Chapter 98 Falling into the Water
Lu Qiaoxiao followed a group of people to the plum forest. Although plum blossoms are the most elegant and beautiful flowers, they have a strong visual impact when blooming in large patches all over the garden.
Soon, everyone gathered in groups of three or four, chatting and admiring the flowers. Lu Qingyue sent someone to bring them some hot soup, which could dispel the cold and warm them. Lu Qiaoxiao took a bowl and was drinking it slowly when he suddenly heard some discussions.
"Look over there, isn't that the young lady from the Prince's Mansion? Why is she bullying people again?"
"It is said that the person being bullied is their cousin who is being fostered at their home, not their biological sister."
"Oh, that makes sense..."
Lu Qiaoxiao didn't finish listening and ran towards the lake like the wind.
He Xinyu, the eldest daughter of the prince's family, has always been domineering. Ruan Qingqiu is living under someone else's roof, so it is inconvenient for him to argue with her, which is why He Xinyu has become more and more bullying, especially in such a public occasion. Lu Qiaoxiao is sure that Ruan Qingqiu will avoid it if possible and will not have a head-on conflict with He Xinyu.
Her heart was pounding. Lu Shiyou was assigned an assignment outside today and would not attend the palace banquet. She had to protect her future wife for her younger brother.
Sure enough, there were a few girls by the river, surrounding Ruan Qingqiu in a proud manner.
"Ruan Qingqiu, do you think that if you marry the young master of the Yong'an Marquis's family, you will be able to fly to a wealthy family?"
"How could Mr. Lu, with his extraordinary talent, be interested in you? Did you use some shady means to seduce Mr. Lu?"
"You are good at pretending on weekdays, but in front of men, you are so pretentious!" He Xinyu and her sisters spoke harshly, with their hands on their hips, showing their fierce Yaksha aura.
Lu Qiaoxiao walked over with a frown on her face. She remembered that in her previous life, He Xinyu seemed to have paid some attention to her younger brother when they were in the Imperial College. In this life, her younger brother successfully passed the imperial examination and was admitted to the Hanlin Academy, so he received even more attention from others.
Not long ago, A-di said that the young lady from the prince's mansion sent him some snacks, but he refused them.
After learning that Ruan Qingqiu, the unappreciated cousin in the family, was going to marry Lu Shiyou, He Xinyu probably felt resentful and intended to torture her cousin in front of everyone.
"Ms. He is so arrogant. Qingqiu is the girl I picked for my younger brother. How can there be any accusation of intentional seduction or improper conduct?" Lu Qiaoxiao pushed away the crowd with a cold face, walked to Ruan Qingqiu and held her hand.
Ruan Qingqiu's palms were sweaty. She knew that this was because Ruan Qingqiu didn't want to cause trouble before getting married and make others laugh at her and feel embarrassed.
What's more, He Xinyu's mother had done a favor to Ruan Qingqiu's family, and Ruan Qingqiu didn't want to argue too much with her.
Then, she will be the one to take the lead in doing things that her future brother-in-law and sister-in-law are not able to do.
"Ms. He is from an aristocratic family, and as the legitimate daughter, she is a role model for the younger generation. How could she have learned such a habit of bullying and suppressing her own sister?"
He Xinyu's face suddenly darkened. She had been spoiled since she was a child, and no one dared to offend her in such a way, even if the person was Mr. Lu's elder sister.
"Sister Lu, I call you sister because you are Mr. Lu's sister, but disciplining my younger sisters is my family business. Please don't interfere." He Xinyu said almost gritting her teeth.
Lu Qiaoxiao pursed her lips and smiled: "Miss He's words make sense, but I have already recognized Qingqiu as my sister. Soon, we will become closer relatives."
"I can't bear to see my sister being bullied, please forgive me, Miss He." The voice was cold and calm.
Before she married into the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion, she was still able to act as she pleased at the Spring Banquet, and she would not back down in the face of provocations from others.
Now that she was married into the prime minister's mansion, she felt like she had gained another layer of reassuring security.
Someone nearby was whispering and trying to persuade He Xinyu.
Many people present had heard about how the madman Lu Qiaoxiao had fought with his concubine's sister, who had married into the Ding'an Palace, at the Spring Banquet, so they were afraid that she might do something even more outrageous.
After all, she is still Shen Yuheng's wife. If she offends him and is retaliated by Prime Minister Shen, it will be more trouble than gain.
He Xinyu was embarrassed, but when she saw Lu Qiaoxiao's ferocious eyes, her heart couldn't help but tremble.
She knew that she couldn't afford to offend the Prime Minister's Mansion, and she also knew that she was powerless and could not beat the crazy woman in front of her.
During the last hunt, Lu Qiaoxiao appeared in front of everyone, covered in blood, holding a wolf. When her father came home and told her about this, she was terrified.
"Hmph, Ruan Qingqiu, just wait for me." He Xinyu thought about it again and again, but in the end she didn't dare to get angry in front of him.
In her anger, she crushed the fallen flowers on the ground, but got her feet wet with mud.
The road by the river is narrow, and the surface is covered with flower petals mixed with mud, which is soft and slippery.
The onlookers stepped on the ground with their feet, some deep and some shallow, leaving marks of various sizes.
Lu Qiaoxiao relaxed and was about to say a few words to comfort Ruan Qingqiu, when suddenly, she felt her feet slip and her body seemed to be hit by someone. She lost her balance and fell backwards into the small pond behind her.
“Plop—”
Everyone saw bubbles on the lake water, and when they looked over, they found that Lu Qiaoxiao had fallen into the water.
"Help!" Ruan Qingqiu was anxious and hurriedly asked for help from the palace ladies around her, but found that no one was willing to pay attention to her.
It was the young guard in black who found a long pole and handed it to her.
Without the order from Concubine Yu, no one else dared to move.
The water in this cold winter is icy cold. If you stay in the water for a while, you will probably die of hypothermia.
Because of the sudden fall, Lu Qiaoxiao choked on the water several times. When she poked her head out of the water, she saw Ruan Qingqiu's anxious face. She held a long pole towards her and said, "Miss Lu, grab it quickly."
Lu Qiaoxiao forced a smile. Although the water was freezing, it was not as cold as the water in the pond in Pei Mansion in his previous life.
Her health has improved a lot in this life, so this little trouble is nothing.
When he got ashore, every step Lu Qiaoxiao took was covered in icy water like rain.
A maid came towards her and handed her a cloak, saying worriedly, "Madam, I heard you fell into the water. Please follow me to the nearest room to change clothes. Don't let yourself get frozen."
——
Pei Jinxuan rubbed his aching brow. He hadn't eaten or slept well in the past few nights because he was worried about Prince Pingyang.
I didn't want to attend the banquet today, but the emperor said that this is the first palace banquet since the beginning of winter, and he asked officials of the fourth rank and above to attend.
He was troubled by the emperor's will, so he came to the Weiyang Palace but stayed in a deserted place to get some peace and quiet.
Perhaps it was because the winter weather was tiring, or perhaps it was because the charcoal in the palace stove was burning so vigorously that it made him feel comfortable and warm, but he fell asleep after reading for a while.
He stood up, put on his coat, and was tying his belt when he heard a woman's voice outside.
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