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

When he found her, she was hiding deep in a crevice near the shore. If she had really fallen into the water, she should have shouted for help. Why was she hiding there silently?

Zong Xian suspected there might be something fishy about this, so he deliberately stayed behind to interrogate her personally.

When facing Madam Zong just now, Mingyi said that he had fallen down by accident.

But when facing Zong Xian, she truthfully said, "I was pushed down."

Zong Xian's eyes darkened slightly: "Who pushed you?"

Mingyi gently shook her head: "It was a maid who claimed to be a servant in my second uncle's courtyard. She said she had accidentally lost your calligraphy, so I took Yuegui with her to search around the lake. I didn't expect it to be a trap, and she took the opportunity to push me into the lake."

Mingyi paused slightly before continuing, "I still don't know why she harmed me, nor do I know who was behind it. But I can be certain that she is not a servant in the manor. Also, when we fell into the water, in my panic, I pulled her into the water with me."

She knew in her heart that without any concrete evidence, she could not rashly reveal Lu Zhangming's name.

Empty words are meaningless and could easily become a pretext for gossip. Only by having Zong Xian personally investigate and obtain the results will he be convinced.

However, Lu Zhangming is so shrewd that he must have already cleaned up all traces. Now that he has already left the Zong Mansion, it will be even more difficult to find clues.

Furthermore, who is she? An orphan girl living under someone else's roof. Why would the Zong family go to such lengths to investigate the truth behind her drowning?

Mingyi was prepared to accept her bad luck.

Zong Xian thought about it more deeply, wondering if it was aimed at him, but it didn't quite make sense.

He composed himself, got up from the bedside, and comforted you, "Rest assured and rest here. I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and give you justice."

Mingyi didn't take his words to heart, and almost completely buried her head in the blankets, just wanting him to leave quickly.

Zong Xian didn't linger and went straight out.

After drinking the herbal medicine, Mingyi felt a strong drowsiness and fell asleep again.

On the other side, Madam Zong saw the maid bring in an empty bowl and asked, "Did she drink it all?"

The maidservant said respectfully, "This servant watched as Miss drank it all."

Mingyi was unaware that Madam Zong had secretly added a certain ingredient to the medicine.

That medicine won't harm your body.

It will only make her body weak, her mind foggy, and unable to exert any strength.

It looks like the cold symptoms just haven't gotten better yet.

When Madam Zong learned that Xie Huaiyu was already on his way back to the capital, she couldn't think of any better way to deal with it, so she could only resort to this underhanded tactic to buy time.

Wutong Pavilion.

"Why would Ji Mingyi suddenly fall into the water, and why would Third Master Lu go down to rescue him? Is he really that kind-hearted?"

Upon hearing Cuizhu's report, Madam Yu frowned, sensing that something was amiss.

Doesn't she know who Lu Zhangming is?

A selfish and worthless scoundrel, who would rather run away from trouble than do good deeds like jumping into the water to save someone.

It seems that this matter is most likely related to him. It's probably because he caused Ji Mingyi to fall into the water that he had no choice but to pretend to jump into the lake to save him.

A cold glint flashed across Madam Yu's face. Her slender hands twisted the silk handkerchief so tightly it was almost torn to shreds. She demanded sharply, "Where is Lu Zhangming now?"

Cuizhu trembled slightly, frightened by the chilling aura emanating from her, and timidly said, "Third Master Lu has already left the manor."

Madam Yu raised her hand, pulled out the jade hairpin from her hair, and handed it heavily to Cuizhu. "Take this to the Lu residence and tell him I want to see him tonight!"

into the night.

Lu Zhangming climbed in through the window with practiced ease, stood still, casually patted the dust off his clothes, and looked up towards the bed.

The room was quiet and dark, with only the moonlight streaming through the window, outlining a faintly raised shadow on the bed.

You went to bed so early?

Lu Zhangming's eyes darted around, a hint of guilt in them. He composed himself, tiptoed to the edge of the bed, and leaned down to whisper, "Jiaojiao..."

The moment his palm touched the woman's shoulder, a cold glint suddenly shot straight at him!

Lu Zhangming's eyes widened suddenly, his whole body stiffened and he dared not move, the sharp silver hairpin was only an inch away from his eyes.

The man even stopped breathing.

