Seeing that Qin Rushuang was in danger, Xie Xun became anxious and moved a little closer to Qin Rushuang. The officials protecting him immediately became anxious!
"My lord, be careful!"
"My lord, don't go there! It's dangerous on the other side!"
…
During this delay, the waves in the lake made another "crash" sound, and the boat was shaken like a leaf of duckweed in the huge waves.
Qin Rushuang was really unsteady on her feet this time, and the fingers holding the armrest turned pale.
Xie Xun ignored the officials' obstruction, pushed aside the officials guarding him with one hand, walked quickly to Qin Rushuang, and held her in his arms.
"pay close attention!"
Being hugged by Xie Xun, Qin Rushuang breathed a sigh of relief.
Xie Xun looked around. The guards who had been surrounding Honglin Lake had already entered the water to prepare for rescue when they saw something happened in the lake. At this moment, several people had swam to the painting studio.
He assessed the situation around him, lowered his head and said to Qin Rushuang: "Hold me tightly."
When life and death were at stake, Qin Rushuang didn't care much. She hugged Xie Xun's waist tightly and leaned against him.
Xie Xun calculated the distance from the boat to the lake, turned to several officials and said: "Protect the Fourth Prince!"
After saying that, he raised his inner strength and performed Qinggong to fly up from the boat.
Around Xie Xun and Qin Rushuang, there were many guards swimming from all directions. Xie Xun used his skill to tap on the guards' shoulders and rushed to the shore with Qin Rushuang in a few clicks.
After arriving at the shore, Xie Xun gently patted Qin Rushuang on the shoulder, "Don't be afraid, it's safe."
Qin Rushuang realized it and hurriedly distanced herself from him.
Qin Rushuang looked at Xie Xun, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Xie Xun nodded, turned around and used Qinggong to rush towards the boat. There were many officials and the fourth prince on the boat, waiting for him to rescue them.
Qin Rushuang watched Xie Xun pick up many people again and again, and the rest were also picked up from the boat by the guards who knew how to swim.
Fortunately, the guards acted quickly. Just after everyone reached the shore, the huge waves in the lake became bigger and bigger. The keel of the boat actually cracked with a "click" and the entire boat sank into the water.
The people on the side were so frightened that they knelt down and begged for mercy, kowtowing desperately.
"The Dragon King is angry! The Dragon King is angry!"
"Lord Dragon, have mercy on me! Have mercy on me!"
Qin Rushuang and Xie Xun looked at each other and realized that this matter was not simple.
It's just that there are too many people at the moment, so we can only wait and discuss it later.
Because royal people often came to visit Honglin Lake, a small palace was built beside the lake.
After experiencing the incident of falling into the water, the officials were all frightened. Xie Xun took the initiative and arranged all the officials to the palace and ordered his servants to quickly boil hot water and make ginger soup.
Qin Rushuang was also taken to a comfortable room. She had just taken a hot bath and drank the ginger soup sent by Qingzhi, when Xie Xun came.
"How are you? Are you feeling unwell? There are several doctors in the palace. I will order someone to take a look at you later."
Xie Xun's caring expression didn't seem to be fake. Qin Rushuang shook her head hurriedly: "Let's check on the Fourth Prince and the adults first. I'm fine."
She really didn't need it. As early as when something went wrong on the boat, she was already the first to be taken ashore by Xie Xun.
Not to mention my body, except for the upper part of my shoes that was a little wet, my whole body didn't touch any water.
Xie Xun nodded: "That's good."
God knows how anxious he felt when he saw Qin Rushuang in danger just now.
Again, Qin Rushuang is a person who reciprocates kindness. Xie Xun saved her once today. Naturally, she has to solve the big problem of Honglin Lake for Xie Xun.
Although the person who was ordered to conduct the sacrifice today was the fourth prince, Xie Xun also had the responsibility of assisting him. If this matter was not handled properly, both princes would be reprimanded by the emperor and inevitably impeached by the official.
After sending all the servants around him out, Qin Rushuang asked: "My lord, I'm afraid this matter is not simple. Is it related to the dispute between the previous dynasty?"
Xie Xun nodded, "I really can't hide it from you."
Qin Rushuang pondered for a moment, then asked tentatively, "Is it because of the appointment of the crown prince?"
Qin Rushuang has not paid attention to the disputes in the court for a long time, but it is not difficult to deduce from this matter that it must be related to several princes.
Xie Xun didn't want to hide anything from Qin Rushuang, so he explained: "The prince's health was not well a few days ago and he coughed up blood."
The prince mentioned by Xie Xun was the child of the late empress and the emperor's first child. He was established as the crown prince early on.
However, after the death of the empress, the prince became seriously ill and his health has not been good. He has been ill for three days and one illness for two days. A few days ago, he was diagnosed with coughing up blood.
This is obviously a sign of short life.
Qin Rushuang was a little surprised, "But wasn't the prince responsible for the first sacrifice?"
"Because the prince was diagnosed to be in poor health, my father thought that he might be able to receive the blessing of the real dragon by letting him organize sacrifices, but he didn't expect that his condition would become more serious after he returned."
Qin Rushuang raised her eyebrows, "Then there must be another rumor that the prince is short-lived and is not the true dragon's choice."
Xie Xun did not deny it.
In the past, the prince had always held the position of crown prince, and the disputes between the other princes were not obvious. Now that the prince was diagnosed as likely to die soon, the other princes could not sit still.
"In your opinion, who does this accident happen to be?"
Xie Xun shook his head: "It's hard to say. The disputes between the various families are not obvious on the surface, but secretly they have already taken sides."
Qin Rushuang was silent.
Now, there are only a few princes in Da Qi's prime.
The prince is in poor health;
The second prince Xie Xun is stationed at the border all year round and is not close to the ministers in the court;
The third prince was obsessed with poetry and songs, and was not interested in the affairs of the previous dynasty at all, but his mother-in-law, Concubine Yao, was indeed the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Household Affairs;
The fourth prince has become a popular figure in recent years because he recognized his grandfather Xiao Shan, the left prime minister.
There is also a fifth prince who is just eighteen this year. He is usually very reserved. Because his mother's family is in decline, few people stand by him.
Qin Rushuang thought about it for a while, but couldn't figure out whose handiwork it was.
In her opinion, the most likely person to compete for the throne is the ambitious fourth prince, and the fourth prince has the support of the left prime minister.
But according to today's situation, both the fourth prince and Xie Xun were set up.
The prince is seriously ill, the third prince has no interest in government affairs, and the fifth prince's mother's family is in decline...
So who else might be behind this incident?
"It really doesn't work. We can only investigate the case of the girl who fell into the water."
When Qin Rushuang heard this, she knew that Xie Xun must have some information that she didn't know about, so she immediately asked: "Does the prince know what is fishy about this?"
"Counting the first woman who fell into the water at the beginning of this spring, thirty-eight women have fallen into the water, but only the body of the one who fell into the water at the beginning, and the bones of the others have not been left."
"Are those girls not dead?"
Xie Xun nodded, "It's very possible."
However, when Qin Rushuang heard the news, she was not happy at all and instead fell silent.
Young women suddenly disappear, and what awaits them may be something more terrifying than death.
