Everyone only felt a blur before their eyes. Vaguely, a figure flashed by and rushed straight towards the place where Xie Fengran had fallen into the water.
When they fixed their eyes, who else could it be but Qin Junxing?
They saw him gently tap his toes on the fallen leaves floating on the water. In a short while, he reached Xie Fengran's side and lifted her up just before she fell into the water.
That's right - lifted!
In all her years, Xie Fengran had never been grabbed by the collar and flown through the air like this.
She fought hard to suppress the urge to scream, closed her eyes, and cursed the prince in her heart.
She hadn't asked him to save her. Who wanted to be saved by having their collar grabbed!
Fortunately, although Qin Junxing's actions were rather unreliable, his skills were quite reliable. He put her down before she could scream.
As soon as Xie Fengran landed, the Fourth Princess and the Crown Prince surrounded her.
"Sister Xie, how are you? Are you hurt?"
"Miss Xie, are you okay? Someone, summon the imperial physician!"
Xie Fengran supported the Fourth Princess's hand and stood up. She shook her head to indicate that she was fine, then turned around and looked at the prince standing aside!
There was a hint of anger in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said, "Fengran is grateful to the prince for saving my life."
Qin Junxing looked at the girl opposite. Clearly, her eyes were filled with rage, and she wished she could pounce on him and bite him to death. But she still endured it and apologized to him with a charming smile.
Xie Fengran thought: Bullshit. It was clearly a forced smile!
The corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up. He said with a bit of malice, "You're welcome, Miss Xie. It's just a piece of cake. Considering Miss Xie's reputation, I lifted the girl up. I hope the girl doesn't mind?"
His tone was sincere, and his attitude was earnest, as if he really had Xie Fengran's best interests in mind!
Xie Fengran looked at his innocent expression and was so angry that she laughed.
She was sure that this guy was secretly overjoyed. He did it on purpose!
She hadn't asked him to save her!
Xie Fengran gritted her teeth and endured the urge to scratch his face.
She forced a smile that she thought was sincere and said, "Your Highness the prince is too kind. Am I the kind of person who can't tell right from wrong? I will never forget the great kindness the prince showed me today. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will surely repay you!"
However, judging from her tone, it was hard to say how this repayment would go!
But Qin Junxing had come from the military camp. He wasn't afraid of Xie Fengran's little sarcasm.
He not only accepted it all but also said kindly, "No problem. If Miss Xie wants to repay me, just agree when I come to propose marriage another day."
Such shameless words. Not only did Xie Fengran find them unbearable, but even the Fourth Princess couldn't stand it. "Cousin, you're taking advantage of the situation."
Qin Junxing raised his eyebrows and waved his finger at the Fourth Princess. "You're wrong, Fourth Sister. Cousin is just giving Miss Xie a chance to repay me."
The Fourth Princess looked at him doubtfully. Just as she was about to say something, the Crown Prince interrupted her.
"Alright, stop talking. Miss Xie has been frightened. Fourth Sister, take Miss Xie to rest and wait for the palace banquet tonight."
The Fourth Princess was also afraid that her cousin would say something even more outrageous. She quickly pulled Xie Fengran away.
This time, the Third Princess didn't dare to stop them. Not only did she not stop them, but she also shrank behind the Second Prince, wishing that everyone would forget about her!
Unfortunately, the Crown Prince was still there!
After the others had walked away, the Crown Prince's face darkened. He scanned the people present expressionlessly, and finally his gaze fell on the Third Princess.
The Third Princess felt the Crown Prince's gaze and couldn't help but shiver. She took a step back.
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. Even the Second Prince frowned and didn't say a word -
Until a guard came out of the lake with a few wet pieces of a broken bracelet, breaking the tense silence.
The eunuch beside the Crown Prince quickly went over, wrapped the fragments in a handkerchief, dried the water, and presented them to the Crown Prince. "Your Highness! These are the pieces of the bracelet the guard found in the lake. Please be careful."
The Crown Prince lowered his eyes and looked at the broken jade in front of him. He picked up a piece and played with it for a while. Then he slightly raised the corners of his eyes, glanced at the Third Princess, and put the piece back.
He asked, "Zhaoyang, do you know that this is the bracelet that Mother loves the most? She usually wears it on her hand."
"Yes, I, I..." The Third Princess regained her senses. Looking at the smile on the Crown Prince's lips, she almost blurted out the answer. But the Second Prince gave her a hard nudge, and she quickly changed her answer. "I don't know!"
"Oh~ You don't know?" The Crown Prince smiled and looked at the Third Princess. "But it doesn't really matter whether you know or not. It's just a bracelet."
After saying that, he turned around and told the people around him, "Take the Third Princess down and take good care of her."
"Yes!"
Two guards stepped forward and were about to take the Third Princess away.
Only then did the Third Princess feel afraid. She looked at the Crown Prince. "Brother, I really didn't do it on purpose. I didn't mean to push Xie Fengran. You have to believe me!"
The Crown Prince didn't stop walking and seemed not to hear her.
"Brother," the Second Prince suddenly said. "If Third Sister doesn't appear at the dinner, it will not only be Third Sister's disgrace."
How they behaved on ordinary days was one thing. But if this incident happened on a formal occasion, it would be a disgrace to the royal family.
If it got out of hand and the Emperor was angry, the Third Princess would be in trouble, and the Imperial Concubine who had raised the Third Princess would also be implicated.
So the Second Prince spoke up to stop them. Otherwise, he wouldn't care about the life or death of a mere Third Princess.
"Don't worry, Second Brother. I won't make a joke of the royal family's reputation."
The Crown Prince left this sentence and didn't stop walking.
He knew what the Second Prince was worried about, but he had more important things to do now.
It was easy to deal with a mere Qin Zhaoyang.
As for the more important thing -
"Cousin, do you really have to compete with me?"
The Crown Prince stopped beside Qin Junxing. He didn't look at him, but his cold words revealed his mood.
Qin Junxing straightened up, took a few steps forward, and stood beside the Crown Prince. He replied in the same tone, "Cousin, you two are not fated!"
At the beginning, they had even misidentified the person. They thought that just by beckoning and showing a little kindness, the girl would come back.
He could only say that the Crown Prince was too naive.
That girl wasn't as harmless as she seemed on the surface. Even that appearance of a gentle and ladylike girl was all an act.
Her face was full of a look of being flattered, and even her eyes were full of gratitude.
But as soon as she turned around, the only thing left in her bright eyes was mockery. Poor Crown Prince actually thought she wanted to marry into the royal family?
The Crown Prince turned his head and gave Qin Junxing a cold look. Without saying a word, he strode away.
Qin Junxing looked in the direction where the Crown Prince had left.
After a while, he lowered his eyes.
Compete?
That little girl who was so good at pretending was the one he had met first. How could it be called competing?
Moreover, if he hadn't misseen just now, it was that girl who had used the push from Qin Zhaoyang to smash the bracelet against the railing and break it.
Poor Crown Prince didn't even know that he had been disliked!
"Humph, little girl. Since you don't want to marry into the royal family, this prince will have to help you out!"