The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Chapter 288 Exposing the Treacherous Scheme

Lai Li's maid was initially bewildered, but the icy lake water instantly brought her to her senses. Almost instinctively, she tried to swim to the shore, but Mu Ping scolded her, "How dare you! Hurry up and save the princess!"

The maid paused, seemingly only now fully waking up, and swam back to Riley, who was still calling for help.

"Anle?" A familiar voice sounded behind Jing Anle.

The person who arrived was Jing Fengyao. He had originally intended to find Jing Anle to inquire about her relationship with Qin Xu, but unexpectedly encountered her here. Just as Jing Fengyao was about to ask something, he looked up and noticed Laili and her servant struggling in the lake.

"Who is that?"

Before Jing Anle could speak, he heard Lai Li shout, "Your Highness, help!"

Even in this state, the fact that he could still see people clearly further confirmed Jing Anle's guess.

"It's Princess Laili, she fell into the lake." Jing Anle said casually, but Jing Fengyao knew the situation was serious. He ordered his men to rescue her. Even though they couldn't swim, they jumped in to save her and sent a few more people to find help.

After the maid swam to Riley's side, she seemed to have lost all her strength and became entangled with Riley. From a distance, it was impossible to see the two of them clearly; all that could be seen was that they had not yet sunk.

"What happened? How did she fall into the water?" Jing Fengyao frowned. He wasn't blaming Jing Anle, but because Laili was, after all, a princess of the Southern Frontier, and the daughter of Princess Yongping. Both publicly and privately, if something really happened to her, it would be difficult to handle.

“She deliberately fell into the water!” Jing Anle said with certainty, gazing at the lake.

"Ok?"

So Jing Anle recounted what had happened.

“A person who can’t swim will struggle desperately if they fall into the water and then sink to the bottom quickly. But look, brother, the princess has been in the water for so long and she hasn’t sunk yet. Instead, she’s been floating in the water. As for her maid, I saw her swimming very fast just now. She’s already close to the princess, but she’s still splashing around.”

Jing Fengyao looked towards Laili's direction, and the situation was exactly as Jing Anle had described.

"So what exactly does she want to do?"

Just then, a figure swam nimbly towards Laili like a dragon entering the water. Jing Anle raised her eyebrows slightly, and after a while, she realized that the person was Xiao Heng.

"Why did he suddenly appear?" Jing Anle wondered. She knew that Lai Li had deliberately fallen into the water to frame her, and that Lai Li wouldn't be so foolish as to actually drown. Jing Anle knew that Lai Li must have made arrangements, and someone would definitely come to rescue her, but Jing Anle never expected that the person who came would be Xiao Heng.

Xiao Heng was also completely bewildered. He had been strolling in the garden when he suddenly heard someone shout, "The princess has fallen into the water!" In his panic, he didn't think twice and jumped into the water. When he swam to Laili's side, he realized that the person who had fallen into the water was not Jing Anle. However, he easily separated Laili from the maid and swam towards the shore with Laili. As he reached the shore, he saw Jing Anle and Jing Fengyao standing by the lake.

Their gazes were fixed on each other. Xiao Heng was worried that Jing Anle would misunderstand. He was about to let go of Lai Li when she suddenly wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and began to sob, "Waaah, I'm so scared." She leaned closer to him as she spoke.

Xiao Heng didn't tolerate her. He was a martial artist and very strong. He pulled Lai Li down, then stood up nimbly and said righteously, "It's good that the princess is alright. Men and women should not touch each other. Don't tarnish the princess's reputation." As he said this, his eyes were always on Jing Anle.

Jing Anle understood Xiao Heng's meaning and trusted him. But when Lai Li was clinging to him just now, Jing Anle still felt a pang of sadness and wished he could throw Lai Li back into the lake immediately.

Thinking is one thing, doing is another. Hearing footsteps behind her, Jing Anle then took off her cloak and covered Lai Li with it, her voice gentle, "Princess, are you alright? It's all my fault. I should have stopped you when you insisted on going ice skating. If anything had happened to you, how could I explain it to my aunt?"

In one sentence, she explained the whole story and proved that she had nothing to do with the matter. She spoke very loudly, and everyone who came later could hear her clearly.

"Your Highness, I am truly grateful for your help today. Things happened so suddenly, Your Highness should hurry back and change your clothes to avoid catching a cold," Jing Fengyao said, bowing in thanks. Xiao Heng was soaked to the bone, and in the winter, he was very susceptible to illness.

"Your Highness, there's no need to be so polite. At first, I heard someone shout that the princess had fallen into the water, so I..." Xiao Heng glanced at Jing Anle again.

"Anyway, it's good that everyone is alright. I'll head back now."

Jing Anle felt a surge of warmth in his heart; he had actually thought he was the one who had fallen into the water. Jing Anle stepped forward and looked at Xiao Heng, saying, "Your Highness, I am truly grateful for your help today. The weather is cold; Your Highness should return to the palace quickly to change into dry clothes. I will personally visit Your Highness on behalf of the Princess another day to express my gratitude."

Xiao Heng was initially worried that Jing Anle would be jealous, but now he felt relieved. He didn't say anything, but smiled and nodded gently, everything was understood without words.

Lai Li was incredulous for a moment. Xiao Heng was gone just like that. She was about to say something when she couldn't stop coughing.

Looking at Jing Anle's beautiful face, Riley thought she seemed genuinely anxious. Riley rolled her eyes inwardly, cursing Jing Anle for being such a good actress; it seemed the two women could see right through each other.

The girl's eyelashes still held glistening teardrops, making her appear harmless, but in reality, she was deep in thought.

"Achoo~" Riley suddenly sneezed.

"Sister Anle, you..." Before Lai Li could finish speaking, she fainted.

Looking at the unconscious Lai Li, Jing Fengyao said, "Quickly send the princess back to the palace and then go and fetch the imperial physician."

So the palace servants quickly lifted Laili into a sedan chair and moved her to her residence.

"Anle, come with me first. We still need to give an explanation to Father and Aunt."

Jing Anle understood Jing Fengyao's meaning and nodded, saying, "I understand."