“Take a boat?”
Ye Piaoling hesitated for a moment.
Suddenly, she stared at Ye Xiangxiang’s face, her gaze sharp: “Your expression is off—you’re definitely hiding something from me!”
Ye Xiangxiang was instantly terrified.
Ye Piaoling’s eyes were incredibly piercing, as if she already knew the whole truth.
Ye Xiangxiang was so flustered she could barely speak, trembling as she said, “I… I…”
Ye Piaoling suddenly burst into laughter, patting her on the shoulder: “Whatever it is, we’ll talk about it when we get home! Since we’re out, let’s have some fun!”
Ye Xiangxiang: “…”
She was almost scared to death, never expecting Ye Piaoling was just joking.
After saying this, Ye Piaoling strode toward the pleasure boat.
Ye Xiangxiang was extremely nervous, overwhelmed by fear and guilt.
She whispered from behind, “H-how about we don’t take the boat…”
“Why not? Let’s have some fun!”
Ye Piaoling jumped onto the boat, turned around, and waved at her.
Ye Xiangxiang took a quiet, deep breath.
Thinking to herself, Ye Piaoling got on the boat willingly—it’s not my fault…
With that thought, the guilt in her heart eased considerably.
The two sisters settled into the boat, and the boatman gradually rowed the small vessel toward the distance.
Ye Piaoling gazed at the lake. After the storm, the water was clear and transparent, completely unpolluted, so much so that she could even see small fish flirting among the waterweeds.
Before she knew it, the boat had reached the center of the lake.
Ye Piaoling was staring at the swimming fish in the water when she heard a sudden crack!
Turning to look, she saw that a large piece of the boat’s bottom plank had suddenly fallen off, and lake water immediately surged in!
“Oh no!” the boatman cried out in alarm. “The boat is leaking!”
In the time it took to say this, the small boat had already begun to sink gradually.
Beside her, Ye Xiangxiang was trembling with fear: “W-what do we do?”
But the boatman had already stopped paying attention to the two of them. With a plop, he jumped into the water and disappeared without a trace.
Ye Xiangxiang’s face turned deathly pale. Everything had gone exactly as planned, yet she was still terrified.
In the blink of an eye, the boat was half-submerged.
Ye Piaoling frowned and turned to look at Ye Xiangxiang:
“I remember you know how to swim, and you’re pretty good at it, right?”
“I…”
Ye Xiangxiang didn’t dare to admit or deny it.
She only hurriedly backed away, trying to put some distance between herself and Ye Piaoling.
She was worried that when they fell into the water, Ye Piaoling would cling to her and not let go.
Ye Piaoling said, “Since you can swim, I won’t worry about you.”
With that, she took off her shoes and cloak on her own, leaped into the water, and began swimming freely.
Back in the day, when she participated in swimming competitions at school, she had achieved outstanding results—almost winning an award…
Swimming had always been her hobby. Who would have thought that even after crossing into another world, she’d still have the chance to swim in the water!
Ye Xiangxiang was stunned: “…”
She could hardly believe her eyes.
What was going on?!
Ye Piaoling was clearly terrified of water and couldn’t swim at all!!
But now, she was floating in the water with style, not only swimming but also changing positions from time to time…
Watching as the boat sank completely, Ye Xiangxiang hurriedly got into the water and swam toward the shore.
Up ahead, Ye Piaoling had already left her far behind…
The spot where the boat sank was quite far from the lakeshore.
Ye Piaoling wasn’t in a hurry. She took a deep breath and submerged herself in the water.
The underwater scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, with shimmering, rippling water like shattered glass and jade.
It was also mating season, and the fish and shrimp were busy pairing up, swimming in couples…
Suddenly, a single fish swam against the light, heading straight toward her.
Ye Piaoling reached out her hand and caught it.
It was a black carp, no larger than a palm, probably because it was both small and unattractive, so it had no partner.
It thrashed in Ye Piaoling’s hands, trying to escape.
Ye Piaoling smiled.
Ha, who would have thought falling into the water would bring an unexpected harvest…
Ye Piaoling grabbed the single fish and swam to the shore.
The Prime Minister’s carriage was parked by the lake. The servants waiting there were startled to see the eldest young lady emerge from the water.
“Young Lady, you…”
“I’m fine, and I even caught a fish. Quick, bring the fish basket!”
A servant woodenly brought the fish basket.
Ye Piaoling tossed the fish inside.
The carp was very lively, leaping restlessly in the basket…
Ye Piaoling looked at it and revealed a friendly smile.
