Seeing that Madam Wen was clueless, Jiang Yuwei stood up and said with a smile:
"Sitting for too long makes me feel a bit tired. I'll go out for a walk first."
After saying that, he led Xia Yue outside.
The two walked to the lakeside, and Jiang Yuwei found a clean, large rock and sat down.
Looking at the clear lake water in front of her, Jiang Yuwei suddenly felt nostalgic for the small courtyard in Ningjia Village.
At that time, all I had to think about was how to make sure my family was fed and clothed. Although Chen Guixiang would occasionally cause some trouble, things were getting better and better.
Now that I've come to the capital, I have to be on guard at all times, afraid that I might lose my life if I take the wrong step. Even people living under the same roof have to scheme against each other like this, which is really exhausting.
Jiang Yuwei sighed and murmured:
"Alas, Huai is in the imperial court, and his situation is probably much more difficult than mine."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a sarcastic voice sounded behind him.
“You know that Huai Zhi has had a hard time, and you have never been considerate of him at all. You only think of yourself and won’t let Huai Zhi marry me. Do you know that if Huai Zhi had my help, he would definitely be very successful in the court?”
Jiang Yuwei immediately stood up alertly and looked back, only to see Princess Qinglan and Li Huarong standing behind her, staring at her with disgust.
“Princess Qinglan, how could she understand these things when you talk to a village woman like her?”
As Li Huarong spoke, she stepped forward, staring fiercely at Jiang Yuwei, and continued:
"It's all because of you, you ignorant fool, that you ruined my marriage with the young master. Now our entire Minister's mansion is going to be disgraced because of me. How am I supposed to find a husband in the future?!"
Jiang Yuwei sneered.
"What do I care about how you find a husband? Instead of wasting your time talking about me, you should go back and reflect on your own behavior. If you're really afraid that the princess and the prince will find out about all the shady things you did, like praising the powerful and belittling the weak, why did you do them in the first place?"
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she gave Li Huarong a cold look.
"I see you have no remorse. If others saw your arrogant attitude, I'm afraid no one would dare to propose marriage to you."
Li Huarong was furious at Jiang Yuwei's words and pointed at Jiang Yuwei's nose, cursing:
"You, it's all your fault! You're the one who made me like this, you've ruined my reputation!"
As she spoke, Li Huarong stepped forward and reached out to push Jiang Yuwei. Jiang Yuwei dodged Li Huarong's hand, but she lost her balance and fell headfirst into the lake.
Just as Jiang Yuwei was about to call for help to rescue Li Huarong, she felt a strong push from behind and plunged into the water as well.
"Ahhh! Help! Someone's fallen into the water!"
No sooner had Princess Qinglan finished speaking than Ning Zixuan rushed over in a few strides. He saw Jiang Yuwei struggling in the water and quickly jumped in to save her.
At this moment, many people gathered around upon hearing Princess Qinglan's cries. Seeing her daughter had fallen into the water, Madam Meng was about to jump in to save her, but was stopped by Princess Qi, who was standing beside her.
"You can't swim, you'll just be throwing your life away if you go down there. You should stay put!"
No sooner had Princess Qi finished speaking than a servant beside her suddenly jumped down to save Li Huarong.
Madam Meng stared wide-eyed at the sight.
"Oh dear, oh dear, my beautiful face is so unfortunate! Now your reputation is completely ruined!"
Princess Qi also looked grave upon seeing this.
"Sister, stop crying. Hua Rong's life is more important. We'll take this servant back to the manor later, give him some silver, and send him far away."
As she spoke, Princess Qi sighed heavily again.
"From now on, don't always think about finding a wealthy and powerful family for Hua Rong. Just pick someone of average ability from among the successful candidates in this year's imperial examinations and marry him off to them. Don't worry about their family background."
Princess Qi reached out to support Madam Meng, who was somewhat unsteady on her feet.
"Alas, if Hua Rong doesn't get married at this age, she'll probably be stuck at home forever."
Madam Meng kept her eyes glued to the lake until the servant brought Li Huarong ashore, then she rushed to her side, weeping.
"Oh dear, oh dear, my beautiful face, why are you so unlucky? Oh dear, wake up, beautiful face!"
Seeing this, Princess Qi hurriedly instructed the maid beside her:
"Quickly help Miss Hua Rong into the house."
He then instructed a servant:
"Go and fetch a doctor!"
As he spoke, he helped Madam Meng, who was lying on the ground crying, to her feet and led her into the house.
The servant who had just rescued Li Huarong was also grabbed by the arms and locked in the woodshed.
Jiang Yuwei was rescued by Ning Zixuan as soon as she fell into the water. Xia Yue found a clean set of clothes for Jiang Yuwei to change into, then found a handkerchief to dry Jiang Yuwei's hair before pouring her a pot of hot tea and watching her drink it.
Jiang Yuwei smiled.
"I'm very strong, you don't need to worry about me, Xia Yue. When I fell into the water just now, I felt a hand push me. Did you see who it was?"
Xia Yue shook her head, her eyes red.
"Madam, it is my fault. I was shocked when I saw Miss Hua Rong fall into the water. I was so focused on looking at the lake that I didn't see who pushed you."
Jiang Yuwei nodded and pondered for a moment.
"Besides you, me, Li Huarong, and Qinglan, were there any other people standing by the lake just now?"
Xia Yue shook her head.
"There was no one else, just the four of us. It was Princess Qinglan who called for help, and that's when the group came over."
Jiang Yuwei tidied her hair, looked at Xia Yue and smiled:
"If there was no one else by the lake, and it wasn't you who pushed me, it must have been Qinglan. When we go out later, just say you saw Qinglan push me with your own eyes, understand?"
Xia Yue nodded quickly upon hearing this:
"That Princess Qinglan went too far! This is a matter of life and death, how could she be so cruel!"
Jiang Yuwei looked towards the door and sneered.
"She naturally wanted me to die sooner so she could take my place."
As she spoke, Jiang Yuwei pushed open the door and went out, bumping right into Ning Zixuan, who had just changed his clothes.
"Are you alright? Try not to go near the lake unless necessary."
Ning Zixuan spoke with a cold expression.
Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"I'm fine. Thank you for saving me, Your Highness."
Ning Zixuan didn't say anything, her ears turning red as she walked straight towards the front hall.
Jiang Yuwei followed him to her seat at the table.
"Oh, Madam Jiang, you truly have the heart of a bodhisattva. Miss Hua Rong fell into the water, and you didn't even care about your own life to go in and save her?"
As Madam Wen spoke, she gave a cold snort and raised her voice to continue:
"You can't try to curry favor with someone like that. You can't even swim and you jumped in. Aren't you just making things worse for them?"
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