Chapter 48: Another Collaboration

"First Prince," Yue Yuying curtsied.

Only then did Yu Yuanzheng realize who the person was.

"Greetings, First Prince."

The man merely let out a soft acknowledgment, both of them gazing at the surface of the lake.

Soon, everyone had been rescued onto the dragon boat, which quickly rowed toward the shore.

County Princess Lingxuan ran ahead and rushed over to the scene.

A total of six children had been pulled out, all of them unconscious.

The oldest appeared to be only twelve years old, while the youngest were a pair of twin siblings.

The eunuch's piercing scream earlier had drawn a large crowd of onlookers who had been playing nearby.

Yu Zhaoyang was also among the crowd.

In her previous life, due to her unhappy marriage, she had been in a foul mood every day, and the Princess Consort had never allowed her to enter the palace.

Yet later on, she had never heard of such an incident occurring within the imperial palace.

How could so many things be different in this lifetime?

"Zhengxing? Why is it him again? He fell into the water just a few days ago, why is he so forgetful and dares to jump into the lake together with princes and princesses?" Yue Yuying was beside herself with rage.

"Yuanzheng?" Yue Yuying immediately looked at Yu Yuanzheng with a pitiful expression, her meaning entirely clear: save them quickly, using the previous method.

"Oh heavens, we are doomed this time," someone cried out.

"The Seventh Prince, the Eighth Princess, the Empress's own niece, and the grandsons of two elderly Prince's estates," another person announced, revealing the identities of several children.

There was no time to lose. Knowing that time was of the essence, Yu Yuanzheng could no longer afford any hesitation.

Yu Zhaoyang had seen Yu Yuanzheng save someone that day, so she immediately stepped forward.

"Eldest Sister-in-law, save them quickly! My sister-in-law and I will help too."

Yu Yuanzheng glanced at her, instantly seeing through her intentions—she was trying to seize a share of the credit.

However, since Yu Zhaoyang had witnessed her performing the rescue that day, having someone familiar with the procedure was indeed helpful.

She certainly knew how to seize the right moment.

Yu Zhaoyang headed straight for the Eighth Princess; she really knew how to pick them.

Among the six children, two were girls and four were boys.

Yue Yuying immediately rushed to embrace her younger brother.

"I need three more people! Do as I say. Quickly!" Yu Yuanzheng shouted into the crowd.

She then quickly squatted down beside another young girl.

Three individuals stepped forward.

One of them was precisely a guard from the First Prince's retinue.

"Each of you pick a drowning person. Do as I tell you. First, position the child's head like this to keep the airway clear, check inside the mouth for any foreign objects, and clear them out first."

The others watched Yu Yuanzheng's movements and followed suit.

"Pinch the child's nose, take a deep breath, and blow air into the child's mouth three times."

Yue Yuying already knew what to do. Without waiting for Yu Yuanzheng to finish speaking, she immediately began the resuscitation.

The other few men immediately understood the meaning.

Yu Yuanzheng blew air into the girl three times, then stopped.

"Place your hands one over the other right here on the child's chest, and press down: one, two, three..." Yu Yuanzheng counted continuously, pressing down rhythmically. The others followed suit.

"After thirty compressions, give breaths again."

The other three men must have been scions of aristocratic families trained by their respective households, as their learning ability was remarkable. Though Yu Yuanzheng demonstrated only once, all of them carried out the actions rhythmically.

The first to wake up was Yue Zhengxing.

After coughing up a few mouthfuls of water, Yue Yuying threw caution to the wind and began smacking him vigorously.

"You unruly scoundrel who forgets the pain once your belly is full! I'll beat some sense into you!"

Yu Yuanzheng completed two more rounds of chest compressions before the little girl in her hands finally coughed twice and regained consciousness.

She looked around and saw that four children had already woken up, but the Eighth Princess, whom Yu Zhaoyang was attending to, had yet to stir. Observing Yu Zhaoyang's technique, the pressure she applied was clearly insufficient.

Yu Yuanzheng immediately pushed her aside and took over.

She performed chest compressions twice more, but the princess still did not wake up, while the other five had all recovered.

Yu Yuanzheng grew frantic. If the child died under her hands, even if she saved five others, she would never escape unscathed.

Steady. Stay steady.

The child was too young; excessive force would snap her ribs. But time was life itself, and she could no longer afford to hesitate. Yu Yuanzheng increased her force by another fraction.

