As soon as Lu Jintang was pulled ashore, he ignored everything else and lunged toward the lake, about to jump back in. Fortunately, the people beside him grabbed him tightly and kept persuading him: “Young Master, all the women who can swim have already gone in. They will definitely rescue the young madam.”
Not far away, Commandery Princess Luochuan fixed her gaze on Lai Chenglong, her eyes cold and sinister.
Beside her, Commandery Princess Xianning frowned slightly and reminded her, “It’s been a while. Nothing serious will really happen, right?”
She glanced at Commandery Princess Luochuan. “What did you say to the young madam? Don’t push things too far and end up making the Eldest Princess unhappy.”
Ever since Liu Wangfei had returned, the relationship between the Eldest Princess and Emperor Yongchang had already thawed.
Over the past half year, their relationship had grown increasingly harmonious.
It was no exaggeration to say that if they truly angered the Eldest Princess, minor princesses like them, several ranks removed, would gain nothing good from it.
Commandery Princess Luochuan showed no fear at all. A trace of cold mockery appeared on her face as she stared at the lake surface, her voice drifting: “What would I need to say? How she married into that family, doesn’t she know it herself?”
Commandery Princess Xianning still felt uneasy. When she saw the Eldest Princess and Zhou Wangfei hurrying over in the distance, she tugged at Commandery Princess Luochuan’s sleeve. “The Eldest Princess and the others are here.”
The Eldest Princess walked quickly to the lakeside with an anxious expression. After parting the crowd and seeing Lu Jintang drenched like a soaked chicken, her vision went dark. “What happened?! What exactly happened?!”
Lu Jintang himself was frantic. Watching the women in the lake searching continuously, he didn’t know what to do. “I don’t know either, I only heard that Wenxiu fell in.”
The Eldest Princess was burning with anxiety and quickly ordered someone to take Lu Jintang to change his clothes.
Soaking wet like this, once the wind blew, he would surely fall ill.
She then looked at the crying Wang Chan nearby and paused before asking, “Ah Chan, why are you here? Where is Yuan Jie’er?”
She was close to Qi Yuan and naturally knew that Qi Yuan’s good friends were Wang Chan and Xiang Rong.
Now that Wang Chan was here, where was Qi Yuan?
Wang Chan immediately burst into tears. “Yuan Jie’er jumped in to save the young madam!”
What?
The Eldest Princess hurried forward a few steps, staring at the dark lake surface. She clutched her collar tightly, suddenly feeling short of breath.
Zhou Wangfei lowered her eyes and discreetly glanced back at Commandery Princess Luochuan.
Commandery Princess Luochuan did not retreat at all. She met Zhou Wangfei’s gaze directly, curling her lips.
Mother and daughter’s eyes met briefly in the air before both turned away as if nothing had happened.
Lai Chenglong, however, could no longer wait.
Concerns about propriety between men and women were no longer important. He tore off his cloak and plunged into the lake.
Madam Lai was caught off guard. Seeing her son jump in, she screamed.
At the same time, a maid suddenly shouted from not far away: “Here! The young madam is here! The young madam is here!”
Everyone followed her voice and saw that on the opposite shore, Zeng Wenxiu was being pushed up by a hand.
Lu Jintang immediately ran toward the opposite bank.
The Eldest Princess also let out a breath of relief and called out loudly, “Quick! Hurry and help the young madam!”
The scene instantly became chaotic. The maids responded loudly, and Jiang Mama anxiously shouted, “And Miss Qi! Hurry and give Miss Qi a hand!”
Madam Lai stepped forward a couple of steps, staring blankly at the hand pushing Zeng Wenxiu on the lake surface.
So slender, yet it stubbornly supported Zeng Wenxiu above the water.
And this was the depth of winter!
The lake water was piercingly cold, was this Miss Qi?
That legendary Miss Qi?
Thoughtfully, she looked at Lai Chenglong, who was still pounding at the ice and swimming toward the opposite shore, and suddenly understood.
No wonder Lai Chenglong had clearly been unwilling to meet Commandery Princess Luochuan, yet still came to the Eldest Princess’s residence.
So the girl he liked was here at the Eldest Princess’s residence.
That foolish child.
Wang Chan lifted her skirt and ran toward the opposite shore, feeling as if her heart were about to leap out of her chest. At last reaching the other side, she suddenly saw Zeng Wenxiu begin to struggle and kick violently, one kick landing directly on Qi Yuan’s face.
Qi Yuan was kicked away, immediately swallowing another mouthful of water. She choked and coughed repeatedly as her body slid a good distance away.
Wang Chan immediately shouted, “Young Madam, why did you kick Yuan Jie’er?!”
If it had been the Wang Chan of the past, she might have pretended not to see, after all, less trouble was better.
But now she couldn’t.
She even felt resentment toward Zeng Wenxiu.
Just now Zeng Wenxiu had already been strange, Qi Yuan had clearly pulled her ashore, yet she insisted on clinging to Yuan Jie’er, dragging her into the lake together.
And now, after Yuan Jie’er struggled to lift her above the water, she actually kicked Yuan Jie’er away!
Don’t talk about accidents.
Once might be accidental, but twice could only be intentional.
Wang Chan was furious.
Qi Yuan had already reacted. Almost at the moment she slid away, she grabbed onto nearby water plants, stabilizing herself. Then, borrowing the force, she lunged forward and finally caught a hanging vine, climbing up onto the bank by herself.
Even with her strong martial skills, the freezing lake water had stiffened her body, and she couldn’t help shivering.
Wang Chan ignored Zeng Wenxiu and rushed to Qi Yuan, immediately unfastening her own cloak and covering Qi Yuan tightly.
Lu Jintang had already caught Zeng Wenxiu and held her in his arms, his face pale with fright. “Wenxiu, are you alright?!”
Zeng Wenxiu’s face was even paler than his. After spitting out several mouthfuls of water, she trembled and cried out in pain.
Lu Jintang was badly frightened and shouted anxiously, “Quick, find a physician! Find a physician!”
As he spoke, he carried Zeng Wenxiu and ran off.
The Eldest Princess ran a few steps after them but immediately remembered Qi Yuan and hurriedly turned back to check on her.
Qi Yuan had already wrapped herself in the cloak and stood up, water still dripping from her body.
The Eldest Princess immediately grabbed Qi Yuan’s hand. “Yuan Jie’er! Quick, go change clothes in the guest room!”
Anything else could be discussed later, the most important thing now was changing out of the wet clothes.
Qi Yuan’s expression remained calm as she glanced at the backs of Zeng Wenxiu and Lu Jintang, saying nothing. She only turned to look at the lake surface, where the ice had already completely shattered.
Lai Chenglong had just climbed ashore, soaked through. When he saw Qi Yuan, he let out a breath of relief.
Qi Yuan nodded toward him in thanks, then turned and quickly went to the guest room to change.
Wang Chan was furious. While accompanying Qi Yuan to change clothes, she couldn’t help complaining: “This is outrageous! Zeng Wenxiu is simply an ungrateful wretch! You saved her twice, and both times she tried to harm you!”
The door was suddenly knocked on loudly.
Qi Yuan was wiping her hair with a dry cloth. She glanced at Wang Chan, signaling her to open the door first.
Wang Chan quickly stepped forward and opened it.
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