Falling into the lake
They stayed in Laining for less than half a year when a major case shook the court and the public, and they even encountered assassins at the very beginning of their journey. With such a near-death experience, he must have heard about it long ago, even though he was far away in Mujing.
She was taken aback by his blunt question, but quickly realized that he was blaming her for moving to Laining without bringing Fangxing with her.
Even on that rainy afternoon in the teahouse, he solemnly told her that Fangxing was someone she could trust.
Lin Xu carefully tucked the embroidered handkerchief into her sleeve. When she looked into Zhou Weikan's eyes again, her voice held a hint of coldness:
“I understand that Young Master Zhou means well. However, I have already married into the Dou family and it is not appropriate for me to have too much involvement with outsiders. Fangxing is intelligent, but keeping her by my side is ultimately a delay.”
It was rare for her to speak so resolutely.
She had always felt sorry for Zhou Weikan, and even though she was determined to sever all ties with him in this life, she could never bring herself to do it.
Now, the two stand by the lake, clearly reunited after a long separation, yet they can only use the most indifferent words and actions to highlight the difference in their current status.
She had made up her mind.
Zhou Weikan moved, and a few fallen hibiscus petals were now stained between his brows, making his face appear even more desolate, as if he were shrouded in the cold, desolate snow.
He smiled, but his eyes were full of disappointment.
"At that time, I didn't know you had left. I even sent someone to deliver a lot of tea to Yuancao Residence so that the maid could bring it to you when you ordered flowers and herbs again."
She didn't answer, and he continued, "Fangxing came to see me and said you moved to Laining. She also said that you were poisoned without your knowledge, and if she hadn't noticed, you might have died from the poisoning long ago..."
She swayed slightly. He took a step forward and stood on a rock not far from her.
A sense of fear began to creep into her heart. She was reluctant to listen any longer.
"...You said he treated you very well after you got married, so why can't he even do something as simple as protecting you?"
Looking at Zhou Weikan's devastated expression, which resembled a collapsing jade mountain, Lin Xu felt both panicked and saddened.
She turned around, intending to leave, but unexpectedly, he grabbed her wrist.
She spun around almost completely, her body leaning forward uncontrollably. Zhou Weikan caught her with his other hand, holding her steadily against his chest.
Even after a lifetime, when Lin Xu's cheek touched the soft, cloud-like brocade again after a long time, he felt a moment of disorientation.
This was the embrace she once knew so well.
It mingled with the familiar scent of agarwood and snow lotus, exuding a faint, cool fragrance.
She was stunned for a moment, feeling as if she had returned to that time in her past life when she was fearless and carefree. No matter what trouble she caused, Zhou Weikan was always there to protect her and indulge her.
He hasn't changed at all from his past life. He still cares about her just as much.
She used to be so attached to him... but now even the warmth of his embrace feels somewhat unfamiliar...
In a moment of panic, Lin Xu snapped out of her daze and quickly took a large step back. How could she allow herself to become entangled with the person she loved most in her past life in the Dou family's back garden...
She had no time to explain or clarify anything; her mind was a jumbled mess, and she couldn't remember anything. In a panic, she turned and took a step forward, but unexpectedly, the stones by the lake were covered in slippery moss. Without paying attention, she tipped over the edge of the lake—
He fell sideways into the lake.
In an instant, I heard the gurgling sound of water.
It was late autumn, and the lake water was icy cold. She was pregnant, and when she fell into the lake, she panicked. In an instant, she couldn't care about anything else and could only thrash about with her hands and feet.
She was so terrified that she choked on several mouthfuls of lake water.
The lake water was icy cold and salty, causing her to struggle and cough even more in the water.
In the fading of consciousness, I heard another splash, and then I saw a shimmering white object fall into the azure lake.
Soon, the white mass approached her, and through a few withered lotus leaves, her body floated to the surface. Someone was supporting her from below the lake, and soon she was back in the light of day, greedily breathing in the air.
She knew it was Zhou Weikan.
She closed her eyes for a moment, filled with the joy of surviving a disaster, and was finally pushed to the edge of the rocks by the lake. She struggled to hold onto the edge, and with the help of the person beneath her, she quickly climbed ashore.
After this ordeal, Lin Xu was completely exhausted. She lay on the ground, gasping for breath, looking utterly disheveled. Her consciousness was hazy; she felt dizzy and disoriented, and even her legs and arms felt incredibly weak, as if they didn't belong to her.
Everything around her was a blur. She had choked on a lot of water and was coughing violently; her eyelids were so heavy she couldn't open them.
In a daze, she felt as if a pair of warm hands had turned her over, which made her feel much better and allowed her to breathe fresh air.
The hand gently touched her forehead. The movement was very gentle. As if sensing that her body temperature and pulse were normal, the hand stopped trembling slightly.
Lin Xu felt a faint scent of snow-covered icebergs lingering around her nose.
It felt like something was being stuffed into her hand. Before she could see it clearly, she heard a tense and urgent voice in her ear.
"I'll go find someone. Stay here."
That was a rare display of urgency on Zhou Weikan's face.
She had no time to think and could only nod frantically.
