Accident

The sky is high and the clouds are light, a gentle breeze is blowing.

In the waterside pavilion, the young ladies drank fruit wine and played a game of flower-themed drinking games.

Mu Qing has recently brushed up on her poetry, but she still can't keep up with the Flying Flower Order. When it was her turn to recite a poem with "plum blossom" in it, she could only sigh.

"Sister Qingxue, drink up!" Ji Shuzhen slapped the table, looking very pleased with herself.

Mu Qing had a decent alcohol tolerance; she wouldn't get drunk after just a few glasses of fruit wine. She drank another glass without changing her expression, then decided to go change her clothes.

Next, it was Lu Tongxue's turn. Although she was a little listless, she responded quickly to the order and casually said, "Plum blossoms are three parts less white than snow."

At this moment, Ji Shucai returned, and with a gentle smile, sat down in her previous seat. Across Mu Qing, she whispered to Lu Tongxue, "I've already spoken to my second brother. He's waiting for you, and someone will be waiting for you outside."

After speaking, she straightened her posture and watched the others play the game of "flying flowers" (a traditional Chinese game of wordplay), occasionally giving Lu Tongxue a smile that subtly urged her on.

Lu Tongxue's face was slightly bitter. She had been strictly disciplined since childhood. During her time in Weizhou, she had been bolder, but she had never done anything like having a secret rendezvous with anyone. After thinking it over again and again, she regretted agreeing to Ji Shucai's proposal. Now she was in a dilemma.

"Sister Qing, come with me." She whispered to Mu Qing, "I don't feel at ease without anyone by my side. If you're here, you can at least cover for me."

The thought of her going to see Young Master Ji alone made Mu Qing uneasy, but she readily agreed to her request.

The two left the banquet under the pretext of changing clothes. When they walked to the waterside pavilion, a maid in green came up to them and asked if they were Miss Lu.

After revealing their identities, Mu Qing and Lu Tongxue walked away.

After passing through flowers and willows and groves, we arrived at the lakeside. In a secluded spot hidden by the trees, a small boat with a black awning was waiting quietly.

The maid in green said, "Our young master is waiting on the other side. It would take too long to meet him on foot. Please board the boat, Miss, and I will row across as soon as possible."

Mu Qing and Lu Tongxue exchanged glances, puzzled but also finding it reasonable.

Neither of them had ever ridden in a covered boat before. They boarded the boat one after the other, crawled into the sunshade, and were still feeling novel. After looking around for a while, the maid in green had already rowed the boat into the lake.

Seeing that the boat seemed to be heading towards the waterside pavilion, Mu Qing asked, "Are we going the wrong way?"

But then the young maid in green who was rowing at the stern of the boat jumped into the water without a word and disappeared like a fish.

The two men were startled and stood up, causing the small boat to rock violently.

Mu Qing quickly walked to the stern and looked around. There was no one in the water, and their boat was almost in the middle of the lake.

Lu Tongxue helped herself to her feet under the awning, her face full of anger. "What...what does Ji Shucai want to do?"

Seeing her heading towards the stern, with the bow tilting upwards, Mu Qing quickly called out to her, "Tong-meimei, don't move!"

"Ah, this boat is leaking!" Lu Tongxue lifted one foot, her embroidered shoe already wet.

Water was seeping into the bottom of the boat from somewhere, so she had to step onto a stool.

Mu Qing looked around, sat down, grabbed the oars, and stepped on the paddle handle. As if on cue, he suddenly learned how to row, and the small boat swayed gently towards the lake.

Seeing that water was piling up at the bottom of the boat, Lu Tongxue urged anxiously, "Sister Qing, hurry up!"

But the boat could no longer go any faster.

Not long after, Lu Tongxue exclaimed from inside the sunshade, "The water is rising! What do we do?"

Several inches of water had accumulated at the stern, reaching above the ankles. Mu Qing was forced to get up, wondering if he could swim after getting off the boat, but whether he could swim to the lakeside with Lu Tongxue was another matter.

