Ms. Liu, as today's guest of honor, arrived early, following all of Mrs. Lu's arrangements. After the ing-of-age ceremony concluded, Li Xin returned to her room to change clothes.
The ladies and young women strolled through the garden, taking in the sights. This garden, well-planned by its previous owner, boasted pavilions and towers artfully arranged, with a new view every few steps. In the hands of the Li family, Mrs. Lu had made slight modifications, elevating its beauty even further.
This was the Li family's first formal reception in the Capital City, and Mrs. Lu had arranged everything with meticulous care.
Li Xia acpanied the young ladies, making conversation. Today, Mrs. Lu had also officially announced that Li Xia would be registered under her name. Now Li Xia's status was that of a legitimate daughter of the Li household. This caused the other legitimate young ladies to temper their dismissive attitudes towards her. However, their jealousy only deepened. Previously, they couldn't match her beauty but could lord their status over her. Now, even their status was equal.
Li Xia paid no mind to the deliberate or inadvertent glances from these young ladies. Her attention was focused entirely on Fourth Miss Lu and the Fourth Prince. She wondered what exactly they were planning to do.
Fourth Miss Lu absent-mindedly entertained Second Miss Lu's conversation. pared to Fourth Miss Lu's impending engagement, Second Miss Lu was quite satisfied with her own marriage prospects. Feeling superior, she boasted proudly in front of Fourth Miss Lu.
Fourth Miss Lu had no interest in such matters, her eyes constantly scanning the surroundings, searching for the Fourth Prince. Finally spotting the Fourth Prince approaching with Cao Fugui, Fourth Miss Lu quickly surveyed the area and noticed Li Xin ing from another direction. She suggested, "Second Sister, let's go chat with Cousin Xin."
Second Miss Lu agreed, and the two walked towards Li Xin. Fourth Miss Lu walked on the side closer to the water. After a short distance, her foot wobbled, and she fell into the water with a scream.
Fourth Miss Lu knew how to swim and could control herself, but once in the water, she felt something pulling her down. For a moment, she thought of water ghosts and cried out in fear, "Help! Help! Someone save me!"
"Someone's fallen into the water!" Second Miss Lu on the shore shouted.
A small maid near Li Xin, seemingly startled, also fell into the water.
With several splashes, Qiu Chan and a few other maids and older women who could swim jumped in. They fished out those who had fallen into the water. Fourth Miss Lu was disappointed that it wasn't the Fourth Prince who came to her rescue. She wanted to struggle, but Qiu Chan had already grabbed her as easily as catching a chicken.
Li Xin stepped forward and wrapped a cloak around Fourth Miss Lu, noticing her shivering. "Qiu Chan, quickly take her to my courtyard to change clothes," she instructed.
Hearing this, Qiu Chan carried Fourth Miss Lu in big strides towards Fuqing Courtyard. The other small maid who had fallen into the pool was also fished out by an older woman and taken away to change clothes.
Looking at the scheme that had been set up, the Fourth Prince felt frustrated that he hadn't even had a chance to act before it was all resolved. However, his face betrayed nothing.
Fourth Miss Lu was also angry. She had planned it so well, but everything had turned to nothing. Thinking about how the man's family would e to the Lu Mansion tomorrow to propose marriage, she felt both angry and anxious. She couldn't just accept this fate.
"Fourth Cousin, drink some ginger soup to ward off the chill," Li Xin said, personally bringing over a bowl. Seeing Fourth Miss Lu standing there motionless, worried she might be frightened, Li Xin spoke in a gentle tone, "Fourth Cousin, everything's fine now. Don't be afraid."
ing back to her senses, Fourth Miss Lu, now in clean clothes, accepted the bowl. "Thank you, Cousin," she said as she drank the ginger soup.
After seeing off the guests, Li Xia came to Mrs. Lu's chambers. Inside were Mrs. Lu and Li Hui.
"What happened today?" Mrs. Lu wasn't suspicious of Li Xia, but rather of Qiu Chan, a maid who usually disliked action. Unless it was for Li Xia's matters, she rarely bothered with anyone else's affairs. Today, she had been so eager to jump in and rescue people. Moreover, Li Yu had mentioned afterward that the unfamiliar maid who fell into the water had intended to harm Li Xin.