The sound of footsteps receding into the distance could be heard behind me.
Soon, Zhu Ling, who was guarding the entrance to the path, also heard the noise and rushed over. She was startled when she saw Lin Xu's disheveled appearance and hurriedly ran over.
"Madam! Madam, what happened to you? How did you fall into the water out of nowhere!"
Lin Xu's health is precious now. She only noticed that Zhou Weikan and Lin Xu seemed embarrassed and had something to say, so she wisely went to guard the back garden. She didn't expect that such a big thing would happen in such a short time!
If anything happens to the child in the lady's womb, she might as well not live either...
Moreover, looking around, there was not a single person in sight. Where was that Young Master Zhou?
Zhu Ling looked anxious and panicked, not knowing what to do. She could only hurriedly take out a clean handkerchief to wipe Lin Xu's face. Just as she was about to call for a servant, Lin Xu took a breath and said:
"It's alright, I just accidentally fell into the water. There's no need to disturb anyone else."
As they were talking, a few moments later a series of light footsteps came from the other side of the garden. It was Steward Qi leading two or three guards and a few maids.
When Steward Qi saw Lin Xu being helped to her feet by Zhu Ling, he was quite worried. He cupped his hands and was about to ask the Qi family physician to examine her pulse, but Lin Xu did not want to make a fuss about it, so she quietly declined.
The maidservant beside Steward Qi said that a young master who looked like a guest had just anxiously summoned someone, saying that they had heard cries for help coming from the garden, so they went to ask Steward Qi for help and rushed over.
She had fallen into the water while she was alone with Zhou Weikan. Even though Zhou Weikan rescued her immediately, if the other people in the Dou family had seen it, no one would have been able to clear her name no matter what.
Therefore, Zhou Weikan could only leave quietly and call his servants again.
Having received Lin Xu's instructions, Steward Qi had no choice but to have several maids help Lin Xu back to the villa. Granny Qin was naturally very surprised and quickly had hot water prepared so that she could wash herself clean.
Even now that she's finally safe and sound, Lin Xu still feels a lingering fear when she recalls the terror she felt in the water. She was ultimately too nervous in front of Zhou Weikan, and in her panic, she acted recklessly…
After Zhu Ling and Rong Wei wiped their bodies with clean cloths and changed them into neat and elegant orchid-patterned jackets, they took advantage of the fact that no one was in the hall to look at the things that Zhou Weikan had given them earlier.
It was an extremely simple and elegant nanmu wood bracelet, with bright black beads that emitted a faint luster. At the end of the bracelet was a small red thread knot, and behind the knot was a dark gold lotus-shaped Buddha head.
These prayer beads are clearly meant for people who worship Buddha.
When did Zhou Weikan start believing in Buddhism? She had no idea.
Before she could think further, Granny Qin lifted the curtain and brought in a bowl of warmed medicine to dispel the cold. Lin Xu carefully placed the string of prayer beads into the pear wood dressing case by her window and sipped the medicine slowly.
Fortunately, she was a good swimmer, and the lake wasn't deep. After taking the medicine, she quickly started sweating and was fine.
However, after all this commotion, it was already late morning, and the formal ceremony should be about to begin.
Zhu Ling originally wanted to persuade Lin Xu to rest a little longer, but Lin Xu was ultimately concerned about Dou Zhen, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime event for her, so she drank the medicine and ate two fruit pieces to suppress the bitterness before forcing herself to go to the main hall.
Sure enough, the hall was already packed with guests, a bustling scene.
The hall was already fully prepared, with the most elegant blend of incense burning gently on the incense table. Crimson gauze curtains hung all around, and Dou Zhen, who had changed her clothes, slowly walked out from behind the curtain in a simple and elegant plain silk brocade dress under everyone's gaze.
Lin Xu sat down at the end of the hall. Looking around, she saw that all around her were prominent and powerful people from Mujing, and she even saw several familiar faces.
In the distance, Princess Gong, dressed in a purple and gold brocade jacket adorned with floral patterns and adorned with luxurious hair, stood in front, while beside her was the fourth young lady of the Gong Prince's Mansion, dressed in a light blue silk dress with flowing clouds.
The two of them were the main guests and the best man present to support Dou Zhen today.
Lin Xu had no idea how much effort Bai Shi had secretly put in to invite the notoriously arrogant and domineering Princess Consort of Gong. However, seeing Bai Shi's beaming smile in the crowd, he knew she must be very satisfied.
Seated in the hall were many of Lin Xu's old acquaintances.
Song Jiaoling, dressed in a long blue dress, sat in a corner, calmly sipping tea. Not far from her were Song Xiyan, the second young lady of the Song family, whom she had briefly met before, and Deng Tanyu and Jin Wanzhi, who were always by her side. Each of them was elegant and beautiful.
Seated at the head of the guests was a young woman with her hair piled high, wearing a phoenix-tail-patterned cloud-and-gold embroidered jacket over a phoenix-embroidered silk robe. She exuded an air of dignified elegance and supreme honor. This was none other than the Crown Princess, who had entered the Eastern Palace just two months prior—
The meaning of the Miao people in Shou'an County.
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