Shen Mingtang stopped in her tracks and nodded toward the group.
While they didn't recognize her, she knew the strikingly beautiful young woman at the forefront—Liu Zhaoniang, the youngest legitimate daughter of the Liu family.
Liu Zhaoniang was the one the Empress intended to marry to Prince Rui.
When Xiao Beili returned to the Great Zhou Dynasty, he was already twenty years old, and Liu Zhaoniang, who had remained unmarried, was now eighteen.
She had been waiting for him all along.
But Shen Mingtang knew more—Xiao Beili simply wasn't interested in women.
In her previous life, the Empress had argued fiercely with the Emperor over Xiao Beili's marriage to Liu Zhaoniang, and in the end, Xiao Beili stepped forward and refused the match.
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhaoniang, being strong-willed, immediately cut off her hair and became a nun.
Later, when Xiao Beili ascended the throne as emperor, it seemed his harem remained empty?
She wasn't sure about that.
After Xiao Beili condemned the Shen family, she was reborn.
"So you're Shen Mingtang?" Liu Zhaoniang finally spoke, looking her up and down.
Shen Mingtang detected hostility in her gaze and couldn't help but sigh. "Yes, that's me."
She had no choice but to rely on Xiao Beili's influence, which meant she had to confront Liu Zhaoniang.
However, at the moment, Shen Mingtang had other matters to attend to.
"I have urgent business and won't disturb you all any longer," she said softly.
With that, Shen Mingtang made to leave.
It was coincidental—she had originally intended to bring Yu Momo with her, but unexpectedly, Yu Momo had been summoned to the Rui Wang Residence early in the morning.
Left with no choice, she had come to the Liu family with Qin Shi alone.
But as fate would have it, the very thing she feared was happening.
Liu Zhaoniang stepped sideways, blocking Shen Mingtang's path with an outstretched arm.
"Although you took a sword for my cousin, I warn you—don't get any improper ideas about him," Liu Zhaoniang said, feigning fierceness. "My cousin is a noble prince, and you, a minor family's illegitimate daughter, are unworthy of him."
With her charmingly naive appearance, she seemed like nothing more than a young girl in Shen Mingtang's eyes, so Shen Mingtang felt no fear of her.
She only pitied the girl, whose deep affection would eventually come to nothing.
Preoccupied with thoughts of Qin Shi, Shen Mingtang had no desire to argue further.
So she went along with the remark. "You're right, Miss Liu. I am indeed unworthy of him. But right now, I have other matters to attend to and must take my leave."
She finished speaking and prepared to walk away again.
But Liu Zhaoniang was determined to make things difficult for her. "If you truly know your place, why are you still recuperating in the palace? Are you trying to win my aunt's favor?"
"As an illegitimate daughter, I risked my life for this opportunity. Why shouldn't I try to please the Empress?" Shen Mingtang's tone was already tinged with impatience.
She knew that no matter how softly she spoke, these people wouldn't back down.
Shen Mingtang turned to leave.
At a glance from Liu Zhaoniang, several noble young women stepped forward, smiling as they blocked Shen Mingtang's way.
They effectively sealed off both her forward and retreat paths.
"I heard you even asked my cousin for Yu Momo. Yu Momo is his wet nurse—the one who cares for him most. How could you be so shameless?" Liu Zhaoniang glared with almond-shaped eyes. "Shen Mingtang, how dare you claim you have no interest in my cousin?"
Step by step, they closed in, trapping Shen Mingtang in a tight circle.
Shen Mingtang sighed.
"What do you want to hear, Miss Liu? If I say I don't like Prince Rui, you won't believe me. Would you be satisfied if I said I do like him?"
"You!" Liu Zhaoniang was left speechless by her words.
If Shen Mingtang had truly confessed her fondness for her cousin, she probably wouldn't have been able to accept it either.
But these past few days, hearing that her cousin had given Yu Momo to Shen Mingtang had left her stewing in resentment. How could she easily let Shen Mingtang off today?
Liu Zhaoniang shot a meaningful glance at the people beside her.
Beside the corridor was a small koi pond. Now in late autumn, the koi had been moved to the greenhouse, leaving only withered lotus leaves floating on the surface.
