"Ah Ru!"
As Hang Li instinctively wanted to follow Tang Ning, he heard her voice. Turning around, he saw that Xue Ru had been knocked to the ground.
The crowd around them screamed as they surged toward them. Xue Ru had fallen and couldn’t get up, fearing that she might be trampled by the oncoming crowd. Hang Li quickly turned and shoved through the people to reach Xue Ru, pulling the girl, who had nearly been stepped on, into his arms, disregarding any sense of propriety. He then looked up to find Tang Ning, but they were already out of sight.
"Lady!"
"County Princess!!"
Yue Jian’s face darkened as she was shoved aside by the crowd.
The scattered fireworks were still exploding, and their loud sounds mixed with the screams from the panicked crowd, nearly drowning out her voice.
The chaos was unbearable. The platforms that had been set up around the area were knocked over, adding to the disorder and increasing the confusion of the crowd.
Yue Jian’s face was full of urgency. She kicked away a man who had bumped into her and leaped above the crowd. There, she saw Qian Qiyue in a red dress, holding onto Tang Ning, both being pushed toward the lake.
"County Princess is by the lake!"
Yue Jian shouted, and several figures quickly made their way to the lake.
Tang Ning was being shoved backward by the crowd, almost falling several times, but Qian Qiyue managed to pull her back each time.
The sharp screams in her ears and the panicked people around her made it hard for Tang Ning to focus. She could only vaguely see the fireworks still bursting not far away.
Frowning, she looked around, but Yue Jian and the others had disappeared. Her heart tightened as she turned to Qian Qiyue, saying, "Sister Qiyue, be careful..."
Before she could finish, someone suddenly crashed into them.
Both Tang Ning and Qian Qiyue were sent sprawling backward, and as their feet lost contact with the ground, Qian Qiyue turned to see the lake behind them, her back already close to the water.
With a swift push, she forced Tang Ning toward the shore, but herself fell faster into the water.
Tang Ning was thrust into someone’s arms just as she lost her balance, and the sound of several people falling into the water rang out behind her, making her expression change dramatically. She quickly turned her head and saw that Qian Qiyue, along with several others who had been by the lake earlier, had been shoved into the water.
"Sister Qiyue!!"
Tang Ning was startled and wanted to go to her, but a hand grabbed her.
"Don’t go! It’s too dangerous with so many people, and it’s dark!"
Tang Ning turned to see Song Jinxiu and froze for a moment. However, she didn’t care about anything else and immediately shoved him aside. "Move!"
"Tang Ning..."
"Let go!"
Song Jinxiu was stunned by the fierceness in her eyes, and he let go of her. Tang Ning immediately rushed to the lake.
She could see the vague outline of Qian Qiyue struggling in the water, but due to the moonlight reflecting off the lake, she couldn’t clearly make out her face. However, Tang Ning remembered that Qian Qiyue couldn’t swim...
As soon as this thought flashed in her mind, she paused. Had Qian Qiyue ever told her she couldn’t swim?
But the chaos of the surrounding crowd and the increasing panic from those who had fallen into the water left her no time to think further. She saw the water slowly rising around Qian Qiyue’s head and jumped into the water without hesitation.
Song Jinxiu was unable to catch her in time. "Tang Ning!!"
"Lady!!"
When Yue Jian and the others arrived, they saw that Tang Ning had disappeared, but Song Jinxiu was still standing by the lake. She approached him angrily and demanded, "Song Jinxiu, have you seen my County Princess?!"
Song Jinxiu urgently replied, "Tang Ning has fallen into the water."
The lake was pitch black, and it was impossible to make out who was who. Many of those who had fallen into the water didn’t know how to swim, and their frantic splashing made the lake surface full of terrified shouts.
Yue Jian’s face turned pale. "Which direction?"
"This way!"
As soon as Song Jinxiu pointed, Yue Jian didn’t hesitate. She jumped into the water, and on the other side, Fu Laiqing and Qi Cheng had just arrived. Before Qi Cheng could say anything, Fu Laiqing leaped into the water without a second thought, disappearing beneath the surface.
"Ah Qing!!"
Qi Cheng was shocked, but Fu Laiqing didn’t hear him. All he could think about was Qian Qiyue falling into the water.
Tang Ning had a sense of direction and swam toward Qian Qiyue. The weight of her long skirt dragged her, making swimming difficult.
Fortunately, the lake was calm, allowing her to reach Qian Qiyue’s side. At that moment, Qian Qiyue was struggling weakly, and after coughing up some water, her body began to sink further.
"Qiyue!"
