After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

After a moment of weakness, I fell heavily into the pool.

Xiang An couldn't swim. Once in the water, his hands and feet felt like they didn't belong to him. He frantically waved his arms and kicked his legs underwater, desperately trying to surface for air. "Xiang... Xiang... Xin... Brother... Brother, save me..."

Standing on the bridge, Xiang Xin remained unmoved. He looked down at Xiang An, who was struggling in the water, with a faint smile on his lips.

He pushed it, and he was happy about it.

I knew I shouldn't have been soft-hearted towards this kind of pervert; now I've only gotten myself into trouble. Once I'm safe, I'll definitely kill him. As for the consequences, I don't want to worry about them anymore; that's not what I should be thinking about right now.

The pool was far from the crowd, and the loud string and wind instruments on the shore made shouting and yelling useless except for wasting energy.

Moreover, everyone on the shore is currently immersed in the joy of toasting and drinking, and no one will pass by in a short time. Ren Xueqing, the only one who knows she is here, has only left for a moment and would never have imagined that she would fall into the water in such a short time.

Suddenly, Xiang An remembered seeing a method of self-rescue that an ordinary person had used underwater. She quickly calmed down, slowly adjusted her breathing, relaxed her body and leaned back, stopped struggling, raised her hands above her head, shifted her center of gravity upward, and lay her body on her back on the water surface. She slightly raised her chin so that her mouth and nose were above the water.

They successfully floated on the water! Xiang Xin, who was on the bridge, turned and left upon seeing this.

Xiang An ignored him. It wasn't really safe yet, and it wasn't a good time for revenge. The water temperature wasn't cold on a summer night, but soaking in it for too long could easily lead to dehydration. Besides, the water was really too dark. If he encountered a water snake or bumped his head on something, he would be finished.

In fact, this is entirely due to fear. The pools that eunuchs and palace maids tend to every day would not have water snakes, but people in the dark will always unconsciously think of their deepest fears.

After resting for a while and regaining some strength, Xiang An no longer hesitated and shouted for help.

Suddenly, Xiang An felt something poking her waist. She slightly adjusted her angle to look over and saw Xiang Xin on the shore, hooking her with a long stick.

Xiang An's heart sank suddenly. He moved cautiously, trying to get away from the stick, but he could move much faster in the water than on solid ground.

The stick hooked onto her waistband and pulled her underwater in an instant, her mouth and nose, which were only a few inches above the water, were instantly submerged.

Distracted, his body began to fall uncontrollably. In a panic, he grabbed one end of a stick and, without thinking, used the stick to paddle towards the shore.

Soon, the hand that was paddling touched the stone, but the stone was covered with a layer of damp and slippery moss because it had been submerged in water for many years. After groping around on the stone for a while, the hand finally found a groove to barely stabilize itself. The other hand let go of the stick and tried to reach up the stone, but it couldn't reach the top.

What appears to be a short wall now seems to be thousands of feet high.

Xiang An recalled that the pool in the palace had been specially renovated, with high piles of stones on both sides of the pool, deliberately raised a lot above the ground to provide a place for the nobles in the palace to enjoy the scenery and rest.

In other words, the wall built on the shore is not high and can be easily climbed when you are on solid ground, but it is impossible to climb up in the water where there is no good foothold.

His heavy breathing echoed on the cold stone. His fingers, which were gripping the grooves in the stone, slowly went numb. His eyelids blinked slowly. Xiang An suppressed the stinging in his eyes and cursed inwardly, "Useless! He's not dead yet, what's he crying for!"

As she suppressed her emotions, a warm and strong hand suddenly grabbed her wrist from above, following the path of the stone.

Is Xiang Xin still not giving up and trying to push her into the middle of the pool?

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Xiang An grabbed the man's forearm with her other hand and tried to pull him down with her. Her tired, dejected eyes were filled with an unstoppable hatred, and only one thought remained in her mind: If we're going to die, let's die together.

"Don't be afraid, I've caught you." The clear, deep voice was like a refreshing splash of water, instantly washing away the gloomy thoughts that had been forming in Xiang Anmeng's mind.

Xiang An: "...You've arrived."

The muscles in her forearm were slightly bulging under her palm, as if a warm hand was pulling her up, the firm feeling making her feel dependent on it.

Her feet finally touched the ground, and the breath that had been pressing hard in Xiang An's chest suddenly dissipated. Her legs went weak, and she could no longer stand steadily. She took two steps back, but didn't fall. Fu Qingbai grabbed her arm firmly with one hand.

Before he could even say thank you, Yu Guangzhong realized that his waist belt had disappeared, and his loose clothes were hanging loosely. If his clothes hadn't been wet and clinging to his waist, he probably would have been completely stripped off while struggling underwater.

Xiang An gritted his teeth and thought to himself, "Damn Xiang Xin, he must have loosened my waistband earlier. I struggled and thrashed in the water for so long that my waistband, which was about to fall off, just drifted away with the water."

Fortunately, Xiao Ru had left an extra set of clothes in the carriage before leaving the manor today; otherwise, I don't know how I would have gotten out of the palace tonight.

Just as she was calculating how long it would take to run to and from the palace gate, a large, dry cloak suddenly fell onto her shoulders, covering her disheveled state after falling into the water. Then, the hand that was grabbing her arm naturally wrapped around her shoulder.

Fu Qingbai's sudden closeness made Xiang An frown slightly. Just as he reached out to push her away, a stern and cold voice rang out from directly in front of him.

"Fu Qingbai, do you really intend to do this?"

Xiang An turned his head in surprise. The emperor was standing three zhang away. A step behind him was Xiang Xin, who stood beside the emperor with a half-smile. The light and shadow on his cheeks were half bright and half dark. Behind them stood the guests who had come to the palace for the banquet that night. They lowered their heads and were as quiet as wood, not daring to utter a sound. Five or six palace maids and eunuchs stood scattered, each carrying a lantern. The weak candlelight swayed slightly in the night wind.

The hand that was resting on her shoulder slipped down and gently grasped Xiang An's hand, the warmth transferring from Fu Qingbai's hand to hers.

Xiang An: "Father Emperor—"

"Shut up!" the emperor hissed. Xiang An froze, momentarily forgetting to shake off Fu Qingbai's hand, staring blankly at the emperor's eyes, which were practically spitting fire at Fu Qingbai. "What kind of behavior is this!?"

“Your Majesty, the princess and I are completely innocent,” Fu Qingbai took a step forward, half of his body blocking Xiang An’s way and also blocking the two people’s hands that were still clenched. His straight back was like a pine tree, unafraid of the wind and cold, unafraid of the rain and snow. “Just now, my knees were hurting and I really couldn’t sit still. I was also reluctant to give up the good food and wine tonight and didn’t want to go home. So I thought I would leave the table and go for a walk.”

When we reached the bridge, we suddenly heard Princess Miankang calling for help after falling into the water. I stood on the bank and shouted a few times, but because the place was remote, no one heard me for half a cup of tea.

As the princess's cries for help in the pond grew fainter, I knew that if I delayed any longer, she would drown. However, my knee was injured, and I walk slowly. If I were to run back to my seat to call for help, it would be far too late.