The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

He Zhilang and his party passed through the side gate and arrived at the area where the female guests were playing, but they still had to cross a bridge to reach the flower hall.

As luck would have it, Hua Sirong was positioned at the rockery where she could see this group of people crossing the bridge.

Fearing exposure and not daring to hide in the artificial hill, she decided to take a risk and climb along the lakeside to detour to the pavilion next to it.

The lake is artificial, but no one usually comes to this location, so there is a lot of silt. Hua Sirong carefully leaned against the artificial rock and moved towards the pavilion.

Suddenly, I heard someone shout from across the street, "Oh no! Someone's fallen into the water... Help!"

She slipped and was about to fall into the water, becoming the second person to fall into the water at the wedding banquet of the Marquis of Muqing's heir.

Just as Hua Sirong was about to have a close encounter with the lake, a rope suddenly flew out from behind her and wrapped around her slender waist in time. With a pull, Hua Sirong was already on the top of the artificial mountain.

She was completely bewildered. First, she saw many people running in the same direction in the distance, and even the group on the bridge changed their plans.

Suddenly, she realized something was wrong; she seemed to still be being held! The lifeline around her waist was still wrapped around her.

Her eyes widened, and she turned around abruptly, only to see a man!

She pushed the man away forcefully with a wary look on her face. At the same time, the man probably realized that their current position was inappropriate, and subconsciously loosened his grip on her.

Hua Sirong lost her balance and was about to fall again...

The artificial hill was uneven and looked like it was about to be disfigured, but the man pulled Hua Sirong back in time.

So suspenseful!

……

"Thank you for saving me." It took Hua Sirong a long time to calm down.

The man didn't speak. Seeing that Hua Sirong was out of danger, he didn't want to stay any longer and prepared to leave.

Hua Sirong didn't want anyone to see her being saved by a stranger. She was thinking about how to repay the favor when she suddenly noticed a book on a rock.

She looked closer and realized he looked so familiar!

Isn't this the copy she copied, the one that Granny Zhang took back, the rare copy that Miss He Er gave her?

"Hey, my benefactor, wait a minute."

The man paused, but did not turn around.

Hua Sirong gritted her teeth, "This book on the ground, is it yours..."

Before he could finish speaking, a gust of wind seemed to sweep past, and the book was already in the man's hands, showing how much he valued it.

"Thank you. After today, we'll call it even." The man seemed afraid of getting involved with Hua Sirong.

Just then, from the opposite side, came the words, "They've been rescued! They've been rescued..."

Before Hua Sirong could even relax after hearing this, she heard voices coming from afar, something like, "The study has been robbed... the books are gone..."

Hua Sirong was sitting on the artificial hill. From this high vantage point, she could not only see far, but also hear far.

Her gaze involuntarily fell upon the man who was stuffing books into his arms, her eyes filled with scrutiny? Confusion? Puzzle?

My benefactor was a book thief?

Should I report him?

Wouldn't that be repaying kindness with enmity?

But the Marquis's family had also done her a favor!

The man's expression changed slightly. If he hadn't saved Hua Sirong, he would have run away long ago, and how could the people of the Marquis's mansion have discovered his whereabouts?

Then a murderous glare came over, and Hua Sirong shrank back.

But considering that this person had just helped a complete stranger, he couldn't be that bad by nature.

Then she wasn't so afraid anymore, and boldly glared back. Stealing books and you think you're in the right?! You!

man:……

"My name is Jiang Huaiji, remember that." The man, oh no, Jiang Huaiji, took out a jade pendant from his pocket and put it into Hua Sirong's hand. He then casually pulled off the jade pendant from Hua Sirong's waist and put it into his pocket as well.

The steward was leading his servants to search the entire garden in the distance. Jiang Huaiji knew he couldn't linger, so he flipped down the artificial hill and disappeared...

Hua Sirong held the hot potato in her hand, wanting to throw it directly into the water to ensure there was no way to prove anything.

But looking at the cliff face that was two people high, she belatedly realized that she probably couldn't get down!

Just as she was frantically testing the waters on the edge, the book thief reappeared out of nowhere.

After saying "Excuse me," Hua Sirong was safely placed on the ground.

Hua Sirong finally felt grounded as she stepped onto the ground.

"Did my benefactor come back specifically to help me?" Hua Sirong grabbed Jiang Huaiji's wrist as he released her... and pulled on his sleeve.

Jiang Huaiji did not answer, but both of them knew the truth.

"My benefactor's appearance is just like his name, upright and honest. How did he become a thief?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask." Jiang Huaiji was a man of few words, and after saying that, he disappeared.

Hua Sirong thought that the copy was a fake among fakes, and even if Jiang Huaiji stole it, it shouldn't have much of an impact.

Seeing that more and more people were coming this way, she decided to head towards the pavilion. That way, she could blend into the crowd and not attract attention.

Looking at the red silk decorations in the garden, and thinking about my cousin's wedding banquet, there are so many things to do.

"Miss." Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.

Hua Sirong was overjoyed. "Aunt Wang! What brings you here? Are you done with your work? Where's Chunyan?"

Madam Wang rushed over to Hua Sirong and whispered, "Why did you come out alone, young lady?"

Before Hua Sirong could speak, Wang Mama, holding her hand, said to herself, "This servant and Chunyan were assigned by Zhang Mama to watch the fire in the main kitchen. When the feast was almost ready, this servant was going to bring Chunyan back."

A maid in the main kitchen suddenly pointed at the bird's nest soup that Chunyan was watching over the fire, insisting that it was ruined and demanding that Chunyan be punished. Otherwise, Chunyan would have to cook it all over again.

"The kitchen staff examined the bird's nest and found nothing wrong with it, but judging from the girl's attitude, she wasn't going to let it go."

"My heart skipped a beat, and I started to worry about you, Miss. Just then, I could faintly hear the sounds of someone catching a thief outside. My goodness, this is a Marquis's mansion, what kind of thief could there be?"

I couldn't care less about Chunyan anymore, so while the girl was pulling at Chunyan, I quickly ran out of the main kitchen.

As soon as I entered the garden, I heard someone shouting that they had fallen into the water. My heart started pounding.

"I was so afraid something had happened to you, Miss, that I rushed here as fast as I could. I never expected to find you here; it's truly a blessing from God."

As the master and servant were talking, they arrived at the pavilion not far from the side hall. There was no one in the pavilion at that time.

Hua Sirong and her companion went inside and took a slightly off-center spot. After that, many more ladies and young women came from the flower hall.

However, their attention wasn't on Hua Sirong and the other woman. They were all craning their necks, trying to see who had fallen into the water on the other side of the lake, whether they had been rescued, and who had tried to save them.

After a while, those who were well-informed began to talk about it in private.