Madam Yu calmly put away the hairpin, a cold smile playing on her lips: "So it's Third Master Lu. I thought it was some wild man who dared to climb through the window and into my bed in the middle of the night."

Still shaken, Lu Zhangming's back was soaked with cold sweat. He staggered and slumped to the edge of the bed, resentfully saying, "Besides me, what other man would dare to climb into your bed?"

Madam Yu slowly sat up straight, her voice low and sharp: "Indeed, you're the most audacious person in the world, daring to trespass into the Zong family's backyard and seduce Master Zong's woman."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhangming felt not ashamed at all, but rather a sense of pride.

A smug look had barely formed on his face when Yu's icy question came from the back of his neck: "Did you orchestrate Ji Mingyi's drowning? Tell me honestly, are you after her too?"

Lu Zhangming hadn't expected that Madam Yu was more perceptive than a dog, guessing everything correctly. His eyes flickered, and in a fit of anger and embarrassment, he pushed Madam Yu away.

"What nonsense are you spouting! I think you're just obsessed, getting jealous of everyone you see. What could I possibly have to do with her?"

Caught off guard, Yu bumped into the wooden edge of the bedside table, a dull pain shooting through her shoulder. She frowned and stared intently at him: "If I hadn't hit a nerve, why would you be so angry?"

Anger surged within her, and Madam Yu became even more sarcastic: "What, sleeping with the master's woman wasn't enough for you, now you want to lay your hands on Zong Xian's woman too? Lu Zhangming, you can't compete with them in anything, so you can only find a sense of self-worth and show off your power by sleeping with women?"

These words precisely pierced through Lu Zhangming's deepest inferiority and embarrassment, and he immediately flew into a rage.

"You're being completely unreasonable! I can't be bothered arguing with you. I'm leaving. You'd better reflect on your actions!"

After saying that, he pulled out the hairpin that he had given her as a token of their love from his sleeve and smashed it on the ground, breaking it in two.

Lu Zhangming turned and left, while Madam Yu stared at the jade hairpin on the ground, her eyes wide with fury.

-

The air in Songhe Garden was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood, and a half-finished letter lay on the table.

"Was this done by Lu Zhangming?" Zong Xian paused, his pen still.

Fan Siyuan said, "It was him who did it. I heard everything. He secretly instructed his maid to lure Miss Biao to the lakeside, intending to take advantage of her."

Zong Xian's eyes flashed with coldness: "Mother is too good to him, which has spoiled him so much that he has forgotten his roots and can't even tell who his surname is anymore. He treats the Zong family mansion as his own Lu family mansion and acts recklessly."

"Leave this to me, I'll teach him a lesson!" Fan Siyuan rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming with eagerness. He'd been so bored lately he was practically growing weeds.

Zong Xian lowered his eyes, slowly smoothing out the wrinkles in the letter, and said calmly, "After all, he is the son that my aunt went through so much trouble to get, and he is also my cousin. Don't be too ruthless. Breaking one of his legs will be enough to keep him in line."

Fan Siyuan: "......" Breaking a leg, isn't that ruthless?

Lu Zhangming is the only son of the Lu family. If he becomes a cripple, he will not even have the opportunity to enter officialdom.

However, Lu Zhangming was a good-for-nothing playboy, and if he relied on the imperial examination to enter officialdom, he probably wouldn't even make it to the bottom of the list.

Fan Siyuan knew what to do and immediately went to do it.

-

Mingyi rested in the warm pavilion for three whole days, but his cold symptoms did not improve at all. On the contrary, he became more and more listless and spent half of each day in a daze.

However, this warm pavilion is indeed more comfortable than Shuangxu Garden. Not only is the place spacious, but the scenery is also better, and the breeze is refreshing.

Yuegui suggested, "Miss, why don't you go out for a walk instead of just lying there all the time?"

Mingyi nodded. Perhaps she had been lying down for too long, causing her blood and qi to stagnate, which was why her condition was so lingering and difficult to cure.

Yuegui draped a snow-silver cloak over her shoulders and helped her out. But as soon as she stepped out of the warm pavilion, she saw Madam Yu walking towards her.

An uninvited guest. (Understanding the situation.)

"Why the long face? I came to see you, aren't you happy to see me?"

As usual, Madam Yu wore a peach-colored dress, the most vibrant color in the Zong family mansion, but her face looked somewhat haggard, which even the thick makeup couldn't hide.