Chapter 12 Marrying the Lou family's daughter is a huge loss...
"Lord, Lord..." Lou Zhongyan stammered, his previous elegant demeanor completely gone. "Thank you for saving me, Lord. May I ask you to help my sister up?"
Although he reached out to pull Lou Xueying up, Lou Xueying had almost no strength to lift her hand, so he could only ask Li Pan for help.
Li Pan said, "You want me to just send her up here like this?"
Lou Xueying's long hair was disheveled, and through the semi-transparent water, one could vaguely see her clothes floating underwater. If she came out like this, the curves of her entire body would probably be exposed.
Lou Zhongyan then slapped his forehead as if waking from a dream, quickly took off his outer robe, and handed it to Cailing.
Lady Guangping, who had been attending to matters in the front courtyard, rushed to the scene and was shocked to find that the one who had fallen into the water was the eldest daughter of the Lou family. She quickly summoned the servants to ask the onlookers to leave the area and sent several of her maids to help.
After the crowd dispersed, the maids formed a circle on the shore. Li Pan supported Lou Xueying in the water, while the maids pulled her together from the shore. Finally, they pulled Lou Xueying ashore.
As soon as she got ashore, her legs seemed to lose control, and Lou Xueying collapsed to the ground, weak and limp. Cailing quickly draped Lou Zhongyan's outer robe over her shoulders.
Lady Guangping said, “Miss Lou is an honored guest, and it is our oversight that she fell into the water in our residence. The guest room is not far from here. Please move there quickly to change your clothes so as not to catch a cold.”
Lou Xueying was helped up by the maids. She only had time to glance back at Li Pan, who had just come ashore, before being escorted by the maids to her guest room.
Pengpeng followed along eagerly.
After Lou Xueying left, the Duke of Guangping, who was in the distance, rubbed his hands and came over awkwardly. He said to Lou Zhongyan, "I'm sorry, Lord Lou. No one usually comes to this pond. I didn't expect someone to fall in. We'll have it repaired tomorrow."
He then looked at Li Pan, who was soaking wet, and quickly said, "My lord, I'm so sorry for your trouble. Please go to the guest room to tidy up."
Li Pan wiped his face, squeezed the water off his clothes, and waved his hand, saying, "It's alright, just consider it a bath. I'll go back to my residence to change my clothes."
"How can that be? We have clean new clothes in our manor. Why don't you take a hot bath to warm yourself up?"
“I’m not cold, I don’t get sick that easily,” Li Pan said. “You don’t need to worry about me, go and do other things.”
The Duke of Guangping and his wife exchanged a glance.
Seeing that Lou Zhongyan remained silent, the Duke of Guangping said, "Then...then we'll be going now. Please make yourselves at home, Lord Marquis and Lord Lou."
The two men quickly left with their servants, leaving the place to Li Pan and Lou Zhongyan.
The ripples on the pond lingered for a long time, and Lou Zhongyan and Li Pan looked at each other in silence.
Lou Zhongyan's expression changed several times before he spoke cautiously: "I am very grateful to the Marquis for saving me today; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
Li Pan: "It was nothing, Lord Lou, you don't need to be so polite. However, I may have offended you while saving people, and I hope Miss Lou and Lord Lou will forgive me."
Lou Zhongyan: "..."
What does this mean? Is he trying to distance himself from her? So many people saw his sister and him being so close, are he really going to just brush it off so easily?
Lou Zhongyan then said, “My younger sister has been pampered since childhood and is deeply loved by our parents. Your Excellency is kind-hearted and saved my sister’s life today. The entire Lou family is extremely grateful. Perhaps I should go back and report to my father about today’s events, and then personally visit to express my gratitude tomorrow.”
Li Pan: "There's no need for that. I didn't save Miss Lou for any reward, and there's no need for you, Lord Lou and your father, to come here. Miss Lou was frightened today and probably needs her family's company."
Lou Zhongyan gritted his teeth as he watched him pretend to be stupid.
The two families had no prior connection. He saved his sister out of kindness, and it wasn't his fault that he didn't want to marry her. The problem is, if no one had witnessed it, it would have been fine, everyone would have pretended nothing happened, and both sides would have been innocent. But now so many people have seen it; tomorrow it will be the talk of the town. He, the Marquis of Wu'an, might not care, but could the Lou family really not care?
Besides, what's with Li Pan's expression? Is marrying their Lou family's daughter such a disservice to him? If Lou Xueying hadn't been temporarily unwilling to marry, matchmakers would have already worn down the Lou family's doorstep!
But now is definitely not the time to argue with Li Pan.
Lou Zhongyan took a deep breath and forced a smile: "My lord is unrestrained and free-spirited, but the Lou family cannot refuse this favor. My lord is all wet and must hurry back to change his clothes. I will not bother you any longer, but when my lord has time, the Lou family will certainly formally express our gratitude again."
