“Illegal goods?” Lu Liangwei was astonished. “What do you mean?”

“That’s right, Jiu. What do you mean by this?” Zhao Qian chipped in.

Chu Jiu was about to inform them about Li Tong’er when there was a sudden splash in the near distance. It sounded like something heavy falling into the water.

Someone began to shout shortly after that.

“Oh no, someone has fallen into the water…”

Chu Qi had spotted the person long ago, but did not bother to help.

His duty was to protect His Majesty—he would ignore everything unrelated to that.

Lu Liangwei peered over and saw a girl struggling in the water.

That person did look a little familiar.

Chu Jiu had recognized the person in the water. It was Li Tong’er.

She frowned.

What was Li Tong’er doing?

“H..Help…”

Li Tong’er did not know how to swim and it took all the courage she had to jump into the water. However, she was filled with indescribable fear now that she was inside.

She had swallowed a few mouthfuls of water during her panicked struggle. When she noticed the few people on the shore were ignoring her, her heart sank.

“Your… Your Majesty, it’s me, Li Tong’er… H…Help…”

She suddenly shouted these words, throwing caution to the wind.

Lu Liangwei looked over in shock.

It was no wonder she found the girl familiar. Was that Li Tong’er?

That said, what was she doing here?

Lu Liangwei did not hesitate at all. She instantly said to Chu Qi, “Get her out of the water.”

Chu Qi glanced at Long Yang. When he saw there was no reaction from the emperor, he jumped toward the lake. He leaped across the water’s surface and fished Li Tong’er, who was on the verge of sinking, out of the water.

When they reached the shore, he tossed her unceremoniously onto the ground.

Lu Liangwei looked at the hard and rough surface. Even the thought of falling onto it made her wince. This kid, Chu Qi, was far too cold-blooded. Where did such a young boy learn this kind of behavior from?

Of course, Lu LIangwei had only gotten Chu Qi to save Li Tong’er because she did not want the lake water to be dirtied.

After all, she rather enjoyed eating the fish from this lake.

If Li Tong’er had drowned in this lake, it would be rather disgusting and she would probably not want to eat the fish from the lake anymore.

How could she let a lake full of delicious fish go to waste over Li Tong’er?

Despite being rescued, Li Tong’er had been submerged for too long and had swallowed a fair amount of water, making her look even more fragile than ever.

She lay on the ground weakly when she suddenly saw a pair of embroidered female shoes appear in front of her.

She raised her gaze slowly and the first thing she saw was a heavily-pregnant belly, which was followed by the beautiful face of a woman.

The face looked soft and tender because its owner was leading a comfortable and sheltered life. The girl’s skin was smooth and youthful, like a high-quality white nephrite jade.

Anyone could tell at a glance that Lu Liangwei led a wonderful life.

The quality of her livelihood was not an effect of materialistic superiority, but rather the fact that she was healthy both mentally and emotionally.

Li Tong’er looked deeply into herself…

When she realized that Lu Liangwei was looking down at her from above, Li Tong’er bit her lip.

Lu Liangwei’s sharp gaze made her suddenly nervous and too embarrassed to face her.

Li Tong’er suddenly felt like Lu Liangwei could see through all the thoughts in her mind.

Comparing herself to the Empress made Li Tong’er feel even more disheveled and dispirited.

What did she have that could possibly be able to attract His Majesty?

She had nearly drowned in the water moments ago and His Majesty did not even give her a second look.

He continued fishing as usual; besides the woman standing in front of her, there was nothing else that could pique his interest.

Not even a human life.

Li Tong’er felt like a complete failure right now.

If things were like this, her final gamble was nothing less than pathetic and laughable.