They were sitting on stone chairs by the pond, and in their merriment, Qingqing accidentally dropped her jade bracelet into the lotus pond. Fortunately, it was caught by a dilapidated lotus leaf; otherwise, it would have been lost forever. This bracelet was the only gift Qingqing had received from Madame Liu since she was taken as a disciple, and although she was not much loved as a child, she cherished this rare token of affection and feared losing something so precious and getting scolded for it. She quickly stood up and said to Li Qin, “This is terrible, it’s a gift from my mother.” Li Qin thought she was attached to it because it was from her mother, which was understandable. Having been raised under the strict tutelage of the Empress, who taught him that filial piety was foremost among virtues, he knew the importance of such gifts. If he had lost something given by the Empress, he might have gone to any lengths to retrieve it.
Seeing no servants around, Li Qin stood up and broke off a branch from a nearby tree, intending to retrieve the bracelet, but it was too slippery, and after several attempts, it only drifted further away. Qingqing’s eyes welled up with tears, and Li Qin became even more flustered. After a few more careful tries, he still couldn’t hook it, and nearly lost it to the depths of the pond. Li Qin then had an idea, “I’ll hold your hand, and you try to hook it.” Qingqing, desperate, didn’t care about the propriety of physical contact between men and women. They leaned over the pond, trying to retrieve the bracelet, when suddenly a stern voice came from behind, “Li Qin, what are you doing?” Startled, they both turned around to see the Fourth Prince. Li Qin was about to question who dared to address him by name so boldly, but there was no time for that now. Before he could react, the Fourth Prince punched him hard in the face, causing blood to trickle from Li Qin’s nose and mouth. Without waiting for Li Qin to recover, the Fourth Prince jumped into the pond to rescue Qingqing.
