His anxious shout was like a massive stone crashing into a lake, throwing the entire gathering of guests into an uproar.
The hearty smile on Ye Gengxin’s face instantly froze. He widened his eyes and demanded angrily, “How did Prince Cheng end up in the pond for no reason?”
Then he barked, “What are you standing around for? Prince Cheng has a leg disability! Hurry and see whether he’s all right!”
Seeing him lead people toward the pond, the visiting officials followed one after another. Although most of them were confused about how Prince Cheng, who was unable to walk because of his disabled legs, could have fallen into the pond, this sort of spectacle was absolutely not to be missed…
The Wei Family also hurried toward the pond with the officials.
Wei Yonghuai in particular ran the fastest. Before long, he was right behind Ye Gengxin.
As for what was happening at the pond—
Having calculated the timing based on her previous life, Ye Shishu had just reached the pond when she saw a man struggling in the water. Although she was not familiar with Prince Cheng, she recognized him at a glance: the man in the water was Prince Cheng, Yuchi Ling!
Remembering everything that had happened in her previous life, she leaped into the pond without the slightest hesitation and swam desperately toward the man, wrapping both arms tightly around his waist—
But in the very next moment, her eyes widened uncontrollably. She stared at the scar on the man’s face, which was on the verge of falling off, and suddenly became completely flustered.
Everyone in the capital knew that a year ago, Prince Cheng had returned from the battlefield. Not only had his legs been crippled, leaving him unable to stand and walk, but even his peerless features—once praised by all—had been ruined beyond recognition on the battlefield.
In her previous life, she had seen the scar on Prince Cheng’s face. Stretching from the corner of his left eye to the lower right side of his chin, the long, diagonal scar was hideous and terrifying. It was enough to make people tremble in fear as though they had seen a ghost, even in broad daylight.
But at this moment, could someone please tell her what was going on with this scar that was about to fall off Prince Cheng’s face?!
And there was more!
The instant she wrapped her arms around his waist, his legs moved rhythmically in the water, flexing and extending with force. Because her appearance had been so sudden, his legs had not stopped in time and even struck her once!
How could a pair of legs that had supposedly lost the ability to walk move so powerfully in the water?!
The horrifying sensation of having discovered a shocking secret shot straight through Ye Shishu’s crown chakra…
At the same time, the man stared at her in stunned silence. Astonishment suddenly flashed through his cold black eyes, as if he had never expected someone to appear out of nowhere and leap into the pond to save him without regard for her own safety.
A series of footsteps came from the bank.
Ye Shishu came back to herself. She freed one hand from his waist and swiftly pressed the nearly detached scar back onto his face.
The man stiffened again, this time even more violently.
“Prince, put your arms around me. I’ll take you up!” Without looking at his expression, Ye Shishu continued holding his waist with one arm and swam toward the bank.
“Shuer!”
“Shuer!”
The anxious voices of Ye Gengxin and Wei Yonghuai rang out from the bank at the same time.
When they saw that she had brought Prince Cheng to the shore, the two men shoved aside the servants at the water’s edge and worked together to pull her and Prince Cheng ashore.
“Prince Cheng, are you all right?” Seeing that Prince Cheng was limp and exhausted, Ye Gengxin immediately ordered the old steward, “Hao Fu, call the Household Physician!”
Then he personally lifted Prince Cheng into his arms and ran toward the nearest courtyard.
Looking at her father’s tall, sturdy back, then at the slender Prince Cheng held in his arms, Ye Shishu’s eyelid twitched faintly. Under the watchful eyes of the officials gathered around to enjoy the spectacle, she felt not only that the scene was absurd but also inexplicably creeped out.
She did not understand why Prince Cheng would disguise himself as a cripple with a ruined appearance.
After the empress’s death, his mother, Noble Consort Lan, had taken charge of the imperial harem and overshadowed all the other consorts. He himself had established a reputation in his youth and repeatedly earned military victories. His literary and martial talents were even greater than those of the current Crown Prince. With his own accomplishments and Noble Consort Lan as his backing, why would he go so far as to make himself look like a fallen and broken man?
“Shuer, are you all right? Are you badly hurt?” A man’s concerned voice came from beside her.