Good fortune and great profit—tonight, we eat fish!
Who told you that all the other fish and shrimp have partners, but you don’t?
The Calamity Heart Azure Dragon, transformed into a carp, was almost breaking down inside.
It had just taken the form of a fish, and its Magical Power had not yet recovered. Earlier in the water, it had suddenly seen Ye Piaoling, an old acquaintance, and was momentarily stunned.
Taking advantage of its surprise,
Ye Piaoling had grabbed it in her hand…
Ye Piaoling boarded the carriage with the fish basket.
A while later, Ye Xiangxiang finally swam over, panting heavily, sweat beading on her forehead.
After such a long distance, she had exhausted her strength and nearly didn’t make it back up.
The servants hurriedly helped her into the carriage.
Ye Piaoling had already wrung out her clothes and was sitting inside.
Ye Xiangxiang didn’t dare look at her. She didn’t know why Ye Piaoling had suddenly learned to swim and didn’t dare ask.
She could only sit down timidly beside her.
The carriage moved slowly. Ye Piaoling remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
As they neared the Prime Minister’s residence, Ye Piaoling suddenly spoke.
She said with certainty, “Actually, I knew all along that today’s broken boat was your doing. You knew I couldn’t swim before and wanted to use the boat ride as an opportunity to kill me.”
Ye Xiangxiang was shocked, her entire face changing color. “I…”
Ye Piaoling grabbed her clothes, glaring at her. “A few days ago, assassins came to kill me—you hired them too.”
“That really wasn’t me!” Ye Xiangxiang cried out.
“That one wasn’t, so today’s sinking boat must be?” Ye Piaoling raised an eyebrow.
“I… I…” Ye Xiangxiang instantly panicked, unsure what to do.
Ye Piaoling sighed.
Today’s boat had clearly been tampered with. She hadn’t been sure if it was Ye Xiangxiang’s doing, as this younger sister had always been timid and fearful.
Unexpectedly, just a few probing words had made her slip up.
Ye Xiangxiang was so frightened that tears streamed down her face. She stammered, “This… this really wasn’t my idea…”
Ye Piaoling asked, “Whose idea was it, then?”
Ye Xiangxiang refused to say, only sobbing.
Ye Piaoling sighed and released her, saying, “Before boarding the boat, you hesitated. I thought you still had a conscience. If you tell me who’s behind this, I won’t hold it against you. But if you don’t, you’ll just have to take the blame for someone else.”
Ye Xiangxiang’s face turned deathly pale.
After hesitating for a long while, she whispered, “It was Concubine Liu… She said if I invited you for a boat ride, she could bring Fox Shadow to my side… In a moment of foolishness, I listened to her…”
Ye Piaoling understood.
So it was Concubine Liu’s scheme, using Ye Xiangxiang to plot against her!
As for the assassins last time, they must have been Concubine Liu’s doing too…
Ye Piaoling remained silent for a long while before speaking word by word, “Fox Shadow staying in Fallen Blossoms Courtyard isn’t because of me. He has his own reasons. I’m in a good mood today, so I won’t argue with you. You’d better watch your step!”
Ye Xiangxiang’s lips trembled as she nodded repeatedly.
The carriage had already arrived at the Ye residence.
Ye Piaoling stepped out of the carriage and turned back before leaving, saying, “Oh, by the way, I advise you to stay away from Concubine Liu. Don’t wait until she harms you to regret it—it’ll be too late by then!”
Ye Xiangxiang sat in the carriage, looking dazed and pale.
…
Ye Piaoling carried the fish basket back to Fallen Blossoms Courtyard.
Fox Shadow approached her, “Young Miss, did you have fun today? I missed you so much!”
Ye Piaoling rolled her eyes, “I’m starting to wonder, aside from attracting trouble for me, what use do you actually have?”
“You’re mistaken,” Fox Shadow chuckled, “I have many uses. Which one would you like to know about?”
Ye Piaoling snorted, “Right now, there are two things I need you to do.”
Fox Shadow replied, “Please give your orders, my young miss.”
Ye Piaoling said, “First, go investigate Concubine Liu’s situation and see if there’s anything unusual happening in Fragrant Scent Courtyard recently.”
Concubine Liu had tried to harm her twice. If she didn’t return the favor, it would seem like she didn’t know how to reciprocate.
Fox Shadow smiled, “No problem. I’ll go chat with the maids in Fragrant Scent Courtyard. I guarantee I’ll find out everything by tomorrow night.”
Ye Piaoling nodded in satisfaction.
“Second, take this fish to the kitchen and have them make braised carp.”