“Who fell into the lake?” Luo Huaimeng asked. “Is it someone from our Shi household, or one of the guests?”

“In reply to the Second Madam, it was a young lady from the Qian family.”

Upon hearing “young lady from the Qian family,” Yan Qing immediately thought of Qian Ling, the Qian family’s Third Miss. She was the only daughter from the Qian family who had come to the hundred-day banquet today.

Yan Qing’s mind turned quickly, and the image of a slender figure came to her — Qian Lan’s niece by marriage, Yin Minghui, the young woman who was studying in Shun Cheng, had also come along with Qian Ling.

Both Qian Ling and Yin Minghui had come with the Qian family, so it was natural that a maidservant would refer to either of them as a Qian family young lady.

“Let us go and see.” Luo Huaimeng and Yan Qing followed close behind the maidservant to the covered walkway.

Yan Qing had not even drawn near when she spotted a familiar figure, and could not suppress an exclamation of surprise. “Shi Ting?”

Shi Ting was soaked through from head to toe, water still dripping from his hair. He was crouching on the ground, speaking in a low voice to someone beside him.

From the look of things, it seemed Shi Ting had jumped into the lake to pull someone out. It was just unclear whether that person was alive or dead.

The lake water was cold. Even if one did not drown after falling in, one would lose half one’s strength. All the more so for a woman.

“Has the physician come yet?” someone asked urgently.

“The physician has not arrived yet, but the Seventh Young Madam is here.” A sharp-eyed maidservant had spotted Yan Qing in an instant.

Luo Huaimeng gave her a nod, and Yan Qing immediately stepped briskly forward.

“She should be fine.” When Shi Ting saw her, he first gave her a brief account of the situation. “She is conscious.”

Yan Qing could now see clearly who the person who had fallen in was — it was Qian Lan’s niece by marriage, Yin Minghui.

Her complexion was ashen, her lips purplish, and she was trembling uncontrollably.

“First, bring the clothing over.” Yan Qing took the thick cloak from the maidservant’s arms and draped it over Yin Minghui. “Miss Yin, how do you feel?”

Yin Minghui hastily gathered the clothing around herself, like someone frozen through who had suddenly found a source of warmth. Her teeth chattering, she shook her head. “Cold.”

Yan Qing took her hand and checked her pulse. “There does not seem to be anything seriously wrong. But cold air has invaded her body. She needs to be taken somewhere warm to recover.”

Shi Ting nodded and motioned for an attendant to carry Yin Minghui to a heated room.

But the moment the attendant moved closer, Yin Minghui shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum. “Propriety forbids a man and woman from touching. I will walk myself.”

So saying, she strained to push herself upright, but she was too weak and could not stand. It was Yan Qing who steadied her.

“How do you intend to walk in this state?” Yan Qing frowned.

“My mother said one must never let a man carry you without good reason.” Yin Minghui said.

Yan Qing was momentarily speechless.

Of all the times to stand on propriety.

As she spoke, Yin Minghui’s gaze drifted toward Shi Ting, and she said softly in a small voice, “Seventh Young Master, might I trouble you to carry me back? You were the one who saved me when I fell into the lake just now. You were the one who carried me out of the water.”

Yan Qing turned to look at Shi Ting.

Shi Ting had not expected Yin Minghui to make such a request. He had been on his way to the garden to find Yan Qing when he passed by this spot and discovered someone had fallen into the water. He had jumped in and pulled her out.

Seeing Yan Qing looking at him, he immediately put on an expression of pure innocence.

“Miss Yin, if you do not wish to be carried by a man, it is not without a solution.” Yan Qing withdrew her gaze and looked toward Murong behind her. “Murong, carry Miss Yin back.”

Yin Minghui was taken aback for a moment. “This — how could I trouble—”

“Miss Yin does not wish to be carried by a man — I can understand that. Murong is a woman, so even if she carries Miss Yin, it will not give rise to any ill rumors. Miss Yin need have no worries.”

“That is right, Miss Yin. I am strong — no less than a man.” Murong stepped forward and, without further ceremony, scooped Yin Minghui up in her arms.

Yin Minghui, though somewhat reluctant, said nothing more. Yet as Murong carried her away, her gaze lingered on Shi Ting.

“Director Shi certainly has a way of attracting admirers,” Yan Qing remarked blandly, and turned to leave.

Shi Ting felt a pang of remorse and immediately followed. His wife seemed to have taken offense.

Yan Qing returned to Luo Huaimeng’s side and said quietly, “There does not appear to be anything seriously wrong with her. She has taken in some cold and suffered a shock, but a course of warming medicine should be enough for a full recovery.”

“Good, that is a relief.” Luo Huaimeng breathed out. “She was a guest in our household. If something had happened to her here, it would have been very difficult to answer to the Qian family.”

She looked toward Shi Ting as she spoke. “You were the one who saved her. The Qian family should be grateful to you.”

Shi Ting made a sound of acknowledgment but said nothing.

“Since she is out of danger, everyone may disperse.” Luo Huaimeng waved a hand. “I will go and look in on her.”

Luo Huaimeng took Xiang Xiu with her to the guest courtyard where Yin Minghui was resting, while Yan Qing also needed to return to the front courtyard to attend to the guests.

But as she walked ahead, there was a shadow trailing close behind her. She did not speak, and neither did he.

Yan Qing stopped and looked back. “You still have not gone to change out of those wet clothes. Why are you following me?”

“I do not know where my clothes are.” Shi Ting looked at her with innocent eyes, like a child. “I do not know what to wear either.”

Since taking a wife, Shi Ting’s daily wardrobe — everything except his uniform — had been selected by Yan Qing. She would lay out the next day’s clothes for him each evening, and he simply had to put them on when he got up.

