Chapter 69: Biting Back (First Update)

Chapter 69: Turning the Tables (First Update)

A flash of triumph flickered in Ye Shixian's eyes.

However, in the next second, she suddenly felt her hand slip. For some reason, Ye Chutang's wrist twisted, and she managed to break free from her grasp!

Oh no!

Panic surged through Ye Shixian. She opened her mouth to cry out, but it was too late. Her center of gravity shifted uncontrollably, and she tumbled toward the lake!

Ye Chutang suddenly cried out, "Shixian, watch out!"

Ye Shixian felt her sleeve being tugged, and a muffled sound came from behind her, but before she could react, she had already plunged into the lake.

The lake water instantly swallowed her!

*Splash—!*

Hearing the commotion, the people in the lakeside pavilion all turned to look, letting out consecutive gasps of alarm.

"Heavens! Miss Ye has fallen into the water!"

"Quick, save her!"

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

Ye Shixian struggled frantically in the water. The lake water rushed into her nose and mouth, nearly suffocating her—she didn't know how to swim!

Shaoyao finally snapped out of her stupor and screamed in panic.

"Miss!"

...

After a period of frantic activity, Ye Shixian was finally rescued by Zhuxin.

—This personal maid, who followed the Eldest Princess, had been trained by the Princess herself. Not only was she literate, but she also possessed martial arts skills and was even proficient in swimming.

At this moment, Ye Shixian was soaked to the bone. The hairpins and swaying ornaments in her hair were gone, her hair was a mess, and she looked utterly wretched.

It was summer and the weather was hot, so her clothes were naturally thin. Her gauze skirt clung tightly to her body, revealing her curves.

Seeing this, many of the noble young ladies watching exchanged secret glances, their eyes filled with a mix of mockery and disdain.

No matter how one looked at it, causing such a scene within the Eldest Princess's manor was truly an embarrassment of the highest order.

Fortunately, today's Morning Flower Banquet was attended only by female guests, and the male servants were waiting at a distance. Otherwise, if people saw such a scene, Ye Shixian could forget about ever getting married.

Lan Yi, another personal maid of the Eldest Princess, quickly brought over a cloak and wrapped it around Ye Shixian, asking with concern, "Miss Ye, are you alright?"

Ye Shixian was still shaken, her entire body trembling.

The Eldest Princess approached at that moment. Seeing her state, her brow furrowed slightly. "How did you suddenly fall into the water?"

Hearing this, Ye Shixian seemed to finally regain her senses. She scanned the crowd, her gaze finally locking onto Ye Chutang. Her eyes reddened, and she asked through sobs

"Cousin, I have no grievance or enmity with you. Why did you deliberately push me into the water?"

As her tearful voice fell, the surroundings instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Tears rolled down Ye Shixian's face.

Originally, she had intended to take the opportunity to push Ye Chutang into the water, but she hadn't expected Ye Chutang to somehow avoid it. In a flash of thought, a plan formed in Ye Shixian's mind. She decided to go with the flow and pin the entire incident on Ye Chutang!

In any case, when she had made her move just now, her back was turned to the people in the pavilion; no one had seen anything.

Even if Ye Chutang protested, no one would believe her—after all, she was the one who actually fell into the lake!

Ye Chutang froze for a moment. A flash of astonishment crossed her dark, gentle eyes, as if she couldn't understand why she was suddenly saying such things.

Her lips moved, as if she wanted to speak but hesitated.

Ye Shixian naturally wouldn't give her a chance to argue. Her tears fell even more heavily as she tightly gripped the cloak around her.

"Cousin, if I have offended you in any way, you can just say so directly. But how could you... how could you—"

Still, no one responded.

Ye Shixian finally sensed something was wrong: she had said all this, so why was there still no reaction from these people? Shouldn't they be turning on Ye Chutang—

Just then, the rhythmic sound of clapping rang out.

*Clap, clap, clap.*

Princess Qinyang said with an expression of admiration, "So this is what it means to turn black into white. This Princess has truly witnessed it with her own eyes today."

Ye Shixian's mind went blank, completely unaware of why Princess Qinyang would suddenly say such a thing.

For some reason, she felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

Princess Qinyang crossed her arms and rubbed her chin before saying, "Ye Shixian, everyone saw clearly just now. When you accidentally fell into the lake, your cousin's first reaction was to try and save you. To pull you back, she fell and struck the rocks by the lakeside, and her elbow is scraped bloody. And yet, the moment you got out, you claimed she pushed you?"

"Tsk, you really are something else."

It felt as if Ye Shixian had been struck hard with a club; her mind went completely blank.

"Wha... what...?"

She turned her stiff neck to look at Ye Chutang again, only then seeing that her sleeve was torn. On her exposed left wrist, one could faintly see a layer of skin scraped away, with blood spots seeping out.

There was even dirt stuck to it, clearly from being scraped against sharp rocks.

Princess Qinyang continued, "Just now, I told her to go and bandage herself first, but she refused. She stayed by the lakeside, saying she wanted to make sure you came up safely. And this is how you repay her?"

The corners of her mouth curled up, her bright and flamboyant face wearing an undisguised look of mockery and contempt.

"Ye Shixian, whoever has a cousin who bites the hand that feeds her like this must truly have great 'fortune'."

Ye Shixian was utterly stunned.

How could this be... how could this be!?

The surrounding ladies also began to whisper among themselves.

"This is truly an eye-opener! Ye Chutang kindly tried to save her, and she turned around to slander her! What kind of person is she?"

"Exactly! If we hadn't been watching clearly from the pavilion, this matter really wouldn't have been cleared up!"

"If I were Ye Chutang, I really wouldn't be able to swallow this insult..."

"Who told her to have a father backing her up? Not only did they take over their house, but they even dare to bully them openly. Isn't it just because they think the Ye siblings are orphans with no one to rely on?"

Ye Shixian's body trembled. Only then did she remember that before she fell into the lake, she seemed to have heard a sound. At the time, she hadn't thought much of it, but thinking back now, that was clearly the sound of Ye Chutang falling to her knees.

But—she was certain her sleeve had only been lightly tugged; it was impossible for that to have knocked Ye Chutang down! Let alone the injuries on Ye Chutang's body!

"N-no! It's not like that!"

Ye Shixian's chest felt tight; a thousand words were stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken.

Why was everything developing in this direction?

At that moment, Ye Chutang suddenly took a step forward.

The surrounding noise instantly vanished. Ye Shixian instinctively looked up, staring once more at that gentle and elegant face, only to find it incredibly unfamiliar.

Ye Chutang reached out her hand, and a string of red jade beads lay quietly in her palm.

As she moved, her sleeve pulled up slightly, revealing a large area of abrasions from her wrist upwards.

The seeping blood spots were incredibly crimson, even more vivid than the red jade beads in her palm.

Anyone could see how badly she had been injured when she was pulled down to her knees just now.

The air seemed to freeze. Ye Shixian had never felt a moment as agonizing as this.

Ye Chutang said softly, "Shixian, your red jade beads."

Ye Shixian suddenly shuddered.

(End of Chapter)