Several people cornered Shen Mingtang by the pond's edge.
A dark glint flashed in Liu Zhaoniang's eyes as she suddenly reached out and shoved Shen Mingtang hard in the chest.
Shen Mingtang had mentally prepared for trouble, but she never expected Liu Zhaoniang to be so bold as to push her into the pond right in front of everyone.
As she lost her balance and fell backward, she instinctively grabbed hold of Liu Zhaoniang's clothes.
"Ah!" Liu Zhaoniang screamed.
But by the time anyone tried to pull her back, it was too late.
Both of them tumbled into the icy, bone-chilling water.
The pond was deep. Though Shen Mingtang knew how to swim, she tried several times to find footing but couldn't reach the bottom. The cold water soaked through her clothes, the chill piercing her skin and making her wounds ache uncomfortably.
"Help… save me…" Liu Zhaoniang gasped between bobbing in the water, her pleas for help spilling out.
The noblewomen standing above panicked, frantically calling for servants to come rescue them.
But they had deliberately sent their attendants away earlier when they came over, and now, despite multiple shouts, no one responded.
No one dared to jump in and save them.
This whole scheme was meant to teach Shen Mingtang a lesson on Liu Zhaoniang's behalf—who would have thought Shen Mingtang would drag Zhaoniang down with her?
Shen Mingtang initially had no intention of helping Liu Zhaoniang, but after swimming to the edge, she feared that if Zhaoniang drowned, the Liu family would blame her. Reluctantly, she swam back.
She hauled Liu Zhaoniang out of the water.
Shen Mingtang stood up, removed her heavy, waterlogged outer robe, and tossed it on the ground. She then turned to a young woman wearing a cloak.
"Give me your cloak," she said, looking directly at the girl.
The girl froze for a moment.
"The cloak," Shen Mingtang repeated impatiently.
Flustered, the girl hurriedly untied her cloak and handed it over.
Shen Mingtang wrapped the cloak around herself, covering her drenched body, then glanced down at the pale-faced Liu Zhaoniang on the ground.
"She probably just swallowed some water. If you don't take her to a warm room soon, are you trying to let her freeze to death?" she said coldly.
With that, she turned and strode briskly toward the guest rooms.
This time, no one dared to stop her. They all crowded around Liu Zhaoniang, hastily carrying her back inside.
The Liu family's guest quarters consisted of a long row of rooms. Shen Mingtang called out "Mother!" as she hurried along.
In her haste, she occasionally pushed open slightly ajar doors to peek inside. As she emerged from one, she failed to notice someone standing in front of her.
Shen Mingtang collided head-on with a broad chest.
"Ouch." Her nose, naturally high-bridged, took the brunt of the impact, and the sharp pain brought tears to her eyes.
"Not watching where you're going?" A man's mocking voice came from above her, tinged with a hint of indulgent amusement.
But Shen Mingtang had no time for that.
She looked up and recognized Xiao Beili. Without bothering with formalities, she grabbed his sleeve. "Wangye, the maid said my mother came to the guest quarters. I can't find her—I'm afraid something's happened."
In that brief moment, uncontrollable, dreadful thoughts flooded her mind.
In her previous life, Qin Shi had encountered something unknown at the Liu residence.
But in that lifetime, she had been under Zhou Yiniang's control and hadn't accompanied them to the Liu family, so she could only rely on her intuition to speculate.
Xiao Beili lowered his head, his gaze disdainfully falling on her hand clutching the corner of his garment. "Let go."
He disliked anyone touching his clothes.
Shen Mingtang only then noticed she had been gripping his clothing and immediately released it.
"Go find Madam Shen," Xiao Beili instructed.
Qingshan, standing behind him, rubbed his nose and acknowledged the order before turning to leave.
"Whose cloak are you wearing? Why are your clothes so soaked?" A trace of fury surfaced on Xiao Beili's face. "Did they push you into the water?"
He reached out and lifted the cloak from Shen Mingtang's shoulders, revealing the thoroughly drenched garments beneath, still dripping water onto the ground.
Xiao Beili's expression darkened further.
Without a second thought, he untied the cloak from Shen Mingtang and discarded it on the ground, then removed his own cloak and wrapped it securely around her.