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The moment her body left the water, the man on the lake disappeared. Liu Yuansheng instinctively reached out to grab him, but was scolded by the person holding her, "Don't move! If you move again, I'll throw you back into the lake."

She was taken aback, and only then did she recognize Xiao Jinghan.

Xiao Jinghan quickly left the lakeside and placed Liu Yuansheng on a barren patch of land. "Weren't you here to visit Abbess Jing'an? What happened to you in the lake?"

Liu Yuansheng's skirt was soaked by the lake water, and she couldn't help but shiver when the mountain wind blew.

She didn't speak. Although Xiao Jinghan had rescued her, her soul seemed to still be in that lake, taken away by that illusory figure.

"No wonder your maid said you were acting strangely, that something bad was about to happen, and that she rushed me here to find you." Xiao Jinghan quickly took off his outer robe, wringing out water as he teased Liu Yuansheng, "I'm really curious, what exactly did that Abbess Jing'an say to you? It was almost enough to make you give up on life, so heartbroken that you ran to drown yourself in the lake."

Liu Yuansheng slowly came to her senses amidst Xiao Jinghan's sarcastic words, "I didn't want to drown myself in the lake."

"If you didn't drown, then you went for a bath? Or went fishing?" Xiao Jinghan gathered some dry branches, took out his tinderbox, and lit it. "Do you know that if I had arrived a moment later, you would already be at the bottom of the water, beyond saving?"

After speaking, he raised his head and glanced at Liu Yuansheng.

Her face was very pale, her eyes were sad and blank, revealing a trace of despair as if she had seen through the world.

Her hair was wet and wrapped around her slender waist. Her clothes below the chest were completely soaked. When the cold wind blew, she shivered like a leaf.

Xiao Jinghan shook his head, quickly igniting the flames, and said, "I have no intention of prying into your thoughts, but there's an old saying that goes, 'It's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death.' Once you're dead, you really have nothing left."

The flames lit up Liu Yuansheng's dark and unfathomable eyes, finally bringing a glimmer of life to them.

She hugged herself tightly and instinctively moved closer to the campfire. "I didn't drown myself. I did think about ending it all, but what happened today was truly an accident."

After speaking, she lowered her head and said to Xiao Jinghan with deep apology, "In any case, Your Highness, thank you for saving me."

"No need to thank me." Xiao Jinghan hung his outer robe on a branch and warmed it over the fire. "If you die, won't I become a widower? Wouldn't Yan Ji and the others laugh their heads off?"

Three cunningly smiling faces immediately flashed through Liu Yuansheng's mind. "Did Ying'er send the young master to find me?" Liu Yuansheng looked around. "Where is she?"

"She has short legs and runs slowly, so I left her behind," Xiao Jinghan said. "I was originally heading straight for Shuiyue Nunnery, but I happened to pass by this lake and stopped to take a look. I never expected to run into you."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly and continued, "My mother drowned in the lake. If you were to drown in the lake too, I would really need to find a master to help me see if I am destined to be a solitary star."

Liu Yuansheng rubbed his arms.

She couldn't explain her actions, but she worried that Xiao Jinghan would be reminded of his mother who drowned in the lake because of her, and that the sight of her would trigger his grief.

"With his grandmother's love and his father's protection, how could the young master have such an ominous fate?" She tried to comfort Xiao Jinghan. "Besides, if the lady in heaven is watching over him, she will surely bless the young master with a blessed and prosperous life."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinghan laughed heartily and said, "You don't need to comfort me. If I were still so upset, I would have already drowned myself in the lake before you."

He stood up and handed the dried outer robe to Liu Yuansheng. "Here, put this on."

Having removed his outer robe, Xiao Jinghan was left in only a black cross-collar straight robe, which clung to his well-proportioned body, outlining his tall and muscular appearance.

His long, half-tied ponytail slid down his ape-like back and onto his slender arms. The red string tied around his wrist was soaked with sweat, and the once neatly tied bow had come undone.

Liu Yuansheng looked up at Xiao Jinghan, somewhat hesitant.

"Wear it!" Xiao Jinghan said. "What? You think my clothes aren't clean enough?"

"No, no." Liu Yuansheng quickly took Xiao Jinghan's outer robe and slowly draped it over her shoulders. "Thank you, Your Highness."

Seeing that Liu Yuansheng had wrapped himself up like a little dumpling in his outer robe, Xiao Jinghan finally sat down.

Liu Yuansheng suddenly spoke up to stop him, "Your Highness."

Xiao Jinghan froze, remaining in a half-sitting position, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Let me put the red string back on you," Liu Yuansheng said. "It's about to come undone."

Xiao Jinghan reached out and saw that, sure enough, the bright red little thing was about to fall off his wrist.

He picked up the red string and laughed, "It's good that you found it in time. If this had been lost, Grandma would have grabbed my ear and scolded me for being unfilial."

As he spoke, he reached out and handed the red rope to Liu Yuansheng.

Xiao Jinghan's hands were exceptionally beautiful, with long, slender fingers, distinct knuckles, and a powerful presence. Liu Yuansheng's gaze swept over that large, jade-like hand, picked up the red string, and carefully placed it on Xiao Jinghan's wrist.

Xiao Jinghan followed her gaze the entire time. "Why didn't you tie a bow?"

He stared at the unremarkable single-character knot and said with dissatisfaction.

"You like bows?" Liu Yuansheng asked, puzzled, but quickly corrected him. "Is this okay?"

Xiao Jinghan fiddled with the bow on his wrist. "Okay, this looks good."

Liu Yuansheng tugged at the corners of her lips, then withdrew her hand back into Xiao Jinghan's outer robe. "I heard from my grandmother that among Madam's children, you are the most like her, and she loves you the most."

Mentioning his deceased mother, a bitter ripple appeared in Xiao Jinghan's eyes. "I was naughty and always made her angry."

Liu Yuansheng added bitterly, "Yan'er will probably be a mischievous child when he grows up."

Xiao Jinghan chuckled. "To be honest, I really miss that little brat after not seeing him for a day, but when I'm at the manor, I get annoyed whenever I hear him cry."

"I miss Yan'er too." Liu Yuansheng paused for a moment after saying this, her expression turned serious, and she nervously touched herself.

"What are you touching?" Xiao Jinghan asked. "A bug crawled into your clothes and is going to bite you?"

Liu Yuansheng ignored Xiao Jinghan. "Found it." She took out a small yellow talisman from her clothes. "This is a peace talisman I got for Yan'er. The Taoist priest said that it only works if a relative of the child wears it."

Upon hearing this, a fleeting trace of melancholy crossed Xiao Jinghan's face. "Didn't you ask for one for yourself?" he asked, taking the amulet.

Liu Yuansheng shook her head. "No."

"Next time, get one for yourself too," Xiao Jinghan teased her. "I think you need this even more than Yan'er."

Liu Yuansheng didn't respond to Xiao Jinghan's words. His expression darkened, and he hesitated before saying, "Young Master, I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead," Xiao Jinghan said readily.

Liu Yuansheng slowly raised her eyes, her expression filled with obvious tension and anticipation, and said, "Have you heard that a while ago in Yuzhou, an official unfortunately fell into the Lanjiang River and drowned while investigating a case?"