Li Pan's lips twitched, and he said, "We'll talk about it later, we'll talk about it later."
Lou Zhongyan took a step back and bowed his head, saying, "Please wait, my lord."
Li Pan didn't even look back. He walked away with his hands behind his back, flying away from that awful place as fast as he could.
On the way, servants from the Duke's mansion tried to take him to a guest room to change his clothes, but he refused them all.
He stepped out of the manor, only a few carriages remained at the gate. The coachman, seeing him emerge soaking wet, was greatly surprised: "My lord, what...what happened to you?"
Li Pan waved his hand and stepped onto the carriage: "It's not important, let's hurry home."
The Marquis's residence wasn't cleaned yet, so they went back to the Li residence, where they were temporarily staying.
As expected, he received astonished looks from everyone as soon as he entered. Lü Gui hurriedly came up to him and asked, "Lord Marquis, weren't you going to a birthday banquet? How did you end up like this? Did you fall into the water?"
Li Pan asked, "Where is the old lady?"
"Taking a nap."
"Never mind, let's wait until she wakes up." Li Pan changed direction. "First, fetch me water for a bath, and also help me check on the situation at the home of the Secretary-General Lou Shu."
-
Lou Zhongyan stood outside the courtyard of the guest room with a grim expression, facing Pengpeng and the maid who was in charge of taking care of her.
Lou Zhongyan looked at the maid: "You tell me first, why aren't you and Cailing with the Third Miss?"
The maid honestly replied, "The Third Miss said that a pearl hairpin had fallen and asked me and Sister Cailing to go out and look for it. She took the Fourth Miss to play in the bamboo forest."
Lou Zhongyan: "Didn't we say we were going to see peonies? Why did we go to the bamboo forest again?"
Maid: "I don't know either. We went to see the peonies first. After that, the Third Miss said there were even more fun things inside, so she took the Fourth Miss there."
Lou Zhongyan then looked at Pengpeng and said seriously, "Pengpeng, tell your second brother the truth, how did you fall into the water with your third sister? And how did Marquis Wu'an appear?"
Pengpeng pouted and lowered her head, saying, "My third sister and I were playing in the bamboo forest. She said she was a little sleepy and wanted to rest for a while, so she let me play by myself. As I played, I realized I had gone far away and couldn't see my third sister anymore. I was very scared, so I kept looking for her, but I couldn't find her. Instead, I saw Marquis Wu'an... I begged Marquis Wu'an to help me find her, and we finally found her. My third sister wanted to thank Marquis Wu'an, but as soon as she stood up... she... fell into the water..."
Lou Zhongyan: "..."
Lou Zhongyan bent down and looked at Pengpeng, saying, "Isn't Pengpeng a good girl? Third Sister fell into the water, this is a matter of life and death, shouldn't Pengpeng tell the truth?"
Pengpeng twisted the hem of her clothes, and said shyly, "Pengpeng is telling the truth..."
Lou Zhongyan sighed.
Does he think he's stupid? What do you mean "Third Sister is a little sleepy"? She slept until noon today and doesn't drink alcohol, so how could she be sleepy? If she's sleepy, doesn't she know to go home with him?
Lou Zhongyan changed his question: "Where did your third sister rest at that time?"
"They rested on a large rock by the pond."
Why is she resting there?
"I...I don't know, maybe it's comfortable sitting there." Pengpeng scratched her head.
Lou Zhongyan then asked, "When your third sister fell into the water, did Marquis Wu'an immediately go to save her?"
Pengpeng took a breath, looking a little angry: "No! He stood there without moving. I begged him, and that's why he went to save me!"
Seriously, isn't he supposed to be a great hero? Why isn't he saving anyone?
Lou Zhongyan finished asking his questions.
He straightened up and asked the maid to take Pengpeng home first.
Lou Zhongyan stood alone outside the courtyard for a long time until Cailing opened the door to pour water. When she saw Lou Zhongyan at the door, she was stunned for a moment, then came over and bowed: "Second Young Master".
Lou Zhongyan asked, "How is Susu?"
Cai Ling: "Miss is fine and not injured. She drank ginger soup and took a bath. She looks much better now and is drying her hair. She will be able to go home in a little while."
Lou Zhongyan nodded, his sharp gaze fixed on Cailing: "You left Susu to look for the pearl hairpin? What kind of pearl hairpin did she drop?"
Cai Ling blinked and said, "It's just a small pearl... used as a decoration in the hair bun. It's not very valuable, but since Miss likes it, she asked me to find it."
"Did you find it?"
"……No."
"If you had known Susu would fall into the water, would you still have gone to look for the pearl flower?"
