The touring boat soon drew up alongside their pleasure boat.
Before it had even come to a stop, the man standing at its bow leaped over in a frantic rush.
Throughout the entire process, his anxious cries never stopped. "Ruihan, Ruihan, I'm here-uh..."
Once the gauze curtain was lifted, everyone aboard fell silent as they stared at one another.
Jiang Lifeng, the Prince of Nanyang's second son and Emperor Mingze's own nephew, froze into a statue.
The scales in his heart tipped back and forth.
He had only entered the imperial palace once with his father, several years ago.
That year, he had met Emperor Mingze face-to-face at close quarters. After listening to his father exchange a few awkward pleasantries with the emperor, he had been seated behind a long table diagonally below him to enjoy the banquet.
Intimidated by Emperor Mingze's innate imperial presence, he had scarcely dared lift his eyes the whole time. Yet that fleeting glimpse had firmly etched the emperor's appearance into his memory.
Seeing him so unexpectedly after several years made his knees go weak for an instant.
As he hesitated over whether to kneel, his wandering peripheral vision caught Ding Ruihan's pitiful, tear-filled eyes. The wavering scales immediately tipped hard to one side-
When he had entered the palace that year, he had still been a half-grown boy. His appearance had since changed beyond recognition. Surely, as long as he did not identify himself, Emperor Mingze would never remember someone like him!
At that thought, Jiang Lifeng gave himself a little encouragement, then declared, "My name is Nie Wen. I've come today to rescue Ruihan from the Ding Residence. I hope this gentleman will oblige!"
Ding Ruihan: "..."
Jiang Yanchuan: "..."
The assembled officials: "..."
If he wanted to take her away, he could