The Empress’s eyelids trembled, her eyes growing moist. Looking at the frail, thin young girl on the ground, she couldn’t hold back her tears.
Regarding the Fourteenth Princess, she had never completely let go of her last bit of wariness, after all, the princess’s birth mother, Concubine Chen, had repeatedly tried to harm Fuqing. However, since the Fourteenth Princess began accompanying Fuqing daily to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, appearing more often in her presence, she couldn’t help but admire this low-key, intelligent, and tactful child.
She sincerely wanted to give this child a good future. Initially, she had intended to marry Fuqing to the elder brother of the Prince of Yan’s wife, that handsome and cheerful young man. But later, when the Prince of Yan was registered under her name, this plan became somewhat inappropriate.
At that time, she thought about matchmaking the Fourteenth Princess with the heir of the Earl of Dongping after Fuqing’s marriage was settled. But who would have known—
The Empress quickly composed herself, ordering someone to inform Emperor Jingming while arranging for the Prince and Princess of Yan to be urgently summoned to the palace.
The Prince of Yan had used this method to revive the former Crown Prince’s son, Chun’er. Why couldn’t it work now? If so, let the Prince of Yan try; it would be her doing her best for the Fourteenth Princess.
The Empress dared not imagine how heartbroken Princess Fuqing would be when she woke up to find the Fourteenth Princess gone.
Glancing at the lifeless Fourteenth Princess, the Empress sighed, “Take the Fourteenth Princess inside and change her into dry clothes.”
Several palace maids immediately carried out the Empress’s orders.
The Empress then had time to ask questions. Scanning the palace servants present, her expression turned sharp: “Who was the first to arrive at Bibo Lake?”
Two eunuchs stepped forward, answering in unison, “It was us, Your Majesty.”
“You two arrived together?”
Both eunuchs affirmed.
“Describe the situation at that time.”
The eunuchs exchanged glances, and one of them replied, “We heard the Fourteenth Princess calling for help, so we rushed over immediately—”
The Empress frowned, interrupting the eunuch: “Are you certain it was the Fourteenth Princess calling for help?”
The eunuch bowed his head and said, “We are certain, because… because the cry for help at that time shouted that someone was trying to harm Princess Fuqing, calling for help—”
The Empress’s body shook, her expression changing drastically: “You didn’t mishear?”
The eunuch shook his head firmly: “We didn’t mishear. Those who arrived later should have heard it too.”
The Empress looked at the others, and the palace servants all nodded in agreement.
The Empress’s face grew even more grim. She asked, “Anything else?”
The other eunuch said, “When we arrived, we saw a eunuch hurriedly leaving, which was very suspicious. But at that time, both princesses were in the water, so we had to choose to rescue them first…”
The Empress listened silently, her face full of anger, her fists clenched tightly.
Someone had tried to harm Fuqing again!
Who could be so cruel as to repeatedly attempt to take Fuqing’s life?
If so, didn’t that mean the Fourteenth Princess had—to save Fuqing—
The Empress’s heart jolted, and she couldn’t help but look towards the rippling Bibo Lake.
What exactly had happened between Fuqing and the Fourteenth Princess? It seemed they would only know when Fuqing woke up and could be questioned.
“Stay here and guard. No one is allowed to leave, and nothing here is to be disturbed!” After giving these orders, the Empress hurried towards the chamber where Princess Fuqing was resting.
Emperor Jingming was dealing with state affairs in the Imperial Study, quite troubled by the recent drought reports from various regions.
Two eunuchs stood on either side of Emperor Jingming, fanning him continuously, the cool breeze slightly alleviating the emperor’s anxious mood.
Not far away, Jixiang, the cat, was enjoying the cool air with half-closed eyes, leisurely licking its paws, completely unaffected by its master’s mood.
Pan Hai was attentively refilling tea, being thorough and considerate.
At this moment, Xiao Lezi appeared at the door, making faces at Pan Hai, his expression urgent.
Seeing this, Pan Hai quietly walked out and whispered, “What’s the matter? If it’s not important, don’t disturb His Majesty!”
His Majesty was clearly in a bad mood; it was best not to agitate him further.
Xiao Lezi grimaced and said, “Master, something terrible has happened!”
As he spoke, he stepped aside and pushed a eunuch forward.
The eunuch said in a trembling voice, “The Empress requests His Majesty’s immediate presence. Princess Fuqing and the Fourteenth Princess have fallen into the lake—”
Pan Hai darted back into the room, the wind he created even stronger than that from the fans, causing Emperor Jingming to look up.
“What is it?”
Pan Hai forced a smile: “Your Majesty, please don’t be alarmed—”
“Stop wasting words. If there’s something, say it quickly!” Emperor Jingming had already developed a conditioned reflex to Pan Hai’s expressions. Every time he looked like this, something major was about to happen, more reliable than his own drowsy eyelids.
“The Empress requests your presence. Princess Fuqing and the Fourteenth Princess have fallen into the lake—”
Emperor Jingming rushed out even faster than Pan Hai had entered.
In Kunning Palace, Princess Fuqing opened her eyes to see the Empress’s worried face.
“Mother,” Princess Fuqing called out hoarsely.
The Empress tightly held Princess Fuqing’s hand, her voice trembling: “Aquan, are you feeling better?”
Princess Fuqing blinked and nodded slightly, but quickly gripped the Empress’s hand in fear: “Mother, someone tried to harm me!”
The Empress’s heart sank, and she hurriedly asked, “Who tried to harm you?”
Princess Fuqing’s gaze was somewhat confused: “That eunuch claimed to be from Cining Palace. At the time, Fourteenth Sister and I were walking towards Kunning Palace when he caught up with us, saying Grandmother Empress wanted me to return as she had something to say…”
Princess Fuqing recounted the events to the Empress, finally frowning and saying, “Mother, I don’t think that person was necessarily from Cining Palace. After all, those were just his words. I lost consciousness after he covered my mouth… Oh, where’s Fourteenth Sister?”
The Empress’s expression changed slightly at the question.
Princess Fuqing looked at the Empress, suddenly feeling anxious: “I had asked Fourteenth Sister to come and inform you first. Did you send someone to rescue me after hearing her message—”
As Princess Fuqing spoke, her expression changed drastically: “No, that’s not right. If that were the case, you wouldn’t be completely unaware… Mother, where is Fourteenth Sister? Where is she?”
Seeing Princess Fuqing’s reaction, the Empress quickly composed her thoughts and said calmly, “Fourteenth Sister realized something was wrong and went back to save you. She might have been pushed into the lake by the culprit as well… Don’t worry, Fourteenth Sister has been placed in another room, and the imperial physicians are treating her now.”
Princess Fuqing struggled to get up: “I want to see Fourteenth Sister.”
The Empress firmly held her down: “How can you go in this condition? Things are chaotic enough. Do you really want to worry your mother more?”
“His Majesty has arrived—”
Hearing this announcement, the Empress felt immensely relieved. She quickly instructed the palace maids to take care of Princess Fuqing and hurried out to greet the Emperor.
“How are they?” As soon as he saw the Empress, Emperor Jingming asked impatiently.
The Empress lowered her voice and said, “Fuqing has woken up. As for Fourteenth Sister… the imperial physician says she’s already gone…”
Emperor Jingming’s face instantly turned ashen. He gritted his teeth and said, “Take me to see her!”
Emperor Jingming stood before the Fourteenth Princess, speechless for a long time.
At this moment, a palace servant hurriedly came to report: “The Prince and Princess of Yan have arrived.”