Seeing that the guard was indeed walking towards her, Jiang Qingyue's eyes showed disbelief, and in her panic, she glared at Shen Tangning:
How dare you treat me like this!
The latter simply stared at her calmly, the smile on his lips sending a chill down her spine: "Why wouldn't I dare? The Jiang family reported you missing to the Jingzhao Prefecture long ago. Even if I drown you in this lake today, no one will know. Do you believe me?"
Although she was laughing, there was no hint of joking in her tone. Jiang Qingyue felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively took a step back.
The Shen Tangning she knew was always dignified and respectable. Even when things fell apart, she never embarrassed her in public, let alone acted so ruthlessly and mercilessly.
Yuan Zhao had already forcefully pressed down on her shoulder, pulling her towards the lakeside. The force was irresistible. She belatedly realized what was happening and struggled, her barely maintained composure vanishing. Her voice was filled with panic: "Chen Tangning, you can't do this!"
Yuan Zhao pushed her into the lake. The lake water was not yet frozen in winter, but it was chillingly cold. As soon as she fell in, the biting cold rushed in from all directions, seeping into her bones.
Jiang Qingyue shuddered violently, her face turning pale instantly. Her survival instinct made her struggle, and her clothes quickly became soaked with water, dragging her down heavily.
"Ugh... Help! Help, help me!"
Thick white fog shrouded the lake, obscuring visibility even a few steps away, let alone people on the shore. Moreover, the pavilion in the middle of the lake was far from the shore and rarely visited, so even cries for help could not reach the shore.
The icy lake water rushed into her mouth and nose, filling her lungs with indescribable pain. Her eyes involuntarily revealed terror, and she vaguely felt that she was really going to die here!
Yuan Zhao watched from the side, and when he saw her sinking, he pulled her up again. Jiang Qingyue repeated the pain of near death over and over again. The lake water was so cold that her body was stiff, and even the strength of her struggles gradually weakened.
"Tang Ning! I was wrong, Tang Ning, please forgive me!"
She finally remembered something, tears streaming down her face, her lips turning blue and trembling, as she weakly begged for mercy.
Shen Tangning walked out of the pavilion, looking down at her. Jiang Qingyue, as if grasping at a straw, tremblingly reached out a hand to her: "Tangning... I shouldn't have spoken ill of you just now. I was bewitched! Can you... forgive me this time?"
Shen Tangning's gaze swept over her pale face inch by inch. Her eyes were filled with tears, making her look extremely sincere.
She leaned down slightly, her eyes icy as she looked at her and said, "You've schemed against me time and time again, do you think I'm completely unaware?"
Jiang Qingyue's expression froze. Being so close, she finally saw the undisguised indifference in her eyes, and her breath caught in her throat.
So she knew everything!
A strong sense of fear arose in her heart; Shen Tangning might really let her die silently here!
This fear was like an invisible hand, tightly gripping her heart. Her frozen limbs left Jiang Qingyue with no strength to struggle. Her head submerged in the water several times, and hallucinations appeared uncontrollably before her eyes.
No, she can't die!
She mustered her last bit of strength to surface, her voice urgent:
I know a secret!
After shouting those words, Jiang Qingyue was completely exhausted and, with despair in her eyes, sank heavily to the bottom of the lake.
Shen Tangning gave Yuan Zhao a look, and the latter understood.
...
Jiang Qingyue lay sprawled on the ground, coughing incessantly. Her clothes were soaked through, and the wind was biting cold, making it difficult for her to even bend her fingers.
The feeling of surviving a disaster lingered in her mind, and she stared blankly, unable to react for a moment.
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