As they approached the school gate, Lin Wanqing's maid suddenly came running towards them, falling to her knees with a thud: "Miss Qi! Please have mercy! Go see my young lady! She... she's probably not going to make it..."

The crowd immediately stirred. Several students angrily shouted, "She still dares to go? Hasn't she caused enough harm already?" "Crocodile tears!"

Qi Mingyue paused for a moment, then suddenly turned around: "Lead the way."

Everyone was stunned. Xie Ansu said anxiously, "Mingyue, what's wrong with you...?"

"Didn't you say I drove her to her death?" Qi Mingyue said calmly. "If she really died because of me, I will naturally see her off."

Inside the ward, Lin Wanqing lay pale on the bed, her breath weak. Seeing Qi Mingyue enter, she suddenly opened her eyes wide and trembled all over: "Sister Qi... have mercy... Wanqing knows she was wrong..."

The doctor standing nearby sighed, "He has suffered a great shock and is not in his right mind."

Qi Mingyue approached the bedside and quietly looked at Lin Wanqing. Suddenly, she said softly, "Miss Lin, is the lotus-patterned handkerchief in your sleeve still intact?"

Lin Wanqing's pupils contracted sharply, and she grabbed the corner of the blanket abruptly: "What handkerchief... Wanqing doesn't know..."

“It’s the exact same handkerchief as Bai Lian’er’s.” Qi Mingyue said calmly, “Embroidered with the same lotus flowers, and using the same sachet. The craftsmanship of the Yongchang Marquis’s mansion is indeed exquisite.”

The room was filled with shock. Lin Wanqing's face was ashen, and she trembled even more violently: "You... what nonsense are you talking about..."

Qi Mingyue stopped looking at her and turned to the crowd, saying, "Would you all like to know why Miss Lin would frame me?"

Her gaze swept across the entire room, finally settling on Xie Ansu's face: "Because someone offered her a large sum of money to ruin my reputation and prevent my marriage. Because the heir of the Duke of Ying will be coming to Yingzhou again in three days, someone doesn't want him to see me safe and sound."

The entire hall erupted in uproar. Xie Ansu was even more shocked: "Mingyue, is this really true?"

Qi Mingyue took out a letter from her sleeve: "This was received this morning. The young master said in his letter that he has cleared my name and will come to take me back to the capital in three days." Her gaze was sharp as she looked at Lin Wanqing, "Miss Lin, is it because you were afraid that things would be exposed that you took such a risky step?"

Lin Wanqing sat up abruptly and shrieked, "You're spouting nonsense! I...I..." Suddenly, she spat out a mouthful of blood, splattering the bedding red.

The crowd gasped in surprise. The doctor rushed forward to examine the patient, shaking his head and sighing, "It's a sudden attack of anger, I'm afraid..."

In the chaos, Qi Mingyue quietly slipped out of the ward. Xie Ansu chased after her: "Mingyue! Those pieces of evidence..."

Qi Mingyue stopped, but did not turn around: "I have already given the evidence to the headmaster. If An Su trusts me, he will investigate; if he does not trust me, there is no point in saying more."

She looked up at the sky, and the autumn rain had started to fall again without her noticing.

"Do you remember the double-petaled lotus at Biyun Temple that day?" she suddenly asked. "You said it outlived people. Now it seems that it really is."

Xie Ansu stood there, stunned, watching Qi Mingyue and her servant leave under their umbrellas, their figures gradually disappearing into the rain.

The rain grew heavier, soaking his clothes. He suddenly recalled their first meeting: Qi Mingyue standing under the pear tree, her features cool and elegant.

“The innocent are innocent…” he murmured to himself, feeling an unbearable pain in his heart.

Meanwhile, Qi Mingyue had already boarded a carriage and left this place that had once filled her with longing and left her battered and bruised.

The carriage curtain fell, shutting out the wind and rain. Zhi Shu sobbed uncontrollably, "Miss...why are we leaving? It wasn't our fault..."

Qi Mingyue gazed at the rapidly receding street scene outside the window and said softly, "In this world, not everything needs to be judged as right or wrong." Her fingertips lightly touched the zither case. "Sometimes, taking a step back allows us to see more clearly."

As the carriage left Yingzhou City, it brushed past a group of galloping horses. The leader, dressed in black robes and wearing a golden crown, was exceptionally handsome and had traveled day and night to reach them.

However, the journey was too short, and they eventually passed each other by.

The heavy rain blocked their view of each other, and also severed the fate that should have brought them together.

Qi Mingyue closed her eyes, and she seemed to hear Xie An's words from that day when he stayed by the lotus pond: "True poetic beauty lies in this landscape of mountains, rivers and fields."