Chapter 30 Selflessly Saving a Beauty Causes a Storm

She gave a few instructions to the palace maid beside her, then lifted her skirt and boarded the painted boat alone, picked up the oars, and rowed slowly toward the center of the lake.

She wanted to use this method to attract the attention of Emperor Liu Sheng.

Emperor Liu Sheng did indeed notice her.

He watched the princess, who was rowing the boat clumsily in the middle of the lake and stealing glances at him from time to time, and found it somewhat amusing.

This little girl's intentions were too obvious.

Just then, the weather took an unexpected turn.

A gust of wild wind blew without warning, and the surface of the lake instantly became turbulent with waves.

The small painted boat swayed violently in the wind and waves, like a fallen leaf on the water.

"Ah!"

Princess Zhao Linger was already standing unsteadily; she was frightened by this sudden turn of events, let out a startled cry, slipped under her feet, and fell toward the lake.

"Splash!"

Water splashed everywhere.

"The princess has fallen into the water!"

The palace maids and eunuchs on the shore, seeing this scene, were scared out of their wits, one by one letting out terrified screams.

But most of them were unable to swim, and even if they could, who would dare to go down to save her?

This was the Eldest Princess, a precious golden branch and jade leaf; if any mishap occurred during the rescue, or if there was any improper contact under the water, it would be a capital crime punishable by death.

For a moment, there was chaos on the shore, but no one dared to enter the water.

Emperor Liu Sheng frowned at the sight.

Without the slightest hesitation, he threw down the work in his hands, took a few steps, leaped, and like a vigorous dragon, dived into the icy lake water.

He swam rapidly toward the direction where Princess Zhao Linger had fallen.

Princess Zhao Linger struggled desperately in the water, choked on several mouthfuls of water, and her consciousness gradually faded.

Just when she thought she was about to die, a pair of powerful arms lifted her out of the icy lake water.

Emperor Liu Sheng rescued the drowning Eldest Princess and brought her ashore, immediately laying her flat on the ground.

He checked her breathing and felt her carotid artery, his face instantly becoming incomparably grave.

She wasn't breathing.

Her heartbeat had also stopped.

"Quick! Go and summon the imperial physician!"

Emperor Liu Sheng roared at the palace maids and eunuchs nearby who were already stunned with fear.

But he knew that by the time the imperial physician arrived, it would be too late.

Human life was at stake, and there was no time to lose.

In his desperation, he could no longer care about the boundaries between men and women or worldly etiquette.

He knelt beside Princess Zhao Linger, untied the collar of her soaked palace gown, crossed his hands, and began to perform standard cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

One, two, three...

The people around were all stunned.

When had they ever seen this kind of "life-saving" method?

A eunuch, actually daring to make such... such disrespectful gestures toward the body of the Eldest Princess?

However, an even more shocking scene was yet to come.

After thirty compressions, Emperor Liu Sheng saw that Princess Zhao Linger still had no reaction.

He took a deep breath, pinched her nose, lowered his head, and without hesitation, kissed her lips, which had already turned blue and purple.

He transferred the air from his own mouth into her lungs.

Artificial respiration.

In the horrified gaze of the crowd, as if they had seen a ghost, Emperor Liu Sheng repeated the actions of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and artificial respiration again and again.

Finally.

"Cough... cough cough!"

After one artificial respiration, Princess Zhao Linger's body twitched violently, and she coughed up a few mouthfuls of muddy lake water.

Her tightly closed eyes slowly opened a slit.

She slowly regained consciousness.

However, this shocking "life-saving" method of Emperor Liu Sheng immediately drew huge waves and criticism—

The news that the Eldest Princess had been "mouth-to-mouth" resuscitated by a eunuch was like a Category 12 typhoon, sweeping through the entire inner palace within half a day, and spreading toward the outer court at an alarming speed.

The entire capital was in an uproar.

This was no longer a simple breach of protocol.

This was a scandal.

A monstrous scandal that could bring shame to the entire Great Qian royal family!

A eunuch, a lowly servant, actually used that method to "defile" the Eldest Princess, a precious golden branch and jade leaf.

How could this be tolerated?

Countless censors and officials who considered themselves disciples of the sages, like sharks smelling blood, instantly became excited.

Memorials with fierce wording and righteous indignation flew toward the Emperor's desk like snowflakes.