Hearing the mixed shouts in the distance, she looked up and saw two bamboo rafts coming from opposite directions. One raft carried several burly servants, while the other carried a dark-skinned young man.

On the waterside pavilion and on the grassy lakeside, many figures stood up, clearly all looking at the leaky awning boat.

Without thinking twice, Mu Qing rowed as far as he could towards the burly, dark-skinned youth.

The burly, dark-skinned youth's bamboo raft was closer, and soon it reached the side of the boat.

Mu Qing lightly stepped onto the edge of the boat and jumped onto his bamboo raft. As soon as he stood firm, he heard Lu Tongxue calling for help from inside the awning boat.

The burly, dark-skinned youth was tall and slender, with dark skin and a resolute face. He wore a black and white fitted shirt embroidered with dark patterns, the cuffs rolled up, revealing bulging muscles on his arms.

When he saw Mu Qing lightly jump onto the bamboo raft without anyone helping her, he was surprised. Hearing that there were still people in the awning boat, he reached into the sunshade with the long bamboo pole in his hand and shouted loudly, "Miss, you can hold onto this pole to come out."

Lu Tongxue, who was inside the sunshade, was squatting on a stool holding her skirt. Only after hearing repeated urging from outside did she muster up the courage to grab the long pole and walk into the water.

The water in the boat was leaking more and more. She took a few steps, her face full of panic. Her lower body was almost submerged in water, and her pink and gold gauze skirt was floating on the water. Before she could reach the stern, the boat was already rocking and about to capsize.

"Sister Qing!" she called out again.

Mu Qing was anxious. "Hold on tight and come over here quickly!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than the awning boat capsized, splashing water everywhere. Lu Tongxue sank straight into the water, but fortunately she was still holding tightly to the pole, and her wet head and neck were still above the surface.

Mu Qing knelt down on the edge of the bamboo raft and reached out to pull her, but it was difficult to reach her.

Noticing that the weight at the other end of the long pole was getting lighter, the burly, dark-skinned youth put down the pole, jumped into the water, and pulled the struggling Lu Tongxue out of the water.

*

Lu Xier accepted the invitation from the Ji family.

When Aunt Man returned home and heard about this, she tried her best to dissuade Lu Xier from going, but Lu Xier had thought it through clearly.

She had performed at other mansions before, so one more or one less time made little difference, not to mention that the Ji family was an official family, which carried more weight.

If I follow my godmother's advice and stop performing for money, I need to save more money and not miss this opportunity.

Arriving at the Ji residence with this mindset, she was speechless with amazement upon seeing the gardens, which resembled a fairyland. As requested, she performed on a bamboo raft and unexpectedly heard someone by the lake playing a flute in harmony, displaying remarkable skill, which further moved her.

After accepting the money as a token of gratitude, she was about to leave when she heard that the person playing the flute was the second young master of the household. He wanted to invite her to meet and discuss music. She was somewhat tempted and stayed, using the excuse of improving her musical skills to leave her godmother with nothing to say.

The Ji residence occupies a large area, and moving around requires walking quite a distance.

After passing through several courtyards, as we entered a courtyard by the lake, we suddenly saw two maids rushing to the back, panting as they spoke a string of words. The gist of their words was that Miss Lu had fallen into the water and that we needed to prepare a room and hot water, among other things.

Upon hearing the name of Miss Lu, Madam Man said to the maid who was leading the way, "My young lady seems a little tired from walking. Would you mind having a drink of water here?"

The maid who was leading the way was instructed to delay the musician so that he could wait a little longer in the mansion. Upon hearing this, she immediately ordered that a room and tea be prepared for him to rest.

Lu Xier and Aunt Man entered a room in the courtyard, tacitly opening the window, determined to take this opportunity to meet the imposter, the fake young lady of the Lu family. Knowing their enemy was the best way to deal with the situation.

However, when several women appeared in the courtyard and recognized the person they wanted to see almost effortlessly, the two were both stunned.

"Godmother, she and the Third Madam..."

Lu Xier looked at Aunt Man in a trembling voice and found that she was even more shocked than she was.

