The new emperor's first decree upon ascending the throne was to forcibly take his cousin as his

After this incident, I lost all interest in boating on the lake.

As the noble ladies disembarked, Ruan Xianrong caught sight of someone who looked flustered and clearly still shaken.

"Xue Jingshu".

"Huh?" Xue Jingshu looked startled and immediately turned her head away guiltily.

She stepped forward and grabbed the person.

"Miss Xue, what are you so nervous about?"

Xue Jingshu's expression changed. "Who...who's nervous?"

"You're nervous right now."

Ruan Xianrong scrutinized her for a moment, then sneered, "You weren't the one who pushed Miaoyin down, were you?"

"You're talking nonsense! What does her falling into the water have to do with me? Ruan Xianrong, stop spouting nonsense! Let go!"

"Whether it's slander or not, an investigation will tell."

The fact that he made things difficult for Miaoyin at the last hunting grounds makes it hard not to be suspicious.

He dragged the person to the princes.

Xue Jingshu was trembling violently, and Ruan Xianrong didn't know what to say.

You're so timid, yet you still dare to do bad things. You've already been exposed, you know that?

Without even needing to be verbally questioned, Xie Chengming's face darkened, and he was so frightened that he blurted out everything.

"I didn't mean to, I really didn't mean to..."

"I... I just wanted to make things difficult for her, I didn't mean to hurt her."

"I didn't mean to harm her, so how did she fall into the lake? Xue Jingshu, as a daughter of a marquis, why are you making things difficult for a maid?"

Xue Jingshu bit her lip and secretly looked up in the direction of Prince Yong.

But very quickly, he lowered his head again.

Ruan Xianrong noticed it, raised an eyebrow, and thought, "Oh ho, there's a story here."

Could it be that Xue Jingshu has feelings for Prince Yong?

what?

She was a little confused.

In the book, Xue Jingshu is the Crown Prince's concubine, and she even married into the family voluntarily. How could she have developed feelings for Prince Yong?

If she has always loved Prince Yong, then wouldn't the male lead be...?

Tsk, a whole green grassland on your head.

Unfortunately, Prince Yong was destined to become a monk, and he was so celibate that he never even held a woman's hand.

This shows that Miaoyin is being treated as a rival in love.

Silly child, your rival in love is Buddha, the Buddha statues and scriptures in the temple, not a maid.

Furthermore, Prince Yong was a compassionate man, and upon hearing Miaoyin's words, he often brought people to his residence.

If they saw someone selling themselves to bury their father on the street, they would bring them back; if they saw someone begging on the street, they would also bring them back.

The servants in Prince Yong's mansion today are all people he picked up. They live in most of the mansion, and there are men, women, young and old.

After hearing this, she felt that none of the emperor's sons were normal.

After the people were taken off the boat, the atmosphere on the pleasure boat became subtle.

The second prince, with a stern face, whispered a few words to the guard beside him, who then obeyed and left.

The Third Prince, Xie Chengli, glanced at Ruan Xianrong with a half-smile, "Cousin Ruan's composure in the face of danger is truly admirable."

Ruan Xianrong curtsied: "Your Highness is too kind. Human life is at stake, and I was just anxious."

Prince Yong stepped forward to thank her, "Thank you very much, Miss Ruan, for today."

The lake tour ended abruptly.

On the way back to the city, Ruan Zhaolin remained silent the entire way.

Upon returning to the Ruan residence, they went straight into the main courtyard.

Madam Ruan was looking at portraits of eligible men in the capital with Granny Kong when he rushed in.

"Mother, I have something I want to ask you."

*

Prince Yong's Mansion.

When Miaoyin returned from the clinic, Prince Yong was still worried and summoned the imperial physician to take her pulse. Only after confirming that she was alright did he finally feel relieved.

"Your Highness has gone to great lengths."

Prince Yong regained his usual gentle demeanor, "You are a member of my household, so naturally I must fulfill my responsibilities."

"However, it was the Ruan siblings who saved you today. Once you're better, you should go and thank them in person."

"Did Miss Ruan save me again?"

Prince Yong lowered his eyes. "Today, it was Young Master Ruan who pulled you out of the water; many people saw it."

"You were lifeless when we came up here, and it was Miss Ruan who brought you back to life, but the process was a bit..."

Miaoyin understood what he meant.

But that's not important. What's important is that Miss Ruan saved her once again.

She truly didn't know how to repay the life-saving grace.

Thinking of this, he slowly got up, knelt down in front of Prince Yong, and kowtowed.

"Your Highness has been very kind to me, but I have no way to repay Miss Ruan's life-saving grace. I can only serve as a servant and maid for the rest of my life."

Prince Yong sighed, "Have you thought it through?"

Miaoyin nodded. "I've thought it through."

Prince Yong said slowly, "Since that's the case, I won't stop you. However, I'm afraid that what happened today will cause some unpleasant rumors to spread outside."

The person returned at noon, and before dark, the news had spread throughout Kyoto.

Within three days, the whole city was abuzz with the news that the young master Ruan had publicly embraced the woman who had fallen into the water, and that the young lady of the Ruan family had even kissed her.

That scene was utterly indecent.

Ruan Xianrong lost her first kiss, but she didn't seem to care. However, Yin Que kept talking about it these past two days.

"You have no idea what's being spread outside; it's getting more and more absurd."

There were even storybooks that told of the Ruan siblings fighting over a woman, and how Miaoyin, though conflicted, ultimately decided to elope with her brother.

It is also said that in the end, the girl Miaoyin took both the brother and sister in as her own, and they began a happy life together as a trio.

It's simply...unbearable to hear!

Ruan Xianrong really didn't expect the story to spread like this, becoming the talk of the town and impossible to suppress.

Thinking about it carefully, although it was to save someone, she lost her first kiss.

But the other party is an absolute beauty, so it seems she's not at a disadvantage.

What she cared about most was that the day she saved someone made her famous in Kyoto.

She had kept a low profile for over a decade, and now all her hard work had been for nothing.

It seems I won't be able to go out anytime soon.

Yinque, worried that she might get bored staying cooped up in the room, brought over the account books. "Miss, the estate has sent over this summer's account books. Would you like to take a look?"

This year, her farm had a good harvest. Besides distributing it to her employees, she also earned a lot from selling fruit.

"The same old rule applies: after everyone's monthly allowance is paid, the rest will be saved."

Zhuangzi's income is good this year, and her plan to retire in comfort is coming soon.

It's been several months since the male lead left Beijing. With his departure, his relationship with the female lead will be delayed for a while.

Can't we meet today and get married tomorrow?

She calculated the days ahead, and at the latest, the female lead should be able to go home next year.

She would leave voluntarily, stay on the estate for a while, and then go to Jiangnan when the weather warmed up, far away from the main battlefield, never to return.

She was a northerner in modern times, and her favorite place was a Jiangnan town with the scenery of "spring waters and clear rain, painted boats listening to the rain and sleeping".

I didn't have the chance in my past life, but I don't want to miss it in this one.

So, God help me, the male and female leads must be locked together forever!