Soon, Gu Mingyuan began to feel unwell. His face flushed, his whole body burned with heat, and he kept tugging at his collar. Looking around, where had Song Ci's figure gone? Where had she hidden?
Wandering back and forth, he returned to the lakeside. From afar, he saw Song Qianqian feeding the fish. The young girl wore a pale yellow dress. A gentle breeze blew, lifting the fine strands of hair at her temples, making her appear bright and pure.
The more Gu Mingyuan watched, the more his heart stirred. He had always liked this gentle and delicate type of woman, and had no interest in cold women like Song Ci. His whole body burning hot now, seeing no one around, he could no longer suppress the impulse inside him and lunged towards Song Qianqian.
"Young Master Gu!"
Song Qianqian's face was filled with panic. Seeing the approaching man, she hurriedly stepped back half a step.
Her flustered and panicked expression made her appear even more fragile and delicate, pitiable.
Gu Mingyuan's gaze clung to her, his breathing heavy and hot, and he lunged again.
"Qianqian!"
"Young Master Gu! What are you doing? Let me go!"
Song Qianqian was caught by him and screamed.
At this moment, Gu Mingyuan had none of his usual gentlemanly demeanor. Only desire remained in his eyes. One hand gripped Song Qianqian's wrist, while the other went to tear at her clothes.
Song Qianqian was terrified. How could this be?
If only she had known, she wouldn't have sent all her maidservants to watch Song Ci, leaving herself helpless now.
How could she know that at this very moment, the culprit Song Ci was hiding in the shadows with Shen Huaizhou, watching the scene with great interest.
Song Qianqian kept retreating until her foot slipped. In the struggle, the two fell into the water, splashing up a spray.
The biting cold instantly surrounded Song Qianqian. Panic filled her eyes as she flailed desperately.
"He...lp... ugh..."
"Something bad has happened! Someone fell into the water! Quick, save them!"
The commotion quickly alerted the people on the shore.
Several guards were about to jump in to rescue them, but Shen Huaizhou stopped them. His gaze swept over the scene, and he pointed at a grotesque-looking menial worker in the corner.
"You, go down and bring them up. There will be a great reward."
"Yes, Sir..."
The menial worker dared not disobey the order and immediately jumped in, swimming towards the nearest person, Song Qianqian.
Shen Huaizhou watched Song Qianqian thrashing in the water, a mischievous smile spreading across his face.
"Little Sister, guess which one your dear younger sister will choose? The confused and love-struck good brother-in-law? Or the lowly, ugly menial worker?"
A cold gleam flashed in Song Ci's eyes. She wanted to know too.
In her previous life, the original body had accidentally stumbled upon Song Qianqian and Gu Mingyuan exchanging flirtatious glances and made a scene.
Madam Fang said she was being ignorant, that it was just normal interaction between relatives.
Her several elder brothers also accused her of making a fuss and wronging Song Qianqian.
Her grandmother even uttered the heart-striking words that if it weren't for her taking Song Qianqian's identity, this marriage should have belonged to Song Qianqian.
The original body, willing to disappear in this life and give her body to Song Ci, must have been utterly heartbroken by this family.
Now, it was time to let Song Qianqian taste the feeling of drowning, to watch her be submerged by the lake water, struggling incessantly.
Panic filled Song Qianqian's eyes. Seeing the menial worker swimming towards her with all his might, she screamed.
"You... don't come near me..."
The more violently Song Qianqian thrashed, the faster she sank. The lake water washed over her head again and again. She felt despair.
Fortunately, the cold water jolted Gu Mingyuan back to his senses. He swam towards her with effort.
"Qianqian, hold on!"
Seeing Gu Mingyuan's outstretched hand, Song Qianqian grabbed it without hesitation, throwing herself into his arms. When they were almost at the shore, she could no longer hold on and passed out.
Gu Mingyuan was already exhausted. Pulled down by Song Qianqian's limp body, he nearly sank. In the end, it was the menial worker who dragged them both to shore.
By the time Madam Fang arrived upon hearing the news, she saw Song Qianqian, soaked through, lying in one man's arms, with another man lying beside her.
People around were pointing and whispering.
"How did the Second Miss of the Song family end up falling into the water like that?"
"That man seems to be the Tanhua, Gu Mingyuan? And there's a menial worker too. The three of them all tangled up together, it's really an eyesore."
Madam Fang felt as if the sky had fallen. Her vision went dark, and she was about to faint.
Granny Hua was quick-eyed and quick-handed, catching her.
"Madam! Please take care of yourself."
Madam Fang saw who it was and slapped her.
Slap...
"Old thing! You weren't by Qianqian's side attending to her, where did you wander off to? Where are the little maids attending to Qianqian? You've stirred up such a huge mess! You're doomed!"