Grandma Man stared in disbelief, and it took her a long time to murmur, "How can it look so alike?"

The maidservant who was serving nearby glanced at them and said with a smile, "The young lady and the third madam that the Lu family found? Everyone says they look exactly alike."

Aunt Man shook her head. Thinking of that nobleman's ruthlessness, she was still certain that Lu Xier was the true daughter of the Lu family.

Now past fifty, she had gained considerable experience and knew that there were unrelated people who looked alike. But why was it such a coincidence that the fake lady got such a huge advantage? Had she been a good person all these years in vain?!

Mu Qing vaguely sensed that someone was watching her from the shadows. When she turned her head, she saw a window that had just closed.

Before I could think any further, Lu Tongxue next to me was sobbing, lamenting that she would rather be dead.

Mu Qing had no choice but to quickly pull Lu Tongxue into the house and persuade her to change out of her wet clothes.

Just now, when the burly young man carried her out of the water, Lu Tongxue's eyes reddened, and when she realized that everyone around her was watching, she burst into tears on the spot.

Mu Qing helped her ashore and ordered someone to fetch the servants from the Lu family who had been led away from the waterside pavilion.

Because she was angry, the Ji sisters did not approach her, but sent their maids to fulfill her requests one by one, saying that the lady would arrive soon.

A brazier was lit in the side room to dry the soaked clothes and shoes, making it a few degrees warmer than outside.

When Lu Tongxue changed into clean clothes, Aunt Ning, who had rushed over, restyled her hair before the Ji family members finally arrived.

Ji Shucai and Ji Shuzhen's mother was a woman in her forties with gray hair, who looked older than her age. As soon as she entered the door with her two daughters and servants, she saw Mu Qing and Lu Tongxue coming out from behind the screen.

She adopted the demeanor of an elder, observing and scrutinizing them, offering words of comfort and concern, before scolding her two daughters.

"Since the banquet is held in the waterside pavilion, precautions should be taken to prevent guests from falling into the water. How can you let the guests row boats alone?"

Ji Shuzhen pouted and said, "They said they were going to change clothes, how was I supposed to know they would secretly go boating?"

Mu Qing looked at Ji Shucai standing behind her and said, "It's one thing if Sister Shuzhen doesn't know, but Shucai knows everything. She sent a maid in green to row the boat. When they reached the center of the lake, she abandoned us and jumped into the water. I don't know if she did something underwater, but the boat started to leak at that time."

Ji Shucai took a step forward, her face showing surprise. "What little maid in green? How could I have such a guts? Why would Qingxue frame me? You are the future princess. We are always careful in our dealings with you and dare not offend you. How could we dare to plot against you?"

Lu Tongxue, who had already calmed down, became furious upon hearing this, her eyes turning red with anger. "Ji Shucai, stop trying to deny it! It was you who arranged it!"

"Why would I arrange things this way, inexplicably sending a maid to take you sisters boating?" Ji Shucai frowned. "I'm not a divine being, why should I expect you to obediently do this risky thing?"

Lu Tongxue was speechless. She turned and leaned on Mu Qing's shoulder, sobbing again with tears in her eyes.

Mu Qing patted her on the back, but didn't know what to say.

If it were to secretly meet with Ji Wenjie, the second young master of the Ji family, it would not only be a public humiliation, but also a loss of any sense of shame for a young lady.

The lady sensed something amiss and her expression calmed considerably. She said, "Cai'er, how can you speak like that? She's been so frightened, and instead of comforting her, you're questioning her?"

Ji Shucai lowered her head and covered her face, her voice filled with grievance: "But I didn't do anything. There were a few maids arranged outside the waterside pavilion, but they were all at the mercy of others. If they wanted to go boating on the lake, those maids wouldn't dare to disobey. We'll find out which maid found a bad boat later by questioning her."

Mu Qing was disgusted.

She was not a rich young lady to begin with, and her anger at being tricked far outweighed any sense of shame a young lady should have. Her face turned cold, and she was about to retort when Aunt Ning stopped her.

"Miss, let's go back first and let Master and Madam handle this matter."