Chapter 18 The "Prey" is Stolen
Ye Mingzhu rushed to the edge of the lotus pond, but the male servant and the maid in green who had attacked her had already run away.
The spoiled young man stood dumbfounded on the shore, but Liu Pinliang had already swum quite a distance and showed no sign of stopping.
Ye Mingzhu sneered inwardly.
Clearly, Liu Pinliang didn't take her words to heart, or perhaps he did, but he was more eager to force the issue and secure a good marriage for himself.
He mostly thought that as long as he held Qin Xuefei in his arms, half the battle would be won.
All he needs to do now is say that he was so focused on saving her that he didn't hear her shouting.
They could even use grand principles to suppress her, saying that she only knew about the separation of men and women and didn't care about Qin Xuefei's life or death, which aroused the Qin family's resentment towards her.
Ye Mingzhu's pretty face turned cold as she calmly said to Baozan beside her, "Baozan, go and save them!"
Baozan had already started taking off her shoes and socks, and upon hearing this, she immediately replied, "Yes!"
Because Qin Xuefei was pushed into the water from the shore by the maid in green, and she was not far from the shore at this time, Baozan went into the water and approached Qin Xuefei in just a few breaths, holding the unconscious Qin Xuefei in her arms.
Wearing light summer clothes, and thinking of Qin Xuefei's reputation, Ye Mingzhu said, "Baozan, float in the water first, don't rush to the shore."
Looking at Liu Pinliang swimming over from the other side of the lotus pond, he was still several meters away from them, not as fast as Baozan at all.
With his "prey" stolen, Liu Pinliang floated in the water, watching with a hesitant look in his eyes.
But perhaps hearing the commotion, a commotion broke out in Fuxiang Pavilion, as if a group of people were rushing towards them, each with hurried steps.
Liu Pinliang glanced in that direction, wanting to leave but also reluctant to miss the opportunity, his gaze towards Ye Mingzhu was very complicated.
But he couldn't show the slightest displeasure on his face, lest someone notice anything amiss.
The spoiled brat stared blankly at Ye Mingzhu for a moment, then glanced at Liu Pinliang in the water, and suddenly slapped his thigh in relief: "...Thank goodness I didn't jump in, otherwise it would have been all for nothing. I can't even swim very well, I was so worried I would have drowned!"
Ye Mingzhu: "...?"
Is he an idiot?
No wonder he couldn't win against Liu Pinliang in the storybook. It was clearly the bad thing he planned, but Liu Pinliang beat him to it!
Of course, this is nothing to regret, because this person wasn't a good person either!
Seeing the spoiled brat turn to leave, Ye Mingzhu weighed the stone in her hand, raised her hand, and smashed it against the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.
She acted decisively, without holding back at all, which made Yaqin gasp in surprise, and also stunned Liu Pinliang in the water.
His opponent was too fierce, so he didn't hesitate any longer and turned around to swim back to the shore he had come from.
It seems they wanted to leave before the people from Fuxiang Pavilion arrived, so as to avoid having their identities discovered.
But what he didn't know was that Ye Mingzhu was very "familiar" with him.
By the time the group from Fuxiang Pavilion arrived, Liu Pinliang had already left. The Duchess of Rongguo ordered her servants to surround the scene with brocade, making it completely airtight. Only then did Ye Mingzhu tell Baozan to bring Qin Xuefei out of the water.
The maids of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion quickly stepped forward, draped cloaks over Qin Xuefei and Baozan, and handed the unconscious Qin Xuefei to Madam Qin, whose eyes were filled with tears.
Fortunately, Qin Xuefei was not seriously injured. Ye Mingzhu took her pulse and determined that she had only been drugged and would recover after taking a few doses of medicine.
Her personal maid, who had been knocked unconscious, was also unharmed and soon regained consciousness.
On the contrary, the spoiled young master lying on the ground had a rather frightening bump on the back of his head, almost the size of two eggs, and he was barely breathing, looking rather unwell.
Lady Rongguo nudged him, frowned, and asked, "Is this a junior member of the Wang family, the good-for-nothing younger brother of Consort Shu? He wouldn't have died like this, would he?"
Ye Mingzhu: "...?"
It shouldn't be that bad... right?
Anyway, she had no intention of taking his pulse; she knew nothing about him.