"Madam, have mercy! This old servant just went to fetch something for the Miss..."
Granny Hua had a grievance she couldn't voice. She had been sent by Song Qianqian to keep watch on Song Ci, but after twisting and turning through the paths, she had lost track of her. When she returned, she found her own Miss had met with disaster.
Madam Fang's chest heaved violently with rage.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear explanations! Someone, tie up this dog slave!"
"Madam, have mercy!"
Mama Liu stepped forward quickly and reminded her in a low voice, "Madam, the Second Young Lady is still unconscious. There are too many eyes and ears here. It's better to return to the mansion to deal with this dog slave."
"I'm so angry I'm muddled. Quickly go make the arrangements."
At Madam Fang's command, Mama Liu hurriedly ordered the maidservants to wrap up Song Qianqian and hastily move her onto the carriage.
From beginning to end, Madam Fang did not see Song Ci in the crowd, watching everything with cold eyes.
Granny Hua did see Song Ci. There was venom in her gaze, but before she could even open her mouth to accuse her, Mama Liu's people had already gagged her and dragged her away.
Shen Huaizhou stood in front of Song Ci, blocking Granny Hua's murderous glare, and made a throat-slitting gesture.
Soon, Gu Mingyuan was also taken away. With no more excitement to see, the crowd dispersed.
Shen Huaizhou clicked his tongue regretfully.
"What a pity. Didn't get to see the good part."
He rewarded the menial worker with ten taels of silver.
The menial worker kowtowed repeatedly, grinning from ear to ear.
Shen Huaizhou was amused.
"Just wait. Maybe the Second Miss Song has peculiar tastes and will take you in as a live-in son-in-law."
"This servant wouldn't dare..."
Shen Huaizhou waved his hand to shoo the man away, then sidled up to Song Ci, muttering in a low voice.
"Little Sister, what do we do next?"
"Each to our own house. Given Song Qianqian's temperament, suffering such a huge loss, she definitely won't let it go. When we return to the mansion, there's a big drama waiting for me to star in."
Shen Huaizhou rubbed his hands together excitedly. A big drama? He wanted to see it. Loved watching it. Wanted to come to the mansion to watch it.
But when he saw the coldness in Song Ci's gaze, he still didn't dare to ask, afraid of making his little sister angry.
As Song Ci was leaving, she casually handed over the bead given by Song Jingwu, asking Shen Huaizhou to find a reliable person to appraise its quality, to see if it was a luminous pearl. She also asked him to spread the scandalous affair between Song Qianqian and Gu Mingyuan.
She wanted the whole city to know.
Shen Huaizhou's face was full of excitement.
"Don't worry, leave it all to me. Little Sister, don't forget we'll meet at the tea house tomorrow. When you do, tell me who Song Qianqian ended up choosing."
"Alright."
Song Ci nodded in agreement. She too was curious about Song Qianqian's choice.
Inside the Marquis's Mansion, Madam Fang's courtyard was brightly lit. Four or five medical officers had been called in, but Song Qianqian still had not regained consciousness.
Song Ci could see there was more fuss to come, so she simply returned to her own courtyard and went to bed early.
Early the next morning, she heard from Amber that Song Qianqian still hadn't woken up.
Song Ci knew it was time for her to make an appearance.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw Madam Fang, looking exhausted, leaning by the bed and watching over Song Qianqian.
Song Ci spoke softly.
"Mother, didn't you sleep all night? Let me take care of Second Sister, how about it?"
"What a good child, so thoughtful. Your sister received a fright. It's better if I watch over her, so she won't wake up and be scared if I'm not here."
Song Ci was just being polite; she had no real intention of taking care of Song Qianqian. She cut straight to the point.
"Mother, rumors are spreading everywhere outside the mansion. To preserve the Marquis's Mansion's reputation, your daughter is willing to step aside and yield this marriage to younger sister."
"Ci'er, this is far too much of a grievance for you..." Madam Fang's face was full of guilt.
"It doesn't matter if I suffer a little grievance. We can't have our sister married off to that menial worker and disgrace the threshold of the Marquis's Mansion."
Song Ci's tone was calm as she looked at the slumbering Song Qianqian.
Song Qianqian's eyelashes trembled slightly, the muscles around her mouth tensing. She was clearly pretending to be asleep.
Song Ci sneered coldly. She wanted to see how long Song Qianqian could keep up the act.
"Actually, this marriage was originally meant for sister. Now it's just returning the jade intact to Zhao."
In the bed, Song Qianqian's nails dug into her palms.
Yield?
How could a poor Hanlin academician ever be a match for her?
That bitch Song Qianqian expected her to take over the mess?
She wanted to ruin her future!
Panic and venomous resentment shattered her self-control. Song Qianqian could no longer keep up the pretense...
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