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

"Have you heard? The one who fell into the water was the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion."

"Oh my, isn't that the most talented woman in our capital city?"

"Then guess who saved her?"

"This is the area where female guests frequent. Those who rescue people are either young girls or old women. What's there to guess?"

"Wrong, wrong, it's a man from outside the family."

"What? How did a man get into the women's area?" The voice was raised, and for a moment, the crowd of women was filled with chaos mixed with excitement.

"I don't know, but His Highness the Fourth Prince is among this group."

"What? Really? Could it be that it was the Fourth Prince who saved the person? No, the Fourth Prince is still young. Even if he did save the person, He Zhihuan can't claim credit for it."

"Could it be that the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion was trying to seduce the fourth prince, which is why she jumped into the lake?"

"But this age is not suitable."

"Where is the inappropriateness? A woman three years older than a man is a golden brick."

"Oh my god..."

"Hey, hold on, don't overthink it. This has nothing to do with the Fourth Prince; he's just here to watch the show."

Do you know what's even more amazing?

"what?"

"The one who saved the person was a poor scholar. I don't know how he got into the Marquis's mansion. It's said that the young master invited him to dinner."

"I remember He Zhihuan is engaged. Since she was rescued, does that mean she has lost her innocence?"

Most of the women kept quiet. It concerned a woman's chastity, and those who knew proper etiquette understood that they shouldn't speak carelessly about it.

There are a few people who don't get along with He Zhihuan, and now is the perfect time to kick him when he's down.

"Of course she's not innocent. Will Meng Silang from the Meng family still come to marry her next year?"

"We'll find out soon enough whether Meng Silang will marry her."

Seeing the curious looks on everyone's faces, someone spoke up and granted their wish, "When that poor scholar was saving people, Meng Silang was watching from the side."

Wow—

"I think Miss He falling into the water was an accident."

“How come you see?”

“How can a poor scholar compare to Meng Silang?”

"That makes sense."

……

Everyone speculated and chimed in with their own opinions, all looking on with the air of spectators, wishing they could go to the other side of the lake and witness the spectacle firsthand.

Just as everyone was about to discuss it further, Granny Zhang, representing the Lady of the Marquis, arrived late. "The Marquis's residence has also prepared a selection of opera excerpts today. They have invited a famous opera troupe from the capital. I heard that the next performance is a brand new play that has not yet been staged."

We cordially invite all ladies to move to the garden to watch the performance.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's not appropriate to continue gossiping about the host here. Some of you are planning to go see a play, some are going to stroll around the garden, and others have found a place to sit in the pavilion and are not going to move.

Seeing that everyone had mostly left, Granny Zhang withdrew.

These pampered guests were all willing to give her, a servant, face, and she appreciated it. But if they weren't willing to, she had no choice but to accept it.

Fortunately, it was getting late, and soon the mansion would begin seeing off the guests.

Hua Sirong hid from people and didn't show herself. After Granny Zhang walked away, she also prepared to sit in the pavilion and rest for a while.

Today's events have kept me constantly on the go.

No one knows how the second young lady fell into the water, or if she was rescued by a poor man. No one knows if her marriage to the Meng family will be affected.

But at this moment, she couldn't care less about others; she had a ticking time bomb inside her that could explode at any moment.

Hua Sirong glanced discreetly towards the side hall, where she could vaguely see the tightly closed window. She wondered what the scene inside was like at that moment.

"Young lady, shall we go back to the side hall now?" Wang's mother asked.

Hua Sirong shook her head, "Let's not go back. Why don't we go find Chunyan and go back to Qingwu Courtyard?"

Today, someone dared to plot against her; she should have fought back.

But today, the Marquis's mansion was embroiled in both drowning and book theft. After much deliberation, Hua Sirong decided to swallow her grievances and bear this injustice in silence for the time being.

Having made up their minds, the master and servant prepared to head to the main kitchen.

But as soon as they left the pavilion, they ran into He San and He Zhiyao.

"Cousin Rong, where are you going?" He San immediately grabbed Hua Sirong's hand tightly, his affection making Hua Sirong feel extremely uneasy.

"Why does my cousin seem to be in such a hurry? Did she do something wrong?"

Hua Sirong wanted to leave quietly, but there were always people who wouldn't let her go.

So she has no choice but to kill gods and Buddhas alike?

Well then, it's best to let things settle this peacefully for now.

"I just heard from the pavilion that the Second Miss fell into the water, but I don't know if it's true. Why is the Third Miss still wandering around here? Weren't you and the Second Miss the closest of friends in the past?"

He Zhiyao was clearly unaware that something had happened in her own household. She raised her voice, "What did you say? My second sister fell into the water?" And what the hell, she was the closest to her second sister!

She clearly didn't get along well with any of the girls in the manor!

But in front of outsiders, she had to pretend that the sisters were getting along well. "I was with the guests the whole time. After they finished their meal, we went for a walk in the garden. We got a little off track and that's when I realized that my second sister had fallen into the water."

"Does my cousin know how my second sister is doing now?"

Hua Sirong looked at the gossipy eyes of those noble ladies and didn't want the Marquis's mansion to become the laughing stock of others.

Although this matter cannot be concealed, it must not be spoken of by her. "The second young lady was naturally rescued in time. If you are worried, we can go and see her after the guests have left the mansion."

He Zhiyao's complexion improved, and she no longer needed to leave a group of guests to perform a sisterly show of affection for her second sister.

The guests who were with He Zhiyao, seeing that they couldn't see any excitement, started talking about other things.

"Miss He, could this be the cousin you've been thinking about?"

He San was extremely embarrassed and had no choice but to answer, "Yes, my cousin has been in the capital for so long, and this is her first time attending a banquet. I was afraid she wouldn't be used to it, so I dragged you guys along to come and have fun with her."

Hua Sirong was not flattered, but felt there was something fishy about it. However, she smiled warmly and said, "My cousin has to entertain guests today and also has to worry about me. I really don't know what to do."

"I heard that this young lady has taken up a whole side hall by herself, so why don't you take a few of us to sit down for a bit?"

Hua Sirong glanced at the girl and thought to herself, "This girl doesn't seem to have any good intentions."

Otherwise, there's a pavilion nearby, why bother dragging her to that side hall?

Hua Sirong was afraid that something bad might happen in the side hall, and she didn't want to bring outsiders to see the Marquis's mansion make a fool of itself.

Even if she manages to exonerate herself, she will inevitably be disliked by the masters of the Marquis's mansion afterwards.

She also had another worry: she feared that people would blame her for all this trouble, and then her bad reputation would be impossible to clear.

However, one young lady couldn't understand the look in her eyes and insisted on going to the side hall.

If Hua Sirong hadn't lacked powerful connections, she would have yelled, "Who's in the side hall anyway? Why do you have to show your face there!"