Xie Zhaozhao gently tugged at her hem and said lightly, "That's right. His Majesty bestowed upon me the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady, and the Empress praised me for my excellent manners and etiquette."
Zhang Yanyan sneered and said, "Madam, haven't you heard the saying 'don't talk about people behind their backs'? It's normal that the Grand Secretary's wife is not familiar with the younger generation in the household since she has only recently entered the family. Marriage is a major life event, how can you speak so carelessly? If Madam truly cares about her half-brother, why not ask the Marquis's wife? She is the second young lady's legal mother. Asking her is much better than asking this third aunt, isn't it?"
Pei Yue's face turned pale, and she said awkwardly, "That's true. Then I'll go ask Madam Hou."
After she left, Liu Yiyi said, "I don't know what the Duchess of Xun was thinking, to marry such a wife to the Crown Prince Yin!"
Pei Yue is Pei Kunfu's second daughter. Originally, the eldest daughter, Pei Hui, was betrothed to Yin Jinzhuo, but unexpectedly, Pei Yue was chosen instead just before the betrothal ceremony.
Several people were talking when suddenly there was a commotion outside.
Zhang Yanyan's maid rushed in, panting, and said, "Madam, the young lady of the Marquis's mansion has fallen into the lake."
Xie Zhaozhao immediately asked, "Do you know who fell into the lake? Who is by the lake?"
"I heard that Miss Gu fell into the water," said Zhang Yanyan's maid. "Several young ladies of the Gu family are shouting for help, and some male guests have also run over."
It really is Gu Huanhuan.
Xie Zhaozhao immediately said to Manman, "Quickly help me there."
Zhang Yanyan said to the messenger maid, "Go and find out exactly who fell into the water."
Xie Zhaozhao hurried to the lakeside and saw a large crowd gathered there.
Madam Tu paced anxiously, shouting, "Third Miss, what happened to you? How did you fall into the lake out of nowhere?"
"Someone save my third sister! Waaaaah, third sister, how could you be so careless?"
Xie Xiangxiang shouted loudly, "Elder sister, hurry and save them! Aren't your guards all here? Quickly call them in to save them!"
Xie Zhaozhao didn't respond at all.
Should we call her guards to rescue her?
Her guards were all men; how could she explain herself after saving someone?
Her guards saved people; if they go back, Lu Shi will probably hate her for the rest of her life.
Without showing any emotion, she said to Liu Yiyi, "Yiyi, come with me to rescue people?"
Of the five people, only Liu Yiyi could swim. Liu Yiyi patted her hand and said, "Zhaozhao, don't rush!"
Just now, when Xie Zhaozhao was anxious about the girl falling into the water, Liu Yiyi immediately sent her maid to find a lifeboat.
A small boat suddenly emerged from under the small bridge behind the reeds, and a tall maid on board rowed forcefully toward Gu Huanhuan, who was bobbing up and down.
A man rushed over from the male guests' side, shouting, "I can swim! I'm here to save him!"
He took off his clothes as he ran.
Someone recognized him and exclaimed, "Isn't that Sun Kehai from the Sun family?"
How did he get in?
"They came from the men's side."
...
Xie Zhaozhao took one look and realized that although this person was tall and not bad-looking, he was rotten to the core.
Who else could it be but that perverted illegitimate son of the Sun family!
Xie Zhaozhao immediately said to Manman, "Go quickly and stop him. Don't let him go into the water and ruin the Third Miss's reputation."
Zhang Yanyan also told her maid Hongyu: "Go, stop him, don't let him go into the lake to save people."
Zhou Tangtang understood. The maid beside her knew martial arts: "Linglong, hurry up, I'm afraid Manman won't be able to stop you."
Manman and Hongyu blocked Sun Kehai from going into the lake, shouting as they ran: "We have already sent a boat to rescue people, young master, please have some self-respect."
Sun Kehai ignored them and just kept taking off his clothes.
While taking off his clothes, he pointed at Manman and Hongyu and cursed, "You didn't go down to save them, and you even stopped others from doing so. You just watched people die. What were you thinking?"
In order to push Manman and the others away, he recklessly took off his clothes until he was only wearing his undergarments, making Manman blush with embarrassment.
This man is disgusting, like a fly, you can't get rid of him.
But she didn't dare to move aside, blocking his way and arguing, "A boat has already come to rescue people, you don't need to go down."
Gu Xuanxuan scolded Manman: "How can you be so vicious? You'd rather watch the Third Miss die than let anyone else save her? Do you think Second Aunt is easy to bully?"
Gu Jiaojiao said righteously, "Why are you stopping me? Do you want people to know that Third Aunt refused to help someone in distress? Do you want to ruin Third Aunt's reputation?"
She was furious: "What nonsense are you talking about? Don't you have eyes? The ship is already here."
When Gu Xuanxuan saw the boat coming, she quickly pushed Manman aside and said to Sun Kehai, "Young Master Sun, please save our Third Miss! If you don't save her soon, she will die."
Manman was blocked by Gu Xuanxuan and Gu Jiaojiao, and shouted anxiously, "Hey you, if you dare to go down, my son-in-law will report the matter to the court."
Sun Kehai jumped into the lake without a second thought, but Linglong arrived in time, pulled him out, and kicked him away.
"I've never seen anything like this before. I've seen people wanting to save others, but I've never seen someone so desperate to save someone that they've gone to such extremes. This is truly an eye-opener!" Linglong sneered. "The ship has arrived. Young Master Sun, let's go back."
The small boat had reached the center of the lake. The maids on the boat lifted Gu Huanhuan up and quickly covered her with clothes.
The tragedy from the past life has been successfully averted!
Manman and Hongyu returned to their respective masters. They were cursed by Gu Xuanxuan and Gu Jiaojiao and disgusted by Sun Kehai. They were so aggrieved that their eyes were red.
Linglong recounted what had happened to Zhou Tangtang, who had the worst temper. As the legitimate granddaughter of Prince Jing's mansion and the Princess Changping, bestowed the title by the emperor himself, who was she afraid of?
They were whispering to each other, I don't know what they were saying.
Gu Huanhuan had been rescued, and Xie Zhaozhao immediately had her taken to an inner room to change her clothes.
Madam Tu also came over and said irritably, "How could someone this big fall into the lake?"
Xie Zhaozhao said calmly, "Sister-in-law, the Third Miss didn't fall into the water on purpose. It's good that she's alright."
At this point, why would they still try to smear the young ladies of the manor?
Not long after, Gu Huanhuan came out, her face pale. She knelt in front of Xie Zhaozhao and cried, "Third Aunt, please take me back?"
It's possible to leave, but the Duke's Mansion must provide an explanation as to how the person fell. Otherwise, a single sentence from Madam Tu, labeling her "reckless and indecent," will ruin her reputation, and who would dare invite her in the future?!
"Please investigate what exactly happened, Your Highness," Xie Zhaozhao said seriously. "Investigate, otherwise the rumors will spread."
Pei Yue was very embarrassed and summoned the relevant maids and servants.
The old woman from the Duke's mansion who was serving by the lake said, "The three young ladies from the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion were together the whole time. I saw that they were having a good time, so I didn't keep an eye on them."
Another maid said, "I heard the maids around the Marquis's wife shouting that there were many fish in the lake, so I helped them get a glass bottle and put it on the lakeside to catch fish and play with them."
Later, while they were catching her, the third young lady slipped down.
"I didn't slip, someone pushed me," Gu Huanhuan said, crying.
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