Seeing the person awaken, the two women couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Only then did they realize that despite the cool weather, they had broken out in a full sweat, and couldn’t help raising their sleeves to wipe their foreheads.

But no one expected that the just-awakened You Fangyin would suddenly show a trace of ferocity in her eyes.

She struggled free from the two of them with all her might and actually raised her voice to shout loudly, “Help, help—”

The women were startled and hurriedly reached out to cover her mouth, “What are you shouting about?!”

But it was already too late.

Though You Fangyin was weak now, these two cries seemed to have used all the strength in her body to shout, echoing outward in this relatively open and quiet place.

Though the surroundings were secluded, there were still maids passing through taking shortcuts.

Hearing this sound and coming over to look, they saw You Fangyin soaking wet and collapsed on the ground. Misunderstanding the situation, before those several women could speak to stop them, they loudly cried out in alarm, “Not good, not good, someone has fallen into the water!”

Those several women were nearly green with anger.

At this time, chrysanthemum viewing had already begun in the garden outside, not far from here. In no time, a large crowd of people came swarming over, both maids from the manor and guests who had come to the banquet today.

Yan Lin had been talking with Shen Jie. When he first heard someone had fallen into water, he hadn’t paid much attention.

But when he inquired and heard it was a young lady who had fallen into the lotus pond, then recalled the direction Jiang Xuening had walked, he was startled. In his panic he didn’t even have time to ask clearly before rushing over with others to look.

Fortunately, when he arrived with everyone else at this end of the lotus pond, though he saw Jiang Xuening was by the pond’s edge, she was standing there perfectly fine. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Thinking again, he felt he had been confused by concern.

But the next moment he became puzzled again.

That earlier shout had almost exhausted all of You Fangyin’s strength. After rushing forward no more than two steps, she collapsed on the ground.

Having fallen into the water earlier, her dress and skirt were completely soaked through and now clung to her body.

Quite a few people in the pavilion and corridor across looked over here, pointing and whispering.

Jiang Xuening’s thoughts had wandered for quite a while. When she came to her senses, she could understand the reason for You Fangyin’s behavior—

If the matter wasn’t made into a big incident, how would anyone know what else might happen in the future?

She could be killed in secret without anyone knowing.

The person had already been saved.

It was too late for regrets now.

Over her moon-white dress today, she wore an outer robe embroidered all over with scattered gold. She took it off and gently draped it over You Fangyin, then with a cold, expressionless face, spoke to the bustling crowd of onlookers across the pond, “What are you all standing around for? Haven’t you seen servant women punishing a young lady, servants bullying their master?”

Whoosh!

These words simply stunned everyone.

The three rough servant women standing nearby stared wide-eyed at Jiang Xuening as if seeing a ghost.

Even You Fangyin froze.

That outer robe still carrying some warmth was draped over her body, and the young lady before her, having removed the loose outer robe, wore only a moon-white long dress cinched at the waist, standing upright and straight, her features tinged with some coldness.

Bright as plum blossoms in snow, cold as the moon over a frigid pool.

Even the finest words used to describe beauties in the plays she had heard could not capture one ten-thousandth of her.

In this instant, even the tip of her nose became sore, large tears rolling continuously from her eyes. Yet with her clumsy tongue, she couldn’t say half a word of thanks, only knowing to gaze, unable to look away.

Yan Lin, standing across the pond, immediately understood what had happened. His gaze swept over Jiang Xuening’s thin, slender figure, then looking at those young masters from prestigious families standing beside him, he only felt they weren’t looking at that “drowned” young lady—they were clearly looking at his Ningning.

His brows furrowed deeply without him noticing.

Yan Lin pulled down his face and immediately said, “That’s right, a young lady fell into the water, what does it look like for a bunch of grown men to stand around watching? Hurry up and leave, hurry up and leave.”

No matter what, this was after all a matter in Count Qingyuan’s manor’s inner residence, and that drowned young lady’s identity was unclear—it truly wasn’t appropriate to linger.

Though the crowd felt somewhat dissatisfied upon hearing Yan Lin’s words, they still grumbled and left.

Only Yan Lin fell back a few steps.

Shen Jie looked at him.

But after thinking, he actually directly removed his outer robe and handed it to Qingfeng following beside him, his face full of impatience as he said, “Take it to her. The weather’s turning cold—don’t let her catch a chill over some unknown girl.”