Cailing was stunned for a moment, then said in a flustered manner, "Second Young Master, please forgive me! It was my fault for not taking good care of you, which caused you to fall into the water. If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have stayed by your side every step of the way!"
Lou Zhongyan remained silent.
Cai Ling pursed her lips, observing Lou Zhongyan's expression, and tentatively asked, "Then... if Second Young Master has nothing else to say, this servant will go in and serve Miss first?"
"Go."
Lou Xueying, dressed in the dry clothes sent by the Lady of Guangping County, lay on a bamboo chair in the guest room. Her long hair was spread out on a bamboo net, and a charcoal brazier was placed under the net, slowly drying her hair.
Cailing picked up a silk handkerchief from the side and gently pressed down Lou Xueying's hair while saying angrily, "Miss, you're really being reckless. Is Marquis Wu'an worth this? He's not going to fly away. Can't you cultivate feelings slowly? So many people saw you fall into the water. It's damaging to your reputation!"
Lou Xueying said softly, "I really slipped and fell by accident."
Cailing spat lightly, "Miss, who would believe that? It's strange enough that you suddenly took the Fourth Miss to play in the bamboo forest, and you even stood by the pond. Don't you think the water is dirty? Not to mention me, even the Second Young Master is suspicious!"
Lou Xueying was taken aback: "Second brother suspects me?"
“I’m definitely suspicious,” Cailing said. “Sigh, Miss, it’s possible that Fourth Miss fell into the pond, but someone like you wouldn’t go to the pond for no reason! You couldn’t possibly be trying to play in the water!”
Lou Xueying gently bit her lip.
Cailing then said, "Miss, didn't you say you wanted me to help you? But why didn't you discuss it with me first before doing this?"
"I...I know you won't agree," Lou Xueying said softly.
"So, Miss knows exactly what she's doing!" Cailing snorted heavily. "Isn't Miss afraid that Marquis Wu'an can't swim and won't be able to save her?"
"How could he not know how to swim if he was leading his army across the river to fight?"
Cailing choked for a moment: "What if Marquis Wu'an doesn't come to the rescue?"
Lou Xueying said wistfully, "So I misjudged him... It's good to have a chance to see someone clearly."
"Miss is really treating her life like a game." Cailing became angrier the more she thought about it. "Miss has only met him once, and today is only the second time. Why is she so desperate to die for him? Has he put a curse on Miss?"
“Cailing, I know you all think I’m being ridiculous, but…” Lou Xueying grabbed her hand and said sincerely, “I really have to marry Marquis Wu’an, no one else can marry me.”
Cai Ling: "But what if Marquis Wu'an doesn't want to marry you, Miss? I just saw that the Second Young Master's expression wasn't very good. If he had a pleasant conversation with Marquis Wu'an and reached a consensus, he probably wouldn't have that expression."
He doesn't want to marry me? Lou Xueying was slightly taken aback, then lowered her eyes sadly.
Indeed, even Cai Ling and her second brother noticed something was wrong with her. The seasoned Marquis of Wu'an probably sensed something was amiss even earlier, which is why he kept his distance from her from the very beginning.
“Although I think that if Marquis Wu’an doesn’t want to marry you, Miss, then he’s just blind and doesn’t know what’s good for him, to be honest, if Marquis Wu’an really doesn’t like you, Miss, but is forced to marry you, then what’s the point of you marrying him?” Cai Ling asked.
Lou Xueying remained silent.
She originally thought that even if the two of them didn't have any feelings for each other before marriage, she could make Li Pan gradually fall in love with her after marriage through her own efforts. However, things didn't go well from the start, and Li Pan lost his good feelings for her right away, so it would probably be difficult to move forward.
But... no matter what, so many people saw what happened today, she has to get married.
As for Li Pan... we can only gamble on whether he'll soften his heart later. After all, just like how he knew she was in trouble after falling into the water, he still came to save her.
Seeing that Lou Xueying remained silent, Cailing sighed deeply and also stopped talking.
Once the hair was almost dry, Cailing helped Lou Xueying tie her hair back with a simple hairband, and then helped Lou Xueying out the door.
"Second Brother," Lou Xueying called out weakly from the steps.
Lou Zhongyan turned around, looked her over, and seeing that she was indeed unharmed, said, "I have already gone to say goodbye to the Duke and his wife of Guangping. You don't need to go anymore. We can go straight home."
"……good."
Lou Xueying obediently followed behind Lou Zhongyan and got into the same carriage with him.
The carriage curtain was lowered, Lou Xueying twisted her hands, lowered her head, and remained silent.
Lou Zhongyan crossed his arms and asked her in a chilly tone, "What's wrong? Feeling guilty? Can't speak?"
Lou Xueying: "...Second Brother, I know I was wrong."
A note from the author:
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