Li Xia didn't conceal anything. She recounted what she had overheard by chance yesterday while watching the opera - Fourth Miss Lu and the Fourth Prince's scheme.
If today the Fourth Prince hadn't been targeting anyone else, and it was just him and Fourth Miss Lu, Li Xia wouldn't have intervened. But when she saw that small maid about to harm Li Xin, Li Xia used her wind ability to kick both the small maid and Fourth Miss Lu into the water.
"In the future, don't hide such things," Mrs. Lu said. Knowing Li Xia's strong-mindedness, she didn't mean to scold her.
Li Xia honestly admitted her mistake and promised not to repeat it.
"That Fourth Young Master must be the Fourth Prince. He's set his sights on the Li family," Li Hui deduced. The Li family's engagement with the Chengen Marquis Residence essentially aligned them with the Crown Prince. The Fourth Prince's actions were likely aimed at causing a rift between the Li family and the Chengen Marquis Residence, or even more ambitiously, to create discord between the Chengen Marquis Residence and the Crown Prince, thereby weakening the Crown Prince's support.
"This Fourth Prince has grand ambitions," Mrs. Lu snorted coldly. They had been in the Capital City for some time now and understood its political landscape. The Crown Prince had been designated early on by the Emperor, who had been grooming him for years on how to bee a ruler.
The aging Emperor increasingly relied on the Crown Prince, who in turn was very measured and never overstepped his bounds.
The Second and Third Princes had their own ideas and made some small moves. Mrs. Lu had been watching but didn't say much. However, she hadn't expected this Fourth Prince, who usually kept a low profile, to set his sights on her family.
"I wonder if Uncle knows about the Lu cousin's affairs," Li Hui was now unsure whether Uncle Lu was pletely unaware of this matter or if he played some special role in it.
"I'll go to the Lu Mansion tomorrow to ask. If it's true..." Mrs. Lu didn't finish her sentence, but her expression conveyed that if Uncle Lu was involved, she would cut ties with her maiden family. A child is always a mother's weak spot. Mrs. Lu wouldn't allow anyone to scheme against her daughter, not even her own mother or elder brother.
"Xia, lend me your Qiu Ling for a few days," Li Hui looked at Li Xia. Qiu Ling had more sources of information than Li Hui. He needed to borrow Qiu Ling to investigate some matters.
"Alright, I'll tell Qiu Ling when I get back," Li Xia agreed.
After Li Xia left, Mrs. Lu stared at Li Hui. Why did Li Hui keep borrowing Qiu Ling from Li Xia? "Hui, do you have feelings for that girl Qiu Ling...?"
"Mother, Qiu Ling has some talent for gathering information. I'm borrowing her from Xia because I want to investigate when exactly our Lu cousin and the Fourth Prince started their association," Li Hui explained with amusement. Qiu Ling was just a young girl, how could he possibly have such intentions?
"That's good then," Mrs. Lu sighed in relief. However, she thought to herself that she should still arrange Li Hui's marriage soon. Li Ming had written earlier saying that the Wang family had agreed to e to the Capital City for the wedding. By her calculations, they should be arriving soon.
When Li Xia returned to the Orchid Courtyard, she saw Qiu Chan, who had already changed her clothes, being forced by Qiu Kui to drink ginger soup. Qiu Chan's face was full of reluctance as she protested, "Sister Qiu Kui, I'm perfectly fine. I don't need to drink ginger soup." She had already drunk three bowls last night, and today Qiu Kui had brought over a whole pot for her to drink.
"You were soaking in the water for quite a while and then took so long to e back and change your clothes. You must drink the ginger soup," Qiu Kui insisted, very concerned that Qiu Chan might fall ill or feel unwell.
Seeing that no amount of arguing would change Qiu Kui's mind, Qiu Chan grudgingly took the bowl and downed the ginger soup in one go. After finishing, her forehead broke out in sweat, and she opened her mouth wide, asking for water. The ginger soup was too strong; she couldn't bear it.
A teacup was passed to her from the side. Qiu Chan took it and drank deeply, rinsing her mouth. She felt like she had e back to life. Who on earth had invented this ginger soup concoction? It was absolutely terrible to drink.
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