Ye Shishu turned her eyes toward him and nearly spat the pond water she had swallowed right into his face!
The events of her previous life remained vivid in her mind. Seeing the hypocritical face of this beast in human form once again, Ye Shishu even felt that Prince Cheng’s ugly, scarred face was remarkably handsome by comparison.
Seeing the icy expression on her face, Wei Yonghuai assumed she had caught a chill from falling into the water and was about to reach out to support her.
Dong Qiao came running over in a panic and reached her first. “Miss, how did you end up here? I didn’t find you when I returned to the courtyard, and then I heard that you had gone into the water. You frightened me half to death! Miss, you’re soaked through. Hurry back inside, and don’t catch a chill!”
With Dong Qiao supporting her, Ye Shishu headed toward the nearest courtyard without looking back.
Her father had carried Prince Cheng there, so she happened to have something to discuss with him…
In the room next to the one where Prince Cheng was resting, Ye Shishu changed into the clean clothes Dong Qiao had brought her. When she heard that Prince Cheng had refused treatment from the Household Physician, she was not surprised in the slightest.
Ye Gengxin, however, was extremely nervous. He kept urging Prince Cheng to put his health first and not catch a chill from falling into the water.
The two guards who accompanied Prince Cheng had come from somewhere, and they politely declined Ye Gengxin’s goodwill. They even intended to take Prince Cheng away.
Ye Shishu listened to their conversation from the other side of the wall.
She knew Prince Cheng’s true condition and was worried that Ye Gengxin’s good intentions might backfire and expose Prince Cheng’s secret. Thus, she went into Prince Cheng’s room and immediately dropped to her knees, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Father, I know why you invited guests today. But after what happened today, Prince Cheng and I have had physical contact. If I marry someone else, not only will it bring shame upon the Wei Family, it will also cause people to criticize our General’s Manor. Therefore, I beg you, Father—break off my engagement to Wei Yonghuai!”
Ye Gengxin was already worried about Prince Cheng’s condition. If anything happened to him, he would have no way to answer to the Emperor and Noble Consort Lan.
Faced with his daughter’s sudden request to break off her engagement, he was utterly stunned for a moment. “Shuer… you… you want to break off the engagement?”
Ye Shishu raised her head and glanced at Prince Cheng on the bed before declaring firmly, “Father, Prince Cheng and I have had physical contact. I can no longer marry anyone else. I can only marry Prince Cheng!”
On the bed, Yuchi Ling’s thin lips pressed into a straight line. His tightly narrowed eyes fixed coldly on her.
The two guards beside the bed were both dumbfounded, as if they had just heard some earth-shattering news.
Ye Gengxin scolded her, “Nonsense! Your marriage to Yonghuai was arranged by your mother and Madam Wei. You two are to marry and live a harmonious life together—that was your mother’s dying wish. How could you simply break off the engagement because you say so?”
Even setting aside the fact that it had been his late wife’s dying wish, even if his daughter had not been betrothed to the Wei Family, he could never allow her to marry a cripple like Prince Cheng!
Wasn’t Ye Shishu’s purpose in jumping into the water and saving Prince Cheng today precisely to make a fuss over this incident and then break off her engagement to Wei Yonghuai?
Knowing that her father would have difficulty accepting it at once, she had naturally prepared a response. She rose from the floor and lunged toward Prince Cheng on the bed. Wrapping her arms around the prince whose face had darkened, she turned her head toward Ye Gengxin and said, “Father, whether you agree or not, I am determined to marry Prince Cheng! There is something I have never told you: Prince Cheng is a hero of Great Ye. I have admired him since I was a child. Even though Prince Cheng has become the way he is now, my admiration for him is as firm as a rock. I will marry no one but him, and my love will never change!”
Ye Gengxin’s eyes widened enormously. After campaigning for many years, he had finally returned victorious. All he had thought about was arranging his daughter’s marriage to the Wei Family’s son so that he could fulfill his late wife’s dying wish.
Yet now he was being told that his daughter’s heart belonged to someone else…
“I refuse to agree to break off the engagement!”
An azure figure suddenly burst in, seething with anger.