He Zhiyu looked at the lake, which was as smooth as a mirror, its surface betraying nothing of the drama beneath, and narrowed his deep eyes slightly. A chilling silence hung in the air.
Qiao Yihuan said anxiously, her voice laced with rising panic, "Your Highness, please send Jingyuan to rescue Wanyan! Wanyan is still in the water!"
Jingyuan, a statue of unwavering loyalty, looked at his master, his expression unreadable, seemingly waiting for orders that felt agonizingly delayed.
"Thump."
Without a word, He Zhiyu cast off his opulent fox fur cloak, the soft thud swallowed by the oppressive quiet, and plunged into the frigid depths.
"Your Highness!!!" Qiao Yihuan stood there, paralyzed by disbelief, her mind struggling to process the impulsive act she had just witnessed. The seconds stretched into an eternity.
If Zi Yuan were here, she would just said, "Those imbeciles! Her young lady can swim. She learned it from her cousin back in Yongzhou!"
Yes, the original Wanyan can swim, a cruel irony not lost on the current Wanyan, who was rapidly running out of time.
Wanyan, fighting the encroaching darkness, frantically tried to recall what happened next in the plot. She clung to the flimsy reassurance that she wouldn't die, but the icy grip of fear tightened with each passing moment. What happened next? Please, what happens next?!
Her lungs burned, her thoughts fragmented, and the biting cold clawed at her senses, threatening to extinguish them completely.
The deceptively gentle water enveloped her, her dark hair and long dress billowing around her like a shroud, transforming her into a hauntingly beautiful specter, a vision that momentarily captivated He Zhiyu as he descended into the depths.
Qiao Wanyan's eyes were squeezed shut, her brow furrowed in a silent scream. Deprived of oxygen, her body betrayed her, her arms flailing weakly as she desperately reached out for salvation. A stream of bubbles escaped her lips, her last breath ascending to the world above as she succumbed to the pull of the abyss.
This is it. This is how it ends.
Seeing this, a surge of adrenaline pierced through He Zhiyu's composure. His heart hammered against his ribs, and he propelled himself downwards, a desperate race against time.
Qiao Wanyan had taken good care of herself for many years, and her slender figure, combined with her lightness in the water, made her seem as delicate as a feather the moment He Zhiyu grasped her wrist.
Qiao Wanyan, who had been lively and smiling sweetly earlier, had fainted and was completely devoid of any lively expression now.
He Zhiyu pulled her close with force, released her wrist, and embraced her slender waist, swimming towards the surface of the water.
He Zhiyu was always a cool and self-possessed person, as clear as the first snow after a storm, but at this moment, as he held the unconscious Qiao Wanyan, he had only one thought in his mind.
Her waist is so slim.
Are all women's waists this thin?
They both floated to the surface of the lake. Qiao Yi Huan saw the two of them come up and also walked to the lakeside.
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
Although Jingyuan, being a man, disliked Miss Qiao, he knew she would be soaking wet when she came up, and as a man and a guard of the Crown Prince, he absolutely could not bear to look at her.
He turned his back to the lake and silently observed his surroundings.
He Zhiyu escorted Qiao Wanyan to the lake before going ashore.
Qiao Yihuan felt a pang of heartache. The lake water was so cold; the Crown Prince was afraid he would catch a cold if he went into the water like that.
Wan Yan is the same; she'll definitely be bedridden once more after recovering from a cold. Her delicate constitution simply couldn't withstand such a shock.
Qiao Yihuan handed the cloak to He Zhiyu, "Your Highness, please put this on quickly. If you, of noble birth, were to catch a cold because of this, it would truly be a sin for the Qiao family."
He Zhiyu took the cloak, but instead of draping it over himself, he turned his gaze away and squatted down to cover Qiao Wanyan with it.
The ground was still covered with a layer of snow, each flake a tiny reminder of the biting cold she had just endured. He Zhiyu picked her up, cradling her close, and hid her shivering form within the warm folds of his cloak. Then he cleanly and efficiently helped her drain the lake water she had accidentally swallowed.
After coughing painfully a few times, her chest heaving with the effort, Qiao Wanyan slowly opened her eyes. A faint blue tinge lingered around her lips, a stark testament to her brush with death.
Her eyes were misty with tears as she looked around, her body trembling slightly from shock. Once she was sure she was still alive, she buried her face in He Zhiyu's chest and broke down in tears.
Wahhh, I'm still alive. She really thought she was going to die.