Lei frowned after hearing this and asked, "Is this true?"

"I dare not speak nonsense."

The servant looked completely sincere.

Lei Zi immediately replied, "I understand, I'll go in a bit."

The servant seemed to want to urge them on, but after glancing at Lei Zi, he didn't dare say anything more and retreated with his head down.

Lei Zi called over his servant and instructed him, "Go quietly to the women's side and see if Lianhua is still at the table. Come back and tell me quickly."

"yes."

The servant acknowledged and left, while Lei Zi paced back and forth anxiously.

The servant just came to report that a maidservant from Lotus's side had asked him to come and say that Lotus had gotten into an argument by the lake and the two had started fighting, and that he should go and take a look.

Leizi instinctively felt that there might be a trap. Although he was worried about Lianhua, he still had to have his people investigate to avoid giving others cause for criticism.

A short while later, the servant came to report: "Miss Lianhua is indeed not there. I asked around and they said that about half an hour ago, Miss Lianhua left the table with her maid and we don't know where she went."

Lei Zi became anxious, but he still had some confidence. Even if Lianhua really got into a fight, she wouldn't be the one being bullied. After all, she practiced martial arts with them, and these young ladies from noble families wouldn't be a match for Lianhua.

As long as I don't suffer any losses, everything will be fine for now.

"You stay here and keep an eye on things for me, I'll be right back."

Lei Zi left the servant behind and went to the lakeside.

The banquet was hosted by the lady of the Marquis of Chengyang's manor. This was her estate, where these flowers and plants were specially planted for people to enjoy. The estate was very large, and everyone was free to move around. For a moment, no one knew where the lotus flowers were.

As for the lakeside the servant mentioned, he was going to go, but he couldn't go openly, for fear of being set up.

There was a grove of trees by Zhuangzi's lake. You had to walk through that grove to get to the lake. Lei Zi was originally going there, but the moment he saw the grove, he knew that the lotus flower was definitely not by the lake.

The main reason is that the girls in the family all wear dresses from Jiayuan Pavilion, which are made of luxurious materials and have exquisite designs. Lianhua usually takes great care of these dresses.

Especially for banquets like this, where the dresses are much more luxurious than usual, Lotus, worried about her dress getting damaged, never walks in places with lush foliage.

He immediately changed direction and went to look elsewhere; the servant was indeed someone's deliberate arrangement.

Lotus was not by the lake at the moment, but was sitting under a tree enjoying the cool shade, fanning herself while complaining to Youya and her maid.

“My aunt would always help us in situations like this before, and I didn’t feel that it was too tiring. But this time, my aunt completely left the problem to me, and I realized how difficult it is!”

Youya nodded: "Yes, I was scared too. Those ladies all looked so kind, but their words were so sarcastic and hurtful!"

"Luckily we escaped. If we sit a little longer, we can go find Auntie and then go home together."

Lotus let out another breath. If she couldn't afford to offend them, she could at least avoid them. She didn't believe that group of people could keep chasing her to this remote place.

"Yeah, I should have brought Tingting out too, so she could see how dangerous this world is, hahaha!"

Youya felt a pang of regret when she thought of Tingya. They had all originally planned to come together, but Tingya remembered that her master was going to teach her acupuncture techniques, so she chose to stay at the shop.

Lotus was amused by her. The girls always had so much to talk about. Since they weren't planning to go back to the banquet, they just sat together chatting, completely unaware of how anxious Lei Zi was looking for them.

Lei Zi didn't go to the lakeside. He searched around but couldn't find Lianhua. He became a little anxious, worried that he had guessed wrong and that Lianhua might really be fighting with someone by the lake. Just as he was about to turn back, he heard faint laughter coming from the lake.

The sound was quite far away, but he still heard it and hurriedly followed the sound to find it.

"I think that Miss Cui is the funniest. She's so much older than you, yet she immediately called you 'sister.' How could she be so talkative? I heard from my aunt that when her mother came to visit before, she offended my aunt with her words. How come the mother and daughter are both so tactless?"

You covered her mouth and giggled. She was still young and couldn't understand the scheming and intrigue yet; she just found it a little funny.

Lianhua took this opportunity to educate her: "They're not that they can't speak properly, they're just saying that on purpose. They mainly want to get along well with us so they can come to our house in the future, or they can swagger around outside using Uncle San's name."

Yuya's eyes widened. How could there be such a shameless person?

"Then why do you still call Lotus Sister 'Auntie'? Doesn't that mean you're related to her?"

Youya was even more confused. If she called her aunt, it wasn't just about becoming relatives, but also about being a generation above them. In the future, they would have to bow to Cui Wanyun when they met.

Lianhua smiled and explained to her, "Because her main reason for wanting to befriend me is your brother Lei Zi. She wants to call me sister, so she and your brother Lei Zi will be of the same generation, and it will be easier for her to find an excuse to get closer to me in the future."

Youya covered her mouth, unable to make a sound.

Lianhua continued, "Youyou, I'm telling you this to tell you that you should never think too one-sidedly about things. The higher Uncle's official position is, the more people will have their eyes on our family. Now I'm encountering these things, and in a few years, you will encounter them too. So you must stay vigilant and not let anyone take advantage of you."

Although it's a bit early to tell Youya about these things now, informing her in advance can help prevent things from getting chaotic later.

Youya nodded very seriously and said, "I understand, I will pay more attention."

"So you were here all along! I was so worried!"

Just then, Lei Zi's voice broke in. The group turned around and saw Lei Zi, panting heavily, walking toward them.

The others, curious, asked, "Why are you here? Is the banquet over?"

"Not yet. Someone came to me and said you got into an argument with someone by the lake and it was about to turn into a fight, so I rushed over to look for you, but I haven't been able to find you."

Lei walked up to them and plopped down on the floor. It was so hot!

Lotus was a little puzzled and asked with a smile, "That person told you I was by the lake, why are you still walking this way? I remember the lake is quite far from here."

It was almost a distance in the opposite direction, no wonder he was panting so much.

“I was going to look for you by the lake, but I saw a small grove of trees there, with some bushes that could easily tear your clothes. I know you're careful with your clothes and wouldn't go to those places, so I didn't go there and came here to look for you.”

Meanwhile, in the grove of trees by the lake, Cui Wanyun was getting impatient and couldn't help but start cursing.