Breathe again.

Compress again.

The surrounding crowd was packed tightly, everyone holding their breath. This was, after all, the Emperor's most beloved twin, the Eighth Princess.

Only a few of the newly revived children were crying.

"My child! My child!" a voice called out from the distance.

The crowd parted to clear a path.

The Empress came stumbling forward, entirely devoid of the noble elegance she had displayed earlier.

"What are you doing?" The Empress barked a reprimand the moment she saw Yu Yuanzheng performing actions she had never witnessed before upon her daughter.

"Mother, please do not disturb her lifesaving work," the First Prince intervened, stepping forward to stop her.

Meanwhile, Yu Yuanzheng completely tuned out all distractions, entirely focused on chest compressions, artificial respiration, and resuscitation.

Another group of people hurried over—none other than the reigning monarch himself, Emperor Qiming.

Amidst such a tense atmosphere, no one bowed to the Emperor; they simply cleared a path to let him approach.

The First Prince stepped forward to block the others, quietly explaining the situation to the Emperor in a low voice.

Everyone watched Yu Yuanzheng's every move.

She was already drenched in sweat.

*Crack!* A faint, crisp sound reached Yu Yuanzheng's ears.

She knew a rib had broken.

However, because several children were still crying, the onlookers did not hear it.

Yet that very fracture caused the child to instinctively shrink back in pain.

Then came a violent cough.

Yu Yuanzheng quickly rolled the child into the recovery position.

The Eighth Princess coughed while crying.

The pain of the fractured rib made her cry even harder.

"Don't cry. The more you cry, the more it hurts," Yu Yuanzheng comforted her gently.

At that moment, the summoned imperial physicians finally arrived, completely out of breath.

The Imperial Hospital was simply too far away.

The Empress, having just finished comforting the Seventh Prince, saw that the Eighth Princess had awakened and immediately rushed over to embrace and soothe her.

"Empress, do not move her," Yu Yuanzheng immediately intervened.

"What is the matter?" Tears still lingered in the Empress's eyes.

Noticing a middle-aged man standing nearby clad in a bright yellow imperial dragon robe, Yu Yuanzheng instantly recognized his identity.

She immediately dropped to her knees before him.

This was an era of absolute imperial power, and she naturally had to adapt, lest she die without knowing how.

Although she was the daughter-in-law of the Prince of Rong's estate, she was still merely a subject's wife.

"This humble subject's wife, Yu Yuanzheng, pays respects to Your Majesty. Your Majesty, this subject's wife is guilty," Yu Yuanzheng confessed first.

"You saved my daughter, how could you be guilty?" Emperor Qiming asked, bewildered.

"Earlier, the Imperial Princess Consort volunteered to participate in the rescue. However, because her applied force was too weak, she failed to revive the Princess immediately. When this subject's wife took over, several breaths had already passed, missing the optimal window. This subject's wife was forced to apply greater pressure, which resulted in the fracturing of the Eighth Princess's rib."

Aside from explaining the circumstances, Yu Yuanzheng deliberately planted a negative impression of Yu Zhaoyang before the Emperor.

Did she really think credit was so easily claimed?

Hmph!

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhaoyang immediately dropped to her knees before the Emperor.

"This subject's wife is guilty. It was my first time performing a rescue and I lacked experience. I beg Your Majesty for punishment."

"Rise, both of you. Since no catastrophic harm was done, your merits offset your faults." Seeing that both children had been revived, the Emperor's anger subsided somewhat.

Granted permission by the Emperor, the two women climbed back to their feet.

The moment she stood up, Yu Zhaoyang shot Yu Yuanzheng a vicious glare.

"Are you Ziqi's wife?" the Emperor inquired then.

"Replying to Your Majesty, yes," Yu Yuanzheng answered evenly, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Mm, excellent. You have rendered a great service today." The First Prince had already recounted the entire sequence of events to him earlier.

By this time, the imperial physician had thoroughly examined every child. Only the Eighth Princess had suffered two fractured ribs, though she would recover fully after a period of recuperation.

A stretcher was brought over to carry the Eighth Princess back to rest, while the others were told to change into dry clothes and drink a bowl of ginger soup.

The weather at present was pleasantly warm, so catching a chill was not easy.

After everyone had changed clothes and consumed a bowl of ginger soup, they gathered in the nearby Minghe Hall, where the Emperor began his interrogation regarding the cause of the incident.