Qingfeng thought to himself that even if you give this garment to Second Miss Jiang, she might not dare wear it, but ultimately he was his own master’s servant and knew his temperament, truly not daring to talk back at such a time. So he took this exquisitely embroidered outer robe and headed toward the other side of the lotus pond.

Arriving, he held the garment out.

Tang’er, however, turned her eyes to look at Jiang Xuening, not knowing whether to accept it or not.

Qingfeng sighed in his heart, only saying in a low voice, “If Second Miss doesn’t accept it, when this servant brings it back later, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to explain…”

Jiang Xuening glanced back at him, then said to Tang’er, “Take it.”

Qingfeng immediately breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you for your mercy, Second Miss.”

Tang’er took this sky-blue outer robe and draped it over her arm. Qingfeng then bowed to Jiang Xuening and withdrew.

The onlooking guests all dispersed.

Only servants of Count Qingyuan’s manor remained in the vicinity.

Jiang Xuening saw that You Fangyin was soaked through, and with the wind blowing hard outside, causing her to shiver, her entire face devoid of color. She looked at those three women and said, “Though it’s not appropriate for outsiders to interfere in your Count’s manor’s affairs, striking with such force—if you truly harm a life, aren’t you afraid of losing karmic merit?”

Those three women had earlier heard Jiang Xuening, an outsider, spouting nonsense about “servant women punishing a young lady, servants bullying their master,” and were nearly smoking with rage. But in the next moment seeing someone from Young Marquis Yan’s side come to deliver clothes to her, they were glad they hadn’t impulsively stepped forward to rebuke Jiang Xuening, otherwise offending someone they shouldn’t have would mean deep trouble later.

At this moment hearing Jiang Xuening lecture them, each bowed their heads with embarrassed smiles, not daring to talk back.

Jiang Xuening didn’t want to interfere too much in Count Qingyuan’s manor’s affairs, only saying, “First take her back to her room.”

“Yes, yes.”

The other masters in the manor probably still didn’t know the news here and would come after a while. The three women’s earlier actions had all been witnessed by Jiang Xuening—they were both guilty and afraid. Hearing this, they hurriedly responded, stepping forward to help You Fangyin up and walking toward the direction of the northeast side courtyard.

Jiang Xuening hesitated for a moment, but actually followed.

Tang’er watching from behind was completely bewildered.

But Jiang Xuening found it very hard to describe what exactly she was thinking at this moment: Saving someone to the end, sending Buddha all the way west? No, she wasn’t such a kind person. Waiting for a miracle to happen? There had already been enough miracles happening to her—rebirth was already one. Heaven wouldn’t be that good to her.

Perhaps, she simply purely wanted to take one look.

Look at what kind of place the former You Fangyin had lived in.

The side courtyard was where the manor’s low-status and unfavored concubines and concubine-born daughters lived. Count Qingyuan’s manor’s side courtyard was truly quite poor, looking very simple. Even the somewhat respectable servants’ quarters in the Jiang manor were better than this.

After entering, all the furnishings were very plain.

Bed, wooden screen, tables and chairs. In the needlework basket on the kang table were still unfinished needlework. The surroundings looked clean and tidy though, organized very neatly.

In the room was only one small maid who had just put up her hair, not even sure if she served You Fangyin. Seeing so many people enter, she was so frightened she didn’t know what to do with her hands and feet.

Only after the lead woman scolded once did she know to serve tea, fetch water, and bring handkerchiefs.

Jiang Xuening glanced at her without speaking, only unable to help surveying this room.

But after all, You Fangyin had never been here before.

In this room there were neither various idle books for entertainment, nor luxurious silk and satin, neither fashionable trinkets, nor Western clocks…

The illusory feeling from just now when she had saved the person finally gradually dissipated and sank down, becoming solid and real, not allowing her half a bit more of hope or fantasy.

Also for the first time, she truly and properly turned her eyes to examine this life’s You Fangyin.

Because there was an outside guest present, she couldn’t very well go change clothes, or perhaps she was too frightened. She only carefully removed the garment Jiang Xuening had earlier draped over her, then had the little maid bring a thin quilt to wrap around her, looking at her with a pallid face.

Her features could only be considered delicate.

Willow brows, apricot eyes, cherry lips—originally attractive, but between the brows and eyes lacked a certain spirit, like a wooden puppet carved by an unskilled craftsman from the street, dull and rigid.

A teardrop mole beneath the left corner of her eye.

This was what the elderly often spoke of as a sign of shallow fortune and bitter fate.