"The castrated slave Emperor Liu Sheng, corrupting the inner palace, acting despicably, defiling the royal face, is truly a great pest of the country! Your subject humbly requests Your Majesty to issue a decree to have him executed by slow slicing, to serve as a warning to others and to uphold the national law!"

"The Eldest Princess is a precious golden branch and jade leaf, yet she has suffered such great humiliation; where is the dignity of the country? Where is the face? If this villain is not severely punished, our Great Qian will become a laughingstock of the world! Your subject seconds this!"

"Such a person who corrupts public morals must not be kept! May Your Majesty quickly issue a decree to execute him according to the law!"

In the imperial court, the crowd was filled with indignation.

The faction led by Prime Minister Su Yuandao, the father of Imperial Noble Consort Su Waner, was even more active, wishing they could immediately drag Emperor Liu Sheng to the Meridian Gate and have him hacked into ten thousand pieces.

They had long disliked this new favorite beside the Empress Dowager.

Now that they had seized such a big handle, they naturally wanted to destroy him.

On the dragon throne, the face of Emperor Zhao Tuo was as gloomy as if water could drip from it.

He slammed the memorial in his hand onto the imperial desk, his chest heaving violently.

Anger, shame, and a trace of imperceptible pleasure.

Originally, he had taken a fancy to Emperor Liu Sheng and let him stay by Taishi Feiyan's side to monitor her, but he didn't expect that Emperor Liu Sheng would actually climb up to the Empress Dowager.

He had long wanted to get rid of this confidant beside his mother, but he had always been troubled by the lack of a suitable excuse.

Now, this servant had run into the knife himself.

It was truly Heaven helping him!

But thinking of his strong-willed mother, he had another headache.

He knew how much his mother loved this Emperor Liu Sheng.

If he just killed him like this, he was afraid it wouldn't be easy to settle things with his mother.

Just as he was hesitating, a eunuch came to report hurriedly.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager... has arrived."

As soon as the words fell, the Empress Dowager walked into the Golden Throne Hall with a sunken face, surrounded by a group of palace maids.

She didn't even look at the Emperor on the dragon throne, walking straight to the center of the hall, her majestic phoenix eyes scanning the kneeling civil and military officials below coldly.

Every official scanned by her gaze felt like they were being pressed by a great mountain, and even breathing became difficult.

"This palace heard that you all are very lively today."

Her voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"One by one, here in the Golden Throne Hall, shouting that you want to kill my people?"

As soon as these words came out, the entire court fell silent, as if cicadas in winter.

Prime Minister Su Yuandao braced himself and stepped out from the crowd, bowing and saying.

"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, it is not that we want to make things difficult for you. It is really that Emperor Liu Sheng's actions were too shocking and shameful to the national dignity. If he is not severely punished, I fear the world will criticize our royal dignity."

"Criticize?"

The Empress Dowager sneered.

"I would like to ask Prime Minister Su, is saving a life more important, or is that illusory dignity you speak of more important?"

"Linger is my own niece, and the daughter most loved by the late Emperor. She fell into the water and was in critical condition, life hanging by a thread, and it was Emperor Liu Sheng who disregarded his own safety and pulled her back from the gates of hell."

"You people, when the incident happened, were all standing on the shore, watching with folded arms. Now that she has been saved, you jump out and want to kill the hero who saved her?"

She took a step forward, her voice stern and harsh.

"What kind of logic is this?!"

"In this world, is there any logic that says one should kill the savior after failing to help someone in danger?!"

Her words were resonant and powerful, leaving Prime Minister Su Yuandao speechless for a moment, not knowing how to refute.

"Mother, please calm your anger."

Emperor Zhao Tuo on the dragon throne finally spoke.

"What Mother said is very true, Emperor Liu Sheng has merit in saving a life, and I will naturally not forget it. It's just... his method of saving a life is really... offensive to public morals. In full view of everyone, having skin-to-skin contact with Linger... touching lips, this... how will Linger be able to face people in the future?"

"How will she face people?"

The Empress Dowager turned around abruptly, staring at him fixedly.

"Emperor, you tell me, is it better for her to live with the reputation of 'having been saved by a eunuch', or for her to become a cold corpse and be buried grandly?"

Emperor Zhao Tuo was left speechless by her question.

Right here in the hall, mother and son, civil and military officials, for the life and death of a eunuch, fell into an unprecedented stalemate.