"Tan... Tang Ning..."
"Don’t be afraid, I’ll get you out."
Tang Ning knew that she didn’t have much strength and was worried she wouldn’t be able to swim far with Qian Qiyue, but Yue Jian and the others would surely come to find them. As long as they didn’t drown, they would make it out.
She softly reassured Qian Qiyue, urging her to paddle along with her. Despite her pale lips, Qian Qiyue still tried her best to kick.
Others had started jumping into the water to rescue people. Tang Ning and Qian Qiyue had only swum for a short while when Tang Ning suddenly felt someone grab her foot.
Caught off guard, she was dragged into the water, and Qian Qiyue sank with her. Both of them coughed and sputtered as they were submerged. Tang Ning vaguely sensed someone approaching, and she heard a voice saying, "Lady, I’m here to rescue you," before someone reached out to grab her.
"Go away!"
Tang Ning pushed Qian Qiyue up, and as she broke through the surface of the water, she shouted angrily.
But the person still came closer, heedless of her warnings, reaching out to embrace her. Tang Ning couldn’t clearly make out his face, but she vaguely knew it was a man. She had experienced the same feeling earlier when her feet had been yanked into the water. Another strong pull dragged her and Qian Qiyue back down.
The man grabbed her around the waist. Tang Ning’s face changed, and she grabbed the gold hairpin that had come loose earlier, thrusting it downward with all her strength.
A scream echoed, and the hand that had been reaching for her quickly withdrew. Before it could approach again, Qian Qiyue, still partially conscious, kicked the man in the back, sending him down into the water.
As the man sank, someone else approached, this time grabbing Qian Qiyue. Her dress fluttered in the water, and with the last of her strength, Qian Qiyue bit the person, kicking her way free, but she soon lost consciousness and began to sink.
Tang Ning wanted to grab her, but before she could, she saw a figure rapidly swimming toward them. The person grabbed Qian Qiyue’s hand and started pulling her up toward the surface.
Tang Ning was already beside Qian Qiyue, furious. She grabbed the gold hairpin again and stabbed it forward.
Fu Laiqing felt a sharp pain in his arm and vaguely saw Tang Ning holding the hairpin. He quickly called out, "County Princess, it’s me."
Tang Ning paused, "Fu Laiqing?"
"Lady!"
Yue Jian had also arrived beside them, supporting a breathless Tang Ning. "Lady, are you alright?"
Tang Ning looked at the spot in the water where the person had been. The ones who had fallen in earlier were no longer in sight. She noticed that Qian Qiyue, whom Fu Laiqing was holding, was nearly unconscious. Tang Ning clenched the gold hairpin with a look of anger.
"Let’s go back to the shore."
The commotion by the lake had already subsided, and the people who had fallen into the water were all pulled up. When Fu Laiqing reached the shore with Qian Qiyue, he quickly handed her over to Yue Jian and Tang Ning, and then, while no one was paying attention, he swam to the other side of the shore. Everyone assumed that Qian Qiyue had been rescued by Tang Ning and the others.
Cang Lang had brought people to control the crowd. After the Qian family’s maidens wrapped Tang Ning and Qian Qiyue in clothing, Tang Ning looked at Qian Qiyue, who was pale, and spoke coldly, "This wasn’t an accident. Someone tried to harm us."
Cang Lang’s face changed.
"Earlier in the lake, a man kept trying to get close to us."
Not only Fu Laiqing, but Qi Cheng and Song Jinxiu’s faces also changed.
After a woman falls into the water, her clothes become soaked, and if a man rescues her, there would likely be physical contact. If someone had pulled them out of the water in full view of everyone, Tang Ning and Qian Qiyue...
Tang Ning’s face darkened. Although the man had only reached out to her, he hadn’t let go of Qian Qiyue either. The water was too dark to see clearly who was who, and she still didn’t know whether the person had come after her or Qian Qiyue.
"There was one man I injured with my hairpin, and another man was hurt by Qiyue, I’m not sure where."
Cang Lang’s face turned ashen. Looking at the now-extinguished fireworks, he spoke in a cold voice: "Yue Jian, you take the ladies back first..."
"Isn’t this the County Princess of Yiyang?"
A voice suddenly came from outside the crowd. Tang Ning looked up and saw Princess Leyang, Lady Wenxin, and two unfamiliar women walking toward them.
"What happened to you all?" Lady Wenxin exclaimed in surprise, hurrying toward them.
Zhou Yuchang, who was with her, also rushed over. "Qiyue? Tang Ning, what happened to Qiyue?"
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T/N: What is that flop doing here?============
You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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