She tried to find from this face one trace, one iota of that other You Fangyin’s shadow, but after examining her discovered: There was nothing left, truly nothing left. That You Fangyin from the previous life was truly gone…

You Fangyin had never seen such a gaze before.

This benefactor who had saved her seemed to be looking for another person in her.

There was a bit of plaintive sorrow, yet also like accepting reality while shattering a dream.

She couldn’t help but clench her fingers, feeling she should say something, but opening her mouth, couldn’t say half a sentence.

Jiang Xuening stood for a long while, blinked her eyes, and said to those bewildered women, “You all go out.”

The women looked at each other.

Though puzzled in their hearts, they didn’t dare refute. Along with that little maid, though unclear about the situation, she also didn’t dare linger, following them all out together.

Only Jiang Xuening and You Fangyin remained in the room.

You Fangyin finally stammered open her mouth, “Thank… thank you benefactor for saving this life…”

But Jiang Xuening gazed at her, raised her hand, and gently brushed across this face that she should have been very familiar with but now found strange, sweeping aside a strand of hair by her cheek, saying as if in a dream, “You should give thanks. To save you, I actually gave up this life’s greatest reliance…”

You Fangyin froze.

Only then did Jiang Xuening laugh in a self-mocking manner and said to her, “I see you’re someone who doesn’t want to die. Now you’ve already made a trip to the King of Hell’s palace—what else is there to fear in the future? Just endure like this, at least live out some semblance of a person, so as not to disgrace this body.”

Clearly this was her body, she shouldn’t speak such biased words.

But how could she suppress the disappointment in her heart?

She admitted she was just an ordinary person after all.

You Fangyin probably couldn’t understand what she was saying, only knowing to stare at her with those large eyes.

The more Jiang Xuening looked, the more disappointed she became.

Far too different.

She had originally wanted to say much, but suddenly couldn’t speak. With thousands upon thousands of matters hidden in her heart, not knowing whom to confide in, at this moment they all fell back into her belly.

“Tang’er.” Jiang Xuening thought for a moment, called out, having Tang’er come in. “Did you bring money? Give it to me.”

Tang’er then pulled out a purse. Inside were stuffed some banknotes—three one-hundred-tael notes, five ten-tael notes, and some silver ingots.

This was prepared for the young lady to buy things on the way home.

She glanced at Jiang Xuening, hesitated for a moment, but still handed it out.

Jiang Xuening opened it to look, then placed it on the table, saying, “You and I can be considered to have fate. Take this money and use it to prepare a good coffin for your concubine mother, and bury her properly. As for what’s left, keep it for yourself and live well.”

You Fangyin didn’t know how she knew about her concubine mother’s matter. Her eyes immediately reddened and she suddenly began to cry bitterly.

Only this crying was also soundless.

Like a fish on the shore, mouth opened wide, making no sound, yet making people feel it was even more heart-wrenching.

She ultimately didn’t dare cry out loud.

After all, it was just a concubine who died in the manor, and she had hanged herself at that…

Jiang Xuening only felt the oppression in this room. With this You Fangyin, there really wasn’t half a sentence to say. After sitting for a while, she stood up and walked toward the outside.

Only just reaching the doorway, she stopped again.

One hand supporting the doorframe, she looked back at her once, only saying lightly, “Three days from now in the morning, outside the Jiangzhe Guild Hall in the East Market, there will be a merchant named Xu Wenyi selling a batch of raw silk. If you have spare money and aren’t resigned to your current situation, you can go negotiate a price and buy some. In half a month, the price will triple. If you’re frugal, it should be enough for your expenses for a while.”

Back then, You Fangyin’s first pot of gold had come with great difficulty—she had even borrowed money at usurious rates from outside. But she dared to venture, dare to imagine, dare to act, and stubbornly earned it back. This You Fangyin, however, was like a blockhead—timid in temperament, shallow in insight, her mind seemingly unable to turn corners. The means and vision of the previous life’s You Fangyin—even she couldn’t learn them. How could this You Fangyin achieve even one ten-thousandth of that?

Jiang Xuening giving this guidance was only to achieve a clear conscience for herself.

She didn’t believe she could accomplish anything.

Having spoken, she lowered her brows and turned around, calling Tang’er to leave from this side courtyard.

Only You Fangyin remained in the room, using tearful, blurred eyes to watch her gradually distant back, then lowering her head to look at the purse in her palm, slowly clenching it tight.