A habit takes very little time to form. Shi Ting had come to depend on wearing whatever she prepared for him. It had gradually become second nature.

Once, he had lived alone in a whole courtyard by himself, managing everything in his daily life on his own. How could he have become so idle as this, to the point of not even knowing where his own clothes were?

He liked depending on Yan Qing in this way. Even if it was making him unlike himself.

Seeing that there was no one nearby, Shi Ting walked over and pulled her into his arms. “Are you cross with me?”

“What have I to be cross about? Director Shi played the hero and saved a maiden. A tale worthy of song and story.”

Shi Ting heard the faint hint of pique in her voice and could not help but laugh. “I do not deserve your praise, Madam.”

Yan Qing gave a small huff.

“I will be more careful next time.” Shi Ting pressed his chin gently against the top of her head. “Next time I pull someone out of the water, I will drag them, never carry them.”

“Drag them? They are not a corpse.” Yan Qing could not help laughing. “All right, go back and change your clothes. Wearing wet clothes will give you a chill.”

“Will you come with me?”

“Did you not say you did not know where your clothes are?” Yan Qing shot him a look and walked away.

Shi Ting saw this and hurried after her.

The two returned to Tiao Lan Garden, where freshly heated water had just been prepared. She sent Shi Ting to take a hot bath first, then personally went to brew a bowl of ginger water.

By the time Shi Ting had finished bathing, the ginger water was ready.

“Is Madam still cross with me?” Shi Ting thrust his handsome face toward her.

Yan Qing took the towel from his hand, pressed him down into a chair, and began drying his hair. “I am not someone unreasonable. You saved a life — of course I would not blame you for that. I simply do not like that Yin Minghui.”

The way Yin Minghui had looked at Shi Ting made Yan Qing deeply uncomfortable. And she had an instinct that this Yin Minghui was very likely to attach herself to them like a stubborn plaster.

Yan Qing worked the towel through Shi Ting’s hair, her movements gentle, yet her words were unyielding. “That covered walkway should be quite sturdy. How did she end up falling in out of nowhere?”

“I checked afterward. There was one section that had been eaten through by insects. Anyone who leaned against it with any force would have caused it to snap.” Shi Ting picked up the ginger water and drank. “Yin Minghui must have fallen from that spot.”

“Yin Minghui falls into the water, and you just happen to be passing by. Was this merely a coincidence?”

“You think Yin Minghui might have used a self-inflicted scheme to get me to save her?” It was early winter now, and the lake water was bitterly cold. The lake was also unfathomably deep. If someone who could not swim fell in, they could only await death.

“Does Yin Minghui know how to swim?”

“Everything you have just said — I have already considered it. But I can say with certainty that she cannot swim.” A person who cannot swim has an instinct when in the water, like someone in a moment of desperate peril reaching for a lifeline. When he had been in the water with her, Yin Minghui had grabbed onto him as that lifeline. The strength of her panicked, flailing struggle had been enormous — she had nearly pushed Shi Ting under the surface.

From Shi Ting’s experience, that kind of reaction could not be faked.

Yan Qing’s hands moved without any particular rhythm, her thoughts elsewhere.

Shi Ting reached over his shoulder and took hold of her hand, squeezing it gently. “You think Yin Minghui did this deliberately? Surely she would not gamble with her own life.”

“If Yin Minghui did not do it deliberately, then could she have been schemed against by someone else?”

Shi Ting’s eyes narrowed. “You mean that section of walkway eaten through by insects?”

“Who else was with her at the time?”

“It should have been Qian family’s Third Miss, Qian Ling, and a few maidservants.”

Yan Qing’s brow lifted slightly. “There is no evidence yet, but this whole thing is too much of a coincidence — too great a coincidence for me not to give it more thought.”

“If someone truly came at me through her, then this will not end here.” Shi Ting thought for a moment. “Let us observe and see how things unfold.”

Yan Qing continued drying his hair, her hands gentle, but her words were relentless. “What did it feel like to carry another woman in your arms?”

Shi Ting turned and held her by the waist, looking pitiful. “I submit myself to Madam’s punishment. Whatever Madam wishes to do to me, I will accept it.”

Yan Qing laughed. “Cut off both your hands.”

Shi Ting raised his eyebrows. “That severe?”

“Were you not the one who said you would accept whatever punishment I chose?”

Shi Ting thrust both hands out toward her. “Shall I fetch the knife myself?”

Yan Qing took the opportunity to press the towel into his hands. “Put your clothes on. They are waiting for you out front.”

Yan Qing went to find his clothes, and when she turned back, she saw Shi Ting smiling at her. When he smiled, all the coldness about him was concealed, and what she saw was a smile even more brilliant than sunlight.

“What are you smiling at?” Yan Qing’s eyes were dazzled by that smile. Faced with such beauty, she knew she would be swiftly defeated.

Shi Ting smiled at the corner of his mouth and said, “I love watching you be jealous.”

Yan Qing kept a stubborn face. “When was I jealous?”

“Just now, someone was jealous — I could not say who.” Shi Ting leaned in close, as though sniffing at her. “The sour smell has not even faded yet.”

Yan Qing flung the clothes at his chest and said with exasperation, “Change yourself.”

“I want Madam to change them for me.” Shi Ting held the clothes in place with one hand and pulled her into his arms with the other.

Yan Qing laughed, and reached up to flick the tip of his nose. “Is this the way to behave — actually enjoying it when someone is jealous over you?”

“Madam’s jealousy is beautiful too.” Shi Ting bent down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “A pity you cannot see it yourself.”

“Do you not find me utterly unreasonable? You were quite clearly jumping into the water to save someone.”

—