...
Some kinds of excitement are worth watching, while others are not.
After Qin Xuefei fell into the water, the ladies and young women who had come to the lotus banquet, knowing the situation, took their leave one after another, and the banquet ended just like that.
The situation is similar for the male customers.
Lady Rongguo invited Ye Mingzhu and Lady Qin to the main courtyard, where she found a clean guest room to settle the unconscious Qin Xuefei. She then summoned the family physician to treat her and sent someone to the palace to fetch the imperial physician.
After all, the incident happened at the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, and she was afraid that something might happen to Qin Xuefei.
Ye Mingzhu was an eyewitness. Once there were no outsiders around, she described the situation to Madam Qin and the Duchess of Rongguo.
She highlighted Liu Pinliang, who had tried to "snag a bargain" but left early, and described his appearance in detail to help Madam Qin investigate.
Then, she was grabbed by the hand by Madam Qin, who looked very grateful.
Madam Qin was completely unpretentious and thanked her profusely, saying, "Madam of the Duke of Wei, we are truly grateful to you today. I will definitely bring my daughter to visit and express our gratitude another day!"
"No need, no need," Ye Mingzhu quickly said. "I just happened to see it, Madam, you don't need to take it to heart."
"How can that be? I won't feel at ease if I don't give you something! It has to be a big gold chain and a big gold bracelet!"
Ye Mingzhu was even more inclined to refuse: "Really, it's not necessary..."
But faced with the warm and straightforward Madam Qin, she really couldn't handle it after a while.
Seeing Madam Qin's slightly yellow complexion, she stiffly changed the subject: "Madam Qin, actually I also know a little about medicine, how about I take your pulse?"
"..." Madam Qin was stunned for a moment, then reached out without hesitation, "Please come here!"
It seemed to imply that she should be allowed to do whatever she wanted.
Ye Mingzhu felt a little embarrassed, but since Madam Qin had agreed, she calmed down and took her pulse.
Having studied medicine for many years, she subconsciously deduced in her mind that Madam Qin might have qi stagnation and blood stasis, or menstrual irregularities and metrorrhagia when she saw her. Now, taking her pulse confirmed this.
Lady Rongguo had already instructed her maid to bring over writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Ye Mingzhu wrote down a prescription and said to Lady Qin, "If you trust me, you can take this prescription for seven days and see the effect."
"Alright!" Madam Qin carefully put it away, then pulled Ye Mingzhu aside to ask about the methods of recuperating after a woman falls into the water, fearing that her daughter might develop uterine coldness.
Ye Mingzhu answered them patiently one by one.
Just then, the imperial physician arrived.
After examining Qin Xuefei, the doctor said there was nothing seriously wrong and that she just needed to drink some herbal medicine. The prescription was mainly for calming the mind.
Madam Qin finally felt relieved, patting her chest and chanting "Amitabha".
The imperial physician was carrying his box and preparing to take his leave when the Duchess of Rongguo suddenly said, "Madam Qin, would you like the imperial physician to take your pulse as well, to see if there's anything that needs to be taken care of?"
Madam Qin's eyes widened in surprise, then she looked at Ye Mingzhu, who was sitting quietly to one side: "Madam of the Duke of Wei, what do you say?"
Although she had a good relationship with the Duchess of Rongguo, she still chose to prioritize Ye Mingzhu at this moment.
The Duchess of Rongguo's purpose was very clear: she wanted to compare the imperial physician with Ye Mingzhu to see if Ye Mingzhu had any real skills.
Ye Mingzhu thought it was a good idea and nodded to Madam Qin with a smile.
Madam Qin glared at the Duchess of Rongguo with annoyance: "You, that's just your temper. Fine, I know why you're like this, I'll give in to you this time."
The Duchess of Rongguo looked somewhat embarrassed.
The imperial physician's diagnosis of Madam Qin's pulse and the prescription he gave were almost identical to those of Ye Mingzhu.
After a long pause, she seemed to finally make up her mind, looking at Ye Mingzhu with sincere eyes: "Madam of the Duke of Wei, I have a favor to ask. I wonder if you would be willing to take my pulse and help me with my treatment. I..."
She seemed reluctant to speak, and said with a heavy heart, "I have something I can't say about it."
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