Shen Wan was embarrassed.
You really can’t judge a book by its cover.
Yan Qingqing looked every bit a noble, refined young lady from a great family. Shen Wan had assumed she would be a well-mannered, courteous person—who knew she would be so difficult to deal with?
Shen Wan had merely bumped into her, and now she was being forced to kneel. That was petty beyond belief.
Getting tangled up with someone like this—she supposed it was just her bad luck.
Shen Wan knew the situation was bad. She quietly sized up her surroundings. Though this was a lake banquet, the Prime Minister’s residence still had plenty of guards around.
If she tried to fight head-on here, she definitely wouldn’t be a match for Yan Qingqing.
In that case, a wise man doesn’t fight when the odds are against him—of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best!
Load a save, quickly load a save and escape!
Save loaded successfully.
Shen Wan breathed a sigh of relief, but when she looked up, she found herself meeting Yan Qingqing’s gaze directly.
This… how did she run into her again?
Unwilling to give up, Shen Wan loaded a save once more!
She ran into Yan Qingqing yet again!
Time after time after time—Shen Wan was completely dumbfounded.
She was now certain that Yan Qingqing was the calamity fate had assigned her. There was no getting past this trial.
Meanwhile, on Pei Changli’s side.
Yefeng had already located the hidden guard’s hiding place, but because of the delay, by the time they rushed over, they found they were one step too late—the hidden guard had already fled.
Just as Pei Changli was regretting not acting faster, everything suddenly reset.
Perfect!
Pei Changli headed straight for his target and launched a surprise attack, wiping out the hidden guard completely.
Even Yefeng, who accompanied him, was stunned.
His Highness’s speed was like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves—clean and efficient!
One had to admit, it was impressive!
Pei Changli wiped the still-warm blood from his dagger as Shen Wan’s figure appeared in his mind.
Though he didn’t know why everything had reset, this time he had her to thank for it.
It seemed she wasn’t entirely useless after all.
“Kneel! Apologize!”
Hearing the familiar command, Shen Wan gritted her teeth and loaded a save again!
What was going on?
Shen Wan suddenly felt unsteady on her feet—the boat was rocking and swaying.
Splash!
She had accidentally fallen into the lake!
“Hel… help…”
She couldn’t swim at all, and instinctively cried out for help.
But then she thought—better to rely on yourself than on others!
Load a save, load a save!
Just as Shen Wan tried to load a save again, she felt her body go light—that familiar sensation. It seemed someone had grabbed her and lifted her up!
Her feet off the ground, she was carried out of the water in one swift motion.
After a moment of dizziness, she landed steadily on the shore, far from the pleasure boat.
Shen Wan gulped down air. She had swallowed several mouthfuls of water just now, and only now did she appreciate how precious fresh air was.
Once she had recovered a little, she looked up at her savior.
“Cough, cough…”
Her savior coughed a couple of times. He looked pale, with a rather slight figure.
So she had just been saved by this frail, delicate young gentleman.
If it had been someone like Pei Changli, that living devil, saving her, it would have made sense—after all, for Pei Changli, pulling someone out of the water would truly be no effort at all.
But this sickly young gentleman had risked his life to save her, and it genuinely made her feel guilty.
If it hadn’t worked out and she had gotten this young gentleman killed, the sin would have been on her head.
“Thank you for saving me, young sir!” Shen Wan said earnestly, cupping her hands in a bow. “What you did was truly… heroic!”
Facing her savior, Shen Wan spared no praise, complimenting him with frank generosity.
A flash of confusion quickly crossed Lu Henian’s eyes.
When he had watched the figure of the person who fell into the water, he had only thought she looked like Shen Wan. Only after pulling her out did he realize—it really was her!
She was actually still alive!
But judging from her words, she didn’t seem to recognize him…
Lu Henian concealed the doubt in his eyes for the moment, only curling his lips into a faint smile.
“There’s no need for such formality, miss.”
Lu Henian paused, wondering to himself whether Shen Wan had truly forgotten everything or was only pretending.
He thought for a moment, then deliberately went along with her words to test her.
“Did you come here alone, miss? Shall I take you to see your family?”
At that, Shen Wan shook her head repeatedly.
If Pei Changli found out about her embarrassing mishap just now, who knew how he would mock her!
“No need. I’m just a little maid—how could I dare trouble you, sir, to escort me? I can find my own way back.”
Seeing that Shen Wan had no intention of acknowledging him, Lu Henian could only let the matter go for now.
“In that case, I have other matters to attend to. I’ll take my leave.”
With that, Lu Henian turned and left.
Watching his departing figure, Shen Wan smiled in relief.
This sickly young lord was rather fair and clean-looking, though.
She mused to herself, then glanced around and realized there seemed to be hardly anyone nearby.
No one around…
Wasn’t this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Shen Wan abandoned the thought of going back and began quietly scheming.
She had always wanted to stay far away from that Pei Changli, to escape her fate of dying a miserable death in the end.
Now was the perfect moment!
If not now, when?
Shen Wan was so delighted she nearly laughed out loud, but the next second she realized she couldn’t get carried away lest someone notice, so she quickly covered her mouth and warily scanned her surroundings.
Getting into the Prime Minister’s residence wasn’t easy, but getting out was fairly simple—and today, with the residence hosting a banquet, the people coming and going were a mixed crowd anyway.
When Shen Wan reached the main gate, she happened upon some noble young lady from who knew which family heading out with a group of servants, so she simply slipped into the crowd and followed them out.
Only after leaving the Prime Minister’s residence and walking a good distance did Shen Wan dare to let out a long breath.
Free. She was finally free!
She touched her neck—this little life of hers should be saved now.
Looking at the bustling streets and the crowded throngs, she was like a fish seeing the ocean, diving straight in.
But what happened next left her frozen on the spot.
She had only taken two steps when she walked straight into those familiar, cold eyes.
As if plunging instantly into a frozen river, she felt her limbs stiffen and her scalp go numb.
“Y-your… Your Highness…”
Why was Pei Changli here?
Before her, he stood with his hands behind his back, looking perfectly composed—like a farmer waiting by the stump for his rabbit.
Had he been waiting here for her specifically?
Pei Changli gave a slight nod and asked, though he clearly knew the answer, “What’s this? You were perfectly fine, and suddenly you run off into the streets? Gave me quite the trouble searching for you.”
Searching for her?
As if she believed that!
This Pei Changli before her had clearly calculated everything, waiting here for her to walk right into his trap!
Shen Wan smiled awkwardly along.
Truly, as the saying goes—for every measure of cunning, there’s a greater countermeasure.
He had outplayed her after all.
Running away now was obviously unrealistic; she could only grit her teeth and accept her fate.
“No… I… I just got lost!” Shen Wan lied without blinking.
“Yes, I got lost!” she repeated emphatically.
Pei Changli nodded, half believing and half doubting. “Lost…”
He gently stroked his chin with one hand, as if pondering something, then demanded in a low voice, “You say you got lost… don’t you think this ‘lost’ path seems awfully well-directed?”