be ridiculed by the world?
He has a sense of shame!
So he could only swallow his anger silently, waiting for the right opportunity to retaliate.
—Ye Qingxue must die at his hands, otherwise his hatred will not be appeased!
However, the most serious issue right now is that Ye Qingxue refuses to renew their engagement.
But now, Ye Qingxue has gone with Eunuch Huaifu to meet the Emperor. What should he do?
"I have some clean clothes in my mother's palace. Please take me there first," said Prince Ding.
He needed to discuss with his mother how to proceed.
Ye Qingxue never expected that the place where the emperor summoned her would be the imperial study.
The Imperial Study has always been the place where the emperor handled state affairs and received important officials; even the empress and concubines were not allowed to approach it easily.
Huaifu led the way, first informing the emperor that Miss Ye of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion had arrived. After receiving the emperor's approval, he came out and led Ye Qingxue inside.
Upon entering the Imperial Study, Ye Qingxue knelt down and bowed, saying, "Your subject Ye Qingxue greets Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"
She thought she would be nervous, after all, this was her first time meeting the emperor in both her past and present lives. Just by approaching the imperial study, she felt a strong sense of oppression. Moreover, this emperor controlled the life and death of everyone in the world, and even the crown prince Yun Zhuo was no exception.
However, Ye Qingxue was surprisingly calm at this moment, probably because she knew why the emperor had summoned her, and also probably because she didn't have many days left to live.
What is there to fear for a dying person?
"Rise." The emperor's deep voice boomed down from above. Ye Qingxue thanked him and slowly stood up, but she kept her head down and her eyes lowered, not daring to look directly at the emperor's face.
"Raise your head and let me see you," the emperor's voice rang out again, still deep and resonant.
Ye Qingxue slowly raised her chin, her gaze unable to resist looking directly at the emperor with curiosity. She caught sight of his face and discovered that he was not what she had imagined.
She thought the emperor was high above, majestic and awe-inspiring, and commanded respect without even being angry.
However, the emperor before him had beautiful phoenix eyes that conveyed kindness, a high nose bridge, and lips that were neither thin nor thick. He was handsome but lacked majesty.
He was over forty years old and had some wrinkles around his eyes, but they did not detract from his handsomeness; on the contrary, they added to his kind and benevolent air.
What is he like? He's like a boy who would shed tears for an ant that gets stepped on, a heart made of glass.
However, when the emperor looked at her, Ye Qingxue lowered her eyes in time, thinking to herself that the deposed crown prince and this emperor looked somewhat alike.
After examining her for a moment, the emperor waved his hand and ordered Eunuch Huaifu to call the others out, leaving only the two of them in the study.
The emperor said, "Your eyebrows and eyes do resemble your father's somewhat, but you are more handsome than him!"
This opening remark almost made Ye Qingxue mistakenly believe that the emperor was having a casual chat with her.
"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."
The emperor waved his hand: "At the end of the day today, Minister Pan of the Ministry of Rites came to the palace to see me. He said that they had found a large amount of gold and silver on a certain estate in Jingzhou, which was the proceeds of Wei Jingtong's embezzlement. He asked me to send people to retrieve the stolen goods."
"I asked him how he learned about this. Lord Pan told me that it was Ye Qingxue, the eldest daughter of the Marquis's family, who told him! I want to know how you learned that Wei Jingtong had embezzled and hidden the stolen goods in a certain manor in Jingzhou?"
Ye Qingxue did not answer immediately; she remained silent, as if choosing her words carefully.
The emperor then asked, "At Shenshi (3-5 PM), Prince Yu and his wife entered the palace to see me. They told me about Princess Rongqing's rescue and said that you were Princess Rongqing's savior."
"Miss Ye, tell me, how did you, as a woman, kill the bandits and save Princess Rongqing?"
At first, when Pan Yuanzhou entered the palace and said that Wei Jingtong was corrupt, he did not believe it. But when Pan Yuanzhou made a solemn vow and even offered his life as collateral, he finally sent someone to investigate.
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