“Mother, what are you doing? Miss Lichun is getting away!”
Shuangfu’s mother worked in the Pei Manor kitchens, where she slaughtered chickens every day. She possessed astonishing strength. Releasing her son’s arm, she strode after Xie Zhi, caught up with her in just a few steps, and shoved her hard into Xingbo Lake.
Splash!
Ripples spread across the dark water.
She then stopped her son from following immediately and instructed him in a low voice, “I’ll gather everyone first. Once all eyes are on us, you can jump in and save her. After she’s been pulled from the water by you in front of everyone, she won’t have any choice but to marry you.”
Although the Great Zhou Dynasty wasn’t overly strict about interactions between unmarried men and women, if an unmarried man embraced an unmarried woman while both were soaked from the water, it was considered an extremely serious breach of propriety.
If the man refused to marry her afterward, the woman’s reputation would be utterly ruined.
Watching Xie Zhi struggling in the lake, Shuangfu swallowed nervously before nodding.
At the same time, his mother’s shrill voice rang through the night.
“Help! Someone’s fallen into the lake! Hurry! Someone’s drowning!”
It was a pleasant summer evening, the perfect time to escape the heat. Many maids and elderly servants had gathered in corners to play cards. Hearing the cries for help, they all rushed over.
“What happened? Granny Zhang, who fell into the lake?”
“It’s Miss Lichun! Old Madam’s favorite, Miss Lichun! My son is an excellent swimmer—he’s already gone in to save her. I just pray she’s safe.”
As Granny Zhang finished speaking, a calculating gleam flashed through her eyes.
Whispers immediately spread through the crowd.
A few others who also knew how to swim dove into the lake to help search, but after groping through the pitch-black water for quite some time, they found nothing.
“Where are they, Granny Zhang? Why hasn’t anyone come up yet? Could it be they both…”
“Old hag, watch your mouth! My son is the best swimmer around! Don’t you dare curse him!”
Though she barked angrily, Granny Zhang herself was beginning to panic. Muttering under her breath, she hurried anxiously to the water’s edge.
Fortunately, before long, a figure finally surfaced.
Who else could it be but Shuangfu?
Soaked from head to toe, he crawled onto the shore and immediately sneezed. Granny Zhang rushed over.
“What happened? Where’s that girl? Why are you the only one who came up?”
Shuangfu spun around anxiously.
“Mother! I couldn’t find Lichun anywhere! Is… is she dead?”
“Impossible! It was only a moment ago! How could you not find her?” Granny Zhang hissed through gritted teeth.
“It’s all your fault! Your idea was terrible! If Lichun dies, I’m never talking to you again!”
“You fool! Shut your mouth!”
Hearing her simple-minded son babbling again, Granny Zhang hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth while nervously glancing around.
Unfortunately, she was already too late.
With Shuangfu’s booming voice, everyone who needed to hear had already heard every word.
The expressions on the crowd’s faces immediately turned to contempt.
“So that’s what this was all about. This mother and son are truly scheming.”
“It’s a good thing she wasn’t rescued by him. Otherwise Miss Lichun would’ve had to marry that idiot Shuangfu. If it were me, I’d rather die.”
“Exactly. Being foolish is one thing, but with that face of his…”
Several maids gathered together, whispering among themselves.
“What did you say? What’s wrong with my face?!”
The words instantly enraged Shuangfu. He lunged forward, grabbed one of the maids by the collar, and shouted at her.
The others hurried to separate them, and chaos quickly broke out.
“What are all of you doing? If you keep causing trouble, I’ll report every last one of you to Second Madam and have you all thrown out!”
A stern female voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned around.
It was Nanny Zhou, Old Madam’s trusted attendant.
Nanny Zhou held considerable authority in the manor, and everyone feared her. At her command, the commotion immediately died down.
But when they saw the person standing beside her, their eyes widened in disbelief.
“Lichun… how are you…”
Wrapped tightly in a thick cloak beside Nanny Zhou—
Who else could she be but Lichun, the very girl who had supposedly fallen into the lake?
Seeing everyone’s astonished expressions, Xie Zhi sneered inwardly.
Did they really think Shuangfu was the only one who knew how to swim?
Her mother had once been a fisherwoman in Yangzhou. To earn enough money for her younger brother’s schooling, she had eventually been sold by her parents as a concubine to the Prefect’s residence.
When Xie Zhi was little, her mother often took her to the riverbank, where she learned to swim.
The moment she had been shoved into the lake, she immediately understood what the mother and son were planning.
How devious.
Almost as devious as she herself was.
There was no way Xie Zhi would let them succeed.
The instant Granny Zhang started shouting for help, Xie Zhi had dived beneath the surface and swum away as fast as she could.
She remembered that the western bank of Xingbo Lake wasn’t far from there. If she climbed ashore there, she could take a shortcut back to Guanxue Tower.
As for Pei Hong…
Making him wait a little longer shouldn’t matter.
With that thought, she pushed herself harder, though she accidentally swallowed several mouthfuls of lake water along the way.
By the time she reached the middle of the lake, the opposite shore was barely visible.
Just as Xie Zhi was beginning to relax, she suddenly spotted flickering lamplight in the distance.
Focusing her eyes, she saw a tall figure walking toward a pavilion on the opposite bank.
The night was too dark to make out his face, but his broad build was unmistakable.
The freezing water had numbed her body, yet her mind remained astonishingly clear.
At this hour…
In this place…
If it wasn’t Pei Hong, who else could it be?
Biting her lip, a bold thought surfaced in her mind.
What if…
She let that mother and son’s scheme succeed—
Only changed the intended groom…
…from Shuangfu to Pei Hong?
After all, she still couldn’t tell what Pei Hong truly thought of her.
But after tonight…
She would make sure he had no choice but to take her as his concubine.
Silently, Xie Zhi apologized to Pei Hong.
Once she obtained her slave registration papers, she’d leave immediately.
She didn’t care if the entire world condemned her.
Because if she really married Shuangfu, she would spend the rest of her life trapped inside the Marquis’s estate, bound to that fool of a husband. Any children she bore would inherit slave status for generations.
She would also endure Princess Yuyang’s bullying and oppression for the rest of her life.
Perhaps one day she would even lose her life.
No.
She refused.
Her legs were already growing weak.
Having made up her mind, Xie Zhi gathered every ounce of strength she had and cried out for help.
But the moment the words left her lips, she realized her voice had become as faint as a mosquito’s buzz—
No louder than the weak mew of a kitten.
Panic surged through her.
She flailed desperately.
Fortunately, the man on the shore seemed to notice her. Throwing aside his lantern, he sprinted toward the lake.
It worked.
Xie Zhi drifted helplessly between sinking and floating as she watched him dive into the water.
He drew closer…
Closer…
Until he finally caught hold of her with one powerful arm and began swimming back toward shore.
The lake was far too dark for her to see his face clearly.
She could only feel how strong the hand gripping her was.
So Pei Hong may look delicate… but he’s actually quite dependable.
After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached land.
Xie Zhi coughed violently, vomiting several mouthfuls of water before collapsing onto the ground, gasping for breath.
Yet even in such a miserable state, she couldn’t help glancing around.
Looking left and right, her heart sank.
What terrible luck.
Where were all the witnesses?
No…
She had to lure Pei Hong somewhere crowded.
“What are you looking for?”
A cold voice suddenly spoke.
Its icy tone carried not the slightest trace of warmth.
Startled, Xie Zhi whipped around—
Only to see the man sitting in the grass beside her, calmly wringing the dirty lake water from his clothes.
It wasn’t Pei Hong at all.
It was Pei Du.