The early summer breeze, swirling with the fragrance and moisture of the lotuses from Taiye Pond, permeated the Imperial Garden as if it were bathed in honey. The thousand-acre lotus pond was in full bloom, its pink and white petals dripping with dewdrops, gleaming with tiny golden rays in the sunlight. Red carp darted among the emerald leaves, shattering the rosy glow of the pond. When the eunuchs hurriedly fished Lin Wanrou out of the pond, the inflatable pigskin raft at her waist still drifted, its crimson hue like a sun-cracked tomato. The onlookers lowered their heads, pinching their sleeves with their fingertips to stifle laughter, their shoulders shaking like fallen leaves in the autumn wind.
"Miss Lin, are you okay?" Shen Weiwan came forward, holding up the moon-white skirt, her fingertips hovering three inches away from the other's wet cheek, deliberately blinking her innocent eyes, "Just now I saw you floating so steadily in the water, I thought you had learned how to float on the water with the guidance of an expert!"
Lin Wanrou was soaking wet, her lilac skirt clinging to her body. Her hair was mostly undone, and her nine-beaded chain hairpin was tilted behind her ear, dripping with water from the pearl pendant. Upon hearing this, her lips trembled with anger, and her jade armor nearly dug into her palms. "Chen Weiwan! Stop pretending to be nice! You're clearly jealous of me talking to the Seventh Prince, so you're pushing me into the water!"
"Oh?" Chen Weiwan raised an eyebrow and waved her jade finger towards the pond. The pigskin raft was gently swaying with the ripples, and the round eyes on the raft, dotted with cinnabar, were particularly eye-catching in the sunlight. "But I heard that those who are truly good at floating on water don't use lifebuoys. Where did Sister Lin buy this pigskin raft? Look at its buoyancy. I'm afraid it will come in handy next time I want to give my aunt a 'surprise'."
The noble ladies around them, already feeling uncomfortably suffocated, could no longer hold back, their puffs rising and falling like boiling water. The daughter of Grand Tutor Li slapped her thigh in laughter, nearly shaking the golden phoenix hairpin on her head. "Miss Shen is right! This pigskin raft looks sturdy. I'll have the accountant prepare a few more so we can be prepared for any future banquets!"
"Hahaha! Miss Lin is really preparing for a rainy day!"
"I see, he probably anticipated that he would fall into the water today and prepared the 'artifact' in advance, right?"
Lin Wanrou felt the blood rush to her head as she listened to the laughter from the audience. Her face flickered between blue and red, more spectacular than the face-changing on stage. But the pigskin raft was still bobbing in the water, its painted snouts seemingly sneering at her. She trembled with anger, digging her nails into her palms.
At that moment, the Empress Dowager, trembling, approached, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, flanked by a throng of palace attendants. She had heard the commotion by the pond from afar, her mouth stretched from ear to ear, her cane tapping against the bluestone slabs. "I heard there's a 'pigskin rafting' show going on in the Imperial Garden today, so I've come all the way here to join in the fun!"
The Queen followed behind the Queen Mother, trying hard to suppress her laughter. She covered her mouth with a jade-studded handkerchief and pointed at the glaring red in the pool. "Look, mother, isn't that the daughter of Minister Lin?"
Seeing the Empress Dowager arrive, Lin Wanrou was like a drowning person grabbing a lifeline. She didn't care that she was soaking wet and tumbled to the Empress Dowager. The water droplets on her skirt left dark marks on the bright yellow curtains. "Empress Dowager! Please help me! Chen Weiwan, she is jealous of me and pushed me into the water!"
The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes, examining the pigskin raft still hanging from her waist. She laughed so hard her cane nearly dug into the ground. "Oh? She pushed you into the water, and you were so considerate to bring this thing along with you? It looks to me like you were planning to put on a 'walking on the water' performance for everyone!"
"I, I..." Lin Wanrou was speechless, tears welling up in her eyes. "This is because I'm afraid the water in the garden is too deep and dangerous, so I prepared it for self-defense!"
"Well prepared! Brilliantly prepared!" The Queen Mother laughed so hard her silver hair swung askew. "It's much more durable than those life buoys in my palace that look good but don't work! In my opinion, this incident today should be called the 'Pig Skin Raft Incident'. In the future, it will surely become a 'legend' in the capital!"
"Hahahaha——" The palace maids and eunuchs in the room could no longer hold back and burst into laughter. Some doubled over with laughter, some covered their faces with their sleeves, and even the eunuch in charge, who always had a stern face, couldn't help but turn his back, his shoulders shaking like sieves. Lin Wanrou was so embarrassed that she wanted to dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it, but Shen Weiwan reached out and pulled her back: "Sister Lin, don't be in a hurry to leave! This pigskin raft hasn't been returned to His Highness yet!"
Xiao Yu, who had walked up to Shen Weiwan at some point, smiled meaningfully, waving his folding fan, his dark-colored clothes fluttering in the wind. "Exactly. How can I let Miss Lin take away the things in my storehouse for nothing?" He suddenly raised his voice, startling the sparrows by the pond and making them flutter and fly. "Someone, come here! Fish out that pigskin raft for me. I want to give it to Miss Shen as a decoration!"
"Your Highness!" Shen Weiwan glared at him in reproach, but couldn't help but curl her lips. "Where should I put this thing? How about putting it on the antique shelf in my boudoir? Looking at it every day will remind me to 'always be on guard against others'?"
"Very good, very good." Xiao Yu nodded repeatedly, tapping his folding fan in his palm to a brisk rhythm. "By the way, I'll have the Ministry of Industry make ten or eight more and give one to each of you ladies. This way, everyone can learn from Miss Lin's 'preparing for a rainy day' and avoid being tempted to 'fall into the water' at every turn."
Lin Wanrou listened to the two men's chorus, her head spinning, her ears filled with a hum of laughter. Her vision went dark, and she passed out. The last pearl hairpin in her hair fell to the ground with a clatter, rolling into the moss at the edge of the pond. The eunuchs nearby frantically lifted her up, but after taking two steps, the pigskin raft they had pulled up suddenly fell to the ground with a thud. The eunuchs, startled, stumbled, nearly dropping Lin Wanrou, sending the onlookers into another round of laughter.
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