Taking her into his tent, he incurred the wrath of a powerful and mad minister, from which he could

The maidservant replied matter-of-factly, "Miss Ji."

The servants in the manor all called her Miss Biao, but no one called her Miss Ji.

Mingyi's expression turned cold as she tentatively asked, "Are you a servant from Songhe Garden?"

A look of confusion crossed the maid's face. She blinked and said, "I'm not from Songhe Garden. I serve the Second Master."

Mingyi easily tricked her into revealing that she was an imposter!

She couldn't help but feel annoyed; she had been too cautious and worried too much, which had ultimately made her a victim of someone else's scheme!

A cold glint flashed in Mingyi's eyes. Not wanting to alert the other party, she did not expose them on the spot. She was about to call Yuegui over.

When I looked up, I found that the laurel tree that was just a short distance away had disappeared!

Sensing something was wrong, the maid decided to go all out and suddenly pounced on Mingyi!

Mingyi couldn't dodge in time and was pushed away without warning, but she grabbed the maid's sleeve and dragged her down with her!

Two splashes of water were heard in succession.

The maid couldn't swim, so she frantically stepped on Mingyi and cried for help.

Lu Zhangming, who was hiding not far away, saw his maid and Ji Mingyi fall into the water together and muttered "useless".

Yuegui was held down tightly by the servant and her mouth was covered. When she heard the cry for help, she struggled even more fiercely, and her eyes turned red.

Mingyi was initially panicked and at a loss, but the fear of death instantly brought her to her senses.

She absolutely cannot drown here!

So she held her breath, exerted all her strength underwater, and pushed away the maid who was dragging her.

After getting rid of the other person, she moved her limbs rhythmically, and her head finally slowly floated to the surface of the water, breathing in fresh air.

However, on this back and forth, they actually got further and further away from the shore.

Mingyi was about to swim back when she saw a figure jump into the water and swim towards her with all its might.

It's Lu Zhangming!

Out of the corner of her eye, Mingyi noticed that people seemed to be heading this way from the flower hall as well.

When she turned her gaze back to Lu Zhangming, she saw his eyes, which were as excited as those of a hungry wolf, and instantly understood what was happening. Her heart sank to the bottom.

The maid was Lu Zhangming's person. She deliberately lured her to the lakeside and pushed her into the water, so that Lu Zhangming could easily rescue her as a hero.

It's summer now, and women's clothes are already thin. After being soaked in water, they become almost transparent and cling to their bodies, which is not much different from being naked in front of others.

If she gets hugged and cuddled by a strange man in public, her reputation will be completely ruined, and who would want her then?

If she were to be entangled with Lu Zhangming because of this, she didn't believe that Old Madam Zong would protect her, and then the rumors would reach Xie Huaiyu's ears.

What if he believes her and refuses to take her and her brother to Qingzhou?

Without Xie Huaiyu's protection, the Ji family's pack of wolves would definitely come knocking on her door immediately, and then sell her off to the perverted county magistrate. Just thinking about these consequences made Mingyi's heart colder than a lake.

We absolutely cannot let Lu Zhangming succeed!

As Lu Zhangming drew closer, Mingyi gradually felt her strength failing, so she took a deep breath and plunged into the water.

Lu Zhangming was stunned when he saw the duck in the beak suddenly disappear. He looked around for a moment.

Where is he? Could he have drowned?

Lu Zhangming gritted his teeth and immediately ordered the servant beside him, "Find her quickly! She's gone into the water!"

A servant managed to pull the drowning maid ashore, then quickly jumped back in to continue searching for her.

The maid had already fainted and was unconscious.

Inside the warm pavilion, Fan Siyuan leaned out of the window and said lazily, "Oh, come and see, there are quite a few people swimming in your lake. They have quite the refined taste."

Zong Xian sat in the round-backed chair, looking down at the files, seemingly indifferent, but still instructed Chang Yu behind him: "Go down and see what's going on."

"Yes, Second Master." Chang Yu then left.

Just then, Fan Siyuan's eyes suddenly caught sight of a shadow, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Why is there a girl here?"

Zong Xian's eyelids twitched, then he put down the dossier, got up, and walked to the window to look down.

Behind the artificial hill, taking advantage of the servant's momentary lapse in attention, she suddenly clenched her teeth and bit down hard on the back of the hand that was holding her mouth shut. The servant behind her loosened his grip a little in pain.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yuegui broke free and ran towards the lake, shouting as she ran, "Help! Someone has fallen into the water!!"

Zong Xian's dark eyes suddenly darkened, and he immediately turned to go downstairs. Fan Siyuan, who was beside him, reacted quickly and grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?"

"Go save them!" Zong Xian's voice was deep and cold, filled with barely suppressed urgency.

Fan Siyuan gripped his hand tighter and advised, "This matter is too strange. It has changed unexpectedly. It's hard to say whether it's a trap set by spies in the shadows to lure you out. The situation is still unclear, so you must not act rashly."

He paused briefly, then softened his tone: "If you're worried, I'll go down myself and rescue the girl who fell into the water!"

Zong Xian ignored him and went out anyway.

Having known him for many years, Fan Siyuan had never seen the usually calm and composed Zong Xian so irrational. Helpless, he could only hurriedly chase after him.

the other side,

Just as the servant of the Lu family who had captured Yuegui was about to step forward again to stop the man, he caught a glimpse of the servants of the Zong family rushing over upon hearing the commotion. Panicked, he immediately stopped and quickly slipped into the shadows.

"Miss Yuegui!" Chang Yu hurried over.

Yuegui's eyes were red and swollen. She rushed forward, begging for help in a disheveled and desperate manner, her voice trembling with lingering distress: "Manager Chang! My young lady has been pushed into the lake! Please, send a maidservant into the water to rescue her quickly, or it will be too late!"

Chang Yu did not hesitate and immediately summoned the servants and women on duty around him, ordering them to go into the water to search for and rescue the person.

Several "plop" sounds rang out in succession as people fell into the water.

Four or five old women plunged into the icy lake without hesitation, searching frantically for a figure in the vast blue water.

This lake in the mansion appears ordinary, with a moderate width, but the bottom is overgrown with tangled aquatic plants, concealing hidden dangers.

Lu Zhangming searched the water several times but could not find Ji Mingyi. He had no choice but to climb ashore in a sorry state by clinging to the lake rocks.

His clothes were soaked through, his hair dripping wet, and he was slumped on a blue stone on the shore, panting heavily.

The servant boy beside him leaned forward, his voice trembling with fear: "Master, that...that woman couldn't have...drowned, could she?"

"She deserved to drown!"

Lu Zhangming was furious and embarrassed, his eyes almost overflowing with malice.

He originally wanted to take advantage of the situation and flirt with her, but how did it turn out like this?

However, he had already found out that the woman was just a relative living in the mansion, with no one to rely on, and even if she died, no one would care.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhangming calmed his flustered mind and turned to sternly instruct the servant: "If the people from the Zong family ask later, do you know what to say?"

The servant bowed and replied, "I understand! Sir, I was just passing by when I happened to see someone fall into the water, so I kindly jumped in to rescue them, but unfortunately it was too late."

Old Madam Zong had already arrived at the garden lake. When she learned from the servants that the person who had fallen into the water was Ji Mingyi, she was shocked: "How could he have fallen into the water all of a sudden? Has he been rescued? Quickly, send more people to search!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a voice came from the other end: "We've found Miss Biao!!"

Everyone looked up and saw Zong Xian carrying a woman who was soaking wet as he walked over.