Wei Dongling hesitated. "But what if that person is out of his mind? What if he slips and drowns in the lake?"
Min Fang looked at the person as if he were a wild beast about to pounce at any moment. Her face turned deathly pale as she urgently whispered, "Princess! Let's go back first!" With that, she reached out and grabbed Wei Dongling's sleeve.
Wei Dongling was quite surprised by Min Fang's reaction. Looking at the slender figure with its back turned to them in the lake, she finally couldn't bear it. Gently pushing Min Fang's hand away, she whispered, "You go back first. I'll go over and take a look."
Min Fang exclaimed in surprise, "Your Highness the Fifth Princess, you mustn't! You're injured. If something were to happen... What if you fell into the water?"
Min Fang looked panicked, as if she were extremely worried that Wei Dongling would fall into the water.
Wei Dongling was an excellent swimmer in this body. Even if she fell into the water, she would automatically float to the surface. Naturally, she wasn't worried. But if that young man with a vacant look in his eyes fell into the water, he might not be able to climb out alive. Thinking of this, Wei Dongling waved her hand. "We can't just stand by and watch an ignorant person take risks. I'll go and give him a warning, then I'll leave."
Seeing that the Fifth Princess was determined, Min Fang stamped her foot in anxiety. Just as she was about to go up and drag her back, the young man in the water heard the noise behind him and suddenly turned his head.
When he turned his head, Min Fang couldn't help but take two steps back in fright.
His facial features were actually quite good-looking, but his face was gaunt, as if caused by long-term malnutrition. He tilted his head and stared blankly at the two people on the lakeshore, with a look of confusion in his eyes.
Wei Dongling looked at the young man standing in the water and said with a smile, "Hello! My name is Murong Wanlin. What's your name?"
The man didn't answer. He just stared fixedly at Wei Dongling, his brows furrowing slightly.
Min Fang anxiously whispered behind her, "Princess!"
Wei Dongling looked at the man in front of her and said with a soft laugh, "It's dangerous by the water. Come out quickly. If you slip in, it'll be bad!"
The man in the water didn't say a word. He stared straight at Wei Dongling, his eyebrows furrowing and unfurrowing again, as if he couldn't understand what Wei Dongling meant.
Min Fang stamped her foot in anxiety but didn't dare to come closer.
Seeing that the man was concentrating on looking at her, Wei Dongling coaxed him, "Be good. Sister will take you to eat something delicious!"
The man tilted his head and frowned, muttering in a low voice, "Sister..."
Wei Dongling nodded. "Yes, yes! Sister has something delicious! I'll take you there!" With that, she stretched out her hand and walked closer step by step, trying to pull the young man out of the water.
The man watched Wei Dongling approaching slowly. His hanging arms moved slightly, as if hesitating whether to hold her hand.
When Wei Dongling reached the water's edge and looked at him with a smile, her slender hand stretched out, the man's curled fingers moved slightly, as if he wanted to lift his hand to grab hers.
"Your Highness the Fifth Princess!" a startled cry came from the shore.
The few people quickly turned their heads to look. From afar, they saw General Fang of the Imperial Guards leading a group of people rushing over quickly. They looked at Wei Dongling and the man beside her seriously.
The moment the man in the water saw General Fang, his face changed drastically. Then he turned and ran away along the lake.
General Fang's face darkened. He waved his hand at the people behind him and said, "Catch him!"
"Yes!" Everyone obeyed the order and rushed forward.
Wei Dongling looked at the backs of those people in a daze, completely confused. What was going on?
General Fang quickly bowed and said urgently, "Your Highness the Fifth Princess, if you see this person in the future, please stay away from him!" With that, without waiting for Wei Dongling to reply, he rushed after the group of Imperial Guards to chase the man.
"What's going on?" Wei Dongling asked Min Fang, who was standing beside her with a pale face, very puzzled.
Min Fang hesitated for a moment and whispered, "It was so dangerous just now! Fortunately, General Fang arrived in time."
Wei Dongling asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Min Fang hesitated for a long time and then sighed. "On New Year's Eve the year before last, that crazy man bit a palace maid to death."
Wei Dongling's eyes widened in disbelief. She trembled and said, "Bit her to death? How could this happen?"
Min Fang looked around. Seeing that there was no one around, she said in a low voice with a gloomy face, "It's said that he's a crazy man out of his mind. He could even do such a cruel thing to the palace maid who served him closely! The shrill screams that night could be heard from afar. Even thinking about it now still makes one's hair stand on end! That crazy man must have climbed over the wall and run out again today! Your Highness the Fifth Princess, if you see him again in the future, don't be rash. You must turn around and leave immediately!"
Hearing this, Wei Dongling's face turned green with fright. She asked, "Who is he? Where is he locked up? Why hasn't he been executed after such a thing happened?"
Min Fang sighed helplessly. "Actually, he's a prince, the tenth in line."
Wei Dongling was extremely shocked. She had never heard anyone mention that there was such a tenth prince, and he was actually that crazy man just now?
Min Fang sighed. "God have mercy. When the tenth prince was born, no one noticed anything unusual. It wasn't until he was seven or eight years old that he still couldn't speak, and his intelligence was like that of a three - year - old child. The palace announced to the outside world that the tenth prince had died prematurely. In fact, the emperor felt sorry for him and couldn't bear to execute him. He has been secretly raised in the Ten - Thousand Buddhas Pagoda. It's a pity that after all these years, his madness has not improved at all. Now it seems to have gotten even worse! On that New Year's Eve, when a group of guards and eunuchs from the Inner Court Office rushed over, that crazy man's face was covered in blood, and he was still fiercely biting the flesh on the dead palace maid's arm! Since then, everyone in the palace has avoided him. But what can we do? How can we argue with a crazy man who has killed someone?"
Wei Dongling sighed regretfully. "So that's how it is!"
Min Fang was still very scared. She said in a solemn voice, "Your Highness the Princess, you mustn't be rash next time. You must listen to this servant!"
Wei Dongling nodded vigorously. If she had known this earlier, she would never have gone over to save the crazy man. She would have just let him fend for himself.
Feeling depressed, the two of them walked back to Yaoguang Pavilion one after the other.
From afar, they saw Cheng Hao looking around at the door. When he saw Wei Dongling coming, Cheng Hao rushed over in a hurry. He happily called out, "Princess! Nurse Ruan has come to see you!"
Wei Dongling was overjoyed. She quickly stepped forward and said in surprise, "Really? How did Nurse Ruan get into the palace?"
Cheng Hao walked around Wei Dongling and said with a smile, "The emperor saw that you've been wronged recently and in a bad mood, so he specially sent someone to pick up Nurse Ruan to have a little reunion with you."
Hearing this, Wei Dongling rushed back at full speed. She kicked open the door. From afar across the courtyard, she saw Nurse Ruan sitting in the main hall drinking tea. She quickly rushed in and shouted excitedly, "Nurse Ruan! I've missed you so much!"
Nurse Ruan quickly put down the teacup and stood up to greet her. She said with a slight smile, "You're the master now! You're still so unruly!"
Wei Dongling didn't care about that. She rushed forward and gave Nurse Ruan a bear hug, almost knocking her to the ground. Nurse Ruan took a few steps back before she could stand still.
Wei Dongling hugged Nurse Ruan's slender waist and rubbed her chin against Nurse Ruan's neck. She sniffed the familiar smell of medicinal herbs on her body and said coquettishly with a look of grievance, "Nurse Ruan, I want to go home."